Jade stood in her dorm room, feeling nervous. Her heart was pounding,
and she was thankful that she had her mask on, otherwise her face would
practically be in flames.

Jack would be coming to get her any
minute now to bring her up to the masquerade ball, and she was
terrified. What if her costume looked silly? What if everyone laughed at
her? Her extreme nervousness got the better of her, and she started to
feel a tickling sensation and rise a few inches off the ground. Alana
slapped her.

"Jade, you can't just start glowing. You have to calm yourself, woman."

Alana
looked amazing. She had chosen to guise herself as a mermaid, and now
she was in a gown the color of the sea, with a petticoat layer of
frothy, foamy white that twirled around her coral pink sneakers every
time she moved. Her hair was up and full of pearl pins that she and Jade
had spent twenty minutes positioning and removing and poking back in
and adjusting and dueling with. Her mask was lacy and pink and looked
like a coral reef.

"Alright, sorry," Jade grumbled, sinking back
to the floor. She shifted her mask up her nose and hiked up her dress,
giving way to a peek of golden slippers, which wound up her legs like a
growing flame.

Someone rapped on the door and Jade scrambled to
her feet, but it was just West. She was clad in a gorgeous, shimmery
green dress cut like butterfly wings. Her slippers looked like vines of
ivy, and her mask was a tangle of fake leaves dotted with a few pink
flowers. She dropped her floral-print purse on the floor and perched on
the edge of Alana's bed.

"Hi, West," Jade said nervously, trying to make sure her skin wasn't glittering anymore. "You look amazing!"

West
adjusted the neckline on her dress. "Thanks. I'm the Ancient Greek
goddess Demeter, goddess of the Earth and the harvest. What are you
two?"

"I'm a mermaid," said Alana, twirling and giggling. She
seemed so effervescent and happy, laughing at everything and acting
girlier than ever before.

"I'm a- a- phoenix. I'm dressed as a
Phoenix." Jade lifted up off the floor a little again, and both Alana
and West reached out to pull her down to the carpet.

West peered through the crack in the door. "Oh. Jack's here, Jade."

She
leaped to her feet and walked with measured steps towards the door.
"See you guys up there," she said, waving a feather-covered hand.

Jack
waited outside the door for her, a single tiger lily in his hand. He
was dressed as a winter prince, and he looked the part in pale trousers,
a white tunic and periwinkle blue vest and cape. His mask looked like a
mesh of snowflakes, coming up from his chin on one side, curling around
his left eye and over his right.

"You look amazing, Jade," he said, presenting her with the flower.

It
was true, she really did look incredible. Her dress had a full and
flowing skirt, fading from pure scarlet at the bodice to a pale yellow
at the hem of the skirt. The sleeves tapered down to points, brushing
the tips of her fingers, and made her look like a princess. The whole
gown was covered with swirls of golden beads and sparkling,
strategically placed feathers. Some hung on the inner edges on her
sleeves, giving her a semblance of wings. Her mask, which she had
created in Herbology class, was one red feather over her left eyebrow
and a collection of fire-colored feathers encircling her right eye. Her
skin was still sparkling, and her eyes were glowing the gold of embers
and coins.

"Thank you," she said, a confidence in her voice. She
snapped her fingers, and a ball of light danced above their tips. She
flicked and gesticulated around it, finally coming up with a boutonniere
of glowing, ice blue light. She threw it at him, and it spiraled above
his head before landing on the clasp of his cape.

Jack took
Jade's hand, and the two of them walked up the stairs to the Great Hall.
It was full of loud music and people in elaborate costume. There were
flappers with barely-there masks, girls dressed as geisha with full
masks of white porcelain with lips and eye makeup painted on. There were
guys dressed as dragons, with spiked masks, and as princes and phantoms
and llamas. There was a long table against the wall, of drinks and
sweets imported from Honeyduke's near Hogwarts, their sister school.

Jade suddenly looked at Jack again, then down at herself, and burst out laughing.

"What? Do I look ridiculous?" Jack asked nervously.

She
snorted again. "No, you look great. But we've essentially come in a
couple's costume." She covered her mouth to contain her giggles.

He gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

She patted his shoulder. "Jack, look. We're fire and ice!"

"Pretty accurate," he said, "since I melt when I'm around you."

Jade
took a chance and kissed him on the cheek. He grinned and bowed to her
comically, his cape flapping. "May I have this dance, Miss Pevensie?"

She laughed softly and took his hand. "But of course, Sir Forest."

The
two of them took hands and began to waltz to the music that was
playing. She rested her head on his shoulder and they just swayed on the
spot. Jade didn't know how happy she really felt until her feet lifted
off the floor and she realized that everyone was staring at her. She
smiled widely and then let herself drop to the dance floor. Jack
shrugged and took her hand again.

Alana and West had an
elaborate, made-up dance going on that involved lots of stopping to grab
chocolate off of the nearby table. Everyone was smiling, everyone was
dancing, and the room was full of music and light.

Jade had never felt happier.