Lapilius

Note: Been a long time... I seem to have fallen into a depression, although the fact that I realize it makes it less serious =)


"New suit?" The soft fabric of his sleeve felt delightfully pleasant under my fingers. He chuckled softly as we strode into the ballroom of yet another fancy party.
"You can't possibly wear the same suit to the same host every time. That's why our lives are so damn expensive and you better start working to get me the money I invested on your suits." I sneaked a glance at his face, but I could not read any of his emotions. He always wore the polite face in such occasions; never had I spied even the slightest signs of emotion. I had grown accustomed to going to elegant parties a few nights every week. We would stroll around the room and occasionally dance a few dances with various people. My master would before or after the dance inform me of whom I was to or had shared a dance.
"Then I suppose I should be off." His hold tightened as I tried to slip away my arm from his. I caught myself placing my chin in his hand as he reached out for it. Our eyes met for a second before I grew too self-conscious and looked away.
"Would you like to be off now?" I returned my eyes back to his in astonishment. Was he asking me what I wanted or was it just another one of his mocking jokes? His smile broadened. The room blurred as I was suddenly pulled off my feet and onto the dance floor just in time to join into the next waltz. My mind and thoughts were obliterated the moment he had taken my hand in his and placed his other hand on my waist. My feet followed his lead like those of a stringed puppet in the hands of a puppeteer.

"Thank you." I took the glass of champagne he handed me absently. The music and voices of people were muted slightly by the thick velvet curtains that separated the small balcony from the main ballroom.
"I believe I do have to keep you alive and not have you dehydrated." I turned my head to see him finish his glass. For a moment the moonlight caught the champagne and reflected the light into his eyes, colouring them a mix of orange and red.
"Not just for the drink. I enjoyed myself tonight." I watched him closely as he sat down on the low balcony railing, fashioned as a stone bench and polished by years of use. The sound produced by the touch of glass and stone cleared my thoughts. I swiftly took my place in front of him. He took my unfinished glass and placed it next to his on the floor.
"Glad you had fun." The easiness with which he spoke those words frayed my senses. I studied his still face only to come to the same disappointing conclusion. Everything I held so preciously true was nothing but routine to him. I looked away from him, desperate to break his poisonous charms.
"I want to leave." He rose to his feet slowly, but made no attempt at actually moving. I swallowed and gathered my courage before I dared speak out.
"What am I to you?" He had turned away from me the moment the question left my lips. For the first time I wanted to have the eye contact I shied away from almost every day. "Now I am not even worthy of your mocking glances." I turned and quickly left the balcony and the party.

"Rubin?" I broke from my haze as I heard that gentle voice calling out my name. I looked up to the man standing next to the bench I had decided to spend the night in. The light yellow street lights accentuated his already golden blond hair.
"How did you find me?" I heard him chuckle. He sat down next to me and smiled.
"Remember I drew some blood from you at the Registry? I used it to track you." We sat quietly for a moment. I studied the clouds as they slowly drifted away like curtains from a theatre of stars. "Heard you and your master are in a quite a mess." I nodded, not ready to speak out on the matter. "So what did he do this time?" I looked up in surprise. "Did he forget to buy groceries? Did he force you to get drunk? Did he rape you?" I blushed at the thought but quickly brushed it away.
"No, but he did force me to drink. He raped someone?" Cline turned away his face from me. Thoughts ran rampant as I imagined how it could have happened and especially what consequences he would have called upon himself with such an act.
"Accidents happen, especially in his case. He has not gotten used to the power he wields yet. And he didn't get into any trouble for it." Cline was smiling as he spoke. "Just so you know: you looked very shocked and worried at the same time when I said it. But the Grand Master always gets away with whatever he chooses to do. It's all part of the system"
"The ranking system? What does that have to do with getting away from things?" Cline studied me. I felt his eyes scanning my face, especially lingering on my eyes.
"Your master is the most perverted being in this world. Most masters start off any pupil with this information, but no, he does not. He simply keeps it hidden till I can go and clean up the mess." He rose and gestured for me to rise with him. "Let's go to a more private place."

On the way to where Cline was taking me I recalled the information on the ranking system among the Gemma, the full-fledged deceivers. The hierarchy firstly determined by skill, next by eye colour and as the last factor time. The highest ranking three are referred to as the Grand Masters. Each one of them wears a title, ranking from low to high: Bernio, Rafelo and Angelio. We stopped on the driveway of a simple house, constructed in the new way of superficiality. The old brocade of gold and luxury had crumbled away to make place for the geometric forms and open constructions.
"It is nothing compared to your Master's place, but it is comfortable enough." He put his hand on my shoulder and led me inside. The interior was simple and lacked any kind of decoration and colour. Most surfaces were made of glass if not white or black. He sat me down on the white leather couch and soon joined me with two glasses of water. He took place in the matching chair.
"The basic structure is taught in school, I am not repeating that for you. There is part of the structure that is kept away from basic students. I believe you are intelligent enough to understand this information should not leave the selected few that are allowed to know. The selected few are limited too the people that have direct links towards the Grand Masters, which are: The Grand Masters, their Masters, their Lapilius and their Registrars of course. Can I trust you to keep this all secret?" I nodded, not willing to break the tension his voice had created in the room. "Very well. Becoming a Grand Master might be the dream of practically every ambitious deceiver. To be the best of all, to be acknowledged as the one that truly excelled. To get there is not simply a point of hard work or study. To become a Grand Master you have to be a naturalis grandi. A natural born with high potential." He paused as he took a look at my face. I tried to hide away the signs of feeling lost in his story and smiled back when he smiled.
"I see you are confused. I am sorry; I am getting ahead of myself. You remember when you registered I took a blood sample from you? A simple test turns out what make and class you belong to. There are two makes: Naturalis and Synthetico. It is really simple. Naturalis are natural born deceivers and Synthetico are not, but simply trained to the point that they can compete with the naturals. Each make is divided into three classes, each indicating the potential of the person, from low to high: Rudus, Magna and Grandi. It is not really necessary to know such information, unless you plan to be a Registrar like me, but you have more bright future ahead." Cline's voice sounded painful at the last words. His eyes clouded over and carried a sense of sadness which dispersed the moment he blinked. "Let me get back on the point. The part that is always left out of common knowledge about the Grand Masters. It is not simply a sign of high skill or achievement. It comes with the powers to regulate and reshape society to its very core. Society simply reflects the wishes of the Grand Masters. Now you understand why there are always costumed parties and how your Master seems to be enjoying them so much. He is the only still active Grand Master and therefore he is the monopoly holder on society behaviour."
"So he willed raping someone to be normal and got away with that?"
"Yes, but that was really an accident..." I stared at Cline with a sceptical look. How could someone accidentally rape someone? "His Master passed away and he was newly appointed Grand Master. The title weighed down on him. He was just a young man and everything came down on him so fast. It broke him and in one of his desperate attempts to forget everything, he accidentally raped the boy."
"I still don't understand how a rape can be accidental."
"The boy had wanted to offer some comfort, but didn't expect your Master to go that far. It is hard to understand how that can happen... Have you..." Cline swallowed down the end of his question. "Excuse me, if you have or have not is not my business." I detected a slight hint of embarrassment in his eyes. I could not resist grinning. He had no problem talking about rape and social manipulation but could not hide his embarrassment on a simple subject as my virginity.
"So practically everything society approves or disapproves is simply decided by him?" Cline turned his head slightly.
"Simply put, yes. I believe your ride is here."