The Saintess and the Villainess

A Tale of Two Princes - Chapter 7

Sebastian was great at parties. Even in a location as strange and intimidating as the elven palace, which was like nowhere Sebastian had ever been before. Even with the full attention of the elven court on him, their eyes following him with an unsettling mixture of boredom and hunger. Even with the background stress and terror of knowing that Corvina and Anne were missing, possibly held captive by this very court.

Even with all that, Sebastian was effortlessly bright, sociable, and, above all, fun. He floated from group to group, laughing sincerely at jokes he didn't quite understand, occasionally even earning a laugh in return with a joke of his own. He made easy introductions between people he'd only just met. He flirted a little. And kept an eye on others' wine glasses, calling over a servant every time he noticed someone was in need of a new drink. Sebastian didn't just enjoy the party—he made the party more enjoyable with his presence.

He was laughing again, slightly out of breath after playing a few rounds of some sort of darts game with a loud group of elven women (charming them further by being absolutely terrible at it), when he spotted Elyon leaning up against a nearby pillar, brooding.

They had been separated, just before the party started, by an obstinate group of royal attendants who had insisted that neither of them could show up to the revelries in dirty forest-camp outfits. Sebastian had been shoved into a frilly white shirt, an intricately-embroidered waistcoat, the tightest pair of trousers he'd ever worn, and knee-high boots with three-inch heels. There had been a mirror in the dressing room, and Sebastian had to admit to himself that he looked good in the clothes, but he also felt like he was wearing an exaggerated costume-version of what the elves assumed humans wore, and somehow that struck Sebastian as extremely funny.

Nothing about Elyon's new outfit was amusing, except maybe how unexpected it was on him. He wore a proper set of elven silk robes of a pale green color, cinched at the waist in a way that emphasized his figure far more than the forest leathers ever had. Sebastian would have thought that, with a loose fabric like that, one would need to have good posture in order for the garment to lay properly, but somehow the way Elyon was slouching just made the fabric drape across him even more tantalizingly. And the garment was shockingly low-cut—even at this distance, Sebastian could see the suggestion of muscle on the exposed parts of Elyon's chest.

Sebastian swallowed, attempting to banish all inappropriate thoughts from his mind. Then he deftly grabbed a couple fresh glasses of wine off a passing servant's tray and strode purposefully towards the grumpy elven prince.

"Come now," he said, holding out one of the glasses to Elyon. "Why don't you have a bit of fun? Since we have to be here anyway, we might as well enjoy it."

From this close, Sebastian could see that Elyon wore a silver circlet around his head, shaped into delicate branches and leaves that seemed to weave in and out of Elyon's oake-brown hair as if they had grown there. At the center of the circlet, resting on Elyon's forehead, was a bright blue jewel the same color as his eyes. A beautiful reminder of Elyon's station, which made Sebastian feel oddly embarrassed about his own naked, crownless head.

Elyon shot Sebastian a withering look, but he took the offered glass. "You should be careful about how much you drink," he said. "Elven wine is far more potent than the kind humans make."

"I know," said Sebastian. "I could tell from the first sip. And I've gotten into enough trouble in the past to know when I've had too much. I'm pacing myself. Don't worry."

Elyon looked skeptical, but he didn't argue.

"You look quite nice," said Sebastian, almost shocked by his own understatement. He was trying hard not to look too much at Elyon's partially-exposed chest.