A tap.

Was someone really making a tapping sound?

She listened carefully.

Drums?

Was somebody playing the drums but why would she hear them here?

Clearing out everything else, she realized it wasn't a tapping or a drumming sound.

It was the sound of one hundred footsteps.

"Chalice!"

She snapped her eyes open and gasped, her gaze rested on the gray ceiling. Her heart was beating so fast and cold sweat was all over her.

Chalice sighed, "Once one, always one huh?"

As she sat up, she noticed that she had the window open. Wrapping her scarf around her neck, Chalice leaned on the window sill.

"It's probably a bit too early in the morning" she thought to herself.

Chalice spent a few minutes to point out if there was somebody outside of the room. After confirming that everybody in the household was asleep, she stepped on the window sill and jumped down, landing safely and quietly on the ground.

It seemed like nobody was awake at the moment. Chalice took this as a chance to familiarize herself with the place and if possible, discern a route to leave when she had the opportunity.

"There's no way I'm staying here" Chalice mused. She didn't liked being chained down in one place. She still wanted to fly even if the flock wasn't with her. "The problem is, how can I escape?"

"You know, if you try to get along with your brother, you might get the freedom you want" Chalice's other consciousness told her.

"Hmph, I don't even need a brother. I lived without one" Chalice spat in her mind. "Besides, I don't want anyone controlling me"

With that, her other conscious self didn't respond and left her be. Chalice wandered around the place.

It was a dump of different things, some were broken and some appeared to still be functional. There was even this wild idea she came up that even people get dumped here. If it was true, she still had to find out.

Chalice recognized the path she was on. It was the same road she used when she first entered the place. An image of the strawberry blonde child popped in her head.

To the ravenette, the girl was oddly familiar. Chalice knew she saw her before but couldn't remember where.

Just when she decided to try to search where the girl lived, Chalice turned her heel at breakneck speed.

Someone's moving out there.

Chalice took notice of the cloud of dust left by the unknown identity. She sensed there was only one there but that person could have some pals who concealed their aura.

"I don't even like surprises" Chalice sighed. Her right hand adjusted the scarf and a few of her fingers held the red fabric.

She was about to take a defensive stance and turned around. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing" Feitan replied.

A tick mark appeared on her forehead. She got pissed off early in the morning.

"You should get inside when the Sweeper's out"

"Sweeper?" There was something wrong with her imagination. "You mean-?"

"No, not that cleaner type of sweeper" Feitan shook his head.

Excited gibberish filled the air. Chalice glanced and caught a glimpse of a tall man with a hood and an axe.

Feitan turned his heel. "Well as long as you're not within five meters, he won't sweep you away"

Chalice gave one last look and was about to follow when she heard a distant crashing sound.

"Itai~"

Her eyes narrowed down when Chalice noticed the little girl she was thinking about was in the range of the Sweeper.

The man towered over the girl. "Mister, is there something wrong?"

Ignoring her question, he raised the axe and she sat there frozen in terror until Chalice arrived in time to drag her away.

"Get on your feet" Chalice stood up. "Leave"

"E-Eh?"

The ravenette had to turn around and grab the arms of the man who was trying to chop her down while muttering a curse in annoyance.

His strength was overwhelming which led her to decide that she had to use it until she realized the head and the hood flew off from the body, a petrified scream escaping the strawberry blonde child's lips.

"O-Oi Feitan! You didn't have to do that in front of her!" Chalice complained before she knelt down to soothe and comfort the kid.

"How troublesome" Feitan grunted before letting his sword disappear.

"Oh man, I want to freaking ******* that piece of **** " Chalice screamed in the depths of her mind.

"Nee-chan, I'm okay" the little child smiled.

"As if you really are" Chalice thought before she knelt down to match the kid's level of eyesight. "Want me to take you home?"

"N-no thank y-you!" The little girl stammered. "I just live nearby"

"Oh?" Chalice raised an eyebrow as she followed where the child's finger was pointing at.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

The little girl nodded and seconds later, she felt Chalice's cold fingers (both the middle and pointer finger together) on the side of her neck.

The child's eyes caught a glimpse of a small smile on Chalice's face but it radiated with intense intimidation and she wasn't sure if it was intended or not. "We've met before haven't we?"

A moment of silence reigned in the air.

"When you first came here yeah" she responded.

"Nothing happened before that?" Chalice emphasized.

"Nothing happened" she replied.

Chalice stared at her for a few more seconds before standing up and helping the girl up as well.

"What's your name by the way?" Chalice asked.

The girl lifted her chin to lock her eyes with the lady. "Aries. My name's Aries! Y-You?"

"Chalice Deamonne"

They parted ways afterwards as Chalice followed Feitan back to her prison.

The introduction of their names - of Aries and Chalice's - names made one thing crystal clear:

It was truly a Masquerade Ball.