Celebrating

ANDRA

Andra stared at herself in the mirror, shocked into silence.

She was getting ready for a party. And not only that, she was being ~attended to~. It felt like she was the daughter of a Judge, not a servant girl on the run.

“Sorry about all of the theatrics,” Syra laughed. “Kael can be very dramatic about attending celebrations.” She fussed with Andra’s brown hair, braiding and unbraiding it as she experimented with different styles.

Andra smiled at the red-haired woman through the mirror. “It’s really not your fault.”

Kael had led Andra through the forest and introduced her to Syra. They had found her with Alik, their hands entwined as they shared some private moment together.

Andra figured that Syra was the woman Alik had been so desperate to get back to. And it was easy to see why. Syra was beautiful, the freckles dotted on her face bringing out the warmth of her hazel eyes.

The two lapsed into silence for a few minutes as Syra continued to work on Andra. She had gotten a warm, damp cloth and wiped away some of the dirt on Andra’s cheek from wandering in the forest.

Andra examined herself in the mirror. She was a lot tanner now than she remembered. How long ago was it that Kael had kidnapped her from Castigo’s manor?

“You’re very quiet, Andra,” Syra said.

“I was just…thinking,” Andra replied.

“What about?”

“Kael.”

Syra laughed slightly. “Oh? What about him?”

“Why do you think he brought me here?”

Syra mulled over the question for a moment. “I’m not sure,” she decided. “I can only guess based on what Alik has told me, but he thinks Kael must feel some responsibility over you.”

Andra pressed her lips together, trying not to feel irritated by the statement. She wasn’t a child that needed to be taken care of.

She remembered the conversation she had had with Egan, his question still echoing in her mind.

~“What’s keeping you here?”~

“Do you think he’d stop me if I tried to leave?” Andra asked.

Syra’s hands fell still. “~Do~ you wish to leave?” she asked quietly.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Well.” Syra sighed as she grabbed a few items that Andra didn’t recognize. She pulled up a chair and sat next to Andra. “If you want to leave, I don’t see any reason as to why he should stop you.”

Syra began to apply a collection of strange powders and paints to Andra’s face. After a while, she leaned back with a satisfied smile.

“All done,” she said. She moved out of the way and let Andra get a view of herself in the mirror.

“I look like a Judge’s daughter,” Andra laughed.

Syra shook her head. “You look like a woman of Bellris.” She reached for the bracelet on Andra’s wrist. “Would you like me to keep this for now? It isn’t going to match with the—”

“No!” Andra snatched her wrist away.

“Dress,” Syra finished, looking taken aback.

“Sorry,” Andra said, staring at her feet. “A friend of mine gave me this, and—”

“It’s okay,” Syra assured her. She touched a pendant around her neck. “I understand.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, then Syra clapped her hands. “Now. Time to get you in that dress.”

***

Andra laughed as she spun, watching the hunter green dress fanning out around her legs. “Isn’t it wonderful?” she asked the dragons.

Tiri chuckled. ~“It hardly seems like a practical thing, but if it makes you happy, sister, then I suppose it is wonderful.”~

Andra smiled at the dragon, adjusting the thin straps on her shoulders. “Some of us don’t have glittering scales to always make us beautiful.”

Eithne laughed at this as well, then touched her snout to the silver brooch that sparkled on the dress’s bodice. ~“And this is your glittering scale, I presume?”~

The dragons’ rolling laughter made Andra chuckle.

After Syra had finished getting her ready, Andra had spent the rest of the day learning how to dance.

“Is this really necessary?” Andra had asked her.

“Of course!” Syra had said as they twirled in her room. “It won’t be a celebration without dancing!”

Luckily Syra was an excellent teacher, and Andra was a quick study.

The sun was setting, and Andra knew it was almost time for her to put her newfound skills to the test.

As if on cue, Tiri and Eithne raised their heads, looking over Andra’s shoulder. Andra followed their gaze and her eyes fell upon Kael. “Hello,” she called.

Kael didn’t answer. She saw his eyes move over her, from the soft slippers on her feet to the plaits and curls Syra had put in her hair. She pushed aside a few stray pieces and shifted under his gaze, feeling her cheeks grow warm.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Yes, everything is…perfect,” he answered, and it looked like he had to pull himself back from some distant thought. “You look beautiful, Andra.”

She felt her blush deepen and smiled, dropping her gaze. “Thank you,” she said. “You look wonderful as well.”

And he did. Andra was so used to seeing him in worn travel clothes, but now he stood before her in a pair of clean black trousers and a white tunic, belted in black leather.

The light from the setting sun darkened his gold-toned skin and seemed to reflect off the gray in his eyes, turning them to fire.

Kael held his arm toward her. “Ready?”

Andra looked at Kael, then cautiously slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow.

Her heart began to beat faster. Whether it was from excitement or anxiety, she couldn’t tell.

~“Enjoy yourself, sister,”~ Tiri called. ~“Don’t think too hard on it.”~

KAEL

Kael and Andra made their way through the forest, the bright balls of colorful light that had been hung from the tree branches flaring to life as the sun set.

Kael watched as Andra turned her eyes skyward to admire the display, the lights casting dancing shadows all around them.

“They’re beautiful,” she sighed. She looked at him, and Kael admired the way her eyes shone. “Do you know how to make them?”

Kael nodded, holding out his palm and focusing for a second. A small light flared to life. “They’re one of the first things you learn how to make when you start practicing nature magic.”

Andra leaned forward, completely in awe at the simple trick. Kael willed the ball of light toward her, and Andra cradled it softly in her hands.

They finally reached the fringes of the party, a large bonfire at its center. Music was already being loudly played, and people of all ages were dancing around the clearing, laughing and twirling together.

Kael looked over the celebration, his nose crinkling in distaste. On any other night, he would much rather spend his time quietly with Eithne than tolerate a loud party.

He glanced at Andra, looking beautiful in her green dress.

On any other night except, perhaps, this one.

“It’s incredible, what all of you are doing,” Andra said.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Bellris…the mission of the Freemen. The way all of these brave people look to you for inspiration. It’s…amazing.”

“I can’t take any of the credit,” he said. “These people would have come together with or without me. Besides, why are you talking about the Freemen like you aren’t one of us?”

Kael could tell the question caught Andra by surprise. She let her arms fall to her sides, the small orb of light she’d been cradling floating up into the night sky.

“You have a place here,” Kael continued, “if you want it.”

Before Andra could reply, a voice called out to him from the party. “Kael! There you are.”

Kael watched as Aylea approached them, her cheeks flushed red. He sighed internally as the blonde stopped before them, giving him a coy smile. She turned her attention to Andra.

“I’m Aylea,” she said. “You must be Andra.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Aylea,” Andra replied, giving a small curtsy.

Aylea smiled at her for a moment before she turned to Kael and grabbed his arm. “Come, dance with me! I suspect you haven’t danced a day in your life.”

Kael opened his mouth to protest, turning to Andra.

“Don’t mind me,” she said quickly. “Go have fun.”

“You heard the girl,” Aylea said, tugging at his arm. “Let’s go!”

He gave Andra one last look before allowing himself to be pulled closer to the bonfire. She smiled and waved, encouraging him to go.

Kael sighed, resigning himself to his fate. Maybe Aylea would tire quickly.

ANDRA

Andra watched Kael go, wrapping her arms around herself as soon as he was out of sight. She felt suddenly alone now that Kael wasn’t by her side.

She wandered the outskirts of the party, trying to find someone she knew in the swirling mass of bodies. She scanned for Colmen’s violet eyes or Syra’s red hair, but found neither.

Those who weren’t dancing were spread out around the clearing, sitting on logs, leaning against trees, and spreading out on the grass.

Andra spied a vacant log. She sat with a sigh, resting her chin in her hands. She managed to spot Kael and Aylea in the crowd.

She was dancing. He wasn’t.

He seemed uncomfortable and kept glancing over his shoulder as if looking for a means of escape.

Sheltered by the shadow of the trees, certain that nobody would notice, Andra studied Kael in the firelight.

His tunic was stark white, making his soft, golden skin look even darker, turning his eyes the color of molten lead. His black hair was the color of a starless night sky; it almost seemed to suck in the light of the fire.

She smiled to herself. He looked so very intimidating—his dark hair, his odd gray eyes, and the grim lines of his jaw.

She had been so scared of him when they had first met, and when he got angry he could scare her still.

But beneath the roughness and his coarse disposition, there was a gentleness to him that she had not expected to find.

“Care to dance?”

Andra looked up, startled to find Egan standing over her. He held his hand out to her, palm up, the flame of his Rider’s mark reflecting the firelight, turning it green. She hesitated, but slowly placed her hand in his.

She was here to enjoy a party. ~Why not give it a chance?~

Egan smiled, pulling her to her feet, leading her closer to the bonfire. He abruptly pulled her body close to his, making her breath catch. She tried to draw back, but his hand was firm on the small of her back.

Andra glanced around, noticing that many other pairs were dancing in this way, and she tried to force herself to relax. It was only a dance.

But something in the pit of her stomach churned with a familiar discomfort.

“Nice dress,” he said, smirking.

Andra could smell the spirits on his breath.

“Thank you,” she answered flatly.

“I make you nervous,” Egan said. “Disappointed that your master isn’t the one dancing with you right now?”

Andra stiffened, her jaw clenching.

“What’s so great about him, anyway?” Egan continued, his voice slurring. “The people here practically worship him. And why? Because he was the Rider that got here first.”

“That’s not true,” Andra said. “Kael leads because he’s brave and strong, and he cares about these people and this cause.”

Egan laughed, a sharp and jagged sound. He spun them away from the center of the crowd and toward the shadowy edges. “And you are just like the rest of them already. So prepared to lick his boots if he demands it.”

“Let go of me,” Andra demanded, fear causing her voice to waver.

Egan grinned. “Tell me, Andra. If he ordered you to his bed, would you go?”

She shoved at his chest, but he was much too strong.

The drunken Rider leaned forward, his lips inching toward hers. “What if I ordered you to ~mine~?”

Anger suddenly surged through Andra, burning away the cold fear in her veins.

~No.~

~That part of my life is over.~

~I will never go back to that life again.~

A furious roar built up in the back of her mind, and fire consumed her thoughts—angry fire, enveloping her, protecting her.

Egan suddenly leapt backward, cradling his hands to his chest as he swore. The Rider stumbled away from her, his eyes wide.

A moment of confusion swept through Andra. But it didn’t take her long to realize what had happened…

She looked down at her arms and found that they were covered in blue-violet flames.

A moment of panic swept through her mind until she realized that the fire wasn’t burning her.

In fact, it protected her—every inch of her skin was covered in blazing armor.

And, looking at Egan, she realized that it didn’t only have to be her armor…

It could be her ~weapon~.