A Delicate Web (gxg) | ONC2020 |

11. the party

The night of my birthday comes. To appease my mother, I wear the outfit she spent hundreds on just for this event. The dress in question is a two-piece one, full-skirted, boasting an ivory lace top and a long black skirt that falls to the floor in heavy folds. After arguing long enough that my throat hurts, she finally lets me get away without an elaborate hairdo, and I let it fall in straight, featureless locks down my shoulders.

It's not like I have time to do it anyways. I've spent the last several hours preparing a powerful containment spell.

The ballroom of the palace is decorated for the party, decked out in strings of minuscule twinkling lights overhead and long washes of glittering black gauze that hang against the walls. Real greenery imported from out of the Northerns is tucked in every corner and available space, and a live band is getting set up on the stage. The ballroom is on the fourth floor of the palace, with two walls composed of huge swaths of synth-glass that open up onto the lit up city below.

It's a lot of fuss for a birthday, really.

The guests start trickling is as the music starts up for real, mostly high-ranking government officials and members of the Northerns' military. My mother and father's guests. I only invited one person, and despite the polite handshakes and welcomes and birthday wishes, I keep my eyes locked firmly on the elevator entrance, waiting for her to arrive.

When she shows up, I quite literally can't tear my eyes off.

The words of Admiral Roye die off, quiet even though his lips keep moving, and the music seems to fade out. I take my hand out of his, too busy staring at her to notice what he's saying.

"I... I'm sorry," I say. "There's someone I need to greet."

I leave, ignoring the disapproving glare from my father, and push my way through the crowd of well-dressed men and women, until they finally part and Gem's gaze locks on mine.

If I ever thought she was ethereal and star-like before, today she's a whole galaxy. A universe.

She's dressed in a glittery white dress that catches and refracts the light from above. When I draw closer, I realize her eye makeup is white, too, in a bold move that contrasts against her skin and somehow manages to work for her. I feel myself smiling as I draw closer.

"Gem," I say. "I'm glad you could make it. You look stunning."

Her lips curve upwards, but she turns her eyes downwards, twisting her hands in her skirts and swishing them back and forth ever so slightly.

"Aw, c'mon, Maud."

"I'm serious. How the fuck are you so gorgeous, anyways?"

She laughs, still bashful.

"Thank you. You look good, too—really good. And happy birthday, by the way."

"Thanks."

"I actually have a gift for you," she says. "Well, not a gift, really, since I had no idea what to get you. But I do have a question. And a gift, too, I guess."

My heart thuds in my chest. "Oh?"

She holds out a hand that's remained tightly closed so far and uncurls her fingers. Sitting in her palm is a tiny, delicate glass rose, made of tightly-packed, crystal-clear shards that reflect the light, each no larger than the very tip of my pinkie finger. I only realize a moment later that it's set on a long, narrow chain.

"I couldn't find a real flower in time, but I figured it didn't matter. Want to go out with me?"

I pluck the tiny object out of her hand and stare at it, speechless for a moment.

"I... of course, Gem, of course I want to. This is beautiful. Thank you."

She laughs and takes it from me. "That's nice to hear. Here, let me help you."

I duck my head and she stands up on her toes to slip it around my neck. I settle it against the fabric of my dress, then hold out a hand.

"Want to dance?"

Her palm is warm in mine as I lead her out to the dance floor, already occupied by several couples swaying to the music. The band has switched to one of the songs I suggested—I know because it's a little bit heavier and faster-paced than my mom wanted, and she's currently watching me out of the corner of her eye, with a look on her face that says we'll talk about this later.

I decide to ignore it. I'm done worrying about my parents and what they think of me, at least for tonight.

Gem holds my hands in a way that makes me think she's done this sort of thing before. I rest a hand on her waist as we dance, feeling the thudding beat of the music mirrored in the way my heart pounds in my ribcage. Most of Gem's movements are perfectly coordinated, smooth and elegant, but once she steps on my toes, and I stifle a laugh amidst her apologies.

For the moment, everything else is forgotten.

The night seems to slip away beneath our feet, fast and seamless. Our hands and arms twine around each other, and before I'm really sure how it's happened, her body is pressed close against mine, head resting against my collarbone. I press my cheek to her hair, eyes closed, rocking gently to the music. She's warm and solid and real in my arms.

"Do you want to go somewhere quieter?" I murmur against the top of her head. She pulls away, ever so slightly, to look up at me with a new expression I haven't seen before. Something soft, but intense and burning at the same time.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

I adjust my grasp on her hand and cast a quick glance around to make sure my mother and father are occupied. They stand in one corner, wine glasses in their hands, caught up in conversation with men and women who wear wide, fake smiles.

Gem and I slip through the throngs of warm, moving bodies and into the elevator without a hitch. I take us down to the third floor that makes up my room.

The moment the door slides shut behind us, enclosing us in the darkness of my room, she wraps her arms around my neck and connects her lips with mine. I return the kiss immediately, placing my hands on her waist and guiding us, step by careful step, towards the glass wall until she's pressed against it. Finally out of breath, we part for a moment. The lights of the city outside outline her in neon blue and white and purple.

Then she takes my face in her hands, pulling me downwards to kiss me again, the display deep and passionate and better than anything I've felt before. Her hands fall from my face down to my shoulders, then to my waist as we stop for just a moment. I duck my head and she rests her forehead against mine, quiet fits of laughter shaking her shoulders as we catch our breath. Her thumb brushes a swath of bare skin where the top and bottom of my dress don't quite meet, and I feel shivers rush down my spine.

I kiss her again and her hands slide up, underneath the fabric, fingers cool against my bare back and shoulder blades. My skin tingles all over and I shudder where I stand, pressing her closer to the glass and hoping she'll go further.

Then the ground rumbles.

The floor beneath us vibrates, the glass Gem stands against buzzing in its frame. We part, and I stare over her shoulder out the window.

The earth buckles and convulses, and somewhere in the distance, a building groans in its foundations.

I stare in the direction of the abandoned part of the city, in the direction of the empty warehouse with the hole in its floor marked by a glowing orange rune.

"Gem," I say. "I hate to interrupt, but I think we need to cut this short."