xxx

[heartless,]

┏.────x────────┓

ＴＩＭＥ ＳＫＩＰ ＯＮＥ
ＢＡＬＬ／ＦＥＳＴＩＶＡＬ

┗───────x──.───┛

the first time skip is going to be a ball/festival.
everyone is required to be in formal wear an
d look and act their best. this will be the sec
ond day all of the houses have been in the vip
ers kingdom. everyone knows who everyone is
and the secrets that have been floating aroun
d about them. the ball, food and dancing will
be held inside and a carnival type festival will
be held outside. there are no rides just little g
ames and people selling stuff. the night will e
nd with a fire works show.

[heartless,]

── ♚ ─ ＭＩＣＡＨ ＳＨＩＥＬＤＳ
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[ title ] future king, vipers [ location ] ball [ tagged ] Qahir, Diego, Maris, Opheli, Elli

being the future king of not one but now five kingdoms would be a lot of pressure on anyone. Micah was no exception to this pressure. ever since the day he could remember he knew he was going to be king. he never got to have a normal child hood. he never to go to play with other children in the kingdom. he was heavily guarded at all times. he had only been out of the castle walls a handful of times. micah only been taught one goal, to be king. he never thought about anything else growing up. he never dreamed of anything else. he wanted to be king. he wanted the power that came with it. Micah was power hungry. since the age of ten he had been sitting in on meetings with his father. that was when all the abuse started. if he got one thing wrong he was struck. he had began his fathers punching bag. not many people knew of this and he kept it that way. he made sure his brothers had no idea about any of this for their own protection. he would rather it be him then them. when micah turned fifteen was when he decided he didn't want to wait any longer to become king. that was when he started plotting. he wanted his father dead. he hated his father with every bone in his body. he just wanted him gone. when he father spoke of wanting to take over the other four kingdoms put his plans of murder on hold. why would he want to be king of just one kingdom when he could be king of five?

his father was getting old and weak which meant micah's time to rule was getting closer and closer. the future king was up in his room getting ready for the ball. his servants set out his clothes for him and after bathing and doing his hair he started to get dressed. he slipped on his back pants and buttoned them. next he put on his dress shirt and buttoned all the buttons all the way up. once that was done he put on his shoes on. putting on his green bow tie was the easier thing. most preferred to wear ties much that just wasn't micah's style. micah had perfect vision but he always liked the look of glasses so he wore them anyways. he liked to stand out. with a crown placed on his head making it known he was future king and a sash across him chest he was done and he headed out of his room. he spotted his head guard, Qahir waiting for him down the hall way. "tonight is going to be a wonderful night. who doesn't love a castle filled with girls wanting to marry you?" he said as he walked down the stairs. he would never get use to hearing many footsteps following his everywhere. wherever he went he had at least ten guards behind him. privacy wasn't a thing when you were to be future king. even when he was in his bedroom he had guards posted outside of his door.

when he reached the button of the stairs he spotted one of his younger brothers, Diego. "maybe we will find you a princess instead of a peasant." he said in a playful tone. the prince never asked his brother straight up if the rumors were true or not because it wasn't any of his business. though Diego being a prince and a slim chance of him ever being king he should have been more careful about who he was seen with because no one wanted a king who slept around. micah made sure all of his affairs were secret and paid his guards and staff heavy money to keep their mouth shut if they saw anything. his younger brother could learn a thing or two from his older brother. Micah left his brothers side and headed toward the ball room. when he reached the door they were pulled open and his arrival was announced. micah walked with his held high and had elegant posture. he always looked his best at all times. he nodded at people who bowed and smiled and talked with family friends. his green eyes glanced around the room as he walked through and they stopped on a girl who was obviously from the house of frozen. he recognized her right away as Maris. one of the few people he actually was allowed to play with when he was a child. "someone obviously grew up." he said with a grin as he approached the girl.

his attention was soon grabbed from Maris and shifted to opheli from the kingdom of Hallow. it was clear the see that the girl wasn't as outgoing as the rest and seemed more shy. she had long dark brown hair and dark eyelashes. she could catch anyone's attention in the room if she wanted. Micah had a gift was reading people. not to mention he could control people's emotions for a short time. as he got older the stronger his power got. it was no secret Micah was drawn to the quiet girls. the idea of turning them into reckless beings inquired and excited him. the thought was having control over getting someone to act a certain way and make them come out of comfort zone was exciting. "you are the child from the mistress, correct?" he asked to the youngest for hallow. micah knew the girls name and who she was and he could have easily just asked if was opheli but he wasn't in the mood to play nice at the moment. he wanted to get into every girls head and find out all their secrets to use it against them. in his eyes they were all here fighting for him. his brothers weren't any competition in his eyes. he was future king and with that came power and any girl who didn't want him must have something wrong with him.

he noticed a girl standing a few feet away in the back of the room watching everyone. by how posture and the look on her face she wasn't shy or scared. she was simply trying to figure everyone out. "you do realize it easier to figure out everyone's secrets if you actually talk to them right?" his tone was calm but it was a sense of harshness in it. he wasn't going to let some girl from another kingdom follow him around in the shadows to find out his secrets. she would have to try harder than that. micah was also a watcher. he knew and saw everything that happened around his kingdom. there wasn't anything that could happen he wouldn't know about. he had spies all around the castle he paid to report back to him. "you are the girl from blossom with the lamest power." micah thought the sound manipulation to be the lamest and most useless power ever. that instantly took her out of the running to be his bride. unless she knew how to have fun. his children would not has any lame power gene passed on to them. he wanted the strongest anc coolest power to be passed on.

[prince of heart]

❀ Elliana Rose ❀ 18 ❀ Female ❀ Blossom Kingdom ❀
Elliana bit back yet another acid retort as some minor lord for the viper house prattled on.
She had been trying to escape outdoors, but had been cut off by whoever this one happened
to be. Elli had already forgotten his name, and was beginning to toy with the idea of muting
him, after he had managed to insult her, her kingdom, and her parents in under two
minutes of small talk. "Of course, I suppose that you would make a better match for one of
our fine princes than your sister" The lord said, a throwaway remark he clearly hadn't
thought about. Ellianas lips thinned as she took a drink from a cup someone had given her,
not even pretending to be polite just then. She could take a lot, but she would not take
someone insulting her sister. Blocking the mans voice from her ears with a practiced ease, she
tilted her head, and made the barest motion of her index finger. The minor lord of whatever
shook his head, a brief frown crossing his face. Elliana smirked. "Is something wrong? Ears
ringing perhaps?" She asked, voice dripping with false innocence. The lord blinked, before he
clearly remembered the gossip about Elli and paled, beginning to stutter. Not waiting for his
response, Elliana merely drained her drink and walked away, lilac fabric swishing around her
legs. The only thing she liked about events like these - wearing her house colors and pretty
dresses while scaring assorted nobles.

Her attention was caught by a commotion on the other side of the room, and Elliana spotted
the crown prince enter. Smirking to herself, she trailed behind, a twist of her power enough
to bring his voice to her as if she was standing next to him. Arching an eyebrow, she had to
bit back a laugh at his words. He walked into a room and immediately started insulting girls
that wanted to marry him. No wonder her father had hated this boy. Elli, on the other hand,
was charmed. And so she strolled up, handing off her now empty glass to one of the servants
milling around. "Prince Micah, you seem to be enjoying yourself. " She responded, stopping a
few feet away from him. Really, she could have talked to him from across the ballroom with
just a slight use of her power, but face to face was so much more fun. Her gaze
flickered over the other girls near her, but none of them were her sister, and so she really
didn't care. After all, in the end they would just be obstacles to her goals. The comment
about her power took her by surprise, and Elli actually gave a startled laugh, gaze lifting from
the others attending the ball to settle on Micahs face. "That depends on what you consider
useless I suppose." She responded, unconcerned. "It's not as showy as some others, yes, but
I have found that control of information and a healthy dose of fear can do wonders."

[.:Opal:.]

julianna

┏━━━━━━━━━━┓

tag || micah, elliana, audric
age || seventeen
location || inside the castle
romantic interest || -
kingdom || verano

┗━━━━━━━━━━┛

well here she was.
the famous viper kingdom. or better yet, the kingdom that managed to take over all of the other ones and imprison everyones parents. and if that wasn’t satisfying enough, the snakes thought it would be fun to hold a game for the princes to choose their wife. arranged marriages would have been much easier. hell, marriages out of love would have made everyone happier. julianna has just spent one day in this kingdom of hell and she can already tell most of these girls agenda. power.

she remembers when the vipers came swooping into the castle and imprisoned her parents. she had been studying in the library, going over some new books she had laid her eyes upon the day earlier. when suddenly, her guards came running into the room and rushing her out. quickly talking and informing her of what was to happen. the entire day was a blur. several days had passed. nothing of interest happened—well if you consider having to downgrade your lifestyle not interesting. for most royals, they would have panicked at the thought. not julianna. she was fully prepared to downgrade her lifestyle just months before. he had been waiting at the stables for her. she arrived seconds before he doubled over and-

don’t think about it. that was the one time you couldn't save someone.

julianna flicked her hazel eyes upwards as she decided to focus her attention on the decorations inside the castle. back at her kingdom, they were known for throwing parties. least to say, she would have never chosen these decorations for this event.

she lifted her small hand up and pushed a strand of her red hair behind her ear. the fiery hair was currently tamed into a sleek high ponytail. it framed the delicate features on her face. her small lips were painted a rouge color, and her freckles were less noticeable under the light application of foundation. on her ears, there were dangling orange earrings that caught the light at every corner. a matching orange cuff was placed on her right wrist (being left handed, it was easier this way). her dress was supposed to be a statement piece. to represent her house. it was a bright red color that hugged her body with one strap. the style was simplistic and clean. nothing too glamorous, but enough.

the young girl decided to do what she does best. watch and observe. however she couldn't get a good grasp on everybody before one of the princes-no-the future king made a comment towards her. she angled her chin towards him, a small smile creeping onto her face. 'you do realize it easier to figure out everyone's secrets if you actually talk to them right?' his tone held harshness in it, and that only meant he was onto her and her little watching game. the only reason he'd be giving this sugar-coated warning would be if he felt threatened. he had something to hide that he did not want anyone figuring out. she crossed her hands on her stomach and parted her lips, before he spoke once more, this time more taunting, luckily it was not directed at her. it was to princess elliana rose, the sound manipulation girl. she stepped back slightly, allowing for elliana to speak with the prince. if the girl wanted to, she could dull out the sound around her and micah, making it where no one but the two could hear the conversation. she gave one glance towards the two, and held it on micah, before making her way towards the back. she saw one of the princes, audric was it? dear, she was horrible at this. he looked bored with his life, so hey. why not take up micah's unsolicited advice. she plopped down next to him and gently smiled. "bored at your own party? my father would kill me if my sister and i ever looked like we wanted to hang ourselves at a party." she took a quick scan at everyone, before laying her eyes back on audric. "do you usually just watch people?"

julianna was in no mood on playing games. but apparently, thats exactly what she's landed herself upon. so that's exactly what she'll do.

[isildur]

no way man

[peachy,]

( M A R I S. )
xx // title; eldest princess of frozen ' ( tags; neve, micah, talya ) ( wearing; x ) ' '

maris would be angry about the whole 'taking over four other kingdoms' thing, she should be, she had every right to be fuming. but she wasn't. it was probably because she was close friends with the soon-to-be-king and two of his brothers. that meant nothing horrible would happen to her or her kingdom. hopefully.

the princess was standing in front of a full body mirror as one of her servants brushed through her long, platinum hair. her name was melody, and she was the only servant in the castle back home that maris actually enjoyed speaking with. "isn't it exciting, m'lady? you might be the future queen!" the woman said with a deep, wheezy laugh. this caused maris to laugh along. she didn't plan on becoming the future queen- she surely didn't have her eyes on micah. but the idea of it intrigued her. a final movement of the brush went through her hair before melody stuck her frail arms out in front of maris, holding two ends to a pearl necklace. she had been told this was her mother's, and it's the only reason she actually wears it at times. the princess had on an ankle length light blue dress, white flats, a pearl necklace, and a silver band with a blue gemstone at it's center. gazing up into the mirror, a sigh left the young lady's lips. she must have zoned out, because melody had to gently pat her on the shoulder and tell her it was time.

taking a few steps down the hall, maris came to a halt when the sound of a door creaking open caught her attention. spinning around on her heels, she turned to see her younger sister, neve standing in the hall. "my my, don't you look nice. i'm surprised." maris said with a slight smirk playing at her mouth. she waved her arm out as a motion for her sister to follow behind her, and the two entered through the doors as to where the princes and other princesses were already.

it wasn't long until somebody had interrupted the conversation her and neve were having on the house's colors, and how ugly of a color green was in maris' eyes. the culprit was no other than her old friend micah, the next in line for the throne. she rolled her eyes, but managed to laugh at his greeting. "i could say the same to you," she said, before sarcastically adding, "my lord." and, with no shock to maris, micah left as quickly as he came. she saw him heading straight for another princess, and she rolled her eyes yet again. "don't scare them all off! you won't have a queen."

it was another few boring minutes, followed by more boring conversations with neve. she loved her sister to death, but god, learn how to keep up a conversation please? she'd always get distracted or respond with one word. it came to the point where it turned into maris talking neve's ear off, not even awaiting any sort of reply.

as another house entered the room, maris took this as her chance to not die from boredom. the princess talya, from hallow, had just came in, and maris made sure she got a chance to speak with her. grabbing onto her sister's wrist, she drug her along to go chat. "princess talya! have you enjoyed your visit?" she asked with a polite smile on her face, quietly tapping her foot on the newly polished floor as she waited for her to answer. a positive one wasn't what maris expected, of course not, but it surely wouldn't hurt to ask.

[effervescence]

✵ N E V E
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
tagged; maris, talya, micah, diego
location; ballroom
wearing;x
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
"winter is coming."
(ahhhaaaaa)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

█
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Neve sucked in as her hand maiden tightened her corset. Sparrow had been at her side since she was young, always fixing her hair and makeup and they really had become close friends. Sparrow always told her about how wonderful it would be to see the Viper kingdom and here she was, standing along side her princess. "Your dress is gorgeous, m'lady. Shall I go fetch Maris?" She shook her head, long curls bounding around her thin face. "No, we're usually ready around the same time anyways, thank you my darling, ill see you after this boring party." She winked and rose to her feet from the stool she had been resting on. Walking out into the hall, she was grabbed by her older sister. Her sister pulled her in behind her "meeh don't you look nice." She mocked her sister and grinned, nudging her ribs a little with her elbow.

They had been talking about how ugly the color green was until one of the dashing princes joined them. Neve automatically bit her tongue, looking at Micah, she knew that Diego must not be far behind. Looking for him, she kind of zoned out while she was listening to Micah and Maris talking. As she kept looking, she felt a familiar ice cold hand clasping her wrist and dragging her over to talk to talya. She passed Diego, and as she did, she grabbed his wrist, creating like a train with her and her two best friends. "Hello biscuit, you clean up nice." She grinned at him and stuck her tongue between her teeth, "I mean, My lord." She grinned even wider, winking at him with one blue eye. As her sister talked to Talya, she yanked her arm away and looked up at her close friend from the kingdom of vipers. "This is the first time I have seen you in a suit that wasn't covered in some sort of food." She snickered a little, shifting a little in her heels. She was still very small, 5'3 without heels, 5'5 with, and Diego was still a lot taller than her. It hadn't always been like that, she was taller than him when they were younger, but he rocketed like a beansprout sometime inbetween ten and twelve years old.

She listened around the room, looking all around. She had met Diego and his brothers in this room, a long time ago. but here they were, close as could be. "Where's Augustus? Wherever you are, he's usually not far behind?" She looked around, her soft voice having to be lifted in volume as the room got slightly louder. He looked really nice, she was actually suprised. He got cuter in the past year. She was just standing there awkwardly again, her fingers traveled up to her hair, twisting a platinum blonde strand inbetween blue painted fingernails. Her fingers itched, cold heat traveled up her body to the tip and she pushed her hands back to her sides as small frost sparkles gathered on the tips of her fingers. She pushed the thought away, and continued to smile at Diego. "How is he, Augustus. Has he relaxed a little since I was last here?" She smirked and raised her eyebrows at the prince Infront of her.

[haadez_]

♔ ▌ ＰＲＩＮＣＥ ＤＩＥＧＯ

diego woke up feeling annoyed, a normal emotion for the boy, there is a joke going around that he was even annoyed
at birth. currently he was sat in his room, the door locked, working on a painting of his latest nightmare. unlike most
people, he cherished any natural dream he got, nightmare or not. they gave him his creativity, which in turn led to his
paintings. a knock on his door broke his concentration. "prince diego, it's time to get ready." a servants voice called,
making the second youngest boy sigh. cleaning his hands off, the boy walks over to his door, unlocking it so the maids
could do their job. as they chose out a pair of black pants, a black shirt and a white, black and green tie, he easily ch-
anges into it, before letting the maids style his hair back with hair gel and straighten out his messed up collar.

as the maids finish fixing him up for the ball, diego flings his door open, his mood declining with each step he takes, h-
eading over to the edge of the stairs, his head snapping up at the voice of his favorite brother micah. "maybe we will f-
ind you instead of a peasant" the prince rolled his eyes at the statement, slipping his hands into his pants pocket, not
saying a word about if the rumor was true or not. as the older brother walks away, the reserved prince shrugs, trying to
lighten up his mood before walking sharply into the ballroom a few moments after micah, following after him, feeling
uncomfortable. glancing over at the person his brother was currently speaking to, diego spots maris, and forces a small
smile on his face to not offend the princess. a hand on his wrist caught his attention as soon he was being dragged along
by a familiar face that brought a real smile to his face. "hello biscuit, you clean up nice. i mean, my lord." neve greets,
poking fun with him as she stick out her tongue and winks at the prince. however he didn't catch her next sentence, he
was busy trying to figure out why the princess had called him biscuit. "biscuit? uhm, what do you mean you.. i-icicle?"
diego stammers, shifting on his feet, almost tripping over his own shoe, he always got clumsy when he was nervous.

as she asked about augustus, diego let out a shrug. "he'll be here soon, i may have left without telling him." he says
quietly. at her next question, he smiled at her. "very much so, although mostly only when in private." glancing over
at his older brother, the prince couldn't help but let his smile fade as he realizes the future king is currently going around
insulting almost every princess that was here, which brought his attention back to neve. "maybe, we should move, over
there!" he grumbles, taking her hand and pulling her away from the rude comments coming from his brothers mouth.
diego took neve as far from micahs gaze as possible while staying in the room. as he stopped, diego flashes her a nervo-
us smile, not releasing her hand from his own. "it has been such a long time, and with all of the, uh" diego paused,
cringing slightly before continuing, "rumors, i was worried." he chose his words carefully, not wanting to offend anyone.

[rm,]

❝ ＴＡＬＹＡ ＶＡＳＳ

( ᴇʟᴅᴇsᴛ ʜᴀʟʟᴏᴡ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇss ) ( ᴛᴀɢs; speech, maris; thought, opheli, micah, ellianna, julianna, diego, neve, audric )

---- Talya missed the Kingdom of Hallow. She missed the crisp air and vibrant colors and the mountains it resided in. She missed the freedom of living where she was known, if not adored, of controlling her own life and her power. She missed flying. She missed hiking and laughing and breathing without the fear she was being watched.
---- She missed being alive.
---- Instead she was, quite literally, in a snake’s nest.
----With living, breathing, venomous cobras ready to strike. So she did what she always did when faced with a deadly animal; she smiled, put on a pleasantly yellow dress, her favorite perfume, and painted her nails. Then she went out to slay a dragon.
----Or, in this case, a serpent. Balls at Viper House had always made her nervous—the dancing and flirting and tightrope-walking was nerve-wracking. The mind games were painful and she while she had figured out how to play, it was often at another’s expense. The guilt would gnaw at her stomach and smile until she coolly reminded herself that it was her opponent’s feelings or her kingdom, and per usual, her kingdom always won.
----Ama, Talya’s servant, spun her hair up into a bun, picking out little pieces of hair to frame her face. “You’re beautiful, lovely,” she had said. Talya managed a smile, too sick to her stomach to do much else. Dread had knotted her insides.
----Then she’s fastened her dress in place, fixed a flyaway, and walked from her room to the ballroom. She wished Ophi were with her, but her younger sister had left long before Talya had even decided to get out of the bath. She was already regretting that—Ophi grounded her mind and kept her on her toes. She would need that.
----Talya pushed through the doors and took in everything going around her. It was a habit from when she had to be a bird—there was always the chance that some bigger bird would come up from behind and snatch her off a branch. She could always change back and it would drop her, being too heavy to carry, but it would hurt like hell when she tumbled to the ground. The easiest thing to do was absorb everything going on around her.
----Doing so included seeing Micah angrily—everything he did seemed angry—stalking around the ballroom floor, Audric pouting in the corner, looking bored as usual, Julianna springing on opportunity, as usual, Elliana slyly smiling, and… Maris! Talya couldn’t help but smile. Finally, a face attached to a person she actually enjoyed talking to. It was a miracle.
----She stayed planted where she was and nodded to Maris, who was towing her younger sister by the arm—Neve didn’t look too happy about that—and greeted them with a laughing, “Princess Maris,” Talya said. “I’m afraid I’ve been having a wonderful time.” Oh, if she didn’t catch that sarcasm, it would be the end of the world for sure. She opened her mouth to ask Neve how she’d been when Neve’s attention went elsewhere.
----Prince Diego.
----Talya bit back a smile as she looked back at Maris and yet eyed the prince as he stumbled and stuttered a bit. It was sweet.
----“How has your stay been?” Talya continued once the two of them vanished. “I hope better than mine.”
----She briefly looked around the room, hoping for a glimpse of Ophi. She was always looking for her sister—it wasn’t that she was worried, but it was that she really wanted to have a companion to giggle with and to see what her sister was wearing. Call her girly, but dresses were Talya’s favorite things to wear. “Maris,” Talya started. “Have you seen Opheli? She left before I did, and I can’t find her.”

[Keriae]

‘xＱＡＨＩＲxxxＰＲＩＮＣＥ ＭＩＣＡＨ＇Ｓ ＧＵＡＲＤ！
───────────────────────────────────────────────
xxxxxxxx[ head guard for micah ] - [ location: ball ] - [ tags - micah, elli ]
───────────────────────────────────────────────

xxxxxxxxxxxxWhy the high class insisted on holding these infernal balls, Qahir didn't know.

xxxxxxxxxxxxThey were expensive (he'd seen the paper with a list of expenses; being a head guard granted you access to all sorts of places), they were a nightmare to plan, they took up an entire night, and it all only seemed to be so royals could pick petty fights with words. They were constantly insulting each other through the buzz of voices, all the while disguising it as compliments, forever walking on a tightrope, and one slip could mean the end of not only yourself, but of your family, your house, and your wealth. Not that Qahir minded people being killed for treason - when their lands were forfeited, he always seemed to get a raise in pay. Nothing like lining your pocket with the wealth of the crown. After all, he had to live, and with every pay rise he could afford more. Lately, he'd been wearing the best leather for his uniform, the best shirts, the best boots..... well, he was the guard of the future king, how could he wear anything other than the best?

xxxxxxxxxxxxHis outfit was nothing compared to Micah's, of course. Micah was in a pure black suit, and the only spots of colour were his bow tie and his crown. Qahir was dressed in his uniform - a white tunic, black trousers, a black leather coat. There was a green sash around his waist, over which lay his weapon's belt (a sword, main-gauche, and a pistol with powder and shots) and on his right shoulder a pauldron bearing the crest of the Viper House. The prince swaggered out from his room - he always swaggered, Qahir had started to loose hope that he would grow out of it - and looked for all the world like he was going to get exactly what he wanted tonight. Which he was. Micah always got what he wanted, except when it came to Qahir. He was no stranger to refusing to do things for the prince, and apparently he was the only one who regularly did so. When he'd first been employed, Micah had asked - okay, he had ordered - him to go saddle his horse. Qahir had refused, much to the prince's anger. In fact, Micah had made a move to grab Qahir's sword. In a second he had had his pistol cocked and pointing at the future king's temple, unafraid to blow his brains out. It would have made a pretty picture too, he reflected, keeping his face blank. He was a guard on duty, after all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxBut he hadn't blown Micah's brains out. He'd told him, eyebrows raised, that he was his guard, not his servant, that he would protect him, yes, but he would not perform menial tasks. Since then, everyone seemed to have a healthy respect for him. Even those who had not been there. There were spies around the castle, eyes and ears everywhere. Qahir had some of his own. But what did it matter? They respected and feared him, and that was all that he needed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxAs Micah drew close, Qahir let his hand slip from the pummel of his sword and joined the other man (if you could call him that, he was nineteen) as he strode down the hallway.

xxxxxxxxxxxx"I daresay a castle filled with girls wanting entrance to your bed is better," he said, shoulder to shoulder with his charge, "however, none of these girls want to marry you. They want your wealth, that is all. Once they have it they will take back their kingdoms and you shall be the king of nothing." A cryptic, pessimistic view, yes, but Qahir had learnt that the world was cruel and there was no point in hiding the facts. This ball was a game to these nobles, and the girls would no doubt see it as a giant chess set. Move here, move there, eliminate an opponent, get to the king. This wasn't a game of love, matchmaking by Cupid - this was a way to get what you wanted, live in security, and maybe, just maybe, get your kingdom back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxAnd yet, as much as he hated it, it was eerily similar to his powers. These girls would be sneaking around, acting like the perfect little brides while plotting in their rooms. Most would fail. Five may succeed, but what was the point in marrying one of the other princes? No, all of them would be trying to get to Micah. Some might resort to underhand tactics. And if they did, Qahir would not hesitate to kill them. He was loyal to Micah, in a way; they were friends, as such happened after years of constant companionship. But Micah was his means to an end, and he only served him because it was in his best interests to do so. The moment that changed, Qahir would have a change of heart, and move on.

xxxxxxxxxxxxUpon entering the ballroom, they were assaulted by a sea of colour and the strong vibrating of voices, which hushed for a moment as they were announced (well, Micah and Diego, who had joined them). Qahir's face looked like it was moulded from stone. A ball was the perfect place to stage anything untoward. He'd have to be on his guard, hover around Micah like his shadow. Ha! Micah could look after himself, but it was his job description. He just had to hope that Micah would tire of the festivities before five in the morning; Qahir had been awake for too long already.

xxxxxxxxxxxxNext to him, Micah couldn't settle on a girl to talk to. Within the space of a minute, he'd spoken to three. Three! And every word that came out of his mouth was an insult. If he thought that was the way to woo a woman, he was sorely mistaken. But it was not Qahir's place to speak. Instead, he snorted at the prince's attempts. This was going to be a long night indeed.