Ayana/Damon

A sneer emerged on the young lady's face, and with her gray eyes narrowed into a thin line, she abruptly gracefully moved her arms.

Her fingers flowed in a coordinated, mesmerizing way, and slowly she raised one foot and swayed her body.

She spun around and suddenly stopped, her whole body instantly halting.

Yennefer drew her head back in a bit of surprise as she had never seen someone dance so effortlessly and gracefully. Not even the ballet dancers in the modern era.

She smiled and folded her arms, revealing her intention to stare at the young lady.

The dancers, who had stopped dancing earlier for the young lady's epic entrance, suddenly moved their bodies and, with very little run, they hurried towards the young lady and moved back and forth with their arms waving and fluttering in a hypnotizing way.

They abruptly got into this queue-style line and together they swayed along with the young lady, their arms moving up and down and their hips swaying from one side to another.

A few minutes of this continued, and once the dance was over, the instruments stopped and the guests, who were clearly hypnotized, snapped back to their senses.

They all glanced at each other and then returned their attention to the young lady, their sparkling eyes gazing at her in awe.

The young man, with his instrument in hand, walked down the small stage where the musicians were seated and strolled forward to stand beside the young lady, who indeed was his twin sister.

They both turned to the emperor, and in unison, they bowed deeply to him in respect.

"What are your names?" The emperor asked, clearly interested in them, most especially the young girl.

"My name is Ayana, your majesty." Her soft, soothing voice resounded and the male guests clutched their hearts, completely attracted to her.

"Ayana. Such a beautiful name." He complimented her, and she smiled back softly.

Yennefer gazed at everyone within the hall, and she couldn't help but notice that the only person who was not attracted to Ayana, nor even had his gaze on her, was Luthiel.

'What kind of a man is this?' She couldn't help but ask within herself as she couldn't understand why he didn't even spare Ayana a glance.

Even as the woman she is, she couldn't help but recognize Ayana's beauty, so why?

Unless he's only attracted to men, but even if he is, it definitely wouldn't stop him from acknowledging her beauty, would it?

And also, she doesn't think he is into men, because she has never even seen him speak to any, not even to the crown prince. It was as if he was mute and dormant.

always with a stern expression on his pretty face.

She clicked her tongue and, instantly having noticed it, Luthiel shifted his gaze to her and gazed at her with no utterance on his face.

Yennefer darted her eyes around, and when she saw that he wouldn't stop gazing at her, she cleared her throat and looked away from him, turning her gaze to the other side.

Luthiel vehemently narrowed his eyes at her and looked away from her.

"And what about you? What is your name?" The emperor asked the young man, and with his head lowered, the young man answered.

"Damon."

"Damon... It's a very nice name. Say, Damon, do you mind if I take you in as the royal musician because I honestly have to compliment your talent."

He asked, and Damon stared at him for a few moments, as though contemplating, before slowly nodding his head.

"I do not mind at all, your majesty. It will be a huge honor for me to be a royal musician."

He said, and the emperor chuckled heartily. "Good, good. Then it is done. From today onwards, you shall become one of the royal musicians."

He announced it, and everyone within the hall applauded.

His smile widened and he shifted his gaze to Ayana. "Young lady, you are an exceptional dancer, so... do you mind if I take you in as a royal dancer?"

He asked, and Ayana glanced at Damon, who smiled at her in return.

"I do not mind at all, your majesty, for it will be a huge honor for me as well."

She answered with her head lowered and completely joyous about this, the emperor clapped his hands, ordering the musicians to resume their music.

"May everyone be entertained!" He wished and, with yet another bow, Ayana returned to dancing with the royal dancers, while Damon returned to the musical wooden stage, where he sat down, crossed his legs, and began to play the Qud.

Yennefer, who still couldn't get over the feeling that there was something off about the two, kept staring at them.

There is something deeply off about them, and she can tell that they are no ordinary people.

"Hmm..." Her eyes dimmed into a thin line and, having seen that the banquet was about to end, she stood up from the chair and grabbed a plate of sugar plums that were positioned along with other mouth-watering goodies on the table.

She walked out from where the tables and chairs were arranged, and with a wide mocking smile at the emperor, she bowed her head.

"I would like to have a rest now, your majesty." She said to him, and without waiting to hear a response from him, she strolled away towards the door and stepped out.

She proceeded towards her chambers with her wrists still chained, and with a grimace visible on her face, she walked in, the second the bodyguards that followed her pulled the door open for her.

"Stupid chains!" She cursed as her chained wrist was making it really hard for her to walk, not to mention the dress she wore.

"Take it off." She said to the guard before he could close the door, and with an annoyed expression on his face, the guard unlocked the chain.

He proceeded to say something, but Yennefer slammed the door shut in his face, and took a long deep breath.

Is this really her destiny in this dimension?

Confined in a palace chamber every day and do nothing from morning till dawn.

'Seriously?' She asked herself and quickly shook her head as she believed it definitely couldn't be.

Yes, she was captured, which wasn't her fault, but does that mean that she will just stay till then because she is still unsure of what to do?

I mean, come on, there must be something that she can definitely do!

Escape! Fight! Or even figure something out!

The emperor wants to use her to wipe out the last bit of magic remaining in this dimension, and since she resonates with magic and her country was wiped out in the hands of the emperor, she definitely won't help him, unless she's stupid.

But the question now is, how can she avoid helping him while keeping her life?

Any mishap, it would be off with her head.

A deep breath exited her nose and, unable to think of anything, she plopped down into the not-so-big bed and groaned in annoyance.

There has got to be something!