Women of Fire and Blood

Balls are Meant to be Cut Off

Dela listened to the chatter of counsel men around her, filling the ballroom with idle laughter and white noise as she slipped past the flowy dresses and men with swords. Her long blue gown swept the floor behind her, dagger strapped to her leg in full view and hair down her back.

She decided earlier on when she had first been adopted that listening in on that 'idle chatter' was always a waste of time. Sure, they were talking about the goings on of the kingdom, but it was all already stuff she knew from eavesdropping on her father's board meetings. Plus, every so often she would catch a snippet of conversation about herself, and that always made her mood plummet, so she thought it better to leave it be.

Dela felt a light elbow to her midsection as she walked by a group of ladies in long and intricately made dresses, but at this point, it was the norm. The kingdom as a whole had decided early on in her adoption that she was 'trouble'. (Their words, not hers.) And they loved to give her a hard time.

As she broke through the throng of people into a less populated spot, she spotted her friends and siblings.

Theodore and Tiana stood close together, all dark skin and beautifully curled hair and satin red cloth. They both had dark eyes and stood at least a few inches taller than everybody else. They were twins, as identical as they could be being two different genders. They had the same nose, eyes, face, and mannerisms which got a little creepy sometimes.

Tiana's dress hung low on her body, showing off her lean warrior muscles and more of her rich dark skin. Gold accents littered the dress in the shapes of mystical fae-like creatures that were a common myth in her kingdom, and her jewelry hung in drapes along her neck and head, acting as a kind of crown-like structure.

Theodore wore largely the same color and pattern, the dark red cloth outlining his strength. His tunic was simple but elegant, thanks to the seamstresses in the Dengali kingdom the best in Totar, behind Gaidus. He had his own draping crown, and together they looked like the picture of sophisticated royalty.

Next to them stood Tysand, Ty for short, and the crown prince of Gaidus, the clothing capital of Totar. Next to the twins, he looked like their exact opposite, sunkissed tan skin and white-blonde hair that was held up in a pony down his back. His mother had long since given up on getting him to cut the 'unruly' hair, but Dela thought it suited him quite nicely.

He was in his kingdom's trademark ocean blue, a representation that he was of royalty. His tunic was cinched at the waist by what looked like some kind of corset?? But it suited him well, and went perfectly with his cream pants, so she wasn't going to doubt that it was the height of fashion in his kingdom at the moment. His crown was a white metal, not too noticeable but visible all the same, and sat perfectly on top of his head.

Behind him, huddled up to his leg, stood Dela's younger sister, Demira. She had the same long Auburn hair as Dela and the same tan skin from summers spent out in the sun, but her eyes were a shocking blue, unlike Dela's unnaturally white eyes. She had the same royal blue clothing the color of their kingdom, Cavoren but her dress was less revealing, courtesy of her young age. Demira's dress had a fluffy skirt that fanned out around her and long sleeves that opened up widely at the ends.

Demira had some, what the healers called, 'unhealthy' attachment issues to Dela and their parents, but was probably just as bad with the other royal children, specifically Ty. Dela had sent her off to find them while she attended to guests and spoke with courtiers, and, as she had guessed, the seven year old stood huddled behind Ty, away from the prying eyes of the court.

Next to Ty and Demira, and the final addition to the group of young royals, was her adoptive brother Zeden. Dela and Zeden were the same age, born almost the same day, too, but they weren't related by blood. They were still thick as thieves, thanks to the years she had spent in the palace before her biological mother had passed. He was tall and muscular, their father's pride and joy fighter, not including Dela, because apparently a woman warrior in Cavoren was frowned upon.