“Look” V said her eyes wide, awe colouring her voice.  Umbra snapped out of her thoughts to see the massive centre of the Territory usually used as market overflowing with all manner of people; humans, monsters and demi-humans, she had never seen so many people before. The shops and houses surrounding the centre were hung with flame red banners marked with Vorazun’s symbol a flame eating away at a rotting tree, stalls were set up on the edge of the centre selling all manner of sweets and pastries, over the clamour of the crowd what sounded like a flute was playing a merry dancing song. Umbra wasn’t too focused on any of that though because through the crowd she could make out the unfavoured mages their art mesmerising, they were grouped around a massive bonfire, twisting fire into balls which they threw into the air letting them explode into plumes of fire that masked the moon and stars.

V grabbed Umbra’s hand and pulled her into the crowd of people pushing past a tall girl with the ears of a fox and nine matching tails. “Where are we going” Umbra yelled over the din of the crowd.

“Getting closer to the fire” V replied her eyes twinkling as she continued pulling Umbra towards the fire and the mages. Umbra quickened her pace and slipped past V eager to meet the mages. She had never spoken to a mage before despite being under the care of one of the most powerful mages in the Territory. These mages were far more approachable anyways they didn’t have an aura of overwhelming pressure. They were almost like normal people.

The two girls stood before the bonfire and watched as the mages pulled balls of flame from the fire and threw them with unnatural strength into the sky above. Umbra was entranced till V who had been looking around spun to face Umbra.

“Look, dancing,” V said pointing at a large circular space the crowd had left open. A faun stood to the side blowing a merry tune into his pan flute the sound cutting through the raging fires and clamour of the crowd. In the open area, humans and monster spun and twirled laughing and the circle expanded as more people join in the dancing. An aurai tumbled into the sky she was breathtakingly beautiful, her long white hair flew around her prominent cheekbones and pale skin. Her grey eyes were lit with joy and framed by slender white brows. And her delicate limbs were in the constant motion of dance. When she moved light gusts of wind spun through the centre and her high laughter cut through the crowd. Umbra stood stock still her mouth agape she had never seen anything like it and V was practically squealing with delight as she took Umbra’s hand and pulled her towards the dancing.

V pushed right through into the middle of the ever-expanding circle and broke away from Umbra. Her movements flowed with a grace that took the breath away. V lived to dance the joyous freedom it brought her was evident in her every gesture and step, V was the most V when she was dancing. Umbra couldn’t help but feel jealous. Umbra was graceful, but beside V she wasn’t special. She shook her head those were not thoughts a friend should have, instead, she listened to the faun’s merry tune which had been joined by drums and soon lost herself in the hypnotic beat which had her limbs moving and her jealousy forgotten.

It was hard to tell just how much time had passed when Umbra came to her senses the faun’s song had died off replaced by a lute. She had been dancing with a tall man his hair a deep red complimenting his crimson eyes that stared down at her she pushed off his suddenly burning hot chest, how had she not noticed the heat. Umbra jerked “dovian” she murmured, a smile broke his impassive face.

“Yes” he said in a deep rolling accent that rumbled the air. She backed away her eyes widening in fear, he was a dragon. Turning around she ran through the crowd his eyes burning a hole in her back the entire way. Even after she felt his gaze leave her she kept running slipping through the crowd. She pushed her way through the last few people separating her from one of the connecting streets. She stopped and used the wall of a weaver’s shop to catch her breath. Looking behind her she searched for his crimson eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no sign of them. The stories said that a dovian burned like a furnace and their eyes fire, they also said the dovians stayed away from the centre worlds of the Fabric preferring the savage border where they could kill and burn without fear of an intervention by Favoured. Umbra was shocked she had never expected to see a dovian much less dance with one, there was no way the Duchess and Duke didn’t know that a dovian was in their Territory, so why weren’t they doing anything about it. Dovians were terrifyingly powerful and brutal, and their bloodlust carried into whatever form they chose, for their true form was that of a dragon.

Composing herself Umbra noticed with displeasure that her best dress was ruined it had been burned all along the front. Weirdly there was no accompanying sting of pain that a burn like that should cause. She then looked around for V wanting to show her the burnt dress only to find that V wasn’t here. “Oh for the love of Ennedi, of course, V isn’t here,” Umbra said aloud shocking herself with her language. Oh, and I didn’t even get to speak with the mages Umbra complained to herself.

Finding V wouldn’t be easy in the press of the crowd Umbra thought as she drifted back towards the crowd. Even though the light from the sun was starting to peek over the horizon the festival hadn’t shrunken in size. Umbra pushed through people “V” she yelled, “VVVVVVV, where are you”. This was pointless she was too small to see over the heads of the people, she could look until the sun rose to its apex and still not find V. Umbra just had to head back to castle and hope V had found her way back as well.

Finding her way back was not as easy as Umbra thought it would be. She couldn’t remember which street they had arrived from, so she just picked a street that seemed to lead in the direction of the towering fortress. After walking down the empty street for a while she found that it was slowly curving away from the fortress. Irritated Umbra stopped she didn’t really want to go all the back to the festival to find another path, but taking one of those dark alleys that led more directly to the fortress was almost as unappealing.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

After some consideration Umbra decided against heading back to the festival she was almost Grown and it was starting to get late enough that Mrs. K would come to wake her to meet the masters. If she wasn’t there for that she would be in enough trouble that Mrs. K might just whip her. Glaring defiantly at the alley she strode into it.

The alley was dark the light of early morning wasn’t high enough to shine into it, bits of trash lay on the ground and it smelt far worse than the main street. Umbra picked her way through the trash careful to not step on what looked like a large dead rat or maybe a cat, it was hard to tell.

Thankfully the alley wasn’t long and she walked into another main street that unfortunately didn’t seem to lead towards the castle either. Back to the alleys, I guess Umbra thought hesitation making her feat slow. The last wasn’t too bad even if it was gross, she could do this. She picked up her pace and slipped into another alley this wasn’t as dirty as the last but it was as empty. Maybe these weren’t so bad, a bit dirty definitely but they were much faster than the main roads and let her take a direct route to the fortress.

Umbra couldn’t help but shake a sense of foreboding even with the sun finally starting to creep into the alleys, it was too quiet and there was a strange mist at her feet, but she was almost at the fortress where it would be safe. She couldn’t shake the ominous feeling though. Her shoulders itched and she spun around. Umbra couldn’t tell if that shadow had just moved. She stood as still as a statue and stared back down the alley where she thought she had seen a shadow move. Nothing, nothing moved and not a sound could be heard. This just made Umbra more uneasy surely by now people were heading back to their homes.

Umbra continued moving forward, her back still itched but she ignored it. The faster she got back to the fortress the better. There was something at the end of the alley it stood in a pillar of light that pushed against the dark of the alley. It seemed to radiate a sensation of correctness as if when it was around everything was in its right place. Umbra couldn’t help but speed up, it was far more appealing than the chaos of the shadows where things seemed to move and change around her. She could make out a shapely womanly figure. She seemed a bit odd and Umbra noticed when she got closer that feathers sprouted from under her arms like wings. “You are much easier to find when you are out of the fortress,” The woman said her voice trilling like a bird in song. “The Favoured’s aura doesn’t hide you out here.”

“Who are you?” Umbra questioned in a soft voice.

“It does not matter who I am, but what does matter is why I am here.” The lady said stepping closer, the light moving with her. She paused waiting for Umbra to ask the obvious question, her soft features fell into a pout when Umbra didn’t. “You are trouble, but how much trouble my mother doesn’t yet know, so she sent me.” She continued her voice passive as if she was giving a lecture. “Mother doesn’t like taking lives, it causes discord and chaos, but sometimes the alternative is worse. Right now I am not sure whether removing you from the Fabric is better or worse. You do not have a clear path like most.” Fear coiled around Umbra’s gut, is she talking about killing me?

“Why, why would you kill me?” Umbra asked her voice trembling.

“I am not sure if I will yet, but if I do, it will be because removing you is better for the Fabric.” The lady replied in a calm tone. How was she talking about killing me the way I talk about the weather?

There was suddenly an overwhelming pressure in the air, unlike anything Umbra had felt before. It was subdued though, like the weight of a lake held back by a dam. The lady looked past Umbra’s shoulder her eyes narrowing. “An interruption,” she said. Umbra turned around following the lady’s gaze, a man was walking towards them his long strides covering the distance rapidly.

“Begone servant of Ma’at she is just a child” He commanded his voice hard. The lady trilled in displeasure

“Do not interfere Favoured” irritation making her voice twisted.

“Does the great Ma’at fear children now.”

“It is not about fear, mother only seeks to keep the Fabric in harmony and this girl may risk it.” she practically hissed.

“If this child was truly a risk to the Fabric your mother would’ve removed the girl herself. Stop trying to scare her and leave.” He said his tone still commanding.

“I was not going to hurt her, mother only asked me to meet her so that I could provide a better understanding of the girl.” The lady said her tone almost petulant at odds to how she was speaking not too long ago. “I will leave, but she is still a risk and mother will not leave it to lie” and she was gone just like that the odd light with her.

Umbra looked at the man who had saved her from a very unpleasant conversation. He was tall and his body was built with light muscles. The lower half of his face was covered by a neatly trimmed beard and his hair was a light brown. He didn’t appear that old until she met his blue eyes, they were tired as if he had not slept in centuries and they stared into her almost as if they could see her very being. “Thanks,” Umbra said hesitantly.

“Interesting” he mused. “It is not very often that I see a daughter of Ma’at and I have never seen them come to just talk to someone.” Umbra shivered if they didn’t come to talk what did they usually do? Murder?

“Ma’at is one of the deities of order and harmony right? Why would she come after me?” Umbra said quickly, her eyes widened in fright. A deity was after me, me! What have I done? this is so bad.

“In reply to your first question Ma’at is probably the most powerful of the order deities and to answer your second question, she most likely finds you to be an object of concern, but doesn’t seem to know more than that, otherwise, you would not have been speaking to one of her daughters.” He said a thoughtful expression on his face.

“How could I be of concern; I am a nobody. What could I possibly do?” Umbra asked. He chuckled.

“Honestly, I do not know but seems like you have an interesting time ahead of you. Now if you do not mind, I have to be somewhere.”

“Oh right,” Umbra said smacking her head “I’m going to be late to see the masters.” The man chuckled.

“Of course you are one of the Duke’s orphans, he always does pick up the interesting ones.” He said with unconcealed amusement. “I have affairs at the fortress to attend to, would you like to walk with me.”

Umbra nodded and followed after him.