The Ballad of Time and Moon ✓

Chapter 4: The royal banquet

"You seem to be quite the center of attention," Kaito remarked, his hand confidently resting on her waist, as they sway with the music.

Alexiel met his sapphire gaze with a hint of mischief. "And what, pray tell, gives you that impression?" she inquired, her lips curving into a knowing smile.

"Perhaps the fact that every pair of eyes in this room seems to be fixated on us," he remarked, sarcastically, twirling her, to which she smiled in amusement.

"Well, being the companion of the crown prince's former betrothed on such a momentous occasion does tend to draw the spotlight," she teased. 

Rolling his eyes, he spun her out and reeled her back in. His other hand held hers, their fingers entwined. The room spun around them, a blur of chandeliers and silk-clad guests.

"Anyways, I suppose you know your way around this palace," he asked.

A bittersweet smile touched Alexiel's lips. "Ten years of my life were devoted to these walls. I know this place as the back of my hand," she remarked, reminiscing how much time she had spent in her first life here, giving her utmost on all the lessons and classes for becoming a crown princess who can help her people, all while managing the general studies, now that all was for nothing.

Kaito's gaze softened, a silent understanding passing between them. "That knowledge will be our greatest ally tonight," he assured her, his voice a low hum that only she could hear.

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"Why is this prince following us?" Kaito whispered to her. 

Alexiel's expression darkened with annoyance. "If I knew, we wouldn't be in this predicament," she hissed under her breath, frustration evident as they attempted to lose the persistent royal.

"Then think of a solution, Ms. Genuis," he said, his smile strained with irritation.

She gave him a sharp glare, before her expression changed to one of contemplation, her eyes thoughtful and brows ceased, "You sure, you will go with it?" she asked, a teasing smirk resting on her face. 

"I will, now, the solution?" he said, as they round up another corner.

Instead of continuing their charade, Alexiel seized his wrist, pulling him close. Her back pressed against the cool wall, "Kiss me," she whispered, her golden eyes shining in the moonlight.

"I beg your pardon?" he said, his voice basking with disbelief. 

"It's the perfect ruse to throw him off our trail without arousing suspicion," she explained with conviction, "Trust me, there's no better way to unsettle him and secure our escape."

"And what of unsettling you?" Kaito mumbled, hesitant. 

She scoffed lightly, her fingers adjusting his collar as she drew him nearer, their breaths mingling. "I've weathered far worse than a mere kiss, Kaito. And besides," she added, "I wouldn't mind it being from you." 

"It is on you," he whispered, before his lips captured hers in a kiss. It was gentle, a tentative brush of lips, soft as the petals of the night-blooming flowers in the palace gardens. Yet, beneath the tenderness, there was a current of electricity, a silent communication of shared hardships and the unspoken promise of alliance.

Kaito's lips moved against Alexiel's with a careful respect, a contrast to the boldness of her earlier actions. For Alexiel, it was like a warm embrace, it was a poignant reminder of what could have been and a beacon of hope for what might still be.

After some moments, Alexiel and Kaito's lips parted as Kaito's gaze met Alexiel's, a glint of mischief now playing in his eyes. "Well, that was rather convincing," he whispered, the corner of his mouth lifting in a half-smile.

Alexiel brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, her composure returning as swiftly as it had left. "It needed to be," she replied, her voice steady despite the quickening of her heartbeat. "Did it work?"

Peering around the corner, Kaito's eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation. "Like a charm. The prince seems to have found a sudden interest in the tapestries down the hall."

A sigh left Alexiel lips as she nodded, "We should head forward, we have to get that stone, fast." 

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"As, expected security," Alexiel mumbled the moonshine was filling the halls, making her features glow. The guards stood like sentinels outside the chamber, unaware that their vigil would soon be undone.

"They are easy to handle, though," Kaito said, in his hands a shiny grey plant, with a deft swirl of his hands, the plant's essence unfurled, weaving an invisible spell that left the guards' eyes glassy and their bodies as still as statues

Alexiel looked toward him, her lips parted, "What-how...?"

"Wispshade," he said, watching the last of the leaves dissolve into the ether. "It tampers with human senses, transforming them into mindless statues for some minutes," 

"But I haven't heard about it before," she said, with furrowed eyebrows.

"Not everything is known by you, Princess," he said, with a wry smile. "Anyhow, you should be worried about getting that hex stone, rather than this," 

"Right," she said, ignoring his comment as she made her way to the room with him in tow, relieved when the guards didn't move an inch. 

They entered a room adorned with mahogany furnishings and rich tapestries, Kaito moved forward, his gaze swept the room, before he gestures toward the clock that was ticking, a red stone glimmering below it. 

Alexiel approached, the stone's ominous glow intensifying as she reached out. Its power was palpable, a malevolent force that promised freedom and threatened doom in equal measure. "Time is ticking, Alexiel. The twin moons won't wait for us," Kaito urged, urgency threading his words.

With a firm nod, she pocketed the Hex Stone, and together they slipped from the room, their footsteps silent as shadows. They ascended the winding staircase to the rooftop, where the celestial dance of the twin moons awaited, a beacon of hope in the night sky. It was there, under the light of the moons, that their fate would be sealed, for better or worse.