Regents and Skirts

Maria I looked at myself in the mirror for the 18th time. I was perfect. I sighed. I was always perfect. Perfect smile, perfect posture. Perfect gown. As I peered through the window, I saw the men hurrying to the Romano mansion. They all looked same. Suits, ties, shoes. They've always looked that way. The skirts always had the same look, the same air around her. I looked closely and sighed. They were all scared. Just like me. I turned to look at the calendar hanging on the wall. May 12th. I sighed. Everyone was trying to wrap up whatever because he was coming. He came every year. Every single year without fail, on the same day, he came. He wreaked havoc through the whole town. The Leader of the Neverland. Von. Ever since Romano waged war, betraying the Regents, till now even after the war, he never stopped. May 12th was the day his parents were killed by Romano but he never mourned. At least not alone. I have heard different rumors about him. The greatest Leader of the Neverland. A place where all Skirts dreaded. Their men never wore suits, they wore shirts with buttons loose, unlike our men who dressed from top to bottom. Their trousers were not as tight skinned as ours. Their men wore rugged jeans. They were clad in tattoos unlike here where tattoos were forbidden. They were killers, they were rogues. But the only thing I could get from the rumors were they were fun and free unlike us. Here, rules ruled. My maid walked in fear visible "I'll be fine Odette" I say but she Shakes her head. "No you won't. No you won't. I wonder why Romano keeps doing this." Odette says. "Let no one hear you Odette. He has a plan for us all" I say "Like hell he does. First, he kills the Diablos, now, he organises a banquet on May 12th just to spite Von because of sheer pride. Forget it" Odette spits in disgust. She lost her family 2 years ago on the same day but what amazes me is that she never blames Von, she always blames Romano. "Von is the one the one to be blamed. He is a rogue." I say but she Shakes her head. "I hope that one day you'll see something you've been missing, come on, your parents are waiting downstairs." She says "Odette." I call to her. I hope she isn't planning on coming with us today. That is a very dangerous idea. "No buts" she says. I want to argue but I sigh in resignation. Skirts never argue. No matter what. As I go down the stairs my mom and dad smile at me. Of course they do. I'm their trophy. Me. Maria. All the skirts know me. I'm the beautiful heiress of the Aomans. I'm everything a lady should be. I'm quiet, resigned, beautiful, with my red hair and blue eyes, my almost invisible waist line,hips that curve and busts that stand out, I'm just perfect. I actually had heterochromia. My eyes were mismatched. Emerald green and blue. But dad thought it was horrible. Right from when I was a baby, I never showed the two colours. Just blue. That made me perfect. A perfect match for Stephan Romano. I sigh in disgust. They couldn't even let me choose my husband. I've known Stephan since I was young and the guy just never sat well with me. Not to the point of being my life partner "Good day father, Good day mother, I greet with a smile" mum smiles back but dad only nods. "Your smile is too wide for a skirt" he says. I quickly fix my wide smile and make it a little bit more stiff. We get into the car and the drive to the Romano mansion is silent. As it should be. We skirts are not noisy people. We are always poise. Even the poorest of the poor, we never shout, never talk too much, our gestures are gentle. Just like that, we get to the end of our journey. We arrive at the mansion of the Romanos Looking at the familiar chandeliers, I nearly roll my eyes. Excess extravagance. Stephan is there ready to receive me. I look at him and he has the same look as he'd always had since 10 years ago. Sad. Lost. Bitter. And he showed that he was. After all, it was his father that betrayed his best friend's family. And now, he's had to watch the person he loved like a brother, kill the people he was to govern in the future, annually. I can also see that he too is scared of the daring move Romano decided to pull. To host a ball today? I can only imagine his stress "Good evening sir Stephan" I greet him and he nods his head at me with a smile. The same stoic smile. Of course I addressed him as sir. That was signature for any skirt to address another. "How are you madam?" He asks me and I nod my head. When we get in, I see people looking as grand as the large hall. But sure enough everyone turns to me. They are looking, some with envy, some with awe. My dad smiled. I can tell he is proud. The music is dull. As dull as everyone is feeling. This was compulsory for every elite. Else, I am sure this whole hall will be empty, even my father can hardly keep it together. We're all scared. But we stay calm and composed. The only person that seems to be having real fun is Romano who is smiling at Stephan. While Stephan hardly looks at him. He's staring at the clock. We all are. 2 o clock It is time. He always comes by this time. I've not seen him for so long but I know he does. This was exactly the time 10years ago when Romano struck, when the war started, when his parents, unprepared, rushed to battle. At around 4pm, his family was killed So he strikes, from 2-4pm I sneak a peak at Romano. I see him shifting uncomfortably. He too is terrified. Even the musicians play duller. Their hands shaking. 3pm he hadn't come. Romano began to ease back. Everyone began to ease back. Perhaps it was enough for Von now. He had killed enough. Or maybe he was scared. However we still had to tread carefully. Carefully ever so, did we tread. We didn't chatter. We weren't safe yet 3:39pm. Everyone had let down their guard completely. There was now the usual demure, lively chatter. I turned to see Odette staring right at me. She was standing with the rest of the maids. She didn't let hers down and I didn't mine. 3:55. Romano took the mic. He was smiling. Looking proud. Looking like he'd won. He looked at the crowd beaming. The crowd beamed back at him but the sickening feeling never left. Stephani looked the same. Mad, worried, anxious, scared. I sat beside him and since he looked stressed, I placed my hands on his. It's the least I can do for my fiancee. He turned to me a little taken aback but then he smiled. But as he smiled, the hairs at my back stood. Someone was staring and the gaze was dangerous. Danger was lurking. My hands shook a bit and Stephan turned to me worried. I smiled but pulled away. I couldn't keep holding him not with the gaze I was feeling. He looked at me again a bit sad but I turned back to his father. "Today, we've all seen that the fear of the Neverlander has lasted way too long. We've all been too afraid to confront him. You see, This year as we have sent him this message, that we will no longer fear him. The terror has come to an end. I am truly happy that I have put him in his place. It hasn't been easy. And what brings me joy the most is that on this same day, Stephan and Maria's engagement is now official. So today is no longer a day of mourning for us skirts, but a day of celebration." With that everyone clapped. Composed but happy. When they were done clapping, I heard another slow clap. Slow. Slow. Then fast. Grabbing everyone's attention. The man clapping though hauntingly gorgeous, had an air of danger around him. He then laughed. A beautiful yet chilling sound. And just like that, in the large hall, over 50 other people laughed as well. Then a gunshot was heard. Not one not two but three. 2pm, 3pm, 4pm. The signature that starts the bloodshed. Now no one could doubt. He was here. Von was here. He's been here the whole night. We're all in danger