Lytyr felt that if it had not been for the king interjecting himself into the conversation, her mother would have never agreed to the arrangement presented. As she spoke with Luna on her own, the queen continuously denied the utilization of her maid for the purposes of helping to “Refine Rakkora”, and the young elf’s arguments were not being heard. Once her father interrupted the consultation, his wife fell silent, and the meeting began to turn in favor of his daughter’s request.
“You are being stubborn and impudent towards your own child for no reason, and I’m not going to stand by while this travesty continues. You say that, ‘there’s no one to take the maid’s place until she’s finished with helping Lytyr’, however, you and I both know that’s not true. I tried to keep myself out of this because it’s your maid she’s asking to borrow, but I could not listen to you lie to her like that, anymore, so I stuck my nose into your business. Now, things are going to be handled in a diplomatic way, and if you don’t like it, too bad”, the king said.
“When you came in here, I knew it was useless to argue with you, and that she was going to get her way”, Luna said.
“At this point, I’m going to request that you put a lid on it, and allow me to handle this,” he said.
“If you were anyone else, I’d kick your ass out of here”, the queen barked. Even though she disagreed with her husband coming to their daughter’s rescue, Luna fell quiet, and allowed him to take the lead.
“If Artelisi is willing to take time away from her duties in order to help you with Rakkora, I can get someone in here to stand-in for her, tonight. Therefore, that is no longer an issue, and we can move forward in the conversation, as far as that is concerned”, Kouper said.
“I’ve got no issues with assisting them, as long as there is someone who can handle my responsibilities while I’m gone, and I’d like to be able to retain my position when my duties there are finished”, the maid said.
“That is another reason I chose to step into the conversation, because if my wife had agreed with letting you do this for our daughter, Luna would have figured out some way to keep you from your job. I plan to draw-up a contract that will ensure the safety of your employment while you’re away. When the document has been signed, I’ll have Mortimer place his notary stamp on it, and it will be iron-clad legal. After that, if anyone tries to take their word back, it cannot be done,” the king said.
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Six months later:
“I want you to know that I’m extremely proud of the improvements that have been made since we started. You should be feeling like you’re on top of the planet,” the educator said.
“Do you mean that I should be feeling like my head is floating and my heart is bubbly?” Rakkora asked.
“Yes, and I wanted to know if you think you’re ready to demonstrate what you’ve already learned?” Artelisi asked.
“How would I do that?” The demon asked.
“I can throw a masquerade party in your honor, and you can show everyone then,” the educator said.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for something like that. I mean, how would I be able to do that at a party? She inquired.
“It’s tradition whenever a female elf completes etiquette classes or finishing-school that, they show off what they’ve learned by attending a party of some sort. A grand display of balance and poise and grace can be displayed just by entering the ballroom” Artelisi said.
“Do you think I’m ready for something that large-scale?” Rakkora said.
“A party for two hundred and fifty guests is not large-scale, my friend. No, that’s small-time, it’ll give you an opportunity to show the ones you’re closest to that you have been refined, and it won’t be anywhere near as large-scale as your graduation party,” the instructor said.
“You really think two hundred and fifty beings are going to come to a masquerade ball for me?” The demon said.
“Don't worry about all of that, I’ll take care of the details, you be your refined self”, the educator said.
“If you’re ready, it’s about time to go”, she said.
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As they left, Artelisi made a telepathic connection to request that the demon’s roommates gather in the kitchen, there was an announcement to be made, and she wanted everyone in the same place at the same time in order to keep from having to repeat herself; after she’d ended the transmission, the educator smiled sweetly, and told her student that there would be a small audience whenever they arrived.
When they made their landing in the front yard of the hut on “Raylynne Road”, the door opened, and the four roommates were standing on the porch awaiting the announcement; they were excited to hear whatever the demon was going to say, and none of them could wait for her to go inside.
“Well, I thought this would be something we could talk about inside, but if y’all want to know now, I’ll tell you that, Artelisi is going to host a masquerade ball, and allow me to be the guest of honor”, Rakkora said.
“That sounds like something we need to go shopping for,” Lytyr said.
“Why would we need to do that?” The demon asked.
“Because, you are going to need a spectacular gown, of course,” the royal one replied.
“My friend, I couldn’t be prouder of you,” the professor said.
“There’s not really any reason to be proud, at the moment, save pride for graduation. Just be happy for me, and tell me that you’ll be there, whether you dance or not”, she said.
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the universe, and you never know, I may get out there on the dance floor, It’s about time somebody shows the kids these days how to bust a move”, Mykkal said.
“You are so funny, but seriously you don’t have to do that. All I need for you to do is be there, and be supportive, like always”, the demon told him.
“What about the rest of us? I mean, there are two more of your friends who are waiting for their personal invitations to the ball,” the “Map Creator” said.
“Nomo, Sandra, would you two like to attend a masquerade ball in my honor?” Rakkora inquired.
“I thought you’d never ask, and of course, I’ll go,” Cassandra said.
“I’d be more than happy to attend,” Nomo replied.
“Great! I’ll get the details for the event taken care of, and let y’all know when the date is and all of that, soon,” the educator said.
“When you’ve got it all planned out, we’ll learn the information from her when she gets home”, Lytyr said.
“That’s terriffic, we can do it that way,” the instructor said.
“Would you like to stay for dinner? The reason I ask is because I realized you’ve always handled business with Rakkora, then you’ve left, and I’d really enjoy serving you a hot meal, that is if you have the time”, the royal one said.
“Sure I could go for something to eat, it’ll be interesting to not only have dinner with one of the future queens, but to have her actually cook the meal is, an awesome thought. I never imagined one of Luna’s children would invite me to eat at their place, I’m honored, the educator said.
“It’ll be my pleasure, you can go back, and brag about it to your friends,” she said.
“I’m going to let you know that, I’d be bragging to my friends about the invitation, whether I could join you for the meal or not. Oh, boy, this is going to be a memorable occasion”, Artelisi said.
“And, you’d have every right. Let’s go inside so I can start that meal,” the royal one suggested.
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The Friday before Lytyr’s Freshman year at the “Wizardry University”, all of the elves living in the hut located on “Raylynne Road” traveled to East Zeerk on Afertin, the masquerade ball was to be held at a theater, and every one of them wore a different type of costume, including the professor. When they arrived, their dragon was stalled, and all were escorted by foot soldiers into the theater; according to the host, everyone was to wear a mask, and all were instructed to cover their faces before entering the ballroom.
A few minutes after the four friends’ arrival, the lights fell low, everyone stopped whatever they were doing, and the entire ballroom full of two hundred and fifty Interratonians turned to face the stage. Mystery and suspense and drama were the theme for the ball, and there was a sense that something was still to come that would change the course of the night. As she took the stage, Artelisi held a microphone in one hand, and a glass of redish-looking liquid that everyone believed was wine was in the other; due to the fact that she was incapable of contacting all those beings telepathically, the maid chose the next best thing that would allow everyone to hear her all at once.
When she was satisfied that everyone had their eyes on the stage, the educator began, “Hello, ladies and gentle-elves, I hope everyone is doing well this evening. As for myself, I'd like to let y'all know that my well-being is great, and every day that this young elven female is in my life, it gets even better. Tonight is about one thing 'acceptance' of someone few of you know, and many of you wish you could. Without further ado, I'd like to introduce the new and improved and refined, Rakkora Gustovson. Now, she's not going to speak, stage fright prevents it, but she is going to display the etiquette skills I've taught her. All any of you has to do is take up an anonymous ballot sheet, and mark 'Yes' if you like what you see, 'No' if you don't. This is so that she and I can determine whether she needs to continue with lessons, or if it's time for 'graduation', so to speak. It is not mandatory for y'all to participate, but it will be greatly appreciated if you would. Now, it has come to the best part of a ball, in my opinion, the dancing".
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After counting the votes from the night before, the instructor looked across the small classroom at the being sitting in the student’s desk waiting for the result, and she could not hold back the excitement she felt.
“Alright, Rakkora, I hope you’re ready to hear the results of the poll,” the instructor said, smiling.
“The suspense is killing me, get on with it already,” the demon demanded.
“You will be happy to know that, the majority of the guests that participated in the poll voted that they did like what they saw,” she said.
“What does that mean?” Rakkora inquired.
“I guess, that depends on what you want to do”, the citizen said.
“I’ve lived several lives in “The Devil’s Empire, and though I do not remember many things before this life, but I can tell you that I was the smartest demon there. However, I cannot for the life, or death, of me understand what it is you’re trying to tell me”, the personal said.
“What I'm saying is that nobody, except your roommates, knows about the poll that was taken last night, so if you don't want to end these lessons, we don't have to," Artelisi said.
“What you're saying is that we can lie to keep the classes going," her student said.
“Well, yes, it can be viewed as a lie, it is actually called ‘omitting the truth’, and everybody has been guilty of it at least once in their lives,” the instructor said.
“At one point, I lived in a place where lying came second nature, I’m not innocent of being untrustworthy and untruthful and deceitful, and I’d be lying if I tried to make anyone believe anything any differently. I’m just trying to establish what it is we’re doing, and if we’re going to lie, I want to know all the details in order to keep my side of the story in line with yours. There’s nothing worse than not being on the same page with your partner, whenever something like this comes along. I know, I can tell by the look on your face that you’re bewildered by what I just said, so let me help clear some confusion. I am scientifically classified as a ‘personal demon’, and I’ve been ‘trained’ to have decent morals and respect for others and to pray to the goddesses and gods above. However, when it comes down to the brass tax of things, I am a demon. Before my life became what it is today, I was the epitome of evil. Like I said, ‘I’m not innocent of doing bad things’, it’s just that those things are a part of my past, and I’ve been trying to leave them where they belong,” Rakkora explained.
“Oh, I see”, the educator replied.
“No, honey, you don’t, and that’s alright”, the demon said.
“So, how do you want to handle this?” she asked.
“As long as my roommates are all savvy to what’s going on, and they’re in agreement of keeping everything under wraps, we can keep the poll to ourselves, and go fishing or something. We can figure that out as we go along,” the student replied.
“Do you think there would be any issues with keeping it a secret from Luna?” Artelisi asked.
“You are the queen’s second in command of the maids, and you don’t know the relationship between mother and daughter is strained? Come on now, I just barely met Luna and Kouper within the last year, and I know there won’t be a problem with that,” she replied.
“I guess, you got me there. It is a sad thing how things have turned out between the members of that family,” the educator said.
“I may have been pure evil in the past, but even demons have a better sense of family than that”, her student replied.
“Really? Demons have families?” she inquired.
“How exactly do you think it is that I was once an embryo? Of course we have families,” Rakkora said.
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When the contract for the maid and demon was being created, Kouper insisted upon Artelisi having a foot soldier escort her to the “Queen Etiquette School”, and whenever he saw that the educator had made it safely inside, he would return to his post on castle premises. It had taken some persuasion by the king to convince the head-strong and indedpendent female to agree to this term of the document, but had eventuall been agreed upon. Every morning, when the instructor signalled to her escort that she had gotten into the school without any issues, the guard would climb aboard his steed, and was not seen again until the next morning.
After Rakkora arrived, they would leave the school, and their adventure would begin; there was no reason for anyone to believe they were doing anything aside from the lesson plan, and the friends were always careful to arrive at their respective homes at a reasonable hour. Though neither of them knew the day’s agenda until after the foot soldier left, their time away from the school was their secret, and no one suspected anything out of the ordinary had been going on. The educator’s Ordinary Dragon was left in his stall at the school, and the females would walk to wherever they decided to go. The destinations were never far from the school, Artelisi did not want anyone from the castle to come around and not see her somewhere nearby, therefore, the friends were grateful for the Swimming Hole that was close to the school. That way, if anyone did happen to stop at the school, both the educator and the demon could be reached through telepathic connection within a short amount of time, and they could return without drawing suspicion of any kind their way. The royal elf, both citizen elves and the professor had all agreed that there was no reason for either of Lytyr’s parents to know about the poll, and neither of the four of them had a problem covering for their friends in case anyone had gone to look for either of them at the hut on “Raylynne Road”.
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Graduation Day:
Lytyr had been looking forward to the day when she’d walk acoss the stage to accept her diploma for four years, Cassandra fashioned the royal one’s hair into a French-braid that streamed down her back, and Nomo gave her a corsage; it had long been tradition in the Duprix family to give the graduating female a flower to wear on her wrist, and the “Map Creator” was a stickler for custom.
Upon arriving at the University, the royal one spotted Ringo, her farther’s horse, but was unable to speak with the king until after the ceremony; Kouper promised months before that he would be there for her on graduation night, and though the queen stayed at the castle, he was unwilling to miss the occasion. Luna never understood the importance of graduation, and the family bonds others made with their loved ones, did not happen for the queen when she’d gotten her diploma; the queen did not even attend the festivities that were involved with her graduating class, and she refused to get involved in things such as those events when her mother did not participate in them. Instead, while everyone in the castle was on the Eastern Magix Plateau, Luna read a novel, and awaited her husband’s arrival from the celebrations; she did not have any issues with Kouper going to the ceremony, and he did not attempt to pursaude his wife to attend.


© P. L. Watson-Atwell