The Ball, part four
She stayed quiet for the rest of the introductions. Each of the dignitaries told a little bit about what they did, their responsibilities, something or other about their families – truthfully, Endymion found it hard to concentrate on anything but the golden-haired girl beside him. Though his eyes followed the conversation, his attention was on the peripheral. Every nod, every subdued twitch of a smile, every hidden glance his way – he caught it all. … What he didn't catch was the question thrown his way after the niceties of the greeting.
He suddenly found everyone's faces turned to him, Leran's voice ending in the upward inflection of an inquiry, and he had no clue what was going on.
"Yes, Endymion, it would be nice to hear your opinion on the Arc," Kunzite prompted before the silence became lengthy. Snapping an answer together and mentally patting Kunzite on the back for the great save, Endymion jumped onto the topic, inviting Nephrite to share his opinions as the brunette was practically jumping at the bit to speak with its chief designer.
As soon as everyone was keeping up with Nephrite and Leran, Endymion subtly tapped Kunzite on the shoulder and mouthed 'thanks.' Kunzite smiled in response, then nodded his head back to the two talking: a silent reminder to keep his head in the game.
And he would have, too… if she weren't so close. Tilting his head towards her, he whispered conspiratorially, "So, did you find something savory?"
Her eyes closed and she raised her hand to cover her mouth, as if she were yawning, but instead she whispered back, "Mini quiche – they were delicious."
It was a clever ruse – if he hadn't been standing so close he would've been completely fooled. What other tricks did she have up her sleeve? "Are you feeling better, then?" he whispered again, as Kunzite tucked his hair behind his ear – he knew what he was up to, but Endymion couldn't really help himself.
This time, Serenity looked down at herself and brushed at the fabric of her dress. The fabric made a soft swooshing sound, and in it he almost lost her quiet reply, "Much."
He smiled – she was good. He turned his head as if to examine the fastening of his cape, his hands straightening the material to cover where his eyes really were. Despite the little signs and messages she was sending him, her appearance was still one of utmost grace and nobility… until she caught him staring and winked. He barely contained a grin as he turned his attention back to the conversation at hand.
"Even sooner than six hours?" Nephrite repeated, his hand marking the emphasis.
"But how is that even possible?" Zoisite added, his expression one of amazement. Jadeite looked appreciative – Endymion had missed something.
Dignitary Leran smiled appreciatively, nodding his head as if accepting highest compliments. "Yes, it is possible, but I'm afraid the technique is still under the strictest of testing environs and I cannot divulge anything else about it." Nephrite and Zoisite looked crestfallen, and the man's smile grew, "Unless, that is… you would like to swing by the test field?"
"When?" Nephrite asked enthusiastically as Zoisite produced a small scroll and a writing utensil from his inner jacket, poised to scribe the directions.
Leran and Cretair laughed merrily at their eagerness, while he swore he heard Corvus mutter something about 'boys' and 'toys' as she leaned towards Princess Serenity, her eyes rolling.
"How about the day after tomorrow, around noontime? We'll meet you in the Sea of Tranquility," Leran decided, his mustached partner Cretair marking his agreement with a nod. "We might even be able to get you into one of the test-pods," Cretair added.
Nephrite's jaw dropped, "You mean… we could… I could...?"
Cretair nodded.
Nephrite turned, open mouthed, to Endymion. He had really missed something. He smiled back, not really knowing what he was supposed to be so excited about but not wanting to disappoint Nephrite by showing a lack of eagerness for whatever-it-was they were doing in a few days' time. The brunette made a victorious hand motion, "Yes!"
"How long do you think it would take to learn the controls?" Zoisite asked as Nephrite's enthusiastic whooping continued beside him.
"Oh, not too long, I would imagine. You've ridden horses, correct?" Leran answered, turning his attention away from the celebratory general. At Zoisite's, Kunzite's and Endymion's nods (Jadeite was too caught up in evading Nephrite's attempt at making him cheer), Leran explained, "then it shouldn't take long at all – we modeled the steering mechanism after the reigns of a horse, and each of you would be in with a copilot so the technical mechanics would be taken care of for you."
"Interesting…" Zoisite commented.
"Genius," Kunzite complimented.
So we're going to be piloting something? Endymion concluded. He started to piece together what he remembered… Leran and Cretair were technicians in charge of the Arc, the spaceship that brought them here. Nephrite was excited about something getting here in less than six hours – perhaps newer propulsion technology? … And they were going to let them TEST IT? Excitement welled up like a geyser as the understanding hit him – They were going to be FLYING something REALLY FAST the day after tomorrow! PRACTICALLY ALONE! ONLY ONE COPILOT! If it only took the Arc six hours to traverse from Earth to Moon, it would be going…. He quickly calculated the speed, around 39,800 miles per hour – that's 11 miles per second – that like taking one second to make it from the capital to the great temple – that usually takes at least half an hour on a galloping horse! … and this thing that they're piloting goes FASTER THAN THAT! He now easily saw why Nephrite was so excited. They would be going so fast! He wondered fleetingly if there were more than one so they could race, and wished he had been paying more attention earlier so he could be celebrating with Nephrite.
Luckily the brunette was sharing his brainwave. "Wait, wait," he paused, looking at Cretair, "How many are there? Could we race them?"
"Unfortunately, there is only one," Cretair admitted, his tone and body language suggesting that he thought Nephrite might be a little less excited.
Instead, his green eyes shot a challenge over to Endymion, "Time trials." he stated.
Endymion returned the competitive stare, "You're on."
"Shall we make it interesting?" Jadeite cut in, an aggressive look about him, too. So he would be competing, eh?
"How so?" Nephrite returned, speaking to Jadeite while continuing to stare at Endymion. Out of the corner of the prince's eyes, he found the little audience of dignitaries and the Queen looking quite amused.
"Winner chooses a collective punishment for the losers."
"Agreed." Endymion said in chorus with Nephrite. He'd have to think up something good…
"Boys," Corvus sighed exasperatedly, "and here I thought a prince and his highest ranking officials would be more refined." Their staring contest broken, both sets of his, Nephrite's green and his blue, followed the commentary.
"Nothing's wrong with a competitive spirit," Leran defended.
"And what's could fuel it more than a wager?" Cretair added.
The woman rolled her eyes and shrugged helplessly, looking over at Queen Serenity, then Princess Serenity, both of whom just smiled in response
He wondered if there would be a way for Princess Serenity to join them at the testing field… unbidden, a memory from a storybook flashed into his mind: the winner of the tournament always got a kiss from the land's Princess… a blush crept into his cheeks before he could stop it; thankfully no one seemed to notice before he was able to push it away. It wouldn't happen… but he found himself quietly asking anyway, "Do you think you would be able to join us?"
The princess yawned and stretched, or, rather, that was her cover. "We might be able to sneak out of lessons."
"My, Princess, that is the second time you've yawned! Are you tired?" Corvus asked, concerned, interrupting Leran as he spoke about other advancements they were making.
Caught.
"Oh, no, it's nothing," Serenity waved off.
"Then again, I suppose it's only natural! You've been up since such an early time this morning," Corvus continued, ignoring the princess's answer.
"Really, I'm not that tired, but thank you for your concern, Dignitary Corvus." Serenity nodded her head appreciatively towards the tall red-haired woman.
Corvus shrugged as if not completely convinced, and Endymion thought it might be best to save further conversation for the dance floor, less the woman insist the princess consider retiring for the night.
The conversation continued to focus on the technological advancements made at the research base in the Sea of Tranquility, Corvus interrupting every now and again in an attempt to change the topic. She succeeded only when mentioning the competitive sports and games for the upcoming festival, and then was rather cryptic about it all, wanting to 'keep them in suspense.' The time passed rather quickly, yet as Serenity shifted, her arm brushing up against his hand, he found himself sincerely wishing that the musicians hurry up with their break.
Finally, the conductor returned to the stage and everyone turned to him and applauded. "Thank you all," the tall man took a bow, and then led his orchestra through their commendations. The room echoed with the clapping of hundreds of hands offering their thanks for the entertainment of the evening. As they died down, he continued, "Thank you all for your warm reception. It was an honor for us to play tonight and welcome Prince Endymion and his right-hand quartet to our glorious Moon Kingdom." He smiled at his own musical reference; Endymion heard Jadeite sigh exasperatedly somewhere to his right. "We would like to end the night with a few favorites; please enjoy the last hour of our performance." He bowed again to applause, turned, and raised his baton.
"It was a pleasure to meet you all," Endymion addressed the gathered dignitaries, "Lady Corvus, I am looking forward to the festival and the surprises you've hinted at," the woman smiled and curtseyed, "And Masters Leran and Cretair, I cannot wait to test out your newest inventions on Monday morning." The two smiled and bowed. He turned then, to the small blonde girl beside him. Her blue eyes were looking at him, but not expectantly – it was almost as if she was looking into a daydream. He'd see if he could provide more inspiration for them. "Princess Serenity, would you honor me with another dance?"
She smiled and carefully took his hand, walking lightly and evenly with him out onto the floor. The farther they got from the officials, the more she seemed to relax, to melt back into the girl he had danced with nearly an hour ago. Only when she had completely let go did he twirl her, his right hand passing hers into his left, the move finishing with her facing him in a dip, "Serenity."
She beamed up at him, her face alight, "Endymion." Again his heart swelled to hear her say his name. He pulled her back up to be closer then danced in place to the slower-paced song.
"I admire your expertise in covert communication," he said with a smile.
She coyly grinned back at him, her eyes shifting guiltily as she bit her lip, "What can I say? I am good."
He laughed and spun them. "The yawning was a work of art – "
"With occasional drawbacks," she pointed out with a giggle, "One time Aphrodite and I held an entire conversation with yawns during a lesson. When Bellona and Demeter joined in, Professor Gerune thought that we were coming down with some sort of disease and sent us all to bed, without dinner."
"Oh, how tragic," he teased.
She stuck her tongue out at him, "the tragedy was that we had to leave Athena alone with him – she showed none of the symptoms, so he thought he'd continue the lesson just with her; the problem was that, until then, he never knew exactly how intelligent she is. She taught him on the subject and ever since he's been asking her to present at the University and giving her all sorts of other projects. … not to mention she's been charged with making sure I keep up with my studies." She made an annoyed face, "as if she hadn't insisted upon doing so before."
He laughed, "and here I thought Athena was such a nice girl."
"Oh, no! She is!" she quickly clarified, just as he thought she would. "I love Athena to death! … it's those books I couldn't care less for."
He chuckled again, "Which subjects do you dislike so much?"
She sighed, "Pretty much all of them… and now I'm reminded of that huge stack of homework waiting for me in the library." She looked back at him, "It's a bit depressing."
"Well, Serenity, what do you like?"
"Well, I like dancing," she said and he twirled her out obligingly, letting go to keep her spinning in place as he twirled himself in beside her.
"I had noticed," he murmured, catching her hands and kissing them softly before leading them to his shoulders. She grasped them behind his neck as his hands found her hips and they swayed in time to the song.
Blushing, her eyes took in his, "I like sweets."
"So you've told me, cake-princess." Slowly he started rotating them, keeping relatively in place as couples danced past and around them, unaware of the little world they had all to themselves.
"I like sunny days and gardens, laughing, spending time with my friends…" her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Mmhmm," he hummed, leaning closer to her.
"and the Prince of Earth."
His heart thundered softly in his chest. He wanted to kiss her, to hold her tight against him and loose himself in her. To take her in, just as she had completely captured him. It was more than a want, more than a strong feeling – the command his heart and body demanded was harder to fight than instinct… he leaned closer, her eyes closed and she tilted her face up to meet his…
But before his lips got any closer to hers his shoulder was tapped insistently. It was like a rude awakening from the most perfect dream he had ever had – his eyes opened and he halfway turned to see Kunzite behind him. Turning back to Serenity he saw a mirrored look of a dreamer awakened, her blue eyes looking over her shoulder at Aphrodite.
"A little too close there, Prince," Kunzite addressed quietly, for his ears only. "Princess, might I cut in?" he asked in a louder voice.
Still looking a bit confused, Serenity hesitantly nodded. He released her and watched with an empty feeling as Kunzite danced away with her. He was so close, and his heart ached to be that close again. Before he could take a step in any direction, Aphrodite moved in, taking his empty hands and putting them into a dancing position.
"Sorry, Prince," she said cheerfully with a wink, "You two were just getting a little too close for comfort."
He smiled halfheartedly and started to dance.
"Did you know you had stopped dancing completely?" Aphrodite continued, "a little lost in the moment, were we?"
Her teasing tone was starting to lighten his mood, "Maybe."
"'Maybe'? There was no 'maybe' there! I should know," she winked, "I really hated breaking you two up, but Kunzite was right – a little too close for the public eye. We don't want rumors flying about you two just yet – you've only just arrived!"
Ah, there it was. He should've thought of that before he let himself get carried away – she had her reputation to uphold, and so did he. Monarchs-to-be didn't just kiss in the middle of the dance floor. … no matter how much they wanted to… He sighed, it was a good catch, no matter how much he didn't want to be caught.
"Yeah, sorry," he apologized.
"You are not," her smile brightened with a tease, "but don't be too upset with us, you might get other chances."
"Oh, really?" he asked, playing along.
"Well, so long as you and your Generals don't mind hanging out with us after lessons every day this week."
He smiled, glancing around to find Nephrite happily dancing and chatting with Demeter and Zoisite dancing with an unknown young lady but glancing over at Athena. "You know, I don't think we'll mind too much."
"Good! We wanted to go to the zoo tomorrow." She nodded matter-of-factly, "You can take us and tell us more about the weird animals from Earth."
He laughed, finding Serenity twirling under Kunzite's hand on the other side of the room. Thinking back on their earlier conversation, he secretly hoped that the thought of meeting him afterwards would make her lessons even a bit more difficult, as he knew waiting for her to finish them would make his days stretch on forever.
Aphrodite followed his gaze, and sighed, "And, of course, you can always finish what you started after the dance is over."
Endymion's smile grew, still watching the blonde dancing with his silver-haired friend, and promised himself that he would.