Eternal Masquerade Part 2
1499 Words
The Dream
Brielle lay in the narrow hotel bed, tangled in crisp white sheets, the hum of the air conditioner mingling with distant jazz that still floated in through the slightly cracked window. Her body buzzed, the taste of Étienne’s kiss lingering on her lips, his name circling her mind like a prayer and a curse.
She tried to sleep, but sleep came heavy, like slipping beneath water.
And then she was somewhere else.
The air was colder. Older.
Stone walls surrounded her — not the peeling plaster of a New Orleans hotel, but smooth, towering brickwork glowing silver under moonlight. The corridor was long, candlelight flickering wildly as she ran, the hem of her dark gown whipping behind her, echoing footsteps pounding the floor beside hers.
“Faster,” Étienne said, his voice urgent, his hand gripping hers tightly.
He looked different.
His long black coat was embroidered with gold thread, fastened by ornate silver buttons. His hair was longer, tied back, and a blood-red pendant hung around his neck. But those eyes — piercing, unforgettable — were the same.
Brielle’s breath came in gasps, corset too tight around her ribs, her shoes slipping on the cold stone. “What’s happening?” she cried, though her voice didn’t sound like her own. Softer. Accented.
“They’ve found us,” Étienne said, glancing over his shoulder. Shadows chased them. Torchlight. Shouts in a language she couldn’t understand, yet somehow did.
“We can still escape,” she begged, grabbing at his coat. “Please, come with me. We’ll run together.”
Étienne stopped at the top of a long staircase, turning to her. He cupped her face in his hands, his thumb brushing her cheek with unbearable tenderness.
“There isn’t time. You must go. Now.”
“No!”
“I’ll buy us time,” he said, and kissed her — fierce, desperate, like a man saying goodbye. “I’ll find you again. When it’s time to sleep for the day, I’ll be there.”
“Étienne—”
“I will always find you, my love.”
And then he turned, charging back into the corridor, running straight at the men spilling into the hall — swords raised, faces full of fury. His fists struck hard, and some men fell, but there were too many.
Brielle turned to flee, but something inside her broke. She couldn’t leave him. Not again.
She pivoted, gathering her skirts, ready to help him fight.
But rough hands grabbed her from the shadows. She screamed and kicked, trying to claw free, but more came — five, six — wrapping cold chains around her arms and legs.
“Let me go!” she cried, thrashing. “Étienne!”
Her body hit the floor with a crack, pain shooting through her spine.
Étienne turned — just for a moment — eyes wide with horror.
He cried out a name.
Not Brielle.
Something else.
“Isolde!”
Then the crowd swallowed him whole.
A man above her — cloaked, face hidden — raised something glinting in the moonlight. A dagger. Its hilt etched with symbols. The blade found her chest, plunging deep, and the cold—
The cold—
Brielle woke with a scream.
She sat bolt upright, drenched in sweat, her breath ragged, heart slamming against her ribs. The sheets were twisted around her body, her palms stinging as if she’d been fighting something real.
The room was silent.
But her body remembered the weight of the chains. The ache of loss. The look in his eyes.
She pressed a trembling hand to her chest. It still hurt.
“Isolde…” she whispered aloud, the name slipping from her lips like a secret she hadn’t meant to keep.
She didn’t know what it meant.
But something inside her did.
And it was terrified.
The hot water beat down on Brielle’s shoulders like a blessing, washing away the sweat of the dream and the tension curled tight in her spine. She leaned into the stream, closing her eyes, but the images wouldn’t fade.
Chains. Screams. The look in Étienne’s eyes.
Isolde.
The name echoed in her skull, as vivid as if someone had whispered it into her ear.
She didn’t recognize it… and yet, it felt like something long buried inside her had stirred.
When it’s time to sleep for the day, I’ll be there.
Brielle turned the water hotter, hoping to drown out the thoughts. When she finally stepped out, wrapped in a towel, her skin pink from heat, she felt calmer but no less confused.
The scent of powdered sugar and coffee hit her the moment she opened the bathroom door.
Lila was perched cross-legged on her bed, grinning like the Cheshire cat as she unwrapped a beignet.
“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Lila said, her voice sing-songy. “I brought sugar, carbs, and caffeine. Praise me.”
Brielle raised a brow and smiled despite herself. “Thanks. I need it.”
Lila passed her a warm bag of beignets and a to-go cup. “Girl, you look like you just ran from the devil. Wild night?”
Brielle hesitated, sitting down on the edge of her bed. She took a sip of the coffee and looked at Lila, unsure where to begin. “I… had a dream. But it felt like more than a dream.”
Lila perked up instantly. “Do tell.”
“I was in this… place. Like a castle or something, huge and cold. And Étienne— the guy from last night, the one who bought my drink?”
Lila’s jaw dropped. “Wait. YOU had a dream about Mr. Tall, Dark, and Vampire after one drink and a dance? And now he’s chasing you around a castle? Oh my God, Brielle.”
“I’m serious!” Brielle laughed despite herself, blushing. “We were running from something— people. He told me to keep going, but I went back to help him and… I got caught. Someone stabbed me.”
Lila’s smile faltered, her eyes softening. “Jeez. That’s kind of intense.”
“Yeah. It was like… I felt everything. The fear. The cold. The chains. And the way he looked at me… like we were—”
“Lovers in a past life?” Lila said, eyes wide. “Oh. My. GOD. Brielle, what if you were?! This is so romantic and spooky and sexy!”
Brielle rolled her eyes, but her cheeks warmed. “It was just a dream.”
“Was it though?” Lila smirked and reached into her purse. “Because while you were off being romanced by Vampire Lord Étienne, I got invited to a masquerade ball!”
She held up a flyer, dramatic gold foil dancing under the hotel lights. The text was elegant and vague:
Masquerade de Minuit – One Night Only – Where All Secrets Are Revealed
Location: Hidden. Attire: Formal. Mask Required.
Presented by The Crimson House.
“A masquerade?” Brielle blinked, taking the flyer. “This looks... mysterious.”
“Mysterious and sexy,” Lila said, wagging her brows. “Come on. You have to go with me. What if Étienne’s there? Or your past-life ghost boyfriend?”
Brielle hesitated. “I don’t even have anything to wear.”
“Then we shop, duh.”
---
Later That Afternoon
The streets of New Orleans pulsed with energy as they weaved in and out of little boutiques, laughing and teasing each other while trying on ridiculous masks. Lila flirted with a vendor who wore more eyeliner than she did, while Brielle wandered toward the back of a quiet shop tucked into the shadows.
That’s when she saw it.
The dress.
It hung alone — deep crimson silk with black lace threaded delicately through the bodice, its sleeves sheer and trailing like whispers. The skirt was full, dramatic, elegant… almost identical to the one she wore in the dream.
She reached out and touched the fabric. It was cool beneath her fingertips, like it remembered another time.
Next to it, nestled on a shelf, sat a matching mask: black with gold detail, shaped like a raven’s wings, with crimson gems at the corners.
“Brielle,” Lila called, “did you find—whoa.”
Brielle turned, holding the dress to her frame, and Lila’s jaw dropped. “Girl, you are going to SLAY the masquerade in that.”
Brielle gave a nervous smile. “It feels… right.”
They bought their dresses and masks, stopping for a few final touches — red lipstick for Brielle, dramatic lashes for Lila, perfume that smelled like midnight — and headed back to the hotel as the sky began to blush with twilight.
Brielle clutched the garment bag tightly as they walked. She wasn’t sure if the dream had been just a dream. She wasn’t sure if Étienne would be at this party.
But she was sure of one thing.
Tonight, something was coming.
And she would be ready.
- Writer
