The ball proceeded smoothly as nobles and mages socialized with the help of good food and wine. Darius found a nice cushioned seat to rest on with his squires as he ate some tasty meat dishes and watched the party unfold. He watched as men and women danced arm in arm, whispering sweet nothings to one another, and saw as different mages and nobles tried to ingratiate themselves to different key people at different points in the party. His father seemed to be left alone as he spent the night dining with his mother and a few other men and women at a large round table.

"Are you ok, young master?" Talia looked around nervously as she asked.

"Yes, why? What is the matter?"

"You seem to be thinking about something, Lord. You've been quiet for a long time."

Darius smiled, "Sometimes it is better to be quiet when you have nothing to say than to be loud while saying nothing." He laughed as Talia tried to digest what he said, "You don't need to overthink anything, Talia. Just relax and eat something. You might as well enjoy your first true party in your lifetime."

"Yes, Lord!"

The afternoon soon passed, and night quietly began.

In the background, the music slowly changed as the evening light dimmed. Softer and slower musical notes drifted amongst the crowd as the King made his way up to the stage.

"Welcome, everyone! We are so very happy that so many of you could make it to this small gathering today! My daughter, Helen, is on her first step toward not only womanhood but also rulership. She is already taking her first steps in leadership and magic, and I could not be more proud of her!"

King James took a deep breath: as he continued, "Lindon, Eric, Tilsa, and Harth: the four of you have a responsibility. A responsibility to protect Helen from all danger, whether that danger is physical or not. You are to support her: and follow her through any roads she must travel. All of you will become her sword, her shield, and eventually her Knight." He looked at all four of them in order before saying, "To become a knight is to become a servant."

The children looked confused as he paused. Usually, knights were described as heroic men of honor and valor, not servants, but before the crowd could get upset the King continued, "To be a king is also to be a servant. I serve the people of Elion, and my knights serve me in turn. Honor and valor are essential to any knight, and to care for one's master above all else is the highest honor. I hope you can show that through your actions and your lives. To Helen! My beautiful daughter!"

The crowded room roared as people began clapping and cheering.

All four of Darius' squires looked at the King, contemplating his words. Though, Aaron looked less like he was contemplating and more like he was disgusted.

"Now everyone! Let's all dance and enjoy the rest of the evening! What would a celebration be without food and dance!" The King leaped from the stage, causing half the crowd to gasp. As soon as he reached his wife, he lifted her out of her chair and spun her. The King and Queen laughed as the party reached a peak.

The music grew pitched and fevered as the tempo began to rise. Men and women began to clap as many began to dance. Darius looked at his father in the distance: he had been talking to several people, but there was a tinge of sadness clouding his father's face when he looked at Darius's mother.

A sadness Darius would crush.

He renewed his resolve... Before someone interrupted him.

"E-excuse me, Lord Northwood?" Golden hair and eyes like her father's. The Princess walked up to Darius with nervous energy.

Darius immediately stood up, and his squires followed him, "Lady Helen, I am no Lord. Call me, Darius. Is there something I can help you with?"

The young Princess shifted in place as she tried to come up with the words she wanted to say, "L-lo, Darius? I'd like to apologize for earlier." She lowered her head with a look of shame.

"Your squires are a bit... well energetic, but there is no reason for you to apologize. If they keep acting like that in the future then I'd say an apology is in order. Get them under control, and you'll be fine." Darius glanced toward Aaron as he said this.

"Well, I'm sorry anyway. I should have said something right away! I'd like to make it up to you somehow. Would you like to dance? I'm sure I can think of something to make it up to you!" The nervous and shifty Princess couldn't help but shuffle back and forth as she spoke to Darius.

"Well, I'm not much of a dancer, but..." Darius looked at the glaring squires behind her and said, "Maybe I can make an exception." He reached forward and grabbed her hand. Shock was evident on her face as he pulled her to him. It only took Darius a few seconds to imitate the dances of those around him.

He glanced around at adults and children alike, doing his best to add more and more to the dance with every step he took. The Princess seemed like she had been trained in dancing and etiquette, but she was only five. She hadn't been trained in the more complicated dances and spins that some of the older adults were engaged in.

"Wa-wait! I don't know how to do that!"

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"Just relax, Princess. I know a thing or two about martial arts and dances. Follow my lead." He took a step forward while leading her in a perfect waltz matching the adults around him perfectly.

"That's right a dance is rather simple when you get the hang of it. It's a rhythm. Left, right, back now right again. Take a step back and repeat. Very good." He smiled as she began to get more comfortable.

"Now we can add a move."

The Princess, giggled as Darius spun her around before catching her before she hit the floor.

"That's fun! Can we do that again!" It didn't take long for the Princess to forget about the party as she was more focused on the fun she was having in the present. What started as an apology quickly became a dance lesson, and for the Princess much more.

Darius could only raise an eyebrow in response before starting the dance again. He looked at his squires, who seemed in a stare-down with Helen's guard puppies, and shook his head. This wasn't exactly how he imagined this ball going.

********

Darien rolled his way over to the King after his rather passionate dance with the queen; and began speaking, "It's been a while, James. I'm glad to see you are alive and well." He glanced at the king and queen with a bit of mischievousness as he said, "Maybe another Prince or Princess will be on the way after that?"

Elaine grunted as she slapped the back of his head, "Darien!"

"Haha! Maybe, maybe! Well, I can't complain about my problems when I see you." James was clearly going through an internal struggle as he asked, "How's your magic?"

"Hahahaha! Of course, you'd ask James." Darien burst into laughter and tears at the monarch of Elion's uncomfortable death stare.

"I'm crippled." Before the King could react, wind surrounded them in a soundproof barrier. Elaine stood next to her husband: as she looked around the crowd at curious preying nobles.

"But my magic is fine. It's a bit of a miracle that my mana heart didn't burst in my chest and turn me into a vegetable, after what I tried to pull in Ayes. My magic is completely recovered, James. Melissa is a fantastic healer for a reason."

Relief washed over the King's face at the news. "I don't wish to appear like a heartless monarch only interested in your usefulness, Darien, but these are trying times. You are my lifelong friend and confidant no matter what your status is with magic."

Darien smirked at the King and said, "But you still have to ask right? I'm no fool, James. The fact of the matter is we are in a difficult situation. Argon can't afford to deal with us right now, but danger lurks everywhere." His face grew cold as ice as he growled, "Denny came back from the forest. He was horrified by whatever he saw in there and claimed a monster wave unlike anything before is coming. The longer a monster recession the bigger the wave, and it's already been a few months, James. This is huge."

"Yes, if word somehow got out to Argon or enemy spies. I have no idea how they might react. A monster wave is the last thing we need to be dealing with right now." James looked toward the ceiling as he sighed, "It almost feels like a divine power is trying to wipe us off the map. First Argon... Now, this. I just don't know what to do anymore."

"We do what we've always done. We strategize, we fight, and sometimes we kill. Twenty years ago when the last big monster wave struck us: Argon had started a small war with us then. The previous Emperor was testing the waters, but before the situation could devolve into all-out war the Emperor died. His death was a bit strange, but it couldn't have come at a better time. Lucius took his place and stabilized his power, and we were able to recover from the monster wave as a result. I broke through the wall at that time and became a 5th Circle mage and took on fame as the Salamander."

Darien looked at the king and smiled, "And now I've faced the shitty lightning Emperor and the Black Tower Master on the same fucking day. In the same fucking battle. It's a miracle I'm even alive, and I am grateful but..." He looked at his legs. "I took a heavy loss from that battle. I'm working on learning flight magic now to help mitigate my disability a bit more, but I need to tell you something." Darien bit his lip and grimaced. "I have a plan. I'm going to tell this plan to Joseph soon and see what he thinks, but I thought I'd tell you first."

The King got drawn in as Darien said, "I'm planning to..."

**********

"Would anyone like to show off their magical abilities? Tonight is about showmanship! In an hour we will have some exciting battle magic to entertain you all with, but before then..." The fire mage flipped in the air as the flame circles enclosed his spinning body like the sun and the moon. "I'm wondering if any of you would like to show off any tricks or magics you've been working on!"

The crowd cheered as the Princess' squires got out of their chairs.

When they went up the stage, Darius realized that this was a publicity stunt of some form. The Royal family was showing off a bit of their power and potential to the other noble families and the like. Darius focused on the stage, curious about what other noble children could do with magic.

He soon found out.

Lindon the brat squad's leader walked up the stairs to the middle of the stage. An arrogant smirk marked his face as he looked at the crowd, "May I try?"

"Why of course, young squire!" The clown moved the side as Lindon began channeling his mana. Lindon looked Darius in the eye with a bit of challenge as began to chant, "I call upon the spirit of ice! Grant me your cool touch and cold embrace, Frost Hand!" Like an actor in a play, Lindon made a pose while clenching his right hand into a fist. It went from pinkish-white to blue as ice quickly formed, covering his hand in an icy blue sheen. Cold steam could be seen emanating from his hand before he ran out of mana. Exhausted, he took a deep breath while looking at Darius with a look of triumph.

Eric, Tilsa, and Harth all cast their spells next. It took them longer to cast the spells, but they all managed to do so. Arrogance was clearly evident in their little eyes.

"That's amazing! They just became squires but are already capable of casting 1st Circle magic! Give a round of applause for the Royal Squires!"

Clapping and cheering took over the venue as the four squires bowed to their noble audience.

"Amazing! The young mages and knights of our kingdom will lead us to a brighter era! I wish you all the best! Is there anyone else who would like to test their mettle?" Before the entertainer could choose someone, Lindon took a step forward and shouted, "I'd like to see Lord Darius cast a spell! I wonder if the Tower Master's son can show us the kind of power that only the best and brightest can afford!"

The way the little brat smirked at Darius made him annoyed. He looked at the four squires for a bit before saying, "Why not. Daniel, Talia, Roderick, Aaron, you four follow me!"

Darius leisurely made his way up to the stage as his squires followed anxiously behind him. Talia particularly showed very little expression. "Talia, just do your best. You're about to wow the crowd with your magic. I guarantee it." He looked away from his squires as he watched Lindon and the rest of the brat gang huddle together on the stage with their arms crossed.

Princess Helen was in the crowd, looking nervous at the sudden development.

"Lord, are you ready? I'm curious just how far the cripple's son is above the rest of us?"

The air seemed to stop for a moment.

People on stage began to feel a prickly sensation behind their necks.

Even the entertainer froze in place.

Darius' red eyes resembled those of a wild beast as he looked through Lindon like an empty glass bowl.

"I-I" Lindon stuttered.

"It's fine. Though, I must warn you." A tiny sliver of killing intent leaked out of Darius as he said, "If you speak of my father again. In any form of jest or condescending nature... I'll beat you down so thoroughly, you'll have trouble looking anyone in the eye again for the rest of your miserable existence." His face showed no anger or rage. Only an expression that showed he wasn't making an empty threat, and Lindon could barely breathe.

People began whispering off the stage, wondering what was going on.

"Kids, show 'em what you got. Cast the spell you are most comfortable with. Don't pay attention to the people out there or the people on stage just pay attention to me. Just like training at home." A simple smile eased the four squires as Darius stood in front of them.

“Oh spirit of fire, let yourself be manifest, flame wick.” A small iridescent flame appeared above Darius' palm. It flickered with a steady light before circling around Darius' body and doing little flips in the air.

"Woah!" Gasps of admiration came from all around as the audience clapped for the display.

Soon all four of his squires brought forth a tiny flame and began controlling them. Aaron took a few more seconds before catching up with the others.

"Amazing! Ph-phenomenal! As expected from the Red Tower Master's son and his squires! I'm looking forward to seeing all of you in the future!" He looked at Princess' squires who seemed to be burning with envy as he said, "And the four of you as well! The Princess is lucky to find talents such as yourselves!" The entertainer was quick to change the mood on stage as he moved the subject along.

"Would anyone else like to show off a bit of magic? We still have quite a bit of time left before the combat demonstrations later on in the evening."