The Yule Ball

[Avalynn O'Shea]

Avalynn knew this was all a bad idea. Why Shane was humoring her, to begin with, was beyond her. Part of her wanted to believe that he was doing it to get a good laugh at her expense- she had made herself into a complete fool enough yesterday. But Shane had scolded her for assuming such things. She was human and no one was perfect. Regardless of his reason for coming, it was nice to see that he was true to his word, even though he seemed hesitant about accepting her request. It said something about him she thought.

When Shane caught sight of her, she smiled softly and waved at him. Bright blue eyes watched as he approached the table and greeted Lucian first and then a silent greeting to the others before his eyes fell on her. She twisted in her seat to face him and nodded to him in response, “it is nice to see you too, Lord Shane.” She gestured to the empty seat next to her. “Would you care to sit with us?”

She allowed her eyes to linger on him for perhaps too long. The man certainly was handsome- especially dressed up as he was for the occasion. But her attention drifted when she could see Anemone rise from her seat from the corner of her eye. She looked to her friend and caught her encouraging look. Avalynn’s eyes widened as if to tell her not to dare leave her. But it was too late, she was already pulling her date to leave the table to go dance. She watched them leave before her attention was returned to Shane.

A nervous laugh escaped her and she tried to think of something to say. “Do you normally disperse a crowd when you arrive?” She lightly teased him, her tone playful. But she quickly waved a hand as if to dismiss her own comment as if it didn’t matter to her. “You look nice, my lord.” Avalynn paused for a moment, smiling softly. “And thank you for coming. I was beginning to think you weren’t-- That you didn’t feel like spending your night catching a silly clumsy girl.” She grinned, raising a brow playfully at him before reaching for her glass of wine and taking a sip from it.

“How are you?” She silently asked, perhaps showing her nervousness to be seated here with him amongst the crowd of people- of watchful eyes. She was a lady of the court and known quite well for that reason. Surely others would be judging her for the company she kept around her. Not that it mattered much to her at all, it still plagued the back of her mind that she was constantly being judged.

[Shane O'Sullivan]

He was suddenly a little wary of all the eyes on him, but the others all appeared polite with smiles and nods of greeting. "Of course," he replied to her question. Shane was feeling all sorts of awkward and out of place, and he was struggling not to make it obvious. It was easy to "fit in" when you were just running through the forest, but this? Oh no, this was a whole other level he was trying to figure out all over again. He hadn't been kidding when he told her that he avoided court, thus any courtly gatherings.

Although he let out an inaudible sigh, he was glad to take that seat beside Avalynn, despite the awkwardness he felt. Truly, he didn't have to converse with anyone else but her (and maybe Wesley, wherever he had gone). And of course, Lucian, but it would seem like he and his date had other plans. He bid them a silent farewell before those bright eyes averted back to the woman next to him.

Ava's teasing words had him chuckling lightly. "I told you, I don't do well at these...things." Although he was clearly joking back, there was some obvious truth to his words. Shane let his gaze wander for a brief moment, but his eyes ultimately rested back upon her; a smile curling his lips at her comment. He had to force himself to not blatantly let his attention drift further than her neck, but the woman quite obviously wanted attention with her chosen gown. What a predicament. "And you, Lady Avalynn, are quite beautiful." The sailor said this so easily, so nonchalantly as though it should have been obvious to everyone else in the world.

Shane shifted a little nervously then, turning to face her a bit more as he retrieved a small, wrapped parcel from his jacket pocket. "I'm sorry to be so late...but I felt like I shouldn't be arriving here empty handed. I'm told it was impolite." The smirk on his face was almost secretive, and he was trying not to laugh at Wesley's berating words from earlier. Well, how was he supposed to know he'd be invited to the ball? He held the gift out for her to take. "Nor am I very good at these kinds of things, so...I apologize if it is not your style, my lady."

[Kaiden Dellario]

Kaiden chuckled at Elyscia's comment. He didn't for a moment entertain the thought that she meant something more intimate. The man met her smirk and the way she bit her lip was adorable. Beyond adorable. That light in Elyscia's eye that suggested she knew exactly what she had said.

He wasn't paying attention to the dress. But he did pay attention to social cues. She was expecting someone. And he paid attention to his fiance's eyes on him. While that was a feeling he immediately liked, he wasn't there to make her jealous.

He glanced up as Lucien and Anemone mentioned dancing. "That's not a bad idea," he said, looking at Elyscia Demarais and raising an eye brow. "Would you care to dance, my lady?" Yes they had progressed to first names, but he was perhaps being a bit of a romantic as he offered her his hand.

It seemed everyone else had plans with their significant others so he would take the hint and make his own plans. Or at least offer with a genuine smile. It eould give them more time to talk, in semi private. Perhaps he could ask Elyscia about her family then.

[Elyscia Demarais]

Elyscia watched as the man, Shane, approached their table and sat next to Avalynn. She smiled and offered a nod in greeting. But it wasn’t long before Anemone was pulling Lucian away to go dance, and she caught sight of her suggestive look that she and Kaiden leave the other two at the table alone. Her green eyes looked up at Kaiden as he asked her if she’d like to dance and she smiled softly and nodded. “Sure.” She took his hand and moved away from the table and out onto the dance floor.

She was silent as they moved through the crowd, her eyes darting around the room for no reason in particular. She knew her sister was somewhere in the room, and she wasn’t sure if she felt nervous about her seeing her with Kaiden for some reason. Maybe because Cassandra had been forced into a marriage and she did not want her to feel bad for her or worry about her.

Once they found a spot on the floor, she turned to face him, keeping her hand in his and moving her other hand to rest on his shoulder. She wondered if they looked as silly as she felt at the moment. He was a lot taller than she was and she found herself having to tilt her head back to look up at him. Did she look like a child compared to him? Her features were younger looking than she would have liked.

Now that they were alone, without the buffer of her friends and family surrounding them, she was beginning to feel that same awkward nervousness that she felt earlier when they had been alone talking before the ball. She gave him a nervous smile, unsure of what to say or talk about. So she said the first thing that came to mind, “things seemed to turn out better than I was hoping.” She nearly cringed at her words- hating that she was initiating in small talk. But she gave Kaiden a bright smile as she glanced around the room again as if taking in their surroundings. “What do you think? Do they have these sorts of things in Ithias? What are your Yule type of traditions?”  She supposed that was a little bit better than her initial attempt in making conversation.  At least... hopefully, if he had different traditions, he would talk about them, because she honestly was interested in hearing the different types of traditions others had for Yule- it was her favorite time of the year, afterall. 

[Avalynn O'Shea]

She wasn’t certain why she felt so nervous now- it wasn’t like they were meeting for the first time. They had just met yesterday, though- and Shane had seen her completely embarrass herself in front of him. Why she wanted to risk further embarrassing herself was beyond her. Yet, he seemingly hadn’t minded. And here he was- back for more, as he had agreed to. She bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from grinning like an idiot as he sat down next to her and brought his eyes to look at her once everyone seemingly left them alone. She nearly forgot about how nice his eyes were, and it suddenly caused her cheeks to feel warm.

As she got Shane to chuckle at her teasing, she laughed along with him and couldn’t help the small grin that caused the corners of her lips to lift. “You’re fine, my lord... Everyone else’s attention is elsewhere and you needn’t worry about doing well at this kind of thing...Unless of course, you are trying to impress me.” She smirked and shrugged her shoulders, looking away from him briefly as if disinterested and sipped at her wine. But when she returned her gaze to him, her smile was still there. “But I don’t think that will be very difficult for you to do, either.” She grinned and looked down at her hands, seemingly embarrassed by her own words, her cheeks turning slightly red.

When Shane gave her the compliment, she smiled softly, blushing a bit more. “Thank you,” she said quietly. While most women may have felt a bit self-conscious about wearing a dress similar to her own, Avalynn felt confident and powerful in the dress- especially with such a bold color (even though there were many others in the room wearing a similar shade.)

Bright blue eyes widened slightly as Shane pulled out the small wrapped gift and handed it to her. She hesitated for a moment before she took it and cupped her hands around it as she smiled. “Oh… You really did not need to--” She searched his eyes for a moment and then let out a small, nervous laugh as her eyes moved away from him and at the small wrapped box she had on the table in front of her. Now, suddenly, she did not feel as silly as she had when she was contemplating bringing it to give to him. Avalynn reached for her gift and held it out to him. “I am not good at these kinds of things either… So I apologize if it’s not your style.” She smirked, repeating his words, in a way that showed she was understanding of his unease of knowing what to get someone.

After he took the box from her, she returned her hand to curl around the gift he had given to her and she brought it to her chest, holding it there for a moment as she smiled. “Thank you, my lord…” She hadn’t even opened it yet, but she still felt appreciative that he had taken the time to pick something out for her, especially not knowing much about her. She averted her eyes from him and down to the box before she carefully opened it and looked to see what was inside. Her eyes lit up as she saw the bracelet, and a smile instantly tugged at the corners of her lips. “It’s beautiful,” she said with a bit of awe. It was simple but perfect- something she could nearly wear with everything. Her long and slender fingers picked the bracelet up out of the box and she instantly placed it on her wrist, admiring it after. “Thank you,” she repeated as she looked at him again. “It’s perfect.”

She gestured for him to open her gift and watched him carefully, nervously biting the inside of her lip. She realized that with being a sailor, he probably already had what was in the box, but she felt this wasn’t just an ordinary one- there was some sentiment behind where her gift had come from, and she felt a bit nervous to tell him. Maybe she was being foolish, and she was suddenly starting to regret her decision as he began to open it.

[Kaiden Dellario]

Kaiden felt tall compared to Elyscia and he rather enjoyed the feeling. She wasn't a small woman at all, though something did seem to have her more reserved than the bit of earnest fire he had been able to see. Was it him? Had he done something wrong? The man wasn't a professional dancer, but he had had some training and had taught him how to dance so he was confident it wasn't his dancing as he settled one hand on her waist. Was she embarrassed to be seen with him? The way she looked around suggested she was searching for a familiar face. A family member? Well, he had known he might meet more than just her cousins here tonight. That was a big step even for a committed couple.

It certainly wasn't because he wasn't handsome. He knew that. And it wasn't because she wasn't beautiful. If she didn't know that...well, Kaiden clearly enjoyed looking at her, his gaze always coming back to her dark hair and her smile and the jewelry she didn't need to be wearing on that gorgeous neckline of hers.

He followed her gaze over the room and then returned a smaller, easy going smile. "I'll have more notes once we try the food, but it appears quite the success. Have you helped organize formal celebrations such as this before?" If it was small talk, Kaiden graciously seemed not to notice.

"Winter holidays?" He shrugged for a moment, thinking. "Homesteads celebrate the winter solstice. With bonfires and meditation and lots of cake, but nothing very grand. My- the king hosts an open feast in the main square. Yule…" he trailed off and then smiled with self amusement into his dance partner's eyes. "Couples give each other gifts and they spend the day together." Lucky coincidence? He really hadn't thought about that. Calendar dates were not his specialty.

[Stefan Gifford]

Despite Queen Alexandria telling him that he needed to take the evening off from his guard, he could not accept. He had promised Orin that he would keep eyes on her as much as he possibly could while they were in Tresteria. And he meant to keep that promise. Although when Aric was with her, he knew he could stay back and be there more so for in case he was needed.

So as his king and queen entered the ballroom, he stepped in, hearing his name being called out, which seemed so strange for him to hear- especially when he was a man who typically stayed undercover and hidden. He offered a smile to the guards who stood by the entrance before he wandered in and glanced around. He did not know anyone here, other than those who had come from Aralore with them, and the people had met so far. So he wasn’t entirely sure he should even be here to socialize- it just felt awkward to him.

He had dressed for the occasion, however- in a grey fitted suit. It would be difficult for him to remember that he was somewhat off-duty for the evening. His hair was pulled back into a loose bun of sorts, and he actually looked to clean up quite nicely. At least that’s what Alexandria had told him on their way down to the ballroom.

Blue eyes scanned the room. He first spotted Cassandra, but another gentleman had already approached her. He wandered over towards the drink table and got himself some of the punch. He’d not drink in the event that he would be needed for whatever reason. He stood there quietly, near the wall, one arm folding over his massive chest as the other held the cup to his mouth where he would sip from it occasionally. He was content to just stand and watch- he had grown used to just that. But he couldn’t help but wonder if a certain short woman whom he had embarrassed yesterday would show up.

[Elyscia Demarais]

As she felt Kaiden’s hand on her waist, she nearly jumped in startle, but she stopped herself. It was only a dance, she reminded herself. But his hand on her caused her cheeks to slightly burn and she had to look away from him for a moment as she steadied herself.

His voice pulled her attention back up to his face and she smiled softly. Oh yes- they hadn’t even eaten yet. Elyscia hadn’t eaten much throughout the day, aside from the little snack Kaiden had witnessed shoving into her mouth earlier. “Are you hungry? We didn’t have to come dance if you would have rather eaten…” She gave him an apologetic smile before her eyes shifted from his and back around the room as he questioned her. “Mmhmm.” She softly hummed her answer, and then, “I mean, yes. I like to be involved with things like this. It lets me use my creativity, I suppose.” She smiled and looked back at him.

Green eyes watched him as he spoke, telling her of the traditions that happened in Ithias. She smiled and let out a small laugh, “Mmm... Cake… I could kill for a good slice of cake right about now.” Elyscia had already told him about her weakness for baked goods. Cake was probably the worst culprit for her weakness.

She caught sight of Kaiden’s eyes as he looked into hers and she looked down and away for the briefest moment, feeling somewhat uneasy or maybe just nervous. She forced a small smile and looked back at him, “It’s not fair… You had the advantage because you knew of your return. I did not. Otherwise, maybe I would have gotten you a gift.” She paused, realizing that she was indirectly claiming them as a couple and she bit her lower lip. Were they? Rather than bring attention to the matter, she quickly asked him, “are you missing or feeling bad about not being there for part of it?” She gently squeezed his hand and offered him a small smile, wondering if he’d rather still be back home instead of here in Tresteria, and with her.

[Kaiden Dellario]

He hardly thought about where he put his hand to dance with her, intending only to dance not anything more. It was more intimate than their previous holding hands but it was all very much...the formal sort of intimacy.

He wasn't, but he certainly wouldn't let good food go to waste. "I am. But I want to dance with you first," he said with another smile. He wouldn't have offered if he didn't want to.

Kaoden raised a plauful eyebrow. "Well, let's hope they have cake around here then, so you don't have to kill anyone." He would have to practice his baking a lot. He was a chef, not a baker. But he supposed he could be bpth with time.

The man blushed slightly, "Oh, no, that wasn't why- Coincidence. I didn't realize what day it was and the jewelry..." He paused after stumbling over his words. He had already explained why he got it for her, sort of. It had nothing to do with the holiday.

Were they not a couple? He was courting her, at least. It might have only been a day but he was determined to see it beyond that, one way or another. Her question caught him off guard, though he supposed he should have expected it. He didn't have much close family to enjoy the quiet winter days with. And he had never been much for meditating. The public feast he had caight some glimpse of at least though he had been too busy to attend. But no, he was supposed to be charming, not depressing. Being here was much less depressing. "And miss dancing with you, Elyscia?" Kaiden grinned and spun her in a small circle. "Not likely."

[Elyscia Demarais]

Elyscia couldn’t help but smile as Kaiden admitted he wanted to dance with her before they ate. She bit her lower lip in an attempt to control her smile from showing too much. She gave him a nod then, “very well.” She laughed quietly, letting her gaze fall for a brief moment. When she returned her eyes to him she smirked and playfully spoke, “hopefully my dancing with you will be worthy of making your hunger wait.”

She was wondering if Kaiden would start to think that all she did was eat cake and other baked foods, due to her comment of being willing to murder someone for a piece of cake. It was a little drastic and she was, of course, exaggerating. When he raised his brow and spoke, Elyscia laughed and nodded. “Of course there will be cake… Just not until after dinner is served, unfortunately.” She smirked and shrugged her shoulders casually.

Her eyes wavered between his as she watched him stumble over his words regarding his gift of the jewelry and that it seemingly hadn’t been a Yule gift. She knew it hadn’t been as he had already explained why he was giving it to her. She nodded and offered him a reassuring smile. “I know- I am just teasing you. Though, I do still feel bad for not getting you something, too.”

Elyscia quietly waited to hear what he had so say about missing Yule in his homelands. She hadn’t expected the answer he gave her, and as he uttered the words, she couldn’t stop the smile from twitching the corners of her lips. She spun into the circle before returning into his arms and she laughed at him. “Are you trying to charm me, my lord?” Her tone was light and playful. “I highly doubt I am worth missing out on traditions for.” At least she did not think so.

[Kaiden Dellario]

He smiled. Well, perhaps it was a good thing they were dancing now, to keep her mind off of food and her true goal which had nothing to do with him and everything to do with baked goods. He was okay being second to cake. Well, jokingly, anyway. Actually, that brought up a fair point that was driven home by her questions about Yule traditions...

As for a gift, he hardlt thought anything of it. He didn't expect her to give him anything, especially not tonight considering they had only met and really ever. That wasn't really how courting worked here, from what he understood. Of course, Elyscia did seem...not to fit the stereotypical Tresterian woman. Maybe he should loosen his expectations of her in that regard. It wasn't all that fair. Still, he didn't want to assume. The man didn't expect to recieve many presents during the holidays anymore but that was alright. He could take care of himself these days.

Kaiden grinned at her smile for his words. "Is it working?"

"Let me be the judge of your company, my lady." Again with the title, more to be on the nose than because he wasn't comfortable with her name. "Perhaps this is sinply making a new tradition?" It was not a blatant implication, but nor was it a sublte one. Still, he spoke with a playful tone to match her own. Light and happy and maybe a little tired, but not any less interested. "What traditions might you be partaking in, were I not here?" Speaking of his earlier thought.

[Sevrin Demarais]

So, where the hell was Jack?

The vagabond was supposed to be accompanying him to this damn gig and he was nowhere to be found, and Sevrin could only wait for so long. Instead, he had to bring a few others of the Brotherhood to watch his back because the exiled duke knew exactly what his presence in the castle was going to do. Especially if Haystone was anywhere nearby. Hell, maybe Sarra would be around.

Cue that cheeky smile of his.

The castle was heavily guarded this evening, as it should be, but many forgot that he knew the ins and outs of this place like the back of his hand, even after having not been home in years. It wasn't difficult to find the tunnel and briskly make his way through the stone corridors towards the ballroom. He could already hear the music and laughter, the sounds of voices echoing loudly. His sisters were in there, most likely, and he was only here for them. And some business with Aric, apparently.

Approaching the doors, the guards didn't recognize him, but Sevrin and his entourage didn't look dressed to attend any sort of ball. In truth, they probably looked like a bunch of pirates about to rob the whole place. Two of the mercenaries were able to distract the guards long enough to allow Sev to open one of those massive doors and enter. The announcer recognized him immediately, but Sevrin was quick to silence him. "That...won't be necessary." It wasn't long before a certain pair of eyes caught him, and the guards were breaking free to swarm in behind him.

"You! You were never to return here...under pain of death!" It was Lord Haystone with his glaring cold eyes. The man brazenly stole one of the guard's knives and rushed at Sevrin, who remained standing there rather calm. Even when Haystone pressed the tip of the blade beneath his chin.

His arms came up in mocking surrender and he grinned. "Yes, a sentence my dear cousin put into place. And where is he now? Oh, right..." he had the audacity to chuckle to himself. Sevrin was often blatantly disrespectful to everyone that wronged him, king or not. And Edward was always a dick. "But, if you must know, your prince summoned me here, and I'm pretty certain he has the authority to break whatever a deceased king has set down." Speaking of Aric, he didn't see him anywhere yet. That was fine, though, because he really didn't want to deal with business the first second he set foot back on Tresterian soil.

[Rhysand Sellar]

Rhysand was late. More than a little bit late, actually.

As it turned out, preparing for a ball the night before was a bit more complicated than he’d anticipated. He was lucky his sister Cecilia Sellar had been able to help him, or he might not have made it here at all today. But then…he had promised, and he was a man of his word. This just happened to be the first time he’d made such a promise to a woman, agreeing to be at a ball.

The fact that said woman was currently betrothed to someone else, no longer a duchess, and constantly subverting his expectations only made matters more complicated. And yet…he still didn’t mind.

He winced as he was announced to the world as Lord Rhysand Sellar, son of Marquis Sellar. Good to know he had no worth beyond what his father gave him. The announcer caught his grimace and stammered. “Pardon me, that’s Lieutenant Rhyand Sellar, of the Royal Infantry.” Better.

He nodded his thanks at the correction, and proceeded into the room, straightening his jacket as he went. He might be a little underdressed compared to some others in the room, but he at least looked sharp. As his mother always demanded, his long hair was loose and brushed smooth so that it shone in the warm firelight of the room. Groups and couples drifted past him, and he recognized one or two of his cousins and fellow soldiers among them, which softened his scowl somewhat. He didn’t spot the person he was actually looking for until he had reached the edge of the dance floor, just as Elyscia Demarais swirled by in the arms of a dark-haired man. The arranged husband, perhaps?

Rhysand watched them with narrowed eyes, trying to make out the face of the man. She’d been nervous about it, he thought, although she looked fairly radiant, now, making some playful comment to her dance partner. Perhaps things had turned out better than she’d expected. He was looking forward to–or perhaps dreading, he wasn’t sure– finding out.

He’d simply have to wait until the song ended to make his move and approach the couple. This was chess, not a heat of the moment battle. He could be patient.

[Shane O'Sullivan]

"Why?" he asked gently. "Have I somehow impressed you already?" It wasn't conceited in the least. If anything, he sounded curious, but Shane tended to say things how he saw them. Even if he spoke them subtly. Lying wasn't in his nature, and sometimes he could come across as rather brash because of it...which was why he often avoided social gatherings. Also, he just didn't enjoy them. He didn't feel like he was a part of court society anymore.

He belonged out to sea.

'Oh...You really did not need to-' He shrugged lightly, his smile remaining. "It's Yule, after all, is it not? And I think you deserved somethin' after the mishap yesterday. Which...yes, had been entirely my fault." Or so Marcel had told him. The younger sailor slapped him upside the head and everything to prove it. The little bastard.

Shane was a little surprised that she, too, had a gift for him. Well, he did just say it was Yule, and it was the season of gift giving, he supposed. Still, it had been thoughtful of her regardless. He didn't open the box until she opened her own gift, and he wasn't sure why he cared so much whether she actually liked it or not. And it had nothing to do with the time and money that had been put into it. No, that was never the point.

Strangely, a part of him wanted her to hate it, maybe find it "below her" even if Avalynn had not once shown to be that kind of woman. It would make leaving here tonight that much easier. He wasn't exactly growing attached (it would take a lot for him to get to that point), but he admired her nonetheless. Maybe he didn't want her to think ill of him in any fashion.

"Yeah?" he found himself asking when she found it lovely and that it was "perfect". "Sea glass...I thought it a befitting gift from a sailor." He huffed out a small laugh through his nose. Well, that was kind of a dork response, wasn't it? But it looked nice there around her slender wrist, he quietly noted.

"Oh! Right." Ava was gesturing for him to open his gift, so he did- immediately grinning at the sight of the compass. It was a nice one, in fact. "Can never have enough of these...considering my last one got busted up." He had fallen during a storm and managed to land on it just the right way to crack the glass on the face. It still worked, but the metal had been so flimsy that the rest of it got fairly banged up, too. Those blue eyes alighted upon her face, his gentle smile sincere, "So, this is perfect timing. Thank you, Avalynn. I'll take better care of this one, I promise."

[Elyscia Demarais]

Of course, Elyscia wouldn’t exactly kill for a slice of cake. In all honesty, she did not indulge in sweets very often--not nearly as much as she made it sound like she did, otherwise she would not be the small petite woman she appeared to be. Though on such occasions like this, she would rather eat a piece of cake than a normal meal if she had the option.

Despite Kaiden assuring her that it was alright she hadn’t gotten him a Yule gift, she still felt the need to maybe surprise him with something later on, maybe for their next encounter with one another. What exactly, she was unsure of, but would think of something.

Kaiden certainly seemed like the charming type, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was like that with all the women he met and spoke to. She barely knew him enough to know if he would be the faithful or devoted type. With the type of men she knew, it seemed that most of them weren’t. Then again, Kaiden wasn’t from Tresteria. She smiled and tilted her head to the side, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Hmmm. Perhaps a little,” she answered him with feigned disinterest as she nudged him gently.

Had it been Elyscia, she may have stayed home for Yule to be with her family and friends before returning to a foreign kingdom. So she honestly felt that she was hardly worth Kaiden leaving home to be with her during the holiday. But he was dismissing her words, telling her that he should be the one to judge her company. She smiled, letting out a small laugh from her nose and she nodded. “Of course.”

When he suggested making this a new tradition, her smile faltered a bit and she looked at him curiously. By his playful tone, she was unsure if he was being serious or just kind or mocking her. She simply nodded again and offered him a small smile. “Perhaps.” And then he was asking her what she would be doing with her holiday if he were not here dancing with her at the moment. She allowed herself to think for a moment, her eyes moving away from him briefly to glance around the room. It was at that moment that she spotted Rhysand standing there, watching her and Kaiden as if he were waiting to cut into their dancing or something, she wasn’t sure. The slightest look of panic took over her features as she thought about yesterday at the chase when she had met him and their friendly conversation. She couldn’t remember if she had brought up her arrangement with Kaiden, or not. Mostly because she hadn’t a clue if he was returning or not.

She forced a small smile to Rhysand before she looked down at the floor briefly and then returned her gaze to Kaiden, realizing she hadn’t answered his question yet. “I suppose… I would be spending time with my older sister, Cassandra. Or my cousins.” She answered simply, shrugging her shoulders.

Why was she suddenly feeling so torn and guilty? Did she even have anything to feel guilty for? Probably not- but she couldn’t think straight at the moment. And then, not a moment longer, there seemed to be some commotion in the room. Some yelling about someone not to ever return or they would face death? She looked away from Kaiden before letting go of him and taking a step to the side to look around him at what the commotion was all about. There was a familiar tone in the voice that spoke back, so she stepped closer, clearly not paying any mind to the possible danger she could be putting herself in by walking towards the commotion.
Then, she saw her brother. “Sevrin?” She whispered under her breath, confused. Was she imagining things in her sudden state of being overwhelmed? Even still, she moved closer, needing to see if it was, in fact, her brother. When the yelling stopped, Elyscia spoke louder this time, though still unsure if he would hear her. “Sevrin?” She paused in her steps and narrowed her eyes as if that would help her see better. It was him.

Suddenly, and without warning, Elyscia let out a loud shriek. “SEV!?” She yelled before she was lifting the hem of her dress enough to prevent herself from tripping as she ran towards her brother, only stopping to glare at Lord Haystone. “Lower your sword. Now.” She lifted her chin and spoke with authority. Did she have any? Probably not. But she gave the sternest, intimidating look that she could muster at the man as if she would somehow manage to kill him herself if she could. “My cousin, Prince Aric Demarais called him here. You have no business interfering.” She hadn’t actually known that Aric had called upon her brother, but she had heard Sevrin make the statement and repeated it as if she knew all about it.

Once the man complied and turned away, Elyscia turned and threw herself into Sevrin’s arms. “You came! You’re here!” She nearly started crying. How long had it been since she had seen him? She was a lot younger, that was all she knew, and she wondered if he would even recognize her now.