ILLUSION || Jason Todd

FORTY-FIVE

❝YOUR VERY FIRST KISS WAS YOUR FIRST KISS GOODBYE❞

BON JOVI, YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME

After their initial dancing, the pair took to the sidelines and left the dance floor behind for the remainder of the evening. They stuck to themselves, too, hiding from any prying eyes of Gotham citizens and strayed far from any conversation. Mostly, they stuck to the buffet table that held a large variety of miniature foods. The different bursts of flavours opting as their best entertainment.

The young mage had found herself quiet. Jason noticed; his constant asking if she was okay - which she was - and worried glances sent alarm signals to her brain that she was acting out of the ordinary. No quick tongue remarks, making fun of the drunks, or even the royal guards stood at their posts.

She wasn't entirely quiet; she would share her thoughts on the new small foods as they picked each one every few minutes and converse with Jason as if this were a normal event. But what normal event had Lorelei wear her tiara after four years of leaving that life behind?

Lorelei could remember a time where she enjoyed events like this; the dancing, the snacks, even the music brought a boring comfort she had missed during her first few weeks of leaving Centia. Even with betrayal, you still miss the things you once sought comfort within.

Those were the few moments she would spend time with those her own age. People of nobility, the influential and important people of Centia, but they brought their children, offering Lorelei to know people her age. Not that it mattered, they didn't wish to truly know her. Like their parents, they held a deep root for selfishness and greed.

They were interested in her title, not her interests.

Back then, Lorelei was selfish, too. She had expectations of people treating her like a Queen - which, in her defence, she was on the path of becoming their Queen -, if not for her mother, Lorelei would have been a brat.

Her mother, the wonderful woman that she was, took her time in teaching Lorelei how to become a kind ruler. She supposed now, as the reminder of the woman she missed dearly, that her rebellion started early. Her mother gave her choices; counteracting her father's ruthless teachings, showing her how to manipulate things to help.

And then Archmage killed her, bringing an end to Lorelei's life as a royal.

It made her wonder; did she even fit in that life anymore? And if she did, did she even care? Life in this realm was simpler. People either liked her or didn't, they weren't influenced by a crown. And she wasn't tied down to a duty her father would force her to become - the very weapon he crafted.

It was those studying questions that brought on her quietness. Even when Archmage decided to disappear and his stare had been replaced with the unease that his departure - from the party, at least - meant nothing good, Lorelei remained hushed.

The tyrant ruler leaving the room was the main reason they decided to remain on the sidelines. Having their backs out in the open, opting as a bullseye was more than an idiotic idea. Though Lorelei was beginning to think simply coming here was the true stupid idea; a foolish one, indeed.

"Your highness." A royal guard bowed, his presence coming from Lorelei's side as he approached the young mage with an appropriate distance. "I have been instructed to escort you to his royal majesty."

Lorelei kept her stare on the guard as his fingers twitched ever so slightly and eyes refused to look directly at her. He was younger than Colin and completely unfamiliar to the princess. His uniform remained confident on his body, contrasting to the nerves he was portraying so well. If she had to assume, she would have no doubt that he was new to the job.