A/N: For the 'Bang' theme on Dokuga's LJ comm - 200 words, no more no less.
All due recognition to Hans Christian Anderson for the inspiration.
Originally posted on July 12, 2009.
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Jubilee
He hated these gatherings - these forced fetes where he had to pretend that he cared about the passing of another year, the start of the harvest, a happy couple or a squalling newborn. Attending them was one of his duties as lord, but his most loathed one. He would rather be living in dirt and solitude at the edge of his lands, patrolling and slicing apart any demon that dared cross him.
The first firework sailed up into the air and exploded into a chrysanthemum pattern with a loud bang. There was a gasp at his elbow and he turned to see the newest addition to his entourage with her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide and shining with the red burst of the pyrotechnics. "Impressed?" he asked.
"I'd only heard of these," she whispered. She didn't look at him, but he could feel her scrutiny. "Aren't you impressed, my lord?"
He glanced around. The other adults acted much like him - bored with the sight they had seen so many times. Only the little ones stared up at the heavens like she did. He suddenly remembered his childhood awe of seeing fire in the sky. "On occasion."
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