Floors Down

Under the chandelier lights of a hotel lobby with an inordinate number of stars, a blonde man stood tall. His lean figure filled out a custom-tailored emerald suit. The ensemble he wore matched his sparkling eyes and complimented the maroon color scheme of the foyer. His hair was styled back, a clean and elegant look. A trademark mischievous smile hung off his lips.

Laia was enjoying crossdressing. A lot.

Unlike her usual appearance, this tailored one had greater mass appeal and a more favorable reception. Both versions of her were striking, but while one elicited cold, elegant detachment, the other elicited feelings of all-encompassing warmth. She imagined that this is what a fairy tale prince or princess felt like.

The attack power of a pretty face was truly formidable. She could distinctly feel the weight of a number of gazes on her person, and she hadn't done anything remotely interesting to garner such attention. Various patrons and staff found themselves taking second, third, fourth, and fifth glances at the beauty.

Maybe she should have made herself a little more ugly. Garnering too much attention was a double-edged sword.

"Who is he?" Random Mob Charatcer A asked Random Mob Character B.

Random Mob Character B elbowed the other in the ribs, "Stop staring!" She said while her own eyes were still fixated on the blonde figure. "With the auction today, could he be a buyer? Or," she paused. "On the high-end portion of the merchandise."

"God," Mob Character A groaned, "I hope so."

There was no end to questions and comments of a similar vein.

A new face here would undoubtedly send a few ripples through channels of information. It would peg some sort of flag on her. However, if deliberated, having a new identity and setting it up was a better option for her. There was no telling what would happen if rumors of Raine Hastings showed up here began to spiral about. If Alexander found out, that would put him on high alert.

And that would ruin her fun.

Laia's elevator finally dinged and opened up its doors. A man with a proud gait and boxy build greeted her. It looked a little out of place for him to be wearing a suit, as it seemed like he was ready to bust the buttons open at any moment.

With having a supposed identity, it would be a dead giveaway if the people around her didn't change at all. Thus the need for this man, Terrence Carter. She took one look at him and assumed that he had every black belt and weapons training under the sun with the scars to prove it.

There were now two roisters of professional bodyguards slash unapologetic murderers at her disposal: one headed by Diana, and one headed by the man next to her.

"Sir, the auction will begin soon."

"Thanks for the update," she nodded, stepping into the carriage. Her departure saved the productivity of everyone on that floor.

The man pressed the button that would lead her to an exclusive floor, one only accessible to the rich and their lapdogs, then stepped out himself. "Only those with invitations are allowed to enter. The master has approved for you to be alone. If you need us, we'll know."

His last words made her frown, but she couldn't question him as the doors closed together firmly.

Yep, she was lucky to be born as a Hasting. Being their enemy seemed to be something worse than death.

The monotonous elevator music prompted her mind to remember something.

"You know, I forgot to ask earlier," the girl cast her eye towards the weight on her shoulders, "Why did you only bring up the fact that you could make yourself invisible now?"

Saffron lazily blinked at her; stretching his back. Even though the presence of a cat on somebody's shoulders in such a setting should have been an unusual sight, none of those who gazed at her earlier had even batted an eye. It was almost as if he wasn't there at all.

The feline adjusted himself to a more comfortable position, "Well, it never quite came up. It's my usual state, however, I've come to use it less often to protect the integrity of your sanity in the eyes of others."

He cast his own side-eye towards her, "You do like to talk quite a bit, Lady Laia. And talking to a cat is more fondly looked upon as opposed to talking to nothing at all."

"Touché," at present, she was making no effort in minimizing the movement of her lips. But if she needed to speak with Saffron in other situations, she would need to perfect some kind of ventriloquism.

It would be more difficult to get things done inside of an asylum, after all.

"Well," she clicked her tongue, "we have a show to get to."

She eyed the symbols on an illuminated led screen as they lit up. B1. B2. B3. B4.

Lower and lower, human and creature descended deeper down.

When the elevator carriage finally stopped, there were no longer any basement numbers on the panel she was looking at.

An 'M' encased a triangle glowed in a white light.

She was definitely in the right place.

The doors dinged open, and Laia was greeted by the sight of an ornate hallway and a gaggle of people clustered together.

She stepped out.

This was a place she had written about, and seeing it come to life was a feeling that she couldn't quite describe.

Despite having a similar color scheme to the lobby above, there was a distinct shift in the atmosphere. From the subtle elegance of awhile ago, there was an undercurrent of giddy excitement and wily amongst all the attendees here.

Most if not all bore similar characteristics: young adults with a shit ton of money on their hands.

Even here, she was not spared from questions similar to earlier and sneaking glances. When a number of people eyed up her invitation, disappointment undoubtedly radiated from their eyes.

Laia gave the invitation in question to a smartly dressed man by the door. It shone silver under the light of the hall.

There were a few people with ones gilded in gold. Her eyes wandered past the decorated faces gathered there. A few of them looked familiar– the result of her late-night internet research. But the quick scan through made her ignore them entirely.

She was here for one reason and one reason alone.

But Laia was sure that he was off somewhere preparing for his grand entrance.