Nick had been invited to a masked fancy dress party by an old friend. Recently single and definitely in the mood for a bit of a laugh he had agreed to go. It was being held in a country house that had been converted into a hotel. He had booked a room and then begun looking for his costume. It was a fairy-tale themed fancy dress but his friend had told him that it was a bit more 'Brothers Grimm' than Disney so he had looked around for something that suited his slightly darker personality a bit better. It had taken some looking before he found what he was after: a 'nobleman' costume, tight pants, boots, loose silk shirt with laces down the front, a cloak, sword and he added the riding crop. Picking out a half face black and white harlequin mask he finished his order. Ordering had been a laugh but now he found he was looking forward to the night.
On the day in question he had set off rather early and arrived easily enough. He greeted his old friend then headed up to the room. It was early afternoon and the party wasn't due to start until around five in the evening with the first opening event. He left his costume and went exploring. The house had two main halls downstairs which were where tonight's events would take place. There was a small bar area and then a few rooms for the staff and kitchens etc. The two upstairs floors were guests and his was one of the larger rooms on the top floor with a balcony overlooking the gardens. He made his way outside enjoying the warm summer air - it was just starting to cool slightly which was nice as it had been sweltering the last few days. He walked round the house and admired the views - middle of the Lake District meant rolling hills and green valleys. The house had its own fields, woods and tended gardens. He went to the bar, collected a glass of cider and walked out into the gardens. At the bottom of the garden was what had held his interest the most - they had grown a full maze. Not overly large but big enough that the unwary could get lost inside. Might be worth a look later.
He headed back inside and up to his room he showered - enjoying the fact that someone had put some money into the place and invested in some proper showers - and shaved until he was clean and tidy, above and below. He then walked out to where his costume was laid out on the best and began dressing. The shirt slipped easily over his head and pulling the pants on found they weren't too tight though he had a feeling they could be quite revealing if he wasn't careful. The boots went on next, standing up he admired the view. Not bad - even if he did say so himself. Adding the sword to his hip and swirling the cloak around his shoulders in an overly dramatic fashion he finished the costume with his harlequin mask.
Looking in the mirror he saw a tall gentleman noble, face hidden apart from a slightly ironic grin and his glittering green eyes. Picking up the crop he tucked it under his arm and made his way downstairs. Luckily he wasn't the first person there and he made small talk to an ogre and a princess (someone had been watching too much Shrek) helping himself to a glass of wine he chatted and moved around the room. It was nearly five and the room was filling up quickly. Nick moved over to one of the edges of the room and stood near a group of women who seemed to be giggling about their costumes. Looking them over he quickly admired them however one stood out very clearly as the queen among them.
She was quite short, he guessed around five foot and a few inches, and had gorgeous blonde hair that fell around her shoulders. What caught his attention first were her sparkling blue eyes. They were filled with the sort of mischievous light that always aroused him. She was wearing a short, strappy black dress that showed off some incredible cleavage. She was wearing long, stiletto-heeled boots that went all up past her shapely calves and a long, black cloak. She was very obviously the wicked queen of the fairy tale and gorgeous as hell with a glittering crown styled into her hair. Nick stood staring for a minute before she turned and looked directly at him, grinned and then moved back to talking to her friends.
Nick sipped his drink again and watched her for a few moments more. He would have to keep an eye out for her tonight. The clock chimed and on the stage at the end of the room a spot light appeared whilst the rest of the room went dark. Their host and birthday boy appeared on the stage welcoming them all and explaining how the night would run. In this main room there would be a band playing for people to dance to, food would be served later and in the other main room there would be a variety of entertainments that people might enjoy - some more serious than others. At midnight there would be a firework display out in the gardens for everyone to enjoy and the revealing of people's faces behind the mask 9if they wanted to).
It sounded fun to Nick but he wasn't in the mood for dancing just yet so he decided to walk through to the other room and see what the entertainments were. Strolling through, he noticed that the 'Queen' had strayed away from her friends and was at the bar. He shifted direction to go and chat to her when he noticed the birthday boy stood next to her, obviously trying his luck. Nick grinned and left him to it - it was his birthday after all. Strolling through to the next room he began his perusal of the different entertainments available. The room was divided up into four areas. At the far right side was a 'Casino' with a poker table, blackjack, roulette etc. but instead of money they were using either sweets or shots, or both in some cases and some people had obviously made an early start.
In another area there was a photo booth set up with a lot of crazy props and other items that people were taking photos in groups and on their own - lots of memories there and as Nick watched one guy mooned the camera in the booth. Nick almost choked on his drink as he had just taken a sip. Some memories people might want to forget. He grinned at looked at the other half of the room. There was a large inflatable set up on one side with two podiums and what looked like inflatable quarter-staffs - two people were just putting on helmets as he watched. He saw them climb onto the podiums and then start trying to knock each other off. He lent against the wall sipping his drink and chuckling - it looked like fun - he might have to try his luck later. The final section of the room simply had a variety of very comfortable looking sofas where people were already sat relaxing.
His attention turned back to the people on the podium and he watched them with a smile as they slowly became more and more wobbly until one of them fell off. He raised his glass in salute to the winner and became aware of someone stood over his left shoulder. Turning, his breath caught in his throat involuntarily as he saw the 'queen' stood there watching the people on the podium. He grinned - there was no way this was an accident.
"Looks like a lot of fun doesn't it..."
She smiled back. "Yes but I am not sure I could do it in these..." She pointed down indicating her calf high boots with their stiletto heels.
"Probably not... But I could always help you take them off." Nick grinned back, his cheeky; mischievous grin that that made her blush as she caught his eye.
"I'd like that..." Suddenly her blush increased tenfold as though she had just realised she said those words out loud.
"I'm Nick, nice to meet you." Offering her his hand as she took it and smiled up at him. There was a mixture of mischievousness and shyness all rolled into one that he found alluring.
