Yay, update~!! Yay, I'm the first commenter!!

I love it!!! I love character interaction that actually make sense. Makes me soooo jealous. I think in pictures and can't seem to get the right words out most of the time

Quote:
We're on the same boat. In my short story snippets over in my "Random Writings" thread, a lot of times the characters either suddenly went and did weird carp that I didn't originally tell them to do, or they start talking so much and won't shut up... GAH!!! Especially hate it when they won't shut up. Drags on the story for longer than necessary (it isn't called a "short snippet" for nothing).

<3 <3 <3 So sweet! They are so cute together! I loved the mini dance in midnight! Whooohooo! XD awesome job! Hope to see another update soon! =)

@daeva_agas: Well, I'm jealous of your ability to put stories into picture form. Sometimes I desperately want to express my stories visually but I don't have the ability.

great update! so, when's the next one?

@sandstorm: lol.
it usually takes me a while to get these updates up, you know.

well, yeah, i know but its always worth the wait. and its not like i stand around doing nothing while waiting...

@Blurble: Sometimes it sucks because the scene is too complicated for me to draw and I can't find the words to write it down properly. Then I can't do it either way

They were Good, really,
i loved the mini-dance. I mean they did it instinctively together, wow how great the atmosfir it was.
Great one, blurble...

I think I'm going to be a little bit mean to you, and withhold the next chapter for a week or so. But in exchange you'll get the next couple of chapters in fairly quick succession.
Let's just say I have my reasons =)

---

Shadowshed: Thanks. That was what I was going for, so I'm flattered.
Sandstorm: Part of the reason I was laughing was because I actually have most of the next piece ready. But usually there's no way I'd be ready this soon after posting. Nonetheless, as noted above, I'm holding it back a little while because I'd really prefer to release the next couple close-ish together and I'm going away for a week so it's either have a break now or then.

Daeva_agas: Yeah, it takes patience to draw a scene. There's so much you have to include... kldsjffj. So I guess yeah i'm lucky I can write. Still, when you successfully pull it off it's very impressive.

Backgrounds are PAIN >___< I'm on the verge of destroying something big after I finished my first doujinshi page, and the background's nothing but black fill with some smoke (see my doujinshi thread in Spam Haven if you're curious)! I don't want to think of what will happen when start working on the next pages. Not to mention that the doujin features never-before-seen daevas who look like Yu-Gi-Oh monsters, unlike the guys who I currently feature in my sig. Castles + crazy outfits + weird creatures + lots of effects = dead D_A.

LOL, I'm being completely

Because Rhen hadn’t needed to be picked up, Lars ended up at the ball early, and without her.

Instead he was standing near the drinks making conversation with Amalia.

“It’s hard to make them focus, you know?” she said.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it,” he said, “I’m hopeless with younger students.”

“Really?” she said. “Somehow I imagined…”

He laughed. And then excused himself.

Where was she? He might as well position himself closer to the entrance, so he’d be sure to see her when she came in-

Oh, there she was.

----

“Why, hello.” Rhen said, as she saw Lars weaving his way through the crowd towards her.

Neya raised an eyebrow.

“Neya,” Rhen said, “This is Lars… he was the one I told you about, who suggested I come to the ball?”

“Is he the one you’ve abandoned us for during your lunch breaks?” Neya asked. “I hadn’t realized you were so close.”

“Well, we’ve known each other for a… a very long time.” Rhen said.

“I see.” Neya said. She looked back and forth between the two of them, eyes narrowed.

“Lars, this is Neya, I told you about her- she helped me choose this dress and also helped do my hair, isn’t it pretty?”

It was. It was swept up and pinned, with certain tendrils strategically let loose, and it framed Rhen’s face perfectly.

“You have excellent taste,” Lars said, smiling at Neya.

“Why, thank you,” she said. “You’re Lars, are you? I’ve never really had a chance to talk to you.”

He looked abashed. “Sorry, I don’t really make small talk while handing in papers and such.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll forgive you for that.”

“Thanks,” he said.

She winked at him and he struggled to fight down a look of bewilderment.

“Er,” he said, turning away. “Rhen. I was wondering if I could ask for a dance? A proper one.”

“Of course!” She said, carelessly.

“Rhen!” It was the Waltz professor, a teacher Rhen had been close with back when they were students. “Fancy seeing you here! My, you’ve grown!”

“And you’ve retired,” Rhen said. “Otherwise you’d have seen me at the Academy.”

“Really?! You’ve gone back there? I should have guessed. But anyway, what can you do? You get old. Or tired. But still far enough from the grave to ask for this dance, charming lady, if you please?”

She laughed.

“It would be my pleasure,” she said. “Lars here didn’t specify which dance he wanted, anyway.”

She walked off, matching her pace to that of the older man.

---

He intercepted her from the teacher as soon as the first dance was over.

“That was mean of you,” he said.

“What?” She said, half-pouting. “I wanted a chance to catch up with him, I haven’t seen him in ages. You I see every day. And you didn’t specify.”

“Stop trying to justify yourself.”

“It was mean of me,” she said contritely. “Sorry.”

“Thank you.”

“Oooh ooh I love this one! It’s one of my favorites!” She grabbed his hand and then they were dancing.

Because he was prepared, this time- because he had steeled himself over and over- their first dance together was uneventful. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest but this was a fast dance, not a close one, and so mostly the heartbeat was from the exertion of keeping up with all the steps.

If Rhen was an excellent dancer, he was merely a practiced one, after all.

When the dance ended he got her to agree to another one, but then he had to go get himself a drink and he lost sight of her for the next several dances, during which time he was intercepted by two of his fellow teachers as well as some family friends and one great-aunt and found that courtesy demanded he dance at least a little with all of them, so that he was thoroughly hot and tired by the time the musicians took a small break to help themselves to refreshments.

He looked around for Rhen and saw her being dragged out the door. Weaving his way through the crowds, he headed towards her.

---

As soon as the musicians stopped playing Neya grabbed her hand and dragged her outside.

“It’s boiling in there,” she said, fanning herself. “And you’ve been dancing like mad, you need to take a break.”

“I won’t,” she protested. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m used to this, I’ll be fine”

“Still, you need to take a break,” Neya said.

“Fine, fine. It’s nice out here, though,” Rhen said. “Aaah, this breeze feels good.”

She leaned back against the wall and enjoyed the feel of the cold penetrating into her bones.

Neya was watching her, closely.

“What?” Rhen said, at last.

“You tell me what. What’s going on with you and that sorcerer?”

“Huh? Master Aberforth is very helpful, and is an excellent manager of the Resource Room-”

“Oh, not him!” Neya said, exasperated. “The green-haired one.”

“Lars.” Rhen said.

“Yes, him!”

“What do you mean, what’s going on?”

“You didn’t tell me about him.”

“Yes I did. I distinctly remember telling you that a friend had suggested I come here, when we went shopping for a dress together.”

“Yes, but you didn’t. You know. Tell me. About him. You didn’t even mention it at all.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Your friend.”

“Yes, my friend!” Rhen shouted, frustrated.

Neya stared at her.

“He’s seriously just your friend,” she said at last, flatly.

“Well, obviously-“ She paused, as she suddenly realized what Neya had been suggesting. “What!? No! We’re nothing like that, at all! Not even close! Never! Ew!”

Neya groaned. “Oh, the poor guy.”

“What do you mean?” Rhen said, a little offended.

“You seriously never thought of the possibility-“ Neya said, ignoring the question.

“Lars isn’t a guy,” Rhen said, “He’s just, you know. A friend. Who I kind of hated for a really long time but eventually I realized that he wasn’t the most obnoxious creature on the planet.”

“Hate isn’t that far from love?” Neya suggested.

“No, Neya, seriously! It’s just weird to even think about.”

“You’re like brother and sister.”

“Um, no.” Rhen pulled a face.

“Then what? You’ve been hanging out with him an awful lot lately, even if I only just realized tonight that it was him you were hanging out with, and you seem really close. Are you seriously going to say it’s just friends?”

“Neya,” Rhen said, slowly. “I am positive I could never see Lars a- a man. Ever. I knew him when he was a snotty, horrid little brat. And what’s more, it wouldn’t matter if I ever did, because there’s no way he would ever think of me as anything more than a- a-“

“Friend,” Neya prompted.

“That,” Rhen agreed. “He used to tell me I was ugly and useless-“

“How long ago was that?” Neya prodded.

“A while,” Rhen admitted. “But! Even if we’re past that stage now I’m certain he doesn’t consider me girlfriend material.”

“That’s weird,” Neya said, “because I could have sworn, based on the way that he was looking at you, that he most definitely does.”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Rhen said.

“Are you blind?”

Rhen opened her mouth to protest but Neya cut her off.

“Think about it, at least. It doesn’t make sense to dismiss him as just a friend, just because years ago he was bratty.”

“Alright!” She said. “Fine, I’m thinking about it, and I-“

She stopped. Rising in her memory, unbidden, came the sudden image of their dance as they walked home from the restaurant a week ago, the expression on his face as he stepped away from her.

“Whaaat?” Neya said, looking triumphant.

“Nothing,” she snapped, and utterly distracted she fled back into the building.

----

Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, he had been unable to take it anymore and he’d escaped.

He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. He’d just been about to step out when he’d heard his name. And then he’d stood transfixed, unable to move beyond the pillar and present himself.

He was fine. He was absolutely fine, he thought, as his nails dug into the palms of his hands. He could feel himself go cold and hard and numb, from how completely okay he was.

----

Everything was the same as always, she thought, as she downed her second glass of some light fruity cocktail they were serving. It had a little cube of jelly in it, which she slurped up defiantly.

Oh, it was so absurd she wasn’t even going to think about it. But it didn’t even matter if she did, because it wouldn’t change anything. So Lars was a guy. Okay. She already knew that. It didn’t matter if Neya…

Only she hadn’t considered it, ever, and now the thought was planted in her head. That she could possibly have a- a- a- relationship with him. It wasn’t like a real possibility, just that the fact that she was thinking it made her horribly uncomfortable. If Lars could read her mind right now he’d probably laugh at her. Or stop talking to her, that was much more likely.

Absolutely, certainly, everything was completely normal. It had to be.

She could even prove it.

“I promised you a dance,” she said, smiling at him, when she caught up with him on the dance floor.

“Of course,” he said, smiling back at her. He took her hand.

There was no special closeness in the touch, no slight, helpless squeeze of the fingers. If anything he seemed remote. She could feel the distance radiating off of him.

It was a slow dance. Painfully slow. She was pressed up close against his chest and his arm held her steady and oh god she was going insane.

Because for the very first time it registered that his hand was bigger than hers, enveloped hers completely, that his grip was strong and firm aaand there was something wrong with her.

She could even smell him. This late into the evening he smelled mostly like sweat and, bizarrely, like cinnamon. It wasn’t, objectively speaking, the most attractive smell. Although she couldn’t really complain- with her hair sweat-slicked against her neck, it wasn’t as if she was much better.

All the cool from being outside seemed to have fled from her. No. She was a million times hotter than she remembered being before she had left. She could feel the blood rushing to her face, in fact, as her skin flamed from the heat of him.

No.

Nonononononono.

She was definitely going out of her mind. That or worse.

But that was the thing. She had never thought of him as a man. Ever. It had been such a leap just to think of him as a friend. It had never even occurred to her, so she’d been safe and innocent and curse Neya for bringing it up because now she couldn’t escape it, the possibility of it.

It wasn’t even like it mattered, she thought, it wasn’t even like it made a difference, just that she was suddenly so very much more aware of… him. Simply as a presence.

She wondered if she liked him and she realized that regardless of whether she did or didn’t, something had changed, because she had never wondered that before.

---

The dance ended. She moved away quickly and half-expected that he would hold her back, just for a second, just to say something or joke or anything. He hadn’t spoken a word the entire dance. But he moved back without any lingering at all, leaving a wide space between them.

“That’s all,” he said. “Two dances is enough for a night, you can’t possibly complain.” He wiped his hands as if to remove her from them, and walked away without a backwards glance.

“There,” she thought, furiously, “he doesn’t think of me that way at all.”

And because it wasn’t like that between them at all, and because she’d been right and Neya had been wrong, she thought it rather unfair that her eyes were starting to sting.

Ow! What happened to Lars? He got a chance, a really one...

OMG! what a grand chapter!

By the way. In the Rhen attraction meter she's gone from 0 points to, say, 1. Maybe.

I think she probably need 5-7 for the wedding to happen, Aveyond-style. I don;t think Lars will be buying roses.

---

(Agh. I am not sure I did a good job making clear that this isn't Rhen falling for Lars. this is Rhen realizing that it is -le gasp- actually possible for her to fall for Lars. It took her seventeen chapters to get to this point, yes. The next bit should happen a lot, a lot faster.)


---

ETA: also, i wanted a pause because i wanted the sense of time passing/transition between last chapter and this one. and the next chapter will be up really, really soon. and then updates will slow.

OMG! YAY! ...but slow updates *sad eyes* noo!

Ha, funny if seeing lars buying a flower, but if he wants maybe he could make his own flower with his magic.?
And for updates, please don't too slow, please,

This is so good ;~; Like.. the way you describe Rhen's thoughts on finally thinking of the possibility.. it's perfect XD I feel I rushed my 'Rhen looking at Lars like a man' in Rush (rushed in Rush, heh) Finding writings like this leave me itching to rewrite it

Will be looking forward to updates!

.. and I felt so bad for Lars

Goodness gracious, I LIKE slow and natural progression. My relationships (ones I write, not I experience) usually end up progressing so slow that nothing happened or too fast that it's like one of those trashy guilty pleasure romances. Gah!! You write good. I am jealous of your writing skills.

OH! that's is just great! Just when she is starting to fall for him... This was actually sorta sad if you ask me. I hate seeing Lars like this. Poor thing! And He is my fave. Aveyond char. <3 Now as usual I'm waiting for the next chapter!

oh btw,

XD

Leading away from the ballroom were a number of small rooms, filled with mirrors and sinks and ladies fixing their hair. She retreated to the furthest one down the hall and slumped against the stone wall, trying to be calm, her head spinning.

She was carrying a glass, she realized. She drained it in one big gulp.

Then she fixed her hair and checked the makeup Neya had helped her put on, before striding quickly back down the hallway and back into the ballroom.

But when she arrived the dancing was over. Instead everyone seemed to be congregating around a platform near the front of the room. She hurried to join them, as the room swayed around her. Funny, she felt a bit dizzy-

“Oh, there you are!” Neya said, grabbing her hand and dragging her into the crowd-

“Is now a good time to mention I’m a bit claustrophobic?” Rhen gasped, as the mass of bodies pressed around her.

“Absolutely not,” Neya snapped. “Oh drat it, it will be absolutely impossible to get to the front like this.”

Abruptly, the low roar of the crowd subsided, and Rhen, standing on her tiptoes and grateful she was tall, peered out from among the mass of heads and saw the Empress walk out to the platform- dais, really- escorted by guards, in full ceremonial garb.

Neya was jumping up and down beside her, futilely trying to see

“Is it her? What does she look like? What is she saying?”

“S’be quiet,” Rhen slurred.

The Empress began to speak, her voice low and melodious and somehow it carried over the entire crowd, so everyone could hear it clearly.

She thanked them all for coming to the ball. She thanked them all for their loyalty and support. She spoke about the sake of the country and pride of Veldarah. And then…

“This is a ball held in honor of the swordsingers and sorcerer of our country, who nobly dedicate themselves to our service and devote their lives to the safety and prosperity of the realm. Their talents are truly the backbone of support this country relies on, and we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to them for that.”

Pretty words, considering that all sorcerer and swordsingers were property of the Empress. But somehow when the empress said it, Rhen could feel her spine stiffen with pride. Perhaps because that same pride emanated from the empress herself, suffused her words with warmth as she spoke.

“This ball is an annual event that we hold in celebration of these men and women and their inestimable contribution to our country’s continued prosperity. But I would like to take this opportunity to announce, that in honor of fifty years of loyal service by our noble High Sorceror and High Swordsinger, we will be holding in six months, on the anniversary of their appointments to office, a grand festival dedicated to sorcery and swordsinging. It will be an enormous fair held here, in the capital. It will be declared an open-trade day, and a day in which bounty will flow freely. Refreshments will be available, the royal gardens will be opened for guided tours, the East and West squares will be opened to accommodate increased traffic…”

The crowd of people began to whisper among themselves, their voices adding together until they overpowered the Empress’s, excited whisper and murmurs.

“And I haven’t even announced the central event of the day,” The Empress said, her voice rising a notch, demanding silence.

Silence fell.

She smiled. “You may wonder, after all, why I am choosing to first announce this event here, and not to the public at large. Rest assured, they will know by midnight- News travels- although I plan to officially announce it early tomorrow morning. But I am making it known tonight, to this specific gathering, because I wish to invite you all to the first Grand Competition of Swordsinging and Sorcery, to be held the day of this fair.”

At this a veritable roar exploded, as everyone began talking at once.

The Empress waited for quiet.

Slowly, slowly, the noise subsided.

“Ahem.” She said. “I say ‘first’, but it is, of course, an event that has precedent. My beloved late father, may he live forever in the Eternal Garden, held a similar event to celebrate his coronation. I will be offering some of the same rewards as he did. I will also be offering some… additional ones. But rest assured- victory in the competition will be well worth your while.

I dismiss you all to begin your preparations. Further details will be forthcoming. Have a good night- and good luck.”

She swept out of the room, her guards trailing.

Everyone began to talk at once.

----

She was following Neya out of the crowd, when someone barreled into her, and she half-stumbled before catching herself and then a stream of women flowed by and she lost Neya entirely.

She was in a still-considerable crowd, seemingly composed entirely of people she didn’t know. There wasn’t enough air to breathe, either, and she fought the panic rising up inside of her. The claustrophobia was silly. There was no proper reason for her to feel this dizzy and nauseous.

She tripped- in her fall, something had happened to the little strap of her shoe- and someone reached out to support her.

“Lars,” she said. Oh, she didn’t care anymore about what Neya had said. It was such an incredible relief just to see him. Partly because of her panic, partly because in this strange haze of her mind it was nice to see him looking at her, not ignoring her like he had during their dance. She could feel the happiness of it washing over her.

Only… he was looking at her a bit strangely. His face looked like stone, it was so still, but his eyes seemed kind of wide as if he was in shock and-

“What?” she said, self-consciously. Her hand went to her hair and face- had she grown fangs?

Wordlessly he stepped away from her, with a gentle push so she would regain her own feet, but instead she lost her balance and staggered again.

She reached out with a cry.

“Rhen!” He said, catching her. There was something half-frantic about the way he said it, the way his fingers suddenly went to check her pulse at her wrist. “Are you okay?”

“I think so, yes,” she said, smiling goofily at him.

He looked disgusted.

“Are you tipsy?” You idiot, you can’t hold your alcohol at all…”

“Alcohol?” she said, confused. Her eyes widened. “Wait, the drinks were…”

He groaned. Or laughed. Something in between.

“Well,” she said. “At least you’re talking to me again.”

He stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“You weren’t. Before. And then I got confused- did I mention I had the stupidest conversation with Neya earlier? I think I’m really confused. My head is a mess. But why are you angry at me?”

“I’m… I’m not angry at you.” He said, with just enough of a hesitation so she was sure she’d been right.

“You are.” She said, with absolute certainty.

He sighed. “I’m not. I’m fine. It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it.”

She hesitated.

“Lars, what did the Empress mean, earlier? I couldn’t really follow it, my head feels kind of… muzzy… but everyone was talking about it…”

“You mean about the contest?”

“Yes, that.”

“Well, she wasn’t openly acknowledging it, but everyone knows what it’s really about.”

“Really about?” Rhen said, wishing her brain would work faster.

“Well, yes. Everyone’s been wondering for years now how long it would be before the High Sorceror and Swordsinger retired. They’ve been in their positions… since my mother was growing up, I think. And now I guess it’s really going to happen, soon. There’s no other reason to be having this.”

“The winners will get to be High Swordsinger and Sorcerer?” she gasped. The burst of adrenaline through her veins made her head clearer.

“Well, no, not exactly… There are other factors to consider, also, so I doubt it would simply go the winner, but certainly in the course of the competition you can be sure the Empress will arrange it so she gets a good sense of anyone she’s considering. Because obviously any serious contender for the title will be participating in this.”

“Then Lars,” Rhen said, turning to face him. “What are you so calm about? We have to start preparing!”

“Preparing?” He said, blankly.

“Preparing for the contest, obviously.”

“What?”

“Lars,” she said, patiently, “The reason we came to this ball is because it’s an important political event for swordsingers and sorcerers. And we want to be High Swordsinger and High Sorceror, remember? And you just said that any serious contender would be involved in this event. Which means that we obviously have to participate! And do a really good job, too, if we want to stand a chance-“

“Wait, wait, wait, since when do we stand a chance?”

“What do you mean, since when do we stand a chance? The reason we came here is because of wanting to be High Sorceror and Swordsinger, how is this any different?”

“There’s an enormous difference! We came here to build connections, slowly, and also to start just having ourselves out there, in semi-public, so that we start to be established- The first of many steps in creating a network of support, but obviously it’s a process that can take years! This competition is in six months! We’re complete newcomers to the scene, you can’t honestly think we’re going to take on all the established, highly influential sorcerers and swordsingers who will be vying desperately for the Empress’s attention?”

“…We saved the world from the most evil being to ever exist. I’m not sure why this would be so hard.” Rhen said.

“No one knows about that! As far of the rest of the world would be concerned, we would just be audacious upstarts!”

“That’s not true,” Rhen protested, and then paused, thoughtful.

“That’s not true,” she said slowly. “The Empress knows.”




----

Note: My sincerest apologies for how god-awful the Empress's speeches are, especially since I imply in-story that they are quite good. The Empress has better speech writers than I do (point of fact: I don't have any speech writers, although it would be cool if I did), and so I'm afraid you'll sort of have to dress up her words in your heads because I can't write inspiring and charismatic for the life of me.
Okay, so maybe this chapter goes on my list of chapters I rabidly dislike, sorry. Especially because Lars is a confusing moron and Rhen goes from tipsy to sober (and is starting to have a drinking problem oh lord) and yeah okay whatever I'll shut up now and hope you like it better than I do. I kinda wanna stab it with a spork.