War Of Men

Arcane

When the ball had started, Arcane had expected a lot of attention. Instead, this attention was directed at Merari and Sutoku, who were catching up. A ring of people not so subtly formed around the three of them.

'And then he was all like "I don't think you'd die," which is just insulting, you know,' recounted Merari, earning a laugh from the crown prince.

'I actually saw Basil Zevrain the other day,' said Sutoku.

'Oh, how are they? I still can't believe they didn't show me how to catch a squirrel,' sulked Merari.

'They got rabies...'

'Oh...'

'Yeah, it was pretty sad,' commented Sutoku, 'They're still suffering from a weakened immune system. They also now have a phobia of squirrels and acorns.'

Arcane decided to slip away and was immediately approached by a man all in white.

'Miss Bay, it's a pleasure-'

'-to be in my presence, I know, you're welcome,' she irritably replied. She walked off, then realised that meeting new people was the point of the ball. She was fed up though, the only people she could trust not to be fake were old friends and other religious figures. Neither of those groups were especially large.

The next duo of girls that approached her, she actually gave a chance.

'Ponyèva, we just wanted to say you look lovely.' Already, they were heading away which made Arcane prefer them to others. Even if they were sucking up to her, they didn't force their presence onto her.

'Wait.' Instantaneously, she regretted it, but she forced herself to smile. 'What are your names?'

Arcane longed to roll her eyes at their puppyish excitement. 'Oh, I'm Daffodil and that's my girlfriend, Vienne.'

'Nice.' Arcane never knew what to say in response to introductions. She couldn't really respond with her own name, they'd know that already. Normally she might compliment Vienne's name, but then Daffodil might be insulted.

'Are you enjoying the party?' she awkwardly asked.

'Oh, very much so,' declared Daffodil.

'The music is wonderful. We're just disappointed you're not performing, Ponyèva.'

She'd thought about it. But she'd said she'd socialise like everyone else in the end. That had been a mistake.

The conversation died and Arcane moved on. Surely there must be some people at court who weren't complete bores. The Chèr, Merari, Medea... Had religion really snatched them all up? Sure felt like it sometimes.

She pushed through the room, searching for any familiar face. Hundreds of bodies waltzed around her. Trying to avoid skirts was like a new horrible party game. She wasn't quite sure how she'd managed to end up on the dancing floor, but there seemed to be no leaving. She felt like she was drowning, buried under waves of dancing couples.

Nobody parted for Arcane. It seemed the couples were too entangled in their own love stories to notice an Eseterrian. Usually it would have been a blessing. She hated always being recognised. But right now she felt like she was suffocating from the heat of all the spinning bodies.

Something pressed into her lower right back, a sharp pain traveled through her spine. She could already feel warm blood trickling down her back. Still in shock, her knees buckled below her.

For a moment, she wanted to scream. She was scared; was she dying? Why was nobody helping her? Then, as if on cue, she heard the faint noises of shouts and screams and felt the stomping of feet. She realised she was on the floor; she'd slammed onto her face. A stabbing sensation spread through her forehead and again.