Snippet #1646381

The Hatter stood still as a statue, only his head moving, to gaze around at his new guests. The boys, with the exception of the one twin, seemed rather angry, where as the girls were just confused. They did look quite lovely in those dresses. He knew he'd made good choices for what to put in their closets the first night. Tomorrow there would be three new dresses in their closets, and two suits instead of one in the boys'. He grinned beneath the mask, his dark eyes settling on Oblio, Cody, and Oliver. Cody and Oliver had done well as far as dress went, but Oblio had failed miserably. No tie or jacket? Did this boy think he was at a birthday party?

Speaking of birthday parties, when was the Hatter's birthday? It had been ages it seemed, since h'd had a party to celebrate his age. He wasn't that old anyway, somewhere between 20 and 25, he knew. His own identity seemed to be lost sometimes amidst taking care of these young fools. Some days he would forget his childhood, but he never forgot his guests. Never.

Looking at the girls, he noted that one was still missing. The pink haired one. Where was that child?! As if she'd read his mine, she suddenly appeared and walked down the stair case... barefoot. How dare she! Pushing aside his disgust, he looked down at the railing he was standing near, then reached his hand out and tugged on the top rail. His golden staff formed, blue jewels making a small circle around the top of it. He was eager to take a whack at his least favorite of the group, Oblio.

The Mad Hatter loved the looks of confusion of their faces. This was questionably the best part. "Quiet now please!" he called out, raising his hands and staff out to his sides, then lowering them once all eyes were on him. He grinned uncontrollably. "Welcome one and all, to the Masquerade. This would be my humble abode. Here you should find everything to your liking. I see that Evangeline has found the grand piano and Arcadia, you will be thrilled to know that there is an easel in the library, located on the second floor of the west wing. Your bedrooms are in the east wing as you saw.

"Now, you may be wondering why you're here. Each of you has their own reason. If you would like me to tell you, I gladly will." There was a pause as he started pacing back and forth, looking down at his new found prisoners. "But if you'd rather not know, it is truly understandable. I myself have not had the best past. So I hope that I can make for you a better future. Your objection is to find love here. Find love, change, or stay until I say so.

"As you all know, you are wearing masks. Failure to do so will result in punishment. The masks are simply for my enjoyment and for yours. We will also be able to see if you can love a person who's face who can not fully see. It's quite interesting actually. As to how you got here, I will only tell you if you'd really like to know." He throws his staff up in the air a few feet and then catches it. "I, the Mad Hatter, personally welcome you to the Masquerade. Now let the feast begin!" He clapped his hands as the waiters and waitresses stepped forward, offering appetizers on small china plates.

He then disappeared in a small cloud of smoke, looking at Evangeline quickly. He reappeared behind Oblio, using his cane to whack the boy in the head. "Learn to dress yourself, Oblio," the Hatter said, then disappeared again and reappeared in his previous spot. He just had too much fun with teasing the children.

***

Zaria continued beating at the door, unaware of the other girls passing her in the hall. She was also oblivious to the fact that she was barefoot. Wandering out of the hall, she entered the ballroom and met the disapproving gaze of the Hatter. The pink haired girl looked at the ground and rushed down the stairs, standing at the bottom of them.

She was staring at the walls, covered with paintings. The high ceiling held a beautiful chandelier and there were others here. Others! She was not the only one, which relieved her greatly. She sat down on the bottom step, being careful with her dress. The Hatter was speaking now. She glanced up at him, but then stared at the ceiling, which was a painting itself. The Hatter seemed to drone on forever, mentioning where things were and why they were here... sorta.

After he was down speaking, the tall man clapped his hands and a waiter stepped forward, offering her what looked like sushi. She shook her head. "No thank you," she said, trying to remember her manners. Zaria did not want to know what punishment from the mad man may be. What she did want to know though, was why she was here. What had she done to deserve this? Trapped in a mansion with strangers, un-allowed to leave, or even see their faces. What kind of a nightmare was she in?

Zaria sighed, resting her head against the railing of the stair case. She wanted home and what was left of her broken family.