Mira

Mira was hungry again. It had been a couple of hours since the event had started, and, as always, she had to hold back eating at such events because 'stuffing yourself isn't lady-like'.

She was sitting at a table while thinking about what kind of snack would do to bridge her over to the end of the evening when someone sat down at her table.

Her visitor wore a gentle smile, a rare sight on him. Mira could only remember it on the man's face when he conversed with her. His body had bulked up in the past years, and he was close to being an adult at seventeen years old. His brown hair was still cut short, and it was hard not to consider him reasonably handsome.

"Greetings, your highness," the man said, keeping his smile on.

"Julius," Mira replied with a polite smile. She didn't have the energy for the House Wulfen heir, but she could hardly run away now that he had caught her unaware. "How are you doing?"

"Tired. These events tend to be draining for me, and I can't even imagine how they are for someone in your position," Julius replied and gave her a sympathetic look.

That earned him a real smile. Few people noticed or cared about the strain that being a royal at a ball caused. Mira still loved these kinds of events. The luxury, the beautiful outfits on both men and women, the food, and, importantly, the dance.

"Ah, right, the main reason I came over was because I had something for you," Julius seemed to remember and pushed the small plate he had brought between them.

Mira looked at the small white pastries. She hadn't seen them before.

"What are they?"

"Diggle Puffs. They are made with the name-giving Diggle Berries. They have an energizing effects that help you stay awake and revitalize your body for a while, but more importantly, they are sweet and taste great. I got some from a trader, who got them from the Green Sea to the far North-West and decided to share them with you, if you want," Julius explained with a satisfied expression.

Mira picked up one of the little pastries, not wanting to seem rude, and tasted it. The taste exploded in her mouth, a sweet and sour combination like she hadn't had before.

"Oh, this is great," Mira melted a little in her seat while quickly stuffing the rest of the little piece of joy into her mouth.

Julius laughed. "I thought that you would enjoy those."

He picked up one for himself and pushed the plate with the remaining one toward Mira, who gladly took it.

They sat in silence while savoring the strong flavor. Mira took this second one much slower, not wanting to part with the sensation too quickly.

Julius, on the other hand, finished his in two bites and then began scanning the surrounding crowd until his gaze ended on the dance floor.

"It seems that my sister is back to her usual antics," Julius said, and Mira quickly followed his gaze to see Michael dance with Amelia while laughing and talking.

A smile fell on Mira's face. See couldn't help but like Amelia even with the constant trouble Mira seemed to have with the rest of her family. Amelia was a rebel through and through, which was clear by the fact that she was amusing herself with someone who was very publicly at odds with her house.

"If I didn't know better, I would say they are a match made in heaven," Mira replied, and just imagined the fire that kind of match would light.

"Oh, please don't. I can already imagine how many blood vessels my father would burst if my dear sister came to him with that idea. Not that it would be out of character," Julius picked up her joke and smiled with her.

Mira continued watching her friend and the daughter of House Wulfen. They were looking good, maybe not as good as she would look in that situation, but still good. The fact that Amelia was half a head taller than Michael due to their age difference made some movements a little awkward, but they covered that up well.

"He is quite impressive," Julius continued when Mira didn't say anything else.

Mira looked at him with surprise plastered on her face. She was a hundred percent certain that Julius hated Michael, not only from their few interactions but also from his tone and expression every time the young Lord of the South came up in conversations. It wasn't that rare that Mira and Julius ended up in the same gatherings, and lately gossip about Michael had become quite common.

"I am surprised to hear you say that," Mira admitted.

Julius shrugged. "I am just saying it as I see it. If only half the stories one hears about him are true, then he has accomplished more in the few years of his life than others do in the entirety of their own. He has been tossed in a situation where he had the ability to do so, to be fair, but he did take those opportunities without hesitation."

That was more like it. Julius probably thought that he could have done the same if he had just been put into power at that age, but at least he recognized the achievement, which was already more than the dismissive attitude the duke's son had had toward Michael for the longest time.

Julius then turned back to her. "Why don't we join them? I trust that the little treat has done its job?"

Mira did feel energized. The berries must have been some kind of magical ingredient, like those potions that were popping up all over. It surprised her a little because most tonics, foods, or similar products that praised themselves with some effect or another were usually scams or just made to make you think they had the effect.

It had been a pleasant conversation all in all, which wasn't too out of the ordinary. Julius had always been nice to her.

She was just about to agree to a dance when one of the servants walking by their table tripped on some cutlery that someone had dropped and only barely managed to catch himself. He didn't manage to prevent some of the drinks on his tablet from falling and spilling their contents on the ground, and some light splashes on Mira's yellow and white dress.

The server immediately froze before starting to apologize profusely, but Mira didn't get a chance to say anything before Julius rose from his chair and turned to the frightened man.

"What kind of incompetent are you?" he growled at the man. "Do you see what you have done? That dress is worth more than you make in years, and you have ruined it."

The man seemed to sink into himself even more, obviously realizing whom he had splashed and who was now admonishing him.

"It is fine, Julius. I barely got anything on me, and you can't even see it that much," Mira tried to defend the serve, but Julius would have none of it.

"They are being paid to do a job, and when they screw up that job, you need to let them know. A good ruler can't stand for incompetence," Julius told her, and then turned back to the frightened servant. Many eyes had turned toward them by now, drawn in by the clinking of glasses and Julius' loud voice.

"Honestly, I am going to have to have a talk with whoever thought it was a good idea to even employ an idiot like you. You should hope that you will only be fired rather than required to pay for that dress, or your incompetence will follow your family for years," Julius continued ranting while everyone else watched curiously. It wasn't unusual to see nobles rant at the servants, and even if anyone took offense, they wouldn't voice it against the heir of one of the Five Dukedoms.

Mira violently rose from her chair just as Julius wanted to say something else, and the screeching of the chair managed to get his and everyone else's attention.

"Leave him be!" Mira ordered loudly and then stepped toward Julius. "You know, Julius. If you were even half as nice to other people as you are to me, I might actually enjoy your company."

With those words, Mira left the stunned boy behind to the whispers of the audience and headed straight for the dance floor.

She wove through the dancing pairs with ease until she came up to Michael and Amelia, who stopped when they noticed her coming.

"Your Highness," Amelia said with a curtsy and looked in the direction that Mira had come from with interest.

Mira gave her a very short and very polite smile before saying, "I am sorry for cutting your dance short, but I have need of Lord Rowan. Please excuse my intrusion."

Amelia lowered her head with a cheeky smile. "Of course, my princess." She then turned to Michael. "I hope we can do this again, but for now, you seem to be needed."

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Michael bowed deeply. "I hope so, too, and my apologies for running out on you like this."

She waved him off and easily wove her way in the direction where the political carnage of Mira's actions was quickly unfolding.

Michael seemed utterly confused as to what was happening as Mira pulled him through the hall.

"Where are we going?" he asked, but didn't even try to break free from her grasp.

"Out," was the only answer he got.

Mira's mood had been totally ruined, and she really didn't want to deal with the fallout right now. This entire event would devolve into whispers and gossiping about her outburst in a few moments, and she didn't have the nerve for that, and definitely not for when her brother or mother got their hands on her.

They managed to pick up Theodore on the way, leaving him similarly confused to Michael as he got swept up and dragged along.

Tara joined them a few moments before they reached the door and came bouncing toward Mira with a happy expression. She basically fell into her friend, throwing her arms around her.

"I guess you already heard," Mira concluded.

"Heard what?" Theodore asked, but was ignored.

"Heard? No, I saw everything. It was great. Well, not everything was great, but you were great," Tara bubbled happily.

"What even happened?" Michael tried his luck but didn't get any further than Theodore with his inquiry as Tara fussed over the princess.

Michael

Michael had no idea what had happened. One moment, he was talking with the daughter of Duke Wulfen, and the next, he was being dragged out of the hall by a frustrated Mira, refusing to explain.

She didn't even have a plan on where to go and just stood there aimlessly once they had the clear sky over their heads. They stood there watching the rising moon and stars for a while until Michael decided to direct them toward the little camp the southern retainers had made for themselves in the gardens.

They had made their camp at the shores of the little pond. Michael still had good memories of that place from back in the day and agreed with their choice.

Michael and the others were quickly welcomed and placed around the fire on which meat on sticks was currently cooking. Michael looked around, only finding Kiran, Pan, and Eydis in the crowd. He had had a somewhat heated discussion with Zen about bringing not only barbarians, not even just mages, but a barbarian mage beastwoman into the palace. He hadn't appreciated it without a heads-up, but had still allowed it.

"Where are the others?" Michael asked Eydis, referring to the other knights of his guard.

Eydis shrugged and then signed, "Silas complained and said they should go to a place with proper drinks and less proper women. Zeke went along to keep an eye on them."

"Aren't Silas and Zeke both married with kids?" Michael asked

"Won't stop them from drinking, I guess," Eydis replied.

Michael shrugged and decided to trust their judgment. He might have to knock some heads together later, but that was a problem for the future him.

As he turned back to his friends, he heard the tail end of Mira's little tale, and she was getting agitated again as she recounted how Julius shamed the servant.

"He is an ass, not much you can do about that. But let's not let this night be ruined by him. We need some music here," Michael announced, the last part loudly, and pulled both Tara and Mira to their feet.

It was Sir Helbrect, knight-commander of the House Grim knights, who was first to play a tune on his flute, quickly joined in by other retainers with musical abilities. Their song was less clean than the music played in the palace and much quicker as well.

Their camp was one of the bigger ones, having attracted many of the lower-ranking visitors of the palace who now joined in the dance.

Michael paired with Mira, and Theodore with Tara, but they were hardly the only ones. Pan seemed very happy staying on the sidelines while Kiran had found two older women to spend his time with.

"How was your wife hunt?" Mira asked as they started slowly.

Michael smirked. "I felt more hunted than like the hunter. But it was fun teasing the overly stiff ones. I gotta say, some strange people are running around in the capital."

"Why do you think it is that I have so few friends around here?" Mira chuckled. "Most people here seem incapable of being just friends. It is exhausting."

"I believe that," Michael replied and then hesitated. "What about Amelia Wulfen? What do you know about her?"

He hadn't been sure if he wanted to talk about her. It would give a clue that their little dance was more than just a whim. Michael knew he could trust Mira with everything, but she wasn't the only one around, far from it.

Mira's eyes widened in shock and something else for a split second, and then her expression turned smug. "Really? Of all the girls you had to choose from, you picked Amelia Wulfen?"

"What?" Michael asked, confused, and then embarrassed.

"I do understand. She is funny and nice and not as stuck-up as most other noble daughters," Mira continued with a teasing tone, pointedly ignoring Michael's attempts to explain himself.

"Wait ... No, I didn't ... I wasn't...," Michael tried, but blood was shooting into his head and his tongue and brain seemed to be of differing opinions on what they should say right now.

"Not to mention her looks. She is tall, has a sense of style, and beautiful hair. She is quite honestly gorgeous," Mira said, and her eyes seemed to be fixed on Michael's reaction.

Michael didn't manage much of a reaction. Everything he said turned into a jumbled mess.

"I'm just kidding," Mira laughed and poked him in the side with he hand.

They danced for a moment in silence until Michael said quietly, "You are prettier than her."

"What did you say?" Mira asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I said, you are prettier than her. So, if I were to go for looks, I wouldn't go for Amelia Wulfen. I was just curious about her because I never met her before," Michael explained, still red as an apple.

Mira seemed taken aback, joining him in being beet red, but then smiled happily. "Thank you. And really, I was just kidding."

Michael nodded, and they continued in silence. It was nice, no one was really paying them any attention, and they could just relax after the stress of the day.

"Look at them," Mira poked him out of his thoughts and pointed to where Theodore and Tara were.

Michael looked over and found them seemingly having a lot of fun. Tara was like a whirlwind moving around Theodore, who was more like a rock, giving them stability. Tara was laughing freely while Theodore was trying to keep his face from cramping under a broad grin.

"They seem to be having fun," Michael commented with a smile.

Mira stared at him, trying to ascertain if he was serious, and then began laughing at him. "You really are blind sometimes."

"Why?" he asked and looked back to his friends to find what he was missing. It took a moment for the obvious to click in his mind. "Nooo. You mean?"

"Of course," Mira laughed. "I never saw Theodore grin that broadly."

"What about Tara? Does she feel the same?" Michael asked, being way out of his depths.

"She is your cousin," Mira pointed out.

"We ... don't really talk about that stuff. She did try very hard to avoid being approached by anyone at the parties, though, now that I think about it," Michael admitted.

"They would be so cute together," Mira fantasized.

"I think that would cause a whole lot of inheritance problems, considering they are both the heir of their respective houses," Michael pointed out and earned an annoyed expression for his effort.

"You are such a romantic, Michael."

They changed topics after a little more teasing.

"Do you remember that night after we had to play servants for an evening? This is the spot we danced, or at least quite close to it," Mira said.

"I remember. Even with everything going on then, that was a great day," Michael replied, his gaze swinging over to the pond that reflected the moon and stars.

"You created a ball of light for us to dance under, and we had so much fun. Times were better back then, simpler. Now, Zen couldn't even join us out here if he wanted, and we have all our own duties to worry about." Mira's eyes were filled with longing for those simpler times, and Michael drew her a little closer out of reflex.

He thought for a moment about how to cheer her up and then grinned. "How about we show these chumps how to party correctly, then?"

Mira looked at him, a little confused.

"Just follow my lead," Michael said, and pulled her more to the center of the crowd, and they found a spot with a little more space.

The next song started conveniently right as they settled in. It was a slightly slower song with a duo of a man and a woman adding their bardic talents to the mix.

As Michael and Mira began moving with the music, he began leaking mana from his skin. Small motes of light surrounded them and flowed with every move.

Mira marveled at the motes as they followed her movements and clung close to her skin and the flowy parts of her bright dress.

They moved left to right and back, not even touching each other as they both sank into the music.

People started to notice the motes and turned their attention to the two teenagers who seemed to be the source of the magic. Many stopped their own dances to watch, the magical display drawing their interest, but Michael and Mira paid them little attention.

They finally moved in on each other, Michael lightly taking her left hand into his right, drawing her close before she pulled back again. She circled him, her eyes on his.

Two, three, four steps, then she moved in. He caught her and whirled her around. The motes of light sparked off her dress, giving her movements an afterimage effect and causing her to glow while Michael was only illuminated by her light.

They continued through more moves that could have been considered dancing or fighting moves, depending on the context. More and more did they draw the attention of people as the light increased, and they began to clap in the rhythm of the song.

Michael sent out more motes, having them coalesce into larger orbs that pulsed all around in different colors.

"Up you go," Michael said with a grin and symbols gathered around his arm.

Mira blinked at him, not understanding what he meant, but before she could ask anything, a plane of hard light materialized under her feet and lifted her into the air rapidly.

Her dress billowed, and Michael flinched for a moment, not having considered that moving someone into the air in a dress might have been a bad idea when a very convenient gust of air pushed the dress down and prevented any possible accidents. He made a mental note to thank Pan for being smarter than he was.

Mira didn't seem to mind either way. Joy was radiating off her face as she spun on the plane, sending sparks of light everywhere. The ground underneath her feet moved with her as she invented new moves on the fly. Dancing alone wasn't something taught in noble society after all.

She got faster and faster to a point that Michael was certain that she must have been using up the little mana she had to perform the quick sequences. Mira seemed to have more mana than Michael had thought she did. Maybe her well had grown as they did so often in puberty.

Michael, for one, was completely captured by the display, and he wasn't the only one. People were now predominantly staring up at the princess, covered in multicolored light and excitedly clapping along to the dance.

It took a little bit of effort to break out of his stupor, but Michael moved underneath her and dismissed his hard light.

Not a moment of fear was to be seen on the princess as she fell. She had not the faintest doubt who would be waiting for her. Michael caught her just a few heartbeats later.

Their eyes met as he spun towards the left, and for a moment, they were alone. Michael didn't know what was happening, but he knew that he didn't want this moment to end.

It was just a moment, though, and rushed past like moments had a tendency to do.

Michael lowered her into the spin, and she didn't even miss a beat. Once her feet hit the ground, she was gone.

Tara was right there. The redhead caught Mira and spun with her until they stopped in a tight hug. They were both laughing, and the audience broke into thunderous applause.

Michael smiled as multiple hands hit his shoulders and praised him. He paid them little attention. His mind was focused on someone else, even if he was confused about why.

Today was a good day.

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