by Julia Chrobak '30 on October 8, 2026
Portfolio - Short Fiction
The ballroom doors opened with a flourish, and I walked into the most anticipated ball of the season on the arm of a viscount’s son.
Music and laughter could be heard from every corner of the room as the high nobility of the land chatted amongst themselves. Everyone had a mask covering the top half of their face for the king’s annual ball. With each person I saw, the more intricate their costume became. One lady wore a large headpiece in the shape of a giraffe’s head. Another man had long feathers peeking out the back of his tailcoat, imitating a peacock. This year’s theme was an animal masquerade.
A cream-colored gown, in the disguise of a sparrow, conceals the handgun strapped to my thigh. The elbow-length sleeves cover the tattoos that would alert the nobles of an imposter in their midst. If they knew I was there to filch them off their jewels, I’d be in the dungeon before the first sip of champagne touched my lips.
A feeling of adrenaline rushes through my veins as I pass by different noble couples, none of them realizing how easy it was to get past their guards.
Everything in the ballroom sparkled. Each candelabra was pure silver, with strings of little twinkling crystals connecting each arm. They were extremely detailed, adorned with intricate vines and flowers. They could be pawned off for a decent sum of money. 80 gold pieces each, maybe more if they were a family heirloom…
“Don’t even think about it,” a soft voice advised.
“What, stealing your family’s valuables? I would never,” I joked as Nikolas reached to take my glass of champagne, placing it on a nearby tray and rolling his eyes.
“If you want this plan to work, we must be seen dancing at least once.” His hand held my gloved one, leading us toward the center of the large ballroom.
“Fine, but it’d better be a waltz. That is the only one in which I don’t look like a limping chicken,” I hissed back, following his lead.
As the duke’s son and the king’s nephew, it was easy for him to get me the materials to blend in well enough to not raise any alarms. Incredibly risky, too. Nikolas had been waiting for the opportunity to run away. As the third son in a royal family, his parents barely knew him, and his brothers couldn’t care less about his life.
I first met him in the town tavern, losing terribly at a game of dice. It was the start of a beautiful friendship. He helped me steal, I helped him plan an escape, and we split the earnings.
We danced to three songs, enough for the rest of the nobility to lose suspicion of my presence, when the ground began to shake. It was light at first but became increasingly stronger. The chandeliers swung and the champagne glasses started falling to the ground. All the lights went out.
There was a whirring, and it kept getting louder and louder. It sounded almost like a…vacuum?
Suddenly, there was a light seeping through the windows, but I wasn’t in the ballroom anymore. No more jewels or balls or princes. I was back in my apartment in Queens, my sister waking me up to the sound of the loudest machine known to man. On a Monday morning, of all days. How much worse could my day possibly get?