Anna~

Lisbeth and I stand by the food table, unsure of what to do. Just great. I´m stuck here until probably midnight, and I have nothing to do. He isn´t even here, I think, but better that than him dancing with someone else. That would be like turning my life into that love triangle with Amber, Key, and Lisbeth. I involuntarily shudder. That´s a pretty intense love triangle. 

My train of thought is interrupted by a loud crashing noise, then my sister clinging to my arm.

¨What was that?¨ Lisbeth asks me.

I look around, and see the fancy chandelier on the marble floor, shattered, and covered in- was that frosting?

¨Is that frosting chocolate?¨ I ask, walking out in the middle of the dance floor. 

Lisbeth rolls her eyes. ¨A cupcake vandal is on the loose, and you´re thinking about frosting? Really, Anna?¨ she points out sarcastically.

¨I think it came from up there!¨ says one AE, pointing up at the balcony.

I don´t need to be told twice. Without thinking, I grab the nearest intact cupcake- vanilla with strawberry frosting and white sprinkles- from the refreshment table, and hiking my skirt up with my free hand, and run up the stairs to the balcony.

~

When I reach the balcony, I see that new AE, Morgneth, holding… was that a cupcake blaster? Aha! The evidence!!

She trains the blaster on the other chandelier, with her back to me. I know that this is my one chance, so I take a deep breath…

and hurl my cupcake at her back.

Luckily, I have a very good arm. It hits perfectly in the middle of her back.

But in that split second while Morgneth turns around, I feel a cold sense of dread. The fury on her face is enough to make my heart sink like  a rock.

¨Um.. Hi.. Nice blaster! I say, backing away slowly.

It was the wrong thing to say, I know instantly.

¨Oh, then you want me to aim it at you instead of the chandelier? Alright.¨ she says, turning the blaster on me instead.

I prepare to run, but someone grabs me from behind. 

¨Here. I´ll hold her, you hit her,¨ says Jarnen´s voice.

¨Jarnen, what are you doing back up here?¨ roars Morgneth. ¨I thought I told you to create a diversion! 

I reach frantically into the pockets of my dress for my other cupcake, but find only an orange peel and a note from Lisbeth. Lisbeth!

¨LISBETH!CUPCAKE!¨ I call, and miraculously, she understands. 30 seconds later, she is rushing up the stairs with quite possibly the most amazing cupcake I have ever seen cupped in one hand. I mean, it looks like a normal cupcake, but it is my savior.

¨Great! Now, GO! I can handle this!¨ I cry. Morgneth pulls back the trigger, and I duck extremely quickly. A cupcake whizzes past, just two inches away from my left ear. It hits Jarnen in the face with a satisfying squish. Seeing another chance, I throw the cupcake in the general direction of Morgneth´s face. She drops the blaster, which clatters to the hard stone floor.

I grab it, and try to shoot it. But then Morgneth pops up, an evil grin on her partly frosted face.

¨You don´t know how to load it!¨ she gloats, trying to snatch the blaster away from me.

Wait… I hadn´t seen Morgneth loading it! It might be pre-loaded, and she´s trying to trick me!

It was a long shot, but the only shot I had. I pulled the trigger back one more time, and shot it.

It hit Morgneth… but then what was she pulling out of her pocket….?

Oh no. Another cupcake blaster, identical to mine.

We start facing off on the balcony. I hit, she misses, then I miss and she hits me. We are so absorbed in this fight that we don´t notice the edge of the balcony coming.

By some odd stroke of luck, we fire at the exact same time, and each cupcake finds its target… hers my face, and mine her face….

with enough force to knock us both headfirst over the balcony railing. 

~

I come to with around 15 blurry AEs standing over me.

¨Is she alive?¨ I hear one of them whisper to another.

¨Yes,¨ I reply groggily. ¨I´m alive. But where´s Morgneth?¨

¨Being closely watched by a guard for the rest of the night.¨ answers Katharine´s voice.

That´s good. I think to myself. I won´t have to worry about her again tonight. Hopefully, nobody else tries to ´totally not sabotage the ball´ tonight.

~~~~

That was fun to write! Sorry for any charrie control, Nianad! 

Pseudonym~

Key glares at me, and I realize I've drifted off. She drags me off to go see something- there was a scream earlier, and maybe that has something to do with it. All the other Æs are talking and running, making it difficult to move. Secret and Malachite look a little stunned. 

I look back at Key, who's smiling a little scarily. I want to go back and talk to Secret, but I probably shouldn't leave Key. She stops.

Secret~

Malachite and I freeze as a scream echos around the ballroom. Everybody is a little panicky. Key runs off somewhere, dragging Pseudonym behind her. Her brother, Lock, is running with Siblium after them.

Maybe Malachite and I should go after them. My brother gets a little distracted sometimes, and Key was looking a little evil. I turn to Malachite and say, "I've got to go see what my brother is up to. You can come, if you like."

Not waiting for a response, I run off. It's bad etiquette, but my brother needs me. 

Counter~

The clock chimes seven and the gates swing open. I'm hurried inside with the other AEs. I quickly spot Jammira's lavender gown and hurry towards her. She smiles at me, a little shyly, it seems. I feel my face heat.

"So, um," I begin awkwardly, "Shall we- do you wanna dance?" She nods enthusiasticly and I offer my arm. Too late, I realize I have absolutely no clue how to ballroom dance, or what I should do next! Jammira hesitantly places her hand on my elbow and I lead her to the floor, accidentally jostling her. 

"I'm so sorry!" I quickly apologize.

"Oh, it's fine! Don't worry," she replies. I force myself to look into her eyes, which is something I've been trying to train myself to do so I don't seem as shy. I'm struck by how… pretty she looks. Her hair is swept into an elegent bun-type-thing, with a few of her red curls hanging gracefully about her face. Her bright green eyes sparkle with excitement, and her lips shimmer faintly. Is she wearing makeup?

"Hey? Counter!" Jammira says, her mouth quirking in a smile, "Wake up!"

"What- I'm not asleep!" I say, trying to hide my embaressment. What is wrong with me? We're just friends. I like her and I know she likes me, but- not like that. I think?

"Well, come on then. Let's dance!"

"I don't know how!"

"Me neither! Let's go!" She glances around at the other couples, then positions herself in front of me, grabbing my hands and placing one on her waist. We start stepping like the others, slowly at first, then faster and faster, until we are practically galloping across the floor.

"Hey, this is easier than I thought!" Jammira laughs as we twirl under the chandelier, "AAAAH!" She stops dancing and I collide with her.

"What's wrong?" I ask, startled.

"Something fell on me!" she slowly reaches up and touches the top of her head. Her hand comes back, covered in a dark sticky substance.

"WHO SHRIEKED?" someone bellows. The ballroom falls silent with surprise at the sudden outburst. 

"Jeez, calm down," I mutter, too quietly for anyone but the people nearest to me to hear. Jammira raises her eyebrows, then raises her hand.

"That was me. Something fell on my head!"

"Is that… frosting?" someone asks, their voice ringing through the crowded ballroom. Jammira slowly licks her finger. 

"Yeah. Chocolate." Her lips start to quaver a little and she presses them tightly together, then looks at the floor. I know that expression. I saw it when I accidentally threw my sandwich at her, after she finished yelling at me. I saw it when Basil when missing. It's the face she wears when she's really, really upset, but trying hard not to show it. I grab her arm and pull her off the dance floor and into a little corner with a windowseat, then hurry off to get wet paper towels. 

When I come back, she's sitting on the floor with her head in her arms. When she looks up, I see that she's crying. Wordlessly, she takes the towels from me and starts to clean her hair. The frosting has started to drip down the back of her dress and onto her wings.

"Want me to help?" I ask her. She shrugs and I start cleaning her wings and dress.

"Why is it always me?!?" she bursts out, "Every time I'm excited for something, some AE thing, something bad always happens to me! It's like a jynx is following me." I plop down onto the floor next to her.

"I'm sorry, Jammira."

"I just want to have a good time, just once. Just one time." Without thinking, I hug her. She freezes for an instant, then hugs me back tightly. 

"Thanks, Counter," she sniffles, settling back against the wall.

"For what?"

"For- y'know, for being my friend." 

Umm sure Aleczander, I'll go. I think we might be a little late, but that fine I geuss.

<sorry>

I turn and follow Secret across the room, tapping my photo watch to 'record' in case anything happened. Secret storms after Key, wincing as Pseudonym gets banged about.

"Hey! Ow! What's happening?! What did all this? Key?"

Key turned on him. "Shush. Nobody else can see this. Don't draw any attention!"

Secret frowned. "Is she behind all this?"

"I don't know," I answered, "but the least we can do is find out. Did you come armed?"

"What do you think? This is an AE ball, after all. You?"

"Logic cannon. In my tie."

"Okay." 

We snuck up a narrow spiral staircase up to a balcony, where we saw Pseudonym being yanked through a door.

We set ourselves up on either side of the door and peered around the edge.

General Waffleson, you captured Estella perfectly.

My turn! 

Estella:

I'm breathless as I walk in.  The ball is decorated beautifully; a crystal chandelier is above the dance floor, which changes colors as different lighting turns on.  Many AE's are coming in all at once, and some have already started dancing.  Couples talk together, some loudly, some shyly.  People, whether they are couples are not, are all bouncing around because it's a truly beautiful ball.  

Can you believe it?  A real, live ball?  It's so exciting!

I finally transfer my thoughts to Jamie, and some of my excitement turns to nervousness.  I've never even been to a ball, and I've no idea where to go or what to do.  I stand looking at the window, drinking water, and convincing myself that I'm definitely not going to stare at the window the whole time.  Finally, I step away and decide that whatever I'm doing, I'm not going to do this all day.  My eyes transfer to people dancing and laughing.

Will I have a good time too?  Will I have fun?

Suddenly, I see Jamie standing in front of me.  Gathering up the bravery I hope I have, I look up and smile at him.  

He says, "So…do you want to dance, or are we just going to awkardly stand in the corner."

I laugh, not only because what he's said is funny, but because I'm going to be brave and dance.  I'm going to dance. 

"What did we come to do if we weren't going to dance?" I say, and it's true.  One way or another, we would have found eachother and danced (I'm sure of it, just not sure of which way).

"Good point," he says, and our hands suddenly go together.  They're intwined to the point that I feel like I can't tell them apart.

We dance, whether the music is fast and furious or sweet and slow.  I lose track of time because of the great time I'm having.  Suddenly, I see a cupcake fly into the crystal chandeliar, and a the cupcake falling on an AE.  Instantly, the whole ball is in an uproar.

"This doesn't look good," Jamie says.

I agree. We look nervously on the dancefloor to where yelling AE's are fighting each other.

"Let's uhh…go over here," I say.

We walk off the dance floor, and both get some water and snacks from the table. The music and lighting stops soon after.

"I didn't really think this would happen," I say, because I was really having a great time.  So were most of the other AE's. 

"Yep, it looks like the ball is trying to deal with this cupcake crisis," Jamie says, sadly. 

I walk over to the music player, and push the "On" button.  Instantly, music starts blaring out.  

"Come on!  Let's dance," I yell to Jamie.

Jamie starts walking slowly to the dance floor.

"Oh Come on!  Like you want to watch cupcake blasters ruin the ball!" I yell.

He runs to the dance floor (because who would want to see that), and again we're dancing.  I don't know if people came to join us or not, but we danced through the pain.  Well, it wasn't pain.  Actually, it was more like dancing in the rain.  Yes, we danced through the rain. 

Counter's really sweet. He helps me clean up all the frosting, despite the fact that I threw a bit of a diva tantrum over it. I feel rather embarrassed, honestly. Diva tantrums are more of Basil's thing. Man, I hope he's not listening. 

You know, it was really nice when he was spinning me around on the dance floor. We were having so much fun, but did I see a glimmer in his eyes? A spark of something else?

"Jammira?" He says, "Would you like to try that dance again?"

There. There it is. A flash, but there. A flash where he looks at me differently.

"Yes. I think I would." 

I sit on the side like a true wallflower, which is so not me, but what can I do? I have no date. And honestly, I couldn't care less about the the chocolate frosting dripping slowly to the floor, or even the fact that another AE is wearing a light green dress, so now when people hear "light green dress," they'll think of Morganeth and not me. No, what I care about are the couple standing right there. See them? Right under that light on the wall? That's Rosalyn and Grey, and they're having a great time. UGGHH. I should just go up to them. I really should.

Just the clouds of jealousy in my brain thicken to become more of an all-encompassing fog, I spot another couple, still dancing, as if to say "We don't care either."

Isn't this what balls are for? To dance and have fun?

With a dramatic sweep of my dress, I stand and join them. Really, Morganeth, this is a lot more fun than sabotaging a ball. 

Oh no! I made so many mistakes in my previous post! First, I spelled Morgeneth's name wrong. Then I posted it under Applejaguar instead of Sriracha, implying that I was at the ball instead of her.

OH, the mortification!

First, I would just like to say I am sincerely sorry for the grief my AE has caused…. even if she's not. 

~Morgneth 

I glower at the cell walls. How did I end up in here? I always. End. Up. In. A. Cell. ALWAYS. 

I sigh and relive mentally my experience… 

I aim at the other chandelier, chuckling with relish at the panic and confusion my cupcake has caused. 

But then, something hits me in the back–something small and cupcake-like. 

I whirl before I can think, my finely tuned reflexes responding before I can. I give the AE a withering glare–one of my best, actually, and she wilts under my stare. 

"Um…hi… nice blaster!" She says weakly, slowly backing away. Internally, I smile. Don't think I don't notice, little AE. 

"Oh, so you want me to aim it at you, instead of the chandelier? All right. " I said, training my blaster on her. She looks terrified. As it should be. 

She turns and tries to run but then Jarnen rushes up and grabs her out of nowhere… 

"Here, I'll hold her, you hit her." 

"Jarnen!" I roar, furious. "What are you doing back up here? I thought I told you to create a diversion!"

"LISBETH! CUPCAKE!" The AE roars. Hearing her mention Lisbeth's name, I think that this must be Anna. 

In little under 30 seconds, Lisbeth comes racing up the stairs with a cupcake in her hand. She tosses it to Anna, underhand, who catches it. 

"Great! Now go, I can handle this!" Anna cries, and I fire at her. She ducks, very quickly, and it hits Jarnen in the face. After his disobeying me, I can't say that I mind… 

Anna tosses the cupcake at me, a look of desperation on her face. It lands on my cheek, and in surprise, I stagger back and drop my blaster. 

Anna grabs it, and tries to shoot it.  

I get an idea, and pop back up with my most wicked grin on my face. "Ha! You don't know how to load it!" 

She looks dismayed for a moment, but then points it at me. A cupcake whizzes out of it and hits me on the knee. 

I dig my hand into my pocket, and pull out my backup blaster, just in case any such thing happened… 

We face off on the balcony. She scores another hit, and I miss in my fury, but then she misses and I score a hit on her arm. 

We're both slowly circling each other, neither noticing the edge of the balcony railing coming ever closer. 

Until suddenly, we both fire and it lands in our faces, and we go hurtling over the side. 

No, I think, as I plummet downward. I grab Anna's hand, barely hearing the shrieks and terrified shouts of the ballroom AEs. I grab my Ring and force magic into it, moving the fabric of the world into a more pleasing pattern, where we have already reached the floor. Anna slumps to the ground, unconscious.  I land with my feet on the ground, multiple AEs glaring at me, their arms folded over their chests.  

I sigh. 

"Oh, all right," I grumble as they surround me and drag me of to the DtE dungeon, stripping me of my blaster. (But not my Ring. They just see an ordinary ring, not the Dragon Ring of Time.) "After all, I deserve it, for saving Anna's life…" 

I thought I heard one AE grumble that if I hadn't put her life in danger in the first place, her life wouldn't have needed saving. But I ignore that… 

And now here I am. 

Stuck in a cell, again. 

Felinda waits outside my cell, and then I hear familiar footsteps. 

"Thank you for guarding her this long," I hear Nianad tell Felinda. "I can take over it from here." 

Felinda snorts, unconvinced. "Aren't you her CBer?" She says. "It doesn't seem very wise to let her be guarded by her CBer…" 

Nianad sighed, and shot a glare at me, warning me to be quiet.  "I assure you," she says, her voice going a little softer in her anger. "I am quite aware of her misdeeds… she is a villain, after all. I won't let her escape. In fact," she said, "I'll even take her home–and that way you won't have to deal with a CBer on AE territory any longer." 

Felines sighs. "Well, all right… I would like to see if I could go dance, now that there are no more AE Saboteurs…" 

"Watch out for Jarnen," I call at her departing back. "And Niccolai! And Cloud!" I hear her footsteps retreating, paying no attention to my words, and I sit back, reluctantly, as my CBer puts her head to the door window, her shoulder-length blonde hair swinging slightly as she moves. Her eyes look grim as she unlocks the cell door, stands back to let me out, which I scramble to do, and relocks it. Instantly, AE Alarms begin to blare, and Nianad grabs my hand and pulls me out of the DtE palace. 

"How did you get here?" I scream at her, in order to be heard over the alarms. 

"I walked!" She cries. "Use your sorcery to send us back to our home!" 

I sigh, but grab for my mini-staff and propel magic through it. It drains me a little, and I stagger into Nianad even as we see the familiar book-covered rooms of home. 

"Morgneth!" Nianad yells from another room, absorbed already. "You left the Inheritance cycle on the floor!" 

"So sue me," I grumble, but sling my pack over a couch and drop into it. 

–Morgneth 

-Nianad