Disclaimer: I disclaim…wait a minute. Why am I bothering with this? You've already read it in the previous chapters! (If you could call the disclaimers there disclaimers. lol)

Chapter 12: Day of the Play

The day passed by in a blur. Before Remus knew it, it was after dinner, and he, James and Sirius were in the library, looking up books upon books about potions with dragon blood in them.

James came back from the shelves with a mountainous pile of thick, dusty volumes. He dumped them all on their table. "What've you copied so far?" he asked Sirius, who was in charge of jotting down the potions.

Sirius looked at the various rolls of parchment spread around him, each with its own separate quill--moving on its own. He had bewitched them to copy a designated potion to save a lot of time (and energy). "Let me see…we're up to sixteen potions already. Is that the last of it?"

Remus checked the titles and groaned. "We've got to be graduating from Hogwarts before finishing this stuff. Each potion's gotta be ten pages long…"

"No use wallowing in pity now," Sirius said dryly. "Okay, we'll each work on seven potions--"

"But what about the other two?" Remus reminded.

"We'll worry about that later," Sirius said impatiently. "Right now we need more Write-Away Quills. Whose turn is it to sneak into Hogsmeade?"

"Me," James said. "I'll buy the refreshments too, while I'm at it…" He sauntered out of the library, Madame Pince staring suspiciously after him.

"Looks like we'll have to take all these up to the common room," Remus said, gesturing at the never-ending rolls of parchment.

"Hang on, the last one's still not finished," Sirius said. They waited a moment. "Okay, all done," Sirius announced, rolling up the last piece. The two of them managed to stuff the lot into their backpacks without magic and left the books on their table as they left, ignoring Madame Pince's death glare.

They went back up to the common room, figuring that James would take his time getting back to them. Sirius unpacked his share of the potions and a fresh batch of parchment rolls, extra long, the pack said. He loaded down the first Write-Away Quill he had left, dictating the importance of extracting dragon blood from a certain kind in order to make antibiotics for another.

Remus unrolled one of his shares, glancing at the title. "Rel Gandre Kant Dragonia," he read aloud. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It's a Permafrost Potion," Lily said behind him. "Extracted from the blood of an Antarctic Ocean Dragon, three different types of crystallized cryo fluids, a tuft of wooly mammoth's hair, and a chunk of ice from the North Pole," she continued. "It's supposed to be the most powerful Freezing Solution there is."

"What does it do?" Remus asked, looking at the piece of parchment with increased curiosity.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Obviously, it's supposed to freeze a person. By accurate recount, the most powerful Permafrost ever made has turned one hundred and thirty-five wizards into human popsicles. To this day, they are in the International Magical Museum, and wizarding scientists have long been pondering whether they were just frozen or are dead."

"How'd you know all this stuff?" Remus asked, impressed.

"Reading," Lily answered. "Hey, have you seen Chase anywhere? She wasn't in the dormitory."

Remus and Sirius shook their heads.

Lily frowned. "That's odd. I knew we left rehearsals early…" She walked off in the direction of the girls' staircase.

Fifteen minutes after she'd gone James came back, his arms overflowing with Honeydukes sweets and a six-pack of butterbeer.

"Where're the quills?" Sirius asked.

"Right here," James said, turning the bag of sweets upside-down and sending a shower of candies and chocolates cascading over their parchments. A thin, long box tumbled down after them.

Sirius picked up a packet of Every Flavor Beans and opened it, selecting a red-colored one. "This better be cherry," he said as he flicked the bean into the air and caught it in his mouth.

"Last time it was strawberry," Remus told James. "He's allergic to that stuff, remember? It was really funny, little bumps popped up on his skin--"

Sirius gagged.

"Is that a strawberry, Sirius?" James asked with an amused smile.

Sirius tore off a strip of parchment and spit red goo into it. "Yuck," he said, making a face.

"What flavor was it?" said Remus, opening the new box of quills.

"Blood," Sirius replied with a grimace. James and Remus laughed.

"Here, let me have one…" Remus dug into the packet and extracted a blue one. "Do you guys know anything else blue that isn't blueberry flavored?" he asked them.

"Nope," Sirius shook his head.

"That's enough reason for me," Remus said, and he popped the bean into his mouth and chewed. "It's blueberry, all right."

"Want to try one, James?" Sirius offered, holding the packet out.

"No way," James refused. "Last time I ate one, it tasted like some kind of insect--"

Sirius and Remus snorted. "Okay, let's just get back to work then," Remus said. He handed seven quills to both Sirius and James. "It's gonna be a long night…"

"Hey, you three, what's up?" Chase said behind them. She was accompanied by her sister, whose mouth was a disapproving line. Chase was carrying a paper bag with the Hogwarts crest on it and was holding a half-eaten éclair in her hand.

"We nearly got caught by Professor Altrow," Celeste told her. "Do you have any idea--"

"Oh, live a little, Celeste," Chase replied. "We got away without being seen, so what's the point ranting on and on about it?"

Celeste was silent. Chase, shrugging, turned back to them. Her eyes twinkled as they fell on Sirius's Every Flavor Beans. "Every Flavor Beans! Can I have one?" she asked him.

Sirius shrugged. "Take as many as you want."

Chase scooped out a handful of it.

"Whoa, you're gonna eat all that?" James asked in amazement.

"Sure, why not?" Chase asked, stopping abruptly as she was about to put a brown-colored one in her mouth.

"Aren't you afraid it'll taste like dung or something?" Sirius said.

"Why would I be?" She popped the bean into her mouth. "Chocolate." She smirked. "You were saying?"

"All right then, eat another one."

Chase ate all of them, announcing that another, more lightly colored brown one was vanilla. A green bean was mint, a sick yellowish-green was curry, creamy white was milk, purple was eggplant, and a golden one, which was toffee. She was down to the last bean, which was a bloody red.

Sirius, who had taken her good fortune in picking edible flavored beans seriously, looked thoroughly put out that they were all okay. "That's got to be blood-flavored for sure," he said gloomily.

Chase ate the bean and smirked. "Cherry, my favorite." Sirius scowled. "You've got to take risks, Sirius. That's the only way you'll get any of the good ones," she advised with a sardonic smile. "Thanks for the beans, Sirius," she singsonged as she and Celeste retreated to their dormitory.

"Could you believe that?" Sirius demanded at them. "It's not fair."

"They're just beans, Sirius," Remus pointed out.

"Try another red one," James prompted.

"If I ate another one, it would probably taste like hot pepper or something else less desirable to eat--"

"Just take Chase's advice and risk it!" James said impatiently.

Looking disgruntled and grumbling all the while, Sirius ate another red bean.

"Well?" Remus and James said in unison.

Sirius broke out into a smile. "Cherry."

*****

Four weeks, twelve rehearsals, sixty-nine dragon blood essays and one victorious Quidditch match later…..

"Chase, help me fix up this outfit."

"I already helped you with the last one. You fix it yourself."

Lily and Chase were on the grounds, mending costumes that had somehow gotten tattered, unbuttoned, and snagged in the three days that they had been used. The two were waiting for Celeste, and were admiring the soft falling of snow signaling that Christmas was only five days away.

Lily groaned. "Why did Celeste have to sign us up as costume menders?" she moaned, throwing a frilly-collared mint green dress onto their mat.

"Don't ask me. I would've thought being a makeup artist more fun than this," Chase answered.

"Why don't we just use magic?" Lily suggested.

"That's like the only thing I've been saying for the past five minutes," Chase countered. "Come on, we've still got ten dresses to mend." She waved her wand and bolts of thread streamed past them, shooting through the eyes of needles and plunging into tears and cuts. Round, glittery buttons flew to waiting darners. Pins flew from emery bags to loose lace cuffs.

Within three minutes, all ten gowns were repaired. With another wave of Chase's wand, they folded themselves neatly and one by one slipped into the paper bag that Professor Trelawney had given them.

They saw Celeste approaching, carrying their breakfast. She looked pretty happy.

"You look cheerful," Chase observed wryly.

"I can't wait! The play is in five days," Celeste said excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"We're done here," Lily announced, opening one of the paper bags Celeste had carried and pulling out a waffle. She pointed her wand at it and syrup streamed out.

"Oh, good. Professor Trelawney asked us to come for an early practice in the Great Hall. Full dress rehearsal," she added happily.

"Fine then. I don't have to wear any makeup right?" Chase asked. "Wicked witches aren't supposed to beautify themselves, you know."

Celeste shook her head, looking horrified. "No way you're not going to put on makeup! And I asked Cas Black if I could redesign your costume. All the scenes you're in are a bit dark, so it totally needs a remake."

"What's wrong with it?" Lily asked.

Celeste sighed, as if she was going to prepare a lecture for two preschoolers who didn't know what the sum of two plus two was. "Well, on the account that she has to sit on a really high throne, she needs to emphasize her legs more. I fixed it by adding sequined leggings to her outfit. Then there's the matter of lighting. She needs slightly glittery fabric for her robes to take advantage of the darkness. I thought really dark purple silk bewitched with sparkling effects would do. And her hat needs to have several undetectable beads scattered around its surface. I shopped for jewelry on our last Hogsmeade trip and bought a silver necklace with a crescent moon pendant that would go perfectly with the dark purple robes. And her gloves should be ordinary black velvet, to balance the proportion contrasting the sparkly stuff. Her boots should be of black dragonhide. I picked out high-heeled ones to give her the impression of intimidation and female antagonism," Celeste finished matter-of-factly.

Lily laughed inwardly. Leave it to Celes to raise fashion to a high art. "Well, it looks like you've settled everything for her," she said with a chuckle.

"You're going to make me wear that?" Chase asked, raising her eyebrows. "And I suppose you've planned the makeup already too…"

"Of course!" Celeste said energetically. "I kept that burgundy lipstick with glitter that mom gave you ages ago that you never touched. For your foundation, we have to put moisturizing lotion first so that your skin would radiant clean, then I'll put pale beige blush on your cheeks since you need a pallid complexion to play the wicked witch. Oh! And we need to apply pale blue eyes shadow on your lids and about three layers of mascara on the lashes so that you'll really have that villain look. Have you grown out your nails like I told you to?" she asked Chase.

Chase nodded wearily while Celeste inspected her one inch and a half nails.

"That's not long enough! They need to be at least three inches or so…" Celeste shook her head, tapping Chase's fingers with her wand. Her fingernails grew twice its length.

"Celeste!" Chase exclaimed. "Do you think I can even manage to hold my staff with nails like this?! The play is five days away!"

Lily stifled a giggle. Celeste stared at Chase sternly. "You need to get used to the feel of it! Stop complaining!"

Chase muttered indistinctly under her breath, glowering at her twin.

" As I was saying, your nails need to be painted black--with glitter, of course. Now, all we have to think through is what to do with your hair…You've got it up in a hat half of the time…"

Chase and Lily exchanged looks behind Celeste. Chase had a dark expression on her face, Lily's was the perfect example of mirth mixed with contained laughter.

"Aren't you supposed to plan what you're going to do with your outfits and stuff?" Chase asked, popping a muffin bit into her mouth.

Celeste waved her hand. "I've planned that weeks ago. My outfits are all set. The gowns I have to wear are simply elegant, and the crown…well, I asked Cas if we could change it to sapphire at the last second. It makes my eyes stand out, you know."

Chase and Lily stifled chortles. "Okay, I see you're already organized, but what are you going to do about Lily?" Chase asked innocently as they cleaned up their picnic place. Lily scowled at her.

Celeste's hand flew to her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I totally forgot! I must get to work on that one, don't worry about it, Lil. Our makeup artists are a disaster, they probably don't even know eye shadow from mascara. I have to tell Professor Trelawney about that…"

The three of them headed back to the castle, Celeste in the lead. She was scribbling furiously on a clipboard, the name Lily on the very top in bold calligraphy, an outline of makeup colors and applications underneath. Another column on the same page held suggestions for Lily's outfits and the lighting on each scene.

Lily and Chase sighed. Yup, leave it to Celeste Schoharie to take control of trivial technicalities…

*****

After four mind-numbing days, the night of the play had come. An announcement was made at dinner for the students to dress up in their dress robes before coming back to the Great Hall at 11:00. Lily, Chase and Celeste had already gone down to prepare for the production. Meanwhile, in the boys' dormitory…

"What did Dumbledore say we were going to wear again?" Sirius asked as he dug through his trunk of crumpled robes and shirts.

"Dress robes, of course," Remus answered. He extracted neatly folded dress robes from his own trunk, colored cobalt blue.

"Don't know why they're making such a fuss about it," James added as he put on his own silvery robes. It looked a lot like his dad's Invisibility Cloak, only, of course, it was entirely visible.

Sirius pulled out his slightly wrinkled moss green robes. He smoothened it out with a handy spell and put it on, slipping on the fancy jet-black formal shoes that his mother insisted he use for occasions like this.

"All set?" Remus called from the doorway.

"Just a sec," James said, trying to comb his unruly hair. After about two minutes without success, he just threw the comb on his bed. "I don't even know why mum bothers to buy me a new comb every year…"

They waited for Sirius, who had gone into the bathroom just seconds before. There was a small explosion in there before Sirius came out, the pockets of his robes bulging with something his friends couldn't identify.

"Sirius, you're not going to bring joke stuff to the ball, are you?" Remus asked. "You know that the teachers will be watching you all night, and I have no doubt that your sister will too."

"Oh, all right," Sirius said, looking disappointed as he put all the unidentifiable stuff into his trunk before locking it up.

They headed back to the still full common room, where people were waiting for their partners. Not that it was an issue, but none of them had partners. Sirius was asked by a number of girls from all Houses but he point-blank refused, not explaining the fact that there was no one else he wanted to go with but Celeste Schoharie. James didn't bother asking anybody, since he was still intent on figuring out what Chase really meant a few weeks back when she said that Lily liked him or whatever. He didn't know if it was true…

Remus stuck to his old resolve to be an individual for the rest of the night. All in all, they were apparently the only boys who didn't have partners as they made their way to the Great Hall, although several girls who had asked them out earlier in the week were still available. The three marauders all turned them down even before they could say it out loud.

"No, Sylvia, I'm not intending to go with you to the ball, let alone dance one dance," Sirius said for about the thirtieth time to the thirtieth girl who asked him.

A smallish third year approached Remus, blushing. "Would you--?"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Remus answered wearily.

The third year's face fell. "Why not?" she asked disappointedly. "You still don't have a partner--"

"He's going solo tonight," James interjected. Remus nodded in thanks to him.

"Oh," the third year said, bounding away in a flounce of brown curls. Probably a last-ditch attempt to convince them that she was actually worth being their partner. Pathetic.

The doors to the Great Hall opened, and the students spilled in like water from a broken dam, chattering and shouting to one another to be heard above the rest. In only a few hours, the Hall was turned into a theater house, with of rows upon rows of red velvet chairs, balcony seats (for the teachers) and an elevated stage complete with curtains, side stairs and left and right wings for easy exits into the backstage. The back was probably bewitched to create larger space for the whole stage scenes, the backstage and the dressing rooms.

"Well, front and center then," Sirius said in an easy voice, striding down the middle aisle until he reached the front line of seats where several boisterous first year girls occupied the middle seats.

They fell silent as the marauders approached. "Budge over," Sirius said in what he thought was an intimidating tone. Nonetheless, the first years dutifully obeyed, giggling and trying hard to look 'cool'. Maybe they were part of the annual batch of losers who were hopelessly hooked to looking for 'the one' among the sea of faces in their new school. Lame, lame, lame.

Sirius helped himself to the front and centermost seat, James and Remus on either side of him. Remus checked his watch. Only a few minutes before the show would start…

Moments later, the curtains opened and the stage was revealed. Actually, the whole proscenium was entirely white, down to Dumbledore's long hair and beard. He was standing in the middle of the stage.

"Welcome, my dear students and teachers!" he started, beaming at them all. "Today--or should I say night--we are all going to witness our first Hogwarts play production. It tells a bit about what the non-magical people, who most of us call Muggles, think about witches and wizards in the medieval ages. Now, I daresay our third to seventh years know all about these, as Professor Binns has taught them in History of Magic. Our younger years, however, are not yet accustomed to those particular parts of history.

"Before we start, I hope that none of you will find the role of the witch, played by Miss Chase Selene Tarlise--" There was a smattering of applause-- "offensive and insulting to our race today. We are simply reenacting the Muggle point of view of antagonistic witchcraft. To those who attend Muggle Studies… Professor Hullub kindly reminds you that you have to take note of the key parts of the play for your homework. One roll of parchment on the subject, and an interview with one of the cast members, thank you."

Groans issued randomly from the crowd. "Yes, yes, not quite a fine Christmas present," Dumbledore laughed, his eyes twinkling. "To business," he continued as if uninterrupted, "I would like to address the contribution of Professor Sibyll Trelawney, who supervised the making of this play, Cassiopeia Black, who assisted her and shall play the role of the queen, the crew members and, last but not least, the cast of characters."

A round of applause echoed through the massive Great Hall. Dumbledore smiled. "So, without further ado--"

His words were drowned by another wave of claps from the students (and teachers). Dumbledore exited the stage, the curtains closed again for a few seconds, and opened to reveal the first set. Lily, Celeste and Chase were near a huge beech tree, wearing Muggle clothes.

Celeste, who was wearing the trendiest outfit, nudged Lily and pointed at Chase, who was sitting under the tree, reading a thick book.

"Look at Dana," Celeste said loudly. "Is she some kind of preschool reject or something?"

Lily stared at Chase. "What do you mean?"

Celeste rolled her eyes. "It's the book she's reading," she snapped impatiently.

Chase looked up, her eyes flashing. "And what would you know about what I'm reading?" she shot at her twin with narrowed eyes.

"Why it's all about fairy tales, of course!" Celeste said with a sarcastic smile. "About damsels in distress and wicked witches and knights in shining armor. Puh-leeze. A kindergartner must have better taste than you." She flipped her dark tresses over her shoulder.

"This isn't about fairy tales, you prat. And if your big head was any thicker than it already is, then I wouldn't bother telling you," Chase retorted, slamming the book shut.

Celeste looked down at the title and sneered. "Witchcraft in the Medieval Ages," she mocked. "I always knew you would turn into a wart-nosed cackling shriveled old crone when you grew old. Not that you don't look like that already."

Chase stood up and started to stalk away. Just before she disappeared into the left wing, she said in a flat voice: "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't accept the title you gave me. I know how much it would upset you if somebody stole your rightful appellation."

Lily shook her head. "She's the seventh person today that you've upset, Samantha," she pointed out. "Why don't you just drop your act?"

"Shut up, Emily," Celeste snapped. "If you don't want to be one of them too." With that, she exited to the left wing.

Lily stared after her and sighed. "And they lived happily ever after…" she stage-whispered sardonically. She exited through the right wing.

The curtain closed again for a moment and opened with a new set. This time Lily was alone, standing beside an empty road. It appeared to be night.

She walked down the sidewalk, her head down. Suddenly, a small blue light appeared in front of her. She squinted, trying to identify what it was.

The blue light shot away, and Lily ran after it. (Magic effects must have altered the set to make it look like she was getting farther.) She ducked into a narrow alley where the light had stopped at a dead end.

Lily reached out to touch the blue light and the set dissolved into darkness. Seconds later the set reappeared. Lily had 'arrived' at a medieval-styled forest where a castle was seen 'in the distance.'

The crew members in charge of the curtain calls and set changes must have given up and changed the backgrounds without use of the drapes. Lily got up from the grass and surveyed the surroundings.

"I say," a fifth-year Hufflepuff boy spoke up behind her. Lily looked startled (obviously, it's acting startled) and turned around.

"Where am I?" Lily muttered, surveying the surroundings. The Hufflepuff (looking extremely like the Fat Friar, except he wasn't a silver apparition) answered sincerely, "Why, you're in Treefalls, my dear. Largest ever woodland in Xelarhad, if ever there was one. Are you lost?"

Lily slowly nodded as if in awe of the surroundings. "Er--yes. Could you please show me the way out?" she requested politely.

The Hufflepuff friar laughed heartily. "Certainly, young lady! There's a ball up at the castle tonight, you know. Everyone in all Fasthilian is invited! Except, of course, the Mages of--"

"Mages?" Lily said curiously. "You mean, magic casting beings?"

The Hufflepuff turned white. "It's--ah--not a very good topic to discuss, if you'll excuse my rudeness. But--" He sighed. "We cannot speak of them," he stage-whispered. Then his face changed, and his smile was back. "Well then, let us not think of such dismal things! We are coming to the biggest ball in all of Fasthilian! Westing and Zendel even! Er--please don't tell King Melleas of the Summoners' Clan that I said that," he added hastily in a low voice.

Lily's eyes twinkled with wonder. "Summoners? As in, real magic-unleashing beings who summon legendary beasts?"

"Indeed," the Hufflepuff said, very taken aback that she was clueless. "Er--are you sure you're alright? You--haven't hit your head on something, have you?"

"Oh, I must have," Lily said quickly, "I'm terribly sorry--um--I may have temporary memory loss, or…something." She paused. "So, what's this ball that you're talking about?"

*****

James turned around in his seat, staring out at the crowd. He almost laughed out loud. They all looked awestruck, gaping at the stage like bloodthirsty animals staring keenly at their prey. He had come to understand the plot at last; the play unraveled itself within thirty minutes. Lily was sucked into the medieval age, where everybody else looked exactly like one person she knew in the present. Even Chase (Dana) and Celeste (Samantha) were there, only she was 'surprised' that Celeste was the princess. She was captured by a band of pixie-like things, only they had greenish skin and evil-looking eyes. Currently they were at Chase's first scene as the witch. James was particularly surprised when a good chunk of the crowd clapped and whistled as Chase entered.

She looked stunning in her costume. She was wearing purple robes so dark that they almost looked black; her nails were three inches long, black with glitter; her boots were high-heeled; and the fact that she was wearing visible makeup wasn't lost on him. It was surprising how much changed in her face. Though her role made her have a pale complexion, it was the first time that her eyes brought out more blue. They were probably her best asset, but Chase never minded things like that. She never cared…because for her, you didn't need enhancers and trendy clothes to become good-looking, In James' opinion, she had more confidence than even he did.

James leaned toward Sirius. "Chase sure looks different, doesn't she?"

But Sirius wasn't looking at Chase; he was too busy goggling at Celeste. James smirked. Sometimes he wished he could give Sirius a mental whack on the head. He was so stupid sometimes (no matter how intelligent) when it came to girls. He obviously picked girls who are stereotypically beautiful, girlish and trendy.

"So, this is Princess Alzena," Chase spoke in a villainous voice that she had developed for her character. The crowd clapped and whistled again. Chase smirked for a second before her face returned to acting mode. She got up from her high throne and glided toward her twin, who was chained in manacles at a damp, stone wall.

Chase cupped her hand on Celeste's chin. Celeste glared as if repulsed. "How pitiful. Thousands of servants to wait on you, ten bodyguards to protect you from harm, and not a single one of them could save you. Your kingdom is truly…what is that word? Pathetic." She laughed a cruel, antagonistic laugh. Whoa. She's pretty good, James thought.

Celeste jerked her head out of reach from Chase. "Don't you dare insult my country, you vile, evil, flagitious witch!!!" She struggled with her bonds, only squealing in pain when the magical manacles' power hurt her as she moved.

"My dear princess, I must comment on your lack of knowledge. Your money-hungry father must be so obsessed with power and riches that he has forgotten to hire someone to teach you proper history! Not that he had much sense, he is too greedy for his own selfish intentions that he never bothered to care for his daughter. And that is how your cycle will go, having witless and idiotic rulers generation after generation. I do feel sorry for you, stupidity and ignorance must be common among royal blood."

"You do not know anything about my father! He is kind, he is loving! Your heartless being can't distinguish love, and in reality you're just an angry, bitter wreck! You don't have anybody to love you, so you turn your hatred to the world and make other people miserable--"

"Please, spare me your excuses," Chase interrupted, holding up a hand. "I do not need nonsensical babble on supposed morals of compassion and love for the world. You, like the rest of your people, are caught in the illusion of happiness and blissful security within your own little kingdom. You must have believed that everything was sunshine and rainbows in your room, didn't you? You never bothered to explore the rest of your home, you always stayed in the comfort of your bedroom, looking out your window while servants pampered you to death. Falsehood and prevarication! Your hope for a 'better' world is nothing but a whimsical fallacy. Let me tell you, the world is harsh and cruel, as you have never known through the senseless beliefs that your mother and father have drilled into you."

"How would you know that?" Celeste challenged. "Just because you have the power to make the earth quake in fear, to wipe out forests with a snap of your hand, to kill tremendous numbers of innocent people, doesn't mean that you are above them! It is you who are rapacious for power and might! What will you know about the world, except for this depressing dump that you live in? This is your home, these soulless lands and barren plains that surround your fortress! Dare you speak contemptuous words of my family and my fellow people, when you yourself are not respectable and unworthy to live! You deserve to die, for all the people that you have murdered! After that you still wouldn't be able to pay your endless debt of throwing others' lives away! You'll forever be tormented in hell!"

Chase's lips curled into a thin smile. "And you would know the condition I was in?" she shot at Celeste. Celeste remained silent. "You would not! Because of your happy, sickening convictions of the world you live in now, you are not aware of everything else around you. Do you not see? Farther away from Xenir Ultima, the supposed land of peace and tranquil beauty, is pain and suffering! You would not know about it, since your family has so misguidedly protected you from the evils in the world! You were doomed to stay in incognizant oblivion! I pity you. Your family has lied, child, lied to make you believe that there is no suffering! Lied through the skin of their teeth to make you unaware of the fact that other villages are stricken with poverty and vice!"

With this pronouncement, Chase turned on her heel and glided back to her throne, rolling her mage's staff on her fingers. A minion strode over to the bottom of her throne and bowed, his legs shaking slightly. "Your Eminence, we have successfully defeated the kingdom of Xenir Degonrif in the northwest. We have sent all soldiers from the southern troops to hasten there, Your Grace," he said nervously.

Chase poured a glass of wine (at least it looked like wine, thought James) onto a glass and sipped it. The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile. "Perfect."

*****

AN - I wish I could fit the winter ball in here, but obviously I can't. To those who know a lot about fashion and cosmetics, forgive me if I'm a little clueless on the topic. Well, not entirely, but I'm not big on describing it. One more thing…REVIEW! (A girl can hope.)

-Dimantrien