Soul Fire

3.3

Bloom slid the room key and her iPhone- which she just carried around out of habit at this point- into a small clutch that she grasped in her hands.

Bloom walked through the dim corridors out onto the main lawn, where she cut across the grass towards the wing that the party was taking place in.

She nearly stopped in her tracks as she approached the glass ballroom. It was almost enough to take her breath away. Almost.

Warm faerie lights floated along the path, illuminating the walkway and bobbing above her like large lightning bugs.

Beautiful bouquets of flowers were placed on pillars and tables in the glass room, where specialists and faeries mingled and laughed. Their chatter cut through the soft music that played.

An echo of a feeling that might have been awe wracked through her. But as quickly as it came, it was gone, replaced once again by heartache.

Bloom entered the ballroom under a garland of beautiful blooming wildflowers, the smell of lilac and roses filling her nose as she passed. Bloom bit her lip as she imagined how her mom would react if she could see the flower arrangements here. She'd go nuts.

Bloom's frown deepened as she stepped into the crowded space, surrounded by faces she didn't recognize. The room was a swirl of tuxedos and colorful dresses, and Bloom was relieved she hadn't tried to show up in jeans.

Bloom brushed a stray curl away from her eyes as she stood at the edge of the room, searching for her friends.

Rhonan would have noticed that head of vibrant red anywhere. As he stood chatting with two faeries, the fiery red caught his eye, and Rhonan's eyes darted towards the strange faerie in blue. He hadn't particularly cared that he rudely interrupted one of the laughing faeries as he excused himself to go say hello to the familiar face.

Rhonan would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about the earth girl at all since they retrieved her from earth. It was nearly impossible since he took care of the golden retriever that she had unwillingly parted with. Rhonan wouldn't consider himself the type of person to own a pet, but he had grown fond of the dog and had even allowed to sleep on the edge of his bed at night.

Rhonan walked up to her, not bothering with formalities as her eyes searched in the other direction, likely trying to locate her blonde friend. It would have been a nearly impossible task in the crowded ballroom.

"So you can fight an ogre without magic, but mingling in a room full of people is out of the question?" He said as he stood beside her.

Bloom whipped her head towards the blonde haired man in shock. He stood casually, like he'd been standing there for minutes rather than seconds. She didn't know how he had moved so quietly and snuck up on her like that.

"First of all, I hate crowds." She said, noticing the lack of the blue gems she had associated with the blonde specialist. Now that she thought of it, none of the specialists were adorned in that strange black armor with the colored siphons. She eyed Rhonan's tux and turned her attention back to the crowd before her. Her wine-red hair hung in soft curls around her face, and swayed in the soft breeze coming in from the open door that she stood beside. "Second of all," Bloom continued, "I can guarantee you that whatever you thought happened between me and that ogre is far from the truth."

Rhonan shrugged, snagging two glasses of wine off of a platter floating past.

He wordlessly held one out to her, not bothering to make eye contact as they stood with their backs to the window, watching the crowd before them chatter mindlessly. Rhonan couldn't simply turn his instincts off as he stood beside the girl at the edge of the ballroom. His eyes constantly scanned for threats as if he was there on a mission rather than a night off. Rhonan stood before a crowd of warriors-in-training, all of which were having a good time, and yet he couldn't release the tension in his shoulders. The wine did help, though.