Assassins Bane (wof medieval human AU)

Epilogue

Ocean Flow

She did everything she could not to trip over the skirt of her gown as she traipsed across the palace floor, side by side with Tsunami, Anemone, and Auklet.

Even bedecked in deep blue silk and glistening pearls, she couldn't manage to gain the sense of fitting in. There were people everywhere. So many people; and even if now of them were looking at her, she felt as though they were looking at her.

"We need to find you a dance partner," Tsunami grumbled. "I will not be stuck with you under my feet for the entire night."

The SeaWing Princess's dress was made of velvet, dyed the darkest shade of midnight ink with strands of silver glass beads caught at her waist and trailing down the full skirt to brush against the glittering floor.

Ocean Flow felt a flash of pride. This was her cousin. Her family.

Anemone smirked, brushing her hand down the pink and green coral lace of her gown that hugged her hips in a teasingly seductive gesture. "You want some alone time with Riptide, Nami?"

"Go make out with Whirlpool, you cow," Tsunami boomed.

"Ew. No. And anyway, I'm just saying--"

"Oh, look. There's Qibli! Let's go say hello!" Tsunami ignored her sister and pulled Ocean Flow by the elbow toward a young man with sandy blonde hair and black eyes, standing amidst a group of people, laughing.

For a moment, Ocean Flow felt terror freeze her in place, but then when he turned his head, she realized it wasn't Scorpion. Of course, it wasn't. She was being stupid. He'd disappeared and no one had heard anything of him. It was most likely he was lying dead in a ditch somewhere far off in the forest.

"Qibli!" Tsunami bellowed. 

The man, Qibli, broke off his conversation and turned to face them with a charming smile. 

"Hello, Tsunami," he greeted warmly.

"Meet my cousin." Tsunami pulled Ocean Flow up next to her and wiggled her eyebrows. 

"What do you think? She's kind of shy and needs a partner--er--dance partner. She's also clumsy as hell. Are you willing to take up the challenge?"

The smile had dropped from Qibli's face, and he stared at Ocean Flow in bewildered awe, a gentle flush warming his golden cheeks.

Then, his pale lips pulled into a beaming smile, and he held out a hand, which she took immediately.

He was gorgeous.

"It's a pleasure," he said.

"Teeth," Ocean Flow agreed faintly, eyes fixed on his gleaming white smile. "I mean--" she blushed ferociously. "Thank you. Yes. A pleasure. I'm pleasured. That's not what I meant. I meant it's a pleasure to meet you too."

She let out a humiliated breath of air.

He laughed, and his laugh was like nothing she had ever heard before. It was warm, and kind and full of honey and summer skies. Her heart shivered, then proceeded to try its best to beat out of her chest.

"Would you like to dance with me?" Qibli asked shyly after the laughter had faded. He brushed his thumb over the hills of her knuckles, and it was thrilling.

"Yes," she nodded enthusiastically. Maybe a bit too enthusiastically, but Qibli wasn't deterred. He grinned and pulled her away, his warm hand clasped with her own cold, clammy one.

She looked back only once to see Tsunami leering triumphantly at her, and Anemone mouthing "Yes, woman!" while making some possibly obscene gestures with her hands that her curious little sister tried to duplicate.