She laughed softly and patted his shoulder "go find yourself a mate." she encouraged, spinning away from his light hold on her "I'll be fine, if anything happens I'll come and find you."
Antonio sighed softly and glanced around, not wanting to go up to the platform where the two princes were immediately. "I'll walk around a bit, get a feel for the room before I make a move?" he smiled softly, bowed to Luna and walked off, his white fair disappearing into the throng of people. "Poor thing, so strong, yet so desperately alone." she hoped her friend would find someone tonight.
She thought over the plan as she meandered through the crowds of people to the outskirts of the ballroom, admiring the various paintings that adorned the walls. Would she really be willing to kill the prince? how would she get away with that when there were so many guards and council members around? She was never really fond of killing the innocent, but could she count him as innocent? She assumed he knew what had happened to her kind, how millions were slaughtered including her own family just for being elf. He had as much fault as his parents did. As anyone in the council did. She clenched her hands at her side in frustration and turned away from the pictures on the wall, making her decision.
To distract ad calm herself, she walked towards where the band was playing, standing off to the side of a crowd to hear them play, recognizing the light and upbeat tune. She started to lightly sway to the song, humming along to the major chord.
Arno approached a young woman wearing a rose dress with a pleated skirt, her brunette hair pinned neatly back behind her head. It didn’t seem she had a dance partner, so he outstretched his hand towards her. “Good evening, my dear,” Arno brought the back of her hand to her lips, Bowing slightly as the girl, who seemed stunned out of her wits, curtsied. “My name is Prince Arno Quentin. May I ask for yours?”
Arno sighed softly while she replied with her name, and the rest of their pleasantries, but still kept the smile in his face. So she was a noble. He hadn’t exactly wanted to meet any more nobles, but he invited her to dance nonetheless. The two of them danced for a full song, swaying to the music and Arno looking over her shoulder to find the girl in a blue dress he’d noticed earlier. By the end of the song, Arno finally spotted his interest again. She was closer, and more beautiful as ever with her dark hair. At the most natural of moments in the middle of two songs, he passed his partner off to another man.
Arno watched the two of them dance for a moment or two until he turned on his heel, and weaved through the crowd towards the band. “Good evening,” he began warmly, speaking over the music.
Luna jumped at the sound of the prince's voice beside her and quickly dropped into an awkward curtsy, hating just how easily he had snuck up on her. For Gods sake she was an assassin, she was the one who was supposed to be sneaking around. She kept her gaze level with his, trying not to shy away from him "your Highness, good evening." She wasn't about to let him have the satisfaction of startling her, especially in front of so many people.
Instead she straightened her posture and clasped her hands in front of her "So what brings you back here? Surely a single prince such as yourself should be coercing and seducing as many eligible suitors as humanly possible, tonight being your last night to be able to." was she jabbing at him for trying to desperately court anyone? yes. Did she care that he was a prince that could easily have her killed for such a comment? not necessarily. She smirked and shook her head slightly, clapping her hands polity as the band finished their latest song. "What happened to the young lady in pink? She seemed nice enough, she certainly danced well enough. Not your type I presume?"
Antonio watched from an opposite wall, shaking his head with a smile as he sipped champagne "we forgot to work on your conversational skills, dear Moon. I forgot how sarcastic you could be. The poor prince is going to have fun getting around that." he said to himself, watching the many dancers around him in a flurry of golds and shades of pinks and blues. His eyes came to rest on the dais once more, focusing on the young prince standing near the front "damn you royals." he growled softly a smirk spreading on his lips.
Arno’s smile disappeared, if only for a brief second, until he concealed how her words affected him with half-hearted laughter. Immediately he didn’t like her; what reason did she have to insult him before they even knew each other? Still, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. This was their first meeting after all. He shifted his weight from side to side. “Hah, you grossly misinterpret my reason for being here in the first place. I don’t want to make my job harder by collecting as many suitors as possible for me to choose from. I simply like talking to people, what harm is there in that?” His eyes darted over her appearance, finally landing on her ears. She was an elf? In that case she certainly couldn’t be a noble— neither would the council ever approve of her. “The lady in pink was a countess. I don’t mean to sound rude, but my experiences with nobles have been…bland.” To say the least.
Sonbureli hadn’t moved many paces from his original position on the dais, only enough to stand beside his fourteen year old sister. The rest of his siblings weren’t present. Assumedly only the three oldest siblings were allowed to attend a ball with romantic intentions. He held a glass of champagne in his left hand, and tucked a lock of black hair behind his ear with his right. After every sip he grimaced, much to the amused delight of his younger sister.
"There would be absolutely no problem with that, if only all the people you desired to talk weren't also all your potential suitors." She gave him a pointed look before turning back to the band. She found it amusing that the prince of all people in the kingdom couldn't handle being near nobles for long. She caught his gaze in her peripheral vision and tried her best not to snap at him for starring. Now that he knew what she was, would he really consider her an option? she thought it unlikely, especially considering how their conversation was going. She actually quite enjoyed the light banter, glad to see the prince had somewhat of a spine instead of letting all the little taunts and comments get to him. "while I can't speak from experience, I would assume most nobles are boring to interact with, no offense."
Antonio had moved from the wall to the opposite side of the room where large glass doors led to a large open garden. He leaned against threshold, watching the still night ambiance with a tilt of his head, his features relaxing as he took in the scenery. The glass of champagne empty in his hand and held loosely. He looked over his shoulder at Luna and the prince to make sure they were alright. "the poor boy." he chuckled softly and set the glass on a passing tray. He shoved his hands in his pocket and made his way down the short steps towards the garden
Arno scoffed at her words as she turned away from him. "No offense taken. I'm glad I was born a prince instead of a noble. I don't have to play their stale, nasty games in order to rise in the ranks. And I do have a job to do. After tonight I'll have to choose who I want to rule the kingdom with me. It's a rather intimidating task… Do you want me to leave? I won't keep you if you prefer other company." He did enjoy talking to her, just a little.Although the banter, the conflict between them grated on his nerves, but she was at least more interesting than the countesses. A part of him wished she did come here as one of his potential suitors, but by the looks of her disinterest and the obvious fact that she was an elf, he doubted she was.
As Cathrise, his sister, was invited to dance by the son of a decorated marquess, Sonbureli let his gaze travel over the swaying mass of people in the room. He downed the last few sips of champagne, softly coughing at the strong taste. It happened so fast: suddenly alone in a room full of people he didn't necessarily want to schmooze with. The gardens sounded appealing. He often spent time with his brother there, and it was naturally quiet. Except for the birds in the aviary, of course.
She shrugged, keep “I don’t mind your company. Though if you’d rather be elsewhere I won’t keep you from your searching.” She smiled politely and nodded her head to him, hoping he would stay a bit longer though she’s never say it to him. It felt nice to talk to someone that didn’t hate her or that didn’t know what she did for a living. “If you are staying, then may I ask if you’ve found anyone yet?”
(Should Sonny and Antonio meet?)
“Not necessarily,” Arno replied to her first comment, and relaxed at the polite smile she offered him. So they were getting somewhere. Assuming she wasn’t a potential suitor, he rather enjoyed talking to someone new without the expectations place on their interaction. “As long as I’m not sitting alone in the corner, I’m fulfilling my responsibility here. As for finding someone, if you mean a suitor, no one in particular. I haven’t made any decisions yet.”
(Shoot Yes! Sorry I forgot to write a bit for him)
“It must be a lot of pressure, especially since this is the last night.” She mused “what’ll happen if you don’t choose? Will the council continue to guid the kingdom?” She asked turning completely to face him. She found him interesting, though still very much naive. Would he really be forced to choose or would the council rule.
Antonio had settled himself against a tree. He had hoped to stay away from most of the people at the ball, though he honestly wouldn’t mind company. He sighed softly and rested his head back, skimming his hand along the grass and shutting his eyes momentarily
(It’s ok!)
“Indeed, it is a lot of pressure.” Arno’s cheeks lifted as she faced him again. Seeming more reassured that she was interested in the conversation with him, his own demeanor brightened. “If I didn’t choose a suitor either tonight or tomorrow morning, the council would choose for me. And I’m sure they would choose someone from high nobility.”
Sonbureli maneuvered his way along the walls around the mass of people. As he approached the gardens’ doors he paused, seeing a figure propped up against the tree some yards away. “Arno?” He squinted. Wasn’t his brother supposed to be meeting potential suitors? He knew Arno was nervous, but he had never just bailed on an important ball like this. “I thought I just saw you inside-“ The figure became more clear the closer he walked, and the sharp realization that the man was in fact not Arno abruptly interrupted his comment.
Luna nodded “I see.” She looked away momentarily, again thinking about the plan. He seemed nice enough, would she really be happy with him? Or would he even choose her? At the moment she was acting as if she were a suitor. Maybe he would be better off with a noblewoman or man. Then at least it lowered his chances of dying. Would she come back to kill them both? Maybe.
Turning back to him she offered a reassuring smile “you’ll find them, whomever they may be.”
Antonio had been gazing out at the aviary, wondering why the beautiful birds were stuck inside instead of out in the open when he he heard the voice of the young prince. He immediately turned his head to him and stood slowly, not wanting to scare him away but also not wanting him too close, not yet.
“Your brother is inside, if you seek him.” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and gazing at the prince. He wouldn’t bow, no matter how cute the other looked.
Arno nodded along, “I just have to trust that I will,” he sighed, turning his attention to all the possible suitors mingling in the middle of the room. After a moment of though he swiveled his head back towards her. “I have to ask, because the invitations were meant for everyone. Are you here with someone in particular, or did you come with the hopes I would choose you?”
Sonbureli gazed back at the other man, particularly his stature. He wasn’t exactly offended that his presence didn’t illicit a bow, but he did find the man’s reaction out of the ordinary—to say the least. “No. I’m only seeking some place quiet. I didn’t expect anyone else to be out here.”
She nodded and followed his gaze to the rest of the suitors who have now gathered in a crowd around them. She thought it all ridiculously unnecessary, how they all came here just to preen and strut around the prince, hoping to catch his eye. Though she supposed that she was doing the same since she was there. His voice shook her out of her thoughts and she found him looking at her.
“Both I guess, I am here with someone, he’s more of my brother than anything else. You did say anyone who was available could come so I thought why not? I don’t have any hope or desire for you to choose me.” She said with a shrug “you can choose who ever you’d like as it seems.”
He tilted his head slightly in intrigue and looked the prince over “I came here looking for the same thing. Parties aren’t your thing I’m assuming?” He asked, not bothering with formalities
“I have a few people in mind I would like to meet again,” Arno hummed thoughtfully. “Fortunately I have the luxury of getting to know those who interest me before I commit to marrying them. The council at least has that much sense.” He glanced almost nervously over his shoulder at the guests who had started to gather around them. He didn’t mind the attention, but did these people think he had made his decision already? He hadn’t even asked her name yet.
“Not these kind of parties. It’s too loud to talk to anyone in the midst of a hundred more conversations,” Sonbureli replied, shifting under the man’s gaze. He clasped his hands in front of himself, straightening his shoulders to appear more confident than he was. His brother had always been more comfortable when it came to meeting new people. “Obviously you know who I am. Now, who are you?”
"Do you get to choose multiple people if you find yourself unable to make a singular decision or just one?" she asked, having not planned to kill anyone else other than the prince after this whole ordeal. "It's kind of them to consider that, especially since it must be such a sudden thing for both you and whomever you choose to be immediately married after this." she shook off the uneasy feeling that washed over her as the crowd seemed to tightly enclose around them, inch by inch, growing restless as the prince remained where he was.
"certainly is, it's a wonder how they manage to talk at all." he let out a soft laugh and regarded the prince thoughtfully, uncrossing his arms from his chest so they were clasped behind him, close to the knife he always carried in case of emergencies. "I do indeed know who you are, young price. Though you need not know who I am. I'm sure you'd forget by the end of the night anyways, so why give you the value of my name?" Antonio gave him a pointed look and walked back to the tree, leaning against it's sturdy trunk as he looked over to the aviary
"Eventually i will have to choose one person to become my queen. But as of tonight I can be interested in several people to get to know further." Arno raised his voice slightly at that, hoping to subtly convey to the growing crowd around them that this woman he was speaking to wasn't his final decision. However, he was beginning to consider the possibility of seeing her again. "Forgive me. I don't believe I've asked this yet; what is your name?"
Sonbureli pressed his lips together, watching the other male through his hooded eyes and furrowed brow. "I believe I have a right to know who exactly is in my home gardens." For all he knew, this mystery man could be an assassin sitting outside of the party so that when the rest of the guests left, he would be forgotten in the gardens. The corner of his lip twitched when he saw the man's profile: pointed ears, and he wouldn't identify himself with a name. Sonbureli never liked carrying weapons on his belt, especially to parties like these, but now he doubted that was such a good idea as it seemed to be this morning.
she nodded slightly and looked back to the band ,watching as a woman stepped forwards to begin the next some, seemingly one with lyrics this time. She looked over to the prince, half expecting him to have attended to the crowd instead of continuing to converse with her. SHe hadn't realized she hadn't given a name yet to the Prince and felt incredibly ridiculous for not mentioning it before hand "no need to apologies, I should have said it before. My name is Luna, Luna Blythe." she said with a small curtsy.
"You should be more concerned about who's inside your home rather than who's outside of it." he smirked, wondering how far he could push the prince before he snapped. "Fine, if you are so concerned about me, which by the way, I'm deeply touched by that, I'll give you my name. Where i come from, i'm known as Aelias, but here I've adopted the name Antonio." he bowed theatrically and arched an eyebrow "i hope that satisfies whatever you need to better know who I am, your highness."
“Luna,” Arno echoed softly, dipping into a formal bow in return. “If you didn’t know, my name other than “prince” is Arno Quentin. It’s a pleasure to meet you , Miss Blythe.” After studying her expression for a few moments he glanced over his shoulder at the crowd. He knew he couldn’t talk to Luna much longer, or else everyone in the ballroom would start to get suspicious.
“There are plenty of guards inside the castle,” Sonbureli squinted at the smirk. Antonio didn’t seem dangerous, but there was an odd feel about him. “I think now it’s good sense to be wary of someone hiding out alone in the palace gardens. Especially now. And that someone being an elf.” The corner of his lip twitched. “Nevertheless thank you for your name, Ae…Aelei…Antonio.”
She covered up a small laugh when the prince mentioned his name and shook her head gently "I know your name, I would be surprised to hear that others didn't. I was merely was respecting your title. "She smiled softly and nodded to the crowd when she noticed him looking back "Go or they'll all think you've made your decision. We couldn't have that, now could we?" Before he could respond, she bowed deeply, "till we find each other again, prince." her eyes held a shimmer of mischief before she stood and disappeared into the crowd.
"now, now young prince, don't go putting words on my lips that were never said. I never said I was hiding out here. I merely came here for some peace and a change of scenery from the hustle and bustle of the party ongoing inside." He dropped his hand to his side and took a few steps around the prince, always remaining a few feet of distance between them. "Now who's this wariness for, me being outside alone or the people inside against me, seeing that as you've previously said, because I'm an elf." he narrowed his eyes slightly and shrugged, turning on his heal with a wave over his shoulder. "your welcome, do with it what you want. Whisper it at night as you fall asleep if you'd like." he teased, smiling to himself as he walked off to a path leading to the main garden center
Arno watched her disappear with a faint smile on his lips. “Until then I suppose, Miss Blythe.” After looking in the direction where he last saw her for a few more stolen moments, he turned his attention back to the crowd. He flashed them a more showy smile, and approached yet another young woman. “This is a ball for dancing, after all. Care to be my partner while we chat?”
Sonbureli followed Antonio with his gaze, squinting, and otherwise finding himself unable to react anymore than that. His wariness was towards this strange elf in the gardens, and he found it odd why an elf would attend a royal ball in the first place. He scoffed in disgust as his last comment. “You wish that were so,” he muttered under his breath, watching the elf continue his way through the gardens. Eventually he decided to follow…just in case he could get into any trouble.
Luna picked up a glass of water from a passing butler and made her way to the garden doorway, watching as two specks off in the distance wanked along, one slightly behind the other.
"You rascal," she laughed and shook her head "you're way better at this than I am." with a sigh, she went back inside the room, chatting with a few people here and there as well as dancing with a few gentlemen and ladies, finding them interesting but soon started to realize that they all lived a similar, high standing life with nothing other than a few games of badminton and small outings to keep them entertained. She felt bad for them, hoping that they'd find enjoyment soon in their life but also grateful that she didn't live their lives.
Antonio tilted his head up to the sky with a grin when he sensed the prince following him. He glanced over his shoulder and arched an eyebrow at him. "Ah, so I see the young prince will take action himself, instead of letting his guards handle it for themselves. I admire your persistence, your highness. I wonder, do you think me a threat or are you just interested in some late night fun? care to answer?" he laughed softly and continued to walk, slowing his pace to admire the garden as well as to let the prince catch up.
Arno refrained from dancing with anyone, man or woman, for longer than a song. He flashed his charm for all of them, laughed, had mostly entertaining conversations, enjoyed their company. Still, there was Luna. His thoughts always seemed to return to her. The woman in the dazzling blue dress. The first, and so far only one, who had truly captured his attention tonight. As Arno grasped the hand of a particularly dashing young noble in a scarlet suit, he found his gaze drifting past his partner’s shoulder in search for Luna among the crowd.
Sonbureli scowled. “That’s rather forward of you.” He held onto the crease of his coat as if for support, and half-jogged to catch up to Antonio. Slowing to a halt when he reached to roughly a pace behind the elf. “Neither. My brother loves this place, and I’m only here to make sure you don’t mess with anything.”
Luna had started up a conversation with another woman near the middle of the ballroom. She had first first only had meant to start up a small conversation to pass the time, nothing too invested or interesting but when the other had starting talking over her life as a minor countess of the court as well as what she truly wanted to pursue in life, Luna’s interest was peeked and soon she was smiling and laughing with her, recounting their shared journeys around the continent as well as their fascination with astrology.
Antonio shrugged “I like to think of myself as bold. Why should I hide my intent with anyone, including you, my prince?” He stopped near a rose bush and gently held one of the blooms in his hand, admiring it’s beauty. “I can understand why, it’s certainly a lovely place to be, especially at night.” He flicked his gaze up to the prince’s and smiled softly “I would never destroy something so beautiful. I wish your kind would’ve done my people and homeboy the same curtesy.”
“Pardon me if I’m mistaken, Prince, but you seem distracted,” Arno’s dance partner said, still swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the orchestra.
Arno blinked out of his stupor, and centered his attention back to the noble’s face. It was easier to keep Luna out of his mind that way. “What? Oh, only slightly,” he replied half humorously. “It’s not like I have to choose who I want to does the rest of my life with or anything. Not to mention having to make sure that person has the best intentions for the kingdom.”
Sonbureli came to stop a few feet away from Anotonio, keeping a close eye on the bloom in his hand, as if it would shrivel and die just from being touched. “And what exactly are your intentions with me? I had no say in what my ancestors did to your people. I wasn’t even born yet.” A brief pause. “So you can’t blame me,” he added, crossing his arms over his chest.
