Dangerous red

"Soooo....Are we going home or are we going to stay at a hotel?" Hannah asked with a mischievous grin 

" I do not know... But I do not feel like going home." I answered. 

" Agreed, I mean we have not yet left Areela formally so we can not go home until we do, right?" Dove asked. Hannah and I nodded our heads in unison to show our agreement. It was crazy enough that we came back just for the outfits and Dove's meeting so reducing the interaction time with more people was our common goal.

" Hello, milady. My name is Eistiaan and I will be escorting you this evening." A young man said as she approach the trio

" Were you sent by Dan?" Dove asked. Eistiaan revealed a shocked face to Dove's statement and this was because Dove called his master by name which was something he was not used to. He quickly recovered and said, " Yes, the young master sent me to fetch you and your friends." 

" Alright, thank you." And with that the trio left woth Eistiaan 

It was 10pm when they arrived at their lodging for the night.Eistiaan helped them with their luggage and he left shortly after. 

" Well, no sleep for us tonight." Hannah said with a sigh

" Alyssie, did you call madam L ?" She added as she changed her shoes from her heels to more comfortable shoes 

"Yes, as crazy as this is, she agreed to let us visit her store tonight." I said. Madam L was our designer for most of our formal wear and she agreed to help us prepare for the masquerade though it was short notice. 

" Alright then, let's go!!" Hannah exclaimed.

" Did you request the car for us?" I asked Hannah. If anyone had outside connections that would not alert our families of our presence it was Hannah and they were very reliable. 

" Yes, I did and it is outside." Hannah said 

" Alright, let's go then." Dove said and we went on our way to madam L's store. 

It was a quiet night with only a few cars on the road. No wind, clouds making everything look all static with the stars illuminating the night.

( exhales sharply) " I missed this. You know, home and the way everything feels like you belong." Dove said and it came as a shock to me that Dove would actually say something like this. She sounded exhausted. It made me feel like sometimes I do not know my friend well enough because she never shares her thoughts and she is always the one who listens to all our complaints. 

" Uhm, it has been a while. I did not even realize that I missed this place." Hannah said.

The mood in the car was nostalgic as the trio sat there with thoughts about everything they had been in the past 6 months. The worst of everything for the trio was the rumors that nearly ruined their lives and the rumors matter was yet to be resolved. Aside from this, they had a good experience at Areela and they were going to close that chapter tomorrow evening at the masquerade gala. 

" Well, being there helped some of us cool down and get away from family drama." Dove said yet again

" Tell me about it. I liked the rule of not being allowed to contact our families, that was fun." I said 

" Alyssie!!" Hannah exclaimed shocked and I laughed 

" I did not expect that from you." Dove said alsoe laughing because among the three of us I was least likely to rebel against my family and they know that too. 

" What? I enjoyed the peace, that's all." I said rasing my hand in defence 

" We are here." The driver said

" Thank you so much. Tell Leo, I will meet him afterwards." Hannah said to the driver who was sent by Leo who happened to be Hannah's ex-boyfriend. They were still friends and do not ask me how is that even possible. I believe she is one of the selected few who can go past a breakup and being the best of friends with their exes. I am certainly not one of them. 

" Alright! Let the fun begin!" Hannah shouted in the middle of the street that was dead quiet.

" Shhhhhh!" Dove and I shushed her because it was really late and she would disturb other people.

" Sorry." She whispered with a giggle. I could tell that she was excited because this was wild. It felt like an adventure and a wild one at that, I mean staying up to look for outfits for the dance was grand. 

" Bienvenue ladies. I was waiting for you" Madam L said with great excitement as well probably because we are going to pay her extra for the after-hours service. 

" How was your flight? You guys got here quickly! Did you use a private jet? How lucky." 

I laughed and said, " Madam L evening, how can we answer all those questions when you do not give us a chance to do so." 

"Ah, the sassy young lady was the first to respond. I apologize, I will give you guys a turn to speak but we will do that later. Right now, we do not have time to waste so let us get to it. Chop chop!" Madam L said 

Hannah laughed and said, " She said sassy. Which side of you do you show to people, Alyssie?" 

" Whatever." I said to Hannah who was teasing me. Madam L said that I am sassy because we usually argue a lot about my outfits, like a lot. Though I usually win the arguments so I do not mind being called sassy if it means I will wear something that resonants with my inner self. 

Okay, forget the part I mentioned about not minding anything earlier because Madam L chose to start with the others because I am sassy so she would choose my outfit last. I did not think that this was fair at all. I mean, I was not going to delay our progress amd arguing is a natural way to solve having different opinions on something, It builds relationships! Despite this gorgeous arguement which I obviously shared with them, they still saved me for last!

" Now, let's work with you my sassy friend. What do you have in mind?" Madam L asked and Hannah jumped of her chair and said, 

" Madam L, brimg out her strong features. She needs to look very regal." Hannah said as she gave madam L a thumbs up 

" Mmm? Are we trying to impress someone?" Madam L asked with a raised eyebrow

" No." UI said firmly

" A man I presume?" She asked again as she ignored me and looked at Hannah who jumped out of excitement and said, " Yes, Madam L. You get it! So which of her best features will you help her show off?" 

" What is our goal? Is it you are spending the night with me or you will only look at me tonight?" Madam L asked and Alyssa blushed at her words. 'spending the night with who?'

" No, no. We are going for something bolder than that. We are going for, love at first sight and potential marriage talks. That is our goal." Hannah said and Dove facepalmed. She was glad Hannah was not involved and probably will never be involved in her love life.

" Oh? That is even bolder than spending a night with him. You want to live with him forever, that is brave." Madam L said with a seductive and playful smile as she looked at Alyssa. Alyssa knew that smile and it meant that she was cooking something.

" What are you thinking about?" Alyssa asked with caution.

" Uhm? I don't know. I am deciding if I should play it safe and let the mysterious man see your innocent self or if I should make that sassy side shine more." Madam L said 

" Make the sassy side shine!" Hannah exclaimed 

" I agree. He has seen enough of the cute and innocent. Let us go for something different." Dove said

" What? No way. This is still a school event after all." I said refusing 

" Uhm, you girls are good friends. I will take the sassy side too." Madam L said ignoring me yet again 

" What? No!" I said but my protests did not reach their ears because Madam L suddenly clapped her hands and exclaimed, " I got it!" 

" We are going with red for you my dear." She said 

" Wow, you don't mean?" Hannah said with eyes shining 

" Yes, you got it. It is not just any red .... We are going with dangerous red for our saasy girl." Madam L said 

" Dangerous red." Hannah whispered as she clasped her mouth and looked smitten. 

" Dangerous red. This is going to be interesting." Dove said as she looked at me with a twinkle of excitement in her eyes while my mine showed nothing but horror at their betrayal for choosing to play deaf ti my concerns and the dress color they chose. Dangerous red?!