Help Arrives

Pharon stood beside Blaize in front of their mother. She had made them dress in full regalia in expectation of her guests and was now looking them over.

Pharon had long ago hardened himself to his mother saying that he was 'passable' while his brother, Blaize, looked like a Prince Charming. Her doing this now no longer affected him.

"Now," his mother said, "be cordial and respectful to our guests. They are very important people."

Pharon stiffened, "Mother exactly who are they? I've added them to the list of participants and arranged partners for them, but I don't know their backgrounds." The Queen frowned as she tugged at Blaize's jacket.

"They won't get requests if they don't have the backgrounds."

"They are special. I expect them to have the highest number of requests out of any of the other participants." The Queen said. She straightened and patted her hair. "They should be arriving at any moment. Let us go." She led the way from the room.

***

A short time later the guests had arrived. They had introduced themselves as Lord Aleckai Seixas and Lady Vivian Demion, but had not said where they were from.

The Queen had been right, they were special. Both the male and the female were almost impossibly beautiful.

Pharon couldn't take his eyes off them.

The female had thick, glossy, blond ringlets that cascaded over her ample chest. Soft, kissable lips were spread in a graceful smile. Her blue eyes were warm and appealing. Pharon would easily describe her figure as nearly perfect. However, she was gazing at his brother, as she had been since she arrived.

The male was equally stunning. He had straight, dark red hair half pulled up into a ponytail. His honey- brown eyes were partially obscured by his thick, sideswept bangs, but his handsome features still stood out.

Pharon blushed as he heard his mother, the Queen of Viceria, offering to help him settle in. From someone else it would have been an innocuous offer, but from her it was loaded with innuendo.

The Male brushed his bangs off his face and laughingly declined. Pharon felt his mother stiffen beside him.

He hastily spoke up, "I will show you around the Palace then, and introduce you to some of the other participants. How should I introduce you both?"

"Just as your cousins. Say we are from the West. We will take care of the rest." the female said with a sly smile. Pharon nodded uneasily.

"Pharon, do make sure you introduce them to the Cow." The Queen said. Her voice was irritated. "They can get started immediately."

Pharon nodded slowly and gestured for the male and female to follow him. His brother joined them too.

Pharon took them all over the Palace, introducing them to many participants. However, the female seemed to only have eyes for his brother and the male simply looked bored.

***

I sipped my tea inside with contentment. I was reading another book lent to me by the archivist, while drinking tea in a remote corner of the gardens.

I had just finished going through my reports from my estate manager then in a few minutes I would have to go find High Lord Volanti. He had sent a note telling me to come meet him at 11, but it was now only 10:45. I still had a few minutes to enjoy my tea and the sunshine warning my skin.

I allowed myself 5 more minutes of relaxation. Then I forced myself to get up and head back towards the palace.

I was just passing into a more crowded area of the gardens, when I heard a high-pitched feminine squeal. As

I rounded the corner, I saw a male I'd never seen before with dark red hair flirting with a group of females. Off to the side watching him, stood Prince Blaize, Prince Pharon, and another female who was unfamiliar to me. Both she and the male were among the most attractive people I'd ever seen.

Prince Blaize swiftly walked over to the flirting male and clapped him on the back. The male straightened with a look of anger, as Prince Blaize whispered to him. The male's eyes fell on me and his face slowly broke into a smile.

I grimaced as I realized that I'd missed my chance to escape them. They walked over to me.

I curtseyed politely to the Princes and avoided looking at the other two. I was having strange thoughts when

I met their eyes, especially the male's. I'd had those sorts of thoughts before about Kane, but I didn't realize I could have them on first meeting someone. They made me feel uncomfortable.

I listened patiently as Prince Blaize introduced his companions to me.

Then, I said, "It is a pleasure, but I must go. Please excuse me." I curtsied again and headed towards the path the group had come down. Before I had gotten more than few feet, a grip on her left hand pulled her to a stop.

"You cannot go yet, my little butterfly, we only just been introduced." Lord Aleckai said beseechingly.

"I'm not a butterfly." I replied flatly.

He smiled widely, "Of course you are. All females are my butterflies and on-"

"So you think all females are flying worms?" Kiri interrupted with irritation. Prince Farandell smiled condescendingly.

"Of course not. I'm drawing a parallel between females and one of the beautiful creatures they're like." He said.

"Then you think all females are garish thoughtless beings whose only purpose in life is to reproduce? Gee what a compliment." I snapped with a glare at him.

Lord Aleckai blinked in surprise, then glanced back at Lady Vivian, who looked alarmed. Lord Aleckai turned back to me with a warm smile. He cocked his head to the side evaluating me.

"You will stay and talk to me, Cow." He ordered when he'd finished. His mouth was still smiling but his eyes were hard.

"No. Your hand, my Lord?" I asked with irritation.

I thought for a moment that he wasn't going to release me, but then he did. I turned and began walking away when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small Air Javelin flying straight at my knee. I grimaced and quickly spun around it.

'Activate Crush lvl 1,' I thought while concentrating on the ground just behind me.

Just that morning I had hit level 15 and unlocked Level Scaled Skill Activation, meaning I could now use my skills at any level between 1 and their current levels.

I heard a gasp and a thud as if someone fell over. I didn't turn around.