Althea

Fireflies and Dancing

Brynhilde: powerful woman
Origin: Teutonic

Solomon escorted me to the grandest of all the ballrooms we had visited earlier that day. Before, it had been magnificent with floors of polished white granite and walls inlaid with silver and a massive crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling artfully painted to resemble the setting sun. It was the only room I'd seen with windows, and they were purely decorative crystal, continuing the pattern shown on the walls.
Now, it was truly glamourous. Vines sprouted brightly coloured yellow and orange flowers hung from every inch of the ceiling and lightning bugs flitted in and out from between the strands. A string quartet played sweet melodies while a songstress crooned at the party goers. At the head of the room stood the high table. The Empress sat there surrounded by her nobles.
On the far sides of the room rows of tables were set up, with sumptuous platters of roasted vegetables and many unnamable desserts all lined up almost begging to be eaten.
“No meat?” I asked in a hushed whisper, gesturing to the tables. Solomon looked repulsed by the question.
“We do not eat those who are considered kin. Or at least very distant cousins. However, we do eat freely of their offerings such as milk and honey. We look after them, they sustain us.” I nodded. A stately man dressed in robes of purple strode up to us, an air of arrogance about him. He bowed shortly and extended a hand.
“Fair lady, may I have your first dance?”
“Actually, I,”
“Of course Lord Bolbitis," Solomon interjected, giving my arm to Lord Bolbitis. "she’d be honoured.” I glared daggers at him behind Lord Bolbitis' back, displeased with the prospect of dancing with the ugly man in front of me, and Solomon faked a wince, clutching his heart. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my suitor, smiling prettily in an attempt to hide my distaste. He grinned eagerly back and swept me onto the floor, waltzing rather clumsily.
“Where did you learn to dance fair lady?” He asked, stepping on my toes for the fifth time that song.
“A close friend taught me recently, though we are rather recently estranged.” I made sure that Solomon could hear me, wishing him harm with my pointed stare.
“You move quite gracefully.”
“Thank you, Lord Bolbitis.” I said stiffly, covering up a yelp as his bulbous feet trod on mine again. Solomon appeared behind Lord Bolbitis and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Might I steal the Lady Althea back from you?”
“You may, though be wary. I will be returning for this young doe.” He winked at me and strode away, shoulders back and whistling a little tune. My nose crinkled in disgust and Solomon was beside himself laughing.
“Oh, your face!” He chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes. I flicked him on the nose.
“Are you quite done?”
“I don’t know that I should have stepped in. You two were clearly made for each other!” He doubled over again, and I crossed my arms.
"Oh, you're a funny guy Solomon. But pull yourself together, people are starting to stare!"
“Okay, okay, I’m good to go now, I’m good. May I have your second dance Althea?” He said, extending his hand again. I nodded.
“Yes Solomon, you may.” We twirled around for a bit, and I watched the people around us. Every colour of the rainbow swirled around us and a million points of light dazzled my eyes.
“You are much lighter on your feet then Lord Buffon, Solomon.” I commented, finally looking at him. He chuckled.
“It was rather painful to watch you dancing with that graceless cow.”
“So why on earth would you set me up with him like that?”
“While it was painful to watch, it was also really amusing watching your facial expressions. Your face is constantly changing. It’s mesmerizing.”
The doors to the ballroom swung open slowly, ominously. A woman dressed head to toe in black strode in. She wore long hooded cloak and black hide pants. Her shirt laced up from the bottom to the top and wasn’t doing much to preserve her modesty. Her eyes were heavily lined with black kohl and a thick belt with bulging pouches was slung across her wide set hips. Her white-blonde hair flowed out from under her hood and her boots reached above her knees. Her eyes were purple and flashed dangerously from beneath her hood. The music quieted, and the Empress stood, arms outstretched.
“Welcome, Brynhilde... How lovely to see your face again. Join in the festivities!” She nodded silently and walked with long strides over to the buffet table. The music began playing again, and the chatter and swish of ballgowns commenced.
“Who is she?” I whispered to Solomon, motioning with my head to the mysterious woman.
“Her name is Brynhilde. She’s a lone wolf sort of witch, very strange, very powerful, runs her own show. It is kind of unusual that she’s showed up again. She’s all but disappeared lately.” The room noticeably darkened; the fireflies had disappeared into the vines. The Empress stood, eyes wary.
“Solomon, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” He murmured distractedly.
Windows began to shatter, one after the other, spraying glass across the crowd. Butterflies began screaming and rushing for the doors as a horde of the Malignant flooded into the ballroom. Elsie and her friends detangled themselves from hy hair and flew up into the vines, presumably to hide with the fireflies.
“Moths! Arm yourselves! Defend yourselves, defend your people!” The Empress roared, stepping onto her table. Solomon reached for his sword and drew it just in time to skewer a Malignant rushing towards us. Another came up behind us and I had just enough time to scream before it burst into flames. The Empress nodded to me and slung another fireball at more Malignants climbing the table.
I grabbed the front of my dress and tucked it under my legs and gathered the hem, wrapping it around my waist, tying the ends into a quick, messy bow in front of me. I grabbed a sword off a suit of armour that guarded the head table, and stabbed a Malignant that got too close to Solomon. He stared at me in surprise, hardly noticing the pair of Malignants coming up behind him again.
“Solomon! Focus!” I yelled. He swung in a high wide arc, slicing through the Malignants woody necks. The big wide doors swung open again and a tall, imposing woman marched in and stood right in front of the Empress. She gave off an aura of pure malice, and was dressed in a slim red gown with a matching cape snapping behind her.
“Sir Solomon, get Althea out of here!” The Empress yelled, glaring with pure hatred at the woman before her. The Empress has never seemed like a woman who could hate, but I realized that this was a look that I never wanted to be on the receiving end of. Solomon began ducking through the crowd of bodies and dodging sword swings. He lead me to a door concealed behind a tapestry, which apparently led to the kitchen. He flung open a window above a water basin and held out a hand.
“Do you trust me?” I nodded numbly. He grabbed my hand and spun on his heel. He transformed into his moth form, his legs still holding onto my one finger. He flew out the window, dragging me with him. I yelped as my feet left the ledge, instantly regretting my trust. We began to fall, Solomon beating his wings furiously. It was a slow descent; we spiraled like maple seed and landed safely in a small courtyard. As Solomon spun back we heard a familiar whinny, and out from a nearby stable came Cassius being lead by none other than Brynhilde. They were accompanied by another horse, a docile looking chestnut mare with four white socks and a tiny white star.
“I believe Cassius is your horse?” Brynhilde asked. Solomon nodded, taking his reins. She turned to me, shoving the mare's reins into my hands.
“This lovely lady is Evanida, she’s special to me. Be good to her." She glared sharply at me, eyebrows raised. "Now go! Run! I’ll meet up with you later.” She dashed towards the window we’d jumped out of and lept onto the it's sill in one powerful motion. Solomon mounted and wheeled Cassius around sharply, waiting for me to do the same. I  clambered up rather awkwardly onto Evanida and grabbed her saddle horn. She shifted underneath me, adjusting my seat. Evanida must have known I wasn't a rider. I immediately felt more secure, much safer with her.
“Althea clearly cannot ride, so Evanida, will you follow me?” Solomon said, addressing Evanida. She nickered and bobbed her head. Solomon smiled briefly, and spurred Cassius towards the already opened gates. Evanida galloped after him as we disappeared into the forest. Soon we broke even with Cassius and Solomon.
“We are going to cross the Nadine River at the Lorelei Ford. There’s a safehouse of sorts just up aways from there. It oversees the lake. We will be expected to go by the road and try to get to the next military garrison a city over, so it’s best if we lie low.”
"Why the secrecy?"
"The Empress thinks you were important enough to ask me to get you out. I'm playing it safe." I thought for a moment.
"Is Brynhilde really on our side?"
"She's helped the Empress many times before." Even Solomon seemed doubtful, like he was trying to convince himself more then me.
“Will Brynhilde be able to find us?”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“Does that mean whoever you are protecting me from will be able to?” I asked somberly. His face hardened, and he gave no response, only spurring Cassius on faster.