JiYeong twisted in front of the mirror, unable to believe the person she saw was really her. The Sylphs always did an amazing job at making her feel that way, though.

The dress was surprisingly shorter than what JiYeong was used to them making. It fell just past her thighs, form-fitting at the top and flaring from the waist down. If she spun around it would billow out. The fabric was soft. The sleeves went past her wrists, allowing her to pull them down over the palms of her hands. The back had an opening in the shape of a heart.

It was unsurprisingly the deep blue color that she’d come to associate with Criesal. They put her in soft gold heels, thankfully not too high since she'd complained about not being able to walk in heels of any kind. The color matched the ribbon they’d used to tie the front of her hair up with, a few tendrils framing her face and the rest being left to fall down her back.

“Do you like it?” Luvie asked, clapping her hands together excitedly.

“I always like the way you guys make me look,” JiYeong said, smiling at the Sylph. She’d learned during her training with Shiloh that Sylph’s were naturally talented at skills such as Weaving and Tailoring, so it made sense that they were so fast and good at making a wardrobe that fit, despite the fact that she had spent nearly every day with JiYeong since she’d been here.

There was a brief knock on the door and Shiloh was coming in, a smile forming her face at the sight of JiYeong. “Gorgeous, as always.”

“Thanks but... shouldn’t I be in armor?”

Shiloh was already shaking her head. “Today is sort of like a pre-ball. Everyone will be dressed semi-formally. Are you ready?”

The question felt more loaded than it sounded, but JiYeong nodded anyway.

Shiloh lead her to the Throne Room where Mathieu would be waiting. It was comforting knowing that because he was both a Prince and a Lord Knight, Mathieu would be the one escorting her during the weekend.

Mathieu was standing in the middle of the room when they finally reached it, his hands folded behind his back. At the sound of the door opening he turned and, upon seeing JiYeong, smiled widely. “Good evening.”

“Hi.” JiYeong returned his smile. He looked very much like a Prince in the clothing he was wearing; a crisp deep blue shirt and black pants. He had a blue and gold sash on, sword attached to his hip. A small gold crown sat atop his hair, which was slicked back into a ponytail.

“You look beautiful.” He said as she neared him.

“You don’t look too bad yourself.”

Mathieu chuckled, holding his arm out. “Ready?”

“No.”

Mathieu placed his hand gently on hers, walking out of the Throne Room towards the garden. “You will be fine. You will be with my mother and brother for the first while. A few Royals may come to talk to you but today is mostly for them to arrive and to get introduced. A bit of a mingle before we have to endure the seriousness of tomorrow.”

“Where will you be?”

“Around. I am a Prince, but I am also a Lord Knight. Think of it as me performing double duty.”

“That can’t be fun.”

An amused smile quirked on Mathieu’s lips when he noticed JiYeong was pouting. “It is what I signed up for. And what you agreed to.”

As they entered the garden, JiYeong couldn’t help but let out an “oooh.” There was an arch with gold roses marking the entrance, stepping stones paving the way. Along the edges were white and deep blue cherry blossom trees, a color JiYeog was sure wasn’t possible without some type of Magick manipulation. The slight breeze caused the petals to swirl around the air and onto the ground, creating a beautiful scene.

It was quickly getting colder out, the leaves on the trees surrounding the castle gone. It hadn’t begun snowing significantly yet but there were a few flurries here and there.

Despite the beginnings of winter, the cold bite to the air didn’t reach the garden.

“How pretty.”

“The garden is one of my favorite places to unwind,” Mathieu said as he led her down the path. “It is one of the more famous sights in Whitewall.”

It wasn’t hard to see why. The garden itself was just as beautiful as the entrance had been, flowers of various shades of gold, blue and white decorating the ground. There was another pathway that led to a pond that was surrounded by a half-circle of cherry blossom trees. A bench sat off to the side of it, the trees creating a canopy over it.

They reached a gazebo, where Adaora and Piers were already waiting, sitting in their respective chairs.

“Ahh, JiYeong, Mathieu. Don’t both of you look absolutely beautiful.” Adaora said with a smile on her face.

Mathieu gave a slight bow, JiYeong following suit. “Thank you, mother. You look radiant as always.”

She wore a long golden gown, faint blue swirls decorating the bottom. The sleeves were sheer, falling down to her wrists and widening at the bottom. The dress itself hung on Adaora’s form, swaying with every movement. It was long enough that when Adaora walked gave the illusion of her floating. Her hair was pulled into a twisted bun, a crown sitting on her head.

“I see you finally managed to get a comb to your hair.” Piers spoke up, a grin on his face. He was dressed similarly to Mathieu, though his suit was more elaborate, JiYeong assumed it was because he was the future king. He had the same sash on, and a slightly larger crown on his head. His hair had been left to hang around his shoulders in the curly mess it was.

“I see you neglected to take a comb to yours.” Mathieu retorted. He led JiYeong to the empty chair on Adaora’s left, kissing her hand before releasing her to sit. Once she did he settled to stand just behind her, winking when she turned to look at him.

It wasn’t long before the first of the royals began to arrive. The Dragoeve arrived first, one of the handmaidens going to where Shiloh was standing, handing her a box. JiYeong was surprised, she hadn’t known Shiloh followed them out. The Sylph was quiet.

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The rest of the royals began trickling in after. The Elcres, then the Imaish, Zaif, Angelous, Sylph, and last the Cliraite. They admittedly frightened her the most, the shortest being at least four feet taller than JiYeong’s five-foot-five frame.

Each followed the same actions as the Dragoeve. The royals came in first, followed by a host of Knights and Guardians. A maid would walk up to Shiloh, giving the Sylph a present, and return to where the female royal was. Before long the garden was full of royals, Warriors, and Maids of various species. It was the most diversity she had seen since being in Allumia.

“What are they giving to Shiloh?” JiYeong asked when Mathieu appeared at her side. Now that everyone had arrived and the formalities were over they were free to roam as they pleased.

“Usually at these types of gatherings it is polite to bring a gift for the host. Something that is useful during the time they are here.” He seemed to think for a moment and then said, “Stay away from the Faerie wine.”

JiYeong blinked, looking around before turning back to Mathieu with a frown. “But there aren’t any Faeries here.”

“Faeries aren’t the only ones who own Faerie wine, they are just the ones who produce it. Usually the Zaif bring bottles, just as they did this time.”

“Why stay away from it? It’s just wine. I’ve had wine before.”

“It’s not just wine.” Mathieu said, frowning. “Just stay away.”

Before she could get him to elaborate he looked up, his frown deepening. She looked to see a Zaif standing just a few feet away, dark red tail swinging behind him.

He had his arms crossed, a grin playing on his lips.

“Hello there Princey.”

“Kaeiris.” Mathieu straightened, looking at the newcomer. “Of course you’re here.”

“Why would ah not be? I’m a Champion too ya know.” Kaeiris stepped closer, tail still swishing. Atop his messy red hair were two furry ears that, upon hearing a small gasp, twitched. He turned to JiYeong, raising an eyebrow. “And this must be your Champion.”

“Yes.”

Kaeiris bowed slightly, a sly smile on his lips. If he noticed Mathieu move slightly closer to JiYeong he didn’t acknowledge it. “Hello there Champion. Name’s Kaeiris. Assassin for our wonderful Alpha Eathelyn, the beautiful blonde sitting next to your Queen.”

“JiYeong.”

Kaeiris took my hand, bringing it to his mouth. “You are very beautiful, Lady JiYeong.”

“Don’t you have some other women to harass, Kaeiris?” Mathieu asked, stepping just in front of JiYeong.

The Zaif laughed, crossing his arms. “I get it. I’ll leave you alone with your Champion. For now.” He gave a half bow, turning on his heel and sauntering away.

JiYeong watched him until he disappeared in the crowd, and then turned to Mathieu. “You don’t seem to like him very much.”

“We went to Academy together, meeting when we were both Novices. He is...very confident.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It would not be for ordinary people but Kaeiris is annoying.”

“Annoying isn’t a reason to hate someone.” JiYeong scoffed, laughed when Mathieu rose an eyebrow. “He doesn’t seem that bad.”

“He was worse during Academy.”

“Are you sure you don’t hate him because he calls you Princey?”

“I am going to get a drink and fulfill my brief duties as a Prince by going to greet some of the royalty here.” Mathieu grumbled, stepping out of arm's reach. A smile touched his lips at the sight of her frown. It was obvious she wanted to ask him to elaborate but he didn’t give her the chance, giving her a swift kiss on the back of her hand. “You should make friendly and go greet people as well.”

He turned away and walked off the gazebo. Piers and Adaora had abandoned the post a bit ago, going to do as Mathieu was currently headed to do.

JiYeong let out a sigh, stepping off the gazebo. She didn’t want to talk to people or be friendly. This was already too much for her. But she supposed this was the job of a Champion.

Luckily, Iridia was standing not too far away. She looked adorable, a frilly pink dress making her look younger than she already did. She’d glamoured her wings away, making her appear to be a normal human.

JiYeong approached her, smiling when the Faerie squealed and jumped excitedly. “Ah! JiYeong you look so pretty!”

“You look adorable as well, Iridia.”

“You like it?” Iridia spun in a circle, grinning. There was a purple ribbon around the waist, a large bow resting on the small of her back. “Shiloh had it made for me just for tonight. It’s the cutest dress ever.”

JiYeong nodded. The dress definitely fit her.

“Hey, Iridia. Why did you use glamour to hide your uh…” She gestured to her back.

“Oh,” Iridia’s hand went to her shoulder. “Well, it isn’t a good look to be the only Faerie hanging around. It’s easier to avoid stares if I keep my wings hidden. Besides, this whole Council was brought together by DoHyeon, I don’t want anyone thinking I’m some sort of spy or anything.”

There was a sigh, and then Iridia grinned. “I’m gunna go get some cake. I hear they have strawberry! You should go say hi to Silvvyr. She was asking about you.”

She watched Iridia skip away, shaking her head lightly. How did the girl have so much energy? Once Iridia was out of sight JiYeong scanned the crowd for Silvvyr.

The Elcres was standing near their Queen, smiling at something he said. JiYeong didn’t really want to approach her while she was standing near someone so important but she knew she’d have to interact with them eventually. With a sigh JiYeong walked over to them, slowly so she wouldn’t accidentally trip over her own feet.

“Ah Lady JiYeong, I was just asking Iridia about you.” Silvvyr said when JiYeong neared her. She gave a slight bow, smiling a bit.

“Queen Imryll, pleased to meet you.”

“Champion JiYeong. I have heard quite a bit from you from Silvvyr here.” Imryll said. Her voice was almost silk-like, soothing.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, specifically about the attack on you during your ride to Whitewall. It is a shame that we are on the cusp of a war. We’ve had peace for so long.” Imryll smiled a bit. “I will leave you two ladies alone. Excuse me.”

Silvvyr and JiYeong bowed as the Queen walked away, and she let out a sigh. Her name had been one of the ones she’d had the most difficulty memorizing.

“You didn’t tell her how nasty I was to you?”

“I did not see that bit of information necessary.” Silvvyr hummed. “I’m going to go find where our tiny Faerie went. Have fun, Champion.”

Once again JiYeong found herself alone. Greeting people she didn’t know didn’t sound appealing, even if it was expected, so instead, she made a beeline for the refreshment table, standing close to it but not actually eating anything. Her stomach felt too fluttery for food to seem like a good idea.

“Lady JiYeong, I see your bodyguard has finally left you alone.”

The voice, unsurprisingly, belonged to Kaeiris. She felt a small smile touch her lips, wrapping her arms across her stomach. “Sir Kaeiris.” The honorific felt weird, but Shiloh had drilled the importance of following protocol during the weekend.

“Just Kaeiris.”

“Then just JiYeong. So, Kaeiris tell me, why does Mathieu hate you so much?”

Kaeiris shrugged, a knowing smile on his face. Kaeiris knew exactly why, that much was easy to see, but if he wasn’t going to tell her the first time she asked, JiYeong wouldn’t press it.

“Has your bodyguard given you anything to drink yet?”

JiYeong shook her head, eyes scanning the crowd for Mathieu. He was off to the side, laughing with a beautiful Angelous woman. She felt a pang of jealousy and swallowed it down. “No, he’s off doing Princely duties.”

“Allow me.” Kaeiris stepped next to her, grabbing a cup and filling it with a red liquid. JiYeong recognized the bottles from the ones the Zaif brought.

“Is that…?”

“Faerie wine.” Kaeiris grinned, pressing the cup into her hands when she hesitated a bit. He turned to the table, pouring a cup for himself.

“But Mathieu said not to drink it.” JiYeong looked down at the cup, frowning at how thick it looked. Other than the fact that it resembled syrup more than wine, it didn’t look out of the ordinary.

“That stuffy Prince would tell you not to drink anything remotely fun.” Kaeiris took a sip of his win, smirking over the rim of his cup. “One cup won’t hurt.”

Another glance toward Mathieu showed the Angelous had her hand on his arm, this time laughing at something he said. They both had a cup of wine in their hands. The pang of jealousy returned, even though JiYeong knew it was silly. Mathieu was doing his job, entertaining the guests.

With a frown JiYeong rose the cup to her lips and took a sip. It was deceptively sweet.

“Good, innit?” Kaeiris asked. His cup was already halfway empty.

“It’s sweet.”

He smirked, finishing off the rest of his drink and turning to get a second cup. “Drink up, Champion.”