The pale sweaty girl sat in her queen- sized bed, her nightgown covered in sweat and blood. The fabric was pulled up to reveal the long shallow slits on her milky white thighs. Her hair hung in a tangled scraggly mess around her shoulders. There was a knock at the door, "Miss, the party will be starting soon, your father would like to see you downstairs," called a muffled voice through the door. "Yes, alright!" Responded the girl, her voice sounded light and cheerful, while her large dark eyes stared like the dead at her reflection in the mirror. She rose from her bed. Slowly, deliberately, she took off her nightgown and washed the blood from her thighs. On her closet door hung a beautiful long sapphire blue dress, she looked at it a moment, running the cloth through her hands before pulling it over her long slim body. She went to her dresser and combed her hair before pulling it into an elegant knot at the nape of her neck. Then she took her time with her makeup, carefully applying creams, powders and paint to her face. When she was finished, she pulled on a pair of high heels and stood before the mirror. The look was complete, the reflection she looked at was that of a beautiful, tall young woman. She took a moment to pin a brilliant smile on her face, her last accessory before descending to the party downstairs.

The party guests where the wealthy and well educated, each and everyone had a part to play. Though it wasn't a masquerade party, everyone wore a mask and everyone knew the steps to this one dance. The girl knew this dance, her mask was that of a perfect blue-blood daughter, and she had been dancing this dance and wearing this mask since the day she was born. She preformed her piece perfectly, never missing a beat, always smiling, always polite, always cheerful. When the dance was finally over and her performance done, the girl returned to her room to stare, once again, at her reflection in the mirror. She let the mask slip from her face. An expression of loathing twisted her pretty, painted features. She raised her hand and smashed the mirror. Glass glittered on the floor, blood dripped and stained the lovely dress, the girl's tears smeared the makeup on her face as she slipped into her nightgown. Glass cut her feet as she walked to her bed and let down her hair. The mask was lost as the girl lay alone in her room.