FicTober: Day 1
Prompt #1: "It's not too late, let's go."
Original Fiction: Broken Mirrors Series
Rating: T
Warnings: Mentions of death, war and blood
Characters: Arthur Mitchell, Christa Lund, Enok Lund, Estrid Tikkanen, Frida Elander, Cilla Mertens, Johanna Lund, Kjell Elander, Joel Mertens, Oscar Tikkanen
Ships: Implied Arthur/Christa
Arthur sat across from Christa smirking, “I’m not surprised Jason surpassed your record. He’s always had better magic reserves, my dear.”
Christa rolled her grey eyes at him, “You always make me feel so special, Artie.”
“Close it!”
The two jumped, glancing at the staircase leading to the castle's upper levels. Emerald and grey met momentarily before the two were out of their chairs and at the bottom of the staircase. The only time the upper levels of the castle were used was the brief summer season their kingdom had, but they were deep into their winter.
“Just close it damn it!”
Arthur gripped Christa’s upper arm as the two looked up to find Estrid quickly locking the door to the upper levels while Frida held them shut tightly above the small woman. His eyes widened as he noticed blood on their heavy coats.
Before either of them could say anything, Enok moved them to the side, “What’s going on? Where’s Johanna?!”
Arthur’s eyes glanced back toward the door, he hadn’t even noticed the queen’s absence, it hadn’t processed until the king asked.
Estrid fell to her knees, “Dead. Einar and Kjell too.”
He could see the tears falling from her face and felt his anxiety build, he had never seen Estrid cry.
Frida stood behind Estrid, placing her hand on her shoulder as she continued for her, “We were ambushed, Sir. We were making our daily rounds at the wall, we hadn’t seen the dragon until it was too late. Queen Johanna ordered us to fall back to report to you, but Kjell and Einar stayed to defend her.”
Arthur’s hand on Christa tightened as she whispered, “How do you know they’re dead then? Couldn’t they ha-”
Estrid’s mournful purple gaze met Christa’s, “I looked back. They were engulfed in flames… I couldn’t go back.”
Arthur flinched as he caught Enok’s murmuring, “Dragon? Only Bellincioni have dragons…”
“My king! The Ayers sent word of a massacre! The peace meeting was a trap!”
Arthur’s head whipped around to see Cilla rushing into the room, “We need to prepare for war, it seems the Avis and Atadell Kingdoms are-”
He could see King Enok’s eyes begin to faintly glow white, “We are at war. Estrid, you and Frida are with me. We’ll form a front on the upper levels. I can try to blind that damned dragon. As long as it can’t see us, we should be able to force them to retreat. Cilla, you and Joel gather everyone and move them to the lower levels. If things get bad, go to the tunnels.”
Arthur’s chest tightened as Christa pulled away from his hold, “Dad, I ca-”
“You are to keep everyone calm and keep your brother safe, I will not entertain any argument about it.”
“But Dad, I can help!”
Arthur was quick to grab her hand, “Christa, he wants you safe.”
Enok quickly pulled his gloves over his fingers, “It’s not too late, let’s go. It’s time to show those dragon flyers why we’re called the people of ice.”
Arthur watched them leave and tried to push down the feeling that this was the last time he’d see any of them. Quickly shaking his head, he pulled Christa with him deeper into the castle’s underbelly.
“I’m sorry.”
Christa’s grip on his hand finally tightened, “He’ll be ok. The Sweeney will come to our aid. If they Ayers called us, they called them too.”
Arthur could only hope she was right as the walls began to shake.
6 notes
·
View notes
why am I just now realizing that Julia Campbell has played the mother of both Marano Siblings
Vanessa's in Dexter and Laura's in Austin and Ally. I knew both Marano siblings were in dexter. I watch both of these tv shows at least once a year! I can't believe I didn't realize that this was the same actor, I knew she looked familiar
Also I think it's funny that both shows are set in Miami
2 notes
·
View notes
Today's Black History Month illustration is of Arthur Mitchell, the first African American to become a principal dancer with a major ballet troupe, the New York City Ballet.
Mitchell was born in Harlem in 1934. He attended the High School for the Performing Arts in NYC, and graduated in 1952 with scholarships to the Dunham School and the School of American Ballet.
After high school, Mitchell performed on Broadway in House of Flowers with Geoffrey Holder, Alvin Ailey, and Pearl Bailey.
In 1956, Mitchell was invited to join the New York City Ballet, where he became their only Black dancer. In 1962, he was promoted to principal dancer. He was also the protege of George Balanchine, the co-founder of the School of American Ballet. Balanchine created roles specifically for him, especially in Agon (1957) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1962).
Because of the prejudice against Black dancers within ballet and the assassination of MLK Jr, Mitchell became determined to form an all-Black ballet company. In 1969, at the height of the civil rights movement, Mitchell and his former ballet master Karel Shook created the first Black classical ballet company, the Dance Theatre of Harlem. It was an integrated and diverse school, and its associated company made its debut in 1971 at the Guggenheim.
When Mitchell began Dance Theatre of Harlem, Balanchine gave him the rights to several ballets. This gave Mitchell and the Theatre a repertoire of modern classics and a strong base. By 1979, they toured internationally with a repertoire of 46 ballets.
In the 80s, they reached the forefront of the American ballet scene by infusing new life into older works.
Throughout the 90s, Dance Theatre of Harlem broke racial and political boundaries. They were the first American ballet company to perform in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union and they went on tour to South Africa at the tail end of apartheid.
They challenged racial constructs through sharing their art. The company went on hiatus due to financial difficulties in 2004, but was revived in 2012.
Mitchell has been recognized as a MacArthur Fellow (genius grant) and received the US National Medal of Arts, which is the highest American honor given for achievement in the arts.
I’ll be back tomorrow with another illustration and story!
16 notes
·
View notes
FIVE FASCINATING FACTS: DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM
Arthur (the Man, the Myth, the Legend) Mitchell
In 1969, Arthur Mitchell, along with Karel Shook, created Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) in New York City, after making history in 1955 as the first black principal dancer at New York City Ballet. He also was the famed protégé of George Balanchine—the Russian-born dancer, choreographer and co-founder of the School of American Ballet. Mitchell’s…
View On WordPress
0 notes