Banquet End 1
author: Teri
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 17:53:17 EDT

Teri followed the crowd through the high-arching double doors and onto
the terrace. From a raised platform, the Queen and King addressed those
ball-goers on the terrace and those dotting the courtyard green. The
soft music of a waltz filled the background from the tent, the dancers
stilled and silent.

"Welcome all, on this beautiful of nights. We gather here this eve to
rejoice in the reclamation of the Prophecy of the Chosen. Indeed, we
are graced by the presence of three of the five Chosen, and their
respective Guardians. With their help and devotion, Narada will be
saved from a destructive future, and our children's children will
thrive on the bounty
of our beautiful land. All hail, the Chosen of Flame! The Chosen of
Earth! The Chosen of Water!"

Teri moved with the gentle yet insistent pushes of the crowd's hands to
the front of the terrace, and saw Estela and Stana both pushed to the
front. Estela, at the corner of the balustrade, preened under the
attention, but her smile for those around her was one of disdain. Teri
herself mustered a smile for the crowd, and doubted any could tell it
wasn't real. She noted with surprise the long bow slung over Stana's
shoulder, if not surprised at the bland, motionless
face. Until an arrow pierced the soil at Stana's feet.
Teri lurched forward, seeing the woman's eyes flash wide with a second
of fright. Chaos rose from the crowd like an explosion of panicked
screams, hiked ballgowns, and shoving nobles. Teri turned around,
watching the surging of people in shock.

No pattern.. they were moving everywhere! It was then Teri realized the
people were running in every direction simply because the armored men
had
sprung from every direction. She grabbed the knitted skirt of her gown
and plunged through the crowd, down the steps towards Stana.

 She felt a ripple of energy above her and shooting a glance upwards,
saw Estela's path cleared for her
by her energy. Teri wished for a similar gift- her own emotions would
be of no help to the crowd, now..

"Stana!" she screamed, trying to see above the people.  "Sta-" her cry
cut off with a gurgle as a strong arm clenched around her neck. Her
feet were swept from beneath her by her own momentum, and she gasped as
the added weight put strain around her neck.. she couldn't breathe...
the oiled leather  of the gauntlets filled her nose with  its stench as
the studding bit into
her throat...

Suddenly the pressure vanished and she found herself on her knees,
chest heaving for air. Tadrin helped her up quickly as Emily turned her
attention from the soldier she had flung to the crowd around her.

"Thanks," Teri said, her voice raw. Rubbing her throat with a shaking
hand, she looked wildly towards where Stana had been standing.

"Are you ok?" Estela called over her shoulder, searching for more of
the studded armor... armor vividly familiar to the two women.

Teri mumbled assent. "I've got to find Stana- " she said, pushing from
Tadrin and plunging back into the crowd. She didn't hear Estela's shout
or the ringing of Tadrin's sword sliding from its sheath- Teri heard
only
Stana's gasp as the arrow had sunk into the ground, as if the music,
the conversation, the toast had all been said in a vacuum...

Her braids had come unfastened, and thumped against her back as she
dodged people- she heard the whicker of an equine and suddenly changed
her direction.  Teri shoved aside a blathering woman who clutched at
her dress, begging that she do something. The woman sobbed and
continued running.  Teri stumbled, and, looking down, noticed the blood
soaked body of a servant. With  growing horror, she called out again-
"Stana!
Stana where are you!?"

"Here!" She heard from the left- shaky but strong, and ducked under a
flailing arm..

Stana stood still rooted where she had been, the ground now pierced
with three more arrows, and one face-down figure whose back rose with
shallow breaths.

Teri tore her glance from the body and hurried to Stana-

"Don't touch me-"

Teri froze. It wasn't a warning, or a plea... it was something in
between, something honest and wary.  Stana looked at the crowd as if
she were about to  be sick. Teri heard the whistling of an arrow, saw
Stana twist, saw the arrow quiver in the ground a few feet away. It had
gone through air where Stana had just been.

"Stana, we've got to move- someone's shooting at you!"  Teri called
out, searching desperately for the archer. Where was Lyr? Where were
theguards?

Where... where was Shinji?

Her body felt as if it had been plunged in ice cold water and just now
was placed before the fire. She couldn't help it if she wasn't any good
with a goddamned sword! What the hell was going on here!?

She turned towards Stana, then spun to find the girl no where in
sight-- until even her sight failed her when a rough bag was slammed
over her head.

She heard someone scream, and thrashed against the sack- she joined her
voice to the other's in rage.

"Let me go you fucking asshole!" The blow she received was enough to
knock her breath out.  She gasped, seeing stars in the darkness of the
bag, until

she regained her breath.  Eyes wide and unseeing against the dark, she
lay still in utter, indignant disbelief before the man screamed and
dropped the bag. It was minutes before Teri crawled from the
smoldering sack, body quivering with angry energy. The man rolled on
the ground screaming and beating at his limbs.

"Get them off- I'm burning! Help! AAAAAAACGHAA!"

Teri looked down, brushing her hair back with a twitching hand as the
man screamed about an invisible heat he believed he could feel. Teri's
gaze swept the green, past fallen bodies and the now-present Army of
Steel  engaging the intruders in battle. But where was Stana?

***