Lucina stumbled off the dancefloor, and while doing so, almost tripped up three people.
She’d finally been set free. If only it hadn’t taken her falling face first into the dance floor to accomplish. It was safe to say she wouldn’t be accepting anymore dances tonight.
Someone approached on her flank and let out an exasperated breath. She turned to see Nerin had returned from another dance.
“How many is that now Luce?” he asked.
“Seven I think”.
He sighed. “Hopefully that’s it then”.
“Hey, at least you’re good at it” Lucina complained, “Did you catch my ‘dance’?”.
He smiled, “I may have seen more … graceful attempts in my lifetime, but it wasn’t that bad” Nerin said, “I’ve definitely seen worse”.
“Don’t patronize me” Lucina grumbled and Nerin released a small laugh.
“I’ve seen Eric’s been getting quite a few dances” Nerin stated.
“I’m not surprised. He’s tall, handsome and has got that noble look everyone here loves, for some reason” Lucina said. In the corner of her eye she caught Arthur approaching.
“How’s your face” he smirked.
“Shut it” she snapped. Her frown moulded into a smile. “I saw your dance with Kira. Very smooth”.
“Thanks” Arthur said.
“Where’s Kira now?” Lucina asked.
“Dancing with Eric. Have you guys seen Ike?” Arthur asked, a smile tugging the edges of his mouth.
“No. Where is he?” Lucina asked.
Arthur nodded to the top of the dancefloor. The three of them turned to see Ike dancing with Princess Sera. Dancing better than Lucina did, a lot better.
“Bastard” Lucina mumbled, “he said he couldn’t dance”.
“He can’t” Nerin said, clearly stifling a laugh, “Watch”. They observed as the two of them danced around, hand in hand. Suddenly Ike messed up, it was only small but still clear as day. However, the princess quickly recovered their routine. The two of them burst out laughing and Sera then corrected his form. She was teaching him on the go.
“Very cute” a voice stated behind them. Lucina glanced back to see Eric had returned.
“Good try Luce” Eric said
“Thanks” she muttered, she was really hoping he didn’t see. That meant Lewis and Kate were definitely finding out.
“Hey, you were better than Lewis on his first try” Eric told her. A childish smile sprouted across her face.
“Incoming” Eric suddenly muttered.
Confused Lucina followed his gaze. Behind her, Iason approached but he wasn’t alone. Walking alongside him was a young woman, she had fiery red eyes and the hair to match. Unlike most girls here she wore a red, royal uniform, decorated in medals. Even without seeing the royal crest over her heart, Lucina could confidently guess who this is. Princess Spartas.
“I couldn’t distract her any longer sorry” Iason said. The Thalassi princess glared at her boyfriend.
She sighed, “It’s good to see you again Eric” the princess greeted them. Her gaze locked onto Lucina, it was like staring into an inferno. “You must be, Lewis’s sister, Lucina. I’ve heard great things about you, from everyone”, the princess offered out her hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you” she said. Completely stunned, it took a poke from Arthur to snap her back to reality and she quickly shook the princess’s hands.
“You too” Lucina said, “Your highness”.
Princess Spartas turned to Arthur.
“Arthur, your highness” Arthur greeted and lowered himself into a polite bow.
Her brows raised slightly. “Ah, so you’re Arthur. It’s a privilege to meet you” the princess said happily, “I’ve been told that you’re a remarkable warrior”. Lucina watched as a smile broke across Arthurs face. The princess than glanced around, “I see Lewis declined my invite” the princess suddenly grumbled, her royal demeanour crumbling abruptly.
“I told you he would” Iason murmured. The two of them turned towards each other and began conversing in the Thalassi tongue, leaving Lucina to stand their awkwardly. She looked around at the others but annoyingly she seemed to be the only one with that issue. Maybe she should’ve took the chance to learn some Thalassi from Lewis.
Lucina’s gaze wandered around to room until it landed near the top of dance floor. Her face creased. Ike and Sera were no longer dancing and instead seemingly locked in a conversation with another different group. Except the longer she looked the less it looked like a conversation and more of a confrontation.
As politely as she could Emily excused herself from her dance partner and left the floor. As nice as Hugo from Ceano was, she really wasn’t interested. Emily just prayed to the gods she wouldn’t be asked by anyone else.
In fact she could use a drink.
She began making her way to the bar when something caught her eye. She turned towards the top of the dancefloor to see Princess Elysi and Ike clearly locked into some sort of conflict with another group.
They wore expensive and lavish suits and dresses, clearly noble. She looked at the boy at the front, was that a prince of Lassera. She analysed him closer, It was and it was him. The sixth son, Charles Elayor.
“Great” she grumbled. Then if the situation wasn’t bad enough, it was clear Ike was getting irritated. She’d seen that face and posture many times during their weeks of training. He was about to punch a prince in the face.
Ike took a powerful step forward and the prince’s brows furrowed but Emily quickly caught his shoulder.
“Is there an issue here?” she asked as politely as possible. Best to try and diffuse the situation. Instantly Ike lowered his head and backed up to beside Princess Sera. The group of nobles eyed her strangely.
“Who are you?” Prince Charles questioned, clearly not happy about being interrupted or Ike’s confrontation.
“Emily Jager” Emily responded, making sure to keep a calm and polite demeanour.
“Ah, Jager’s daughter” the prince responded, and he quickly began forcing a friendlier expression on his face.
“General Jager” Emily corrected. Royal or not you referred to a military officer by their title, especially a General of Elysia.
The prince’s lips tightened. “Of course, my apologies I’ve had quite a lot to drink tonight you’ll I have to excuse me, Ma chérie” he said with a small bow. His accent scrapped beneath her skin like a knife, Emily made sure not to shudder.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I’ll ask again. Is there an issue here?” Emily asked. A lot less polite this time round.
“I just wished to congratulate Princess Sera on her earlier fight and offer her a dance and then this boy-”
“Ike” Princess Sera interrupted him and he failed to hide the irritation that burnt across his face. Just like her mother, an icy, imperial armour forged Princess Sera’s expression, “Me and Ike were dancing when Prince Elayor interrupted us and insulted my partner. And you say you wished to ‘congratulate me’, yet all you spoke of was how you believed you could do better”.
The Prince’s eyes went wide and his composure crumbled, “I did no such-”.
“Oh my apologies that was before, when I overheard you speaking among your peers here. And for the record you could not have done better against Princess Kira Tepish than me” Sera stated.
Prince Charles’s face went bright red and Emily caught his fist’s tightening. Despite his reputation, Emily didn’t believe he was stupid enough to try and attack the Princess of Elysia or her company. He may be royal but Princess Sera was of Elysia while he only Laserra and the sixth son at that. However, just in case Emily stood forward, Ike was close behind her. Emily hoped that his noble cohort would help calm the situation but instead they began to support Prince Elayor in his confrontation.
‘Idiots’.
“We could always test your opinion, Prince Charles” a voice said, drawing everyone’s attention.
Kira Tepish approached them, behind her was a tall, beautiful woman. Sebrina Tepish, the Queen of Uralis and beside her was an even taller, stern looking man, with short black hair. A deep scar lined across his face that was emphasised by his dark scowl. Emily knew him, she wouldn’t be surprised if every military officer did, Kasimar Fetoval the head of the Urali royal guard.
Prince Chales paled and his cohort grew sheepish.
“Well?” Princess Kira asked.
The Prince was lost for words. Emily made sure to hide her smile, but Ike made no such obligation.
“I know daughter” the Queen of Uralis spoke happily with a twisted smile, quickly taking over the entire confrontation, “Prince Charles here is also participating in this years ‘special event’, you could test out his skills there”, Queen Tepish’s eyes glanced over the rest of the nobles, like a predator searching for prey, “And not just Prince Charles. Please correct me if I’m wrong but Prince Ricar are you not fighting for Etalus? And Prince Beris you for Sayura? As well as you Princess Crina for Bernoru” Queen Tepish asked, but it was clear she knew she’d made no mistake.
The nobles became as white as Prince Charles. The royals mentioned nodded at Queen Tepish.
“Oh what a battle it’ll be” the Queen said happily, “It will be wonderful to see how talented the upcoming generation will be. Don’t you think so Kasimar?”. Her guard grunted. The Queen turned to Princess Sera with a sincere smile, “You fought wonderfully against Kira my dear, I’ve not seen someone push her to such limits for a long time. I anticipate your next battle”.
“Thank you, your majesty” Princess Sera said. Without another word, the Queen and Kasimar strolled away and Princess Kira remained.
Lucina and the others trailed behind Princess Spartas as she stormed across the ball room. She’d never seen someone’s demeanour switch so fast than when the Thalassi Princess saw the conflict at the top of the dancefloor. Lucina had watched for a while and after observing, who she guess to be, the Queen of Uralis wander away she decided to point it out to the rest of the group. The assholes who’d pressured Sera looked to be losing and Lewis had always told her to strike the enemy when they were weak.
“What seems to be the problem here?” Princess Spartas demanded as she took a position beside Sera and Emily.
“Princess Spartas” the man at the front said completely stunned. Lucina guessed he was the ‘leader’ of this little group. Destroy him and they all fall apart.
“Prince Charles, you wouldn’t be causing issues in my home now would you?” Princess Spartas questioned coldly.
“Of course not your highness. In fact I was just leaving, I believe I may have a bit too much to drink for one night” the Prince said innocently.
‘Bullshit’.
“Good idea wouldn’t want to make any regretful decisions” Iason said.
“I look forward to seeing you all in the coliseum” Kira said.
With a poorly forged smile Prince Charles hurried away, his noble cohort quickly following.
“Bunch of assholes” Eric said.
“He upholds his reputation” Nerin said, he looked at Ike, “You alright?”.
Ike nodded. “Emily interrupted before I did anything stupid”, he turned towards her, “Thanks”.
“Don’t mention it” Emily told him.
She then excused herself to go find her father. Princess Spartas and Iason then left to make sure there weren’t any more disturbances in the ball room. The rest of them returned to their table and the remaining night went well. No one asked her to dance again and she met a few interesting people.
The celebration came to an end. Princess Sera and Kira left to find their families and after the royal families and VIP guests had been safely escorted out, the rest of them were able to leave the palace.
Together as a group they wandered out of the ballroom and into the open air.
“Is it time?” Nerin suddenly asked excited.
“For what?” Lucina asked.
“To go to the actual celebration” Nerin told her. Lucina stared at him confused but Eric and Nerin just grinned.
“Yeah it’s time” Eric confirmed, “Just one moment first”. He turned around. “Emily” he called out, “Do you and your friends want to join us? We’re going to find Lewis and Kate at the beach”.
“And do what?” she asked sceptically.
“Relax” Eric shrugged.
Emily glanced up at her father. General Jager remained silent for moment before a small smile broke his stoic armour.
“Go have some fun” he told his daughter. With a grin Emily and her friends quickly joined them across the palace’s front yard.
“Can you carry us all?” Eric asked Lucina.
“Of course” she confirmed with a cocky smirk. Lucina focused, she channelled her mana into her technique and continued to control its flow, influencing it to obey her desires. The shadows in front of them flowed and gathered forming a towering silhouette. They dispersed back into the darkness revealing a humongous creature, easily capable of carrying them all on its back. Lucina had named her Mobu and although she may not be combat efficient, her transportation ability was unmatched. The easiest way to describe Mobu was a cross between a wyvern and a manta ray. A deep navy, like the abyss of the ocean, she had a tall draconic body, four muscular limbs, a cute face and thick vast fin like wings protruding from its flat back.
“Welcome aboard the Mobu mobile” Lucina exclaimed with a wide gesture to her summon. Mobu then lowered one of wings to allow everyone to climb onto her back. Everyone clambered up, Emily and her friends a bit more cautiously.
With a powerful beat of her wings Mobu lifted into the ground and then the jet like organs on her chest began to propel air and they soared. As they flew across the island Mobu flattened out her body becoming a large platform.
Most of the group sat comfortably in the middle of Mobu’s back as far away from the edge as possible while Lucina and Eric sat upfront by her head.
“Head to the left and towards that coast there” Eric told her. Instantly Mobu listened to Lucina’s will and desires and turned left.
Lewis and Kate sat by the fire passing a whisky bottle back and forth and enjoyed the crackling glow. They left Euna and Hafbor to entertain the kids were they hosted a variety of games from tag to even football.
A diamond shaped, shadow emerged over the beach. Lewis and Kate glanced up to see Mobu descending.
It gently touched the sand a safe distance away and lowered a large wing to allow its passengers to depart. Ike, Nerina and Arthur slid onto the beach and to Lewis’s surprise Emily, Maxim and Amelie as well. Eric, clearly feeling the need to be different, hopped off by its head and lastly Lucina slid down. She patted the huge creature on before deactivating the summon. The dragon manta ray dissolved into the shadows.
“The party has arrived” Eric greeted them with open arms before taking a seat beside Kate.
“The party was already here” Lewis corrected, handing him the whisky bottle, “you guys just arrived”. The newcomers began gathering around the fire. “There’s food and drinks in the bags. Help yourself” he told them.
Nerin instantly got himself a drink, followed by Emily and her friends who eagerly grabbed some food and a bottle of wine and then took a seat on some large rocks. However, Lucina, Arthur and Ike didn’t move from the fire. Instead she stared at him, innocently with big eyes. Exactly like she did when she was a child and wanted something from him. “You can each have two drinks maximum” Lewis told them. Bright grins shone on their faces as they rushed to grab their alcoholic beverages.
“Big day tomorrow. Well for me and Eric” Kate said and handed the bottle to Lewis.
“Eric makes sense, he’s fighting. But how is it for you?” Lewis questioned, before taking a swig of whisky.
“I’m helping out with security” Kate explained, “General Zeit offered up my skills to the coliseum”.
“Fair enough” Lewis conceded.
“How are you feeling about tomorrow?” Lewis asked Eric.
“Honestly, a little excited” Eric stated, “It’ll fun to let loose and see some of the competition”.
Lewis nodded understandably and took another drink of the bottle before handing it off.
“How was the celebration?” Kate asked.
“It was actually alright” Eric said. Lewis snorted but they ignored him. “There was a little issue with that Lasseran Prince Charles but it was peacefully ended with the help of Kira and Pyra” Eric explained.
Kate grumbled and then claimed the bottle for herself “Not that little shit”.
“I hope it was peaceful” Lewis stated, “Never met him, but according to his reputation he loves to hold a grudge”.
“And he’s an idiot too, so he does things with no care for the consequence until it’s too late. Should hear about the amount of times his family have bailed him out of trouble” Kate told them.
“Doubt he’ll cause trouble, pissed off or not. You should’ve seen it, Kira scared him shitless” Eric explained.
Kate chuckled, “Now that’s something I would’ve loved to see”.
As the three of them sat there Lewis thought about telling them about what Korra and Azra had asked of him. After a moment, he decided against it. Best not ruin the mood, it could wait until after the Atlas games.
Nerin, Euna and Hafbor joined them by the fire and as they bathed under the stars the bottle was quickly drained. Lewis checked the time.
‘Shit’. Becka was going to kill him. He quickly sent the all the kids home, trusting Emily to get them back to the hotel safely. The rest of them then cleaned up the area and then made their own way back. Utilising magic to quickly bound across the island and arrive at the same time as Emily and the kids.