CHAPTER 25: HAVE THIS DANCE
They merged with land, with corpses, with the very ash that fell from the sky, becoming one with something new, leaving all semblance of the familiar behind.
As exam week stretched on, it wore against the students like water into stone, bashing repeatedly against them and gradually wearing the greencoats down over what felt like a thousand years. After their triumph in Cell Maneuvers, Briddy and the rest of her cell had gone on to do passingly well in the practical for Common Scenarios, which involved swinging in pursuit of Eustace the Aspswan, moving from vine to vine over a floor made to look like the quicksands of the Shrouded Sea.
The written exams were much easier on Briddy, comfortable in her ability to pin the world of academia under her thumb. She may have been behind the curb in might or magic, but as a student, she shone in a quiet, brilliant light of her own. Essay questions from Maistwel about different spells and their applications flew by a flick of the pen. Each correct answer of the multiple choice questions on which Guilds used Relics in terraforming the land inside the Embrace was worth the late nights she had stayed up poring over notes, and Briddy swore she could feel Doctor Gektu nodding approvingly over her shoulder.
Practical Botanica involved identifying and marking the plants Instructor Cardenas had laid out in rows under the glass roof and walls of the rooftop greenhouses. Riding the high off of the smile she received from Cardenas once she glanced at what was written there, Bridget flew through her Weapon Proficiency, neatly disarming Gemma after a few moments of struggling to get past her wooden shield. Even her opponent’s vocal dismay about how unfair the pairings were couldn’t bring her down, and Hennigan’s test of summoning and resummoning Relics and slicing through an obstacle course was exhausting, but doable.
“Did you see the look on his face when you came down from that wall?” Gail chuckled, her Shroud spreading out as she tossed herself down on one of the battered couches in Liberty House's common area. Around them, different clusters of students nervously gathered at different tables, going over notes, practicing spells, and commiserating about the strain of examinations.
“He wasn’t happy, that’s for sure.” Bridget frowned, wrapping her long horsetail into a loose bun atop her head. The heat and stress of the hottest time of the year made the length annoying, constantly brushing and sticking to her neck even when she sat in shade. Frowning, she looked down at her notes, the alphabetized pages spread out in front of her, neatly labeled in black ink.
“Rot and Bones.” She muttered, tapping a line. “I did get that wrong.”
“Eh?” Gail said, turning her head towards Briddy.
“Bestiary Study. I’m pretty sure I mixed up my Ashbees and my Mirehornets. I couldn’t remember which one caused temporary paralysis.” Bridget sighed in frustration. She needed to be perfect, she had to be the best, or else Kerr would use it as an excuse to bar her from coming back. The thought of losing her friends twisted at her stomach, raw and burning. She would do anything in the world to prevent that. Anything.
Gail groaned, long and loud. “River’s rush, Briddy, we just got out of the test. Let me nap before I think about that mess.”
“It can’t have been that bad.” Briddy lowered her voice. “After all, you have experience.”
“Experience doesn’t mean I pay attention to all rot Nguyen says.” Gail grumped. “One of her questions about the possibilities of domestication riled me so bad that my mind went blank partway through listing the two hundred and twenty.”
“In your defense, it’s a lot to remember,” Bridget said soothingly.
“Mmmm. At least they stopped finding new ones a while back, or it would’ve been worse.”
“So what’d you do once you forget?”
Gail shrugged, stretching her long arms out behind her head. “Just made ‘em up.” She pursed her lips momentarily, scrunching them to the side. “Are mudfish a thing? That was one of the most likely sounding ones.”
“No.” Briddy said slowly. “but Muckeels are. Terna uses them as punishment, remember?”
“River’s rush,” Gail said. “I thought I was onto something there. Why am I getting punished because some old diddies got together and thought naming these beasts a bunch of mashed-up words was a good idea?”
“And then standardizing it,” Briddy added.
“And standardizing it!”
From across the room, someone shushed them loudly, throwing a glare toward the source of the noise.
“Did you remember Kelpine?” Briddy asked, lowering her voice further.
“Of course, I-” Gail caught the smirk on Briddy’s face and tossed a wadded-up ball of paper from her pocket. “Pest.”
“Will you two shut up?” Gemma snapped. “I have Mystic Comprehension in an hour and I need to study.”
Such outbursts had become common of late, with the pent-up pressure of performance percolating under the surface of the greencoat class. Stress made a sharp edge to their tongues, and more than one fight had broken out. Briddy and Gail waved a small apology and returned to their notes, but the Library Study exam was essentially just displaying an understanding of the decimal-based system used to find different books. Finishing her review, Bridget pulled out a blank piece of paper, and after a moment’s hesitation, began to write.
Dear Adelaide,
I did it. I got dad’s relic to listen to me, and I summoned it again. You and our parents may not have believed it was possible, but I did it.
Bridget’s brow creased. She tried to write Vex’s name down once again, the pen skipping across the paper, leaving only the word ‘it’ behind. Another esoteric rule to keep its name private, she supposed. Continuing, she wrote about exams, how light the sword felt, and the odd feeling of having another voice inside her mind. Fanning herself with the partially finished letter, she closed her eyes as the weak tendrils of air battered against her heated skin, providing a fleeting balm that made her feel even hotter once it was gone.
Picking her pen back up, she added;
I have no idea how you survived the heat at the Palanquin, especially during the season we’re in right now. It’s near unbearable even when we’re sitting indoors, and the only refuge seems to be classes like Doctor Gektu’s, which has all of those vents.
This heat makes me miss being home for Mistletide, in a way, and I hope mom didn’t drink too much at the celebrations like she normally does. I saw a glimpse of one of your hunts in someone’s scrying sphere the other day, it looked like you and father were doing great. I’d love to hear more about it whenever you reply.
Melting to bits,
Briddy
Looking up as she creased her finished letter, Bridget found Gail watching her with a far-off look in her eyes, and scrunched up her nose. “Do I have something on my face?” She asked, laying the message down atop one of the books on the table in front of her.
Gail opened her mouth to respond, but then the door to Liberty House was flung open, loudly crashing into the wall. A chorus of hissed ‘sssshhs’ went up, the sound not unlike the hiss of Carrion Serpent. Unbothered by the admonishment, Warrin and Asher swept into the room in a flurry of grins and flying papers, passing them out to whoever was nearest their whirlwind.
Pale yellow sheets of paper were slapped against tables, plastered to walls, and shoved between the pages of books as the pair swept through the common room in a dizzying hurricane of motion.
“And this is for you two desert flowers.” Asher grinned, pulling a piece of paper off the stack and waving it in front of Briddy’s face.
“What is this?” She said, reaching out to grab the sheet. Before her fingers could close around it, Asher pulled it out of the way, a smile quirking his lips. A small tussle ensued as she tried to capture the piece of paper, and Asher snatched it away each time, pulling it farther out of reach.
“Give-” Bridget swiped, and missed.
“What, this?” He replied innocently, tucking the paper behind his back.
“You offered it!” Briddy feigned outrage. Well, partially feigned.
Shrugging, Asher shifted his eyes towards Warrin, who had slunk over with a feral grin. “It’s an exclusive event.” He said, as though mulling it over.
“You invited Argus.” Briddy jabbed a finger over to where the large-eared boy was scanning the page in question.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“He’s a man of culture,” Warrin said.
“Please give me the paper?” Bridget held out her hand patiently.
“I don’t know if it’s really your-” Asher was cut off by a pillow striking him in the face.
“Give her,” Gail said, her muscular arm tensed to throw another. “the paper.”
“Please,” Briddy added, quickly, opening and closing her hand several times.
Asher’s eyes twinkled as he pulled out the paper and handed it over with an unabashed grin.
Leaning back in her chair so Gail could see too, Briddy scanned the lemon-colored paper, which only bore a few words, surrounded by caricaturistic doodles of flames and musical notes.
“Western Dunes? You mean the Weapon Proficiency area?” Gail said, looking up.
“Keep it down,” Warrin said, glancing around. “your Houseminder might hear.”
“And why tonight?” Briddy murmured, looking up at Asher.
“We all have some steam we need to blow off. Plus exams are almost over.” He said, as though it was obvious.
“Greencoats only though,” Warrin said, running a hand over his tightly coiled brown hair.
“Hmm.” Briddy looked down at the paper, and then back at Gail, lifting an eyebrow in question.
Gail shrugged, in a way that suggested she didn’t care one way or the other, her braids bouncing with the movement.
“We’ll be there,” Briddy said, turning back to the grinning pair of boys.
“Perfect,” said Warrin, turning to go.
Asher leaned in, tapping Briddy’s books. “Save me a dance, eh?” He winked, the sudden request sending the tips of Briddy’s ears aflame in red.
He straightened, sending a charming smile at Gail, whose face had suddenly darkened. “See you at sundown, ladies.”
The boys swept out of the room in the same tumultuous fashion as they had arrived, slamming the door shut behind them. This time, however, instead of an irritated chorus of hushing, an excited murmur rose in its place, anticipation lifting the weighty blanket of stress.
Briddy fanned her flushed face, mind racing at whether or not Asher had even been serious in his request. It was hard to tell, with the way that he charmed his way through interactions with everyone, man or woman, whether or not he was genuinely asking, or just trying to get a rise from her. Or if she was even the only one he had asked. Ultimately, she decided to write it off, because there wasn’t time for her to risk considering it more.
Pulling out her notes for Library Study, she noticed the second half of her pages on the library’s decimal system were missing. Turning in her seat, she began to ask Gail for the notes she had lent her back and found her friend studying her once again, angular face inscrutable.
“What?” Briddy said.
Gail was quiet, long-lashed eyes flicking over her face before she looked away. “Nothing.” She replied. “We should get ready soon though.”
“Ok,” Briddy said, searching her friend’s face. Was Gail upset with her because she had spoken for both of them? Bridget had thought the shrug meant that she didn’t care. “I should send this anyways.” She said, standing and laying her hand on the letter she had written.
Gathering her things, she slid the pile into the shoulder bag that Gail had lent her what seemed like ages ago now. “See you in a bit?” She said, looking at where the tall girl had laid back down on the couch.
“Yeah,” Gail replied, not meeting her eyes as she nodded.
Bridget left, worrying her way through sending off her letter and taking a shower in warm water, fretting her way through slipping into her usual light blue thin top and a pair of short pants, and stressing her way through sliding on her new boots, tying up her hair and putting her silver clip in.
As the sun fell, driving the heat of the hottest season from the desert, the greencoats followed the fleeing warmth out into the dunes. Huddled shapes gathered in clumps in the darkness, whispering ‘enkandes’ as the sand rose in high mountains around them. Houseminders had been suspiciously absent, citing exams or other excuses to turn in early, and allowing their charges an easy exodus. With orbs of magic to light their way, the greencoats followed the marked signs that usually would point them towards Weapon Proficiency, this time guiding them along the way to a night of relief.
Briddy tried not to trip over her own feet as she exited onto the solid, packed floor of the arena where they usually sparred. Sheltered by the high dunes around it, the area was filled with the glow of the student’s light spells, casting shadows and pale light around different faces.
“Welcome,” Warrin’s voice boomed, turning the group’s attention to the left side. “to the best night of our year yet.”
He and Asher were standing on a small platform made out of the crates that held the practice weapons, stacked side by side. Seated behind them were several students, pulling different instruments out of cases and bags.
“If you would step away from the center!” Warrin said dramatically, sweeping his arm across the crowd. Murmuring, fumbling, and bumping into each other, the students pulled back from the area he had indicated, looking back up at the platform once they moved.
“IMBAR!” Bellowing dramatically, Warrin waved his arms as a bonfire sprung to life in the center of the students, flames jumping and licking over each other like eager Miragehounds scrabbling for bits of food. As the tongues stretched up into the night sky, Warrin addressed the crowd once again. “This is our night to be free, let our hair down, and release all of the tension brought on by the daily slog of school.”
Pausing, he grinned down at the assembled crowd of greencoats, who gave him a cheer of approval. “Enjoy.”
Behind him, the band struck up a lively tune, led by the base rumble of hand drums and quickly joined by the smooth, sliding tones of a Fiatar, the musician’s fingers nimbly moving the six magical rings up and down the thin strings. The cords of the Fiatar swept in a helix, six strings that coiled in a loose twist from top to bottom, rotating around each other without ever touching. Crystalline tones soon joined the chorus, emanating from a flute of faceted, shimmering glass. Melding together, they created a bouncy tune that suggested a chase through the meadow, the pounding of drums invoking footfalls, while tinkling tones recalled a sense of laughter.
Without hesitation, Warrin darted off the platform, ducked through the crowd, and resurfaced, grabbing Parvati by the waist and spinning her off with a smile. Asher followed, dipping in to dance with a girl with long, dark hair in a cloud of tightly coiled curls. Like a slow, unfurling petal, movement began to ripple across the greencoats, bodies moving to the upbeat music, with or without a partner. Niles jutted in and grabbed Gemma for a dance, Thurston swept Tuck away in a whirling spin, Gail was forcibly grabbed by Kurtis, and Briddy found herself swept up in the music, just dancing alone.
Shoes were discarded, any bags brought cast to the side, and arms slowly raised to the thudding beat of the drums, swaying like flowers in a storm. Briddy’s surroundings became a symphony of shoulders daring in and out, carried in pulsing jumps by bare feet slapping against the packed sand. The deep, rhythmic tones of the drum carried the smooth, silken tones of the Fiatar into the song’s crescendo, and down into quiet.
With barely a moment’s pause, punctuated by the claps of the dancers, the band struck up a new song, the familiar, perking tones of ‘Home, Ahead’.
Briddy felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find Tuck standing there, offering outstretched fingers. “Care for a whirl?” He said.
Taking his large hand, Briddy shot him a grin. “Sure, you big doof.”
Tuck led her in a spinning dance, twirling Briddy back and forth in the steps of a traditional court dance. It was simple, mostly consisting of twirling inwards and out, but still flashy enough that you looked like you knew what you were doing. Bridget did her best to mind her feet, trying not to stumble over Tuck’s as they spun. At the end, he gave her a gentle smile. “Thanks.”
“The same to you.” Briddy returned it as she caught her breath, watching her friend slip back through the crowd towards Thurston. No sooner had her breathing begun to slow than another romping song struck up, and the crowd began to move again.
An arm grabbed Bridget by the waist, twisting her around in a half-turn to face Asher, who offered her a potion with the other.
“Not a chance,” Briddy said, wise to his ways.
“It’s a hydration draught. Used to survive in the Waywastes, and more than good enough to quench thirst for a few hours.”
“Is this something you made?” She asked, trying to ignore his tightening arm and the drums thumping rowdily in the background.
“Made? Possibly. It’s one of the first ones they teach us, so there’s a lot of them.”
Briddy took a sip, eyeing him suspiciously for any glimmer of mischief. A cool, wet fluid hit her tongue, devoid even of the taste of water, yet still replenishing her thirst.
“Told you.” Asher grinned cheekily, tucking the flask away before twirling her by the waist. They started the spin with a good few inches of room between them, but when it ended, their clothes brushed.
Briddy shot him a look, but he seemed completely calm, eyes twinkling as they stepped apart, came together, and did it again. Grabbing her hand for a spin, his fingers briefly slipped between hers, twining between them in a momentary grasp. Then he was spinning her in again, her back to his chest, their bodies briefly brushing before the next step sent them apart, and a flush raging across Bridget’s face that had nothing to do with the bonfire.
She became keenly aware of every time that they touched, the way his dark curls looked against the firelight, the warmth of his hand, and the fact that his grin seemed to keep growing the redder her face got. The dance ended abruptly as the music, and Briddy wasn’t sure whether she felt relief or disappointment when Asher let her go. Before she could decide, Gail swooped in from somewhere nearby and grabbed her hand.
“Dance?”
“Sure.” Briddy beamed, looking back over her shoulder. Asher was already gone, probably dancing with the next person he had asked.
Gail led her away from the center of the crowd and the long, licking tongues of the bonfire, and over towards the edge, where they see the dark orange of the dunes, rising into the night. Briddy looked up at their peaks, at the milky moon overhead, and began to turn back to Gail, but froze. A dark shape slid between the mounds, moving in a seemingly random pattern that seemed to get closer, and then farther, and then close again.
“Hello?” Briddy said, taking a step towards the edge of the arena.
“What?” Gail replied.
“I thought I saw-” Bridget heard a faint chime and shook her head. The shadow was gone. “It’s nothing.”
“Probably just people sneaking off to couple up.” Gail shrugged, tugging on Briddy’s hand again. “You did promise me a dance though.”
With one more glance at the empty mounds of sand behind them, Bridget rejoined Gail, only to have the tall girl pull her just as close as Asher had. Shooting her a surprised smile, Briddy twined between her friend’s long arms, their hands clasping and lifting above their heads until they were back to back without breaking the grasp. Where she had to worry about stepping on Tuck’s feet, or Asher’s flirtations, dancing with Gail just felt like it needed not thought, but instinct. Her steps were quick and fluid, sliding in and out in the same way that her punches did when they sparred. Briddy followed her sinuous movements, twisting and spinning to the song in a blissful whirl.
As the music ended, she collapsed into Gail’s chest in breathless laughter. She wasn’t sure which dance had made her heart beat faster, but the confusion that this one left didn’t seem so bad.
“That was wonderful, thank you.” She said, looking up once she caught her breath.
Gail smiled at her, eyes warm. “Dance with me again.”
“What?”
“Niles keeps tracking me down and asking, so consider this me using you as cover.” Gail spun her around as the next song began.
“Alright then.” Briddy agreed, grasping her hand tightly.
Together, they moved to the music, hands entwining and separating before coming back together, bodies whirling around, as the two girls danced with each other and the shadows on the dunes.