"Sir Iepho." Called Ilrune. "You have done a splendid job with the festivities tonight. I will have to thank Silnan for loaning you to me."
Iepho looked over his shoulder. His long blond hair trailed over his shoulder as he turned. He had a slim beautiful face and pale skin most women were jealous of. Steel grey eyes that never missed a thing.
"You flatter me, Ilrune." Iepho responded. "You should share a drink with him more often. Sir Silnan is always in a pleasant mood afterwards."
Irune laughed. "Keeping people in a good mood is most of your job."
Irune walked through the open glass door out into the back garden of his town house. The garden has been transformed into an outdoor ballroom. In the centre was an ice statue of a woman watching over the dances; the mother of Ibaris watching over them through the cold months. The long night of the winter solstice was pitch black. Tall pillars were dotted around the edges of the ballroom with blazing fires.
The guests all wore fur coats and thick gloves against the cold. Iepho had opted for a double breasted overcoat in white with silver buttons to match his eyes. Irune wore a short coat in a forest green to contrast with his greying red hair and beard.
Iepho flashed a smile at a group of women who had been sneaking glances at him.
Ilrune watched in amusement. "You must be thinking about your future and taking a wife."
Iepho pulled his lips into a thin line. "I find them bothersome. Tell me, in all your years of wisdom, have you found a way to tolerate the fairer sex?"
"You forget I'm a widower." Ilrune smiled as Iepho tried to cover his wince. "Though as a younger man I felt similarly. They were all wilting flowers I could only stand if I had consumed many glasses of wine, until I found her. The most beautiful flower of them all." He smiled at the distant memory of his wife. "She became the wine I was drunk on every time we met." He placed his hand on Iepho's shoulder. "My advice to you, son, is that you must be willing to traverse the weeds in order to find the most beautiful flower. Standing around with old geezers won't find you a wife. Now go." Ilrune pushed Iepho towards the group of women.
The woman smiled and quickly looked away. They were calculating temptresses who wanted his money. He wanted a simple woman who would take care of the house and raise children without a fuss. A woman who would do as he bid and not question his absences. His ideal woman wasn't an entitled noble who enjoyed these sorts of parties. The daughter of a ceremonial lord with no other marriage prospects would suit him well.
A crash rang out from the dance floor.
People screamed. The dancers huddled against each other as they backed away from the centre. The ice statue was smashed to pieces on the ground.
A woman in a long black cloak stood in the statue's place. Her hammer crashed to the ground, cracking the stone. She pulled the tie on the cloak and it fell to the ground. She stood naked and smiling. The crowd was frozen in shock. She laughed, revelling at the attention. Her eyes were entirely white. She had loose dark blue hair with stands of light blue peaking through like stars in the night sky. The pointed tips of her ears poked through her hair. Her skin was white against the night with patches of dark blue snaking around her abdomen and legs.
"Midnight. May she rot in the abuse." Ilrune cursed.
"Oh, it would seem I'm a little underdressed." A savage smile cut across Midnight's face.
Midnight reached out her hand and spoke words that sounded like ice shattering and smashing together. Her lips turned blue and puffs of cold air escaped her mouth. The fallen ice shards began to shake and scatter across the ground. People shouted and moved further away. The shards lifted into the air in strands, swirling around her. The ice grated together against her body. She turned as the ice formed around her. A deep scar of a symbol was stretched across her shoulders. The sharp edges of the ice sliced her skin. Blue blood seeped into the ice, filling the gaps between each mismatched shard. A grotesque ball gown of ice and blood formed around her. The fire light reflected off the dress making her shimmer like a dying star.
She flicked her wrist towards the circle of musicians on the side. The violinist yelled as his violin and bow were lifted into the air and flew across the garden into her waiting hands.
"Now, this party needs some music!" Midnight declared.
She confidently raised the violin to her chin and placed the bow against the strings. The violin screeched against her instruction. People shouted out and covered their ears. She furrowed her brows and moved the bow to a different string. The violin screeched in a different pitch. She shrugged and tossed the violin. The violin crashed onto the floor. The neck snapped and the strings pinged on impact. The violinist let out another yelp.
"Who needs instruments?" Midnight shrugged her shoulders and began to sing. The words were sweet like honey. Sounds the human languages could never hope to replicate. Each syllable was long and wistful as it rose and dipped. A beauty that you would forever long to hear again but fear the pain of indulging in its depths.
Iepho's hands started to shake. He took a step towards the dance floor. Something deep in him longed to get lost in this sound for the rest of his days. Fear shocked him back to reality. His heart was beating through his ears.
People screamed in terror as their feet moved to the music. The dance floor was filled with terrified people moving in a fast paced current swirling round and round.
"Dump out all the wine! Don't let anyone drink another sip!" Ilrune shouted to the assembled guards. Five men in Volus dark blue uniforms headed off to follow the order. The twelve remaining men waited for his next instructions. "Circle the dance floor and make sure she doesn't escape. Leave the guests. They won't stop dancing till the fairy wine is out of their system." The guards moved off.
"I had a glass a couple of hours ago. The wine is diluted. Leave the guest to me. Make sure Midnight doesn't escape." Iepho said.
Ilrune gave him a grime nod and walked over to the returning guards.
*****
Twelve guards fanned out around the dancers, watching midnight in the centre.
"If you wanted an encore all you had to do was ask." Midnight smiled down at them, protected by the fast moving dancers. The guests were high ranking nobles. She was banking on that fact to keep the guards from charging through them and risking injuring one of them. "On second thought this party is dying with our uninvited guests."
Her skirt flared outwards and shattered into hundreds of sharp projectiles. The dancers screamed as the ice shredded those closest. A few of the guards ducked, losing sight of her. The top of the dress flew over their heads and hit a few of the slower ones.
Midnight grabbed her cloak and waded through the dancers like water.
She ran into the garden, darting left and right to throw off the guards.
The sounds of the ruined party faded as she got closer to the edge of the garden. The guard's footsteps scattered out. They had lost her. Good.
"Stupid humans." She mumbled under her breath.
Midnight ran the length of the outer wall towards a small annex connected to the main house. The door opened as she got close.
A pile of cloth followed by two boots fell on top of her.
"Get dressed." Ina stood in the darkness listening for anyone approaching. The point of his ears had been cut off as a child; he leaned close to the window to hear. He had discarded his servant uniform. "Quickly, Buorlan was clear our exit would only be open till two. Where were you?"
Midnight buttoned her pants and threw the shirt over her head. "The door I had planned to use was conveniently locked. I had to climb in through a second story window and then get to the back of the garden." She finished lacing up her boots.
They made their way through the annex, climbed out of a window into a secluded garden and along the hedge that lined the outer wall. Almoris stood in the arch of the wall blocking the door. He looked up from the timepiece in his hand and smacked his lips in annoyance.
"You're late." Almoris noted.
Midnight leaned over to look at his timepiece. "Actually we're right on time." She said with a smug smile.
Almoris stepped aside and opened the door.
The dead blot slid across as the door shut behind them.