The Soiree

Why Elric had agreed to this, he had no idea. It had been a terrible idea from the very beginning and most of him was regretting it. Moonglum on the other hand, seemed to be having an amazing time. The nobility of Ilmar had a strange sense of humour. To invite the two of them to one of the largest soirees of the season seemed utterly out of character, unless it was out of morbid curiosity. Elric was pretty sure it was.

The pair of them had scrubbed up well. Moonglum in his bright shirt and neatly combed hair looked as though he belonged here. Elric, his clothing much darker, felt very much the outsider that he was. He did not resent his friend though, this party gave both of them the chance to drink some wine, eat some half decent food and relax for a while. The rest of the attendees were garbed in all the myriad colours of a rainbow. The women, both young and old, were vibrant in their high waisted gowns and finery. The men were no less so, though they tended to wear frock coats rather than dresses.

Moonglum, far more personable and at ease than Elric, had secured wine for them both before he had gone off to mingle with the locals. He had immediately nestled his way into a group of people and began sharing tales with them no doubt. Elric had remained at the edge of the room, sipped wine and watched the men and women go by. There was a lot to be said about people watching. He didn’t really care what they did, but watching them do it was entertaining in its own way. There was one middle aged women who was clearly in a snit because the man she had arrived with was busy speaking to a girl half his age while she went unnoticed. A man on the far side of the room had been glaring at one of his friends, for what reason Elric couldn’t fathom. He sipped the wine and shifted a little.

“These are for you.” A sweet voice brought Elric back into the room and he blinked.

“You brought me flowers?” he asked. They were bright red with a black centre and smelled fresh. A pair of green eyes smiled as he looked down. The woman who had spoken was a vibrant, strawberry blond with a youthful blush on her cheek. She wore a pale green dress with a bright sash, and was about the same height as Moonglum. The band chose that moment to begin playing, the tune upbeat and completely obnoxious.

“Of course. You are the only one in the room without any colour at all. It seems so sad to have you blend in with the stone wall. Did you not know this was the festival of colour?”

“I had no idea,” he said. He took the red flowers and tucked them into the eye of his jerkin. The red seemed very bright against the black fabric, but they sat well.

“Did your friend not tell you?” she asked. Elric shook his head. Moonglum was dressed in bright colours because he liked to do so, not because there was some festival about it. “That is a shame, I imagine that you would look rather dashing in red.”

“You don’t think it would clash with my eyes?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Quite the opposite,” she raised her gaze to his eyes for a moment, smiled and then dropped them again, “I think it would look quite lovely.”

“Is that so?” he asked. He was quite sure the girl was attempting to flirt with him. He glanced over his shoulder, wondering who had put her up to such a task. Moonglum was still engaged in conversation, and he could spot no one else watching them openly.

“Yes,” she nodded. Golden curls tumbled with the movement of her head, and Elric realised that she was also quite lovely. He softened his posture and let a smile creep onto his white face.

“Well lady, perhaps I should go and change then, though that would make me rather sad.”

“Sad?”

“For I would no longer be in your company, and I believe that brings all the colour to this festival that it needs.” She blushed prettily but the smile on her face widened.

“You do me an injustice,” she said, “For there are so many bright flowers in here that compared to them I am a mere daisy.”

He placed his now empty wineglass on a nearby table and said, “And yet, none shine brighter on a summers day than the daisy,” he replied.

It was now that Moonglum decided that he should make a reappearance. He bowed deeply to Elric’s companion before turning to the albino. There were fresh glasses in his hand, which Elric gladly took one of and drank some more of the warm red wine. It was delicious. “You’re not too bored I hope,” Moonglum said.

“Not at all. Daisy and I were just discussing the finer points of flowers,” he said. Moonglum grinned at the blush the spread over Daisy’s face. Elric shrugged. She had started it after all! Maybe coming along wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

“Perhaps I should save you from him instead,” he said. Daisy fanned her face with her hand and smiled, quite willing it seemed, to be ‘saved’. “May I have this dance?”

“Of course,” she said. Her attention now on Moonglum, Elric was handed another drink as the two of them walked off towards the dance floor. As far as Elric was concerned, dancing was something to be observed, not done. Besides, Stormbringer would get in the way and he’d look as though he had two left feet. He felt silly enough for not dressing in the vibrant colours of the rest of the party, tripping over his own sword was not something he wanted to add to that embarrassment. The sword whined, as if laughing. He rattled the hilt and Stormbringer shut up.

He also had two glasses of wine, which was more than fine by him. He was half way through the second one when Moonglum returned, without Daisy. “We need more wine, friend,” Elric said. Fortunately, there was a fellow walking around with a tray of glasses, which he was able to raid before his disappeared again. “Did you wear her out?”

“She wasn’t much of a dancer in all honesty,” Moonglum said. Elric smirked, hiding the gesture with a sip of wine. “I like the food, and the vast supply of wine, but none of these people have anything interesting to say, and the women are all so insipid. Do they do anything these people?”

“Other than sit around and be rich?” Elric asked. Moonglum nodded, “They’re nobles, all they do is dance, eat and complain about one another.”

“That must be boring.”

“It gets tedious,” Elric mused, sipping some more wine. It had been a number of years since he had been in a court, let alone in charge of one, and he cared not for the repeat experience. Moonglum was right. Underneath this veneer of finery and friendliness, was a rotten core that was of little use to anyone. He would much prefer to be in a tavern where the ale was cheap and the patrons honest. “Do you want to get out of here?” he asked.

“I’m torn,” Moonglum replied. The rogue leaned against the wall and looked around the room, “I mean, the wine and food are free here.”

Elric laughed. So typical of Moonglum to think of those important things first. “That is true,” he said, flicking white hair from his face, “And no one is openly gawping either, which I quite like.”



“Aye, or picking a fight… I almost wish they would.”

“Make it a bit more interesting.” He glanced at the dancefloor and noticed Daisy was now dancing in the arms of another fellow. “I can go and start one if you like…” Moonglum followed his gaze and snorted.

“Not worth the trouble.” Elric drained his glass and set it aside. There were quite a few there now, though he did not feel any worse for wear. Maybe the wine was watered to prevent any of these nobles from getting too unruly. Moonglum’s cheeks did look a little flushed and he shrugged. He looked as though he was about to say something, when Daisy and a couple of her female friends sauntered back over. Elric glanced at Moonglum, who shrugged again. “Ladies,” he said warmly.

“Moonglum,” Daisy said. “Elric.” Elric bowed his head at her. “My friends and I were just discussing some of the rumours of your adventures together.”

Elric’s gaze narrowed. “Oh?” he asked.

“We wanted to ask about what the court of Imrryr was like, and how it compares to our humble gathering here.” Her friends nodded and appeared to be enthusiastic about the subject. Elric relaxed a little at that – they were not here to goad him about what befell Imrryr as he had feared. Moonglum nudged him in the ribs with an elbow. Daisy pouted, “Please tell us.”

“Yes, please do.”

“Was it really as sordid as all that?”

“Sordid?” Elric smirked, “My dear, the tales of my homeland would make you blush all the way to your pretty stomach,” he said. The girl did indeed blush at that. “The decadence of the court would make this seem like a child’s party. The nightly depravities were unashamed and continued for days.” He turned his crimson gaze to Daisy, the smile on his face almost wolfish. “And the untold pleasures of Imrryr were fuelled by hazy chemicals and boundless passion.” Quite unlike this stale gathering, if he was honest. He wasn’t about to tell her that though.

“Will you share your stories of it?” Daisy asked, her gaze fixed on him.

“Perhaps another time,” Elric said. “My friend and I have a prior engagement that we absolutely must keep.” The girls had the decency to look disappointed at that. He heard rather than saw Moonglum’s sigh of relief.

Daisy put a sad expression on her face, “How about a kiss then? Before you go?” Elric blinked at her forwardness. That was unexpected, but he wasn’t about to obey the little tart.

“Very well,” he said. He turned and placed a delicate kiss on the top of Moonglum’s head. The rogue spluttered and waved his arms before flattening his hair down again – as much as those unruly curls could be flattened. “Come on Moonglum, our appointment awaits!” He linked his slender arm through his friend’s and began marching them both towards the door, leaving behind three rather confused young ladies.