ZP: Christmas ball

ZP Christmas Ball



    “There, all done~ Man, they’re going to be so jealous when they see me.” Anne giggled, gently stroking her long, light brown hair. As she looked in the mirror, she couldn’t help but admire the masterpiece that was her newly acquired sleeveless dress. It was bright red from top to bottom and a tiny, yet very visible blue sapphire adorned her chest. Just below the sapphire, four rows of black pearls helped holding the dress together and just above her hips, a thin golden line reached all the way down to the bottom, which was covered with pearls of a slightly darker golden color. Her silver eyes gleamed in joy while she raised her hand and lightly brushed against her necklace, which was nothing but black pearls. In fact, she also had a single strap reaching up to her right shoulder which was also covered in black pearls. She raised her prosthetic arm, which was covered by a rubbery substance the same color as her skin and looked at her watch. The rim was pure gold, the visor was silver and the numbers were replaced by twelve bright rubies. Holding it in place was a silver brace on her wrist decorated with cyan gems and a tiny golden chain wrapped around her ring finger with two tiny sapphires. “It’s about time I head out now. I’m supposed to meet up with the others soon.”  She did a few more finishing touches on her hair and with a satisfied nod turned around and headed for the door.

    Walking through the hallway, the sheep infected couldn’t help but exchange glances with her fellow members she passed by, showing them a nod and a smile. While some replied with the same gesture and complimented her dress, some reacted in confusion, not used to see Anne act in this manner. There was also the odd bunch that stopped and stared at her, admiring her dress and jewelry, not that she could really blame them as it cost a fortune to make. It was only thanks to her visits in the underground that she was able to afford it all.

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    Once at the location of the ball, the sheep infected showed a wide smile as she stepped towards the entrance, intending to truly make herself a sight to behold. She brushed her dress with her hands and with a deep breath opened the door. She stepped into the hall with her head raised high, carrying an air of elegance which never before had been seen from her. People muttered and talked as they spotted the muscular woman wearing the beautiful dress. It could be said that it came as a big surprise to see Anne of all people dress so royally.

    “Your attention seeking nature is showing, Anne~” Angel giggled with a wiggle of her head while she floated beside the host. “Looks like you got what you wanted. You’re at the top of the world now that so many people pay attention to you.”  The parasite twirled and spun as she laughed before resting on top of Anne’s head. “I can feel it, you know? That intense joy flowing through you as we speak shows no signs of fading at all~ This is going to be a long night, so enjoy yourself darling.”

    Anne chuckled and gave a quick nod while walking further into the ball locale, showing elegance and passion into each step as she showed off. She could see people staring at her with wide eyes, but also others who whispered to one another while giving her cold looks and the occasional individuals who didn’t even bat an eyelid at the sight. However, among the staring ball attendees, Anne noticed a slightly familiar figure standing close by. The sheep infected smiled and turned to walk toward him. “Hey there Emmett. Looking good today~”

    Still staring at the woman, a man wearing a fancy dark blue suit stood, his eyes constantly moving and picking up every single detail of her outfit. “You look hot.” the man suddenly said, making the sheep infected stop and blush.

    She raised her hand and lightly brushed her hair with a smile on her face as she looked at Emmett. “Thank you~ I put a lot of effort and money into this dress, so I’m glad to see people likes it.”  She did a graceful twirl, allowing the bottom of her dress to swing about which made the golden pearls clatter together and as they did, a beautiful jingle could be heard.

    Emmett looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Pearls don’t usually make sounds like that. This is a first.”

    “Hollow pearls~” Anne giggled, having hoped he would comment on it. “All of these golden pearls are hollowed out and inside there’s tiny bells that jingle whenever there’s sudden movements. It’s also got a built in metallic frame that allows the chiming to be so loud, otherwise the pearls’ properties would muffle the sound. I thought it would fit the Christmas theme. It was well worth the money spent.”  She twirled once more and laughed playfully as the bells jingled.

    Emmett stared at the woman with a mix of confusion and curiosity. He has never seen Anne act so upbeat and playful before. If anything, he found her strangely cute. “That dress must have cost a fortune though.” he pointed out, scanning the dress from top to bottom, from her sapphire-embedded black heels to her black pearl necklace. “If you don’t mind me asking, where did you get the money from? I mean, this isn’t the kind of dress you just buy. I’m positive you commissioned someone to customize it.”

    The sheep infected paused for a moment and placed her hand on her chin as she posed. “Got the money from underground cagefights.” she said casually with a glint in her eyes. “Kicked people’s asses and got paid for it. I still have plenty of money left, which I’m going to spend on training equipment, prosthetic parts and food.”

    “Underground cagefights…” Emmett muttered with a shrug. “I figured as much. Not really surprised that’s how you got the money honestly.”

    “Heh, you know me~” Anne replied with a giggle then directed her attention over to the many members gathered at the ball. “By the way Emmett, how do you feel about this whole ball concept? I still can’t wrap my head around how the leaders managed to keep everyone in check. We’re mortal enemies, yet no one shows signs of hostility.”

    “I quite like it. The formal atmosphere isn’t exactly in my taste, but it feels nice to just relax and forget about the war, if only for one day.” the weasel infected replied before shifting a glance over at the door leading to the kitchen. “Also, due to the number of attendees, it seems that it’s given the chefs some trouble. They’ve notified us that whoever’s willing and capable should report to them and help out. A handful of people from both sides have already volunteered.”

    Hearing this, a wide smile appeared on Anne’s face and she rubbed her hands together. “That sounds like something right up my alley. I think I’ll go give them a helping hand for a while~”  With a wide grin, she quickly walked in the direction of the kitchen and knocked on the door excitedly.

    A few moments passed until a tall, lanky man dressed in pure white cooking wear opened the door, looking down on the woman in a mix of curiosity and annoyance. “I take it you’re a volunteer since you knocked? The appetizers and main courses are thankfully going according to schedule, but we have the need for more people to take care of the desserts. Do you have any experience with that?”

    The sheep infected nodded. “I’m capable of various sorbets, lemon mousse and a wide variety of pastries like cookies and cakes. I’ve memorized the recipes, so as long as I have the right ingredients it won’t be a problem for me.”

    “Ingredients are not an issue. What you need should be in the storage by the dessert section. However, before I let you in I have a question for you. What is your experience with big numbers of clients. As you probably have noticed, there is a great amount of attendees this year so you will have to make dessert for several people.” the man stated firmly as he looked down on her. “If you slow down, we will be forced to throw you out.”

    Anne flashed a confident grin. “I’ve cooked up great amounts of food for my friends at New Year’s Eve, so I can safely say I’ve got experience in that field. I adapt quickly anyway.”

    He nodded approvingly before holding out a white apron. “Good, because you will be making desserts for around 150 people or more. That is only if you’re the last volunteer to sign up though. If more people decide to join us, I shall notify you so you won’t have to make as much by yourself.”

    The woman’s silver eyes glimmered slightly once she heard the number being uttered. “150? Huh, that’s more than what I’ve used to. I’ll see what I can do about it.”  With a grin, she grabbed the apron.

    “You’re still free to leave if you think it’s too much for you.”

    A snarky laugh escaped Anne’s lips and she walked past the man, entering the kitchen. “Heh, don’t you worry about that, I always welcome challenges and this is no exception. I hope you got a lot of eggs, cream, sugar and lemons, because this serving will be huge. Some big bowls would also be nice.”

    With the sound of high heels clacking on the floor, Anne strolled past the many cooks and volunteers, catching glances of the soon to be high-quality food. With a satisfied smile on her face, she kept walking until she finally arrived at the end point; the dessert section. Seven cooks and two volunteers were already well underway, working on various cakes and sweets while four delicious looking chocolate cakes could be seen in neatly placed ovens. One of the volunteers furiously churned the sweet chocolate glaze with impressive speed while the second was busy cutting up strawberries for the topping. All of them seemed busy, so Anne decided to mind her own business and stopped by a solitary kitchen desk before turning on the sink, washing her hands carefully. Setting her sights on the large storage door close by, she entered the room and began to pick out the ingredients. The grown woman did several rounds of going back and forth with the things she needed, making one of the volunteers, the man cutting the strawberries, curious.

    “Say, what the hell are you going to make with all those ingredients? Is it going to be a huge cake or something?”

    Having just placed the various ingredients neatly on the desk, Anne smirked and looked over her shoulder at the well-built man. “Nah, something far better.  I’m going to make a lemon mousse from the ground up that will satisfy over a hundred people. I will follow a recipe that my late mother taught me a long, long time ago as a kid. Of all my dishes, lemon mousse is by far my favorite. Now let’s see…”  The sheep infected hummed gently, putting on her apron before opening various shelves in search of suitable glass bowls, taking out every unit that seemed big enough to her. After putting all of the bowls on the desk, she scratched her chin as she looked at them all in deep thought. “Hmmm… Judging by the size and depth, the volume should be…”

    “You need some help? I won’t have much to do after cutting these strawberries, so I can-“

    Anne shook her head, keeping her eyes locked on the glass bowls. “Nah, I’m fine. I just finished calculating the volume for the bowls, so I won’t have any issues at all now. You can however help decorating it when I’m done.” the woman said, reaching out for the ingredients. Now knowing the volume of the bowls, calculating the amount needed for each bowl was a cinch to her. She stretched and with a confident smile went to work on the mousse, but before actually grabbing the needed ingredients needed, the sheep infected changed her mind and instead turned on the four heating plates in front of her. She then procured four big pans and filled them with water before placing them all on the plates. “Almost forgot I needed to simmer some water. Man, it’s a while since I last made mousse.”

    With the water slowly heating up, Anne got to work and begun mixing the needed ingredients together. Each time a bowl was filled, she moved on to another until she realized there was no more space left on the desk. “Anyone got a trolley here?” she asked, looking at the chefs curiously. Two of them looked at each other before showing a hearty smile.

    “Yeah, you can borrow ours. We just finished with the cakes so you can borrow it for now.” they said, pushing the trolley over to her side. Returning the smile, Anne stopped the rolling trolley and placed it beside her then put the remaining bowls on it. She then resumed the mixing of ingredients, working on it tirelessly until every single unit was filled, letting out a tired, yet satisfied sigh. “Now over to step two.” the woman said to herself before she placed four of the glass bowls on top of the pans with simmering water, then proceeded to mix and swirl the ingredients. After twelve minutes, she removed the bowls and stashed them into a nearby refrigerator before placing the next batch of glass bowls on top of the pans and repeated the process until there were no units left. With a satisfied sigh, Anne leaned against the desk with a smile and looked over at the chefs. “Now they should cool down for approximately one and a half hours and I’m done.” she chuckled, wiping some sweat off her forehead.

    One of the well-built volunteers however saw through the smile of hers and realized that she was covering up her level of tiredness. Wanting to help out, he reached into a nearby shelf where various wines were stashed and grabbed one, then walked over to the Harmony member. “You know, you don’t have to put on a tough act to impress any of us. Preparing that huge serving alone is more than enough to do so.” he laughed, then twisted the lid off the wine bottle. With two wine glasses in his big hand, he filled them up and handed one over to the shorter woman. “Just relax and have a drink, we’re allies now, if only for just a day~”

    Anne hesitated, but eventually accepted the offer and grabbed the glass before taking a sip. “So I’m that easy to read, huh? Either that or you’re the perceptive type. Heh, I suppose it’s the latter.” she said with a smile. While she rarely drank any alcohol at all, she decided to humor the man and resumed drinking, believing that she might as well enjoy herself while she still could.

    The two continued drinking for a while, talking and enjoying themselves as they waited for the mousse to be done. An hour passed and Anne had started to become visibly tipsy as she moved closer and closer to the man, no longer caring about personal space. “Man this is fun~ You know, I had no idea you Tamed people actually had the ability to be decent human beings, but you’ve proved me wrong. I hope for your sake that we won’t meet on the battlefield, but fuck that for now. By the way, what’s your name?”

    The man smiled, amused by her low tolerance for alcohol. “Name’s Stephen. So, Anne-“

    He stopped talking when the sheep infected suddenly placed her index finger on his lips. “Oooh, you know my name? That makes things interesting. Heh, you fuckers probably got a huge database on us Harmony members, I suppose? Cool~ We should get that. Wait, we do. Or do we? Hmmmmmm~”

    It was clear now that a few glasses of wine was enough to make her act like quite the eccentric individual and Stephen couldn’t help but snicker. “Tell you what, it’s been half an hour since we started talking, so how about you go and enjoy yourself out there? I’ll bring you back in about an hour so you can finish the mousse, okay?”

    With a giggle, Anne complied and threw her apron on the desk before walking away with a bubbly expression on her face. Now entering the party locale again, she couldn’t help but shake her hips for attention, her cheeks flushing bright red as people stared. Eager to start something, she directed her attention to a scene not too far away which was surrounded by microphones and sound equipment. She hurried over with clacking heels and smirked as she began checking out the music section, trying to find a song she knew. “Ah, here’s one. Hotel California~”  Now that she had made up her mind about which song she was going to sing, all she had to do was wait until the people that were currently singing had finished.

    Minutes passed and once the people singing were done, Anne went up on stage with a smile and grabbed a microphone. The music started playing and her mouth opened on que as she began singing. Holding the microphone with both hands close to her chest, she poured as much emotion as she could into the song, her voice echoing the building. People cheered and held hands as she performed and once she finished, she was met with cheers from Tamed and Harmony alike. Grinning from ear to ear, Anne laughed as she walked down from the stage, truly having the time of her life.

    “To think that the infamous fighter of the Harmony would have such a beautiful singing voice. I doubt I will ever get used to that.” a familiar voice spoke, making Anne narrow her eyes in annoyance. Approaching her in a casual stride was Aaru, still wearing his trademark white shirt and black vest, showing the woman a gentle smile. “I must say, it is truly nice to meet you in this day of peace. It makes things all the easier for the both of us.”

    Anne’s face twisted in disgust. “I have no interest in talking to you. You’re the reason I’m in constant risk of death, remember?”

    The tall man shows an apologetic look before holding out a hand. “I am well aware, but please, would you like to have a dance with me? I know this can sound sudden and out of place, but there are things we have to address. Just a few minutes and you will not have to deal with me for the duration of this day.”

    It was tempting to just punch the man’s face on the spot, but the mere thought of getting rid of him after just a few minutes sounded good enough to her. She reluctantly grabbed his hand with a groan as the two moved over to the dance floor. Aaru pulled Anne close and held her hand tightly as the two did slow steps back and forth in a soothing manner before moving his head forward with his mouth close to her ear. “I recently talked with Hadrea and she told me this; I must kill you. Up until now, I have been trying my best to find loopholes in her orders to avoid any severe harm or death to befall you, but she seems to have figured it out. I just wanted to tell you this so you can be prepared for what is to come. I will no longer hold back anymore.”

    Anne’s eye twitched at his comment and almost tripped over her own feet as they slowly danced, but the man managed to steady them both. “That explains a lot. So you won’t be the nice guy anymore… Well, I don’t give a shit anyway. If you’re to face me, I would kick your ass either way, holding back or not. What you’re saying makes no difference to me.”

    “It is simply a heads up. Whether or not you will handle it is none of my concern. However, you would do wisely in taking what I say seriously.” he said, his tone of voice much colder than usual. “This is a direct order by my master, so I have no choice but to do what she wishes and let me tell you this… When I do not hold back, hindering me from achieving my goal is no easy task.”

    “Again, I don’t give a shit. Just bring it on and I’ll just take out whatever you got planned. Numbers of enemies and strength doesn’t matter, I can take it all.” she boasted, obviously too tipsy to even think straight.

    Realizing this, Aaru sighed and let go of Anne, stopping their dance as he turned and walked away. “I warned you.” he said slowly before disappearing into the crowd.

    The Harmony member stood there for a second before her smile returned yet again, now finally rid of the nuisance. As she walked around, she spotted many familiar figures that she stopped and talked with before going on her way. However, that was until she spotted the military head of the government itself, Darrius Vanguard. A nasty smile appeared on her face as she got a rather despicable plan, one she intended to use against Aaru now that he had openly proclaimed war on her.

    With a wide grin, Anne approached the man and nonchalantly placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, you must be Darrius. Enjoying the holidays like the rest of us I see~”

    “Why of course.” the man said with a smile, putting up a good front as he looked at the Tamed deserter. “And I see you’ve dressed well for the occasion. It’s really eye-catching.”

    “That’s the intention~” she cooed in response. “Anyhow, I have something I need to talk with you about. It’s a serious issue I want to address and this is my only opportunity to do so.”

    The man’s smile and jolly exterior changed into a serious demeanor on the spot, which surprised Anne. “I hope this won’t take long, Anne. If only for today, I’d rather want to enjoy myself than having to think of troubling issues.”

    The Harmony member shook her head and pointed at a spot far off by the wall which wasn’t occupied by attendees at the moment. “We can have our little talk there. This will only take a minute or two, so don’t worry.”  The two moved over close to the wall and once they made sure nobody paid attention to them, Anne leaned in close. “I’m sure you know of Ganagan Yordel, correct? Head of Ganagan Corp. and father of Aaru and Tristan Yordel. Not to mention a valuable trade partner of the government…and a good friend of yours.”

    Darrius’ brows furrowed, not too fond of where this was going. “You know an awful lot about him for someone not associated with his corporation. Some of the things noted aren’t even known to the public.”

    “That’s because I know him personally. Through one of his many, many straw companies.” she said with a serious glint in her eyes. “You see, and I’m being perfectly honest here, he’s controlling an underground league that focuses on illegal cage fights. I became one of his champions not too long ago and he’s grown quite…fond of me. However, after some of our generals voiced their inconveniences with my actions there, I have lost interest and therefore I’m following my conscience and reporting it to you.”

    The military head groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Jesus Christ, of course it had to be something like that. Do you have any proof of this though? I have a hard time believing that Ganagan is doing this behind my back. We’ve known each other for a long time.”

    “P11, Section 5 of southeastern Lower Grounds. There’s a bar at the very edge there called Mano’s. That’s the entrance to one out of the 31 different underground rings stationed all over the world. Just check out that address and you will quickly find out I’m speaking the truth. Alternatively, you could pay a visit to Ganagan’s mansion. After all, that building houses the biggest underground scene of all where the best fighters gather.”

    The man paused to take everything in, looking away in deep thought. Getting an idea, he looked back at Anne. “This is still rather thin. To make sure that you’re speaking the truth, I’d like you to take a picture of the place and area surrounding it. Until then, me and the military force will not take action.”

    “Fine, I’ll do that then. Well, that’s all I wanted to tell you. You can resume the fun now.” she said with a smile before skipping joyfully away.

    Darrius grumbled and waited until the sheep infected was gone before he began walking, heading over in the direction he last saw his daughter. Sure enough, he spotted Hadrea not too far away talking with Cody and Nyra, two of the Fireheart siblings. With a bright smile, he approached the woman and embraced her with a hug. “Hey darling. How’s my sweet daughter enjoying herself?”

    The woman groaned and awkwardly tried to shake her father off. “Ugh, I’m doing just fine. I’m just waiting for this damn party to be over soon so we can continue where we left off.”

    “Lovely. Now, I have a favor I want to ask of you.” he said, his smile lowering once more. “How much do you know about Anne and is there anyone available in your group that could take her out easily? I’ve set up a trap for her and it would be a waste to send out our military forces for just one infected.”

    Hadrea huffed and rolled her eyes. “But the Tamed is not a waste, you mean? Ugh. Either way, there’s many who could kill her, most notably me. Then again, I’m not interested in taking out the trash, so you could maybe borrow one of the Firehearts. Nyra got the best track record against Anne if I’m not mistaken.”

    “Four.”

    “Hm?”

    “I’ve beaten her four times and each time she was saved by Maruku. She’s no big deal and since I have no missions ahead of me as opposed to my siblings, I could take her out. That is only up to you however.” Nyra said calmly with crossed arms. Whether or not she were to face Anne didn’t interest her one bit as the sheep infected was nothing but prey in her eyes. “Even lesser Tamed could take her on I believe.”

    "Four times, huh? Hadrea darling, could I borrow her for this one trap? Pleease? Just this once?That would make your father overjoyed.” Darrius said, putting his hands together as he playfully begged, making the woman roll her eyes and groan in annoyance.

    “Sure, whatever. She got nothing else to do currently anyway. Would be nice to finally get rid of that annoying pest.”


    Time passed and Anne spent her time well, enjoying herself to the fullest in her tipsy stupor as she entertained her friends. Eventually she got a hold of the time and realized that her dessert was ready, so she bid her friends farewell to do the finishing touches. Back at the kitchen, she put on her apron and grinned at the sight of the many glass bowls of lemon mousse that she had made. “All we need to do is simply the decoration. I’ll put on some cream topping while you deal with the strawberries. That’s fine by you right?”

    Stephen nodded and rubbed his hands together. “I’m alright with this. Time for me to do what I do best.” he said joyfully before laughing.

    With a smile on her face, Anne procured some whipped cream from the refrigerator and began layering the top of the mousse. Much to her relief, Stephen had been kind enough to prepare the cream while she was gone, saving her the trouble of doing so herself once she returned. Once she had finished layering every single bowl of lemon mousse, emptying the whipped cream in the process, the bulky, well-built man started carefully placing half pieces of strawberries in a neat fashion on top of it all, giving it a rather nice aesthetic. When it was all done, the two leaned back on a desk and smiled in satisfaction before raising their hands for a high five. “Finally finished. Now let’s hope this becomes a success~”

    Hours went by fast and everyone enjoyed themselves as food was served. It was truly food for kings, they thought, as rows upon rows of exquisite cuisines were served for everyone to enjoy. However, while the food did taste good, Anne was unable to properly concentrate on the taste. Her mind was completely locked into wondering if people would like her mousse at all. Her heart was beating at an incredible rate as she waited impatiently for the dessert to be served. When the time finally came and the dessert was placed on the table, she swallowed a lump in her throat when she saw her bowls of mousse being looked at. It got even worse when she saw one of her very own generals, Keira, help herself to some of the mousse.

    “So Anne made this, huh? I’ve heard she’s a good cook, so this shouldn’t be so bad…” the general said to herself, spoon in hand. She poked the mousse with the spoon, seeing that the texture was nothing different from the usual mousse and with a shrug, dug her spoon into her serving and took a bite. As soon as the mousse entered her mouth however, she paused, taking in the flow of tastes that went into her mouth. It was a perfect mix of sweet and sour with none of the flavors becoming dominant in any way and she could feel the mousse simply melt on her tongue. She let out a satisfied sigh and, upon spotting Anne, showed her a smile before nodding.

    “Oh my god, what the hell?! Anne, you’re a genius!” Ivan yelled, having just tasted the mousse. Unable to contain himself, he kept stuffing herself, seemingly not stopping as he kept helping himself to more servings.

    More and more people started to show their appreciation of the mousse and Anne covered her mouth with her hand, eyes watery as she was hit by a wave of deep relief. Tiny beads of tears rolled down her cheeks and she couldn’t stop smiling. “Thank god…I didn’t fail…”

    With that final confirmation, one thing became very clear to her; This had been a fantastic Christmas.