Messenger

Chapter 21

 One downside of a circular ballroom was that there were no freaking corners to hide in which was a shame since Flower's never wanted to do just that more. The meal part of this whole thing wasn't the worst due to everyone having a place that was outside of Flower's personal space, but when the dancing started and more drinks got carried out, that might as well have been thrown out the window. Of course, there was very little she could do about it. You can't say no to the nobility of "your people."

It was barely ten minutes into the choreographed part of the night and four people had already requested a dance and per the laws of ego-inflated fancy boys, Flower had to say yes, penciling their name into a small book of songs. She wasn't even that good at dancing; average at best although she knew that was far from the reason behind it.

Some people were curious, and Flower couldn't blame them for that. The issue was when others expected her to be some blushing, shy princess that would fawn over the first guy that looks her way as if they completely forgot Flower's whole rep. That's where things went south fast. To put it lightly, a mass of over-confidence wasn't attractive. Frankly, it made no sense why those people thought they could sweep her off her feet with wealth and power; she'd always have them outmatched, not that Flower was looking for that anyway. Sadly, 'wanting to hang out with a cute guard that isn't a certified creep' isn't a valid excuse to turn someone down.

"Your Majesty." A stout man in a ruffled costume leaned into a bow a few feet from Flower, standing along one of the curved walls. "If I may have the honor of a dance this evening?"

Here we go again. "Did you have a song in mind?"

"Yes. I was told that Sonate da Chiesa would be played la--"

"Hey, Flower, Maika has a leaf or two on the hem of her dress and you have a better chance of telling her than me." Piko informed walking up from beside the center crowd. Flower wasn't sure if she should hug him for getting her out of that or hit him.

The small-ish guy looked like he was voting for the latter. "Excuse me, but you would benefit from learning some respect. Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"

"Oh..umm... my apologies." Ruffle apparently wasn't good with just that. "Princess." He dipped into his own less exaggerated bow.

Well, might as well use this to an advantage. Flower stood up straighter and put on her best annoyed face. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have a word with this one." Piko paled as the other grinned smugly.

"Of course."

If looks could kill, Piko would be dead twenty times over. "That was really stupid on your part."

"Sorry. I didn't see him." Piko interlaced his hands behind his back with his head tilted downward as if he was getting the scolding of a lifetime.

"I can't blame you there, but Ruffle's probably keeping an eye on us, so I need to look like I'm mad at you."

Realization dawned on Piko's face. "So you don't care?"

"Nah. You saved me from having to dance with another dude twice my age and half my height." On the bright side, after a few songs, people will hopefully figure out that Flower wasn't about to match the perfect dance polish they're bringing to the table and stop asking.

"Oh, ok. Is that normal?" He asked, moving to lean against the same wall.

"Sadly, yes, but people'll get the hint once the songs get going."

Flower smoothed one of her unruly hairpins while Piko raised a questioning look. "Get the hint of what?"

"That I suck at this stuff. In case you haven't noticed, graceful traditions aren't exactly my thing especially when everyone here thinks that they're the best at it." She stated, shrugging.