CHAPTER 6
AVA wandered towards the food table in a daze after being dismissed by Liz. That was a close call, she nearly blew her cover to Soul. She had to focus more. Determined, AVA drew herself straighter and held a more graceful stance and posture. Tonight, just for tonight, she would be Ariel. Not an odd boy from Shibusen, but a lady of high society worthy of being invited to a party hosted by the son of Shinigami.
She felt someone approach her from behind and secretly hid several silver dinner knives in the voluminous folds of her dress. Just in case, you never know. 'Ariel' turned around to face a blonde boy with blue eyes who smiled what Ariel thought was suppose to be a charming smile. Similar boys like him clustered around her. Probably his friends and acquaintances from the school. So annoying.
"Hello there, are you lost?" he asked with a thousand-watt smile on his face.
Definitely the too-helpful type, she thought quickly giving him a shake of her head, pushing past him, and disappearing into the crowd. She didn't look back to see if any other goons like him followed her. Really, she expected better than this from boys.
Ariel made her way on to the balcony and took a deep breath. Maybe she never should had came to the ball, she thought while untying the black ribbon which held her mask. That conflict in Soul's eyes... What did it mean? He certainly seem the type to hide secrets from others.
A flutter of silver feathers interrupted her thought. It was an owl. Ariel tilted her head towards the nightbird and it studied her back in return with its matching silver luminous eyes.
"Hello, how do you do?" she asked while the owl only looked at her with quizzical eyes.
She slowly wriggled her fingers out of her glove and reached out a hand tentatively towards the owl, stopping halfway. It glared at the hand for a few seconds, trying to decide and weight out the risks in it tiny head, before hopping delicately the rest of the way and placing its head against her hand.
Ariel smiled a soft smile in delight and stroked its feathers, "We're all alone out in the darkness, aren't we little owl?" It hooted in agreement and Ariel imitated it back, cuddling its warm body against her own.
Several minutes passed on like this before the owl left her side suddenly and took off into the ballroom, cooing as if asking for Ariel to follow.
"Wait!" Ariel quickly slipped the mask back on and gathered her skirt in her hands, running through the crowd in order to keep the owl in her sight. No one ever cast the little flying owl a glance as it flitted through the maze of corridors and into a room.
Ariel followed as best as she could on her sore feet. She quickly kicked her heels off in disgust as soon as she entered the room. Liz would go paranoid if she lost them but that didn't make her want to wear them nonetheless.
Her pain and discomfort was forgotten as she drank in the sight of the room, washed away by the scene beheld in front of her. Varieties of instruments were displayed across the carpeted floor and the burgundy curtains sighed as the wind from the balcony doors picked up against them. The grand piano stood in the center with the moonlight gleaming off its cover. But it was an instrument in the shadows that caught her eye - a cello.
Ariel tiptoed across the room, afraid to disturb its occupance, and drew a gasp of wonder as she lifted up the sleek instrument out of its stand, its surface polished and buffed everyday by Kid's servants no doubt about that. She brought it out on to the balcony with its bow and set herself down on the bench. The cello felt comfortable and smooth against her hand. She caressed it. The owl had longed disappear into the silent night.
For a second she was AVA, remembering the first time she heard such an amazing instrument and the secret vow to play one whenever the chance arose. She remembered Madam's harsh order and rules that banned her from ever being near one; the books and manuals she had secretly stolen on Madam's errands and had to hid away from her; the dim candlelight glow at night, when she would bring them out and secretly practice on the spine of a broomstick; the songs of famous composers that she imagined she would play in the future... Like now.
Taking a deep breath, she slid the bow across the strings just like she practiced every night in the dark, only this time it was for real. The rich note resonated through the room and her excitement built up. She jumped into an extract from Chopin's Nocturne, playing the piano's right hand just as it were on a piano. Ariel didn't meant to stray away from the score engraved into her mind, but her fingers shuffled into different positions on their own accord.
Her song shifted into a darker atmosphere, sighing and recounting the timeline of AVA's horrible past life with Madam. The pain was so audible in the music and the tension around her was so thick that one could just reach over with a scissor and snip it. All the while, her music soared and dipped through the air, singing her sorrows into the world where it may hopefully just dwindle and disappear. Hot tears sprung from her eyes but she just brushed them away without missing a beat.
Then just as quickly as it started, the music began its descend. Ariel's heart returned to its normal thump-thump speed as she began to draw the last note of her recital.
That was when Soul happened to crash into the room. Her bow jarred on the strings as she tried to contain her surprise. The song was interrupted, it was over. Ariel didn't need to turn around to know it was Soul, what with his grumbling and cursing. She remained silent and stockstill all the while as he picked himself up.
"Um... Sorry about interrupting... Your playing is... Amazing," The last word sounded awkward to AVA's ear. Something told her he wasn't use to complimenting other people, maybe his 'friendly' personality? Staying silent was the safest option so far.
"Could you please turn around?" Soul finally asked, "I would like to meet a talented virtuoso such as yourself. My name is Soul Eater Evans, you may have heard of me." Delighted, Ariel couldn't contain the laughter that rose out through the air at the respective title.
She stood up in a rustle of satin, "You give me too much credit. I am no virtuoso, this is my first time with this instrument. But yes, I've heard of you. You may remember me."
"Then who taught you?" he pressed on.
"You wouldn't believe if I said it was a little silver owl." She turned around and winked cheekily at him knowing full well how funny his face expression would look like.
"Ariel?" She grinned at his double take.
"You remembered me," Ariel clapped her hands together in mock applause.
Soul looked at her blinking, still processing the information. "What? You're starting to stare, Soul. Again." He blushed at the last word but continued staring at her.
"You remind me of someone. Have we met before?" Soul asked with his brows furrowed in creases of concentration.
"We only met just now Soul, hence, the introductions," Ariel sighed a little irritated.
"Fine. Whatever. I was just leaving anyways, I've heard better music," Soul turned away with pissed look written all over his face. He reached for the door handle.
A twitch in Ariel's soul perception radar - a Kishin.
"NO! Don't ope-" Ariel started. Too late. The door swung open wide to reveal a hideous Kishin, its face disfigured like congealed slime, raking its elongated claws at Soul.
"What the heck!" Through pure survival instinct drilled into him through countless practices and experience, Soul's arm transformed into a scythe immediately and he raised it to parry the incoming claws. Sparks ignited between the collisions as both struggle for the upper hand. Soul grounded his heels into the hardwood floor of the music room for leverage.
While Soul was caught up with the claws of one of its hand the Kishin raised his other hand, the claws elongating in the same lethal manner. Soul never saw it coming, unlike Ariel. A sliver of silver nipped between the claws and struck home through the Kishin's heart and it evaporated in a whirlwind of darkness, making Soul crash forward with his momentum.
Ariel quickly strode over to the wall and tugged out the still-quivering silverware knife, fully aware of the stare she was drawing from Soul.
"Quit it, Soul. There're probably more of these things out there, we have to go help the others," Ariel brought out the other stolen silverwares out from their hiding places, ripping half of the dress off as she ran towards the ballroom. It was a pretty dress, but it hindered movement. Shame really.
They hurried downstairs to where a war had already erupted in the ballroom. A quick glance showed Blackstar and Tsubaki with Kid and the twins trying to keep a huddled group of civilians safe between them. Ox, Harvar, Kim and Jaqueline and others were doing likewise on the other side of the room. Ariel spotted Maka as well among the chaos, fending off waves of Kishin over and over again the best she could without her weapon by her side.
"Maka!" Soul desperately swung his arm in wide arcs, trying to make his way towards his meister. Ariel kept up with him while flinging knives and forks whenever she had to jump in to save his reckless life. Before long, she found herself back-to-back with him as they faced the advancing Kishins.
She patted herself down and cursed. Ariel had thrown her last silverware.
"Please tell me that you do have a weapon somewhere on you," Soul stated from behind her.
"You're making me think wrong," she hissed back in frustration.
Soul seem to perk up at that, "I'm only stating, you're doing the thinking." His smirk paled when he turned back to look at the Kishins, "It was an honor meeting you, Ariel. Rest in pieces."
"Shut up, I'm concentrating," Ariel took breath, squinting at the mob, and slowly drew her soul wavelength out of her body just like AVA had before when fighting Blackstar. But this time she pulled and tugged on it, centering it around her right hand, twisting and weaving them together to form a glowing whip. Eyes widening she swung it hard in a circle, dissipating a whole wave of Kishins as it sank into their flesh.
The idiot who got her back plastered the smirk back on, "See? I was right."
"Haha, really funny. Now get back to Maka's side," Ariel ordered, "I'll take care of things here."
With a twitch of her whip Ariel cleared up a path to Maka and Soul ran towards her without a word said. Ariel sighed in relief, now she could get her task done properly. Her whip whistled swirled through the air, slicing and slashing Kishins flesh. It was an extension of her arm and she had complete control over it. Ariel danced to the music of war cries and uncanny screams, pirouetting out of harms way and leaping out of reach. The cold marble was slick with comrade blood under her bare feet as she continued on.
Then it reached her, the silence of the whole room, and she lowered her whip. The fight was over.