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“You okay?” Drey asked, coming to stand beside her and straightening the sleeves of his suit. There was something about a man looking as smart as he did that she appreciated. It spoke of effort, and pride, and a certain level of awareness of how he was presented.
Maybe it was the dragon in him. They could be particularly prideful creatures from what she’d heard. Then again, she wasn’t going to complain about entering the ball on the arm of a one of the most handsome looking men in there. Though she didn’t know that for sure. There were probably other attractive men here. Maybe even an incubus or two. Everything she’d read about them, they oozed appeal, even if they weren’t classically attractive.
“Just taking everything in,” she replied, before turning to smile at him. For all his teasing, she really was grateful he’d brought her here. It was an adventure like she’d never had before.
“I forgot what it was like the first time.” He smiled softly, and she almost forgave him for the earlier laughter. “You ready?” he asked, holding out the crook of his arm. She slipped her hand into it, smoothing her hand down the soft fabric of his suit coat.
“As ever.”
Slowly, they made their way up the red velvet carpet leading up to a pair of grand double doors. Aledwen smiled to herself, anticipation building within her and causing a bounce in her step and a a soft hum to escape from her lips. She could feel satisfaction emanating from Drey, and it only sent her higher.
Coming here was a good decision. She had a feeling deep within her that it’d be one of the best decisions she made in her life. And that this was a turning point. Maybe she was imagining it. Or it was just wishful thinking. But ignoring a gut feeling never ended well according to just about anyone that’d done it. And Aledwen wasn’t an idiot.
“Your names, sir?” the man besides the door asked. He was smartly dressed, in burgundy and burnished gold, looking every part the old world tradition. She tried to ignore the disappointment it caused. She didn’t just want this to be another party like the fae.
Drey handed the man a card with something scrawled on it. She hoped it wasn’t her actual title, that could cause a stir if it got back to the wrong people. Then again, the dragon shifter seemed smarter than that. He wouldn’t do anything to out her so completely.
The doors swung open, and Aledwen’s disappointment vanished. This was nothing like the fae balls. No one was really dancing for a start, rather, they were standing around talking and building alliances, filling the room with an enticing buzz. She wanted this. She could actually meet people.
An auburn haired woman over to the left, seemed to have attracted a large group of people around her, but was mostly ignoring them while choosing to talk to the darker skinned woman next to her. Their body language suggested they were friends, though maybe that was just the norm here.
“Dreyfus of Flock Kinnon, and companion Aledwen.”
She breathed a sigh of relief at the introduction. No hint of her royal status meant she could just be a normal person here. There were no expectations, or extra eyes or anything.
“Is that okay? I didn’t think you’d want to have everyone know?”
“Yes, thank you. It was very thoughtful,” she replied with a smile. “I don’t want anyone treating me any differently.”
“I’m glad. What do you want to do first? There’ll be dancing later. Or there’s food. We can go talk to people. It’s your choice.”
He was so relaxed that it set her at ease too, and sh
e leaned into him slightly. He unhooked his arm, and placed a hand against her back, sending her the reassurance she didn’t know she needed.
“I’m not really sure. What do you normally do at these events?” She glanced up at him, only to be greeted by a slightly uneasy expression. But she said nothing. If he wanted to tell her, then he would in time. It wasn’t on her to rush him. At least, not yet. Maybe later in their relationship it would be.
“Not come,” he responded.
“Oh.”
“They’re fun and all, but dealing with Drayce...let’s just say I’d rather not.”
“Dare I ask?” She tried not to laugh, but a small giggle still escaped.
“He doesn’t really like me much. Believes my grandfather stole a woman from him in the sixteen hundreds.”
He shrugged nonchalantly and Aledwen tried not to freak out over how flippantly he spoke about so long ago.
“I don’t see why that should make him hate you.” It didn’t make any sense to her. Not in the slightest.
“Me neither. But a lot of dragons, especially the older ones, keep vendettas for a very long time. It’s how the wars just kept going.”
“Like the fae war?” She thought back over what her tutors had taught her about the war between the Summer and Winter fae a few centuries ago. Well, really it was a war only played out by the Summer fae themselves. The Winter fae had tried to stay out of it.
“No, not quite like that. Actual fighting rather than battling it out with the weather,” he responded.
“That’s not what-”
