The Chronicles of Faye Lucian

Chapter Two.

It was one thing for Althazar to host a ball. He had done it many times before in the thousand years of Faye's existence. She attended nearly half of them, laughing with the guests and dancing the night away. He had been known for his extravagant parties and many had come to look forward to them when they rolled around. It was the first time since the creation of the first warlock that all of them were in the same place at once. When added to the equation that all had come together in honor of Faye, not many were looking forward to the evening's festivities.

Weeks prior, she had begged her father to cancel it, to say it was a big joke and pretend it never happened. Perhaps she got her stubbornness from him, for he refused. He kept going on about how her thousandth year was important and how important she was to him. It was only the latter answer that soothed the girl's fiery rage and silenced her pleas.

By the time she had entered the ballroom, William was nowhere to be seen. One would think that with hair like his, he'd stand out like an elephant in the room. But the gathering of every witch and warlock in the worlds was a breathtaking scene. Hundreds of beings milled around, dressed in their best. The outfits alone were gorgeous, suits that were finely pressed and dresses that must have cost a fortune. However, it wasn't the outfits Faye was focused on.

She was created as a witch of the water element, giving her hair and complexion its pale hues. It was easy to distinguish other water elementals. They all shared the same skin and same power. The hair of others, though, ranged from the lightest white to the darkest blue. Unlike Faye, they fit in with the crowd of others like themselves. Conversations and smiles were spread across the grand room as Faye stood on and watched, cast aside like an pebble in a sea of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. 

The air elementals were striking. Although they seemed very similar to the water witches and warlocks, they appeared almost translucent. If Faye focused her gaze on one for too long, they would almost disappear completely. They walked with grace and smiled with perfectly straight teeth. There was a certain perfection that trailed and radiated from each of them.

The earth elementals seemed to do their best to fade away from the crowd. Everything about them came off as natural. Their skin tones, their hair, and the way they acted. They were the ones that were most easygoing with other witches and warlocks in different elements. Peacemakers, as Althazar constantly referred to them as, with their soothing demeanor.

It was the fire elementals that stood out in the crowd. With hair that ranged from the darkest black to the brightest red, their complexion varied. Some were almost as pale as the water elementals; some were as dark as earth elementals. Although Faye had hardly interacted with them (due to her father's wishes), she knew that they had a fiery attitude. They were the ones who got into the most trouble. They were the ones who started the war.

Her eyes scanned the expanse of the room till she found Althazar standing at the front, his gaze already focused on her. He was excited, she could tell even without reading him. His face radiated pure happiness. Slowly, the girl weaved through the crowd without word. This night was set to be the longest of her never ending life and she'd prefer to have it over sooner rather than later. Faye reached the stage and stood next to Althazar, a light blinding her. She could no longer see the faces of their guests.

"Alas, Faye has finally appeared, we can start," Althazar spoke. He had no need for a microphone or to raise his voice. The ballroom had fallen silent, all attention on the two. "I know this has never happened before, all of us in the same room, but I do want to thank you all for showing up.

"I have seen many moons. I have seen entire civilizations at war and destroying each other. I refuse to let that happen to us. I know many of you have traveled far and wide to be here tonight and perhaps not all of you want to be here. But it is an immense honor to see all of my children."

"Many, many years ago, we struck a great tragedy. We were at war with ourselves. We were at war with our own family. It was a great dismay to watch the Great Civil War unfold. We lost many loved ones. You lost siblings, partners, friends. I lost my children. Yet here we stand united once again. I want to thank you all for being here with me tonight in celebration of not only Faye, but to celebrate us and our kind. Our family. We have an entire evening to enjoy ourselves before I know you all must return to where you need to be. Until morning, welcome home, children. My home has always been yours. Enjoy tonight."

The applause droned on, piercing Faye's ears until she was consumed by the sound but her heart pained. A sharp stab to her chest at the man's words. Althazar had always been her best friend, her father and  her protector. She knew of the existence of others like her, but this had always been her home. This beautiful manor may have been able to house at least half of the witches and warlocks in the room, but no one had ever dared even visit out of the kindness of their hearts. Yet that was exactly the man that Althazar was - caring, loyal, always eager to open his arms and home to those he cared for.

The brilliant light no longer blinded her and the room lit up like the sky during a thunderstorm. The beautifully etched marble walls sparkled in lights all the way up to the vast ceiling, encasing the breathtaking images painted into the panels. Soft music echoed from seemingly nowhere, but it was enough to be heard from throughout the grand room. Humans milled about here and there holding trays of champagne or finger foods.  It was a gorgeous scene and everyone before her had taken a second to appreciate it before continuing their previous conversations.

Althazar took Faye's hand and guided her towards the crowd. "What do you think, my dear?"

"It's.." she started, letting out a breath. It was a lot. There was too much to take in. But her gaze landed on his eager expression and a smile settled on her face. "It's amazing. Thank you, Althie."

That was all her needed to pull her into a hug. She knew how much this meant to him, to have all his children gathered for the first time in forever. She couldn't take it away from him.

"Enjoy yourself. I'm going to talk to a few people," he gave her a swift kiss on the forehead before he was gone, being the perfect host he was.

Faye took in a breath before looking around once more, taking in the people surrounding her. This was her home too, after all. It was time she make a decent hostess. She took a flute from one of the passing by humans, offering a smile in thanks, and started her own little journey to greet and make acquaintance with as many of her siblings as she could.