Who the hell would throw a knife in a crowded room? And more importantly why the hell had no-one panicked? Eileen had thought she was prepared for her entrance into high society inTeodes, but the night’s events had proven her wrong.
She had been expecting talking and skirting around difficult topics. She had even somewhat prepared for all of the attention her looks might get her. There weren’t many people with green eyes on this side of the continent. But she hadn’t been expecting knives.
That was something better reserved for battlefields, and although some would call the politicking that went on in these spaces such, a battle of swords was not the same as a battle of words. Even though both could be equally damaging. Eileen knew as much from the spats she and Damien would get into as children.
The attack had felt targeted. As soon as she had registered the presence of the knife in her hand, she’d wondered who it had been targeting. The trajectory had been focused to go past her rather than at her. With the crowd that they’d been accumulating, it could have been anyone.
It made her uneasy. The only reason she hadn’t left to investigate it in the moment of the catch was the awareness thatAylawas with her. A part of her didn’t feel comfortable leaving her being with the threat looming near, but the greater part of her knew that she’d be safer with the culprit found. Which was why she was now following the trail of rotting iron perfusing from the knife up to the balcony.
The smell of iron still lingered in the air as she stepped onto the platform. A thick wall of it wafted towards her, making her grimace. A hand going up to cover her nose as she walked closer, the knife clutched in her other hand.
But all she found was a scrap of cloth at the edge of the railing. She bent down to pick it up, eyebrows furrowing at the scratchy feel. Straightening again, she glanced over the terrace, hoping to catch a glance of where they could be. Alas it was no use. Whoever had been here had managed to escape.
They must have fled in the confusion of her stopping their attack. She grimaced, tapping her foot as she considered her next actions. A scratchy piece of cloth was hardly a lot to go on. If only she had went after them and not hesitated.
But no. It was more important to make sureAylawas safe. Along with the other inhabitants of the room. What was there to say the assailant wouldn’t have attacked again? They certainly hadn’t had any reservations of doing it once.
Still though…It would be much more difficult to find the culprit. Difficult, but not impossible. Eileen let out a deep sigh, her hand once again going to her nose, except this time to the bridge of nose rather than the nostrils. Her grandfather’s words ringing in her head were somewhat, yet they didn’t really do much for the current situation.
“Are you thinking of jumping off?” The sudden and decidedly male voice had her tensing as she turned around. Was this-
Eileen blinked at the black haired man standing in front of her. He had his hands buried in the pockets of his pants. Grey eyes looking at her, a glint of amusement in them that she didn’t quite like. His lips were quirked up in a small grin.
“No.” Eileen said, making sure it stayed the same depth as it had all night. She was in disguise after all. It wasn’t difficult to make it natural. “Although perhaps I should.” She followed it with a raise of her eyebrows. “Seems like you’ve done it.”
He looked startled for a second, before his lips turned up in a grin. “No. No. I’ve never done such a thing.” His grin turned into a wry smile. “It would be impossible to do without getting some rather annoying attention, I’m afraid.”
Eileen hummed. “I suppose.” She sighed. “But that doesn’t explain what you’re doing here?”
“Who me?” He pulled away from the wall, faux innocence plastered on his face. “I’m simply following the hero who stopped a knife.”
“Hero?” Eileen gave him an unimpressed glance. “I can’t quite agree when there was no danger.”
The strange man laughed. “Oh that’s certainly not true. You don’t need to be modest. You saved Lord Ash from being impaled by that knife.”
It wasn’t really clear who it had been targeting, but that would most definitely be the wrong thing to say. So she simply hummed again. “It seems you may be the only one who has noticed.”
As she spoke the words, her eyes roamed back to the rest of the ballroom, wandering over its inhabitants before settling onAyla. She was still where she’d left her. Good.
“They were preoccupied being amazed by your feat.” The words had her looking back at him, tilting her head in confusion. “I must thank you for that. A panicking crowd would have been a headache.”
Eileen found that amusing despite herself, but managed to smother the smile. She still hadn’t decided whether or not she liked him. “A headache and not the appropriate reaction?” She teased, but kept her expression blank.
“Appropriate expression it may have been, but it would still have made things difficult for you.”
She let a little of her smile show then. “That it would have.”
“Did you find anything?”
The concern in his tone told her that the nonchalance he had been showing earlier was a mask. Not surprising when she was surrounded by people who wore their personalities as such. What an odd man. To try to hide his concern with humor.
“Not as much as I would have liked,” she felt the need to inform him. “But I will.”
His eyes searched hers for a few moments. Whatever he had been looking for, he must have found, because in the next moment he was relaxing into himself. A grin overtook his face as he offered her a hand.
“Raiden Redthorn.”
Eileen shook her head, but shook his offered hand regardless. “Pleasure to meet you Raiden Redthorn. I only wish it were under different circumstances.”
“Not going to tell me your name?”
She grinned, a little happy to see that it was bothering him. “Why ruin the mystery?” A pause. “Besides this is the first time we’ve met, who’s to say we’ll meet again.”
Instead of looking disappointed as she had thought he would be, he looked amused. “I suppose a little mystery is needed every now and then. Does this mean you’ll tell me your name should we meet again?”
“I’ll think about it.” She moved to the railing that looked over the ballroom. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I might try that jumping idea of yours after all.”
Then, without giving him a second to reply, she stuffed the cloth into her pocket and hoisted herself over the railing. The ground below her was empty enough that she didn’t need to focus too much on avoiding people as she landed on her feet, her toes taking the majority of the weight, but the boots absorbing the force.
Glancing up she could see him bent over the railing, looking at her in surprise. She knew she shouldn’t have, but impulsiveness took over and she flashed him a smug grin. It was for only a second before she turned her attention back to what had caught it enough to jump of the upper floor to begin with.
A crowd was closing in on Ayla. They seemed to be incessantly pestering her and she looked more than uncomfortable. The entire purpose of this plan was to prevent that from happening. And with culprit having disappeared into thin air, nothing was more pressing.
As she got closure, she surprised to note that the crowd of people around and the girls that were bothering her parted to give her a straight path to them. Odd. She didn’t think she’d done anything that would have led to them doing that. Especially, since she’d made sure Raiden Redthorn was the only one who’d seen her jump off the railing.
Falling quietly was a skill she’d had to master fast. Having a grandfather who could hear you from a long distance meant any noise you made could be easily noticed. And teenage Eileen had been more than grateful at her younger self for learning the skill when she’d needed to avoid a rampaging bear during hunting season.
“Who is he?” She heard the question asked more than once as she got closer. But each time someone else interrupted with other questions and it was buried.
“Where did you find him?” The woman in blue said right after.
“You’ve never come to one of these with a date before.” One with a blue diamond necklace added. Eileen would have been annoyed if the tone wasn’t simply observational. She didn’t know whether she still should be.
“Is he single?” Another asked and she thought it might be time to cut in.
“Ladies, would you mind telling me what you’re doing?” She quirked an eyebrow at the crowd.
The women, more girls really, turned around slowly. Their eyes wide in shock as they took in her unimpressed stare. To their credit, some blushed in embarrassment andapologisedtoAylafor accosting her. Yet the majority seemed to be frozen in place.
When seconds ticked by with them still looking shell-shocked, Eileen sighed. They were probably just curious. Eileen looked at them and noticed the faint blush covering their cheeks. The girls who’d done most of the talking looked like they wanted the ground to open up and swallow them whole.
It was so pathetic and sad that Eileen decided to take pity on them. “I understand that you might be curious,” she began kindly, “but this is hardly the right way to go about it.” Not that there was ever really a right way, just a more socially correct one.
Yet, the words still had them turning and muttering an apology toAyla. It made her blink in surprise to note they hadn’t tried to say anything in response. Odd. Wouldn’t you normally try to defend yourself? This quickness to apologise didn’t fit with what she’d heard about high society thus far. Still, maybe they just decided her words had merit?
Idly noting that one of their hats had fallen off in the movement, Eileen picked it up and held it out as an offering, “I believe this is yours?”
She smiled kindly when the girl hesitated to reach for it. Keeping her body language welcoming. She didn’t think she’d done anything to scare them. A trembling hand went around the hat and quickly drew back, muttering a thank you before running off. It gave her pause. A niggling thought at the back of my mind.
Her head tilted as she surveyed the room again. Taking in the light blush of the women in front of her, the way they avoided her eyes even as their eyes stayed on her. Registered that she could feel the weight of many stares at her back and then once again remembered how quick they were to apologise. Her eyes widened slightly. Oh.
The smile tightened. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It wasn’t fear at all. It was something far more intimidating. Interest. She’d been so preoccupied with the knife and its meaning that she’d somehow missed it.
With this new understanding, she flashed the girls a grin, even as a sense of uneasiness started to well. This might be more trouble than she’d thought it be. Thankfully, she heard the music starting up and knew she wouldn’t need to stand there for much longer.
“It is so very good that you know when toapologise.” She praised them, hoping they wouldn’t be too disappointed if she never showed up again. “Could I steal Miss Westford? I hear the music starting and I promised her a dance.”
She’d done no such thing and Ayla seemed to be looking more amused by the second, but she played along. “Oh yes. I was wondering whether you’d forgotten.”
The girls blinked and seemed to suddenly come back to themselves. They looked like they were still quite young, perhaps seventeen at the oldest, so Eileen didn’t hold the past events against them. They would learn to do better soon enough.
“Of course.” The one in the blue dress said as she stepped aside, but she tripped at the last second in her haste.
Thankfully Eileen caught her before she could fall more than an inch and carefully put her upright. “Careful. I think this carpet may be a tripping hazard.”
Then, just because she thought she may have made it worse, she quickly took Ayla’s hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. She rolled her eyes when she took in the laughter in her hazel eyes. She was glad one of them was enjoying this.
“Not a word,” she muttered lowly as the music started up.
“I have no idea what you mean,”Ayla said, a smile playing on her lips. “Although are we really going to dance?”
“Of course.” Eileen brushed a hand through the short waves of her hair. “I think people would be a little surprised if we didn’t.” She leaned into whisper the words, acutely aware of the eyes boring into her back.
“Alright.”Ayla smiled, holding up a hand for Eileen to take.
It didn’t take much longer for the music to start flowing around them and Eileen led her into one of the many dances of their country. It was a little awkward in the beginning, but that only lasted a few seconds. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t danced like this before.
Even before the tragedy, her grandfather had encouraged her to learn as much as she could, which included both parts of partnered dances. A sense of nostalgia flickered through her mind as she remembered her mother’s confusion at the insistence. It hadn’t lasted long because a few minutes longer she had walked in on her practicing withAyla.
She could still hear the squeal of “cute” ringing in her ears to this day and she’d been quite supportive of the decision from then on. Which seemed to have been for the best as she now found herself putting those skills into practice.
The music flowed and their movements began to do the same, old muscle memory taking over. Ayla smiled up at her as she led her into a dip and Eileen had a vague sense she was remembering six-year-old Eileen almost dropping her the first time they had gone through it.
A smile stretched her own lips in reply and she gave a short laugh. She’d decided on the dance on a whim, but it really was a lot of fun. Maybe this night wasn’t so bad after all.
Who the hell would throw a knife in a crowded room? And more importantly why the hell had no-one panicked? Eileen had thought she was prepared for her entrance into high society inTeodes, but the night’s events had proven her wrong.
She had been expecting talking and skirting around difficult topics. She had even somewhat prepared for all of the attention her looks might get her. There weren’t many people with green eyes on this side of the continent. But she hadn’t been expecting knives.
That was something better reserved for battlefields, and although some would call the politicking that went on in these spaces such, a battle of swords was not the same as a battle of words. Even though both could be equally damaging. Eileen knew as much from the spats she and Damien would get into as children.
The attack had felt targeted. As soon as she had registered the presence of the knife in her hand, she’d wondered who it had been targeting. The trajectory had been focused to go past her rather than at her. With the crowd that they’d been accumulating, it could have been anyone.
It made her uneasy. The only reason she hadn’t left to investigate it in the moment of the catch was the awareness thatAylawas with her. A part of her didn’t feel comfortable leaving her being with the threat looming near, but the greater part of her knew that she’d be safer with the culprit found. Which was why she was now following the trail of rotting iron perfusing from the knife up to the balcony.
The smell of iron still lingered in the air as she stepped onto the platform. A thick wall of it wafted towards her, making her grimace. A hand going up to cover her nose as she walked closer, the knife clutched in her other hand.
But all she found was a scrap of cloth at the edge of the railing. She bent down to pick it up, eyebrows furrowing at the scratchy feel. Straightening again, she glanced over the terrace, hoping to catch a glance of where they could be. Alas it was no use. Whoever had been here had managed to escape.
They must have fled in the confusion of her stopping their attack. She grimaced, tapping her foot as she considered her next actions. A scratchy piece of cloth was hardly a lot to go on. If only she had went after them and not hesitated.
But no. It was more important to make sureAylawas safe. Along with the other inhabitants of the room. What was there to say the assailant wouldn’t have attacked again? They certainly hadn’t had any reservations of doing it once.
Still though…It would be much more difficult to find the culprit. Difficult, but not impossible. Eileen let out a deep sigh, her hand once again going to her nose, except this time to the bridge of nose rather than the nostrils. Her grandfather’s words ringing in her head were somewhat, yet they didn’t really do much for the current situation.
“Are you thinking of jumping off?” The sudden and decidedly male voice had her tensing as she turned around. Was this-
Eileen blinked at the black haired man standing in front of her. He had his hands buried in the pockets of his pants. Grey eyes looking at her, a glint of amusement in them that she didn’t quite like. His lips were quirked up in a small grin.
“No.” Eileen said, making sure it stayed the same depth as it had all night. She was in disguise after all. It wasn’t difficult to make it natural. “Although perhaps I should.” She followed it with a raise of her eyebrows. “Seems like you’ve done it.”
He looked startled for a second, before his lips turned up in a grin. “No. No. I’ve never done such a thing.” His grin turned into a wry smile. “It would be impossible to do without getting some rather annoying attention, I’m afraid.”
Eileen hummed. “I suppose.” She sighed. “But that doesn’t explain what you’re doing here?”
“Who me?” He pulled away from the wall, faux innocence plastered on his face. “I’m simply following the hero who stopped a knife.”
“Hero?” Eileen gave him an unimpressed glance. “I can’t quite agree when there was no danger.”
The strange man laughed. “Oh that’s certainly not true. You don’t need to be modest. You saved Lord Ash from being impaled by that knife.”
It wasn’t really clear who it had been targeting, but that would most definitely be the wrong thing to say. So she simply hummed again. “It seems you may be the only one who has noticed.”
As she spoke the words, her eyes roamed back to the rest of the ballroom, wandering over its inhabitants before settling onAyla. She was still where she’d left her. Good.
“They were preoccupied being amazed by your feat.” The words had her looking back at him, tilting her head in confusion. “I must thank you for that. A panicking crowd would have been a headache.”
Eileen found that amusing despite herself, but managed to smother the smile. She still hadn’t decided whether or not she liked him. “A headache and not the appropriate reaction?” She teased, but kept her expression blank.
“Appropriate expression it may have been, but it would still have made things difficult for you.”
She let a little of her smile show then. “That it would have.”
“Did you find anything?”
The concern in his tone told her that the nonchalance he had been showing earlier was a mask. Not surprising when she was surrounded by people who wore their personalities as such. What an odd man. To try to hide his concern with humor.
“Not as much as I would have liked,” she felt the need to inform him. “But I will.”
His eyes searched hers for a few moments. Whatever he had been looking for, he must have found, because in the next moment he was relaxing into himself. A grin overtook his face as he offered her a hand.
“Raiden Redthorn.”
Eileen shook her head, but shook his offered hand regardless. “Pleasure to meet you Raiden Redthorn. I only wish it were under different circumstances.”
“Not going to tell me your name?”
She grinned, a little happy to see that it was bothering him. “Why ruin the mystery?” A pause. “Besides this is the first time we’ve met, who’s to say we’ll meet again.”
Instead of looking disappointed as she had thought he would be, he looked amused. “I suppose a little mystery is needed every now and then. Does this mean you’ll tell me your name should we meet again?”
“I’ll think about it.” She moved to the railing that looked over the ballroom. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I might try that jumping idea of yours after all.”
Then, without giving him a second to reply, she stuffed the cloth into her pocket and hoisted herself over the railing. The ground below her was empty enough that she didn’t need to focus too much on avoiding people as she landed on her feet, her toes taking the majority of the weight, but the boots absorbing the force.
Glancing up she could see him bent over the railing, looking at her in surprise. She knew she shouldn’t have, but impulsiveness took over and she flashed him a smug grin. It was for only a second before she turned her attention back to what had caught it enough to jump of the upper floor to begin with.
A crowd was closing in on Ayla. They seemed to be incessantly pestering her and she looked more than uncomfortable. The entire purpose of this plan was to prevent that from happening. And with culprit having disappeared into thin air, nothing was more pressing.
As she got closure, she surprised to note that the crowd of people around and the girls that were bothering her parted to give her a straight path to them. Odd. She didn’t think she’d done anything that would have led to them doing that. Especially, since she’d made sure Raiden Redthorn was the only one who’d seen her jump off the railing.
Falling quietly was a skill she’d had to master fast. Having a grandfather who could hear you from a long distance meant any noise you made could be easily noticed. And teenage Eileen had been more than grateful at her younger self for learning the skill when she’d needed to avoid a rampaging bear during hunting season.
“Who is he?” She heard the question asked more than once as she got closer. But each time someone else interrupted with other questions and it was buried.
“Where did you find him?” The woman in blue said right after.
“You’ve never come to one of these with a date before.” One with a blue diamond necklace added. Eileen would have been annoyed if the tone wasn’t simply observational. She didn’t know whether she still should be.
“Is he single?” Another asked and she thought it might be time to cut in.
“Ladies, would you mind telling me what you’re doing?” She quirked an eyebrow at the crowd.
The women, more girls really, turned around slowly. Their eyes wide in shock as they took in her unimpressed stare. To their credit, some blushed in embarrassment andapologisedtoAylafor accosting her. Yet the majority seemed to be frozen in place.
When seconds ticked by with them still looking shell-shocked, Eileen sighed. They were probably just curious. Eileen looked at them and noticed the faint blush covering their cheeks. The girls who’d done most of the talking looked like they wanted the ground to open up and swallow them whole.
It was so pathetic and sad that Eileen decided to take pity on them. “I understand that you might be curious,” she began kindly, “but this is hardly the right way to go about it.” Not that there was ever really a right way, just a more socially correct one.
Yet, the words still had them turning and muttering an apology toAyla. It made her blink in surprise to note they hadn’t tried to say anything in response. Odd. Wouldn’t you normally try to defend yourself? This quickness to apologise didn’t fit with what she’d heard about high society thus far. Still, maybe they just decided her words had merit?
Idly noting that one of their hats had fallen off in the movement, Eileen picked it up and held it out as an offering, “I believe this is yours?”
She smiled kindly when the girl hesitated to reach for it. Keeping her body language welcoming. She didn’t think she’d done anything to scare them. A trembling hand went around the hat and quickly drew back, muttering a thank you before running off. It gave her pause. A niggling thought at the back of my mind.
Her head tilted as she surveyed the room again. Taking in the light blush of the women in front of her, the way they avoided her eyes even as their eyes stayed on her. Registered that she could feel the weight of many stares at her back and then once again remembered how quick they were to apologise. Her eyes widened slightly. Oh.
The smile tightened. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It wasn’t fear at all. It was something far more intimidating. Interest. She’d been so preoccupied with the knife and its meaning that she’d somehow missed it.
With this new understanding, she flashed the girls a grin, even as a sense of uneasiness started to well. This might be more trouble than she’d thought it be. Thankfully, she heard the music starting up and knew she wouldn’t need to stand there for much longer.
“It is so very good that you know when toapologise.” She praised them, hoping they wouldn’t be too disappointed if she never showed up again. “Could I steal Miss Westford? I hear the music starting and I promised her a dance.”
She’d done no such thing and Ayla seemed to be looking more amused by the second, but she played along. “Oh yes. I was wondering whether you’d forgotten.”
The girls blinked and seemed to suddenly come back to themselves. They looked like they were still quite young, perhaps seventeen at the oldest, so Eileen didn’t hold the past events against them. They would learn to do better soon enough.
“Of course.” The one in the blue dress said as she stepped aside, but she tripped at the last second in her haste.
Thankfully Eileen caught her before she could fall more than an inch and carefully put her upright. “Careful. I think this carpet may be a tripping hazard.”
Then, just because she thought she may have made it worse, she quickly took Ayla’s hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. She rolled her eyes when she took in the laughter in her hazel eyes. She was glad one of them was enjoying this.
“Not a word,” she muttered lowly as the music started up.
“I have no idea what you mean,”Ayla said, a smile playing on her lips. “Although are we really going to dance?”
“Of course.” Eileen brushed a hand through the short waves of her hair. “I think people would be a little surprised if we didn’t.” She leaned into whisper the words, acutely aware of the eyes boring into her back.
“Alright.”Ayla smiled, holding up a hand for Eileen to take.
It didn’t take much longer for the music to start flowing around them and Eileen led her into one of the many dances of their country. It was a little awkward in the beginning, but that only lasted a few seconds. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t danced like this before.
Even before the tragedy, her grandfather had encouraged her to learn as much as she could, which included both parts of partnered dances. A sense of nostalgia flickered through her mind as she remembered her mother’s confusion at the insistence. It hadn’t lasted long because a few minutes longer she had walked in on her practicing withAyla.
She could still hear the squeal of “cute” ringing in her ears to this day and she’d been quite supportive of the decision from then on. Which seemed to have been for the best as she now found herself putting those skills into practice.
The music flowed and their movements began to do the same, old muscle memory taking over. Ayla smiled up at her as she led her into a dip and Eileen had a vague sense she was remembering six-year-old Eileen almost dropping her the first time they had gone through it.
A smile stretched her own lips in reply and she gave a short laugh. She’d decided on the dance on a whim, but it really was a lot of fun. Maybe this night wasn’t so bad after all.
