Indeed, it was a grand thing at that. Mooney met Outai at the doors leading to the Great Hall, dressed in black trousers and coat lined in silver embroidery, with lace at the neck and cuffs. Outai herself wore a deep green dress that faded softly to white as it traveled from hem to neckline. She wore white silk gloves, and her hair had been pulled back into a tight roll near the top of her head. She flushed a little when she saw how Mooney had stared at her, but said nothing.
"Ah, welcome!" The regent said loudly, and warmly, upon her entrance. "We've gathered here in your honor, to thank you and congratulate you on saving this city."
"We thank you for this kind honor." Outai said with a long-learned curtsy. It wasn't her first time in front of nobility.
"Well, let the celebration begin!"
No sooner had he spoke than a band struck up in the far left corner of the room. Couples began to dance a grand waltz in the middle of the room, though some stuck to the sides sipping wine and chatting with old friends. Mooney offered a white-gloved hand for a dance, giving Outai a soft bow. She nodded her head and took his hand willingly, her hand still ice cold beneath her gloves. Emeralds and moon stones glistened in a string around her neck, and a fine string of emeralds graced one wrist.
When had Mooney become so handsome? Was it the new clothing he wore? The cut of the fabric looked perfect on him, as though he were born for it, and the light of the candles and lanterns - backed by mirrors to soften the light and enhance it - seemed to make him glow in a heavenly light somehow. His hair had been brushed for once, though not in any local styles, and his eyes seemed to dance with delight as they glided across the floor in a dance that only they knew.
"You're blushing." he said quietly, a playful smile stretching across his face. "That's something new."
"Am I?" she said, "I hadn't noticed."
"Then what were you noticing just now?"
"How handsome you look." she said, surprising herself. She hadn't meant to tell him that.
"Me handsome? Look at you! You're gorgeous!"
"It's the dress..."
"No, it's you. The dress is only an enhancement."
This time Outai did notice her cheeks growing warmer. What was with that look in his eyes?
"Well, I didn't really have much choice. It was either this, or something not even I would wear in public."
Outai wasn't a bar maid, but she was known to be scandalous in her attire. She had been since she died, claiming that it allowed her to move. He couldn't see how a snug bodice allowed movement, but she was right about the skirt of her usual black dress. It revealed a LOT, but it let her move. Still, if they had offered something THAT scandalous...Mooney could only imagine what it was. It was probably something quite diaphanous, if even Outai wouldn't wear it. Probably enough so to show EVERYTHING underneath it...Mooney felt his face warm, and could see Outai glaring at him.
"I would hate to think you'd embarrass yourself in front of all these people because you imagined something you should not." she said coldly.
"N-no ma'am." Mooney said, visibly paling. He knew that tone of voice, and he knew it meant trouble. A LOT of trouble. "I was...uh...just appreciating the work that the maids put into dressing you up so finely."
"Right." she said, clearly not believing him.
"Sorry." he said, hanging his head dejectedly.
"I forgive you. Let's just enjoy ourselves. It's been a while, not counting that dance a few days ago."
"Sounds good to me!"
As they danced, they received complements from those around them on how handsome they were together, how handsome Mooney looked, how gorgeous Otuai was. A few times someone tried to cut in, but neither would allow it. Before they knew it, they were the only ones dancing. Apparently the others had cleared out to see what strange dance they had concocted. When the dance ended, they found themselves staring at each other, somehow unable to look away.
Perhaps they had been caught up in the moment, especially since it had grown dark and fireworks had started going off outside in the middle of the dance, blooming colors across the black sky. Whatever it was, Mooney bent down and pressed his lips against Outai's, both of their eyes widening in shock. Neither had expected him to do that, but neither pulled away. Her lips were soft somehow, even if they were cold, and his warm and soft to her. Somehow, she enjoyed it, though she couldn't say why, and though it embarrassed her endlessly, she couldn't bring herself to pull her eyes away from those deep blue orbs, much less pull her face from his.
Suddenly his eyes grew wide with shock and filled with pain. Outai didn't know what was going on until a deep and burning pain filled her chest. When she looked down, she saw a sword sticking out of Mooney's chest at a downward slant, his shirt around it bloodied, and the same sword stuck in her own. Mooney's body went limp in her arms, his eyes now closed, and she held him upright in spite of her ever growing weakness.
"That was a fine dance." a soft, but familiar voice whispered in their ears, "But it's time for this 'dance' to end."
The sword was withdrawn from their bodies, for which Outai was glad. It was too late to preserve any dignity or secrecy for their identities, and perhaps it had been too late from the start. Outai's body glowed softly, and the first thing she did was heal Mooney, though he was already unconscious in her arms. She couldn't heal him well like she wanted - she was still too weak from just waking up, and now had her own injury to deal with. She managed to seal up the wounds fairly well, but too much would tear them open, and she was already feeling very weak.
Oddly, she heard no soldiers coming in, no panicked cries from the others attending the ball, no orders for the assassin to be slain. Instead, she saw calm faces around her, and the only soldiers to come in were those standing and watching them die. She could see the regent approaching the crowd, his friendly brown eyes now ice cold and hard as rock.
"These two monsters could not be allowed to live." he explained to the crowd, "No man has cat-like features, and no woman is cold as ice and lives to tell about it. They must have been the ones to set the city ablaze as it did a few days ago, and now we seek justice. For our husbands, our wives, our sisters and brothers. For our children, our aunts and uncles. For all those who died in that strange attack. We have our justice now."
It was a grand soliloquy, and it was the last thing Outai heard before all went black. She was vaguely aware of falling back into the arms of a soldier, with Mooney in her arms, and being dragged outside into the cool evening air. After that, there was nothing.
Outai found herself floating through a thick blackness. She wasn't sure where she was for a moment, until she realized she was in her own mind. Suddenly around her were her emotions. This time even Passion was there, and oddly, was sitting up, alive, rather than cold stone. And Love was looking far better. In fact, she was standing, and smiling warmly, healthy as ever. However, the predominant emotion was Rage, and she knew why, even before Rage spoke.
"How DARE they! How DARE they hurt Mooney and myself, after all we did for them! We saved their lives, and what do they do? They call us monsters! The lure us in with a nice party in our 'honor', and murder us!"
This time, no others argued. Love and Passion looked hurt. Sorrow was strangely quiet, back down on the floor curled in a ball, but definitely not dying. Contentment was quiet, too, and hiding.
"I love him." Outai said to herself, finally realizing the fact.
"It's about time you realized that." voices chorused.
Outai turned to see Love and Passion standing next to each other, accompanied by something else. It was another version of herself, dressed all in white, and glowing brightly. It was the part of her she became when she fused herself with Holy. In essence, it was Holy itself, taking the shape of her.
"Is he okay, Holy."
Holy was silent. Outai didn't like that silence.
"Holy, answer me."
"You lived through the attack. You are alive. Both of you were abandoned to the woods, not even given graves."
"But what about Mooney?"
Again there was no answer. She had to get out of there and get to Mooney. She turned, and was back into the blackness, which now began to grow again. This time, she couldn't bring herself to care.
Outai woke up feeling damp earth beneath her, cool air around her, and a weight on top of her. From the smell of it, it was probably Mooney. She could smell him the way she smelled him during the dance, and with it was the twinge of blood. It took her a moment to open her eyes and see that it really was Mooney, laying on top of her, lifeless. Her body was in relatively little pain, save for the pain and weakness of having revived only a few days before, telling her she had not died. But what about Mooney?
She carefully rolled to her side, taking the body of her friend with her and gently laying him on the grass beside her. She rolled him onto his back and rose herself to her knees beside him. His face looked almost peaceful in his rest. She bent down to listen for breathing, but found none. She tore open his coat and shirt, starting at the hole made by the sword, and listened to his chest. There was nothing. No breathing, no circulation, nothing. He was dead. She knew he wouldn't stay that way, but it still pained her greatly. This was the second time in a month he had died, the first by his own hand, and it hurt her as much as her husband's death hurt her.
They did this. Those ungrateful bastards in that city did this. All the other humans were just the same, too. Everywhere else she had been, she had been exiled because she was different. Never mind that she saved their lives and helped rebuild in the past and present. Never mind that she had stopped loved ones from killing themselves and sent them back to their families. Never mind that she had done whatever she could to help them. No, they didn't care about any of that. All they saw was that she was different, and that was all that mattered to them. She was a demon, a monster, a thing to be feared and hated, no matter what she did, and all of the same went for her dear friend, now lifeless in her arms. She made an oath to herself then. She would never interfere again. Let that man and woman kill as many as they want and get that blasted stone. She no longer cared.
Outai curled up into a ball on the ground, her head resting on Mooney's bloody chest, though the wound over his heart was now sealed, though barely. She knew he would be in a great deal of pain when he woke up, and she'd take care of it then. For now she finished healing what he had left to heal, and held him close. A sob rose in her throat, and she was powerless to stop it. Liquid tears began rolling down her face, but she didn't stop to realize that she was crying, let alone in a more human way. Sobs escaped her mouth, and tears escaped her eyes, and before she knew it, she had cried herself back to sleep, her own wounds still unhealed.