#event.masquerade

She was consumed by watching others, awareness of herself and her body in space severely limited. With a sudden jolt she finds herself crashing into a waiter, or the waiter crashing into her she isn’t sure. But she stumbles, tries to catch herself or the glasses that are falling and the glass shatters against her hand, slicing through the skin of her palm like paper.

Blood immediately wells up in the wounds, dripping down her wrist, threatening to spill onto the floor and she bites out a curse, looking around for anything to staunch the blood before she attracts too much attention. Eyes darting side to side she tried to find an exit, unsure if her head is spinning from the blood or the alcohol when she feels the unmistakable presence of someone standing over her.

As one ethereal melody melted into another, Eleanor found herself on the sweeping steps of the faerie court. Blinking rapidly, she flinched at the sight of the gilded attire suddenly hugging her figure. The open jaws of two Chinese dragons, stitched across her velvet-clad breasts, greeted her with familiar smiles. Symbols sacred to the Zhou family, they offered little in the way of comfort now. Rubies and pearls attached to delicate chains of matching gold cascaded down her cheeks, obscuring her features and making it difficult to see. The ensemble was beautiful, but the summoning left a metallic taste in her mouth.

Desperate to protect her people, the Amaranthus sovereign had resisted the archaic magic with all her might, but it was like holding back a tsunami with her bare hands. The water had crashed around her, and she was now flanked by towering columns laden with ivy in the Otherworld. Eleanor’s breathing slowed when she recognised the silhouettes of other witches moving towards to the castle’s entrance—for a terrible moment in the human realm, she was convinced they were fated to join Erik’s coven in oblivion. Accepting a glass of champagne from a server doused in glitter once inside, it was only after the sweet liquid coated her throat, she remembered Artemisia’s warnings about consuming the food of the fey. “I’m appalled by the level of disrespect,” she growled, discarding the flute on a table dripping with roses, and turning toward another masked patron. 

With a loud thud, Zeke went flying from the maze and landed square on his ass. He hit the ground and immediately had the wind knocked out of him as he rubbed at the back of his head. The statuesque figure who warded over the maze just about cracked a smile as the minotaur that had ejected him returned to the depths of the maze, shaking its horned head. Flirting with the creature was evidently not the way through. “Okay well a maze with a minotaur is a stupid idea that has been stupidly done before, the Odyssey, hello.” Zeke said, incorrectly, as he shook his head and dusted off the very expensive looking clothes he’d been put in for this. “Honestly, the nerve-” he looked to the person next to him, “you wanna give it a try?”

With her beetle-brother left behind, Emma was feeling lighter. Not just because she was suddenly the sole inhabitant of her body, but because Micah’s betrayal meant that she wasn’t sick. Cursed maybe, but this realm made her feel powerful, as if anything was possible. Her father was likely here now, breathing this same air, drinking the same champagne, she’d find him, and she’d find a way to be rid of Micah forever. But first, she planned to enjoy the party, whether that was an aberration of the magic in the air or simply a side effect of being cooped up for so long, she couldn’t say. “That has got to be the tallest person I’ve ever seen-” Emma remarked at the statuesque figure at the center of the ballroom, it was hard to take her eyes off of them. The way they moved was entrancing, Emma was halfway across the room and all she could think about was joining them. “Beautiful, too.” Gorgeous. Stunning. Perfection. Every word that came to mind felt imperfect, almost like an insult. 

“I picked the playlist out myself, isn’t it great?” The prince was far too busy floating from fey to fey, doing his due diligence in blessing them with his presence. The rest of the party, however, was just fun to watch. He was still slightly annoyed that all the halfbloods and vampires had been invited too; but maybe that was the simple crux of the situation. The half fey would see what they were missing out on, and while Meryasek had pity for them, he wouldn’t go out of his way to change their fate in any way. He turned to the next unfortunate soul that had to deal with his presence, handing them a glass filled with golden liquid, “Try it. It’ll blow your fucking mind,” Mery brought his own glass to his lips, waiting to see what kind of tripped out vision the other had once they took a sip.

the masquerade - hosted by the faerie court. 

It was oddly fitting and the realization had her letting out a choked laugh. Catching a glimpse of herself in the river’s surface, Medusa cast off her mask, allowed the current to wipe it away and then Medusa was left looking at her own face. Mascara tears and gold leaf flakes didn’t hide the rage there, the disappointment in herself.

“I did it.” Her voice is surprisingly even for the amount of rage coursing through her at the appearance of Ophelia behind her in her reflection. “I had to. I didn’t want it to be her.” She turns her head and she’s looking up at the fury from her knees. If this is who is going to end her, it’s fitting. @opheliancano​