#redsnow.starter

Goblet in hand , ash-grey dress donned and an equally pewter colored mask fastened at the face , Bianca wondered if it had been a stroke of irony or an otherwordly providence that had inspired such an outifit from her. Her usual colors were black and deep red , a dash of regal purple to make her presence more domineering , especially when she was feigning another mad spell to avoid a particularly persistent suitor. It had seemed so childish now. She was meant to marry one of these lords , many of them throughout the years to be frank , but they have all been terrified. She could see their fear and feel it , taste it in the dense air of the crowded , too hot a room for the middle of October.

"It all seems so unrealistic , do you not agree ?" she asked the masked individual hovering by the mulled-wine table she had remained leaning against. It was not her intention to hoggle the spot , but she did not feel like dancing. "That were are celebrating here while that strange thing falls from the sky. It seems almost cruel. Do you think it is still falling ?"

she should've stayed in bed, that much is true. half-dressed, used to the absence of warmth, catherine finds herself resting her sadness and body on the very edge of an ornate balustrade, as her brown, tired eyes, still heavy with sleep, seek the comfort that only daybreak can bring. here's the thing about women and the sun; one always needs the other. but here and now, enveloped in something red, the princess' lodestar loses all its charm, forcing her to widen her eyes.

she sighs and laughs, as if to empty herself from all the expectations that didn't reach the point of fruition. disappointment then, has her by the scruff of her neck, followed closely by the folly of all that's transpired in the days that stretch between them like a silken thread ready to snap. "is this all there is to it?" to life? or to the sun?

Dark eyes rake across the ballroom , eyebrows dip into a frown. She did not enjoy this place. She followed her brothers here as the heavens knew the Hwajin men could not be left unattended for a second without stirring some kind of trouble and that had been the last thing this meeting had needed. But , she was not happy to be at the masquerade. Masks felt so concealed , so scary now that the sky bled red and the sinister voice made a bid of their lives. Why should she part with her soul ? Why should her brothers ? They owe nothing to these men and their hollow walls filled with poison. She leaves the room , mask discarded at the nearby table.

The aimless wandering leads her to the library and she finds herself at peace , the soft lilac dress rustling as she gathered the skirts to weave between the ajar door and the wall. There are books upon books lining up the wall , tomes of yellow parchment and dark , leather binds. Jiyoo picks the one nearest to her fingers and plucks it out , setting it down on a table , a candle ingnited after a moment. She will have to squint a bit under the light of a single candle , but she dared not ignite another one to avoid drawing attention to the room. But , the moment of being by herself had been fleeting and the heavy wood fo the door creaks , announcing. Jiyoo lifts a dark gaze from the book and her posture relaxes into the velvet chair supporting her back. "Is the masquerade over ?"