The City of Light and Dark was a place of eternal dusk, save for a fleeting five-minute dawn that appeared around 7:00 AM before the night reclaimed its throne. It sat within walking distance of D-Dance City, a neighbor shrouded in its own mysteries.
Inside the bar, after the tense meeting with the bartender, Ficky's patience was wearing thin. The "request" left by the bartender involved a mysterious Masquerade—a masked performance being held somewhere in this twilight city.
"Who's the organizer of this show?" Ficky demanded.
"That, I don't know," the bartender replied smoothly.
Incompetent bartender, Ficky grumbled to himself. His irritation was plain as day, but the bartender ignored it, knowing full well the risks involved.
"Isn't it worth it, though?" the barkeep mused. "Consider it payment for the coin you'll receive upon completion."
"Fine, whatever. Just tell me when, where, and how many people we're talking about," Ficky snapped.
As the two men hashed out the details, Aya and Yuda sat in an awkward silence. Ficky eventually turned to Aya, his tone softening only slightly. "Wait here until I get back. I can't risk you being out there while I scout this out."
"Are you sure I'll be okay alone?" Aya asked, her voice trembling.
"Yes. As long as you stay inside. The bar isn't open to the public yet, so you won't be bothered."
Yuda stood up as well. "I'm coming with you. We have things to discuss." Ficky didn't object, and with a final nod toward Aya, the two men vanished into the snow.
Aya slumped over the bar counter, her face meeting the wood. "I feel like I'm going to die," she muttered. The exhaustion of being a pawn in everyone's games was finally catching up to her.
"The two of them certainly care about you, Miss," the bartender noted.
"Do they? I haven't noticed," Aya replied coldly.
"My, I didn't realize I was serving such a frigid lady," he teased.
Aya didn't respond. The warmth of the bar made her eyelids heavy, and she nearly drifted off until the bartender spoke again.
"The wolf mentioned a dress for you to wear. Miss? Are you listening?"
"Mmhmm. Whatever," Aya mumble-whispered, fighting a losing battle against sleep.
The bartender sighed. This girl was nothing like the fox-spirit legends he'd heard. "You should probably follow them, you know. Dawn only lasts five minutes here, and it's almost seven."
Aya suddenly bolted upright, startling the bartender so much he nearly dropped a glass. "You're right. I have to go with them. I mean... I have to find Ficky. Where's the changing room? I need to put that dress on."
By the time she emerged, it was nearly 6:00 AM. She threw her jacket over the elegant gown to keep out the bite of the frost and stepped out into the blizzard.
The storm had worsened. Through her glasses, the snow looked like a torrential downpour of white. The wind howled, whipping against her as she peeked back through the bar window one last time. She saw the bartender smiling—a wide, creepy, triumphant grin that sent shivers down her spine.
I knew it. Something's wrong. Ficky lied—I'm not safe there at all.
Terrified of being trapped, Aya hurried away, following the fading footprints in the deep snow. She hugged herself, rubbing her palms together to generate a spark of warmth.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind. She spun around to find a wall of thick vines rising up to shield her from the wind.
"The dwarf's gift..." she whispered. She looked at her right hand, where the small ring of roots and flowers—a gift from a dwarf she'd helped—was glowing. The earth magic was protecting her.
Bolstered by the magic, Aya pushed forward until she reached the destination Ficky had mentioned. She gasped, her eyes widening behind her spectacles.
"It's huge!"
Standing before her was a magnificent, golden palace. Its architecture was breathtaking, encircled by a sharp black iron fence. Strangely, no snow settled on the palace grounds; it was as if the building itself repelled the storm.
"Do they clean it every second?" she wondered aloud.
As she stepped through the gates, the sound of her leather shoes changed, clicking against the stone as if she were wearing high heels. She wandered into the courtyard, looking around in utter awe.
"Wow... it's like a fairy tale. I've never seen anything like this in my entire life!"