Moon River

MAEVE

According to Tylor, I just needed to show up to this Ball, and they’d provide the uniform and tell me what to do.

The guards all let me in without even glancing at me. So much for security. Good to know in case I ever wanted to burgle the place—not that I would.

There was something about this castle that was always so ominous to me. I had never gone into it or even near it in the past.

It just was so scary. The beautiful sunset couldn’t even lift the threatening feeling I was getting from this place. It just straight up gave me the creeps.

I went around the side, held my breath, and walked through the service entrance.

“Maeve?” A voice shouted my name.

“Yes?”

“Follow me and be quick about it.” The voice was attached to an energetic older woman who seemed invigorated by the hustle and bustle around us.

She opened the door to what appeared to be a locker room. “Pick a locker to put your stuff in. There’s a changing room around the corner. Also, no phones.”

“I don’t have one,” I replied.

“Great!” she replied ecstatically. “I knew I liked you. Now hurry up.”

She pushed me into the room and showed me what appeared to be my uniform. It took a moment to make sense of it because there were so many pieces. I went into one of the cubicles and tried to figure it out.

Skirt, check. Blouse thing, check. Is this a vest? I put it all on and walked out, confused.

I looked up and suddenly saw the room was filled with women who just seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

“Well, don’t just stand there! Move!”

“Uhh…” I moved and bumped into someone.

“Hi, I’m Rachel. You look lost,” the Rachel person said.

“Hi. I’m Maeve,” I said with a pained smile.

“Let me help you,” she said as she opened a locker for me. “You’d look better with your hair half up, half down. Want me to do it?”

“What? I—”

“May, it’s me… Rachel… I lived like, two blocks over. We used to play with Tylor and Robbie all the time? Remember?”

“Oh my gosh! Rachel!” I felt a wash of relief. I couldn’t help the tears that began to fall as I hugged her.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you. It’s been so long, and I mean, I should’ve known… you were always so beautiful.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled, offered me a tissue, and reached for my hair.

“Tylor said you would be here, and I was so excited to hear that you were back. I mean, what has it been? Like… twelve or thirteen years? Also, don’t worry about tonight. I’ll help you.”

“Thank you so much. I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am.”

“It’s okay. Now let me help you with your hair. Also, don’t wear the vest… none of us do.”

Rachel pulled down my hair, which I always kept up in a low bun because I didn’t want to deal with it. It was curly, wavy, long, and hard for me to manage.

My hair was usually in a bun, a knot, or a braid. Those were my only three hairstyles, so this half-up half-down business was news to me.

When she was done, I knew I would never be able to recreate it. She did such a beautiful job.

Then, somehow, she convinced me to let her add stuff to my face to help me get better tips. By the time she was done, I could hardly recognize myself.

Usually, I would’ve said no, but I didn’t know anyone here, and I was scared in this new environment. I thought that wearing a mask would probably be the best thing to do to help me get through the evening.

It was a way to feel comfortable in my discomfort, and I was glad to have someone helping me through the process; I was extremely grateful that Rachel was by my side the entire time.

She helped me navigate through the kitchen. Agnes never introduced herself to me but was apparently my boss. I had served before, so I was actually a quick study.

We were about to start when all of a sudden, I heard Agnes roar. I kid you not, this tiny old lady roared. The entire kitchen fell silent, and we all turned to look at her.

“Clive can’t make it,” Rachel said. I looked at her, confused. “Agnes needs a bartender.”

“Oh. I could stand in. I’ve done a few stints as a bartender here and there.”

“AGNES!” Rachel screamed. “Maeve can fill in.”

Agnes hurried over. “That’s it. You are right now my favorite person that I have ever met. Thank you.” She was clearly awash with relief as she walked me over to the bar.

Thankfully, when people started coming in, their orders weren’t too complicated. Even though it was an open bar, I seemed to have an unlimited amount of alcohol to work with.

This was by far one of the most unusual events I had ever worked, mainly because I had never seen so many people drink so much so quickly.

At one point, I convinced myself that they were just tossing out the drinks because I had never seen so much go so fast.

“Hey, sugar,” said a douche shaking his drink in front of my face.

I was refiling drinks left and right, watching as an absurd number of beautiful people swam around me.

I quickly realized that no one was dressed in the proper pirate garb, so I was clearly grossly mistaken about this “mate” business.

It looked like a kind of a mixer of sorts, which made me even happier for not attending.

“Penny for your thoughts?” a familiar voice said.

“Tylor!” I smiled, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“You’ve been really busy. I was waiting for a little bit of a lull to come over.”

“So... not a pirate theme then?”

“No. No pirates.” He laughed.

“Thank you for getting me this job. I actually feel really comfortable behind this bar.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” he replied. “Is a break coming up any time soon?”

“People haven’t been by in a minute, so I’m sure I could take a bit of a break.”

He began to lead me outside when I saw this gorgeous couple start descending an incredibly ornate staircase.

The woman was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She was the epitome of elegance and seemed to float down the stairs.

I looked over to her other half, and he just seemed as though he was pained for some odd reason. He was distracted by something.

He was moving his nose through the air like he had smelled something foul. I watched as his eyes started tracking the crowd.

I stepped closer to Tylor. I wanted to ask him who the couple was when all of a sudden, this guy started staring at us.

The guy.

Staircase guy.

He seemed to completely zero in on me. It was the weirdest thing. I reflexively reached for Tylor’s arm and stood behind him, using his body as a shield.

Whatever I did seemed to make Staircase incredibly unhappy. He looked like he was seething.

I started backpedaling, slowly pulling Tylor along with me. I knew that the door behind me led outside, so I pulled us through while closing it behind me.

“Hey, are you okay?” Tylor asked, apparently oblivious of the way Staircase had been staring at me.

“Oh yeah, I just wanted some air. I don’t know how long I’ll be allowed to take a break,” I said quickly. ~Okay, maybe I’m just crazy and imagining things.

“Okay,” he said as he moved a strand of hair back from my face. Somehow, he was really close to me. It was like a weird superpower he had: Anti-Personal Space Man.

I made myself laugh at the thought, but I could see how at the moment, it could’ve been perceived as encouragement. Tylor stepped even closer, and his body was flush against mine.

“It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it? I—"

I noticed his face was getting absurdly close to mine. I started feeling flushed. The heat of his breath tingled against my face. I was in the middle of a thought when out of nowhere I heard—

“MINE!”