Sabira Beneste was on the bridge across from her. The angel wore a blue silken chiton. Her unmistakeable tangerine hair was twined through with oak leaves, woven into rosette buns on either side of her head.
Her ice-blue eyes were furious as she stormed across the bridge towards Ennanis.
“I took ages finding you, and this is where you are. A party,” Her displeasure was obvious, but her voice kept low to avoid alarming the partygoers milling around them. She kept her arms folded, though with the way her hands were twitching it was obvious she would rather be doing things much more violent.
Ennanis cocked her head. “How’d you find me?”
“These blasted rumours that’ve been going around,” Sabira scowled. “It was impossible for anyone in this kingdom to not catch wind of, girl. That’s how I know that this was intentional. I assume this is part of some kind of plan of yours, but I can’t figure out what you have to gain from fraternising with a man from a broken noble clan, or making the fact so eminent. You don’t even like men!”
“Well, you’re here, aren’t you?”
“...Yes?” Sabira agreed, confused.
“You won’t be the only one,” Ennanis said. “Attracted by the news, that is.”
Sabira thought for a moment. And then she realised, her eyes growing wider and more incredulous with every passing second. “...You’re planning to lure the Beasts here?”
“Searching for them obviously hasn’t done any good,” Ennanis paused here, evidently waiting for Sabira to interject, but Sabira offered nothing. And so the commander went on, “If seeking them out doesn’t work, then the only other option is to make them come to us.”
“But what makes you so sure they will come?”
“If the Beasts have any tactical sense, they’ll want to dispatch of me as soon as possible,” Ennanis said, voice lowered so no one else could hear. “It doesn’t matter if they think I was temporarily rescinded from the Graveyard or permanently exiled. As long as I exist, I pose a threat. Plus, I’ve been personally responsible for many Beast deaths. There’ll be at least one Beast who’d be keen on finding me for revenge.”
“Still, it seems like a lot of this relies on chance,” Sabira frowned. “Besides, you risk attracting the wrong sort of attention, which could get dangerous.”
“The wrong sort of attention… from whom, exactly?”
“.......”
“Like the Beasts? The World-Ending Kraken?” Ennanis smiled wryly. “It’s not a gamble if I have nothing to lose, Sabira. Thanks for the help, but I can handle this myself. Take care.”
With that, she turned away, a sweep of pink hair and white wings, and wove away through the crowd, leaving the Brigadier lost behind the wall of partygoers.
Ennanis rejoined Garnet and Walden under the central pavilion. They were standing by a table piled with wicker baskets. Other partygoers were rummaging through the baskets, taking something out from them.
“What’s going on?” she queried.
“Oh, Lady Zoleil! You're back!” Garnet said delightedly. “Come, we're lighting the lanterns soon.”
Ennanis looked into the baskets. Each basket was heaped full of something that looked like peapods, except they were folded from paper, oval-shaped and smooth. “These are lanterns?”
“Mhm!” Garnet nodded. “Remember the story about the lovers and the lamps they threw into the river? Today, we celebrate the Ball of Souls by lighting these lanterns,” Garnet held up one of the paper pods. She tilted it around to show them the opening on one side. “You drop a beam of Soleki in, or light a candle if you're ordinary. When you drop it into the water, the lantern opens up into a lotus shape. The ‘petals’ are designed to fit exactly into the gaps between those of another lantern. So, when your lantern eventually burns out and sinks into the water, the Water God will fuse your lantern with that of your soulmate's. Isn't it romantic?”
She placed the paper pod back in the basket, shuffling it around. “And in modern times, they put different-coloured dyes into the lantern. It's said that if your lantern lights up with a certain colour, it's a clue on who your soulmate is.”
“Which is utter hogwash made up to get lanterns sold, of course,” Walden huffed.
“Pfft, you're just scared your lantern won't light up at all.”
“And it wouldn’t mean anything,” Walden said, but Ennanis noticed how he picked through the folded lanterns in the basket very carefully. Garnet herself plunged her hand into another, pulling out her lantern with a flourish. When it was Ennanis’ turn, she slid her hand into the bottom of the basket, closed her fingers around the smooth surface of the first paper pod she felt, and drew it out, not thinking much.
Lanterns in hand, the three of them made their way onto the main bridge. There were already many people there by the railings, throwing their lanterns into the lake below. Indeed, as Garnet had described, as the pods shot down and splashed onto the water, their ‘petals’ unfurled into a paper lotus. The fires within each lantern burst into colour as they did so. On the rippling, sunset-dyed water, Ennanis had to admit that it was a sight to behold: all the motes of coloured light swimming around the lotus blooms, floating into the horizon.
Walden was the first to throw his lantern over the side. He had lit its fuse with a matchstick from the table earlier. Now, he wheeled his hand back and tossed it in like a javelin. The three of them peered over the railing as it plummeted in an arc and contacted the water.
They stared.
Then Garnet let out a screech of laughter. “Pffft-ahahahaha!—Your lantern is so ugly!”
The originally white paper lantern did not turn into any of the vibrant colours of the other lanterns. It burned… black. It was as if, instead of interacting with the pigment dyes within the paper, the fire had decided to merely char the paper, like it was one of the barbecued cod on the buffet tables.
“It could be seen as very dark red,” Walden argued, his face flushing as he stared down at the blackened lantern bobbing on the water.
“That's just the fire embers. Get another lantern if you're so worked up about it,” Garnet scoffed. She turned to Ennanis, cradling her own lantern. “Lady Zoleil, you can go next. I'm going to use Soleki, so I need to concentrate well before lighting my lantern.”
Ennanis shrugged. She summoned a beam of Soleki and released it into the mouth of the lantern. It pricked the fuse, glowing alight. Leaning over the railing, she let the lantern fall.
Splash!
The three watched as a dark colour began to creep out from the centre of the opened ‘lotus’ like blackcurrant juice. For a terrifying second, it looked as though it would turn black just like Walden’s. But then, as the colour spread, its full hue bloomed into a deep, volcanic violet.
“Whoa! Violet?” Garnet exclaimed. “Do you know anyone with violet hair, Lady Zoleil? Or who really likes violet?”
“Not that I know of…”
“Think harder! Or maybe you just haven’t met him yet?” Garnet giggled. “Okay, but whatever. The suspense is killing me—I can’t wait any longer.” Screwing herself up, the daughter of Lapice held her lantern far out from her, and with her other hand slapped the beam of Soleki she had been concentrating into the tiny vessel. Next, she flung it out. It sailed clear over the railing, dropped onto the lake, and opened up. It burned sky-blue. She gasped. “Oooh! Blue! It couldn't be… Sir Ulysses?”
“Who?” Walden asked.
Garnet's red eyes flicked about excitedly as she searched. “There!” She pointed an elegant finger in the direction of the central pavilion. Ennanis saw only one person she could have been referring to: an angel with sky-blue hair, talking to a group of other angels.
“Do you know him?” Walden asked.
“Not personally, but he’s famous,” said Garnet. “He’s the very best Brigadier in the Knights. If anyone takes over the commander position from Derrick Truwing one day, it’ll be him.” Then she squinted at Ennanis. “Huh, but you’re in the Knights, shouldn’t you already know him? You could introduce us!” And then she began walking the length of the bridge towards Ulysses.
“Uh, I don’t know him, he’s from a different Brigade,” Ennanis began to say as Garnet towed her and Walden along. “I don’t think I should come along—” But it was too late. The blue-haired angel’s eyes were on her, as were the eyes of those around him.
“I should really go,” Ennanis said to Garnet.
“Don’t be rude, Lady Zoleil,” Garnet sniffed. “What if he’s my soulmate? You have to introduce us.”
It was then that a deep voice cut between the two of them:
“Ennanis,” Ulysses spoke. His slit eyes were alight. “It’s been a while.”