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Aradia frowned at the spot on the linoleum. She’d been scrubbing it for over ten minutes but it wouldn’t come off. It was likely blood, and looks unfortunately close to her own blood color. She hated to think of how ready the family was to kill off anyone in their way, especially someone who was likely in a similar position as Aradia. Well, similar financial state, at least. Aradia’s personal situation was incredibly bizarre.
Before her lusus had died, it had somehow ended up meeting another lusus, much higher up, who was a spider. When Rammom had died, Aradia had somehow ended up being taken in by spidermom. Actually, Aradia thought it was likely that she had been intended as a meal but somehow ended up a resident instead. There was another girl her age in the care of spidermom, a cerulean blooded girl named Vriska. Vriska was awful to Aradia most of the time, making her do jobs for her and picking fights with her. Anyway, through some means or another, Aradia ended up a permanent inhabitant, but more of a maid, in the large cold home of the Cerulean bloods. The older girl was nicer. Aranea was bookish and seemed calm, but there was something slightly off about her. She just seemed to have a dangerous undertone. As a general rule, Aradia steered clear of everyone whenever she could.
This morning, Vriska had demanded she clean the front hall’s floor, as they were getting a little grungy. Aradia knew better than to argue, so she pulled an apron over her shirt and skirt and got to work scrubbing the floors. As she worked, she absentmindedly hummed a tune she’d made up. When she had finished clearing the floor of all its stains (various rainbow colored blood stains) there was a bit of a commotion outside. A knock sounded on the door. Considering no one else was around at the moment, Aradia stood and dried her hands on her apron before opening the door. Outside stood a purpleblood. Aradia immediately dropped her eyes. Purplebloods were just a hair away from violet and then fuschia, but they were known to be a tad irritable.
“How may I help you?” Aradia asked, still keeping her eyes on the floor.
“Now sis you ain’t gotta be all bowing over here I just got a motherfuckin palace decree for the household.”
Aradia looked into his face and gave him a hesitant half smile. He had his face painted, in the strange religious manner of the purplebloods. He handed her an elegant violet and gold colored envelope before nodding to her and turning to leave.
Preferring Aranea to Vriska, Aradia set off for the library. She opened the door softly, she’d hate to startle Aranea or make her angry in anyway. Aradia was too curious about the contents of the envelope, and her best shot at finding out the contents would be to keep Aranea cheerful. Not surprisingly, Aranea was in her favorite chair in the library with a book in her lap. Aradia approached silently holding the letter in front of her. She cleared her throat. Aranea closed her book, keeping her thumb on the page she’d been reading.
“Aradia, what is it?”
“This letter has just been delivered. It seems important, the purpleblood who brought it declared it a palace decree.”
“That certainly is interesting. Call Vriska in here, will you?”
“Of course.”
Aradia left the library and walked briskly to Vriska’s room. She knocked once before Vriska yelled from inside. “What is it?”
“Vriska, Aranea needs you in the library.”
“What does that bitchy blabbermouth bookworm need now?”
“There’s a letter. It’s in a violet envelope. Definitely from the palace.”
“Why didn’t you say so, Megido. Let’s go!”
The two young trolls walk in silence. Both of them are about a third of a sweep past their 8th (A/N 18). Aranea was older, but only by so much. Back in the library, Aranea’s eyes scanned the paper quickly, opening in surprise as she took in the meaning of the words on the page. She looked up at the two trolls entering the room.
“It seems we have a wonderful opportunity to move up in the world.”
“Go on.” Vriska’s eyes were gleaming with curiosity that she couldn’t hide.
“The violetblood. The close friend of the future empress. It seems his guardian Dualscar has decided he needs to get a matesprit. He’s throwing a ball to pair off his ward. Tonight. These were likely sent to all the highest families.”
Vriska grinned greedily, “So this is the perfect time to win him over.”
“It’s not so easy though. He’s said to be considerably irritable. And there are rumors he has a thing for the future empress.” Aranea related.
“You think I can’t do it?” Vriska said, an angry edge to her voice. “You think you’re better than me? That you can win him over?”
“That’s not at all what i’m saying. I’m not interested in him at all.” Aranea’s voice was calm, which only grated on Vriska’s nerves further. She stormed out of the room, muttering something about finding her Mindfang dress. Aranea sat the letter on the table next to her chair and reopened her book. Aradia picked up the letter. It requested the presence of every single girl from 7 to 9 sweeps. Aradia hummed in consideration. Technically, it said nothing about blood color. It was sure the prince wouldn’t be interested, but if she didn’t flaunt the burgundy that ran in her veins she could likely go. Aradia always appreciated a new adventure in her dull life.
“Aranea.”
“Yes?” She looked up from her book again.
“Do you think I could go as well? Just to have an evening out?”
“Oh. I see. Well, it would be fun. Of course, you’d need to make sure your chores are completed first. The main hall’s floor needs to be scrubbed. The windows need to be cleaned. The draperies and tapestried need cleaned. The garden. The halls are quite dusty lately. The laundry… Oh and of course. Spidermom needs to be fed. But if you can finish those, you can go, naturally.” Aranea smiled a fake sort of smile. Aradia, did her best to smile and bowed out of the room. She sighed. Aranea clearly didn’t want her to do. But it was still early in the day. And she’d already scrubbed the floor, which was a bigger thing on the list. So it was worth a try.
Aradia hurried to Aranea’s room and gathered her dirty clothes. She then went back to Vriska’s and knocked cautiously.
“What?” Vriska shrieked.
“I need your dirty clothes.”
“Can’t it wait?”
“Not exactly. I need to do it before tonight if I expect to go.”
Vriska opened the door, laughing. “What? You? You, a filthy rustblood?”
Aradia flushed angrily and nodded rigidly, “Aranea is willing to let me go.”
“What the hell was she thinking?”
“Don’t think that she’s actually letting me. She gave me a near impossible list before. So i’m sure you’ll be thrilled.” Aradia spoke bitterly.
“Oh . . . I see what she’s done. Well, considering you’re working so hard today, I need this sewed. Before the hour is out! And here’s my wash.” She tossed a dress over
Aradia’s head, where it hung awkwardly off one horn before pushing a large basket of wash into her arms and slamming the door. She could be heard snickering behind the door. At least someone was getting something good out of this, Aradia thought grimly. She struggled in the hallway with picking up Aranea’s wash basket as well, but eventually had a solid grip on it. She carefully balanced the baskets on the way to the laundry room two floors down. Aradia managed to fit both loads of laundry into the clothes washing apparatus. She was fortunate in the fact that both sisters dressed mostly in blacks and blues and therefore their clothes could all go in together. While the machine whirred next to her, she closely examined the dress Vriska had thrown at her. There seemed to be a rip on one of the sleeves, noticeable, but also easy to fix. Within half an hour, the rip was fixed and the dress returned to Vriska. Even so, Aradia knew she wouldn’t have time to do all the chores she was given. The wash had been moved to the hot air blower to dry, but everything would still need to be hung up or folded. The windows needed washing, the drapes and tapestries needed to at least have the dust beat out of them, the garden needed tending, and spidermom needed to be fed. Aradia sighed and slumped next to the hot air blower. There was no way she’d complete everything in time.
Unless...
No. She couldn’t. But it would solve her problems…
Since Rammom had died, and Aradia almost died with her in the insane occurrence of their hive collapsing, Aradia had developed an odd ability. She heard the whispers of the dead. At first it had been almost overpowering, too many lives had been ended at the Serket’s castle of a hive. But in time, Aradia learned to ignore the whispers, or more interestingly hold occasional conversations with some of the dead. They were vengeful; still furious at the Serkets, and Aradia learned that with enough concentration they could do things in the living world. Ordinarily, Aradia talked them down, convinced them that it would be even worse for her if they did something to the Serkets. So they would always back down. Heaven forbid they offend the most interesting troll they knew (the only they could talk to). They adored Aradia. It was positive that if she asked them to do something different than they were normally permitted, even chores, they’d jump at the opportunity. Well. If they wanted to, and she needed someone to. It was worth a shot. Aradia left the laundry room and headed for the garden.
In the center of the garden, Aradia sat on a bench. She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and willed the spirits to her. Right away the noise was astonishing, so she willed them silent. She opened her eyes, seeing nothing, but feeling their energies buzzing around her.
“I need a favor of sorts.”
The feeling of curiosity poured over her from an external source. They were interested.
“Nothing that would directly hurt the Serkets, none of that. But it will definitely irritate them.”
Aradia explained the scenario and was greeted with the expected enthusiasm. The majority of the lingering spirits were interested, if not all of them. Already, Aradia noticed small weeds simply blinking out of existence. Well, she hadn’t said how to do things. And it was working. Walking back to the castle she saw a third story window fly open and watched a tapestry float out, dust falling from it as it was beat by invisible arms. Aradia grinned and thought out an enthusiastic thanks. They would hear her. They always heard what she wanted them to. She went back to the washroom and started putting Aranea’s dresses on hangers. She ran them up to Aranea’s closet then returned to sort out and fold the remaining clothes. Vriska’s t-shirts in one pile on top of her folded jeans. Undergarments were sorted out and folded as well. Aradia returned everything straight to their drawers within another hour. It was almost dark by now, almost time to leave. She strides through the halls, running her fingers over the curtains and hangings, finding them all clean and vibrant. The spirits were terrifyingly good. Aradia hated to think she’d need to meet this standard of clean from now on. She leaned out a window to see the garden looking better than it had in years. Wonderful. Only one thing left to check. She reluctantly sauntered to the very bottom of the castle. Nearing it, she heard screams. Oh. It seems the dead were most successful in feeding spidermom and bringing another to join them in their ranks of deceased. Aradia briefly wondered how they managed to bring anyone down there, but decided it was probably possession of the bodies that led to their untimely demise. Aradia could only hope it wasn’t any of the few trolls she called friends.
Aradia was heading back up the many flights of stairs when a spirit engulfed her. It was positively pulsing with energy. This spirit was practically unable to express what it wanted; it was that excited. After a moment or two, in which Aradia waited patiently, it urged her to continue up. She listened to the spirit as it led her up countless flights of stairs, eventually leading her to the attic. She looked around the dark dusty room, the spirit certainly hadn’t cleaned here. Then there was a movement at the end of the attic. A wardrobe slowly creaked open and a gorgeous dress was revealed. Aradia gasped slightly. It was the blue of the Serket’s blood, and had clearly been made of discarded pieces of the two’s clothing. It went all the way to the floor and featured black lace (which seemed to have been made from some of Vriska’s old black t-shirts) at the edge of each layer of the dress. It was on an old wire mannequin. On the top, held together with fine wire they must have found, was a delicate necklace made of what looked like shattered pieces of the eight balls Vriska loved so much. Similar pieces studded the waist and top of the sleeveless dress. It looked exactly Aradia’s size. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“You guys made this for me?”
An overwhelming yes permeated the air.
“I love it! It’s absolutely perfect! I can’t thank you enough.”
The happy feeling in the air made Aradia giggle and she asked them to give her a moment to change. Aradia pulled on the dress. It fit like a glove, even on her curvy figure. The necklace felt warm on her throat. It was a tad risky to wear so much color being a lowblood. Especially a color that wasn’t hers. But she couldn’t bring herself to dislike the dress for that even. She descended the stairs slowly. Her feet were still in her plain black shoes, but it didn’t matter, the dress reached the ground. No one would notice her basic footwear. She entered the main hall down the main stairs, seeing both Serket girls in the hall. Aranea was saying goodbye to Vriska, who was in the dress Aradia had fixed earlier. With her small pointy frame, she looked plain compared to Aradia. Aradia hurried down the stairs.
“I finished the chores!”
Both girls turned to look at her. Shock and curiosity were apparent on Aranea’s face and Vriska flushed angrily.
“Where the hell did you get that?!” Outrage colored her voice.
“It was a gift.”
“More like you stole it! You can’t wear that color!”
“It hardly matters for one night.” Aradia tried to reason.
“Now, now Vriska. Look how lovely she looks in the dress. And that necklace gives it just the right touch, don’t you think?” Aranea said smoothly.
“No I don’t think so. I think the whole thing looks- wait a minute…” Vriska’s eyes narrowed. “Those are my eight balls.” She strode over to Aradia, who stood stiffly there, holding her gown. Vriska reached out and tore the necklace from her throat. It came off, cutting into Aradia in the process.
“And that black! That’s probably from my shirts! We know you don’t have more than one!” Vriska tore the lace from the dress, shredding the bottom of each layer.
Aradia tried to get herself away from Vriska, but Vriska fisted her hands in the fabric, tearing a large chunk out of the back off the dress. Aradia fell to the stairs, tears coming to her eyes. Aranea clicked her tongue, “Nows Vriska. That’s enough.”
Vriska harrumphed condescendingly, and exited the hive quickly. Aranea passed Aradia on the stairs, murmuring something about it being a shame.
The room felt too stuffy and once they were gone Aradia ran outside to the garden, her eyes still crowded with tears. She fell to her knees and rested her head on the bench where she’d earlier asked the spirits for help. She could still feel them now, angry, upset, and trying to offer comfort. It was no good though. Aradia wondered how she could have been so stupid to think it would work out for her. How could it? She was just a worthless lowblood. She’d be better off a meal for spidermom. It would be easier that way.
Somehow, through her tears, she saw a small twinkle of light. It was too late for lightning bugs. They would just die too. Life was just pointless for everyone. The little twinkles of light continued. The hard surface of the bench softened under her head too. Aradia looked up with her vision still blurry to see a form, surrounded by soft twinkles of light, sitting on the bench in front of her. She jerked back startled.
“Now, that’s right, madame. Enough of those blasted tears.”
“W-what?Who are you?”
“Egads! I’m your fairy godfather of course!”
Aradia thought that it could be true, he looked strange enough. His skin was a peachy pink and he had no horns in sight. He was dressed strangely too, in strangely short shorts and guns holstered on each thigh. His muscle shirt was black with a green skull on it.
“Oh but there’s no point.”
“You can’t really believe that. I’m here after all, that’s got to prove something. Now, where did I put that darned thingamabob?”
“What are you looking for?” Aradia said, now able to stop crying.
“My whatsits. . . Magic wand…”
“Magic wand?”, Aradia said skeptically.
“Of course. Oh! That’s right! I put it away!” With that, he reached and pulled a thin, white wand from thin air. Aradia’s mouth opened wide in shock.
“Now, we have to get you right cleaned up. I can’t fathom how you could go to a ball in this rugged state.”
“The ball?”
“Of course.”
“But I can’t still go to that!”
“Then what’s the everfrigging point of me even being here? Of course you’re still going! Now, first things first, I need an eight ball.”
One of the spirits who had been curiously lingering, rushed off and quickly returned, dropping it onto the ground in front of him. He waved his wand and half chanted, half sang a strange little song. Without warning, the eight ball glowed and grew until it was large enough to sit in. Wheels appeared on the side, bearing the number eight that was featured in the center. Where the white circle had been on the ball, an opening formed. Inside, blue seats formed. Still continueing the song, the fairy godfather waved his wand at the garden. Four small rodent skeletons emerged from under the ground, dirt on them.
“A little unorthodox… but these should do the trick.”
The small bodies expanded and reshaped until they formed four skeletal horses, hitched to the carriage. The godfather turned to face open air and waved his wand at it. Slowly, a corporeal being came into form. An adult troll, looking completely shocked made his way to the seat on the front of the carriage and took up the reigns consideringly. Lastly, the strange magic man turned to Aradia. He smiled, then waved his wand. Aradia felt warm and bubbly in a way, almost like a carbonated drink shook up. Light blinded her and when her vision returned she was in an even more immaculate dress than the one she’d had before. The dress was stunning silver, with intricate patterns in a more brilliant blue than anything the Serket’s owned. It had a portrait neckline and cap sleeves. The full skirt of it reached the floor and the whole thing glittered radiantly even in the low light. It would be positively dazzling in the light of the palace. She felt her hair pulled atop her head, and her hands discovered two elegantly jeweled rings at the base of her horns. Her feet were snug in crystal slippers. Her nails were filed to smooth crescents and were covered in a silver glittering polish to match the dress. Most strange of all, was that rather than the normal slightly rosy hue her gray skin took on due to her red blood, her hands appeared slightly bluish.
“Wow. I- I don’t even know how to thank you.”
“A job well done then!”
“Absolutely! One question though…”
“Yes?”
“Why do I look oddly blue?”
“Oh!” He blushed slightly and averted his eyes. “I’ve got a bit of a thing for blue beauties.”
“You changed my blood color to blue!?”
He nodded sheepishly.
“This is even higher than the Serket’s too!” It seemed that Aradia was now an indigoblood, one color higher than the Serkets.
“Oh. Yeah. They’re ripsnortin awful to you. But those cerulean eyes…..” He gazed dreamily off.
“So should I just head to the ball now?”
“Oh! Wait just a hogswashing moment! Anywho, you’ve got to be back before midnight or the whole kit and kaboodle will up and vanish and you’ll be in a right mess.”
“So, everything goes back to normal at midnight?”
“When the twelfth strike of the clock has gone off. It’s vital.”
“Alright. Look, I can’t thank you enough. Oh! I never did catch your name.”
“It’s Jake. Now then! Go and have your adventure!” He made both his hands into finger pistols and winked before disappearing like he came.
Still slightly dazed by the miracle of sorts, Aradia climbed into the 8-ball carriage. Her ghost-turned-driver cracked the whip and the skeletal horses took off. She gazed out the window, thrilled. Scenery flew by her. All sorts of landscapes she’d never seen before. She hadn’t been off the Serket grounds since she’d started living there, now she felt envigorated and free. The salty scent she that she knew was the sea started to fill her nose, further awakening her. Aradia wondered where exactly the ball was being held. Vriska actually had some sort of a past with the prince, and had said that the prince lived in the wrecks of a ship. That was hardly a palace. In fact the only palace Aradia knew of at all was underwater. That could provide a problem. But the Serkets, who were invited, also couldn’t breathe underwater. As the carriage continued at it’s mad pace a glowing could be seen on the horizon. They drew nearer and Aradia saw a large collection of white tents, lit elegantly, next to the ocean. The tent seemed to be on a boardwalk, which solved the problems caused by heels and sand. Aradia had never worn heeled shoes, and she doubted that crystal shoes were the way to start. Actually, considering the length of the dress, Aradia probably didn’t even need them. They’d only hinder her on her fancy ball adventure. As the carriage rolled to a stop directly in front of the tent, Aradia kicked off the slippers into the bottom of the carriage. She wiggled her now liberated toes, marveling at the fact that they too were covered in the silver glittering polish. Magic certainly was thorough.
Aradia walked into the main tent, looking around excitedly. The boardwalk planks were smooth and warm beneath her toes. As she entered, nearly everyone turned to look at her. Aradia was startled, thinking that they saw through the magic and knew she was a lowblood. No one charged her though, so she walked into a crowd of people chatting and attempted to blend in. It didn’t seem to be working. It was clear they could tell something was off about her, Aradia thought to herself. Trolls, all finely dressed and with their own dates, kept stealing glances at her. Aradia knew she probably looked shifty. That had to be why everyone wouldn’t stop looking at her. She forced herself to relax and drifted to a lowblood holding a tray of drinks. Aradia had never tried any highblood drinks before. She pulled one of the drinking flutes off the tray and smiled at the server.
“Thank you.”
The troll’s eyes widened. He clearly hadn’t expected to be addressed. He stammered some sort of response and after another smile at him, Aradia wandered in the direction of a corner. Aradia would have assumed that the only way she could be at a party like this would be as a server too. She felt like she would be better fit as a server in this place of light and music. Aradia took a sip of the drink, delighting at the feel of the bubbles on her tongue. Aradia nursed her drink and watched the couples whirling elegantly around on the dance floor. The drink left her feeling warm and pleasantly sleepy. The trolls dancing seemed like leaves floating down from trees in the autumn. They all passed so close to each other on their graceful, unpredictable trips around the dancefloor. Aradia had never danced like that. Somehow it just felt too slow and practiced to her. But something like this had a certain beauty to it. Aradia could tell how the different couples felt by the way they danced, the couples leaned together; moved together. It was like watching two parts of one entity.
Aradia’s thoughts were interrupted by a man walking directly before her and bowing deeply. Aradia, not exactly sure of what to do, dropped into an unpracticed curtsy. His jacket was violet, the color of royalty, and he had silver epaulets. His eyes were a clear violet and regarded her closely. His hair was carefully arranged and included a violet streak at the forefront. He was handsome. Very handsome, though Aradia didn’t know all that many other men to compare him to. She decided though that he was definitely pleasing to the eye, in an out of reach highblood way.
“May I have the next dance?” He spoke in the most peculiar way Aradia had ever heard. He had a strong accent and when he spoke he practically eliminated his ‘v’ sounds.
“Yeah, sure.” Not having any other way to reply and not wanting to offend someone who was likely important, Aradia agreed somewhat reluctantly. He looked slightly offended at her response. Didn’t he want her to say yes? He asked after all. Regardless of what he wanted or expected he extended his arm and offered her his hand. Aradia placed her hand in his. His fingers were warm and closed over her hand, pulling her to the dance floor. Aradia did her best to follow his lead, but couldn’t find her rhythm.
“Sorry. I’ve never really done this before.”
“This dance? I’m sure they’ll play something different next. Perhaps a waltz?”
“I’ve never done any dances.”
“What? How could you have been raised without a proper instruction in the art of dance?” He seemed positively aghast at her lack of knowledge.
“I was raised in a bit of an alternative way.”
“Well I can see that. Listen to the way you speak. And to me? Don’t you know better?” Aradia was starting to dislike this guy. He constantly talked down to her with each sentence. Even so, she’d hate to because a disturbance at the party. Not trusting herself to speak, Aradia tried to smile politely but only succeeded halfway. The guy seemed to realize she was displeased and tried to save the conversation.
“Not that it’s bad. I mean, some might find that highly casual speech pattern endearing. And your dancing isn’t that bad I suppose. Here…” He adjusted his hand at her waist and pulled her closer as the song ended and another started. This song had even more of a dreamy tone. He maintained careful eye contact with Aradia and gently urged her in the right direction at every turn. Before long, Aradia got the feel of the simple light repetitive dance and was laughing. Dancing was hardly any great challenge and it had almost thrown her for a loop. Her partner smiled at her joy as they continued to whirl around the dancefloor.
“Now you’ve figured it out. I was almost concerned there was nothing more to you than looks. That you were just a doll of sorts: nice to look at but not much otherwise.”
Aradia thought there was a compliment in there somewhere, “Thanks, I think?”
“Yes, you really do look stunning though. I don’t believe we’ve ever met before.”
“No, we wouldn’t have.”
“I suppose you’re right. I generally don’t associate with anyone lower than the purplebloods, out of fear that they’re an even worse sort than those clowns.” Aradia almost laughed at the double meaning of the word clown in this case, but managed to look indignant because of what the statement implied. “You’re going to have great influence some day. You might already. Don’t you think that you should help those less fortunate than you?”
“Who? The peasants?”
“Yes!”
“Well, why would I? They’re filth! Have you met one?”
“I’ve met plenty.”
“Then surely you must know how little they achieve.”
“How can they hope to achieve when they are held in constant poverty.”
He smiled slyly at her, “A very politically minded girl indeed. Speaks for the garbage. You are more than a pretty face indeed.”
“I should hope so. There isn’t much good in that.”
“Some would disagree.”
“Would you?”
He paused. “No. I used to. Then I met her.”
“Her?” Aradia pressed curiously for details.
“Someone off limits. Too good for me. At first it was just her looks. But it was more than that. She’s really kind, generous, charitable. She thinks a lot like you actually.” He looked up at Aradia. “Yes, you two are similar indeed. Proud. Opinionated. Beautiful . . . and the long dark hair. . . Forgive me for that. I was thinking outline. This party is great but it just gets to be too much. Actually, would you care to step out for a little while with me. The moonlight on the ocean is always quite beautiful this time of night.”
“Alright.” Aradia realized that parties like this weren’t exactly her thing. She liked the dress, but it wasn’t very functional. And dancing, drinking, and talking weren’t very useful. It was certainly an adventure in the meaning that it was a new experience, but it was sort of dull. She wasn’t missing out on much by stepping out with this stranger. Besides, Aradia had never seen the ocean up close.
They walked out of the brightly lit tent and strolled leisurely towards the ocean. He pulled her hand to rest on his arm and escorted her down the beach. The waves crashing on the beach and music emanating from the tent gave the empty beach a serene atmosphere, and one concerningly romantic. Aradia watched the waves crash against the shore and felt the overwhelming urge to go splashing in. Considering that her dress was magic and only existed temporarily, Aradia moved to do just that. She dropped the highblood’s arm and trotted exuberantly to the ocean. Pulling her dress up a few inches she let the waves crash over her feet and ankles, still getting the hem of the dress wet. She laughed loudly. The ocean was cool and waves danced on the surface. The ocean was playful. Aradia glanced back at her companion and grinned.He looked unsure of what to do with himself. Aradia decided to help him out.
“C’mon!”
“What do you mean? You mean… But. Why are you even doing that?”
“It looked like fun!” Aradia called back. It was fun. She made a game of jumping right as the wave was about to crash into her and landing after it had passed her.
“But… Your dress? The ball?”
“Why would I let things like that keep me from doing what I want?”
“What would people say?”
“I don’t know. But I know that they’d be thinking that they wish they could join me. Speaking of that. Come join me!”
“I couldn’t possibly.”
Aradia turned around and pouted exaggeratedly at him.
“It wouldn’t be proper.” He said.
“And who could tell you that? No one. They wouldn’t dare.” Aradia knew that really, considering he was a violetblood and there were still a couple of others, including the prince, people could tell him that. But she was curious to see if he’d give in and have a little fun with her. She thought that somewhere he was a good guy.
“Well… you’re more or less right on that one.”
“No one would even know! Just roll your pants up and lose the shoes.” He sighed. “I’m going to regret this.”
Aradia whooped from the water. She had won. Behind her, he set to work removing his shoes. After a minute or so he stood hesitantly on the damp sand, but not quite in the water.
“I’m going to regret this.” He repeated.
“But it’ll be fun for now won’t it?”
“You’re insane.”
Aradia beamed, “Thank you.”
He rolled his eyes and muttered something about women and insanity, but walked slowly into the sea anyway. Aradia giggled. As he stepped into the water, the ear fins that marked him as a sea dweller wiggled slightly. He glared at her and she raised her hands in defense. He stood there stiffly in the surf.
“So i’m here. Now what?”
“Now what? You’re supposed to be a sea dweller. Shouldn’t you know more about the ocean than me?”
“Well yes that goes without saying-”
“Then c’mon. Have fun! Dance around. Have fun with me!”
“You need to be having less fun. You’re going to ruin your dress.” He said, but smiled nonetheless as a particularly high wave wet another 2 inches of Aradia’s gown. He shook his head disapprovingly. “Such a nice dress too. Totally ruined. Saltwater will discolor the fabric.”
“You’re too concerned about the dress.”
“You’re not concerned enough.”
“It’s my dress!”
“All the more reason to take care of it. You know what? Actually.” He grinned slyly before taking a few quick splashing steps to Aradia and scooping her up in his arms, bridal style. Aradia screamed shrilly and threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him.
“Put me down!”
“Not until you agree to take more care of your things!”
“Never!” Aradia laughed.
“I’ll drop you.” Aradia narrowed her eyes at him. “You wouldn’t.”
“I mean if the dress really doesn’t matter…”
“Don’t you dare.”
He made like he was going to drop her. Aradia let out a startled squeak and clutched tighter at his neck before he secured his grip on her again.
“See, you do care about the dress.”
“No! I’d just rather not be drenched. This dress is hard enough to maneuver in already. Think how much it would weigh wet.”
“I’m not quite sure if I believe you,” He said seriously. Aradia tightened her grip on his neck again, “I swear, if you drop me, I will bring you down with me.”
He hummed consideringly.
“Not even joking. Don’t you dare!”
“That’s not a very nice way to ask.”
“Pretty please don’t drop me and make me ruin your nice evening. You’d hate to because a scene and ruin such a lovely party. Think how the prince would react to his redrom ball being ruined.”
He got a weird look on his face. “The prince? You mean you don’t realize-”
From somewhere far off there came a loud ringing sound: a clock.
“Oh my god! I have to go!”
Aradia wrenched herself from his grip, getting more of her skirt wet. She struggled to run but continued as the clock slowly dinged the hour. Behind her, the highblood called after her. “Stop! Come back! Please come back! I don’t even know your name! How will I find you?”
By four dings she was back in the main tent. Gasps went up from the crowd. She heard footsteps thump quickly into the tent. More gasps. Must be her highblood, still without shoes. She really was causing a scene now.
“Stop her!”
After a second there was a general rush for Aradia. She was so close. 6 dings. Some troll grabbed at her arm. She shook them off, still moving. Someone seized her horn at the base. She cried out and shook her head back and forth wildly. Her hair fell down about her and she felt her captor’s grip go lax. Punching out at him she fell, but without anyone holding her back. She dragged herself to her feet and continued outside onto the sand. Hands grabbed at her dress and she heard the heart wrenching sound of tearing fabric for the second time that evening. She kept moving. Aradia threw herself into her carriage and her ghostly companion cracked the rein. The horses, without the limits of muscle or hearts and only held together by magic, raced at unthinkable speeds. When Aradia was near the Serket castle the carriage started glowing again. Aradia was thrown at a rapid speed into the ground. Somewhere near her she heard the 8 ball shatter like so many had before it. Mice bones fell around her; some even found their way into her hair. Her shoes, no longer glass, thudded near her. Aradia sat on the ground for a minute or two lethargically pulling her shoes on with her once again dull fingers. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She’d certainly had her adventure, but she almost regretted just running out. Then again, the chance that the highbloods would accept suddenly having a lowblood in their midst was very low. Aradia kept hearing him calling after her. He couldn’t have sounded that desperate, could he? He certainly didn’t hesitate to send people after her. They probably thought her a thief. Aradia got to her feet and groaned. Hitting the ground that hard was not good. Her back and butt were likely going to bruise. She hoped she didn’t fracture anything. There would be no way Aranea would get her a doctor, even with her pseudo kindness. It seemed that in her own way, the elder Serket was just as bad as the younger if not worse. Although now wasn’t really the time for intelligent reflection, Aradia thought as she walked slowly back to the castle.
Back in the castle, in her room, she examined herself in the mirror. She was back in the scraps that had been her first dress. Her hair was matted and there were bits of leaves, twigs, and bones in there. She sighed. At least with the Serkets out of the house she could use one of their large grandiose ablution traps.
After she washed, Aradia sat in front Aranea’s vanity and started to brush the knots out of her hair. She sighed at how tangled it still was and gazed tiredly at her reflection. As she pulled down the pieces of hair still somehow wrapped around her horns a glint of something shiny caught her eye. Aradia’s eyes opened wide. There was no way it was still there. But it was. Around the base of Aradia’s horn, a sapphire encrusted silver ring. She carefully worked it off and marveled at it. Why hadn’t it disappeared? Aradia reasoned that it was because it had been drawn from thin air, not transformed from another item. She brought her fingers up to her other horn for the second ring but found it missing. She must have lost it in the struggle, probably when that brute had grabbed her horn. She had been shaking her head wildly, it was entirely possible that some troll was left there with a bejeweled horn ring. Aradia sat the ring on the table and resumed brushing her hair, but kept glancing down at it. If not for the ring she’d almost guess that she’d dreamed up the whole night. But if it was real then so had the evening been. And it made him real. Aradia knew it was naive of her, but she almost felt that the two of them could have had something. She could see herself eventually becoming fond of him, he certainly wasn’t hard to bend to her well intending will. She smiled. Somewhere downstairs she heard the door open and she scrambled back from the table. She grabbed the horn ring and dashed out of the room, clutching the towel to her body. She quietly entered her room and shut the door behind her, pulling on pajamas quickly. After some consideration she tucked the horn ring in the bottom corner of her recuperacoon. It wouldn’t be all that hard to clean the slime off and no one would check there. After turning the light off, She settled into the recuperacoon and closed her eyes. Tonight had been something just for her, and she was the only one who’d ever know what she had done.
Aradia was woken up to the sound of the Serket sisters shrieking. It was hardly something new, but was startling all the same. Aradia quickly dressed in her ordinary plain gray skirt and black T-shirt. After a short moment of indecision she scooped the ring from the bottom of the coon. Aradia rinsed the slime off. Not having pockets, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. She ended up stringing it on a bit of cord and fastening it on the inside of her skirt so it hung next to her right thigh. She then went to see what was going on. Downstairs both Serkets seemed aflutter with anxious energy. Aradia saw Vriska throwing her clothes around her room through the open door. Aranea had to have done something similar, as Aradia saw her clothes all laid out on the furnishings of the room.
Down on the ground floor Aradia saw Aranea, nicely dressed, waiting near the door.
“What’s going on?”
“Some girl caused quite the uproar at the prince’s redrom ball last night. A blue blooded- indigo actually girl with curly horns. She ran out without warning. The prince is determined to find her though, and make her his matesprit. But from what I hear, all they know is she had curly horns.” Aranea’s gaze lingers on Aradia’s own horns. “And, apparently, in her escape, she lost a horn ring. I expect they’ll be sending someone around to allow girls to try the ring. It’s Vriska’s last chance to salvage this”
Aradia was in a panic. He’d been the prince? No wonder he’d gotten that look on his face when she brought him up. She didn’t even know. And he wanted her as a matesprit? Well. He was willing to settle for an indigoblood. Somehow she knew there was no way he’d take a rustblood.
Aranea hummed, “Oh, and Aradia, we need you to go feed Spidermom now.”
Aradia nodded distractedly and wandered down the many flights of stairs to get to the corridor that lead to their monstrous lusus. She didn’t hear Aranea’s measured footsteps behind her. Aradia was snapped out of her musings only when she heard the solid click of the lock directly behind her. Aradia spun on her heel and tried the door. She had not heard wrong. Aranea seemed to have locked her in!
“Aranea! What the hell?”
Aranea’s voice came muffled through the door, “I can’t have you ruining our chances here. Now go be useful, maybe you should throw yourself to her while you’re down there.”
Aradia let out a half volume shriek of frustration. The prince would never want her lowblood self but at least she could probably work for him and get the hell out of here. Aradia had never fully explored the chasm down here due to the fact it was where spidermom lived. It was a mess of blood, bones, and web. Aradia stood on the ledge where Vriska- or anyone else- stood to throw a meal to their hideous lusus. She could see no other escape, if there was one, it was likely blocked off by web. She looked up. High above her she could see the hive of the Serkets’ neighbors: the Zahhaks. They were indigobloods, what Aradia had briefly been. Suspended midway up between the two cliffs the hives were settled upon was a strange looking device. It was blue in color and held between the cliffs by thick chains. Aradia had no clue what it did, but it looked like it could almost be some sort of doomsday device (http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004130). If she could knock it down, the sound would likely be deafening enough to alert someone to her trapped state, but it could also just aggravate the already vicious lusus that was concerningly close to her. For the second time in the span of 24 hours, Aradia called for the spirits of the dead. There was no time for explanations. She called them to herself and let them experience her memory. Within seconds of letting down her walls, a ghost had shot off and returns with the information that another purpleblood was entering the castle. Something had to be done. An erant spirit used its energy to prod at the device suspended between the reddish cliffs. Before Aradia could advise against it, the device started flashing. Aradia ran back up the tunnel, not knowing what the device would do. After a few seconds, she heard a loud explosion and saw light from behind her illuminate the earthen tunnel. She turned around to see the end of falling rock descending. She made her way back to the ledge and was horrified at what she saw. Rock had fallen on spidermom whose movements were sluggish. There was no way the giant spider would come back from this. Aradia felt no regret. The supposed custodian of the Serkets didn’t seem to do much more for them than she did for Aradia.(Nothing. Ever.) Someone was bound to have heard that. Once again Aradia welcomed the spirits to share her mind. Through a chain of supernatural communications Aradia saw the two Serkets follow the purpleblood through their hive. Aranea looked enraged, but could not openly object, as he was a higher status. It was a different purpleblood than last time, and this one seemed much more focused. He walked briskly down the stairs and seemed to ask the Serkets for direction. Vriska, looking puzzled seemed to answer him. Aradia distantly recalled that Vriska hadn’t known she was locked down there unless Aranea had told her, which didn’t seem to be the case. Aradia saw as they reached the locked door, the key still in the lock. The purpleblood shot a disapproving look at the Serkets. Vriska raised her hands defensively and Aranea practically sneered. He unlocked the door and got a startled look on his face. He rushed up to a girl who was swaying on her feet in the middle of the dark hallway with blank eyes. The pupils and normal yellow color were replaced by a white. Oh. Aradia recognized herself. She shook the spirits from her mind and blinked her eyes. They opened to look a purpleblood in the face. She felt a little weak on her feet and her legs started to go out on her. The purpleblood, seeming to be a court guard steadied her. He spoke in a deep voice, “I won’t ask what’s going on here or why. But I have my orders to try this ring on every girl from the invited households. Miss, if I may?” He addressed Aradia, more gently.
She nodded. Over his shoulder, Aranea looked utterly livid. She seemed seconds from at least one murder. Even Vriska edged nervously away from her, Vriska who was normally so ready to pick a fight with anyone. Aradia tilted her head to the side and allowed him to slide the ring onto her horn. It fit just as snugly as it had the night before. Vriska gasped softly and Aranea bared her teeth in a silent snarl.
Vriska struggled with her words, “But- she couldn’t have gone! The dress- after I- it was in shreds! And she certainly couldn’t own anything like that! It’s not even her color!”
The guard looked consideringly at Vriska, then at Aradia. “She has the type of horns described. And similar features, though I couldn’t quite use the term magnificent as the prince had. It could be a coincidence. All the same, I ought to take her to the prince.”
Aranea seemed to have regained her composure. “I hardly think that will be necessary. She couldn’t possibly have gone, not to mention the obvious difference in blood color. She doesn’t own a single nice thing either.”
“A valid point. All the same. The prince said to bring to him any girl who the ring would fit.”
“Do you really think your prince wants a servant. She’s garbage and there is no way she’s the one from the ball.”
Aradia, who had been biting her tongue up until this point cleared her throat. “If it would help clear some things up.” Aradia’s fingers toyed at the waistband of her skirt, pulling up the cord with the ring. “I do have the second ring.”
With trembling fingers she undid the knot on the cord and fluidly slipped the second ring over her other horn. She looked defiantly at Aranea and then the guard. “So, perhaps you ought to take me after all.”
The guard nodded as if that cleared everything up. He gestured for Aradia to lead the way back out of the dimly lit hall. Aradia was to be presented to the prince. This could go two ways. Bad to the extent that it’d lead to her immediate execution or good to the extent she’d get a new home. Either way, she would not be back. As Aradia walked, she gave the spirits her permission to perhaps cause a little mischief. They should have fun with that. Outside the hive a clean black carriage was parked. It was nothing so immaculate as her 8-ball carriage, but she was sure it was considerably more reliable (even if the horses were limited by blood pumping hearts). Aradia sat stiffly in the carriage and the guard came in after her, sitting across from her. Aradia struggled to hold herself still and not fidget. She felt the guards eyes accessing her. She knew she neither looked nor fit the part of the matesprit of a prince. She was no princess. Not by a longshot. She was practically a scullery maid. Maybe the prince could just employ her in his kitchens. That would still be a step up. All too soon the carriage stopped. Aradia waited for someone else to make the first move. The guard got up and she followed him. Aradia half expected crowds of people to rush her but was met only with the sight of an empty beach. The only thing was a rowboat, dragged far enough onto the sand that it wouldn’t be lost. The guard and the coachman moved the boat into the water together. They both turned to look back at Aradia. She’d never ridden in a boat, but she was hardly in a position to say no. She was hardly one to shy from getting her shoes wet anyway. She waded out and climbed into the boat. The guard, who had been helping to steady it, climbed in after her. After receiving a nod from the guard, the coachman pushed the boat further into the water and it started to drift out. The entire occurrence had passed without spoken word. It was uncomfortable, but if Aradia hoped to convince anyone she was a lady then she’d best not speak out of place.
The purpleblood rowed the boat seemingly towards nothing. He clearly knew what he was doing though, as Aradia soon saw a spec on the horizon that grew slightly larger with each powerful pull of the oars. Aradia had no idea what to expect. At least she knew he didn’t either. He expected a blueblood, not a rustblood. Honestly, with the sort of things he had said last night, she knew there really couldn’t be a good ending. But if she’d somehow made so much of an impression that he was willing to make her his matesprit after a few hours then he probably wouldn’t actually kill her. Probably.
Eventually, they were near enough that Aradia could clearly see their destination. Vriska had been right. He lived in some sort of shipwreck. The ship was large and teal in color. It was cracked at the base where it had been wedged on some rocks. It didn’t seem quite structurally sound, but it seemed just odd enough for an eccentric like him. The rowboat hit shallow water and scraped up on the sand. Aradia climbed out immediately like she knew what she was supposed to do. The guard followed and pulled the boat up on shore. A rope ladder hung over the side of the ship. The guard gestured Aradia up first who raised her eyebrows at him and gestured to her skirt. Sighing, the guard started climbing. Aradia wondered if her really thought she’d run off or something. If she hadn’t wanted to come then all she would have had to do was not speak up back at the Serket’s. The guard was waiting impatiently on the main deck. Once she’d swung her leg over the rail he led the way down a short set of wooden stairs below deck and down a corridor with hammocks hung on both sides of the walls. This is where the crew must have used to sleep. At the end of the hall was a sturdy looking closed door. The guard knocked twice. From inside the room Aradia heard a loud scraping noise and the sound of something hitting the floor. Seconds later, the highblood she’d danced with last night opened the door. He looked worse for wear, tired and rugged. Oops. Aradia really hadn’t meant to turn any lives upside down. His eyes immediately looked past the guard and lock on her. She averted her eyes, suddenly feeling terrible. Honestly she was stupid to have come, it was almost dishonest of her to even put him in this position.
“You can go.”
Aradia didn’t look up as the guard moved past her. She just hoped he wouldn’t leave immediately as she’d soon have to get out of here too. The prince stepped carefully closer to her. He spoke softly, “Why did you run?”
“Because I like being alive.” Aradia’s first instinct was to snark.
“I don’t follow.”
“Look your highness. I have bad news for you. It’ll entirely ruin your opinion of me. So perhaps i’d better just take my leave again.”
“You aren’t making any sense.”
Aradia looked up and locked eyes with him. “Look at me. Notice anything?” She knew her maroon eyes could be piercing and she was sure they came as a shock to him now. He was sure to catch on real easily now.
“What happened to you? I mean last night you were a-”
“I was. For a few hours anyway. But this is me. So, now, if you don’t mind and with all due respect, i’ll just let myself out. I have a life to build.”
“What? No. I still don’t even know your name. I mean okay you’re a” He swallowed hard. “A lowblood.”
“Your highness you are clearly-”
“Eridan. You may call me Eridan.”
“Okay. Eridan. Clearly this makes you uncomfortable and I haven’t quite forgotten the ‘never amounting to anything trash’ talk last night. It’d be better if I just went before it got any more complicated. After all, what would people think?”
“They’d think i’m a revolutionary. Like Feferi. She’s waxing red for that yellowblooded fuckup anyway. So let’s just sit down.”
Knowing better than to argue with a potentially dangerous highblood, Aradia followed him into the room he’d been in. There was a chair laying over. It was almost funny what a hurry he’d been in to find out any news. It was also sort of sad, as Aradia knew she couldn’t stay with him, no matter what he said. The two of them settled on a sofa next to each other.
“Now. The most important matter. What is your name?”
“Aradia.”
“Aradia.” He echoed her softly, as if tasting the name. “So Aradia, it seems you’ve gone through a whole fuckin mess to end up here. How exactly did you fake your bloodcolor anyway?”
“I didn’t. It was magic, actually.”
“Magic isn’t real.”
“A pink hornless troll called Jake appeared and turned an eight-ball into a carriage and rags into the gown you saw last night. He claimed to by my fairy godfather.”
“So he used science to-”
“He called it a magic wand.”
“A science wand.”
“Eridan. This isn’t your story. It’s my turn to speak.” She shut him down without thinking, only realizing too late how rudely she’d spoken considering their compared statuses. He raised an eyebrow at her but remained silent. “It pretty much happened that I, a servant in a Cerulean household wanted a night of adventure. I was given a long list of jobs, an impossibly long list, of things to complete before the night. I used a bit of a trick to get it done and was also presented a dress through abnormal means. It had been constructed with discarded bits of the family’s clothes though. The younger girl, my age, has always been more vicious. Vriska absolutely tore into me.”
Eridan’s eyes narrowed. “Serket?” He hissed.
Aradia nodded her assent. Vriska hadn’t been lying about knowing him.
“You’ve been working for that bitch?”
Aradia nodded again.
“Shit. Well I feel that definitely entails you to a night off. You can continue now. Sorry.”
“Well she shredded the dress and I was considerably shaken and feeling terrible when he appeared. He did his magic and lo and behold my blood was blue. After midnight though, the twelfth strike of the clock, it all would change back. I had to escape. I heard the way you spoke. You clearly wouldn’t have taken well to have been holding a rustblood in your arms. I never intended you to care or go so far as to say you’d… And I had no idea you were the prince himself. I think that’s most of it.”
“I mean i’m surprised. And not exactly pleased. Dualscar is not going to take this well either.”
“Yeah, I supposed I did take up a lot of your time last night. You probably didn’t get to meet as many trolls as you would have liked. I’m sure you can think of someone though.”
“Aradia. Stop.”
She looked up at him inquisitively.
“Just because you’re a lowblood doesn’t mean we can't work something out. Like I said. Feferi has her dijon douchebag. I’m one caste lower than her. You’re one lower than him. I mean, I thought we had something. But maybe I was wrong.”
Aradia looked down. “You weren’t.” She said softly.”Not really. I just don’t see how it can work out. Look. I appreciate the gesture, but honestly, I’d be more happy with my own life. Free of the Serkets, free to adventure. You can just go find some pretty highblood.”
“But I already found a pretty lowblood. My mind is made up.” Eridan pouted.
“So is mine.”
“Fine. I don’t do much here anyway. I’m mostly for show. So fine.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s adventure. I have a ship. Not this one obviously. Let’s go out to sea. Sail the globe.”
“Are you serious?” Aradia was shocked. Was he insane?
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“You’re willing to give up the life you know for a girl you met last night?”
“It’s not like i’m doin’ much around here anyways.”
“Eridan! That’s crazy!”
“So is a lowblood sneaking into the prince’s ball!”
“Everyone will look down on you!”
“They probably already do! Not to my face, but i’m sure they do.”
“Eridan. You have to stay here. Make a difference.”
“I hardly have any ideas. You’re the visionary.”
“You've known me for ONE DAY!”
“Well I mean you have ideas. Suggestions at least.”
“Eridan. You’re staying here.”
“If you’re really that opposed to the idea. Alright.” He slumped against the couch. Aradia frowned. She hadn’t intended to upset him. But he’d definitely regret running away with her for a life of adventure. Wouldn’t he? But it wasn’t like she actually minded. He seemed like an alright person, if a bit pushy. He’d already shown he could be sweet, generous, and fun- and he was saying he wanted her. Might she regret not doing this- going off with him out to sea? Well, if he’d seriously do it, though he could regret it. Why not?
“Eridan?”
“Hm?” He was still sulking.
“Do you really think we could just get a ship and sail the world?”
“Well, I mean. We’d need a crew. But, yeah. I see no reason why we couldn’t. Fef would prolly back us up on it.” His voice was still dull and unexcited. She really has to make this obvious.
“If you were serious about it. Then let’s.”
“What?”
“What do you mean what? Yes! I’m serious.”
He grinned in a contagious way that Aradia found herself smiling back. He lurched across the couch and hugged her. Aradia didn’t expect it, but didn’t object. Well, she could hardly turn down his matespritship. And she didn’t really have any real reason to. She hugged him back, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Eridan blushed in the most unflattering way possible. Aradia smiled and rolled her eyes, as polished as he acted, he wasn’t much more than a blushing virgin. She somehow had no doubts that they would be just fine together.
AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER! THE END!