Chapter 12: The Courtyard

The Courtyard

Neve and Fi walked down the stone steps together, approaching the ballroom. Fi was laughing at what Neve had just said. The horror of the encounter yesterday hung in the air, but they had made an effort to keep the mood light. They were supposed to meet Dimitri and Kael at the end of these steps- they were going as a group- but Fi didn’t see them. Madame Yelain, however, was there. 

“Girls!” She exclaimed, “We’ve decided to move the party to the courtyard since it’s such a beautiful night. But the victors are being shown to the crowd- that’s you guys! Come right this way.” Yelain motioned them, and they followed. 

Neve was wearing a stunning white dress. They’d decided to wear white and black, just for fun. Since Neve owned a white dress and Fi owned a black one, it worked out nicely. Neve’s dress had thin straps. From the straps hung long strands of sheer, white material. They flowed behind her when she walked or the wind blew, looking elegant, like strands of spirits trailing behind her. The dress hugged down to her Neve’s waist, were it turned to a loose silk bottom that flowed and swished gracefully. The rule of “formal” attire was that dresses had to be ankle length, so both girl’s dresses gently brushed against the ground as they walked. Fi’s dress was fairly simple. It was high-waisted, hugging until right about her navel, where it flowed into black silk, much like Neve’s. The sleeves, like Neve’s, were sheer. However, they hung only to to halfway down Fi’s shoulder- like small flower petals. The only thing special about Fi’s dress was the hole in the back. It had a sort of figure eight in the back that revealed much of Fi’s skin. She’d been a bit worried about it, but it was the only fancy dress she had so she’d worn it anyway.

Madame Yelain led the girls into a small back room. All three teams were there- obviously Neve and Fi had shown up a bit late. Yelain pushed them over to Tanya and Levi. Tanya wore a slate colored dress- it was a bit lighter than eggplant color and suited her well. It had an empire waist and off the shoulder sleeves. Her hazel hair and sage eyes stood out. Levi looked handsome and dapper in a two-piece black suit that showed off his arctic-teal eyes. Several helpers walked around the room handing each member of every team something. Fi couldn’t see them until the helpers got to their team. The girls were each given a gold diadem with the gem of their team set in the front- the diadems of their team had a crimson, multifaceted oval-shaped ruby. The boys were each given simple gold crowns with the gem of their team. Fi looked around- the place looked like a medieval ball with everyone in their expensive clothes and crowns. 

Madame Yelain looked around, “Okay, everyone! Team by team, one by one, you’re going to walk out on that balcony-” she pointed to a set of stairs that lead to a curtain, which must have blocked off the balcony. “Everyone will clap for you. There are stairs leading into the courtyard from the balcony; after a moment, walk down those stairs. The third place team goes first. It doesn’t matter what order you go in.”

As each student walked out- Elian went first- the crowd erupted into applause and cheers. At last, it was their team’s turn. Tanya strode confidently up the stairs, doing some sort of cat-walk. As she stepped out, Fi could see her raising her arms for applause. Levi looked just about ready to puke, so Fi looked at Neve to go next. Neve gave her a playful, but nervous shove and Fi stepped forward. She walked up the stairs. 

Stepping out onto the balcony, she didn’t notice the whole school clapping as she smiled. What Fi noticed was the stars. She’d always loved nighttime and starlight- the dark and the light contrasted, the infiniteness of the midnight blue sky, how it was always more colors than just one, and the vastness- the possibilities- of the night sky. Fi smiled about the stars and looked out across the courtyard. 

The night breeze tickled the skin of her exposed back Why not give ‘em some fun? She thought. Fi let her fire wings spread out behind her. The crowd burst into cheers. Oddly, Fi noticed that her hair turned white under the diadem for a moment. She stood a second, wings out and snow-white hair gleaming. Then she walked down the stairs. 

Levi stepped on the balcony next, smiling a charming smile and black hair waving in the jasmine night wings. The crowd cheered frenetically. After a few moments, Levi exited and Neve entered. Her white dress was radiant under the moonlight and her dark hair gleamed. A grin on her face, Neve’s ice wings spread out across the balcony. All the students- FI included -clapped and cheered wildly. Fi saw- though she thought maybe it was her imagination- Neve’s hair flash daisy white as well.  

-=+=-

The night drifted on with dancing, joy electric in the calm night air. For the first time in a long time, Fi made herself forget about melancholy, loneliness, and fear. Alongside Neve, Kael, Dimitri, and sometimes Tanya or Levi, she danced in the starlight.