Status: On-Going
Petals on the Wind
A Gathering of Butterflies
The young women gathered were from all social standings. Some held themselves like great, arrogant Queens while others stood with a quiet yet nervous grace. The women were of all body types, skin tones, eye colors, hair lengths, types and shades and all were of varying heights. Their ages seemed to range between those as mature as thirty years and as youthful as fifteen.
They were dressed in their finest bridal gowns and family jewels, if they were so fortunate, just for this extraordinary occasion. One woman out of this grouping of a hundred, if not more, would be chosen as the new Prince's concubine. All were considered to be above average in beauty, the Prince couldn't be disgraced with an ugly concubine after all.
However, even if you weren't lucky enough to be picked as the Prince's concubine, you could still be chosen by some of the other nobles as a concubine.
The hall was filled with brilliant hued gowns, not one of them the same design or shade. She felt like a moth trapped in a gilded cage full of the most beautiful of butterflies.
Surrounded by such overwhelming extravagance and beauty, she was certain that she wouldn't be chosen. Why pass over any of the many much more beautiful and surely more qualified women, for her? There was absolutely nothing remarkable about her. She was sure that she wouldn't be picked, by anyone.
Her modestly cut dress was not the most eye-catching, despite having put her family in a great deal of debt that would no doubt take them years to work off. Coming from a poor family, the only jewelry she wore were the old but pure gold studs in her lobes and the four gold bangles around her wrists that had been handed down from her mother's mother as a modest inheritance.
Her hair was done up in a simple yet elegant low twist off her lightly perfumed neck. Her makeup was soft and mostly natural hued save for the dark lining of kohl around her eyes. Her mother had said that it made her eyes stand out more, after she had finished preparing to send her only child away to the Royal Palace with the possibility of never seeing or hearing from her again.
Her mother had wept heavily, fearing both options for her daughter. Her father had remained eerily silent, only acknowledging her with a nod and a saddened gaze when she finally departed.
She didn't want to be picked, despite the honor and prestige it would bestow upon her and her family. All she wanted was to return to her modest life as a simple commoner. She wanted to see her quaint house, her parents and her sweet but loveably useless dog again.
But, she was in fate's hands now, and fate never does run upon the smoothest or the most predictable course.
Most of the other women spared her a brief glance of appraisal and transparent distain, before they completely dismissed her as competition. In their eyes she was lower than the dirt they walked on. What chance did she, a simple girl obviously from humble lineage, have against them – daughters of prestige and privilege?
They weren't wrong. Parisa was sure that she had no chance of being picked by any of the noblemen, let alone the Prince, even as a concubine.
There were very few familiar faces amongst the crowd. They were girls from her village that were of similar age to her own. The ones she did recognize were girls she had seen before but had never actually spoken to. The one girl that stood out the most was the only girl from her village that was dressed like royalty and the only one of whom she had personally spoken to, Nasrin.
Though not friends and more of acquaintances, they were on friendly enough terms. It was hard not to like her honestly. Despite her wealth and the naivety of the real world that comes with being spoiled by an overly doting and widowed father of noble lineage, she was a rarity – pure and full of light. She was always seen smiling so cheerfully, like she had not a care in the world and perhaps she truly did have no troubles in life.
If so, then she was truly lucky, maybe even blessed by fate itself, and Parisa wouldn't begrudge her for that. No one is at fault for simply being born into a certain caste while others are not.
They were dressed in their finest bridal gowns and family jewels, if they were so fortunate, just for this extraordinary occasion. One woman out of this grouping of a hundred, if not more, would be chosen as the new Prince's concubine. All were considered to be above average in beauty, the Prince couldn't be disgraced with an ugly concubine after all.
However, even if you weren't lucky enough to be picked as the Prince's concubine, you could still be chosen by some of the other nobles as a concubine.
The hall was filled with brilliant hued gowns, not one of them the same design or shade. She felt like a moth trapped in a gilded cage full of the most beautiful of butterflies.
Surrounded by such overwhelming extravagance and beauty, she was certain that she wouldn't be chosen. Why pass over any of the many much more beautiful and surely more qualified women, for her? There was absolutely nothing remarkable about her. She was sure that she wouldn't be picked, by anyone.
Her modestly cut dress was not the most eye-catching, despite having put her family in a great deal of debt that would no doubt take them years to work off. Coming from a poor family, the only jewelry she wore were the old but pure gold studs in her lobes and the four gold bangles around her wrists that had been handed down from her mother's mother as a modest inheritance.
Her hair was done up in a simple yet elegant low twist off her lightly perfumed neck. Her makeup was soft and mostly natural hued save for the dark lining of kohl around her eyes. Her mother had said that it made her eyes stand out more, after she had finished preparing to send her only child away to the Royal Palace with the possibility of never seeing or hearing from her again.
Her mother had wept heavily, fearing both options for her daughter. Her father had remained eerily silent, only acknowledging her with a nod and a saddened gaze when she finally departed.
She didn't want to be picked, despite the honor and prestige it would bestow upon her and her family. All she wanted was to return to her modest life as a simple commoner. She wanted to see her quaint house, her parents and her sweet but loveably useless dog again.
But, she was in fate's hands now, and fate never does run upon the smoothest or the most predictable course.
Most of the other women spared her a brief glance of appraisal and transparent distain, before they completely dismissed her as competition. In their eyes she was lower than the dirt they walked on. What chance did she, a simple girl obviously from humble lineage, have against them – daughters of prestige and privilege?
They weren't wrong. Parisa was sure that she had no chance of being picked by any of the noblemen, let alone the Prince, even as a concubine.
There were very few familiar faces amongst the crowd. They were girls from her village that were of similar age to her own. The ones she did recognize were girls she had seen before but had never actually spoken to. The one girl that stood out the most was the only girl from her village that was dressed like royalty and the only one of whom she had personally spoken to, Nasrin.
Though not friends and more of acquaintances, they were on friendly enough terms. It was hard not to like her honestly. Despite her wealth and the naivety of the real world that comes with being spoiled by an overly doting and widowed father of noble lineage, she was a rarity – pure and full of light. She was always seen smiling so cheerfully, like she had not a care in the world and perhaps she truly did have no troubles in life.
If so, then she was truly lucky, maybe even blessed by fate itself, and Parisa wouldn't begrudge her for that. No one is at fault for simply being born into a certain caste while others are not.
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Disclaimer: Characters and other recognizable things in this story belong to their respective copyright holders. The only things that I own are the original characters and plot of this story. I am making no money from writing this fan work. No copyright infringement is intended.Please take note that this is a simple trial-run for a Magi the Labyrinth of Magic story idea that has been on the backburner for quite some time. As such it is incomplete and messy and probably more than a little confusing at first and second read. Also there is some critical, need-to-know information that has been purposely left out of this first piece. I may or may not fix these problems later on when I have more time to devote to this story. And, the rating and content of this story is very much subject to change.