Masks

Writers: Miriah, Yvonne
Date Posted: 13th August 2015

Characters: Alina, J'ackt, Elana
Description: Alina and her twin sister visit the Harper Hall for Turn's End, and bump into a familiar face -- even with a mask.
Location: Harper Hall
Date: month 13, day 29 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: N'vanik

Alina

J'ackt

The Turnover celebrations had been magical so far. The weather was perfect, and the Hold and Hall were looking like something out of a Harper's tale.
Flowers were everywhere, and flags and bunting. The grounds outside the Hold were bustling with tents selling trinkets and sweets, the air quivered with
music and laughter, and there was so much to see and do-- races, dancing competitions, runners with ribbons in their manes, jugglers and entertainers. It was hard to go, especially with Elana eyeing up all the young men in their Gather best, but Alina insisted. There was no way she wanted to miss a concert at the Harper Hall, not after everything L'pin had told her about it.

Slipping on the soft white masks that Alina had made for them both, the two girls snuck into the Hall and headed toward the sounds of fiddles and drums until they reached the main concert hall. There, a large assembly of musicians played on stage facing a large open area with chairs for guests and a large area cleared for dancing. They were playing all sorts of instruments: flutes, gitars, fiddles, and two were on drums. One plucked at the strings of what looked like an oversized gitar balanced on the bottom of its body. Alina stood wide-eyed with her back to the wall and watched them play. But Elana was soon bored. "Who do you think that is?" she whispered, gesturing to a woman with black hair in a fancy red dress.

Alina glanced over. The woman seemed familiar, but it was hard to tell in the mask. She was beautiful. Maybe she was from the Weyr? "I'm not sure. Ssshh! I'm trying to listen!"

"This is boring." Elana sniffed. The music was much richer and complex than she was used to, but it was still just noise. "I wish someone would ask me to dance."

"Why don't you ask someone to dance with you?" Alina shot back, irritated that Elana was still talking.

Elana glared at her. "As if. How rude would that be?"

"As rude as talking when I'm trying to listen? How often do you get to hear the Harper Hall perform? Don't be so ignorant." Alina turned her attention back to the musicians on the stage. "I wonder if they're all Masters?"

Elana rolled her eyes and swished the skirts of her pretty green dress. It was the deep green of leaves and had a bit of lace scalloping at the hem, and was by far the prettiest thing she owned. Her mother was scandalized by the fact that a Gather gown showed off her slim ankles, but if her working dress was this short, her Gather dress could be too. She sighed. "I'm going to go outside to get some air. Come find me when the song ends."

"Sure." Alina only half heard her.

Her twin rolled her eyes and wandered off toward the wide exits. The concert hall was getting a bit stuffy with so many people in it. Nobody wore their knots, and all wore masks. It was actually kind of magical, almost like being in a hothouse flower garden come to life, but Elana was too irritated by Alina's fixation on the music to truly appreciate it. **Besides, how can I tell if anyone I meet is handsome?** she thought. The whole point of the night was to meet a stranger-- and maybe kiss them. Turnover kisses were lucky. And then that handsome stranger would fall in love with her and take her away to be married at a party like this one.

By this time she'd pushed her way past the dancers and had found the door leading to the arcade outside. There were a few people out there, talking and laughing and enjoying the cool breeze. Elana wished she'd thought to steal a glass of wine before coming out. She scanned the hall for someone to sidle up to, and quickly settled on a young man with slim hips and a shock of pale blond hair, dressed in a promisingly rich looking burgundy tunic and a plain black mask. He was standing alone by the railing to the arcade, looking out into the dark, as she walked up to him. "Nice night, isn't it."

J'ackt was trying to calm himself down. Those bloody songs had made him out to be some sharding dramatic hero and that was the last thing he wanted. Still, N'vanik was thrilled about the whole affair and the Master Harper looked far too pleased beneath his mask. Personally, he wanted to strangle them both, but it wouldn't be good for the Weyr's image. He grudgingly accepted that the songs did make the Weyr look better, but he'd be shafted if they thought he was going to live up to some idealized rot. The voice beside him drew him out of his thoughts and he turned his head towards the feminine voice.

Blue eyes flicked over her, taking in her hair, the gown and the mask. He'd already gotten a thorough talking to that the Hold girls were not to be bothered with. As if he would. Still, she was pretty and who knew, she may be young enough to be Searched and sent to the Weyr. It wouldn't hurt to be pleasant. "It is."

"It's such a nice view. I wish home were as picturesque." Elana sighed, then glanced sideways at the young man beside her. "I'm just here for Turnover."

"As am I." He slid his eyes over her again, musing. "So you're not from the Hold?" Hm...N'vanik hadn't said anything about Craftbred girls...

Elana shook her head. "Not the Hold. What about you? Are you here just visiting too?"

That made him relax a bit more and he flashed her his smile. "Yes. Just visiting but it's crowded in there." He tilted his head to the side, letting himself really look over her now. The dress was pretty, he decided, if a little overdone. He lifted his mask, uncaring if it mussed his hair so that he could get a better look at her. He didn't like the thing anyway. "I'm just here for the evening."

**He's handsome!** Elana flashed a quick smile before reaching up to pull J'ackt's mask back into place. "You're supposed to keep it on, silly! Otherwise it's not a masquerade!"

The mask twitched as it fell back into place and the smile became wry. "Well, if you've seen me, why not let me see you? Then we're even."

"Just because _you_ broke the rules doesn't mean that _I'm_ going to," Elana replied coyly. "I happen to like my mask."

"It can be fun to break the rules." There was a glint in his eye as he leaned closer. "You aren't scared of me...are you?"

Elana laughed and placed a hand on his arm. "Now, why on Pern would I be scared of you?"

It was just then that Alina stepped out onto the balcony, a wine glass in each hand. She scanned the space for her sister, then stopped when she saw her with a hand on some man's arm. Recognition hit like a splash of cold water. That was _J'ackt_ talking to her _sister_ and they were _laughing_! Alarm bells sounded in her head as she hurried over and thrust the two glasses at Elana. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you. Here, take these. And excuse us." She smiled and slipped an arm through J'ackt's, gently tugging him away before either he or an irritated looking Elana could say anything. "We _really_ need to talk," she hissed to the bronze weyrling.

"Hey!" He let himself be tugged for a moment, recognizing the hissing voice immediately. It wasn't hard to; he'd heard it often enough. "Shaffit, Alina, what in the blazes is wrong with you?" He tugged his arm loose gently.

"That's my _sister_!" Alina leaned close so that they wouldn't be overheard. Elana had turned back to the view, but she wouldn't put it past her twin to be trying to eavesdrop. Alina's heart was pounding; this had 'disaster' written all over it. "What did you say to her? She didn't-- what she say to you?!"

That drew him back. "Your sister?" His voice wasn't near as quiet, but his eyes narrowed slightly in immediate thought. "I didn't say anything to her and sure as blazes didn't know she was your bloody sister. I was just talking to the girl. She came up to me, not the other way around." His lips narrowed, then looked at her and the half mask hid the quirk of his brow. He was annoyed that the flirtatious, pretty chit was the very same sister that had given Alina such a hard time since the Hatching, and he was very hard pressed not to go back to the girl and tell her what he thought.

"So she didn't... say anything?" Elana had a sharp tongue and could be very cruel when she chose to be. And if she knew that she'd been speaking with the holdless boy from the Weyr... Alina shuddered. "You're sure?"

"Just talked about the view and that she was visiting the Hold." He said sharply, then flicked his gaze between Alina, Elana and then back. "I thought she was Craftbred." He'd actually thought about bedding that vicious little... He paused and mulled over what he'd already learned. The girl was a flirt, he picked that up immediately. And from what he had learned from Alina, she also thought most highly of herself. "I'm sure." He straightened
and firmly tucked Alina's hand in his arm. "Play along." He promptly began walking back towards Elana, his hand firm on Alina's.

"What are you--!!" Alina tried to tug loose but it was too late, she was hauled along in J'ackt's wake with a nervous smile plastered on her face and an increasing sense of dread.

Elana turned from the rail as they approached, her own smile beneath her mask just as frozen. "Well. I never would have guessed that you two knew each other. Small party, isn't it?"

"Weyrfolk get to know each other pretty well." J'ackt kept the smile on his face, but there was a coolness to it now that hadn't been there before. He turned back to Alina and drew her hand to his mouth, brushing his lips across the knuckles. His eyes gave enough of a clue for her to play along, but his fingers squeezed hers lightly. "Alina didn't tell me that her sister was almost as beautiful as she is."

Elana was eyeing the way that J'ackt touched her sister with suspicion. A kiss on the hand was harmless enough... wasn't it? And just what was he implying?! "_Alina_ hasn't shared a lot of things."

**Play along, play along...!** Alina felt like she was free-falling in a catching exercise, and she could only hope that J'ackt would catch her. "Well-- yes. It's not like you ask much."

Her twin narrowed her eyes and replied in a sugared voice. "Won't you introduce us?"

"You're Elana, I'm sure." J'ackt replied. "And I'm sure she hasn't shared a great deal. And why should she?" He tugged down his mask, irritated with it, and let it hang around his neck. He reached and tugged down Elana's without asking, then peered at her face. "Hm. Just as I thought."

Elana took a step back, clearly outraged. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean!?"

"Oh, just that there's no doubt that you're pretty enough. Soft and all that." He turned back to Alina and there was actual warmth in his eyes. "But no match for beauty and brains."

"Who asked you?" Elana tugged her mask back into place to hide the angry flush on her cheeks. "Honestly, Alina. I would have thought that you'd have the sense to spend your time with a better quality of person than-- than _this_. I would have expected better from the Harper Hall."

Her sister only half-heard her, distracted as she was by a tingle of warmth caused by J'ackt's words. Or the wine she'd drunk earlier. "Um."

Elana snorted. "I have better things to do. Find me later," she told her twin, then whirled on her heel and stomped off.

J'ackt watched her go with a wry quirk of his lips. "Good riddance to you." He looked down at Alina and tilted his head, waiting for the angry hisses to start.

Instead Alina sighed. "Well. She'll just have to find me. She can't get home without me."

That she didn't immediately try to tear into him was a surprise. "Let her wallow for a bit." He smirked and then finally released her hand. "I think it's her turn to be miserable and embarrassed."

Her hand was warm where he'd touched it; Alina rubbed it absently as she turned to J'ackt and pushed her sister from her mind. "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you weren't allowed out of the Weyr. Or is it a special leave because they wrote a _song_ about you?"

He groaned. "Don't even bring that up. N'vanik made some deal with the Masterharper that I'd be here. I didn't know the song would be like _that_. And I didn't come with Zith, I had to ride with N'vanik."

Alina grinned. "I bet it's going to be super popular at the Weyr. I bet people will be singing it in the halls, in the dining cavern, when they're slinging firestone, in the bathing caves..."

J'ackt stared at her in absolute dismay. "Don't you dare even think of taking it to the Weyr."

"Oh, I won't need to. I'm sure that there are enough dragonriders here who can hold a tune..." She arched an eyebrow. "Is it catchy? I bet it's catchy."

J'ackt pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "You're enjoying this way too much." He then stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know, I could have said a lot more to your sister and I didn't, so be nice."

"And she's still _my_ sister." Her tone was mild, but the warning was clear. But then Alina smiled and shook her head. It was Turnover and they were at the biggest, fanciest Gather with the best music in all of the Southern Continent. "Fine. But it's still funny that they made a song about you."

"And I'd still pick you over her any day of the sevenday." He was blunt. "Pretty is about all there is to her." He then shrugged. "The song is ridiculous, but according to N'vanik it'll help, so I'll just put up with it."

"Mmm." She couldn't hide her smile, both at his comment and just because J'ackt was... himself. No matter how hard he tried, that song was going to drive him nuts within a sevenday. "Well, if you're lucky they won't play it more than once tonight. Which is too bad, because I actually got here too late to hear it."

"You didn't miss much." He gazed back at the crowded room and then turned back to her. He looked at her for a moment, clearly debating something with himself before he spoke. "You best get back and soothe that savage beast you call your sister." His lips quirked upwards. "But, Alina, I'd like to talk to you tomorrow about something, alright?"

He was probably right about Elana. But the other question piqued her curiosity. "Sure. I'll be around. Just ask Zith to ask Imarith where I am." The weyrling lifted her glass. "And cheers to you. Have a good rest of your night, if I don't see you."

He nodded. "Good night." He stepped away and pulled on his mask, stepping back into the crowded room.

Last updated on the August 13th 2015

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