The graduation party and mysterious invitation

Dunea looked across the dance floor at her friend Tamanthia and tried not to be jealous. It was, after all, their graduation party, and Tam deserved to be happy. It was just very difficult for Dunea to see her friend dancing with a guy while she was assuming her typical role as a wallflower.

She looked around the decorated room, made eye contact with her mother, and a smile. Jodea Valkryst clearly was not her biological parent, but she cared for her and provided for her as if Dunea had been her own. Jodea and Tam's adoptive mother, Sessie Stryvlen, worked so hard planning this party for the girls, and Dunea did not want to appear ungrateful. Life in Flusser's Mill was difficult, and it took a fair amount of sacrifice for the two families to spring for something like this celebration.

Dunea looked again at Tamanthia. The boy she was dancing with was from their school, and, like them, was 18 years old. She thought his name was Tragen, but she wasn't sure. It wasn't like there were a lot of boys who interacted with her, aside from Caeden, of course, but even that was a thing of the past.

Dunea's thoughts are interrupted as she sees her friend abruptly stop, push against Tragen's chest with both hands, and storm across the floor in Dunea's direction. Tragen, smiling broadly, rejoined a group of his friends on the other side of the room amid high-fives, laughter, and backslapping.

"That little prick!" fumed Tamanthia, as she pulled up a chair next to Dunea.

"What happened? I saw you push him away."

"Did you see him grab my ass and try to stick his tongue in my ear?" asked Tamanthia, in response.

"Nope. Afraid I missed that," said her friend. "Getting a little too friendly, was he?"

"I'll say!" responded Tam, with a frown. "I thought he was being sweet in asking me to dance, but I should have known better. He was just another perv, looking to be able to brag to his buddies about 'doing it' with an Elven girl. Right before he tried to tongue my ear, he whispered, 'Is it true that your body glows in the dark when you orgasm?' And then he rubbed his crotch against me, and I could feel him getting hard right there on the dance floor!"

Dunea put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tam. But at least you have boys who want to dance with you -- even if it is to satisfy some magical fetish. The only ones who pay any attention to me tend to be talking to me on a dare." Her eyes glance toward the door, longingly.

As if reading her friend's mind, Tam says, "So no sign of Caeden?"

Sighing, Dunea says, "No, and I didn't really expect him to come. His parents made it pretty clear what they think of me."

Out of all the boys at their school, Caeden was the only one Dunea really connected with. His Goth-like appearance and personality suited Dunea's Underdark heritage quite well, and when their friendship began to develop into something more, she thought her days of lonliness and being an outcast were finally behind her.

All of that changed several months ago when she and Caeden were sitting together one evening in his backyard. It was a beautiful night. He had finally worked up the courage to kiss her several weeks ago, and when he leaned over to kiss her that night, it started off just like all the other times their lips met. Something about the magic of this particular night was different, though, and it was as if they couldn't pull their mouths off each other. They kissed repeatedly and passionately, touching tongues and delighting in each other's sweet taste. When Caeden's hand made its way to her breasts, Dunea didn't even think of protesting. Instead, she reached between his legs and felt his hardness beneath his pants -- something she was sure she would never do with any man.

They made out that way for what could have been years or seconds -- time lost all meaning. It stopped when Caeden's mother came outside to check on them, and screamed as if she had just seen a brutal . From that point forward, Caeden had been prohibited from seeing Dunea, and she had to endure the humiltation of hearing his father rant and rave to Dunea's adoptive parents about their "brazen hussy spider-worshipping half-breed" trying to corrupt their fine, upstanding son.

Tam pulled her friend in close. "Don't stress about it, Sis... I'm sure he would be here if he could."

Dunea nodded, sadly and was about to respond when Tam said, "Look at that man over there who is looking at us. Do you know him?"

Tam looked and saw a middle-aged man looking at them with profound interest.

"I never saw him before in my life," she said. "I wonder who invited him."

Seeing that they have noticed him, the man approaches the girls and bows. "Good evening, ladies. Allow me to congratulate you on your graduation and the beginning of your adult lives."

Dunea and Tam allow him to take their hands and kiss them, formally. They both look at each other and suppress giggles; they are not used to being treated with such courtesy.

"My name is Gorheap, but who I am is not important. I am but a humble messenger."

Reaching into his cloak, he withdrew two envelops and handed one to each of the girls. "I bring you these on behalf of someone who has taken an interest in each of you for quite some time but has been waiting until now to be able to make himself known to you. Please accept these invitations to the Spring Festival, two weeks from today. I hope you will each be able to attend."

The girls open the envelops and gasp in unison. "The Spring Festival? At the Royal Palace?" asks Tamanthia, in disbelief.

"The very same," responds Gorheap. "I also have a graduation gift for you on behalf of my employer; something to help you get ready for the event." Again, he reached into his cloak and this time withdrew two small leather bags and handed one to each of the ladies. They open the bags and stare, open-mouthed. The gold pieces in each bag are easily more than what each of their fathers could earn in six months!

"Who is this who sends such extravagent gifts?" asks Tamanthia.

"He will make himself known to you at the Festival. For now, please accept his -- and my -- best wishes and congratulations."

With that, Gorheap makes one last bow and departs, leaving the girls looking at each other in wonder.

"The Spring Festival!" said Dunea, breathlessly. "Only the wealthiest and most influential people in the Kingdom are invited there! I never dreamt I would set foot in the Palace, let alone be invited to the Festival!"

"Whoever could our mysterious benefactor be?" asks Tamnathia. "And what is this interest in us that he has?"

"Come! We must tell our parents right away," says Dunea. "They will be so excited."

"Will they?" wonders Tamanthia. "There is something rather suspicious about accepting an invitation and such money from a total stranger. Perhaps they would caution us against going."