Cuore fussed with an unruly strand of hair and attempted to coil it, and then pin it with the rest of the teal locks around the back of her head. It promptly fell out and took a few others with it.
She groaned and tossed the pin onto the counter in front of her, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
"I bet Ursula doesn't have this kind of trouble," she grumbled, tugging on the strand.
The other princess's hair seemed far more manageable, and it made Cuore wonder if she shouldn't have grown her hair out at all. Though, it hadn't been much better when she'd been a little girl.
There was a knock at her door and Cuore sighed before calling that they could enter. Her mother peeked in and smiled at her, "Are you ready?"
Cuore rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her hand, "As ready as I'll ever be."
Her mother laughed softly and grabbed a few pins and started to pull and twist her hair, mentioning, "I'm sorry you got stuck with my hair."
Cuore sighed, "Sometimes I think it has a mind of its own."
"Mm, agreed." Rydia said, fixing the style and pushing an insane amount of pins into the hair. Cuore briefly frowned, thinking what fun she would have getting all those out, later.
Her eyes studied her reflection and she averted her gaze, speaking up quietly, "Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think…" she hesitated, "Do you think I'm pretty?"
Rydia stopped combing her fingers through Cuore's hair and caught her gaze in the mirror, looking both surprised and amused by the question.
"I know," Cuore said, averted her gaze again, "I'm not usually so…vain."
Her mother laughed and rested her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "Cuore, I think you are beautiful."
"You aren't just saying that?" Cuore asked, fiddling with a pin in her fingers, disbelieving.
Rydia smiled slowly and plucked the pin from her fingers, jabbing it into a piece of hair that was slowly sliding out of place.
"Cuore, you look like me, so if I was lying, I'd be saying I think I look terrible."
She laughed and dropped her eyes, "I suppose so, huh?"
"But no, I'm not just saying it, I think you are beautiful." Rydia whispered, tapping her on top of her head before continuing to braid another section of her hair.
Cuore begin picking dust specks off her dress but looked up when her mother asked, "What an interesting question. Any particular reason for asking?"
She shook her head as much as she dared, lest all her hair fall out again, "No, not really."
She happened to glance up and caught a suspiciously coy expression from her mother as the woman pulled back one of the last loose bits of hair.
"Really?" Rydia pried, "After today, are you sure there's no particular reason you might be asking me that?"
Cuore gave her a funny look, "Mom, you know how bad I am at guessing human manners and decoding double meanings and reading between the lines, as you say. You will have to be far more obvious than that."
Rydia grinned and spoke plainly, "Kieran,"
"Ugh, don't even joke!" Cuore exclaimed, rubbing her upper arms with her hands, "He's the last person in the universe I would want to impress. He makes my skin crawl."
Her mother laughed and took a step back, looking over her work and adjusting a few last minute pins while Cuore continued to complain, "Besides, it would be impossible to impress him anyway! He's too dismal to find anything even remotely interesting. Maybe I should have killed him…"
"Alright, alright," Rydia said, laughing and holding up her hands, "I'm sorry to have said anything."
Cuore turned her head to look at the sides of her hair, skeptical the braiding would stay put.
"Though, you seemed to protest a little too much,"
Cuore spun around and glared at her mother, "Mom," she warned.
Rydia merely laughed at her and waved her from her chair, "Come my small lady, we have a ball to attend."
Cuore frowned, although she was pleased with the old nickname, and followed her out the door, "Unfortunately."
Leo was grumbling in the hallway directly outside, "But, she'll want to practice her spells and she's so bad at them!"
"Who are we talking about?" Cuore asked, confused.
"Pamela." Edge replied, rolling his eyes.
Cuore snickered, "Ah, Pamela."
"Pamela," Leo groaned, looking up at her with a dismayed expression.
Rydia frowned and mentioned, "We are going to be late,"
"Fashionably so," Cuore commented, rolling her eyes.
They had started walking as Edge told them of his master plan to actually be late.
"See, if we go late, they we can slip in without anyone knowing we're there."
Rydia looked confused, "And we would want to do that…because?"
"Because," he said, as if it were obvious, "I've spent the last two days talking with these people, do you really think I want to talk to them some more? I don't."
Rydia sighed, but he added as an after thought; "Also, by going late we have less of a chance to get into a conversation with Verian Dahl."
Cuore frowned, knowing that was really the bottom line, while her mother scoffed, "Tell me you aren't serious," she asked, sparing him a sharp look, "Just avoid him,"
"He's like the plague. You can't avoid him." Edge complained.
"Where's Izayoi?" Cuore asked, steering the conversation in a different direction, although she was surprised the woman wasn't here.
Edge shrugged.
Rydia sighed and gave him a look, "You lost your cousin?"
"No," he replied, "I lost my bodyguard. She's around here somewhere, I'm sure."
Cuore just shook her head, smiling and led Leo with her, noticing he was still sulking.
"Leo, it will be okay."
He sighed, "I know, but I feel all queasy."
Cuore pat his head sympathetically, and he in turn clutched her hand tighter, mumbling, "I don't want to go."
She opened her mouth to tell him to stop being so theatrical, but then he whispered, "I have a feeling something bad is going to happen."
Cuore stopped in her tracks and glanced down at him, startled. She had felt that way since he return yet she'd tried to ignore it and convinced herself that it was nothing. But Leo speaking up to voice her fears made her wonder if they were both onto something.
Her little brother rubbed a hand across his stomach and she knelt down so they could be eye to eye.
"Leo," she whispered, "I've had a bad feeling too, but nothing terrible has happened yet, right?"
He nodded slowly and she smiled, "You and I stay together and we'll be fine. I promise."
Leo smiled a little, "Do you also promise to keep Pamela away from me?"
Cuore ruffled his hair, "No can do, little brother, unless you can keep grumpy old Kieran away from me."
Leo sighed and averted his gaze, "I guess we have no choice."
Cuore chuckled and stood, tugging him to follow her after their parents.
Being as they were two hours late to arrive, none of them expected to open the double doors to the ballroom and be surprised by a noisy announcement.
"They're majesties king Edge Geraldine of Eblan and queen Rydia Madain Sari Geraldine and High Summoner of the village Mist."
Her father winced and then glared off to the side at the announcer, giving him what had to be the darkest glare she had ever seen.
Cuore put a hand on her hip and grinned at him, "Foiled again,"
"I'm going to murder that guy," he muttered.
Her mother looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh, hand drawn up so her knuckles hid her smile.
Edge heaved a sigh and tossed up his hands, "Whatever, I give up."
They walked out of the doorway and Cuore felt Leo slip closer to her, looking around with wide eyes and an unhappy expression on his face.
"Leo," she whispered, bending down a little, "It will be alright, try to have fun tonight."
He sighed, but nodded firmly, "I will."
Their parent's conversation drew Cuore's attention and she quickened her pace to fall back into their shadows, wanting to stay as closed as possible.
"I'm a little jealous." Edge commented.
Cuore made a face, mimicking the one her mother did as Rydia asked, "Of what?"
Edge sighed, "Your title, it's so much longer then mine.
"You don't even like titles!" Rydia replied, frowning.
He shrugged one shoulder, "Yes, but yours sounds so impressive, and I'm not sure how it ended up being longer then mine."
"If it will make you feel better, you could add some random adjectives onto the front of yours," she suggested.
Cuore giggled quietly as he appeared to think this over.
"Now there's an idea…"
Rydia glanced at him, "I'm far more curious how much you paid that guy to not use your real name."
"I paid him nothing," he said, looking straight ahead, "I threatened to kill him instead. It's cheaper."
She nodded solemnly, "I suppose it is."
Cuore stayed two steps behind them, but secretly enjoyed their conversations. She had missed the exchanges they would go through over the course of hours, or even days.
Before long, it was time for the mandatory greetings and upheaval that all children were forced to undergo. Cuore and Leo smiled and endured it, though Cuore felt terribly drained afterwards, like she was some item on display for everyone to comment on.
It was nice to have all the explanations about her age, appearance and skills out of the way, but the process of explaining to every one of her and her parent's friends was tedious.
Cuore was fairly certain that all of the greetings took at least an hour, and she was glad when they finally spilt from friends and started to make their way further into the room.
"Oh, I hate him…"
Cuore leaned to see around her parents and noticed the object of their annoyance right away; Verian Dahl, a mage from Mysidia. A chatty mage from Mysidia. She cringed and ducked back hoping that he wouldn't notice them.
Rydia sighed, "As do I, but we have to be polite."
"Do we?" Edge retorted, sounding put out by that idea. "Because I can't promise anything."
"You're not the one he hits on," she shot back, frowning.
Cuore cringed again, remembering a time long ago when she had first come to this planet and the people of Mist had decided to play matchmaker. They had been, apparently, concerned over Rydia being the last summoner and they wanted to make sure to pick someone with strong enough magic that would result in carrying that legacy on. There was probably more to it, but she had been so young that the only thing she really remembered was Rydia's displeasure at the whole situation.
Not that she could blame her. Verian Dahl was not only annoying, but he was much older then her.
"Why do you think I hate him so much?" Edge replied.
Rydia winced, "He's coming over here. Smile."
She plastered her own fake smile on her face as she said this, and Cuore bit back a groan.
Sharing the feelings of her father, she whispered, "Quick, find someone else to talk to before he makes his way over here. Then it won't be rude to ignore him."
Her father looked around, unimpressed, "But the only person around is-"
"Kain!" the summoner exclaimed, physically grabbing the dragoon's arm to keep him walking past them.
"Yes, hi, please pretend your talking to us," she said, smile still in place.
Kain looked slightly amused, "Are we trying to avoid a certain mage from Mysidia?"
"Well duh. Why else would we willing talk to you?" Edge asked.
Kain ignored him and Cuore found herself trying to remain inconspicuous, hoping no one would bring up the duel from earlier that day.
"Come now, I saw you running off, too. Everyone is trying to avoid him." her mother said, shrugging.
"…I can't actually deny that,"
Cuore tried not to snicker.
Her father sighed, "We need to just tell the twins to stop having him come."
"Why exactly do you hate him that much?" the dragoon asked, "Are you really worried he's going to steal your wife?"
"Do you have any idea how long it took me to acquire her in the first place?" Edge argued, gesturing to Rydia, who scowled.
"Excuse me, but you two do realize I'm standing right here, right?"
Cuore grinned and stood back, having fun just watching them bicker. This could go on for a long time, but it was more entertaining then anything else that was going to happen at this party.
"You should be flattered I'm that worried about losing you,"
"Well I'm not,"
Kain interjected before the argument went full blown, "Just so I can keep track, if Verian Dahl suddenly ends up dead, I can look at the two of you as suspects?"
They both looked insulted.
"If I kill him, there won't be a body left," Rydia commented, overlapping Edge's comment of, "Oh please, I'd be long gone before you even knew he was dead,"
They both glanced at each other and Kain frowned, "Not really helping your case here,"
"You'd have to look at everyone as suspects, no one likes him, remember? Even you."
"I can't deny that, either."
The summoner sighed, "Speaking of him, where is he?"
"Circling the ballroom like a vulture," Kain commented.
"Looking for his next victim." Edge tacked on.
Cuore glanced over her shoulder, "Actually, I think poor Harley got stuck talking to him."
"To bad."
"Sucks to be her."
"She has my sympathies."
The group started to break up now that the threat had passed and Cuore breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't been called out anymore for the duel. She was a little worried Kain would be upset with her, but so far it seemed that she would only have to deal with a moody Kieran. And that she could easily handle.
As they made their way around the room, Edge was not one to be silent.
"Parties are the worst invention ever created by people." he mentioned.
Rydia's expression was jaded, "I know I'm going to regret this, but why, exactly, are parties the worst invention?"
"Because," Edge replied, lowering his voice and looking back and forth conspiratorially, "you cram a bunch of important people into one room, without weapons. They might as well paint a giant red target on the side of the building."
She rolled her eyes, "But everyone is here. There's no one to try and assassinate us."
"I notice the Epopts aren't here." he pointed out.
Cuore found herself looking around the room to confirm this as the conversation went on.
"They never come."
"Exactly my point!"
Rydia commented dryly, "Oh yes, you have uncovered their fiendish plot. They will attack us with their pacifistic doctrines and we will be helpless to defend ourselves."
He was not deterred, "They know magic,"
"White magic!"
Cuore smirked and clasp her hands behind her back, enjoying the show.
"You're just mad because the guards took your weapons," Rydia remarked, looking amused.
"I am!" Edge said, frowning, "I mean, it's like they don't trust me or something…"
Cuore giggled, finding his logic to be sound about the stupidity of parties, even if it sounded farfetched and contrived.
Sympathetically the summoner pat his arm and managed to keep them moving through the clusters of people, "If it makes you feel better, I still have a dagger on me just in case those lethal Epopts show up."
He gave her a once over, "Where?"
Cuore was equally confused and peered at her mother, thinking that the dress didn't look like it had any way to hide much of anything.
"Wouldn't you like to know!" she laughed, smacking his shoulder.
The current song ended and in the lull before a new tune could start up, Rydia leaned over to whisper in her husband's ear, "Maybe you can find it later,"
"Ugh," Cuore said, making a face, "I'm going to leave before I throw up,"
They just chuckled at her and she tugged Leo with her as she walked away.
"…I don't get it." he brother mentioned after a moment.
She smiled down at him, "Good, you're not old enough too."
He looked confused, but didn't argue and obediently followed her as she made her way across the hall.
Her brother was always so quiet in large groups of people that she often forgot he was around. She wasn't sure if it was because he was shy, or something else, but he seemed to just watch everything without participating. She could relate, however, since she had been much the same. The world was a strange place to adjust too, and she had found it very difficult to understand anything when she'd first arrived.
Her brother would learn to be more outgoing as he grew up, she had no doubt.
Cuore spotted Fabul's princess waving at her from across the room and waved back, glancing down at Leo and asking, "Is it okay if we go talk to them?"
"Sure," he said, smiling up at her, one of his hands still intertwined with hers, "I promised to stay with you tonight."
Cuore smiled softly at him, "You are surely the best little brother in the world."
Leo preened and followed after her as she moved through the crowded ballroom with expert steps. Someone bumped into her and she flinched, frustrated that the person didn't even stop to say they were sorry, or find out what they had run into. Cuore always felt like she was suffocating in parties. There was too much noise, and too many objects to avoid running into.
Finally she stopped beside both Ursula and Ceodore, who greeted her and Leo before she was knocked again from behind.
Cuore glared over her shoulder at the person while Leo followed suit, protectively squeezing her hand.
Noticing their predicament, Ceodore spoke up, "I know, there's a lot of people in here tonight."
Cuore sighed and then smiled a little uneasily, "I'm just not…used to such crowds."
"The torture of being royalty," Ursula lamented, teasing.
Cuore laughed a little, though she agreed, and then noticed that the princess was wearing her hair long rather then in her signature pigtails, although the familiar red flower was pinned in place, matching her dress.
"I've always wanted to ask," Cuore said, "why do you always have a flowering Paeoniaceae in your hair?"
Ursula blinked and smiled slowly, "You mean…a peony flower?"
Cuore nodded, "Yes, genus Paeonia."
"Oh," the princess said, chuckling, "Would you be satisfied if I said I just like the way it looks?"
The teal haired teen was mildly disappointed, "I assumed there was some symbolic reasoning behind it."
Ursula laughed and brushed at her hair, "I'm sure there is, but honestly, I just like them."
Ceodore finally entered the conversation, "I think it looks nice," he agreed.
The blonde princess rolled her eyes and waved off his compliment, "You always say I look nice."
Cuore felt her skirt tighten around her legs and looked down in time to hear Leo whisper; "Save me,"
"Ceodore!" a loud, shrill, little girl's voice cried, managing to echo above the music and din of conversation.
Ursula winced and attempted a smile, "Pamela must have arrived."
There was a streak of white that zigzagged through the crowd and latched onto Ceodore, smiling broadly, "Hi!"
Her blonde pigtails bounced wildly from the movement, ribbons swaying as she finally came to a stop.
He took a step backwards as she nearly knocked him over, leaving Ursula to reach out a hand to steady him. The movement drew Pamela's gaze and she glared at Ursula before giving her head a toss so her ribbons flew. She took a deep breath and they all braced themselves for her voice.
"Hi! Oh my gosh, guess what? I'm five now! My daddy says I can start going to magic classes now, but I'm a little worried because I'm so much better then all the other kids that they might feel badly. Isn't that nice of me? That I'm worried about them? Mommy always says so. And guess what? I-"
Cuore tuned out the rest of her chatter and instead leaned over to whisper to Ursula, "Why did she just look at you like a target?"
Ursula smiled and rolled her eyes, "She has a crush on Ceodore and thinks he and I are together."
"…You are," Cuore stated.
Ursula frowned, "We are not."
Cuore was, as always, unconvinced, though she turned her attention to Pamela as the little girl disengaged herself from Baron's prince and grinned at Leo, "Hi Leo! I've been wanting to see you. I'm taller then you now, I bet. You're so short! Plus, I'm so much cuter. Everyone says so."
He cringed as she grabbed his arm, "Come on, I'll show you this new spell I learned!"
Leo's eyes grew large and Cuore mouthed 'sorry' to him as the little girl dragged him off into the crowd.
She watched after and felt a twinge of guilt for not trying to help get away from the rabid little girl.
"I can't believe her parents let her run around like that," Ursula mentioned, looking amused.
Ceodore made a face, "Palom was probably way worse at that age and Leonora…well, I believe she tries."
Cuore chuckled and looked around the party, listening halfway to the conversation Ceodore and Ursula were having.
"Where's Kain?" the princess asked.
He shrugged, "Hiding in one of the corners, although I don't know which one."
"And Kieran?"
Ceodore snickered, "Probably the same."
Cuore breathed a small sigh of relief. She wasn't sure she wanted to run into him tonight, not after the display earlier that day. It would only lead to trouble, she was sure.
Cuore glanced into the crowd in search of Leo, hoping he wasn't getting into too much trouble with Pamela. The little girl was surprisingly domineering, which only made her already shy brother turn even more introverted.
She bit her lip and hoped he would be alright; after all, she had told him they should stick together.
She was distracted from her sweep of the party by Ceodore and Ursula's conversation, and turned back to catch the last bit of it.
"-Raining buckets!" Ursula said.
Ceodore seemed surprised, "Really? We haven't had any more then usual, here."
"What about you Cuore?" Ursula asked, glancing at her.
Cuore blinked and asked to clarify, "Buckets as in the loose measuring term implying 'lots' or the actual receptacle used to hold liquids?"
The princess chuckled and Ceodore answered, looking amused, "Lots, Cuore."
"Oh," she said, shrugging, "our rain flow has been analogous to past years."
She had taken a guess as to what they were referring to, and judging by their nods, she was correct in her assumption.
A new song began to play and Ceodore perked up, "Oh, this song!"
He held his hand out to Ursula, but she protested, laughing slightly, "We've already danced five dances!"
Ceodore gave her a funny look, "So…you have something against the number six?"
She shook her head, "No, but there are other people here. You should probably dance with someone else otherwise people will be talking."
He rolled his eyes, "The only rumor going on right now is that Harley is pregnant."
Cuore blinked, "What?"
Ursula snickered and Ceodore rolled his eyes again, "My mom. She does this every year, seriously. She convinces herself that someone we know is with child. This year she seems to think its Harley."
Cuore was puzzled, "Why?"
"Who knows?" he answered as if it should be obvious. He returned his attention to Ursula, "So?"
She frowned at him and put a hand on her hip, "You've been spending too much time with Kieran, it's making you rude. Maybe Cuore would like to dance."
Before he could say anything Cuore held up her hands and took an unconscious step backwards, "Oh no, that's fine. I don't really care for dancing. You two should go ahead."
Ceodore looked back at the blonde princess triumphantly, holding out his hand again. Ursula sighed and rolled her eyes, "Oh, fine."
Cuore snickered at their expense and waved as they headed off, musing to herself that they weren't dating.
"Even I can see it." she thought, rolling her ankle to try and lessen the discomfort of having to wear shoes.
She had an innate aversion to dancing.
Where her dislike originated from, she didn't know, but it was an ongoing abhorrence. Cuore suspected part of it was fact that many people didn't dance perfectly, and their uneven rhymes in response to the music annoyed her. They might as well dance without accompaniment with the lack of skill she'd experienced
But there was also the feeling of apprehension with being that close to someone and having to rely on their lead. Cuore didn't enjoy it at all and attempted to avoid the activity whenever possible.
She happened to spot a familiar group of teen girls surrounding a nearby table and giggling. The ringleader, the blonde, whispered something to another friend, making them all break into another fit of giggles.
"Another thing to avoid," she thought, frowning and purposely turning away from them.
Cuore sighed and slid her way through the crowds, feeling terrible trapped, despite the spacious room. She winced as she passed someone laughing extremely loudly, only to flinch when someone brushed against her exposed arm, again without a second look. Cuore took a deep breath and rolled her eyes, both at the lack of consideration and at her own defects.
By now she should be used to crowds of people. She should be able to handle the noise, the colors, and the sensations. Yet, she still reacted poorly to the situation and felt a headache coming on the longer she lingered in the room. Cuore turned to try and get to a space less occupied, but nearly run into someone, having to do a little hop-step backwards to avoid Kain, who gave her a funny look as she righted herself and shot him an apologetic look.
"I think you lost something," Kain said dryly, gesturing to Leo, who was looking sullenly at the floor beside him.
Cuore pressed fingertips to her forehead, "So I did," she replied, shooting her brother a stern look.
He frowned, "I almost made it,"
"You are no where skilled enough to successfully sneak out of here. Not yet," Cuore scolded, placing her hands on her hips and hoping she sounded the least bit firm.
Leo sighed and looked away, "I know…"
"Leo!"
All three of them turned to see Pamela skip over, pigtails and ribbons bouncing, "There you are!"
Leo cringed and Kain frowned, but Pamela was all sugary smiles as she giggled, "You sneaky little boy!"
Leo swallowed and Cuore made a face as Pamela continued to prattle, "I wondered where you got too! I'm glad your back, I need your help with a spell, and I also need your help to find Ceodore. He's trying to hide from me, too!" She giggled again and flashed a sweet smile, "Good thing I'm an expert at hide and seek!"
"I don't want to help you!" Leo argued, wrinkling his nose, "You're not a very good mage,"
Cuore's eyes widened in surprise; her brother rarely said anything bad about anyone, but she could tell by his expression that he had reached his limit with the little blonde girl.
Pamela merely grinned, "I am too! I'm going to be the bestest white mage ever! Even better then auntie Porom."
Leo rolled his eyes, "Doubtful,"
Cuore decided to step in before this could go any further, as she was embarrassed about it happening in front of Kain of all people.
"Pamela, Leo can't help you. He's in trouble right now." she informed her, hoping that this wouldn't start a long explanation.
Pamela pursed her lips, "Oh, somebody was bad? I hear other kids get in trouble a lot! I never do, I'm too good for that." she said, winking.
She spun around and waved, "See you!"
Leo breathed a sigh of relief and Cuore leaned down to whisper, "You owe me little brother!"
"Thanks sissy," he muttered in reply, ducking his head.
She stood up and cast a worried glance at Kain, but he just frowned and remarked, "Some people should not have kids."
Cuore chuckled and look off into the crowd where Pamela had gone, now seeing no sign of the little spawn.
Cuore took a deep breath and mentioned, "I'm…surprised you don't want to talk to me about today."
Kain paused, as if considering how to answer, but then shrugged, "As I understand it, Kieran challenged you, and he was not injured. I have no need to say anything to you."
Cuore blinked and then smiled slowly, "Thanks…"
"Speaking of Kieran," Kain said, frowning once more, "I see he is being…scarce."
His gaze swept over the crowd and Cuore spoke up, "Ceodore said something about him so I assume he is here."
She fidgeted, still unsure about the events of the day and wondering how it would affect everyone.
Kain sighed suddenly and she looked up, catching his eye and tipping her head to one side with a questioning gaze.
"Drama," he said, starting to move again. After a few steps he stopped and turned back the barest hint of a smile on his smile, "Truly, do not worry about today. Remind me to tell you about the time Cecil pushed me off the battlements."
Cuore's eyes widened and she giggled, wondering when she would get to hear that story.
Kain left her side and she searched for a moment to find what drama he had spotted, but she saw nothing.
Though, her parents were talking with someone and she peered around a grouping of people to see who.
Verian Dahl was rambling about something while they listened politely, if not in boredom.
"Uh oh," she muttered, steering Leo to walk with her as she made her way through the ballroom, towards one of the corners.
"Izayoi," she said, peeking around a pillar.
The woman looked surprised, "How did you know I was here?"
Cuore shrugged and then gave Leo a little push towards her, "Just a good guess. Listen, Leo here decided to try his hand at sneaking out,"
Leo frowned and Izayoi raised an eyebrow, "I wonder where he got such an idea,"
"Mm, yes, I wonder," Cuore replied, rolling her eyes, "Could you watch him for a second? Mom and Dad are cornered by a certain mage and I need to rescue them."
Izayoi snarled, "Better you then me,"
She set her hand on Leo's shoulder and Cuore sighed, cracking a small smile, "I hope I make it in time before some sparks fly…literally."
Izayoi nodded her agreement and Cuore dashed as quickly she could from her cousin's side, dodging knots of people and tables until she was close enough to hear the man's droning.
"Now, most people think that water would naturally be a byproduct of ice spells, but that's not so. See, you don't make water and then freeze it, you just make the ice. That's why the water spell is so hard for most mages to perfect. Of course, being as I am highly skilled, I can cast it without difficulty. Another tricky spell is aero, because, again, wind is…"
Rydia looked positively bored, her fingers tapping repeatedly against her upper arms, lips pursed in a straight line to probably avoid saying anything.
Edge, on the other hand, was glaring at him and moving his fingers in a frightening familiar pattern, probably unconsciously.
"Charm, Cuore," she whispered mentally, preparing to imitate much more pleasant human beings as she plastered a large and mostly insincere smile on her face.
She stepped into their line of sight, purposely grabbing her father's arm as she did so he wouldn't lash out at the annoying mage.
"There you are!" she exclaimed, overly loud, before turning to Verian Dahl, flashing him a smile.
"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but I really need to speak with my parents." she explained, pressing her free hand to her chest, hoping she sounded the least bit convincing.
Verian frowned, taking a painfully long time to look her over in a way not dissimilar to the girly white mages, before he spoke.
"The prodigal daughter, back from the magical land of the Eidolons. Your time away seems to have done you good, little princess." he said, agonizingly slow.
"Is he hitting on me? Crystals, I hope not…" she thought, trying not make a face. Instead she just forced a chuckle and then took a step away, drawing her parents with her, "Yes, well, I'm so sorry to pull them away, but I require their assistance."
Verian sighed, "Well, we'll have to talk later about passive spells, because I'm sure you need my guidance to adequately understand them."
Rydia glared at him, and Cuore winced, knowing the man was one word away from getting himself killed.
The cause could vary, however.
She pulled them away and he wandered off to pester some other poor soul. Once they had blended back into the crowd, Cuore breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at her parents.
"You are the best daughter ever," her father said, sounding extremely thankful.
She grinned and crossed her arms, "Don't you forget it,"
Her mother likewise gave her a smile, "Yes, thank you for the rescue. I'm not sure I could have continued to listen to that riveting tale of…I'll admit it, I wasn't pay enough attention to know what he was talking about."
"Water, I think," Edge stated dryly, "I'll show him water."
Rydia tossed him a look, and he just shrugged, "I still want to know what he was doing when the Water Crystal got stolen, too."
Cuore grinned and spun around so she could see her father, "Obviously perfecting his spells!"
"Obviously." he replied, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated motion.
Rydia scoffed, "Oh please, his understanding of magical theory is, at its very core, wrong. I'm insulted just listening to him."
Cuore chuckled and clasped her hands in front of her, glad to have gotten them out of the clutches of Verian Dahl.
She went up on her tip-toes, looking towards the corner she had left her brother and Izayoi in, wondering if she should mention to her parents that Leo had attempted to leave.
But then she heard them and turned around, surprised.
"We could sneak out," her father said, eyes already scanning the room.
"We could…" Rydia agreed.
"Window?"
"Too obvious," she said, shaking her head.
He nodded, "True…"
"Back door?"
"Also too obvious. Front door."
She wrinkled her nose, "Front door?"
"No one expects you to sneak out the front door."
"Does that even count?"
Cuore put her hands on her hips, "You two are not sneaking out of here."
"Why not?" her father asked, sounding exasperated.
She rolled her eyes, and Rydia explained, "We've already talked to everyone here,"
"That we want too." Edge cut in.
"…And for once, I'd like to leave before the obligatory argument with Kain can start." her mother finished.
"He deserves it every year, you know." Edge muttered.
Cuore sighed, "I can't take you anywhere, can I?"
"You don't have to sneak out with us," Rydia said, smiling slightly, "you can stay with your friends and we can go."
"Oh yes, because that looks good. The king and queen of Eblan just up and leave for no reason and desert their kids here." she complained, not really angry with them but still amazed with this reasoning.
They glanced at each, shrugged as if it didn't matter to them, and then looked back at Cuore, who frowned.
"You guys are unbelievable."
Edge grinned, "I know, isn't it great to have us as parents?"
She exhaled, making a sound halfway between a laugh and snort, "It's never dull,"
A new song started and Rydia groaned, "This music…is so bad. It sounds like someone died and we're mourning them."
Edge grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet with no explanation until Cuore spoke up, "Um…"
"We're getting that music changed." he said flippantly.
Edge pulled the summoner along and she smiled over her shoulder before rolling her eyes at her daughter, telling her with one look how she felt about the silly excursion.
Cuore couldn't help but smile back, thinking that she was, indeed, glad they were parents. Although, she did wish they were a little bit more behaved at events. Sometimes she felt like the adult.
Someone touched her elbow and on impulse she tensed, preparing for some sort of danger.
All she got when she glanced over her shoulder was Kieran staring at her, annoyed.
"What?" she asked rudely, freeing her arm from his fingers.
He grabbed the arm back, "We're dancing."
"…Excuse me?" she asked, too shocked to stop him from leading her through a crowd of people.
Once on the other side, he repeated flatly, "We're dancing."
"…You and me," she said, narrowing her eyes and still in shock.
He sighed loudly, weaving around Verian Dahl, currently talking Leonora's ear off, "Yes, typically a dance requires two people."
His sarcasm woke her up from her daze and she realized he was escorting her somewhere. She pulled herself free and glared at him, "Hey, I didn't say yes."
"I didn't ask," Kieran retorted, glaring right back.
Cuore stubbornly crossed her arms, but he snatched both her arms and gave her a tug. It wasn't rough, but it still made her mad, "What-"
"Dance." he said, sighing again.
She frowned but let him take her hand, wondering all the while what horrid thing she should do to him for this.
The music abruptly cut out and she closed her eyes in a wince, knowing that her parents probably had something to do with that.
There was a ripple of murmurs through the crowd and Kieran sighed again, making her realize that he sighed far more then he smiled.
It just proved there was something wrong with the young man.
The music started again, this time a little more cheery, but she was disappointed because the tragic sounding tune from before would have fit the scene much better. After a few moments, Cuore decided that this dance couldn't be more awkward if they tried. The movements were forced, the steps were robotic and the fact that Kieran wouldn't even look at her made her finally sigh and speak up.
"This has got to be the most un-enjoyable dance I have ever been a part of."
He said nothing, so she let her gaze wander over at the other dancers in the ballroom, suspecting they were having a much more pleasant time then she was, and continued, "This obviously wasn't your idea, so who put you up to it?"
Again he remained silent, and after he spun her around, agonizingly slowly, she began rattling off a list of mutual friends.
"Ursula?"
They stepped to the right.
"I didn't think so…Ceodore?"
They stepped back to the left, and then to the back.
"Good, because if he had, I'd murder him. Rosa?"
They completed one whole square of steps and she frowned, "No matchmaker tonight, huh?"
Another spin and Cuore frowned thoughtfully, running out of suspects.
"Kain?"
Here Kieran's expression altered slightly and she knew that she had deduced the truth.
"Ah, Kain…"
Cuore chuckled, "This is so payback for all the smart-ass comments my father's made about him over the years…"
"It's not like their your real parents…"
Cuore's gaze snapped up and she glared at him, "Excuse me?"
"I didn't say anything," he said, giving her that look that he always did, "I'm not the one insisting on carrying on a one-sided conversation with myself."
She frowned, but took his statement sincerely, wondering if she had imagined that comment. Or, maybe it was her own conscious playing tricks on her.
Still, it unnerved her and she looked away, wishing this horrid song would end so she could get away from her arch nemesis.
"I wish I could just leave this party…"
She sighed, "For once, you and I agree on something…"
"I didn't say anything," he said again, rising an eyebrow.
Cuore blinked, "You…didn't? I heard you say that you didn't want to be here, and I agree with you."
He halted their steps so abruptly that she stumbled a little, prompting a glare.
"I said nothing,"
"But you don't want to be here, right?" she asked, puzzled.
Kieran narrowed his eyes, and she suddenly felt uncomfortable. That wasn't the normal aggravation she saw in his eyes whenever they were forced to interact. There was genuine hate present, and she flinched from it.
"You didn't say anything," she conceded, wanting to make peace, if only for a moment.
He continued to stare at her, "No, I didn't…"
"Vile Maenads."
Cuore flinched again, the words actually stinging her slightly when usually Kieran's insults meant nothing.
"You heard that!" he snapped, dropping her hand as if it had burned him.
"I-"
"Are you reading my mind?" he demanded.
Cuore glared at him, "If I am, it's not by choice! You think I want to be inside your head?!"
"You shouldn't be!"
"I didn't mean too!"
"Just like the Maenads didn't mean to nearly destroy our planet," he said, or rather thought, making Cuore realize that she was, in fact, reading his mind. The only problem was she didn't know how to stop.
"I'm not a Maenad!"
Kieran crossed his arms, "That's exactly what you are! Why couldn't you just stay in the land of monsters?"
"Well, I'm sorry to have returned and ruined your plans," she snapped back, "Why do you have to be so…" she trailed off, realizing that all their shouting had drawn attention from most of the other guests.
"Go ahead, Cuore," Kieran taunted, drawing out her name, "say what's on your mind, for those of us not able to rummage our way into people's thoughts."
She glared at him again, torn between wanting to continue this fight or stopping it here and now because of the audience they had attracted.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean too read your mind, I swear!" she whispered to him.
Kieran's expression was angry, but it was also spiteful, "You didn't mean too? Is that supposed to make it better? Your magic is still unstable, isn't it?
She opened her mouth to disagree, but he pointed at her, "You know what, since you already know what I'm thinking I might as well just say it out loud! I wish you hadn't of come back, you don't belong here. All you are is a copy, Cuore, a heartless, soulless imitation."
His words caught her off guard; for all the arguments over the years, for all the biting remarks and glares, he had never been that bluntly cruel to her since the first time they met. And just like then she felt tears blur her vision, even as her temper boiled over and she smacked him across the face.
"Stop," she hissed, her voice rising in volume as she continued, "I'm heartless? Maybe you should look in a mirror sometime soon! There's a reason you're alone in your life, Kieran."
For all her anger, tears spilled down her cheeks so she turned away, snapping, "You don't know me, so shut up!"
Suddenly everything seemed so painfully bright and loud and she pressed a hand to forehead, hoping to block out the influx of sensations. There were snippets of voices not hers, and she realized that, if she focused, she could touch other's minds as well. Since that was the last thing she wanted, she turned and ran from the hall, avoiding physical contact as much as possible as she went; touch only increased her telepathy.
Thankfully she managed to make it back to her room quickly, and promptly slammed the door shut, leaning back against it and massaging her head.
"Maenad." she whispered out loud.
It was a name that she hadn't heard in a long time. People had stopped referring to her as such once they realized that it was offensive. Apparently, only out loud if Kieran was anything to go by.
Cuore slid down the door to sit on the floor, keeping her eyes shut tightly and wishing for just a moment that she was a different person entirely.
She had experienced telepathy a few times when she first lived in Mist, but the ability faded after a few days and she had thought, and hoped, that it was gone for good.
There was a gentle knock on the door, "Cuore?"
She sighed and stood up, peeking through a small silt at her mother.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." she muttered, opening the door anyway. Arguing would be pointless. Instead she threw herself on the bed and buried her head in her arms.
"How badly did I manage to crash the party?" she asked sarcastically.
Rydia chuckled and leaned back against the door, "Oh, not as badly as you might think. Besides, you'll never out shine your father there."
Cuore had to crack a small smile, and she rolled over onto her back, staring at the ceiling, "I really didn't mean to read his mind,"
"I know." her mother said, walking over and sitting on the corner of the bed, "It's just your abilities reactivating. I wondered if this might happen, as you got older."
She sat up, giving her mother a confused look.
"I…suspected something like this might happen." Rydia explained, smiling apologetically, "Summoners grow into their full powers around your age, and if the creator based his agents off of me, then that would be true of them as well. I had hoped it wouldn't be so hard on you, however…"
Cuore dropped her gaze, "What if I can't control it?"
"That won't happen." the summoner assured her, stroking back a piece of stray hair, "We'll help you, just like with all your other abilities."
"Like sending me away?" she thought bitterly, but wisely kept her thoughts to herself. She didn't want to hurt her mother by speaking those words aloud. She knew there had been no choice, but she couldn't choke down her fear that this would be the same situation. Instead she whispered, "I just want to be normal,"
"I'm afraid that was never going to happen, not in this family," Rydia teased lightly, smiling at her and tapping her chin.
Cuore laughed slightly, looking away as she recalled Kieran's thoughts about her family from a few minutes ago.
He was right; they weren't her family, not by blood.
"Cuore, your friends will understand," her mother said, shaking her head a little.
She sighed, "I hope so, I'm not so good at making them in the first place. I really don't want to start all over."
Cuore swallowed before asking after a moment, "What if…what if I can't help myself but to hear other's thoughts?"
"Once we're at home, it won't matter," her mother said, "I won't keep secrets from you, so it won't matter if you read my mind."
She smiled sadly, "Thanks, but I'd still rather not."
There was a moment of silence, and Rydia squeezed her hand, "Do you want me to stay?"
"No," she sighed, adding more cheerfully, "You have to get back and make sure dad doesn't try to out do me tonight."
Her mother laughed and stood, "When I left he and Kain were arguing about something so I assumed I had at least ten minutes. Besides, Izayoi is there, so hopefully she can keep things calm until I get back."
Cuore giggled slightly and then hugged her knees to her chest, "Thanks."
"We'll get you through this, I promise."
Author's Note: I somehow finished this chapter, and I had no reason not to publish it, so here it is! I will be busy the next week or so, so an update now is good! However, I have parts for the next chapter already written, so I'm still hoping to get another chapter up in a few weeks.
If you haven't read my other stories, there are a couple small things in this chapter that might not be as familiar to you, I know. I don't have a lot to say about this one, as I think it speaks for itself. Though, I must mention that Rydia's name/title is really long and I realized this after I had written it out. Also? I went to an event thisa year and might have been like Cuore in this large crowd. That event might have inspired parts of this.
Until next time, thanks for reading everyone!
