Love, Lies & Legacy- chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
"Let’s talk at the patio. You will love it there," Aunt Marguerite said while escorting me to the patio. The patio was spacious with big cabanas and a swimming pool the shape of what looked like a kidney bean. The patio overlooked the lush green hills and just west from where I was standing was a lake with a small jetty. Aunt Marguerite was right; I love the patio and my castle.
"Sit down," she gestured to a white chair that stood beside a glass tea table. A man wearing a black suit came with a tea and assortments of biscuits and pastries on a 3 tier serving plate.
"So what do you want to know?" asked Marguerite while putting 2 lumps of sugar into her tea.
"Why did the Masenfer family stop sending a representative to the ball? Why did they exclude themselves from Eternelle Situation De Trio?" I asked, eager to know the answer.
"You need to promise me that you would not tell anybody about this," she said seriously. I nodded to her, swearing my life on it.
"100 years ago, we were a very powerful and influential family. We literally ruled Eternelle Situation De Trio. But there was a man, Alexander Cuza, who envied our power and was not satisfied with the ruling of your great great-grandfather, Theodore. They had this big fight, which believed to be the cause of death to Theodore's wife, Celestina. He was certain that Alexander killed his wife out of revenge," she said while crossing her legs.
"Did Alexander really kill her?" I asked boldly.
"He was never convicted for the murder. Some people believed that Alexander had nothing to do with it and that Theodore just pointed the finger to the person that he hated,"
"Then what happened?"
"Theodore took it hard. That is why he forbade all his children or anybody from the family to become a member of Eternelle Situation De Trio. He was afraid that someone else in family would get hurt. Ever since that incident, the Masenfers and the Cuzas were never at peace with each other," she explained.
"Now I get it. But did you say Alexander Cuza? Isn't Annaliese's last name is Cuza?" I asked, trying to make sense of everything.
"Yes it is. Your mother and Annaliese met when they were 12 and went to the same school together. They both knew about the fight between their families so they decided to keep their friendship a secret. I only found out about it when your mother was 18," she said with a smile, apparently amazed by my mother's secrecy.
"All right, the other thing is, why introduce the Masenfers now? After almost a millennium without a trace," I asked.
"Eternelle Situation De Trio is in a fragile state right now. Annaliese is sure that if the next generation does not do well, there will be no more Eternelle Situation De Trio. Annaliese and I believed that it is time for the return of the Masenfers to make things right at the society," she said confidently.
"So you want me to go to the ball, make my introduction, which I was supposed to do last year and smooth things out for the Eternelle Situation De Trio. On top of that, you want me to bring back the dominant legacy of the Masenfer family."
"Yes, that is exactly want I want you to do. But remember, it is your choice whether you want to do it or not. Truthfully, I would have loved to go to the Eternal ball. You get to dress up in exquisite gowns, eat delicious food; dance the whole night threw with your escort…" she said sincerely.
"An escort?" I asked instantly.
"Everyone who attends the Eternal ball brings an escort. It is practically tradition," she said, noticing my sudden interest. "There is one thing you should know about the Eternal ball. Every year, a family is chosen to host the party. The selected family has to plan the whole ball. This year, the Cuzas were chosen. That means Annaliese planned the whole ball this year. You are lucky if you go, Annaliese is a fantastic party planner."
After hearing everything about my family, I felt like it was my responsibility to bring back the Masenfer name. Mum would want me to do it. It's not only about the Eternal ball; it's the family name and the society.
"Fine, I will go. When is it?" I asked with a smile. Aunt Marguerite was a little startled at my sudden answer.
"It is in one week. I will go through all of the details with you," she said happily.
"What about an escort? I only know a few people from other families," I said awkwardly.
"Don't worry, those few people will be more than enough."
The first person that entered my mind when she said that was Jesse. He is the only person I know that is allowed to go to the ball. This made me think; maybe Jesse is acting a little off because of the ball. I really hope that after the ball, when Jesse escorts me, everything will go back to normal.
"Since you are going, there is something you will need to enter the Eternal ball. Come with me," she said as she stood up. I just followed her orders and walked behind her, trying to catch up. We walked up the stone stairway and stopped in front of a huge painting of a handsome old man set on a dark green tiled wall.
"That is your great-great-grandfather, Theodore Masenfer. He was quite a man back then," she said with a smirk. Aunt Marguerite then placed her palm on one of the dark green tiles. The tiled glowed from the inside and turn over to show a sequence of numbers.
"Since you are old enough, I'll tell you the password. If you noticed that every family member of the Masenfers got married on one particular day," she said with a raised eyebrow.
"September the 25th," I said immediately. That was the mum and dad's anniversary.
"Smart girl. That's the password," she said while pressing the numbers 2509. Then the ceiling started to open and the huge painting went up. That startled me a bit; it felt like my beautiful castle doubles as an underground meeting room. Aunt Marguerite stepped inside the hidden room, followed by me.
The thing that made me almost faint was the glass cupboard full of jewelry in every color you could imagine. From necklaces, tiaras, bracelets, rings, chokers and broaches. There were sparkling limpid diamonds, sapphires that resemble the color of the night, rubies the color of vermilion, amethyst the color of pure lilac and many more. It seemed like I was standing in front of the crowned jewels of
“I have never seen this much of jewelry," I said while putting my hands over my mouth.
"The women in our family have a fetish over jewelry. It's addictive, irresistible and inherited. You know, you can pick out anything you want to wear at the Eternal ball," she said with a smile.
"Seriously?" I asked.
"Yes but there is one piece that you will have to wear if you want access to that ball," she said while walking to the end of the room. She pressed her palm on the side of the tiled wall and the walls opened up like curtains from a Broadway show. Lying on a black velvet cushion was what looked like a pendant. It was gold with a lion in the middle. The lion's eyes were plated with red stone while the claws was plated with green stone.
"That my dear is the Masenfer crescent. It has been in our family for a very long time. Every family in Eternelle Situation De Trio has their own crescent as a symbol of their family."
"I have to wear that very delicate piece of jewelry to the ball?" I asked, wondering was I even worthy to wear such a historical piece.
"Yes. Usually girls wear it as a necklace but I was thinking maybe this time you could wear it as a broach. What do you think?"
"Yeah, that would be great," I said, thinking of the crescent placed proudly between my cleavage of my deep red corset Cavalli gown.
"You do have 2 dresses?" she asked suddenly.
"Why do you need 2 dresses? Isn't one enough?" I asked naively.
"Following the tradition, every girl needs 2 dresses. One is for the introduction and the eating ceremony. The other dress is for the dance ceremony. You teenagers nowadays call it an after party. For the past 80 years or so, the girls usually wore a long sophisticated gown for the opening and a sexy short dress for the dance ceremony, " Aunt Marguerite said while sitting down on one of the black sofas, set in the middle of the room.
"Great, I only have my long red Cavalli gown. What am I going to wear to the after party?” I said while sitting next to her.
"Roberto Cavalli, you have nice taste. I think there is only one fashion house that can make a one of a kind short sexy dress. I'll book an appointment with Dolce & Gabbana for tomorrow. I will pick you up after brunch," she said while flipping open her limited edition LG Prada cell phone.
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