Chapter 87─Fun and plotting at the ball

Mishka and Joan sat at a table in the hall, looking at the dancers on the dance floor.

“I bet you’re getting tired of all these daring ladies who want to dance with you,” Mishka commented as Joan sat gasping after yet another dance with one of the female guests at the ball.

“They really can’t guess that I’m not a man,” Joan commented, shaking her head in disbelief.

“We never thought about the downside of this disguise of yours,” Mishka remarked with a mischievous giggle.

“Gillian will never believe it when I tell her. She thinks I’m with an actual guy here tonight because that’s what I had to tell her to keep her from accompanying me herself,” she continued.

“She shouldn’t even think about coming here because there are many wolves here tonight and we don’t know whether they sometimes abduct humans for their own purposes.

So, you should really stick close to me even when I’m dancing,” Joan remarked with a serious look in her eyes.

“What about witches? Don’t they also abduct wolves and humans? I don’t know who they are though. It’s not easy to identify them,” Mishka responded.

“You can start with your grandmother and her friend, Rose. Let’s see whom they’re chatting with. Let’s see who seems to be a close friend of theirs,” Joan remarked as she began to scan the room for Myrtle.

Mishka looked around to see if she could spot Bruce.

“I’m sure that Bruce must be around somewhere,” she commented.

“He must be chatting with someone if he is here tonight,” Joan responded.

“So, you feel that he also won’t realize that you’re not really a man and that you’re actually a relative of his?” Mishka asked in concern.

“If he can recognize me by some of his senses then I don’t think that he would want to expose or question me,” Joan responded. “He will just play along,” she added.

“Are you sure?” Mishka asked with a sceptical frown.

“Most certainly. He won’t embarrass me, instead, he will track me down and talk to me in private,” Joan responded.

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Mishka replied as she began to look around the hall again.

“Don’t you worry yourself. Just enjoy the event. I need the bathroom. Are you coming as well?” Joan asked.

“No. I’m alright. I will just wait for you here,”Mishka responded.

“Great, then. I won’t be too long,” Joan remarked as she got up from her chair and walked off in the direction of the bathrooms.

“Oh, my! I didn’t expect to see you here tonight,” Mishka heard behind herself the next moment.

She turned around and saw Bruce standing behind her with a broad grin on his face.

“Oh, I didn’t expect to see you here either. I’m here with a friend,” Mishka responded with a smile as Bruce took a seat opposite her.

“That’s amazing,” Bruce responded.

“But listen to this, people are already beginning to show a lot of interest in that fashion video that we recorded,” he commented with an even broader grin on his face.

“Oh, so quickly? Who’s been posting announcements on our behalf?” Mishka asked in surprise. She felt quite overwhelmed. Bruce was here after all, but she could not quite believe it.

“Graham and our fashion director, did some creative social media and fashion news advertisements,” Bruce responded, still smiling.

“We should really follow Graham’s advice and make this a regular event,” Bruce commented, looking straight at Mishka’s face.

“You’re really excited, I can see. I must take a look at the video soon then,” Mishka responded with a smile.

“I can send it to your phone,” Bruce suggested.

“Oh, yes that would be great, thanks,” Mishka responded.

“Uhm, I don’t have your number it seems,” Bruce remarked after a quick look at his phone.

“Oh, have I really only been communicating through Lyle?” Mishka asked in surprise.

“Yes, you’ve never had to call me directly, it seems,” Bruce responded with a smile and a shrug.

“Then let me save my number on your phone,” Mishka asked, stretching out her hand for Bruce’s phone.

***

“Yes, there they are now sitting together at the table in that corner,” Myrtle remarked in relief when she saw Mishka and Bruce together.

Myrtle and the foreign, wizard prince were twirling around on the dancefloor together.

“So, you don’t want them together at all?” Douglas Anderson asked as he followed Myrtle’s gaze.

“Not at all, can you imagine, with him being a werewolf, how on earth will Mishka fit into that lifestyle?” Myrtle responded with a sneer.

“We can try to separate them, but if it doesn’t work then it means that they’re meant for each other,” Douglas remarked with his lips set tight.

“A romantic match between a human and a werewolf?” Myrtle responded frowning at Douglas in disbelief.

“It’s happened before and I don’t see why it couldn’t happen again,” Douglas replied.

“Are you going to help me get rid of this man, please? It’s of vital importance,” Myrtle asked.

“By sending him off to an island which is far from everyone that he knows, you say?” Douglas responded.

“Yes, long enough for Mishka to forget about him and find someone else to be crazy about,” Myrtle responded with a smile.

“I must say that she and the werewolf look good together, but I will do what you asked me,” Douglas responded.

“I won’t see what you do exactly, but please try to get him away in a safe way, so that nobody can figure out that it’s us,” Myrtle responded.

“The island trip can be tricky at the moment. We will need his travel documents, so I can only take him somewhere remote that's right here in Canada,” Douglas remarked.

“Where’s that?” Myrtle asked just above a whisper.

“A mountain lodge, but it’s not too far from here. It’s the only option for now,” Douglas responded.

Myrtle sighed and shook her head.

“That’s all that can be done for now. We can take him further away later on. Let them first search for him until they give up,” Douglas continued as he spun Myrtle around in their dance.

“Very well, as long as you’re sure that they won’t find him at all,” Myrtle responded.

“Where are they now?” Douglas asked, looking around the hall anxiously.

“They must be somewhere close by, don’t worry, we will find them and then we have to cause a diversion which will distract them,” Myrtle responded as she also looked around at the other people in the hall.

“But, what if one of them can sense what we’re doing or trying to do?” Douglas asked, stopping the dance immediately.

“What do you mean? Do you think that they possess unusual senses of perception?” Myrtle asked with a frown of confusion between her brows.

“Your granddaughter might have it and the werewolf can certainly also sense some things better than humans can,” Douglas responded.