Honestly, Beatris had expected to hate parties.
A bunch of people in restrictive clothing all running around and doing different things that had hidden meanings while pretending to be nice did not sound like her kind of event.
She had held that thought throughout the entire dressing process.
They walked around for hours, found just the right tight, hard-to-move-in clothes, got one made for Beatris that was tight and hard to move in, then spent hours on accessories alone.
Not that Beatris had any clue why.
Aiden and Jax, meanwhile, did not do anything for most of the day, got ready in twenty minutes, and somehow looked just as good as the rest of them.
It was rather infuriating.
The party, on the other hand, was great.
People stuck to their circles.
You could walk in and walk out with nobody caring.
Everyone was so close together that nobody claimed you were eavesdropping.
And there was a bunch of delicious food that people walked around handing out.
"Don't just eat everything in front of you," Sera said, flying in front of Beatris before she could grab the next cut of pork. "There is a fight tomorrow. How can you fight if you're bloated?"
"Yeah," Malt said, nodding beside Sera. "Besides, you haven't met our quota for gossip. I want to hear more about Ms. Priscilla's apparently lecherous gardening arrangement."
Sera smacked him.
Beatris rolled her eyes, went around them, and took another bite of pork.
Then she heard a glass fall to the ground nearby and shatter.
Beatris poked her head out from underneath the tablecloth she had been hiding beneath to eat in peace.
What she saw was rather strange.
On one side was a dwarven woman wearing a brown dress with speckles of gray and small stones floating around it.
She smelled strongly of fear.
Her face had gone pale, and her hands were shaking as she stared at someone.
As it turned out, that someone was Thalia.
Thalia was giving off strong bloodlust and returning the fearful look with a blank face.
Beatris watched the two for a moment.
Several figures around the dwarven girl began speaking to her, as if trying to get her attention.
Thalia mouthed something, then began walking toward another room.
The dwarven girl said something to her party about simply being surprised to see someone she had not expected, then quickly headed after Thalia.
"So," Malt said, "we are following them, right?"
Sera nodded.
Beatris started making her way through the crowd.
"Oh, of course," Beatris said. "Mama wants some new gossip."
She was careful to follow from a distance, aware of Thalia's thirty-foot range for sensing vibrations.
The dwarven girl had caught up and was now following behind Thalia, leaking fear like a cornered rabbit.
Though strangely enough, Thalia also seemed to have a bit of fear leaking from her.
The two headed down the hall until they found a side room and stepped inside.
Beatris made her way over to the wall and placed her ear against the door.
The conversation was muffled.
But still audible.
"Dolgra," Thalia said, a level of emotion Beatris was not used to hearing permeating every word, "you and everyone else in the village had a deal with me. So what the fuck was that in there with you dropping the glass?"
"T-Thalia," Dolgra said. "Of all places, I never expected to see you here. So pardon me if I was a bit surprised."
Dolgra's voice had gained a bit of confidence.
But it was still laced with fear.
"I wasn't trying to make a scene," Dolgra continued. "And nobody else in the village has said a word either."
Beatris heard the sound of Thalia's strings.
Then Dolgra's voice rose slightly in pitch.
"Dolgra," Thalia said, "do not think I didn't see you trying to cast that spell."
Her voice sharpened.
"Or was your plan to make me drag you away to get a shot at me?"
There was a slight gagging sound from Dolgra.
Sera floated up to the keyhole and peeked inside before coming back.
"She has her suspended by her wrists and ankles," Sera whispered in a worried hiss. "And there's a string around her neck too. She's strung up like a star in there."
"Y-You destroyed the town," Dolgra hissed, her voice strained despite the restriction. "You killed all of the leaders, you sinful bitch. Why won't you just die in some gutter already?"
Hatred dripped from every word.
There was a pause.
Then Thalia spoke again, her voice steadier than before.
Though emotion still leaked through despite her best attempts to suppress it.
"I know what I did," Thalia said. "But it does hurt to say that, for a moment, when I saw you, I thought we could go back to how things were."
Her voice quieted.
"Though it seems that is not the case."
"So," Dolgra spat, "are you going to make me victim number four hundred and two?"
Her voice rose higher, as if the strings were tightening.
Another brief moment passed.
Then there was the sound of something hitting the floor.
Dolgra coughed.
"No," Thalia said. "You will not."
Her voice had gone more monotone than usual.
"If we fight, it will be in the games and events of this tournament. We are all aware that death is a possibility in these events when we sign up for them."
A short pause followed.
"Though note that as a token of our old friendship, I will only respond in kind to the danger you choose to bring if you confront me."
There was the sound of a slap from inside the room.
After a moment, Dolgra's voice came through the door.
"Thalia Platinumhair," Dolgra said, "I will make you pay for the deaths of my father and grandfather. Know this."
Her voice trembled with hate.
"You are only allowed to die by my hand in this tournament."
Beatris shifted back in her hiding place as the door burst open.
Dolgra came out, a murderous glare on her face.
She paused for a moment, as if readying herself to return to the party.
The door shut behind her.
"For what it's worth, Dolgra," came a small, sad voice from behind the door, "it was nice to see you too."
Dolgra did not turn.
Instead, she practiced a fake smile and returned to the party.
Beatris sat and waited for Thalia to leave the room so she could escape unseen.
But as she waited, she heard a small sound.
Restrained crying.
Beatris would not claim to know what the right thing to do socially was.
She barely understood that kind of thing herself.
However, she walked to the doorknob and opened the door.
Thalia sat on an ornate couch, her face buried in her hands.
Small droplets occasionally fell from either side.
She did not make much noise, but her back shook slightly from where she was hunched over.
Sera and Malt did not say a word.
Instead, they only nodded.
Beatris walked over and jumped up onto the couch.
She did not give some grand speech about hiking up your bootstraps.
She did not offer soothing words she did not know how to say.
Instead, she sat beside Thalia.
Then she laid her tail across Thalia's back.