Welcome dinner
2320 Words
Coral stood in front of the full mirror in her room and stared in awe of the reflecting monstrosity. She had seen mirrors before, of course. She even owned one but they were hand held mirrors never this large.
This one reflected her full form making her appreciate how beautiful her aquamarine gown made her look. It brought out her blue eyes perfectly and complimented her figure wonderfully.
"That looks good." Daiv's words of approval had her turning blue in a second. She turned to see him standing at her doorway looking handsome in his own short-sleeved white tunic that showed off his arm muscles and grey breeches that molded his calf muscles perfectly. The golden companion arm bracelet only made his outfit look better.
"Thanks." Coral blushed again. The sight of her crush never ceased to leave her flustered.
"You look nervous." He commented as he came in. Daiv knew how shy Coral could get around new people, she had grown to be one of the most introverted faes he knew.
"Comfort hug?" Coral asked hopefully. He had told her that he would give her his signature 'comfort hug' only when he felt like she needed them the most. Nothing magical about the hug itself but knowing it came from the one person that knew basically everything about her and was her best friend always made the hug magical.
Daiv quickly nodded in response.
He came to stand beside her, tentatively wrapping his arms around her and stroking her hair gently. Coral immediately felt better.
"But it's going to be okay. They are going to adore you. I bet you'll make friends before we have to leave." He paused before adding “You remember when your dad threw a free for all art exhibition and auction?"
Coral nodded as she pulled away from the hug. "The one where you said you would prepare my favorite soup if my presentation didn't go well."
"I did tell you they would love your art, didn't I? And they did. It went for a good price." She nodded her head looking up at him. "See, I never lie to you, Coral."
"Fine, I believe you." Coral stepped away to pick up her golden hair comb that was the final touch to her attire. She checked herself in the mirror again before nodding at Daiv “I'm ready!"
*****
"Do I absolutely have to do this?" Evol asked from across the room, arms crossed in front of her chest, eyes shooting silent accusations at everyone in the room and her stance looked like she was about to run off at any sudden movements from her opponents.
"Come on Evol. It's just for this night."
"It's just for this night?" She exclaimed. "It would only take an hour to torture me to death in those monstrosity you call ball gowns. Heels and that hairdo? You might as well snap my neck right now."
Erac rolled her eyes at her friend theatrics. "If you hated these so much, then why did you go for the fitting?"
"Only because mother promised to let me use the hot springs for a few hours that morning." Her eyes sought her mother who was standing beside Erac, hand clasped in front of her and a glint in her eye matching that of her daughter.
"Fine, what do you want this time?"
"I get to ride Shore for a few hours tomorrow." Evol answered without any hesitation.
"Define 'a few hours'." Queen Layla asked in a bored tone ignoring her daughter's knowing smile.
"Say, five?" Her mother's eyes narrowed at her. "Four?"
"Two hours. And that is all I'm agreeing to." The queen said.
"We can compromise, mum. Three hours is the middle ground." She said giving her mum her cute puppy dog look.
Queen Layla rolled her eyes to hide her proud smile at her daughter's negotiating streak but she decided not to let Erac win this time since she was the one with the upper hand in this deal.
"Two hours. Take it or leave it." She said and turned on her heels grinning to herself.
*******
Curtis nearly freaked out as his father's name was called during the announcement of the arrival of special guests. As expected, his name was called last with the announcer stressing that he was the heir and also that he was well of age.
At twenty three, late last year, and as the oldest Prince, he was expected to start looking out for a wife.
That meant that his mother would be on full matchmaker mode throughout their stay. It also meant that the daughters of most influential faeries would be set up with him, swarming to his side and hoping to catch his attention.
And keep it.
At least, according to his brother Murry, only the royals from the Sea kingdom would be at the gathering. He would only have to deal with their princess, a small relief but one he'd take.
Curtis had always led a wild life even as a kid and he certainly wasn't too keen on being tied down and having to be responsible for a bunch of children and their mother's well being.
He saw how his childhood playmates had changed after getting tied down to a spouse.
Of course, he would like to have a family of his own, eventually, but not anytime soon if he could help it. Moreover when he did, he was going to marry a smart and daring woman.
One that would challenge him everyday, make him laugh hard and help him raise a small tribe of strong and independent kids.
Elfs were generally timid by nature and Mermaids were taught to be elegant and subservient wives so he could only picture himself ending up with a Fairy.
Too bad none of them had particularly caught his eye.
He might just end up with Maeve, his best friend. She was fun to be around.
Curtis stepped into the dining hall first, leading his family down the room's aisle as expected of the fairy heir, he was followed by his parents and then his siblings.
The royal tree dwellers didn't have guards because the primitive Fairies believed that everyone should be able to fly free. They picked that tradition again after they started living separately in the rainforest part of Faelme.
They were led to their table, a long one made of Faexore and Oak with enough matching seats, he presumed, to seat all the royals.
He had come to the gathering hoping to enjoy the festivities but now that he had been identified as the most eligible Fae bachelor in the kingdom, and since both the land and sea princess were at least seventeen year old, he could expect to be matchmade.
Lost in his thoughts, he half listened as some other guests were being introduced.
Then, a conch was sounded for the sea royals.
The king and Queen were ahead followed by their son and daughter and behind them were their companions. When they joined them at the table, they took seats in a way that the kings were on opposite sides of the table and so were the Queens putting the the Mer-princess directly adjacent to him.
The fairy prince watched the princess figure with mild interest. She seemed shy as she kept her head facing downwards. He noticed her mother nudge her subtly to raise her head up high. She curtsied at his family before finally looking up.
Curtis swallowed at the sight of her face. The rumors were indeed true. Merfolk were a sight to behold and their princess had to be the most good-looking fae of their generation.
The princess was tall and willowy, just the way he had pictured his future spouse. Only, he could tell that she was a really shy Fae as she could not even hold his gaze for two seconds before staring at the ground again.
Her eyes were a very light shade of blue, An unusual shade for eyes. She had high cheekbones, a long straight nose and thin lips all of which made gave her a timeless beauty.
He winked at her once he caught her eyes again as she took her seat and her cheeks flushed bright blue colouring the otherwise very pale skin.
Curtis looked up to catch her companion, he assumed considering the guy was hovering beside her, glaring at him with strong distaste.
Curtis frowned at the guy wondering why the other guy was looking at him that way. He was getting some serious protective vibes from the other only, he could not tell if it was because of his job or if he had some other reasons to be protective of the princess.
The other guy turned away first as the female besides him, who was probably a companion based on the matching arm bracelet, turned to talk to him. But not before scowling at him to tell him the battle was not over.
Curtis smirked to himself smugly, the sea princess had just caught his attention. He loved a good challenge and he was not backing down from this.
He was sure that if he court the Mer-princess, he would be challenged by Mr companion very soon.
Curtis studied the other guy's physique. He stood about 5'11'' which was about a head shorter than his own 6'4" frame but he knew that the guard would not be easily intimidated, which was fine for him, he never fancied an easy win. The companion was lean but muscled everywhere and surely strong.
Curtis was satisfied by what he saw. He was sure Mr companion was going to be a worthy contender as a trained fighter especially when fueled with jealousy. He could hardly wait to see how soon the other would crack. It would be a double win.
Court the Mer-princess to get his mother off his back and subsequently score himself a good spar.
Suddenly, this whole trip wasn't looking that bleak after all.
The raised voice of the announcer calling on the host royals snapped Curtis out of his reverie. He leaned forward in his seat to better see the aisle when he noticed a group of flower bearers rushed to stand ready at the tall oak door.
Flowers were the elfin symbol of new love in official gatherings which made Curtis wonder, was the Elfin princess already engaged?
That would be good news to him if it were true. Less princess equals less pressure, right?
He sat up as the heavy oak were pulled apart to reveal the land royals, he saw the other royals on the table sit up too to get a good view.
In came Queen Layla, in the arms of a man he didn't recognize.
Curtis felt instant dissapointment that his hopes of the Elfin princess being off his potential suitress list had been dashed that it took him a full ten seconds to process what he was seeing.
It was the gasp of the Queens and the stiffening in his father's posture that finally made him realize, the man had no Elfin ears or their small, delicate stature.
The Elfin queen was in love with a human?!
Meischt! Curtis cursed internally. The stunned look on the Kings and Queens face showed that they were beyond shocked and dissapointedly so.
All around the hall, a small hubbub of noise indicated that the none Elf or human guests, the Fairies that attended the gathering, had also noticed the same thing as he had.
Queen Layla and her human... uh-concubine?... continued walking towards the table with a nonchalant smile as though she had no inkling of what was going on around her.
Curtis had to give it to her, the woman did know how to make an entrance.
Curtis leaned back in his seat with a smirk.
And the drama continues, his stay here was looking more and more appealing.
The queen sat in the big chair at the head of the table between the two guests kings while her concubine sat on a smaller seat.
Surely, the wedding hadn't taken place. Not being invited to a royal wedding no matter how sacrilegious the circumstances were would have made for a chaotic first meet.
He didn't notice the Elfin princess until she was sitted right beside his sister on the other side of the table at the far end.
Fire... that was his first thought as his eyes went straight to her red hair piled in an elaborate swell over her head.
Tamed... was his second thought as he imagined the hair would look way better cascading down her tiny frame. That would look so much better.
He imagined it would be a soft shiny curtain of orange and pink in wavy swirls.
Her face was covered in a thin glittery veil from beneath her eyes, so he could not see her face. She was looking down at her plate so he couldn't see her eyes, even though he was so curious. But from what he could see, she had a small, tiny even, frame even in a seat.
She didn't lift her head throughout the meal and her mother had had to introduce her since she was only speaking in monosyllables.
Evol, he learned, was her name. He liked that name. And for some reason he had a lingering urge to see those eyes for some reason.
What the heck was with these princesses and looking down. He didn't understand it, his sister was not like that. She was loud and all over the place.
The Elves were usually quiet and timid in nature so he was not necessarily surprised. What surprised him was his interest in unraveling the mystery that was Evol.
He really didn't want an elf for a wife. A timid person could not keep up with his family.
That night, he asked the Mer-princess to dance.
- Writer
