The Dragon's Consortium 2

68 - The Marriage Ball

Cain Dragvern - POV;

"Is this really the right thing to do?" I asked Cecil as I Adjusted the Ruby attatched to my neck. I stared at my reflection admiring the familiar red and black attire I had worn when I sat for dinner with Amelia and her family at the castle all that time ago. I was quite fond of the formal outfit and it had surely grown on me since I had first squuezed myself into its threads.

"Of course. It's best that you just meet up with Princess Amelia at the party rather than have a fight break out before you arrive," Cecil stated fluttering around infront of my face.

"Hmm, that's true........ Wait. How long have you been in here?! I'm changing!!" I shouted.

"Umm," the fairy girl paused and began to blush, "I...... I may have seen things I wasn't supposed to..... P-p-please be careful when using such a thing against our Lady Amelia..... so scary....."

"W-what are you talking?!" I inquired becoming red myself.

"Ooooooooooh!" Cecil exclaimed before darting outside.

We had waited until Amelia left our lodging before I rushed in to get myself ready for Caithe's Wedding Party. I spent the night at an affordable inn having not been daring enough to face Amelia last night.

"So how do I look?" Cecil asked twirling around. She wore a rather tiny green dress gown that suited her quite perfectly.

"It looks stunning," I complimented her, "Although, where did you even get clothes for a fairy?"

"There was this one old lady that owned a whole lot of them at the clothing store in the capital! She gave me it for free since it was a bit old. Apparently, her father had owned the place before her and during his time, there were a number of fairies living in Oakhevia. Since they left however, the apparel have just been in storage. Isn't it cool though? The sheer vastness of the history is outstanding," Cecil ranted.

"Well my courage has to be outstanding as well because we have finally arrived here," I sighed staring up at the towering royal ballroom building. Cecil pumped her fist in an attempt to hype me up and it admittedly worked to some minute extent.

I walked through the massive, embossed doors and I was immediately recognised and greeted by a number of high ranking officials from all three Kingdoms on Uradora.

"This is certainly a surprise. How are you Grand Duke?" one of the Prime Ministers shook my hand.

"Pardon my asking, but have you seen Crown Princess Amelia of Crethia inside here today?" I questioned.

"Ah yes. She entered earlier with a female attendant. It is my understanding that she is aiding the bride to prepare for the occasion," he replied.

"That must be Sana who came in with her!" Cecil added, landing on my shoulder.

"Oh? What do we have here? A fairy?! My heavens! I have not seen your kind for decades!" The Prime Minister seemed genuinely surprised.

We excused ourselves and headed towards the drinks table. As I leaned against the furniture piece something caught my eye.

"Look over there," I pointed at a person discretely, "That's the King's nephew. The prince himself."

"Eh? He looks like one of those shady hot types! I don't like him," Cecil murmured.

"Esteemed guests, please put your hands together for the Lady of the Moment. I present to you Princess Caith Oakheart!"

Caithe slowly climbed down the staircase in a magnificent white ball gown that sparkled under the powerful overhead lights. She was accompanied by a number of bridesmaids and among them were Sana and Amelia. The prince met her halfway and escorted her down as she waved to the applauding guests.

"Now, grab a partner and allow the music carry your bodies!"

The orchestra commenced a rather slow, high-society song. I myself had never become fond of the 'high and mighty' tunes which I felt was rather boring and exaggerated however I was always forced to play a certain part as Grand Duke.

I looked over to Amelia and for a moment our eyes met. However, she quickly folded her arms and turned away. I inhaled deeply an sighed as it became obvious that she was still very much upset over my actions the day before.

"This kind of formal situation is quite uncommon to me. I have to say that this just isn't my cup of tea. Wouldn't you agree Grand Duke?"

I looked to my right to see whom had suddenly begun speaking. There stood a male around my height who silently sipped from the glass he held in his hands very carefully.

"I must say that is in fact true for me too. I just can't get into the whole rich and powerful traditions. Sometimes I feel as if I just want to go back to the house parties we used to have during my time at school. Those were truly the days," I told the stranger.

He flipped his silver hair to the side as he fiddled with the red rose fastened to his black suit. "You really are quite the amusing character aren't you Gran Duke Cain?" he continued.

I looked at him questionably, a feeling of nostalgia coming over me. "I'm sorry, have we met before?" I interrogated.

"Of course we have my friend. Don't tell me that you have forgotten our fight the other day in Draedian already," he smirked. My eyes widened in realisation. He looked quite different in his formal attire but upon further inspection, this person was undoubtedly the Draconian.

Before I could react, the music quickened and i was grabbed suddenly. Caithe pulled me along with her into the centre of the room for a dance. I looked back at the Draconian but a large group of people had walked past and he disappeared amidst the crowd.

"Cain! It's been a while!" Caithe said gleefully as she took the lead in dancing to the accompanying music.

"Yeah, it's been what? Over a year?" my mind was drifting off to the thought of the Draconian whom now lurked inside the walls of the building unnoticed.

"Hey, is something wrong? You seem distant," she stared at me with her head tilted.

"Huh? No I-" I began.

"Don't even spit out those lies," she interrupted, "I know. It's about you and Amelia right? I could tell that the two of you weren't on the best terms from the tone of Amelia's voice. Call it a woman's intuition. Anyway, when I saw you and Amelia blatantly ignore each other, everything became obvious. So... we decided that we would play Cupid." Caithe pointed across the room. I turned my attention in the direction to witness the prince dancing with Amelia on that side.

"Anyway, how have you been?" she pressed.

"I've been great. Things have been kind of tough recently however so forgive my mind for wandering," I told her.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry about everything that happened with Soterios. But I know he is a good person! I'm sure he had a reason for what he did!" she puffed. I smiled at the girl and she emulated. I resisted the urge to tell her the truth about Soterios' motives. It wasn't that I thought she was untrustworthy. It was quite the opposite actually. It was certain that she would try to clear Soterios' name if she knew the truth but I couldn't afford to give Oakhevia ammunition to work against Crethia.

I looked back to the prince and immediately something felt out of place. He was constantly grabbing at Amelia's glutes no matter how many times she pushed his hands away. Immediately I felt a rage build up inside me. I pushed Caithe away and walked towards them briskly.

"Cain? What's going on?"

I grabbed onto the prince's shoulder and spun him around. The instant he faced me I planted a solid punch directly into his face!