An hour passed, and Edward's carriage arrives in front of the chateau. Mordecai no longer wears his blue coat from the morning but wears a black frock coat, as does Edward and Fry. The shimmering of harps play a harmonious race of scales, and that was in the grand hall of the chateau. The gentlemen walked through the winding space that is the hall. They find their way into the ballroom. They couldn't believe how big this event really is. It seemed that the whole entire town showed up. The orchestra and harps were playing a wonderful waltz as the couples on the ballroom floor dance, their bodies hand in hand with each other. The power of love compels them to waltz through the night with elegance. Mordecai feels uncomfortable with the whole entire thing. He sees the whole thing as artificial, unlike his love for Twilight. But he tries to rub off that feeling. If his dream meant anything, he was a wretched sinner, totally unworthy of God's love. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of his friend Tamaki.
"Bonjour Mesuirs! I welcome you all to my father's chateau!" Tamaki greeted. Besides him was his partner, a young lady with short hair, a fitting hairstyle, considering that many women like her did cut their hair short in honor of those who were slain during the Reign of Terror.
"You all remember Ms. Haruhi Fujioka. Her mother once worked for us back in the Napoleonic era".
"Good to see you all again," Haruhi says to the gentlemen.
"I'm so glad you could come tonight! I want you all to have that special feeling that Haruhi and I have for each other".
"So you decided to play matchmaker didn't you?" Fry asks. Tamaki blushes and chuckles a bit.
"Well... just you and Mordecai" he replies, "I know that Edward has that special feeling as well". Just as Tamaki said that Edward's love Winry Rockbell appears next to him, wearing a dark blue ball gown that contrasted well with Edward's red and black.
"Winry! You're looking wonderful this evening" Edward compliments. Winry smiles happily.
"Merci Bien Edward. Madame Fujioka helped me pick it out for tonight. A wonderful fit if you ask me".
"Well, it's just simply marvelous" Edward replies, he asks Winry for a dance, and the two of them waltz on the dance floor, leaving Mordecai and Fry with Tamaki and Haruhi. 'They seem to be a great couple' Mordecai thought to himself. He was jealous. Jealous of the fact that Ed and Winry are in a tremendous relationship. The relationship that he wishes he had with Twilight Sparkle. He shakes his head. He can't get her out of his head! He knows that his lust is strong and he knows that he has to stop. Her beauty is all that he could see. And it's funny because he could have sworn he saw her while Ed and Winry were talking. Her melody, the one he heard in his dream of her, being weaved into the dance orchestra. But in his deep thoughts, he was abruptly interrupted by Tamaki, who introduced the two to two other ladies, invited to Tamaki's ball.
"For the rest of you two. I have matched some fine ladies from the town. And they agreed to share a dance". The ladies present themselves to the men. The lady approaching Fry has long, straight, orange hair wearing a light yellow ball gown. The other approaching Mordecai is almost like him but has red hair wearing a blue ball gown.
"Fry, meet Madame Saori Takabe, she is one of the local milkmaids".
"I'm delighted to meet you, Monsieur Fry! I am pleased to have this dance with you. I hope we can get to know each other by the end of the evening". Saori reaches out her hand to Fry and they too waltz together. Tamaki returns his attention to Mordecai, who is starting to feel a little blue.
"Mordecai, I would like you to meet Madame Margaret Smith. The daughter of a wealthy English Merchant".
"English?"
"Don't worry. She also knows her way through French".
"Oui. Bonjour Mounsier Mordecai" she replies. Reaching her hands out, she asks for a dance from Mordecai. Mordecai, trying to keep his true feelings deep down, reluctantly accepts her offer. And for the beginning of the night, all the happy couples stride across the dance floor as the orchestra sweeps through the waltzes of Schubert, Chopin, and this up-and-coming composer, Strauss. The night continues on, as the merry couples often paired by Tamaki himself were getting closer to each other emotionally, and it seemed that Tamaki's matchmaking worked. All except you know who.
"So Mordecai, so I hear that you are a poet," Margaret asked, wanting to stir up conversation with the sad little poet, who didn't seem like he wanted to be there. But the question puts Mordecai out of his thoughts.
"Oh uh... yes. I am a poet".
"A handsome poet huh? That is incredible. Do you get a lot of girls chasing when you read your little stories". It would seem that Mordecai was getting more and more upset by the minute. She sounded like she was seriously condescending on Mordecai's works, something that he believes Twilight would never do.
"I guess you can say that Madame," Mordecai says, trying his best not to sound offended by the whole question. The waltz continues on and once more, Mordecai could have sworn he saw Twilight. This time, he now knows he's not hallucinating. He knows under all the orchestral noise of others, that melody of his love is still there. But alas, he is stuck with Margaret, but perhaps in time, he can lose her and scramble inside the hall to find her. It would be sooner than he thought.
"I don't know why you would choose the profession of a poet. You don't seem to make a lot of money". That sentence, that very sentence is not something Mordecai wanted to hear. He was never into poetry for the money. But this makes it seem that Margaret was a gold digger, which Mordecai absolutely loathed. "A man should take up a much more respectable profession. You should drop the quill and paper and take up a job as an artisan craftsman. Lord knows we could use new wagon wheelmakers, or how about a rugged but practical job like a blacksmith, or a butcher. That is where the money is at. Well, besides being a merchant. Or, why not be a solider, you should take up a job that will support me?". That was the last straw for Mordecai, who silently but sternly fumes at her.
"Well! Maybe I don't want to take a job that won't make me happy! Especially trying to make me YOUR husband!" His meltdown offended her as much as her words offended him. Silently angry, she walks away from him, but she was going back later. Perhaps some drinks would calm him down. With her away from him, Mordecai scurries through the dance floor to find his beloved. The different colors of silk shimmer through the eyes of Mordecai, but none are the colors that he would know to be Twilight's. From the corner of his eye, he saw a glimpse of purple. He gasps in the belief that he found his beloved. He taps the back of the woman, but it turned out not to be Twilight, seeing how he mistaken purple hair for scarlet red apparently.
"Oh, excusez moi monsieur?" the red-haired lady asks him. Mordecai stutters in embarrassment before running off, trying to find his own lover. A man with blue hair also walks up to her.
"Erza, who was that," asks the confused lady's fiance, who himself is confused.
"Oh, Jellal. I think someone has mistaken me for someone else" Erza replies. All meanwhile, Mordecai continues his search. This time, he found her! Actual purple hair this time, no joking! He runs up to her, tapping her shoulder again. But again, it wasn't her. She had purple hair yes, but not the shade that he initially thought of. Instead of the radiant young woman she saw earlier this morning, she was a little girl.
"Oh, Pardon moi monsieur," she said. Flustered again, he runs off. The young girl's large boyfriend walks up to her, seeing the whole situation.
"Melty, what just happened?" He asked.
"It's alright Hoagie, must have been a mistake" Melty replies. His chase continues, the waltz of the orchestra speeds up as Mordecai keeps looking through the ballroom, from waltz to scherzo. His search goes from one woman to another, mistaking them for Twilight. His night's pursuit turns into failure as he walks back in disbelief. His night of happiness is ruined. But at that moment, he felt something on his back. He turns around and to his bewilderment, there was Twilight Sparkle in the flesh. In his eyes, she look radiant in her purple and and blue ball gown, very much complimenting her hair and skin. To Mordecai, this was perfect to reintroduce himself to the lady of his dreams once more. But there was one slight problem. He lost the words he wanted to say. He is eye to eye with the love of his life, the waltz of the orchestra seems like nothing to him, as he hears the melody of his dreams. He stutters and struggles to come up with the words to say to her. In such silence, Twilight stands confused, totally oblivious to the feelings of Mordecai.
"Uh.... Monsieur. Are you alright" she asks. Mordecai was absolutely shocked. Instead of some gibberish he was used to, he can finally understand her! He wanted to say something, literally anything at all. But he couldn't.
"Alright, alright, I think that is quite enough Twilight". Mordecai looks behind her and sees another familiar, yet hated character, to him. Another wealthy aristocrat from another town. A gentleman with spiked black hair, wearing a black coat with orange bow tie. His name was Son Goku, the offspring of a Japanese Geisha girl and the wealthy French landlord, the other last remain at of the Pre-Revolutionary era having grown up in Austria. Mordecai scowled at his face. He absolutely hated his guts. Not only did he come from a wealthy aristocratic family, but he is currently serving in the local army garrison as a wealthy officer, paying his way through the rank of Lieutenant.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't little Mordecai" Goku says mockingly. "The little poet who goes every day without eating breakfast, the little poor wretch".
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Mordecai angrily asked.
"Oh, not much really. I would be rather abusing one of my tenants at home. I think his name was Broly something. Anyway, it doesn't matter. My father is supporting this young lady in her studies, so I came here to escort her and give her the dance of a gentleman". Goku chuckles in victory.
"But she doesn't love you" Mordecai responds passionately. The fire of love fueling his rage at this flamboyant playboy. "She's doing this because her studies are being paid".
"Oh, but I believe I had wooed her into my arms. Isn't that right Twilight?"
"Uh... Ja" she replied, but Mordecai sees in her eyes that that wasn't the truth.
"You only manipulated her. She would never love you!"
"Oh, piss off! You can't even keep her attention!" Goku says sternly, slapping his face and embracing Twilight in his arms. "Why don't you go back to your little hovel, think of some little writing paper, and starve with nothing to feed you but your so-called love". The two left to waltz as the orchestra continues to play, Goku laughing once more in victory. The music continues, but everything was going silent for Mordecai. His world was closing in on him. He was rejected by her love and mocked by both a substitute and a pompous brat. The light of passion fading before his eyes. Tears started to form, he couldn't take it anymore. Saddened at the happiness and love that would never be his to experience around him, he runs off the back. But not before Edward and Winry got his attention at the wine table.
"Edward, isn't that your friend?"
"Mordecai? Yeah, that's him. I wonder what happened?"
"Something must have upset him. I think you should go and check on him".
"Oh alright". Edward puts down his glass, promising to come back to her later, and followed Mordecai outside.
"Mordecai!" He shouts, "are you alright?" He saw him, tears and snot flowing from his face. His sobs turned ugly. He could say anything clearly, and his eyes were in a bloodshot sorry state.
"M-My love!" He shouts through the sobs. "My love rejected me! I'll never get to hold her in her arms!" He runs up to Ed crying on his shoulder.
"That stupid playboy brat got to her. I-I... it's all too much". It was clear that he was extremely distraught. Edward didn't know what else to do but to awkward stand there and comfort his friend.
"It's... going to be okay. You'll find another lady who will love you back".
"NO!" Mordecai shouts. "Twilight is all I have. I-I-If I can't have her, then what's the point of living! My life is a lie!!!" he continues to wail gibberish all throughout the night. A bit awkward for Edward to hear all this, but he tries to give comfort. For Mordecai, his world views have crumbled beneath the fiery passion of love, and that fiery passion faded that night. There is a feeling that he will never be the same ever again.
-End of Chapter 2-