Lilian sat on a comfortable chair that curled around her as she sunk into it. The party had yet to come into full force with only a handful of guests milling about and so her employer Octave had decided to wait to unveil the demon girl until some more well known faces showed. Lilian laughed silently. The girl, she knew was no demon but from the way everyone treated her she could have been the Daughter of the Prince of Darkness himself. Lilian had yet to actually see her but she had met one or two girls with the "demon hair" before. They were rare, perhaps one in every thousand and most where smart enough to dye there hair at an early age. This Ignia hadn't been one of the lucky ones and now was paraded out for the enjoyment of her pompous master and his friends.

Lilian sipped a light brew from a tankard she'd found in the kitchen. Everyone else drank there's from fine glass wear provided by Octave. Lilian preferred the tankard and also enjoyed the scowl however fleeting that darkened Octave's face when he saw her with it. It did not convey the class and prestige he wished for this party.

More people were starting to trickle in now and soon enough she'd be performing. She was not the main attracting nor was she the only Minstrel but the demon girl could not dance without music and Lilian was the most skilled of any Octave could hire.

"My Lady, his mastership is ready to unveil the Demon Girl. She required your music." It was a small little man. He was dressed in a suit. Most likely a waiter, one of the slaves that was meant to serve rather than show off wealth. 

Lilian chuckled inwardly at being called "My Lady". Slaves where the only ones that ever showed her that sort of respect. She sighed and set her tankard down. It was quickly swept up by the little man who whisked it off to the kitchen. As she stood an evening dress flowed around her. It had been commissioned by Octave. He'd had to pay her extra to wear it and let his slaves do her hair. It was red and lacy, designed to compliment Ignia's hair but it was modest. After all Lilian wasn't the main attraction. Her hair was braided down her scalp and set with red flowers that reflected the light in the room. In Octave's mind she must be some sort of demon servant of Ignia's or something, doomed to play her music for eternity. It was perplexing the length rich people would go but Lilian was happy enough, it put gold in her pocket.

As much as she hated the dress what Lilian really missed was the weight of her sword hanging on her back. It was forged by Stonecrest smiths from her home. She'd taken a great risk returning there to buy it but she wanted nothing less than the best. It had cost her but thinking how many rouges and thieves she'd used it on she considered it a worthy investment. When she moved she could almost feel it on her back like a phantom of the sword but it was not there.

Lilian picked up her fiddle and walked to the back center of the room. There was a little dais where Ignia would perform and behind that the place where Octave wished her to play her fiddle. The case the fiddle was in was made of fine leather and wood. Another lone from the master of the house. He'd said he would rather hire another than she been seen with the case that normally housed her instrument. It was old, the leather beat. It was still protected the instrument but it was not something one wished to look at.

Her fiddle itself was made of fine oak. Each string had been replaced several dozen times since she'd gotten it but all were of the highest quality. Carved into the handle were the letters: R.N. She told people that they were the initials of her mother who had owned it before her. It was a nice fantasy, so much better than the truth.

One of Octave's servants brought Ignia out to a stunned applause as people saw her hair. She was beautiful, Lilian had to admit. Her hair was a stark contrast on her pale skin and it was perfectly believable that she'd been touched by a force not of this world. Lilian smiled to herself, everyone of the people here were fools, this girl didn't have demon blood in her anymore than Lilian herself had.

Octave had told her to start with something fast paced, something that got the blood pumping, something that when Ignia danced would make her hair appear as fire. Lilian had the perfect composition. It was something she'd picked up from a minstrel in Adonia. It was a favorite dance song there. Some may know it in Thessalonik, she couldn't be sure. What she did know was that it got the blood pumping which was precisely what Octave wanted.

Lilian rosined her fiddle, drawing the bow across the strings. It was slightly out of tune and it squeaked as she drew her first note. She turned one of the nobs, tightening the strings then began. She couldn't worry if she had tuned the fiddle properly (not that any of the guests could tell the difference) this was the kind of song that had to be launched right into or else it lost a great deal of its effect.

Lilian played hard and fast, Ignia dancing in time as the bow moved back and forth pouring out a beautiful song that one couldn't help but tap to. Someone had once told Lilian that he could see her soul when she played and now here playing this song she supposed it was true. Her bow moved faster and faster and she almost imagined that sparks were flying from the strings until the song reached its peak and ended with a final note leaving the beat of it lingering in the air.

Then as people were coming out of the shock of watching the demon girl dance Lilian approached her. "It there anything specific you wish to dance too? The great master Octave," she said pouring as much sarcasm and contempt as she could into the words "only told me what he wanted for the first song. Are there any tunes you dance well to?"