Crashing the Party

"Lady Sunnydale and guest!" the voice boomed out.

Several elves turned and smiled at the announcement, looking back towards the delicate metal gates that separated the party grounds from the rest of the estate. Located deep within Eversong, House Sunwhisper's property was a sprawling complex of buildings, pools, and gathering areas hemmed off by high bushes with the masterfully crafted gates as portals. The evening's party was taking place in one of the smaller, secluded areas and guests were being ushered in through one of several gates connecting it to the rest of the property.

The Sin'dorei noblewoman who had been announced curtsied gracefully to several other elves as they greeted her before walking towards the group and mingling with the crowd. She was quickly followed by another guest, and then another, each having their name announced by the gate's usher. As the names were announced and guests mingled, a hum of conversation grew. It was clear that everyone who was anyone had been invited to Lady Sunwhisper's party, and it would likely be the talk of the winter months.

Lady Sunwhisper herself was thrilled with the party's attendee list thus far. She mentally checked off each name that was announced. While she had given out invitations to only a select few, she had purposely allowed the details of the party to slip out and become public gossip, ensuring that virtually half of Silvermoon would show up for her event.

As she stood amongst her guests mentally congratulating herself, a small bit of disturbance rippled through the crowd. Frowning, she looked up to see some of the guests near the gate speaking more loudly in complaint. Even as she looked, a name was announced, "Dame Lirallel Ebondawn!"

As Lady Sunwhisper forced her way through the crowd, she saw the usher allowing a slender, pale Sin'dorei in a deep black dress through the gates. Immediately she could tell that there was something wrong with the elf, as her skin was ghastly white and her lips painted a deep blue. As she drew closer, Lady Sunwhisper could tell that the elf's eyes glowed with a deep blue scourge-light.

She approached the elf, drawing herself to full height before speaking in a hushed tone, "Come with me at once Dame Ebondawn."

With that she stalked off, leaving the rather confused looking Lirallel to follow after. Behind her, the crowd whispered, gossip already popping up as it was wont to do amongst high society.

The two elves walked to a secluded area of the party grounds, and Lady Sunwhisper turned and virtually spat words at the death knight, "What do you think you're DOING?"

"I-I...there's a party here, right?" Lirallel asked innocently.

"Yes, but not for YOUR kind. See yourself out of the back gate at once, and do not darken our event with your presence again," Lady Sunwhisper said sternly.

Lirallel opened her mouth as if to speak and then shut it, thinking better of the situation. She shrugged, slipping past the irate noble without saying another word, using a back gate and walking slowly away.

"It's not fair. I am never invited to attend events," Lirallel murmured to herself as she walked. Ahead she could see the moonlight sparkling on the water near Sunsail Anchorage. She wandered in that direction, her thoughts brooding. "I should be able to go to parties too! I even bought this dress just for the occassion!"

She walked towards the water's edge, looking at her reflection in the water and reaching up to fix a stray piece of her bleached white hair that had fallen out of place. If not for her ghastly color she might have been considered beautiful, especially the way she'd artfully styled her hair. Her makeup was also stunning, applied just so to match her hue. She shrugged, actually drawing in a breath to sigh slightly, "Now look at all this wasted effort. I bet they were totally jealous of me!"

She walked over to one of the broken piers of the Anchorage, sitting down on the stones and slipping her jet-black high heels off. She set her shoes beside her, arranging her skirts on the stones as she let her feet dangle into the water before her. She smiled as she saw the water ripple, breaking the moonlight up and sending sparkling bits of light around her submerged feet. Although she could not feel the water any longer, the act of sitting like this was something her form remembered from another time, when she would happily splash in the warm waters.

Times had changed of course. Rather than cooling herself down, the water around her feet began to chill, and little bits of ice floated up to the surface and floated away. This amused the undead elf for a time, and she sat still, musing over her most recent social rejection. "I bet the party isn't even very fun anyway. They probably don't have any music I would like."

She nodded to herself, splashing in the water. The sound distracted her for a moment, which is why she didn't hear them approaching her from behind. The first sign she had of the Wretched was when one of them was touching her hair and hissing softly into her ear.

With a start she whirled her head around, eyes wide in surprise. After a moment though she just shook her head, "Oh, it's just some of you."

Wretched were throughout the ruins of Silvermoon and around the Anchorage as well. Lirallel had become accustomed to seeing them alone or in packs, roaming the ruined buildings and searching for magic. Now and then they confronted her, but generally they did not want to consume scourge energy, which is all she had to offer them. They knew what she was. Even as she thought this, another of them hissed.

"I'm sorry, I don't have anything for you. I would totally give you some magic though if I did," Lirallel said.

One of the Wretched leaned forward towards her, as if sniffing the air around her, "Need more. We hunger..."

Lirallel nodded at the creature. Most Sin'dorei would be horrified to be so close, but Lirallel didn't mind them. At least they didn't say nasty things to her. Not that her feelings would be hurt, but sometimes when she was insulted she just wanted to HURT people, and sometimes if she thought about it long enough, she found it hard to stop herself. She LIKED hurting them. It made her feel good, or rather, made her feel better for a while. But she knew that they would try to destroy her if she acted out of line enough, so she was often forced to choke down the feeling and give up the bliss that hurting them would bring.

"I suppose they don't want you at the party either," she said to the Wretched. She looked back out over the water, kicking her feet and splashing again. The Wretched around her hissed at the sound before settling into half-crouches. "It's not fair really, you are just as much elves as they are. Instead of trying to help you, they leave you out here to starve."

One of the Wretched near her moaned pitifully, the sound bringing a smile to her lips. It murmured under its breath, "We must find another source..."

"Really though, I totally do not understand why they don't try to talk to you," Lirallel said. She wagged her finger at the nearest Wretched, which hissed at her. "I mean, look at you. You were just like them once! Just like I was, and they don't even help you find clothing and shelter or give you any magic to soothe your thirst. I at least can go find my own ways to feed, but you...just look at you gentlemen. You poor things."

One of them began to paw at her hair again. She shrugged as a blood worm wriggled out of her ear and tried to latch onto its wrist. "One day they will have to learn to accept you for what you are if they want to rebuild this place. And me! We can be useful, we can help too!"

She looked up at the Wretched, tilting her head as an idea came to her, "Hey you know what? I bet I could totally help YOU! I mean, you hate my magic so I can't help you with that, but there were some magical lights in the garden back there. If I let you in the gate, do you think you could sneak around the party goers and get to the lights? I'll do it if you promise to be super quiet."

One of the Wreteched stepped towards her, almost growling. The sound made her giggle and she patted it on the shoulder, prompting it to attempt to bite her. "You are SO CUTE! Anyway, if you want, follow me. At least someone can enjoy the party."

With that she jumped to her feet, sending some of the Wretched scrambling away from her warily. She reached down, snatching up the straps of her shoes and dandling them by her side as she walked barefoot back towards the gates that she had been ushered out of earlier. Seven Wretched followed her, as if drawn by curiosity.

With a smile, Lirallel reached the gate and pulled on it. It was locked from the inside, but she was sure that was merely accidental. What if more guests wanted to come in after all? She set her shoes down beside her and grasped the gate firmly in both hands, pulling with all her unnatural strength. The metal bent and buckled before tearing free with a shriek.

Lirallel set the broken metal down against the bushes that hemmed in the party area and bent down to retrieve her shoes. She smiled at the Wretched and nodded, "Go on then! I'm not allowed back in the party because they did NOT like my dress, but you can all go in and sneak around the back and take just a tiny bit of magic okay? Not too much, just a tiny bit!"

One of the Wretched sniffed the air before him, as if sensing the magic within the party grounds. With a soft hiss he slipped through the gates, the rest following. Lirallel smiled at them as the passed, satisfied that she had done a good deed. With a sigh of satisfaction, the dead elf walked back towards the Anchorage. This time she stepped barefoot onto the surface of the water, and it froze beneath her.

"It's hard being a hero. You really have to think about how you can help people," she said softly to herself as she walked away. "I think tonight was a great start though! Lady Sunfire is going to be so proud!"

With that she disappeared into the forest, heading towards her estate. Behind her, the water slowly thawed in the moonlight, the screams from the party echoing distantly in the night.