Limerence

Chapter III- A Party With Him

Notes: reception party, tension, conversing, reluctant dancing, Cath is an actual good cat (but he still has something secret), cliffhanger

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After getting freshened up and relieved from your coronation- or whatever that was- you wandered aimlessly through the halls of the giant castle. It was much later that not a lot of light poured through the windows and instead came sourced from the lamps and grand chandeliers speckled throughout the hall. You were lost, as always. You had gotten dressed in yet another elaborately adorned dress although this one only fell to your feet and not in a giant cape of white lace. But your face still remained heavy from all the makeup; your jewelry hung from your ears and neck in brassy bounds of diamonds and pearls. You had insisted that you could find the outside veranda where the reception was taking place, adamant on being left alone for at least a few minutes from this already crazy day. You just wanted some peace and quiet, was that so hard? And much to your advisors and coordinates dismay, they reluctantly told you the directions and let you be. But it seemed the universe granted you your wish in a different way: leaving you lost in this stone labyrinth. What should have been a couple of turns and exactly two flights of stairs turned into a lot of turns and a lot of flights of stairs as you found yourself in yet another long, dimly lit corridor. It was long past the time you were supposed to be there; someone was for sure getting an earful for letting the queen get lost.

You shook your head and sighed, looking around for any sign of life. But everyone was surely at the party; no one was around but you, the firelight, and cold cobblestone walls. This was ridiculous. Maybe Arthur had some sort of spell on you that would let him know where you were. But you shivered- he doesn't need to know your whereabouts at every second of the day. And you were inclined to believe he would have come found you by now if he did somehow have some weird chaos tracker. You wouldn't be surprised; that whole coronation thing still left you uneasy even hours later. But nothing felt off in your body, which thoroughly relieved you. You turned the corner and were down yet another, long hallway. Geez, how does anyone get around in this place? You found light in your miserable day by only picturing a young newly crowned Arthur years ago wandering around just as you were currently. He'd probably be chastised by his advisors for being late to important meetings even though he was the king. It would have been hilarious to see his confidence as he stupidly turned hallway after hallway trying to find his way; maybe you would have liked him then. But not now, when you were in the same situation as he surely was but only upholding a much different role. A small cloud of sadness followed you; you missed your kingdom. You wouldn't be lost or sorely out of place if you were back home with your people. But a part of your body immediately put yourself down: this was your home now, in these long never ending halls, with only the cold hard stone and flickering flames.

But no, you couldn't wallow. This was probably a test by the advisors, to see if the new queen was fit for her role. They were probably around somewhere observing your incompetency and shaking their heads. This was probably all his idea- you knew you couldn't trust that kindly demeanor he put on. It was foolish of you to fall for his act and then be left all alone in this giant castle and realm as a reward. But no, not you. You wouldn't fall again.

Standing up straighter, you pondered at the end of another hallway. Only this time, there was two ways you could go: left and right. One side of you was inclined to believe the left hallway would lead back to the heart of the castle. And the other side would lead away to the perimeter. Going to the right would probably lead you outside, where you could then find the veranda from an exterior angle. But going back to where more people probably resided, in the inner corridors of the castle, could lead to you finding help. Or you were completely wrong overall and this was, indeed, a fruitless effort. So, with a sort of daft confidence, you turned right and strolled down the hall. You were so caught up in keeping your head high and marching forward that your surrounds became a blur. Your thoughts were enough of a distraction that you hardly noticed when a peculiar white blob passed you by. At first, you continued. Then, your thoughts caught back up.