In Full Bloom

 "... I already despise it here." 

 "It's barely been an hour since we arrived, Lexian." Arius stated with a deadpan tone as he handed Lex another glass of wine. "You better brace yourself for worse. I've heard that the number of guests had doubled this year."

 "This emperor is holding quite an extravagant event considering how no one here gets along." Lex said distastefully, accepting Arius' bribe without hesitation. "I bet these obnoxious royals are just here to flaunt about their wealth."

 "Muir has been attempting to find some common ground between the immortals for quite some time now." Arius explained while the two of them eyed the massive crowd from the corner of the massive ballroom. "This is the first time all five of the major kingdoms agreed to attend."

 "I suppose the emperor of Toyah owes us a favor for this amazing feat." Lex joked half-heartedly before downing the entire the glass. "Let's just hope none of the nobles cause any trouble with the humans."

 Arius appeared worried for Lex's wellbeing, knowing that this was already his tenth drink despite it only being an hour.

 "Take it easy there. You do know that we're here on a mission, right?" The minister warned the unbothered prince before he took a small sip from his own glass.

Lex flashed a wicked smile at Arius' concerned expression.

 "I'm part shadow, Arius. The only substance capable of intoxicating me is fermented blood wine, a staple drink in the Shadow Realm."

 "That sounds... interesting to say the least." Amrit chimed in from behind Arius, looking mildly disturbed. "I seemed to have missed a lot in the few minutes while I was gone."

"By the way, have any of you seen Zeya yet?"

 "I'm sure she's with the two monarchs." Arius answered grimly, seeming somewhat worried yet again. "Nox had informed me that they were on their way here, so hopefully it won't be long until we meet."

 "Allow me to go get some more drinks while we wait then." Lex announced with a cheerful grin as he quickly snatched a fresh glass of wine from a nearby server. "Better to wait entertained than sober anyway."

"Stop drinking." This time, Amrit was the one to complain from beside Lex, claiming his glass as his own. "You're going to get drunk before the dance even starts."

 "You better thread carefully, dear Prince." Amrit continued to tease the oblivious Lex, who only looked at him with confused eyes. "There are eyes on you everywhere you turn."

"As if I was ever interested in any of this nonsense." The unimpressed Roseabelle rolled his eyes, clearly expressing his disdain towards the idea of it. "I'm not dancing with anyone, let alone some stranger."

"I knew you were going to say that." He said, dramatically looking around the room. "However, you do know that all these people here think you're Kaiden, right?"

'Shit.' He thought, closing his eyes in defeat.

 The women in question were likely unaware of Kaiden's condition and may have been trying to capture his attention unintentionally.

 He glanced at Amrit who had an annoying smirk on his face.

"Please tell me that they're looking at you." Lex whispered, which made Amrit snicker in delight.

"Think twice my friend." He whispered back as he turned me around to face the many eyes that were fixated on my every move. "They all want a piece of you, considering how he never really attends festive events like these."

"They've been talking about you ever since you arrived." Amrit stated, patting Lex on the back as a useless way to cheer him up. "I advise you get ready for some action, most of these women seem rather eager to court you."

"Kaiden rarely appeared in large gatherings such as these ones. Considering your status in the nation, they're probably all waiting for a chance to ask you to dance." Arius added onto the conversation with a laugh. "After all, the first dance is the most significant."

"Do they really think I'll say yes?" Lex asked, laughing in disbelief. "They should know better than that".

"Excuse me boys." A lewd voice from behind us caught the boys' attention.

 'She's a High Rose for sure.' He thought noticing the beady green eyes overflowing with power.

"It's been a while, Scarlett." Arius spoke up, smiling politely. "You look as beautiful as always."

"Why thank you Minister." The woman purred seductively. "And I see you've brought a friend with you tonight."

"Kaiden Reyes." Lex introduced himself with a slight smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Scarlett White." The woman said winking at him seductively. "I'm sure you've heard of me."

 He itched to reply sarcastically but decided not to, it was way too early for him to be causing trouble during such a prestigious event.

 "How could I have not?" He instead replied with a friendly voice. "You're all my peers ever talk about, after all."

She let out a loud and obnoxious laugh at his half-assed compliment, he could've sworn his ears were close to bleeding.

"Oh my, I didn't know you were such a charmer." She purred, hitting my chest lightly. 

'Charmer my ass.' He thought glaring at Amrit's obnoxious smirk. 'Just go away already.'

 "So, what interest do you have to come all the way here, Scarlett?" Arius asked gaining her attention as a way to distract her. "Surely, it wasn't just for the compliments."

"Well, if you had to know, I came to ask dear Kaiden here to be my partner for the first dance. I'm sure he's yet to find a suitable partner so, I decided to be his for tonight".

Lex could feel Amrit's curious glance on him, anticipating his answer to the bold request.

"You're quite lucky you know, love." The woman continued to talk nonsense. "There were many other men that wanted me, but I chose you instead-".

 "With all due respect, My Lady." He made an effort to maintain a polite tone, despite his strong desire to push her to the ground. "I'm not really interested in mingling with women that are already taken."

 "E-Excuse me?!" She stuttered when she noticed Lex eyeing her hands that were right above his groin.

 He could see her face turn bright red as she immediately took her hands off of Lex, looking around to see if there were any witnesses. 

 Before Lex could say another word, the ashamed Roseabelle dashed through the snickering crowd, unable to bear the embarrassment.

A man, having witnessed the entire scene, followed after Scarlett angrily and then shot Lex a scornful glare.

 "That must've been her partner." Amrit took Lex's words right out of his mouth, glancing at the prince with a surprised expression. "I never remembered her being taken. Do you think they've been hooking up in secret?" 

 "I couldn't care less about their relationship. I'm just glad I caught on quick enough to make her leave." Lex let out a sigh of relief, grabbing yet another glass of wine from a nearby server. "Quickly, let's move to another corner before someone else comes to spill their stupidity on me."

As the time neared to midnight, the dance was also about to commence, with couples waiting excitedly for the music to switch to something more intimate.

The remainder of the Circle dispersed across the ballroom, relishing the event's liberty after a period of relentless work.

Arius and Amrit were preoccupied with reconnecting with friends they hadn't seen in a long time, which left Lex to enjoy some solitude.

The bored prince remained in his brand new, observing his surroundings as per usual, until he noticed a small, familiar figure standing alone by the dance floor.

'Oh look, the human is here.' He thought, his interest peaking sharply. 

The disdain towards humans appeared to be a shared sentiment among most of the immortals, as they withdrew from them as though they carried the plague.

Kaari was in her own world as she disregarded all the whispering and dirty glances the others were giving her; her gaze solely fixated on the glimmering dance floor.

 She adorned a vibrant emerald dress that looked simply but it complimented her fair skin quite well.

 Her silver hair cascaded all the way down to her waist, with thick strands of hair covering her petite face. 

Compared to the others, who wore glimmering ballgowns and priceless jewelry, she was rather underdressed.

 Nonetheless, her captivating uniqueness did not fail to attract the occasional looks from men, including the Roseabelle himself. 

 All of a sudden, the calm peaceful music was replaced by louder instrumentals, hurting his sensitive ears and dragging him away from his thoughts.

Despite his frown, the crowd erupted in applause while numerous couples rushed to the dance floor, waltzing elegantly with their partners.

Amidst the uproar, Kaari continued to gaze at the enamored couple, her envy palpable through the crystal clarity of her alluring silver eyes.

 Her eyes held such an unexplainable heaviness in contrast to the youthfulness of her figure, as if burdened by the imperial life that came with being a royal member of the court.

Their gazes met before Lex could look away to feign ignorance of her existence.

As if entranced, his body began to move on its own, pushing himself through the crowd towards the human princess.