Event: Figure Skating
Dragon: Enchantress
It was uncommon knowledge that Enchantress was born to the Ice flight. Of course, she fled her frozen birthplace years ago and doesn't speak of her childhood to anyone in the the guild, but it's always a little difficult to tell the difference between ice and wind eyes unless you get close. She was content where she was now, with a husband and daughter who loved her, and a home where her beauty and talent was appreciated. Yet, when Clay came bounding into the guild hall and announced that the Winter Games would be opening registration to all flights, she signed herself up for figure skating.
Why had she done that? Eve, her gentle daughter and the light of her life, asked her, and Enchantress was unable to answer. It had been years since she had touched an ice rink, there was no way she could compete on par with dragons from across the world. But in the back of her mind, old memories unearthed themselves. She recalled her first time on the ice, shakily walking across a frozen pond, her mother steadying her, her father waiting on the other side, calling her name. She remembers skating with her mother, her mother performing graceful loops and spins and showing her daughter how to dance like her. Still a hatching, she clumsily recreated her mother's intricate performance before stumbling and landing in a heap on the ice. Her mother laughed, bright and warm in this cold, dead, landscape. She remembers her first recital, a little older now, performing for the clan she was born to. They were poor in wealth but rich in spirit, and Enchantress's dance was given a standing ovation. Dragons she couldn't recall the names of clapped her on the back and told her she had a gift, that she could be famous. Her father, tired and distant most of the time, smiled at her and told her he was proud. Enchantress tried so hard to ignore those feelings, the tidbits of warmth that dotted her cold and ruthless childhood. But her mother's laugh and her father's smile were so kind, so gentle that she couldn't. She would make them proud one last time, wherever they were.
Poriot, her beloved, stepped up. The other pearlcatcher had never even left the plateau and two days later, he wakes his wife up and tells her they're taking a vacation to the Southern Icefields so she can practice. Everything has been packed, everything's been arranged, all Enchantress needs to worry about is practicing. The pair, accompanied by their daughter, spent the next month in the Snowsquall tundra, staying with a friendly clan and doing nothing but skating. The first few times are rough, Enchantress is unbalanced and struggles to stay upright. But slowly, she relearns how to skate, and combines the skills her mother taught her as a child with the dances she gathered from across Sornieth. Poriot watches her every day. He knows little of dancing, and less of skating, but he knows when to praise his lover, and when to comfort and encourage her. Eve is preoccupied with studying the landscape, but watches her mother occasionaly. She joins once, but gives up after falling a few times.
Enchantress improves qurickly, and soon she's just as good at skating as she was when she was a child. Maybe better. The gala is almost upon them, so the family doesn't bother returning to the guild, and waits for the others who will fly out to attend instead.
It's now five minutes before Enchantress is scheduled to perform. She's nervous. Not many of her associates have come down to attend the gala, and of the few that have, only a handful will watch her performance. Plumeria, the gentle little tailor that first invited her to the guild, made a point to let her know she would come support her. Bianca said she was curious as well. Enchantress dislikes the imperial, and Bianca has made it clear that the feeling is mutual, but Bianca didn't know they shared a homeland. Maybe that'll open up new doors. Enchantress takes a deep breath. She's going to be fine. The worst thing that can happen is she'll fall during the performance. If she falls, what will people think of her? Will Poriot regret spending treasure and time to give her all that practice? Will Bianca think she's untalented, no longer worth even acknowledging? Will Plumeria rethink letting her join the coriolis alliance?
No.
Enchantress will not let herself be psyched out by her fears.
She's come too far for this.
Enchantress tells herself she'll be fine.
No, she'll be wonderful.
The pearlcatcher steps out of the prep room and onto the ice. From the front row, directly across from her, several other members of the guild are seated. It's more than she expected. Plumeria gives her a thumbs up, she seated next to her daughter and Mauka, both of which must be nudged by the fae to end their conversation. Bianca stares at her, gaze unwavering, seated next to her mate. Poriot, next to Eve, smiles at her and nods.
The performance starts.
