The Dances
POV: Alexandra
Nystasia confirmed that her brother had intended on following his father’s plan but I would try to talk him out of it when I got to meet him. I remembered the offer of the dance from his page and decided then would be the time that I would make my appeal to him. If that failed then I would have to make myself unappealing to him to be tempted to offer marriage to me. I thought it was a little strange that he would intend to go along with his father’s plot if he didn’t even know me. If Ny got along with him well, it would stand to reason that he wasn’t such a bad person. I suppose I would have to see what sort of person he was. He could have been just as cunning as his father and fooled his sister. I looked at Nystasia who was staring down at her plate, “He is a genuine person, Xan. I know you have your heart set on Lucien but at least give him a chance.” She looked up at me, “I ask this of you as a friend and not the princess of the land that you are in.” I knew she meant for me to understand that I wasn’t going to be forced to get to know her brother but she wanted me to try to get to know him as a friend. I nodded, “I will try, Ny. I don’t know if I can make any promises though.” She smiled at me, “Considering you are in a competition for Lucien’s hand, wouldn’t it be a good idea to keep your options open for another to win your heart?” Sylphia sighed, “It isn’t that easy sister. Your heart wants what it wants and when it doesn’t get it, it cannot just simply move on. Besides, I think you are forgetting another factor in all of this.” She shrugged, “I don’t know what you are speaking of.” Sylphia rolled her eyes, “Blake, dear. He is also in love with our friend. You don’t think he would make her an offer if she were to lose?” I cut into the conversation, “I think I should let you both know that if Lucien is off the table, then I will focus on my career. Why should a woman HAVE to marry? I was raised to know my worth and my identity will not be who I marry but what I do with my life and for my people.”
Reina nodded, “You should listen to your friend, girls. A woman’s worth is from what she thinks of herself, what she does with her life, and how she treats others. Never forget this as you continue to grow into the women you were meant to be. I am glad to see that House Batiste still has the integrity displayed by Talia Esperanza and Darren Batiste.” She looked over at the table where her husband and son were sitting, “That being said, Alexandra, I must ask that you get to know my son. I rarely agree with my husband on anything but I do believe he is correct in his assessment that Seely and Vellum should be bound by blood at some point.” I turned to Reina, “Is this an order from the Queen of the realm I am visiting?” She giggled, “Oh no, I believe if love happens, it should happen naturally. Once upon a time, I was in love with Renier but life happened and we grew apart. I don’t like to talk about it. Anyhow, I will introduce my son to you formally if you are ready. I think it is time since the dancing will be commencing soon and I have a feeling he will want to dance with you.” I nodded, “It will happen eventually so no need to put it off. I will meet him now.” She smiled, “Very prudent, I can see why you are favored by many in Vellum.” She rose to her feet, “I call upon Prince Calypso, the first prince of Seely to present himself in front of me.” The noise in the room died down and the Prince rose from his place next to his father. He stepped in front of the dais that the women were occupying and he bowed to his mother, “I present myself to you, my Queen.” She beckoned him to rise and look at her, “I introduce my son Prince Calypso to Lady Alexandra Batiste of Vellum, first daughter of House Batiste.” Calypso stepped forward onto the dais and presented himself in front of me, “It is an honor to be presented to the Queen’s honored guest. I am pleased to meet you, Lady Alexandra. If I may be so bold, I would like to ask for your first dance of the night.” I smiled at him courteously, “I would be honored, Your Highness.” He smiled back to show his dimples which made him even more handsome. What was it about the fae that made them all so attractive because I had not met one that wasn’t yet. He offered his hand to escort me to the dance floor.
He placed his hand on my hip and I felt an electric touch that I had not felt since my first kiss with Lucien. I looked up at him feeling confused about the touch but I shook the thought from my mind hoping that it was just purely some kind of fae magic. He smiled down at me, “Can I tell you something? I have to be honest, my lady.” I nodded, “Yes, I always prefer honesty even if it were to hurt.” He nodded back at me, “My father’s purpose for bringing me here was for me to seduce you. I didn’t want to come for that purpose. He raised me but I never liked his teachings. You see, I don’t much like the scheming behind my mother’s back for his little power struggle with her. He thinks that the fae should be ruled like other kingdoms where the man is in charge. He thinks I feel that way too though I had never expressly told him that that was my desire. I only wish to live peacefully in Seely alongside my sisters and the woman I love. I had not found her yet, sadly.” I sighed, “I appreciate your honesty, Your Highness. I understood this to be the case when your sister, Nystasia, said you had not seen your mother in fifteen years. I had imagined that my being here was the perfect opportunity to steal me away from Vellum. Your father’s friend has been trying to kidnap me for a while and I suspect your father is interested in that as well.” He leaned in, “You have no idea. I frankly find that to be disgusting. I had planned on coming here and feigning interest in you to get my father off my back for a while but I confess that I find myself wanting to know you more. I know you are currently in line to be Queen of Vellum but I wonder if you would be willing to be my wife should that fall through.” I took a deep breath before I spoke my next words, “I admit that you are physically attractive, Your Highness, but I hardly know you to make that assessment. Though I may be of Vellum, I was not raised there and their customs had been foreign to me up until a few months ago.”
He nodded, “I had heard rumors that you were not aware of the existence of your homeland, pyrios, and fae. It must have been quite a shock to learn of them.” I smiled, “Yes, even more so to learn that I had two soul parents.” He leaned back, “Soul parents? You mean you are the daughter of two Gods?” I nodded, “Yes, daughter of Aphrodite and daughter of Apollo.” He widened his eyes, “The Queen’s court worships Aphrodite, my father’s court worships Loki but I worship Apollo. I am very devout to him. It must be interesting to converse with them. Do you get to walk amongst the Heavenly realm?” I nodded again and smiled, “I do. I have visited Eden where Aphrodite presides and Sol where Apollo presides.” He fell silent for a time until he looked me in the eye, “You know, I felt a strange warmth from you when I came into the room and embraced my mother. Was that the power of the Gods?” I shrugged, “I do know that Apollo embraced me with his protection as I came through the portal from Vellum. Perhaps that is what you felt?” He leaned closer to me to whisper in my ear just as the dance was ending, “I enjoyed our dance, my lady. I would like to get to know you better. Perhaps you could sit with me at my mother’s tea tomorrow?” He kissed me on the cheek and I felt that electric tingle again. I stared at him as he walked away until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see the King of Seely standing behind me.
He smiled broadly at me, “I hope you had not forgotten your promise to dance with me, my lady.” I shook my head, “No, Your Majesty, I had not.” He pulled me into his embrace, “Did you enjoy your dance with my son? I think he has taken a liking to you. I had longed for a daughter-in-law from Vellum and see you here…now…well, I believe it to be fate that is bringing you and Calypso together.” I thought to myself that it was really him bringing us together and that I could see through his little plot to have me under his thumb. I felt like it would be better to play stupid so I said, “Oh really? I suppose that could be right, Your Majesty. As I am not yet betrothed to anyone and there are no guarantees that I will win the Queen competition, it might be fate as you say. I must ask though, Your Majesty…” He looked down at me, “Yes? What is on your mind, my lady?” I sighed, “I just wonder why it is that Loki would want to kidnap me twice now, and here he is at your court. Is he trying to use you to get to me?” He chuckled, “Oh no, my dear, that couldn’t be further from the truth.” Lies, I knew it was lies because Sylphia already knew from a spy she had on the inside. He continued, “He is my deity and has decided to grace us with his presence for the time being until All Mighty decides to release this grudge he has against him.” All Mighty had good reason to have a grudge, he broke so many Heavenly realm laws that he should have honestly been stripped of his powers and made mortal by now. Loki’s powers were limited since he could not go to the Heavenly realm to recharge and this was the reason I didn’t feel as threatened by him. He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “You have nothing to fear from him, my lady. He is my servant at this point, he will do my bidding and since I find you to be rather delicious, he won’t harm you. Try to stay on my good side, my dear.” I whispered back, “Your Majesty, was that a threat?” He leaned back and smirked at me, “No, you’ll know when I threaten you, child. For now, it was a warning. Do be sensible while you are here. I hope to see you visit my court before you leave, otherwise, I might take it as an insult. Be sure to also spend some time with Calypso. I really think you would make the most excellent of daughter-in-laws.” The dance ended and I was never so happy to leave a dance floor as I had been then. I bowed at him and made my way up to the dais.
The next song started to play and Loki rose from his spot at the banquet table. He weaved his way through the dancing couples as he approached the dais, his smirk became darker and more devious. I sucked in a sharp breath and I heard Sebastian start to growl since the fear started to grow in me. I felt my stomach doing flips and I started to think about the night my brother saved me. As I was getting ready to send him after Loki, I looked down at Loki who looked horrified and I heard a man’s voice behind me calling out to Loki, “I know you are not approaching my daughter.”
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