CAUGHT
[ANDRE]
Where is she?
I returned to my table to find out that Lena wasn't there anymore. I left the dais and weaved my way through the crowd of strange masks, blinding jewelry, and gaudy costumes — the nobles had gone all out to display their wealth while hiding behind their masks to offset it with a farcical excuse of humility.
Whenever I saw a red dress or black silky hair studded with tiny diamonds, I approached them, only to find out that they weren't the princess upon closer inspection.
Where could she have gone?
Strangely, I had a sense of déjà vu, taking me back to the similar events that had taken place during the princess's eighteenth birthday. She had gone missing too, and I got there just in time to save her from that inebriated prince's filthy hands.
I can't help having the same uneasy feeling I had back then.
Someone tapped me on the arm. I looked up with a smile, expecting to see the princess return.