Prologue, Part 2: Motherly Advice

                                    

                                          
Okay.....this time I'm going to do it! Mason thought to himself as his hand carefully grasped the ornate doorknob leading to the castle's kitchen. Even from the other side, he could already detect the delicacies that his mother—Lady Amber Ladair—was creating in preparation for Visage Eve. In particular, the scent of cake batter filled his nostrils, and the sounds of sizzling stoves, humming microwave ovens, and whirring blenders regularly reached his ears. 
Thoughts of doubt began creeping in. At the last moment, before he could turn the knob and throw the kitchen door open, he pulled his hand away, turned in the other direction, and started to walk away. Perhaps it would be best if he held off on asking for his mother's advice for a few hours; after all, she did sound rather busy. But just when he was about to make up his mind to seek out his older brother Theo instead, his mind ended up drifting back to a conversation that he and his mother had a few nights back. One piece of advice in particular stuck out to him: 
If there is anything troubling you.....you can talk to me. You are my child.....and I could not imagine spending my life raising anyone else. I will drop everything to listen to you whenever you wish.....you have my word.
It was this recollection that changed Mason's thinking for the better. After all, time was always moving, and it never stopped for anyone. If he missed out on this opportunity, it would likely end up haunting him for the rest of his life. So, he doubled back and entered the kitchen. 
The castle's kitchen was a wide, cluttered area akin to most other kitchens in the outside world, though this one was bigger, had a mostly black and red color scheme—right down to the appliances—lighting that was low but still bright enough for Amber to get work done, and a dining nook at one end that held a circular table and four chairs, one for each member of the royal family. The castle also had a much larger banquet hall for when they hosted multiple guests, but that was located elsewhere. 
Lady Amber Ladair had just placed the finishing touches on a towering, multi-layer cake with red batter coloration and black frosting lining all of its edges. Though she already wore her black Visage Eve celebration dress, she had thrown a cooking apron over it to prevent food stains. 
The cake's sides were splattered with small, colorful, uniquely-shaped sprinkles: black bats, white pairs of fangs, and a few dark roses. At its peak, a faux, edible version of the Bloodstone crowned the dessert masterpiece; this "prop" was actually just a strawberry with all of its outer seeds taken out and then cut slightly into a more circular shape. 
When Amber saw that her son had entered the kitchen, she quickly set the sprinkles shaker to the side and ran up to him, pulling him into an embrace so firm that you would've sworn that she hadn't seen Mason in ages......even though their last interaction had taken place just the previous night. 
"Mason! Good evening, sweetie!" she greeted cheerfully. "Did you get a good day's sleep?"
"Yes, Mom."
"Oh, I can hardly believe it.....my baby boy's almost all grown up. You know, you'd think that, after going through this once before already—with your older brother Theo—I'd be ready for it again when your time came around. .....But I'm not."
The two of them split, and Mason shrugged. "Well, everyone has to loosen their grip eventually."
Amber nodded and sniffled, doing her best to keep the tears of pride back. "Yes.....yes, I get that. I just never thought this moment would come so fast.....where have all the years gone?" But then, upon noticing the uncertain look on Mason's face, she took a deep breath and composed herself. "Is something wrong? You know you can tell me anything, right?"