Context
Artemis Ombra is a runaway noble with a talent for ballet and gymnastics. Her magic is Equinox, and she’s never been able to control it well.
Fourth position, she thinks. Her legs cross over each other as she stands, facing opposite directions in a ninety-degree turnout. The Ombra closes her eyes, exhaling a deep breath through her mouth. No pointe shoes, so she’ll have to make do with practicing with her tip-toes. Artemis opens her eyes, and her hands and legs begin moving.
She flows from one move to the other, springing through the air and landing with the lightness of a balloon. “You’re a prodigy,” her former dancing coach once praised her. The words echo through the cave of her mind, reverberating off the walls of her memory and coming back to Artemis’ thoughts. "Soon you’ll catch up to me. Now, show me your aplomb once more, Artemis. Your dance is beautiful." Indeed it is. Not that anyone she knows is watching her.
Cabriole. Artemis beats her feet together in the air. When she lands, she freezes, then transitions into a pirouette. I haven’t danced in so long, Artemis thinks as she exits the pirouette into an Arabesque position, standing with one leg on the ground, tip-toe, and her other leg off the ground and away from the body. Not since I ran away. If only she was as good at fighting as she was dancing, eh?
Thirteen years of dancing means she barely even has to think about the movements. When Artemis dances, she feels… Free. Free from distractions. Free from responsibility. Free from… everything, really. It’s one of the only things she’s thankful for her parents giving her. Fifteen years of graceful, elegant, beautiful freedom.
Artemis decides to indulge herself in the freedom. She calls upon her gymnastic experience, flowing from normal ballet to some sort of hybrid between her graceful ballet, and her energetic gymnastics. At once, she lands from an aerial cartwheel to an en pointe pose, with only her tiptoes supporting the rest of her body. Then she spins in another pirouette. Keep moving, Arty tells herself. Don’t stop.
One spin. Two. Three spins. “Picture it in your mind and perform it for real.” Those were her best friend’s words, Artemis remembers. The words of the first person that showed her the meaning of freedom.
She pictures herself dancing among the stars, betwixt the darkness of night and the light of the stars. At once, her Equinox appears, following her movements with ribbons of white and black energy. And when she flips, the light of the stars and the cool darkness follows.
I’m doing it, she thinks. Dance, Equinox. Dance with me! Follow my lead! When she spins, a tornado of white light surrounds her. Faster. Come, let’s go faster! She jumps, beating her feet together once more. Pulses of white light flash in the air as she does so. Artemis flips again, going upside-down this time as her Equinox Magic traces a crescent around her body.
Then all of her Equinox disperses as she freezes in one last pose, breathing heavily. Finally, she collapses, smiling and sweating bullets. What did I… just do?