"Lady Lualdi's ball was very…eventful? Thinking back on it now, eventful was a tame word to describe that night's events."

- -Lloyd Irving-Aurion.

Chapter Ten : Dancing in the Sunshine

Lloyd had to constantly tell himself to relax as Kratos spun him around the dance floor with little to no effort. Duchess Lualdi's ball was a few hours away and Emil had told Kratos to practice a few dances with Lloyd. Kratos agreed and stated that he wanted to see Lloyd's progress for himself.

He wanted to throttle Emil for putting him in such a situation. Emil had waved them off earlier with a sly smile on his delicate features, stating that he had to run home and drag Richter out of his office to get ready, which usually took an hour to do so.

"Concentrate, Lloyd," Kratos chided softly. The sudden stop in their movements caused Lloyd to snap out of his thoughts. "You don't want to fall flat on your face in front of everyone, do you?"

"No," Lloyd muttered, feeling his face turn a nice shade of red at the scolding he received. "I'm sure the others would love to see that, though."

"Duchess Lualdi, yes," Kratos admitted, "but no one else is as wicked as her and her husband Decus. I'm sure you'll love being in everyone else's company though."

Lloyd dropped his one hand off Kratos' shoulder and pulled the other out of a tight grip. "How do you know that? It's just like with Yuan!"

He turned his back to Kratos and crossed his arms over his chest. He knew shouldn't be pulling such a fit only hours away from the ball, but he couldn't help but be worried.

"Listen," Kratos told him with a sigh, laying his hands on Lloyd's shoulders. "Nothing like that is going to happen. You'll be treated fairly and with respect just like everyone else. I'll make sure of it, all right?"

Lloyd glanced at Kratos over his shoulder before slowly nodding his head. He turned back around and resumed the proper poise for dancing.

"One more dance," Lloyd insisted with a warm smile, feeling heat rush to his face when Kratos caressed his hand longer than necessary before taking it in a firm grip.

"One more dance," Kratos repeated with a sultry smile.

"Stop tugging it! You look fine!" Andrea snapped, slapping away his hand. She proceeded to drape a warm red cloak over his shoulders to complete his outfit for the night.

He tugged again at the cream collar. "This outfit is suffocating, Andrea!" He pulled his hand away just before Andrea could slap it away again.

"I can see now," Andrea started, brushing the wrinkles out of the cloak, "that we're going have to go through this every single time there's an event until you can put together your own outfits!"

Lloyd frowned at the reminder. Kratos had picked out his clothes earlier before handing him over to Andrea and stating that she was to have Lloyd ready at a reasonable time. Andrea happily dragged Lloyd back to his room, ordering him to bathe quickly. Afterwards, she proceeded to dress him up.

He felt like a child, having someone dress him like this, and looking into the mirror, he would admit that Kratos had good taste in clothing. Kratos had chosen a mixture of cream, black, and red and a pair of comfortable boots that gave Lloyd a few inches-which he had thought he didn't exactly need…

"Arms down," Andrea chided softly. The mirror reflected her smile and her warm green eyes that shone with pride. "Now don't you look like the lord you're going to be in just weeks!"

Lloyd returned the smile weakly, his stomach knotting. This would be the first time he was going to be around a mansion full of nobles, who would keep sharp eyes on him the entire night, whispering about him behind his back.

That did wonders for his self-confidence.

"No frowning now," Andrea scolded, taking hold of his shoulders and guiding him out of the room. "Those nobles are going to be looking for any flaw they can find and will use it to rip you to shreds, the ravenous wolves that they are! So you, Lord Irving, keep your chin up like I know Dirk taught you!"

Lloyd chuckled, before turning to wrap his arms around her briefly. "I will Andrea, and thank you for helping tonight. I'm sorry that I was so much trouble."

Andrea reached over and fixed his hair, and Lloyd relaxed under her gentle hands. "It's fine, now you go and have yourself a good time and remember Lloyd, keep your chin up!"

Giving Andrea one last wave, Lloyd walked downstairs, blushing part of the way when some of the servants he passed commented on how good he looked. He reached the foyer and found Kratos waiting for him patiently near the double doors. When his eyes met Kratos', he felt weak at the knees and quickly grabbed the banister to steady himself. No words could describe how good Kratos looked in his chosen state of dress. He was used to seeing Kratos in just in a simple jacket and trousers, but Kratos clearly outdid himself tonight.

That or his lovesick mind was taking the matter out of proportions.

"You," Lloyd swallowed, his grip tightening on the banister, "you look nice tonight, Kratos."

The black cloak that Kratos donned for protection against the cold made his shoulders look even broader than usual. Black trousers and boots covered his legs, and as Lloyd gazed continued upward, he noticed that Kratos had taken a liking to black and silver for his tunic. All in all, he wouldn't be surprised if Kratos was the best-looking man there tonight.

Kratos raised an eyebrow. "Thank you. You look nice as well. Shall we leave now? Or are you not finished staring at me like a hungry wolf?"

"We can leave." Lloyd stomped down the stairs and making more noise than necessary, he paused at the now open double doors and glared at Kratos. "And for your information, I was not 'staring at you like a hungry wolf,' as you so kindly put it."

He pretended not to hear Kratos' laugh as he made his way to the carriage, with Tristan waiting holding open the door.

"Thank you, Tristan."

Tristan smiled broadly. "You're very welcome, Lord Irving. Have a pleasant evening."

Lloyd climbed in with Kratos trailing close behind. Once the door was closed and locked, Lloyd felt the carriage move forward.

"Is there anything I'm supposed to say once we arrive?" Lloyd asked, placing most of his cloak in his lap.

"Just a thank you will suffice," Kratos explained. "I'll introduce you to the heads of the other three houses a little later on."

"You'll dance with me, right?" Lloyd asked with excitement laced in his voice. He wanted to show off Kratos and make some of the noblewomen jealous, but he would never say such a thing to the man sitting in front of him.

Kratos crossed his arms and gave him a suspicious look. "You've never seemed so eager to dance before. What are you plotting?"

"I'm not plotting anything!" Lloyd protested with a pout. "Is it so wrong for me to ask my fiancé to dance with me? I mean, I'm sure a lot of the young noblewomen will be asking you to dance the entire night."

"That innocent act you're trying so hard to pull off doesn't reassure me in the least," Kratos said sarcastically.

Lloyd snorted and shifted in his seat. "You have so little faith in me, Kratos." He shyly smiled at Kratos, only to frown less than a second later when he saw Kratos' expression remain the same.

He really had to do something about that sour expression Kratos was so fond of putting on.

"Look," he started, "I'm not going to do anything damaging, okay? I want to have fun with Emil and Richter, if they aren't too busy themselves."

"Richter and Aster are usually locked in discussion about their research throughout any event, so chances are you'll get a few dances in with Emil if you wish."

Lloyd frowned at that. It didn't seem very fun for Emil to sit on the sidelines the entire night and watch Richter and Aster discuss something he wasn't exactly interested in. he would make sure that his new friend had fun tonight.

They stopped earlier than Lloyd thought they would. He peaked behind the curtain and found that they were almost at the end of a long line of carriages with most of the nobles stepping out and walking to the entrance.

Hearing door open, Lloyd turned and found Kratos stepping out already. He slowly crawled out after Kratos and closed the door behind them.

"It would take too long for us to stop at the entrance one at a time," Kratos said as they walked along several nobles.

"That makes sense, I guess." Lloyd rubbed his hands to warm them up, even though he had on gloves they were for the outfit more than to fight against the cold.

They walked part of the way in a comfortable silence, with the exception of Kratos stopping once every few minutes for a polite hello to a passing noble. Lloyd stopped when he spotted Emil and Richter near the large fountain. He would've immediately run over to say hello if not for the amusing situation before him.

Emil had a brush, of all things, in his hands and was running it through Richter's long red hair. Emil's expression was a mixture of displeasure and amusement. Richter sat on the edge of the fountain with his glasses in his hand, patiently waiting for Emil to finish, and] it seemed they didn't mind the disdained looks they received from other party attendants.

Lloyd walked over to the couple before Kratos could protest and smiled when Emil's eyes lit up at the sight of him.

"You look great, Lloyd!" Emil told him once he was within earshot. Lloyd barely recognized Emil in his state of dress. Emil was draped in colors of pale blue and white, while Richter was dressed in dark purple and black.

"Were you two running late or something?" he asked, seeing the ribbon in Richter's hand. Emil frowned at Richter and started to brush his husband's hair again.

"We wouldn't have been late," Emil said, tugging Richter's hair on purpose, "if this one here would've just put down his paperwork and got dressed like I asked him to." Emil continued with a huff, "One difference between your husband-to-be and mine, Lloyd, is that Kratos has a clean record for being on time for everything."

Lloyd didn't reply to that, as it seemed true. Kratos was always perfect in everything he did, which was in Lloyd's opinion, somewhat creepy at times.

"Why do we have to attend anyway?" Richter snapped, as Emily pulled his hair back again. "Alice doesn't even like us! She's a sadistic little- -"

"Richter!" Emil hissed angrily, grabbing the ribbon and quickly tying Richter's hair into a low ponytail. "Because she invited us, that's why. You're so difficult at the worst times."

"And you nag at the worst time," Richter countered ruthlessly. Lloyd nervously glanced at Emil then Richter, he never seen the couple so irate towards each other before. It was disconcerting to witness.

Feeling a strong hand on his shoulder, Lloyd turned to find Kratos staring at him with his usual blank expression.

"Come," Kratos told him firmly, "we're going to be late if we don't leave now. Would you like to walk with us, Richter, Emil?"

"We'd love to," Emil replied, any traces of anger long gone from his face. "Coming, Richter?"

Richter slid his glasses back into place before standing and dusting off his clothing. He held his arm out for Emil, muttering an apology to his husband.

Lloyd watched as Emil grabbed Richter's strong arm, silently accepting Richter's low apology, before turning towards him with a blinding smile.

"Well!" Emil spoke brightly. "Shall we go?"

The rest of the way to the mansion was filled with Lloyd's and Emil's chatter with Kratos and Richter walking silently beside them. When they reached the entrance, a petite woman greeted the party wore a beautiful white strapless dress with fur lining the hem around her shoulders.

"Is that her?" Lloyd asked Kratos as they moved forward in line.

"That's her." Richter spoke up before Kratos could. "Lady Alice Lualdi. Though it's strange for her to be greeting guests instead of Decus. She must want to meet you, Lloyd."

Lloyd gave Richter a wide-eyed stare and pointed to his chest. "Me? Why does she want to meet me of all…" Suddenly he turned to Emil, who only offered a sympathetic smile. It all came back rushing back to him like a tidal wave.

In all the preparation for the ball, he had briefly forgotten the rumors that Emil told him about about he was Kratos mysterious fiancé' that no one had seen and most likely to ruin Kratos' reputation. Lloyd groaned out loud. He wondered if this night was going to keep going smoothly like it was or turn into pure hell.

"Do not stress out about it," Kratos told him quietly, as they were a few feet away from Alice at this point.

Kratos' firm grip on his shoulder was the only thing stopping him from running back to the carriage and going back home. Lloyd sighed heavily and watched as the two couples before him went in. Then he was staring into the amber eyes of the hostess.

"Duke Aurion! Viscount Abend and Emil! What a pleasure to see you here!" Lloyd winced at Alice's high-pitched voice and smiled weakly when she turned her gaze to him. "Oh? And who might you be?"

"Lloyd Irving of Iselia and Duke Aurion's fiancé'. It's a pleasure to meet you, Duchess Lualdi and thank you for inviting us."

Alice stared at him from head to toe before smiling brightly and waving them inside. "The pleasure is all mine, Sir Irving! Please enjoy yourselves tonight."

They stepped inside and at once, Lloyd felt the penetrating stares of dozens of party attendants. Instead of keeping his head down like he wanted, Lloyd raised his chin and managed to catch a few of their gazes. He felt smug when they backed down and placed their attentions elsewhere.

Duchess Lualdi's ballroom was somewhat smaller than Kratos', but much more richly decorated. Several tables were placed near the windows and on each were trays upon trays of small snacks and glasses full of wine and most likely juice. Lloyd's stomach rumbled at the sight, and he flushed when Kratos gave him a disapproving look.

"You have to dance with me for at least three sets and then I'll let Aster have you for the rest of night, Richter! For Martel's sake, I feel like I have to share you with Aster sometimes!"

Hearing this, Lloyd turned to find Emil and Richter locked in a glaring contest. He felt slightly sorry for Emil for having to put up this.

"Emil," he said, "why don't you dance a couple of dances with me, and we'll leave Richter and Kratos to themselves for a little bit?"

Lloyd didn't wait for Emil's response before rushing over and grabbing Emil's slim wrists and dragging him out onto the dance floor where several couples were already beginning a waltz.

Taking Emil's slim waist and hand, Lloyd began the complicated dance all the while staring into Emil's surprised green eyes.

"Sorry." Lloyd spoke once they were part-way done with the dance. "Kratos told me that Richter and Aster always talked about their research during times like this, and I didn't want you to be bored."

"O-oh." Emil flushed, gripping Lloyd's hand tighter in gratitude. "Thank you, Lloyd, that was very considerate of you, but what about Kratos? You practically left him in the dust…"

Lloyd allowed a small grin to pull at his lips. "Ah, he'll be fine. I have most of the night to get a few dances in with him, and he promised to introduce me to the rest of the houses."

They slowed to the stop as the music faded away. Lloyd gently released Emil's waist and hand before stepping back.

"We can dance a few more if you want?" Lloyd offered.

Emil shook his head, eyes shining with amusement. "No, I'm fine, thank you. Why don't we go over to the refreshment table and get something? We don't want your stomach talking while you're getting introduced to everyone."

Lloyd blushed bright red at that. Emil must've heard him earlier? Was he really that loud?

"Sure, why not?"

Kratos kept a sharp eye on Emil and Lloyd as they traveled over to the refreshment table, he just hoped that Lloyd wasn't going to stuff his face like he did back home, but maybe with Emil there, Lloyd would exercise some self-restraint. He turned back to the short woman in front of him and actually gave his full attention to the conversation.

"Is your sister Lady Bryant well, Presea?"

Presea Combatir was a delicate woman with pale skin and high cheekbones. To Kratos, she was an intelligent woman who could hold a conversation, unlike most noblewoman he met.

"She's fine," Presea spoke softly. "Alicia is expecting soon. A boy, from what she told me, and you, Lord Aurion? I've heard rumors about you and your mysterious fiancé as of late."

"The rumors are true," Kratos admitted, "though I have no clue as to how that got out, it would be childish to hide such a fact now."

"Word travels fast around here, Lord Aurion. I would not be surprised if one of your servants told a family member. No offense to you, of course."

Kratos released a small chuckle. "No offense taken. It would not surprise me at all, but now that he is here, the rest of the aristocracy can confirm it with their own eyes."

Presea nodded in agreement. "Yes. Would you mind introducing him to me? Or is he the brunette standing next to Lord Castagnier-Abend?"

Kratos turned back to see Lloyd talking with enthusiasm to a rather flustered Emil, all the while eating a plate full of pastries. Kratos felt his eye twitch at the sight.

"Of course," Kratos agreed reluctantly, "I'll introduce you."

Lloyd moaned in delight as he finished his fifth chocolate pastry, and oblivious to the disgusted stares he was gaining, he turned back to Emil. His friend looked rather flushed, and Lloyd raised an eyebrow at Emil's shy behavior.

"Emil?" he asked quietly.

Emil discreetly shifted his eyes. Looking around, Lloyd suddenly grinned sheepishly when he saw several disgusted gazes directed at him. The chocolate stains on his once-pristine gloves embarrassed him. Lloyd slowly put down the half-finished plate.

"Sorry, Emil," he said, shifting to hide his hands and the fact that he was taking off his gloves to place them in his pocket. Lloyd took special care in making sure they were laying flat instead of balled up.

"It's okay," Emil whispered from behind, amusement clear in his voice, "but I can't say the same for Kratos, who is on his way over here right now. I'm going to find Richter. See you later."

Lloyd spun around in time to see Emil swiftly walk away, obviously avoiding Kratos, who was doing an excellent job at keeping his anger in check. But his red eyes were a shade darker. He noticed a pale woman next to him with a blank expression, Lloyd was amused that she could pull off blankness of expression better than Kratos.

Kratos and the woman stopped before him. Unexpectedly Kratos bent forward and whispered into his ear.

"Please wipe your face, Lloyd, you have chocolate all over it."

Laughing nervously, Lloyd almost wiped off the chocolate on his face with his sleeve, but at the intense glare from Kratos, remembered his napkin at the last moment. Disaster averted. After placing the napkin on the table, he turned expectedly to Kratos.

"Lloyd, this is Presea Combatir. Presea, this is Lloyd Irving, my fiancé."

Lloyd held his hand out and winced when Presea squeezed his hand tightly. She was stronger than she looked!

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Combatir," Staring at the short woman, Lloyd was slightly unnerved at the light blue eyes that were flat and almost lifeless.

"It's a pleasure, Lord Irving." Presea turned to Kratos with a small smile. "I hope to get an invitation to your wedding, Lord Aurion?"

"Of course, Presea. We've known each other for over five years, and I do consider you a dear friend of mine."

"I'm looking forward to it."

With that parting comment, Presea walked away, leaving Lloyd with what he could guess was a slightly angry Kratos.

"I suppose I should introduce you to the heads of the other houses," Kratos said, placing his hand against the small of Lloyd's back.

Lloyd stiffened with the unexpected touch. Caught off guard that Kratos would place his hand there, he nodded in agreement.

"Lead the way."

End Chapter Ten.