Violins sang with vibrato out into the large ballroom as the bows strained against the strings, cello played falling behind in a slow rhythm with a piano picking up the rear at a fast-beat. Feet tapped in time with the music as couples danced, skirts flying and men pulling the women with them in a one-sided dance. The party-goers who weren't dancing were conversing with their friends and people whom they could tower over in their social status. Drinks were passed around and food was dined upon daintily.

Out of these people, a tall, onyx-haired prince slipped through the crowd like a hot knife. His very presence made women swoon and fired their cheeks. Men envied him as he shot causal smirks towards the patrons. Women flirted and hid behind lace-tipped fans while men glanced with daggers in their eyes. The prince seemed unfazed by their cold looks and continued with his flirty from afar.

Two young ladies approached him with bright eyes and lewd dresses. Their pale, untouched necks were exposed as well as the tops of their shoulders. Those of high status looked down on them with glowers but the young ladies seemed to not see them.

"Count, would you please honor us with a dance?" the youngest one asked, wrapping her arms around his stiff-set arm. His dark eyes glanced down, sight scaling over her eyes, lips, shoulders, stopping at her breasts, before going back to her chestnut eyes. Her painted lips pulled into a smile.

"And would you entertain us later?" the other asked, pressing her nearly-exposed chest against his opposite arm. The patrons of the prince's party gave the group incredulous looks and murmuring began amongst them. The prince chuckled and pulled his arms from between his sides and their breasts.

"I would love to dance with you ladies," he started, but was interrupted by a staff beating against the floor. The murmuring ceased and guests looked towards the large staircase. Girls gasped in surprise and admiration as the newest guest arrived.

He was, in one perfect word, short. He couldn't have been older than sixteen, auric-gold hair pulled into a river-neat ponytail that fell down to the small of his back. His bangs hid his cheeks; on the left side of his face was half a decorative mask, piercing eyes searching over the dance floor. He didn't seem too concerned with the stares he was receiving from the other party-goers. After a few silent moments, he began to descend the stairs and the murmurs started again.

The musicians started their song again, the dancers continued with their steps, and conversations continued. The two girls who had been shrugged off the prince's arms grabbed their places by him, catching his attention.

"Come with us, prince," the older said, pulling his attention from the newcomer. "We can show you a better party than this..." She pulled her lips into a smirk and pursed them slightly. The prince looked around at his guests, ignoring the women.

"I'm sorry, ladies..." He pulled away from them. His voice sounded as if he was in another plane of existence, unaware of the guests at his party.

"P-Prince Roy!" The younger lashed out and grabbed his wrist in a display of desperation. The man turned back to the girl and narrowed his eyes. "Why would you be entranced by such a tramp? Why don't you come back with my sister and me?"

Roy chuckled. His hand traveled up to his chest where he was hiding a special secret. He fingered the item and threw his hand back down to his side. The two sisters stared hard at him. A small smile came to Roy's face, and he bowed in their direction. The two girls stared at him with confusion painted over their faces on top of their makeup. When he stood straight, there was a warm smile underneath cold eyes.

"I'm sorry, ladies," he said in a smooth voice, "but it can only be him."

The sisters stared at each other as Roy moved away from the girls and danced through the crowd. He couldn't spot the young blonde and it frustrated him. The boy was too short to spot in the large crowd of Roy's gala. The prince reminded himself to invite less people to his next dance as he was looking through the crowd in search of the gorgeous blonde.

Roy thought he spotted the young boy, but it was just a woman's bleached hair playing tricks on him. His dark eyes scrutinized the area before he sensed something behind him. Casually, Prince Roy turned. Standing behind him with an emotionless scowl on his face was the young blonde. Only half his face was visible from the mask. It was a deep shade of purple with intricate gold linings twisting with each other all around the edge. His eyes were the same color as butterscotch, and they were shining with a triumph of having been able to sneak behind the prince before the older man could find him.

"You're approaching me," Roy stated cautiously as the younger nodded slowly. "You must have some guts to think you could."

" 'Guts' have nothing to do with it," came the boy's casual reply. His voice was soft, untouched, and his lips were a light shade of pink. His tongue slowly caressed his bottom lip as he locked eyes with Roy. "My only business with you is to apologize for my father." The boy placed a hand over his heart and ducked his head. "Unfortunately, he couldn't make it to your eventful night, so I am here in his place."

"I see." Roy's eyes looked over any flesh of the boy's body that was visible. Only his neck and face could be seen. "What is your father's name?"

"Hoenheim. Hoenheim Elric." The boy lifted his head. Roy couldn't help that his eyes went straight towards the gold orbs in the boy's sockets. "My name is Edward Elric. My father sends his regards."

"And what a shame he couldn't be here." Roy tore his eyes away from the boy as he stood erect again. Some of the patrons were whispering and glancing his way. The band had taken rest and were watching Roy to see what his next step would be. The older man smirked and held out a hand towards Edward. The young boy stared at it.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked smoothly. Edward made a noise to show his surprise and hesitated. "You could refuse me, but what would the other attendees think?"

"They would think poorly of you to be refused by someone my age," Edward replied smugly. "I happen to be a boy, Your Majesty. Wouldn't such a dance be frowned upon?"

Roy chuckled and pushed his hand closer to Edward, saying, "And so what if it would? It's not like I'm going to kill you..."

Edward stared at his hand, the entire ballroom watching them with anticipation, before the young boy lifted a gloved hand and placed it into the Prince's warm palm. Roy closed his fingers over Edward's hand, surprised to find that it fit entirely into his. Without hesitation, he pulled Edward from protection of the crowd and out into the battlefield of the dance floor. In seconds, it was cleared and he and Edward were the only two out. Roy pulled out Edward's hand to his side and placed his other on his waist.

The boy was taller than he thought, coming up to his neck, was easily able to put his hand on Roy's shoulder. There was a pink flush on his visible cheek and he seemed flustered. Edward averted his eyes to Roy's chest, which made his tint only that more visible.

"You'll have to lead me through this," Edward mumbled as the conductor tapped for the players' attention. "I'm not very graceful on my feet, and I don't like crowds."

Roy wanted to laugh in victory and leaned down to the boy's air, breath hot and tingling his tanned skin, and he whispered, "Just follow my lead." His voice came out on his breath, and Edward visibly shivered.

He had won.

And once the music started, Roy pulled Edward back as he stepped. Edward followed with his hands clasped tightly onto the prince, mimicking every step with acute precision. Roy smirked at Edward's concentrated face as he looked down towards the prince's feet to see where he would step next. The crowd noticed him and whispers started again. Roy frowned as the women hid behind their fans to talk and turned to the concentrated youth.

"Don't worry about your feet," Roy whispered huskily. "Just look at me."

Edward gasped when he was addressed and looked up at him. Roy's eyes narrowed enticingly, catching the boy's attention from the dancing up to him. Edward was caught in Roy's gaze, unable to look away from the pools of black. He was entirely hypnotized and his body moved on its own.

"For someone so short, you dance well," he said, pulling away to spin Edward. The blonde snapped out of his trance and glared harshly up at Roy.

Edward had been distracted by Roy's words and caught his foot around Roy's ankle. He lost his grip on Roy's shoulder and slipped. He clenched his eyes shut and prepared himself for the pain and mortification of slamming against the marble floor.

He stopped. Edward slowly opened his eyes. He gasped when he found Roy was hovering over him, faces just barely an inch apart, with one of his strong arms wrapped securely around the blonde's waist. Roy had thought quickly and saved him from what would have been the most shameful thing to have happened to him. He smirked at the red-cheeked face.

"Your concentration lacks something," he said with a chuckle. "You owe me for saving you."

Edward could feel his face was hot. Roy smirked.

Neither men noticed the music had stopped when Edward's slip occurred. The crowd had fallen silent, watching their dance start to finish with awe, before they began to cheer and applaud. Both men jumped and looked away from each other. Roy managed to bring Edward to his feet and bowed towards the blonde.

"How about we share a drink?" he offered into the boy's ear, taking a hold of one of his hands. Edward flinched away from the breath on his ear, visible skin burning red. Roy smirked and kissed his hand before turning and walking back into the crowd. Edward blushed, but followed the prince into the crowd of admirers and wished that he could make himself disappear.

The room that Roy had led him to was dark, away from the light, merry atmosphere of the ballroom and the party, and he was hidden away from the rest of the world. Roy had his back turned to the young boy as the blonde was admiring the room quietly. Roy turned to see the boy admiring the color of the wood on Roy's bed. He smirked.

Facing the table in front of him, Roy slipped the secret from his shirt. It was a small vial with a dark liquid inside of it. He pulled the vial quietly from the chain and opened it. He turned to make sure that the boy wasn't looking before pouring it into the glass. He smirked.

"This 'poison' should work…," he murmured.

"This what?" Edward asked, appearing right behind him. Roy closed his fist over the vial and turned to the younger male. He cocked his brow at the prince, giving him a puzzling look. Roy simply smirked and took Edward's hand again, kissing it. Edward looked at him with calculating eyes. Roy simply reached behind him, fingering for the glass, before the cold surface touched his fingertips.

"How about a drink, young Elric?" he offered, pulling the glass from behind his back. The wine smelled sweet, but most likely would taste bitter. Edward looked down and stared at it for a moment.

"Offering alcohol to me? How strangely polite for a royal." Edward looked up with a devilish grin on his face. "You don't happen to have some back-plan in store for me, do you?" He chuckled as half of Roy's color drained from his face. "You're so serious for a party host."

Edward accepted the drink and looked up at Roy through his bangs. Roy lifted his eyebrows, curious as to why he had stopped. Edward smirked and tilted his head.

"Don't you have a drink as well, Prince Roy?" Edward asked innocently. Roy swallowed and smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head. He laughed and tried to quickly come up with an excuse, but the youth simply smirked and held the glass to Roy's lips. "Why don't you take a sip first? Then I'll consider it."

Roy's pride fell straight back to the ballroom and swept a woman off her feet.

The boy's eyes watched him as he smiled and accepted the glass. The Prince's warm palms enclosed over the Edward's. The young blonde looked up, blinking in surprise. Roy pulled the glass and Edward's hands with him as he leaned the glass against his lips and opened his lips. The liquid fell into his mouth and down his throat. The wine had an extra bitter taste to it with the "poison" added in.

"Your turn," he said, holding the cup to the younger.

The blonde watched him carefully, but poured a significant amount of the liquid into his mouth. A small drop fell out of line from the side and gently fell down the side of his mouth and onto his cheek. Roy eyed the drop and leaned over, licking it slowly.

Edward's body tensed and he dropped the glass. It shattered when it met the floor and the liquid stained the floor. Edward didn't move, afraid that the prince would do anything further. His warm breath tickled Edward's cheek, making him shiver again. Roy smirked and pulled away, kissing the youth fully on the mouth.

"P-Prince…!" Edward gasped, trying to pull away. Roy only took hold of his chin and kissed him harder, pushing his tongue through the boy's rosy lips and hearing a sultry groan from the back of his throat. Roy pulled back as Edward's face turned bright red.

"Wh-What was that for!" he demanded, pulling away from the prince and covering his mouth. The prince grabbed his wrists again and forced their lips together. Eiiji didn't seem to fight as much the second time as the first, but he was still just as flustered when their lips touched.

"I can't believe I did it with a man!" Edward ruffled his hair, face red and body covered in hickeys. He turned back to the prince, who was leaning his cheek against his palm and smirking at the young blonde. "You're an ass!"

The boy's mask had been thrown away during their lovemaking, so his entire face was free to be seen. Just as Roy had hoped, Edward was beautiful. His skin was pale and smooth. His eyelashes were blonde and long, brushing over his cheeks whenever he blinked.

"You know…You're kinda cute, Edward."

"Oh, shut up!"

Roy grabbed the blonde's neck and kissed him deeply, chuckling when he felt the tense body relax underneath his lips. Edward frowned as Roy pulled him into a tight hug.

"…So what was it that you put into the wine?"

"Huh?"

The blonde boy jumped out of the bed, despite his bare-naked state, and walked over to the table, bending down and picking up the glass vial. He held it out for Roy to see. The man blushed and nuzzled into the pillow.

"Oh, I see." Edward grinned and jumped back onto the bed, sending one of the pillows flopping into the floor. "You were trying to poison my father, but he didn't come to your party, so you were planning on killing me instead." He smirked.

Roy cocked his brow.

"Uh, no, not really." Edward frowned when his deduction was claimed as false. "I just thought you were too cute and wanted to claim you so that other people couldn't have you. I usually do that to get a partner during the boring last hour of my parties." Roy grinned as Edward's face turned into a cherry.

"You're a horrible person!"