And just as suddenly, mist began to roll in, thick with unnatural speed. It poured from the water's surface, swallowing the light of the lanterns and shrouding the sacred river until nothing could be seen beyond few meters.
The crowd panicked as their awe frayed into unease. Even the sound of the river dimmed, muffled into silence by the heavy shroud of mist. But Eli's attention was elsewhere.
She blinked hard against the blur to see clearly. The haze thickened, swallowing lamps, faces, even the outline of the river's other edge.
Then another blast of wind tore across the bank, tugging strands of her hair loose, whipping them across her cheek. Her chest tightened.
Focus, Eli. Why… why is it going that way? she thought to herself.
Her lantern.
She leaned forward, straining her eyes hard through the fog for a proper look. All the other lanterns swept obediently downriver, carried by the harsh winds. Yet hers; hers resisted. It moved against the flow, as if being drawn by an invisible string.
It swerved oddly, dipping and rising in jagged bursts and moving in a strange, erratic path, as if someone was remote-controlling it from afar.
"Why is it moving like a drunk driven car? Is it some kind of weird signal, some kind of a hint from Dreamsync or is it just another glitch." she wondered in disbelief.
She continued to focus on her lantern's trajectory when the lantern tumbled downwards, slow at first, then faster, moved straight toward the bridge at the river's bend.
At the bridge, supplies had been stored for the ceremony. Barrels, clothes, jars of oil where ready to be distributed to the people once the rites were done. They were things meant to honor the river's blessing and things that should never, ever meet flame.
Her heart lurched into her throat. Given the past ominous events, suddenly a bad thought appeared in her mind.
"No-no-no, don't." she whispered in panic, the words slipped out of her before she even realized she'd spoken.
As if to make her premonition true, it dipped, faltered midair, shuddering like a wounded bird struggling against the wind… and then it fell straight.
Fssh—crack.
Fire burst to life quickly, rushing along the oiled fabric and climbing upward in sharp, eager flames. Within moments, a fierce blaze filled the space where calm shadows had been just seconds before.
Gasps rippled through the crowd, sharp and horrified. Murmurs fractured into cries, and cries into panic.
"Ahhh...Fire!" someone screamed in panic.
"Saints above, someone stop it!"
"Get water! Hurry!"
"No! No, no water. There's oil there in there!" a smart soul added.
The soldiers surged into motion at once making there armors clatter as they stormed the riverfront. Some rushed to beat back the spreading flames; others turned on the crowd, shouting over the rising din.
"This way! Quickly!"
"Protect the King and Queen!"
"Escort Lady Mirabel!"
"Clear the path, move, move! Quick!!"
People pressed against each other as they surged toward the exits in a tide of fear. The shouts of the guards emerged above the crackling inferno. They carved out routes through the chaos to escort the royals out, there only thought was the royals' safety. The King, the Queen, the bride-to-be all hurried away under the heavy guard.
Somewhere through the roar of fire and the cries of the crowd, Eli caught her brother's voice, shouting orders to rescue the public, to keep the people safe.
And amidst the chaos, she… she was far from them. In the crush of urgency, she was forgotten.
Eli stood rooted in her place. The wind whipped wild and restless, feeding the blaze until the fire hissed like a living thing. She should have fled, but she couldn't. Not because of the fire, but because of what lay beyond it.
The bridge was crowded only a few moments ago but now it stood empty. Empty, except for one figure.
Through the heat shimmer and the shifting dance of flames, she caught site of a silhouette that stood unmoving. At first, she told herself that it was just a trick of the light until she caught him slightly move, he was real.
"Is he an idiot?"
She squinted through the haze, trying to get a better look. All she could see was his long dark hair were being tousled by the merciless wind, and are they golden eyes? she wondered. His eyes were burning bright even through the mist. He stood with a stillness in his posture that made the chaos around him seem unreal, in contrast.
The bridge was close enough that she should have been able to see his face clearly. And yet the fire, the mist, the tearing winds all conspired to blur him to hide him just enough.
She narrowed her eyes considerably for a better view.
"Gasp!"
She gasped, realizing that he was also watching her. Without noticing it, her heart was beating loud as if dancing with the fire and pounded hard against her chest in fright and she had to hush it.
In that moment, their gazes locked across distance, across fog, across all reason. She could not make it out, but she was certain from his eyes that his lips were curving upwards carrying a faint smile, unnervingly sure, as if he had been waiting for this moment. Waiting for her to notice him.
"W-who…?"
His constant stare…..she felt herself getting sucked into his eyes. Those eyes, which were fixed on her, held her captive. She could neither speak nor move. That stillness of him being so calm in the middle of chaos, unsettled her more than the fire ever could.
But before Eli could make sense of it, before she could even register what she was seeing, "Princess.....Oh, good heavens! Do you know how frightened I was when I didn't find you outside? Come! What are you doing here? It's not safe!"
Eli blinked, still half-dazed.
"I called out for you. Why didn't you answered me." Talia's voice cut through Elinessa's haze. She appeared from the mix of smoke and mist, clutching her skirts with one hand and reaching for her with the other. Her eyes were wide and frantic.
In normal situation Talia would have scolded her, but perhaps looking at Eli's face and remembering the past she softened,
"W-were you… afraid?"
"Afraid? Hah...no, that might not be the case," she said, counterting her own words which had left her mouth earlier, though her tone betrayed the lie. "Knowing your brazenness, I should've known you'd be in the middle of chaos."
She stepped closer and scanned Eli up and down before her hands hovered as if checking for wounds. "Are you hurt anywhere? Hmm?"
Elinessa shook her head.
"You should have escaped with the others," she scolded Eli, but her voice came out softer than usual, trembling slightly. "What if something had happened to you? Come now....let's go." she clamped her hand around Eli's arm, tugging her firmly back, pulling her away from the river's edge and toward the safety of the exit.
Still, Elinessa couldn't let go. Her head turned over her shoulder as her gaze once again snapped back to the bridge.
As if the weather itself couldn't decide its course, suddenly heavy rain began to fall, extinguishing the fire slowly. And yet, he hadn't moved. He was still there watching her and his features were blurred now by rain and smoke, but his presence… it held Eli. And she saw her lantern lay at his feet, guttered out.
***
Elinessa was seen entering into the bright-lit area, where lanterns in shape of suspended stars hung above silver-leafed decorative trees. She cut a striking figure, draped in a silver-white sparkling gown that shimmered with her each step, its layered silk catching both moonlight and firelight in shifting waves. A similar colored feathered mask concealed half of her face. And above it all, her hair was crowned with extravagant silver-and-pearl accessories that were intricate enough to look ceremonial and practical enough to keep her identity veiled in a crowd of eager eyes.
She looked every inch the mysterious noblewoman the event demanded, though beneath the polished surface her expression was flat, tired, and privately mutinous.
If this book throws one more "beloved pre-wedding tradition" at me, I swear I'm going to yank the code apart, once I am outside with my bare hands. Gosh, I'm so tired of these constant ordeals, I don't know how the rich manages to survive this in real life.
She stepped into the open-air garden or what used to be a garden. Tonight, it had been transformed into an extravagant ballroom beneath the stars, completed with gilded pavilions and polished marble paths that reflected the moonlight like still water.
After the lantern disaster last night, the royal family had been especially adamant on holding this event as if forcing everyone into yet another masked celebration would wash away the memory, and she, as their beloved daughter, was commanded to join and expand her networks.