16 Years Later…

“Stop fidgeting.”

Rustam stood still as Daelyniel straightened his circlet and fixed his hair. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”

Daelyniel rolled his eyes and shook his head as he finished fixing his cousin’s braids. “You always get nervous when you go to a formal event for Nymphs.”

“It’s Galenova’s brother’s birthday,” Rustam said. “His tenth birthday.”

“And you’ve been to his other birthdays and did just fine,” Daelyniel pointed out calmly as he dusted off his cousin's dark gray coat and straightened his dark green waistcoat and white tunic. “So stop fretting. You look good. I’m just worried about Igy. She’s not here yet."

“She’s riding in the same carriage as her parents, who are making an appearance. But they’re leaving to go elsewhere from here,” Rustam told him.

“W-What is that!?” one of the nearby guards shouted and pointed up. "Is that...a lime!?"

Daelyniel stiffened and stopped what he was doing. “Please tell me she didn’t.”

Rustam looked around his cousin and smiled nervously when he looked back at him. “She did. Be ready to catch her.”

Both of them looked up and saw a giant floating lime flying towards them. On top of it was Ignacia drinking wine from the bottle and wearing her usual hat, a dark green gown with gold accents and flowing bell sleeves, and her usual brown belt with her book strapped to it. People were pointing up and commenting about the flying toy. Instead of feeling embarrassed, Ignacia did a royal wave as she floated by them. When she saw her grandparents, she gave them a thumbs-up, which they happily reciprocated, much to the chagrin of the Dwarven royal family. She stuck her tongue out at Rexus when she heard him demanding she come down. When the plush hovered right over her friends, it turned back into its usual small size in a puff of smoke. Daelyniel caught her easily when she fell, having done this far too many times to count.

“Ignacia, why did you come on that thing again?” the Pixie man asked as he set her down. “And why are you drinking wine straight from the bottle?”

The blonde woman hiccuped and kissed Daelyniel's cheek. "My hero! I needed to get away from my parents and using a glass to drink is far too much trouble when flying away. Can you believe my mother is trying to tell me that I need to get married? I told her I’m not interested in anyone and she keeps telling me that I need to find a “respectable” man. Drinking didn’t help muffle her words. By the Incarnates, the imaginary balls on that woman.”

Rustam and Daelyniel balked at her language and saw the few people surrounding them looking at Ignacia in shock. “Igy, maybe tone down the crude language and lose the bottle,” Rustam suggested.

Ignacia nodded and drank the rest of the wine. When she heard her friends about to say something, she held one finger up to silence them. After she was done, she handed the bottle to Daelyniel and hiccuped again. “Couldn’t let that go to waste.”

“Please tell me you’re not that drunk?” Daelyniel pleaded as he handed the empty bottle to a servant.

“I’ve only had one bottle. Don't worry, I won't throw up on your fancy black coat. I might need that later. I’m only a little dizzy because I haven’t eaten anything all day. Mother was fussing over my gown and other trivial things. Afraid our outfits would clash since you're wearing your purple waistcoat and I'm wearing green,” Ignacia huffed. “When are they going to let us in? I’m hungry and Galenova’s family always has a nice spread for parties.”

Daelyniel could feel the eyes of people staring at them. While it was a lot of wine for someone of Ignacia’s size to drink, he and Rustam knew she held her liquor pretty well. She was only like this because she hadn't eaten any food. “Just hold on, Igy. We get in and find Galenova to make sure she’s okay. You know she gets very anxious at large gatherings like this.”

“No, do not blow anything up or create another giant object like you did at the Oaken-Heart Ball three months ago to be a distraction,” Rustam cut her off before she could say anything.

The door finally opened, revealing a grand hall decorated with large light blue and green crystal chandeliers. The candles in them added a nice glow to the white walls with gold trimming. Tables of food and drinks were on one side of the hall, and a bard and his troupe were on the opposite side. Crystal vases with sea holly, sea kale flowers, and lavender decorated smaller tables. Tall, gold candelabras stood near the walls and added some warmth to the cool colors of the room. The troupe started playing as the guests walked in. Some started dancing while others stood off to the sides to converse with one another, or stood in line to greet Galenova's parents and wish her brother a happy birthday. Galenova herself was standing next to them and gave her friends a small wave when she saw them. 

“Goodness everything is so blue again,” Ignacia griped. “Think we can convince Prince Lennoxir to change the colors up a bit? What about orange? Or even a nice purple? Or red?” This was just far too much blue for her eyes, and the green, white, and gold did little to add variety. She stuck close to Daelyniel since it was becoming too much for her. "I'm hungry..."

Rustam nudged Daelyniel’s elbow and nodded to an approaching human nobleman. The Pixie quickly wrapped his arm around their female friend’s waist and half-dragged and half-carried her to the dance floor. “Come, Igy! Let us dance!”

The Dwarf prince bit back a laugh as the nobleman huffed next to him. “It’s very hard to get a dance with Lady Ignacia, huh?”

“I suppose so. She and Sir Daelyniel seem to fancy each other,” Rustam said playfully. “They dance with each other at every event.”

“The only other man I heard she dances with is some redheaded Dwarf,” the nobleman stated. “What could those men have that I don’t?”

“Rustam!” a voice called out.

The nobleman stiffened when he heard the name. He hadn’t paid any attention to who he was talking to. His brown eyes widened when he looked down and saw Rustam. “P-Prince Rustam! F-Forgive me for being so informal!”

The Dwarf chuckled and shook his head. “It’s okay. Best of luck getting a dance with Ignacia. You're going to need it.” He walked away before the man could say anything else and went to meet Galenova as she walked toward him. She looked absolutely breathtaking in her flowing indigo halter dress. The circlet he gifted to her paired nicely with her gold earrings and cuffs. Half of her hair was pinned up and the rest hung in loose waves. “Galenova, you look beautiful.”

The Nymph princess blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You are too kind. And you look very handsome. I’m glad you and the others are here. I see Dael and Igy are already avoiding people. And I heard some people talking about a flying lime?”

“Igy was avoiding her parents after they told her she needed to find a husband. Being the wild goose that she is, she flew over here and a lot of people saw her.” Rustam looked at their friends and laughed when he saw them dancing away from the nobleman who tried to get Ignacia’s attention.

Another nobleman, a Nymph, approached them and bowed to Galenova. “Princess Galenova, you look ravishing. I’ve come to ask if you’ll grant me the pleasure of being your first dance partner?”

Galenova shivered a little. She’d seen this man at another event and he seemed nice, but something about him made her feel uncomfortable. It was probably the way he looked her up and down, or how he said she looked ravishing. But she had to be nice unless she wanted to cause a scene. “My apologies, sir. Prince Rustam has already asked me to dance with him.”

Without needing her to ask, Rustam offered his arm to her and led her to the dance floor. He was grateful that the dances here weren’t group dances like they were back home. And Galenova never made a fuss about having to bend down a little whenever he spun her. Most Dwarven women would make a passive-aggressive remark about having to do so even if they weren’t that much taller than him. But his friend never complained for as long as he’d known her. 

“Is that the same man who always asks you to dance with him?” he questioned as they danced.

She nodded and kept her attention on him. “He is. I don’t know his name because he’s never told me it,” she replied. She dared to glance over where the other man stood and saw him looking at them. Her eyes went back to Rustam and squeezed his hand. “I think he tried to ask Igy for a dance once…”

Both of them laughed. “I take it she told him something…interesting?” Rustam asked.

“What did I do?”

They looked over to their sides and saw their friends dancing next to them. “Dael. Igy. It’s good to see you two,” Galenova greeted with a laugh.

“Good to see you again, Gal,” Dael said back.

“Igy, where did you get that tart? And why are you dancing with it?” Rustam asked and looked around to see if anyone noticed.

“I’m hungry.” Ignacia took another bite as Daelyniel dipped her. “And how long do we have to keep ourselves visible?”

“Just until my father gives the birthday toast. My brother is very excited about it,” Galenova answered. She looked over to her family and smiled when she saw her mother and brother dancing together. She still couldn’t believe that her mother had given birth to him eighteen years after her. Her parents had tried having another baby not long after her birth, but sadly struggled to get pregnant again. Llewellyn’s birth had been difficult for her mother, but Galenova and her father were grateful for all of Ignacia and her grandparents’ hard work when she went into labor while they were visiting. They’d done everything in their power to keep her mother and brother alive. 

But as much as she loved her brother, a part of her couldn’t help but envy the attention he received from their parents. Both of them had paid little attention to her before his birth and now, she felt like a ghost in their own home. The only time they paid her any attention was whenever she refused a proposal or they needed her to teach Llewellyn something.

“Lady Ignacia!”

All of them stopped dancing and looked down at the little boy near them. They left the dance floor so they wouldn’t be in the way of others. The little boy looked just like Galenova, but younger and with more boyish features. His dual-colored eyes looked up excitedly at Ignacia.

“Prince Llewellyn,” Ignacia greeted and bowed to him. “I hope you’re enjoying your birthday so far.”

The young prince nodded. “Yes! Yes! But I wanted to ask you if you can make my lion toy fly and big again. Please? Pretty please!”

All of them laughed while Ignacia ruffled his hair. “Maybe when the party dies down a little, kid. Don’t want to cause any trouble like last time.” The little boy nodded and skipped away to his parents. “Oh, to be a child again…”

“You’re not going to let him fly again, are you?” Daelyniel asked.

The blonde woman shrugged. “Why not? The poor boy is dealing with families wanting to marry their daughters to him. Especially since he's the next in line for the throne. The king and queen have yet to produce an heir.” The same nobleman from earlier was walking to her. “Come, Daelyniel! Let’s dance again! Let’s dance until our feet bleed and scream for mercy!” She yanked him back to the dance floor before he could say anything.

Rustam laughed again at the young nobleman’s angry face at being rejected again. When he calmed down, he looked at Galenova, who was trying to hide her laughter behind her hand. He held his arm up and winked at her. “Shall we avoid our problems too?”

The Nymph princess nodded and let him lead her back to the dance floor. “We shall.”

Need something to read while waiting for the next chapter? Check out these other Tapas AF Tourney novels! Links below! <3