The simplest wishes are the ones that grant strength.
The music soft and enchanting, as if it had been taken from any of the fairy tales she had been told during her childhood. The formal suits and dresses of the men and women around her made almost inaudible rustling as the clothes owners flowed in time with the music. They danced flawlessly, following each step and movement with the kind of grace and skill that takes decades of practice and talent to attain.
Emily moved in time with everyone else, matching her partner's steps and movements with her own, feeling light and giddy with joy.
She loved to dance. The sensation of performing alongside a partner, their destinies interlocked, their actions in sync. The motions, the grace, it all felt natural to her.
She lightly held her partner's hand and he twirled her around, her knee length skirt flowing out from her as she spun. She felt as if she was on a cloud, light and care-free. She was an equal here. The cat ears on her head didn't make her any less talented than anybody else in the ballroom.
The steps of the dance led her and her partner into a shaft of light that came in through a tall, stained glass window and she was spun around once again. The Faunus let out a small laugh, reveling in the sense of joy that simply radiated out of her.
She was enjoying herself so much that she almost didn't notice the atmosphere begin to change, as well as the dance.
The dancer's movements changed subtly, seeming to become more jaded or tolerant, if that were possible.
The bubble of joy in Emily's chest began to diminish slightly as she noticed the shift in atmosphere. The dancers never stopped their graceful and elegant movements, but they also seemed to be paying more attention to her.
Her partner's hand was less willing to hold her own than it was before. His grip up until now had been firm, competent, and trusting. Now he only gingerly held onto her, as if she carried some kind of transmittable disease that he was afraid of catching.
The light streaming through the windows began to slowly shift in color. Instead of light, innocent light, it now was slowly becoming darker, more sinister and more blood red.
The patterns on the windows had begun to change as well. Before, they had been designs of breath taking beauty and splendor. Now, though, they were turning into something darker, becoming scenes of fear and horror.
It was only after Emily had noticed these changes that she also noticed that all of the other dancers had stopped and were watching her and her partner. Also that her partner's movements had become more aggressive, even hostile. His face twisted into something resembling revulsion and he yanked his hand out and away from hers, forcing the Faunus to spin a little form the force.
The light of the ballroom had turned completely blood red and the scenes stained on the windows had disappeared, replaced with the shape of a red wolf's head with slash marks behind it.
None of the other dancers, all of which were human, spoke, but words seemed to be projected from them. Thrown out as if they were stones.
Killer. They seemed to say. Liar, animal, monster. Faunus.
Tears formed in the cat's eyes. Tears of pain, of rejection. The bubble of joy that had been in her chest burst and a tear slid down to her chin before dropping lightly to the floor. The floor seemed to ripple with the tear drop and the dancers changed.
They maintained their human shape, but instantly became grotesque. Their skin became midnight black and their eyes burned red with malice and hate. They were all alike. Some of their jaws became misshapen almost like a wolf's snout and other's hands became claws. Others even gained long scorpion tails with razor sharp stingers. All of them, grew masks. White masks that covered their heads, leaving only their eyes and mouths uncovered.
Emily felt fear, revulsion, and, most of all, pity. In their attempts to see her as a monster, they had become monsters themselves. They resembled the Grimm and the same dark void of rage and contempt she felt from them, radiated from the former dancers.
Her fear and revulsion disappeared, to be replaced by resolve. The motive of these people was quite clear. It rolled off of them so strongly that it wouldn't have mattered if they had tried to conceal it. They intended to kill her. She wasn't planning on letting them.
Emily adjusted her stance, her hand moving to the belt of intricate metal around her waist. She gripped the metal hilt with its spiked end pulled it. The jiujiebian swung out and the Faunus prepared to fight.
The dancers, although they hardly resembled people anymore, charged, eager for her blood.
Emily pirouetted out of the way and her jiujiebian, the Wind's Edge, slashed out wrapping around one of monstrous dancers. Emily pulled, and the razor sharp segments of metal bit through the dancer. Black vapor rose from the two halves of the monster as it fell, but Emily hadn't stopped moving. She spun and twisted her body, dodging attacks from the other dancers and the Wind's Edge moved in time with the Faunus. The segmented metal whip slashed, wrapped, and cut into her attackers, who roared, howled, or even hissed in rage and pain.
They pressed closer towards her and the Faunus began to feel overwhelmed, her weapon wasn't specifically designed to handle so many opponents in such close quarters.
A light green light surrounded the blonde girl and the rushing sound of wind rose up. The ballerina spun in a quick circle and wind rushed out her and knocked away the enemies surrounding her. Her jiujiebian followed and forced those who had managed to keep standing back.
Emily adjusted her stance and the metal segments of the jiujiebian snaked into the handle of the weapon. Only the thin blade that was the last segment remained, turning the chain whip into a thin, rapier-like, dagger. Yellow light radiated from the hilt of the weapon and Emily's eyes grew more determined.
The Faunus slashed the dagger and lightning arced out into one of the monstrous dancers. The bolt of energy struck the humanoid in the chest and sent it flying across the room. Emily twirled and the weapon extended into a jiujiebian once again and wrapped around the chest of another one of the former dancers. Energy coursed through the weapon and jolted the enemy.
She yanked her arm back and sliced the monster in half, withdrawing the weapon into its dagger-like shape again just in time for the girl deflect an attack from one of the wolfish looking dancers. Viridian light pulsed from the girl and the monster was put off balance, giving her the chance she needed to force her rapier-dagger through the monster's chest.
Emily pulled the weapon out of the former dancer and pirouetted past another attempt to attack her from behind. She stabbed the weapon's blade into the creature's arm and brought out several of the jiujiebian's links. She moved with incredible speed and wrapped the metal segments around the monster's neck. She moved away and pulled her arm back, hard.
The razor sharp metal sliced through the monster's neck and decapitated it. As it fell to the ground, black vapor rising from the collapsed body, Emily glanced around at the many ex-dancers still around her.
The Faunus closed her eyes and began to focus. Viridian light surrounded her as ehr aura manifested. The Dust held in the Wind's Edge began to glow with its yellow light as well.
The humanoid Grimm charged forward while the girl appeared to be distracted. A moment later, the jiujiebian segments retracted into the Wind's Edge's hilt and the girl began pirouetting. Wind swirled around her as she did and the Dust reacted to the girl's aura. Lines of lightning surrounded the girl as the monsters drew closer to her. Just as they got within striking distance, they collected energy surged out from the girl. The monsters were knocked back through the air and rapidly disintegrated, becoming nothing but vapor before the even touched the ground.
Emily stopped spinning and looked around. None of the monsters remained and she was completely alone. The light, the windows, and everything else in the ballroom had changed back to its original state.
A sensation of stillness and calm came and Emily smiled slightly. She faintly heard the sound of a great crowd of people clapping and she turned around to see that she was suddenly on a stage and that there were lights and people all watching her and applauding.
A faint pink blush formed on her face and she waved politely to the crowd just before she was surrounded by bright, white light.