An: I promised there would be Tooth-Jack interaction this chapter but I really enjoyed writing this and things got a bit out of hand, so I ended up breaking it up into two parts. I can promise you there'll be definite Tooth and Jack stuff coming up next.
The General's daughter referrers to Mother Nature, the daughter of the great general Kozmotis Pitchiner who after his 'fall' came to be part of the entity Pitch.
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Gliding through the crowd Tooth accepted a glass from a passing waiter before moving on, tipping her head slightly in acknowledgement; the man's long insect like wings stirring in approval of her choice of drink before resuming their previous unmoving position, folded neatly against his back as he walked.
All around her snippets of conversations filtered past her as she made her way through the endless crowd.
She observed the endless currying of favours and politicking hidden in the interactions of many of the party goers with faint amusement.
As always it was good to be above such things, she existed beyond the subtle power plays, and imagined slights, watching on high the restless crowd.
A Queen was assured of her position and power and need not vie for succession, or to climb the invisible hierarchies of curried favour, and intrigue. She did not have to vie for imagined power, because she already had it.
Growing bored with the hidden intrigues swirling within the edges of the seething roil of hedonism she turned her attention to the architecture, a delicate hand brining the glass she'd acquired to her lips.
Idly she took in the tastefully placed grey and white marbled circular pillars of stone that emerged from angular rectangular bases placed in pleasing symmetrical arrangements to support the distany ceiling, at home amidst the grey white walls and floors.
'Cold,' was the first thing that came to mind. A perfect place for the hidden dealings occurring all around her, 'It seems the war has made those who play the great game only more desperate.'
In that she could sympathise with. Intrigue was the purview of the young, 'but for those without power it must have been all the more worse, for those of us assured of our place in the world frightening yes, but not nearly so much as for the ones without a place to belong, or without the means to protect themselves.'
North would be disappointed though, 'he does so like his parties, he would be disappointed that people weren't enjoying it for what it was rather than scrambling for power.'
'Then again maybe not so I suppose,' she thought wryly, as the sounds of music started to get louder the further in she fluttered, and the atmosphere and noise level began to grow more jubilant.
Soon enough it was evident that she'd vacated the rather more reserved outer fringes of the celebration and entered the party proper, which for now at least seemed to be limited to the inner depths of the building, as the music grew louder and the dancing more fervent.
Tooth wryly took in the sight of those who were clearly here for the party rather than a chance to climb any social ladder as she passed through the crowd; it was somewhat easy to pick out the difference she thought to herself.
She smiled to herself at the sight of a nearby couple as she passed, an aristocratic Austrian vampire flirting with a Scottish fae who was slowly steadily driving him red, giggling in amusement as he visibly grew flustered.
The turnout was turning out to be rather spectacular. It was not every day one saw the Children of Caine mingling with Maeve's folk.
From what she'd seen members of a great many disparate groups and races had decided to turn up in number, not simply just those of Tsar Lunar's and the General's daughter's ilk, but beings and creatures of all kinds.
The Tsar's children had not been the only ones the war had hit hard, and there was much to celebrate.
With the passing of the war, birthed by the moon, or Nature and her imaginings, or still yet through other means, tonight those who existed beyond the purview of time and mortality were celebrating with raucous fervour.
Some like Tooth once, had simply been born to it, species who existed beyond man, many here those given life by the moon, and Mother Nature's chosen.
Others those who had gained a reprieve from time's advances through other means, most common the wizards, and witches, sorcerers and magicians of all kinds.
Among them all still yet more, those who received powers and longevity from unlucky circumstances, and those who found immortality as a gift, others who had sought it, or acquired a reprieve from time by chance.
All tonight were out in great number.
As the night dragged on the party grew wilder and wilder. Men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars; among them strange creatures and beasts, phantasms beyond human reckoning.
Music echoed loudly and voices rang out in ecstasy and jubilation as above trapezists flew in great glittering arcs, clothed in beautiful silks and fanciful adornments, leaping through the air far above.
Scattered throughout the crowd great spurts of fire flew from the mouths of their acrobatic cousins as they contorted into impossible shapes whilst balancing on raised plinths and brightly coloured balls of all sizes, every so often torches brought to mouths.
Spurred on by the madness, Tooth watched as guests dove from the upper levels and balconies to the round pool bellow.
The haunting melodies of opera echoed unnaturally throughout the walls and the music moved from swing, to jazz, to Mozart, and then Russian ballets.
The loud blaring of trumpets rung out and echoed uproariously as flappers dressed in outrageous dresses and fashions flittered about, as others took to the dance floor.
Amongst the ever shifting tides Tooth's plumage barely even stood out. Men with branches for hair passed her, and children with red caps and blood soaked hair flitted past, dashing about, shouting and chasing each other.
She passed women in dresses, and silver haired generals, conversing with dark haired seductresses, and shifting phantasms of shadowed light, and observed men and women so scantily clad their clothes could be fit into small boxes.
Saw tiny waifs that looked like two dimensional white outlined black paper cut-outs, and was waved at by young girls with faces obscured by ever shifting black scribbles, and beautiful marionettes.
She even thought she sure Jack Frost flitting through the crowd once.
Every now and then Tooth would spot the tiny forms of her fairies among the crowd; whizzing through the air, or in small fluttering clumps, chirping and chattering with those guests who could understand, and pulling faces at young redcaps and tiny fanged children, and sharing stories with djinni and rusalka.
Everywhere were the signs and sights of unrestrained happiness and joy, everyone celebrating the end of the war and the dawn of a modern era.
Faintly smiling to herself she allowed herself to cast off the lingering unease that always seemed to be lingering at the back of her mind.
As silver and gold streamers rained from the ceiling and the crowd raised their arms to the sky Tooth decided that, just for tonight, she would enjoy herself and forget her lingering worries.
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An:
A great deal of the inspiration for this chapter was Gatsby's legendary parties, I was always planning to have a party but remembering the latest movie's over the top version of it was readily lent itself to inspiring me to go even further with it.
Though it might seem over the top in terms of extravagance I feel like that's how it would be since this is one of, if not the biggest celebrations in history for a society where immortality is so daily it's common place, so it has to be big, it has to be grand.
I really tried to expand and flesh out this vast world that the Guardians and all the Spirits live in, we see hints of it with wizards and fantastical species in the books, Tooth herself wasn't even originally human before becoming a Spirit, but it's barely touched on in the movie.
Reading this chapter I really hope I gave a sense of some of that absolutely huge world.