Chapter eighteen

"I choose..."

Before I could finish the statement I heard the loud ringing of bells announcing that someone was at my front gate. I quickly sealed the ARM room, holstered the LEG(my laser) in a new custom made holster that I commissioned immediately after I invented the thing, grabbed my Cains and got out of the basement, then sealed the whole thing up tight as a drum. Only after that did I rush to the gate to see who it was.

The lord's ornate carriage was parked right outside, and immediately after I opened the gate what appeared to be a herald jumped out of the carriage and announced,

" The enchanter known as Jack is hereby invited to attend a grand ball at the lords mansion. The lord knows you lack a carriage so he sends his personal carriage to ferry you."

I couldn't have been more surprised if you told me the devil was vegan. A polite invitation to a ball from the lord that just orders people to do whatever he wanted, I was incredibly suspicious about what was happening. Seeing the hesitation on my face the herald lowered his voice and said,

"Look, the lord is hosting a very important guest this evening and if you haven't noticed the burrows isn't exactly the kind of place where you can find an over abundance of people you can invite to a ball. You dress descent enough , know how to mind your manners and have a respectable magic profession. If you do this the lord would be happy , and a happy lord makes everybody's life a lot easier , so what do you say? "

Even though I hated the lord's guts , I didn't want to directly offend him. Plus he made an effort to be nice and if I rejected he would probably become a serious enemy, so I went back inside put on a cape I bought because it was cool ( who doesn't think capes are cool) adjusted my cowl and jumped into the carriage.

The ride to the mansion was quick and uneventful. When we arrived at the gates the guards that were wearing polished, almost ceremonial looking armor let us in . The lobby was decorated with bright sashes and floating magical lighting everywhere .There were people already inside seeming to drift around making conversation. After I went inside I just stood there feeling awkward. Since I was disabled for most of my life I've never been to a party let alone a formal ball. I was starting to feel very uncomfortable when I heard a female voice calling my name.

"John, its been a while since I've seen you around town, how are you doing?"

I turned around to reply, and nearly swallowed my tongue when I beheld the beauty before me. Standing in front of me in a little figure hugging black dress with a plunging neckline looking decidedly un-priestess-like was a blushing Lidia. The silence had gone on for a noticeable time and Lidia was starting to blush furiously when my mind finally got into gear.

"Umm... Sorry Lidia , I was just a little taken aback , you look absolutely stunning and I was a little stunned, I'm doing okay. How are you and the kids? Any problems with the orphanage ?"

"Nope a certain very generous person gave us a donation and everything has been great since."

Since I didn't know anybody else in there I continued to talk with Lidia about this and that. At one point I tried what I watched on TV and asked her if she wanted to go get a drink. She was happy enough to accept. We where in a corner of the room talking about the kids new careers as mercenaries when the herald blew a loud horn, apparently the important people had finally arrived.

"Now entering escorted by our lord Alazar , her eminence high priestess of the saint Sophia church Alexandria Du Bois. "

They made quite a pair, both of them old as hell yet radiating vitality and power. Following behind them were five mature looking ladies, one of them was looking towards my direction and Lidia seemed to be trying to disappear into the wall.

The lord led the old lady to the two throne like raised seats , probably to make it easier for the two of them to look down on us normal people.

After they sat down the orchestra started playing and the ball properly started. People started pairing up and started to dance. Lidia started to look longingly at the dancefloor, I got the message and asked her if she wanted to dance. Ten seconds later we were slowly rotating around the dance floor. I didn't really know how to dance but Lidia didn't seem to care.

"John, why do you always wear that cowl? The kids say you are handsome , so if you are not disfigured or ugly , why do you insist on covering your face?"

"I was cursed by a Korean witch during my travels , she cursed my face so that any woman I saw would fall instantly in lust with me. At first I thought being so handsome would be a good thing but when I went home all I saw in the eyes of the woman I loved was lust, no love. That night I was returning home from the grocer when I found my wife stabbed to death and my neighbor's wife standing over her corps saying something about how now that we were both single we can finally be together. I took the knife and then stabbed her, buried all three bodies and left the town and never looked back. I've worn the cowl ever since ."

"I'm sorry John, I made you think of something painful."

I was trying to keep a solemn face while Jules was laughing like a damn hyena. This was the only story I could come up with that covered all my bases. It wasn't that bad. At least Lidia seemed to buy it, she snuggled deeper into my arms as we slowly swayed to the rhythm of the music.