Flaming Hearts in the Heart of the Valfame

Perfectly harmonised music drifted over a sea of dancers as they floated about the grand hall arm in arm with their partners. Dresses and tails spun in synchronised circles in time to the rhythm laid out by the band. The general murmur of laughter and conversation underpinned the music, and dozens upon dozens of candles provided soft fire light from candelabra to chandelier.

The Valflame Palace was bedecked in its finest trappings, with red and gold streamers running in billowing arcs beneath the ceiling and down the walls. Pristine white tablecloths dressed the tables decked high with rich wines and fancy little appetisers. Even the royal guards who lined the walls had their ceremonial best on display, their armours polished to a perfect shine.

Rean Schwarzer stepped into the great hall, adjusting his tie a little anxiously. Even though he was dressed in a rather fine grey suit, complete with a sharp cerise waistcoat and tie, he still felt a little shabby compared to much of the rest of Erebonia's high society gathered together around him. He supposed it was probably due to his upbringing. Though they were nobility themselves, the Schwarzer's had never been the most formal of the landed families and didn't tie themselves to the trappings of tradition as strictly as many others did.

"Nervous?" The soft murmur of the companion on his arm soothed. Sara Valestein smiled at him with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Maybe a little." Rean admitted. "It's been a while since we've done this sort of thing after all." He peered at his lover with a warm smile. She was clad in a gorgeous sleek and silvery dress. The shade of it matched the colour scheme he wore very nicely. It had been Sara's idea to coordinate ahead of time of course. She'd picked out her dress to match his title, Ashen Chevalier, and his waistcoat and tie to match hers, Purple Lightning. It also matched her hair rather nicely.

Sara chuckled airily. "I know, right? Can't even remember the last time we got to go to a fancy ball like this, It's our first time as an 'us' as well." She bit on one end of her lip softly. "I keep expecting someone to come up to us, say there's been some sort of mistake and chuck us both out on our ears. We're practically riff raff compared to most of the people in here."

"Try not to tempt fate." Rean smiled. "We only just got here."

"Well, you should be alright at least, Baron Schwarzer."

"My father's the baron, not me."

"Eh, close enough." Sara shrugged dismissively. "You're still his son and all, that still makes you a Lord though, doesn't it?"

"Technically." Rean admitted. "Though just about anyone with ties to a noble family can use that title." He looked at her warily. "Please don't start calling me that."

"I make no promises." Sara smiled so very pretty and innocent. "My Lord."

Rean sighed.

The Ashen Chevalier took to peering about the place, trying to find people he recognised. As far as he was aware, plenty of his friends and colleagues should also be attending the event as well as he and Sara. The party itself was simply a social gathering put on by Prince Olivert, ostensibly billed as a celebration of the peace and stability enjoyed in the realm since the disruption of the Jormungandr Project and the short lived war the Empire had waged against pretty much the rest of Zemuria.

Those dark days had been several years since, and Erebonia had seldom known such peace. Naturally, the heroes of those struggles had all been invited to the celebrations, as had many dignitaries and persons of note from across the Empire and beyond.

Rean and Sara wandered on into the crowd arm in arm in search of their friends and colleagues past and present. The each plucked a wine flute from a passing waiter as they went.

"Sara! Rean!" A voice exuded above all the gentle conversation and music.

Rean and Sara both turned in blinking surprise to find Princess Alfin running up to them through the crowd. A few heads turned to indignantly complain at the sudden noise before realising it was their princess who was responsible for the ruckus. They wisely chose to keep any forthcoming complaints to themselves.

Rean's sister Elise was being dragged along in tow as was usual.

"Your Highness! Please control yourself." Elise complained to no avail, though she smiled warmly at her brother. "Rean, it's so good to see you!"

"Elise, Princess Alfin." Rean smiled at them both. "It's great to see you both." He hadn't seen his sister in nearly a full year and the Princess even longer than that. Rean almost did a double take at how much both had grown. No longer young girls, they were both clearly young women now.

"Oh Rean, it's been much too long." Alfin smiled bright and wide. "And you too Sara, how are you both?"

"Very well, your Majesty." Sara bowed her head respectfully. "I hope all's well with you?"

"Even better now that you two are here. We've been looking forward to seeing you." The Princess turned an evil smirk to Elise for a moment. "Elise in particular has just been dying to see you again."

"Princess!" Elise complained, cheeks reddening. "Please, don't embarrass me!"

"Oh, no need to hide your true feelings, Elise. I know you've just been longing to see your handsome big brother in the flesh once more, to be reunited with him after so long being apart." Alfin sighed wistfully. "Truly, it's like a fairy tale."

Rean did his best to ignore the Princess without committing treason. "It has been too long Elise, how have you been?"

"Just fine, thank you." Elise smiled bright. "Mother and Father have been worried about you, you know."

Rean sighed. "I thought they might, but I've been fine, really. I promise."

"I hope so. We all know how dangerous a Bracer's life can be." Elise scowled at him a little. She turned a smile to Sara. "I hope he hasn't been making a nuisance of himself for you, has he?"

Sara chuckled. "Don't worry, Elise. I've been keeping him out of trouble. He's only a nuisance when he doesn't do what I tell him." She reached up to ruffle Rean's hair a little, much to his annoyance. "These B ranks, they really need to learn their place, you know? Always getting themselves into trouble."

Rean would have scoffed had he not taken that moment to take a sip of wine. It felt like more often than not he was the one keeping Sara from getting into trouble. The rest of the time he was doing his best to drag her out of it. Moreover, he was quietly proud of just how quickly he had climbed the ranks to being a B ranked Bracer. Though still he aimed to match Sara as an A rank himself one day.

Princess Alfin chuckled behind a hand. "My, my, my, that sounds like a story or two."

"Oh I have a score of those to tell, though many of them aren't for the faint of heart." Sara's grin had a life of its own. "My, there are stories I could tell you about Rean that would make even the most prudish of nuns' toes curl."

"Sara!" Rean blurted. That was absolutely not the sort of thing he wanted his sister to hear about.

Elise blushed like a beetroot. "Oh, erm, I- I see." She stammered out, her eyes avoiding Rean's very deliberately.

Sara chuckled, looking only a little abashed. "Oops, sorry Elise, forgot who I was talking to there."

"Oh, no need to apologise." The Princess was unperturbed by the perturbing avenue the conversation had headed down. "In fact that sounds like just the thing to spruce the day up a little. Come on, tell us all about your romantic exploits, the steamier the better!"

"P- Princess!" Else complained in a splutter.

"Perhaps another time." Rean cut in with a pointed look at Sara. He knew full well that he couldn't stop them from gossiping about him forever, but he could at least postpone it a little. "We wouldn't want to keep you away from all your other guests, after all."

"Nonsense Rean!" Princess Alfin waved him off dismissively. "I've had more than enough of shaking hands and being bowed and curtseyed to by everyone and their mothers as it is. This is a party is it not? I intend to have some fun!"

"She's got you there Rean, lighten up a little." Sara smirked.

Rean scowled.

"Oh dear, it seems we've upset him." The Princess chuckled before taking Sara by the arm. "Come on Sara, let's have some girl talk and let him grouch on his own a little." Alfin smirked a little too eagerly as she pulled on Sara's arm. She took Elise with her other arm and promptly dragged the two of them off. "See you later Rean!"

Sara turned to Rean with a shrug and a bit of a wary smile before being dragged away. Her attention was quickly taken by the Princess as Alfin took to probing the Bracer with question after question. Rean caught the beginning of some sort of query about him, but the women had drifted out of earshot before he could hear exactly what it was the Princess wanted to know, though he could certainly wager a decent guess.

Rean sighed. With any luck, Sara would restrict her embarrassing stories to tales of them out on the battlefield field, rather than in the bedroom. He took a long sip of his wine as he looked around for someone he could talk to.

Drifting around the hall a while, Rean took to mingling. He found and chatted with all of the Class VII members he could find, old and new. He met with some of his old colleagues from Leeves including Randy and Towa and even some of his long-time allies from the military. It was wonderful to see everyone again, particularly his old class mates. There were seldom few opportunities for Class VII to meet all at once now that they had all graduated and were leading their own lives and careers. Rean cherished moments such as these where they could all get together.

Eventually, he found his woman again. Sara was over by one of the tables bearing wine glasses. She was on her own, bobbing about to the music as though it were some bouncy tavern number and not a formal melody made for noble dancing. Rean couldn't help but smile at the sight. It was so endearing, seeing her so confident in her own little world.

Rean walked over towards her and delighted in that smile that grew on her face when she spotted his approach.

"Hello you." Rean greeted with a smile.

"Fancy seeing you here." Sara threw him a wink.

"Enjoying yourself?" Rean asked.

"It is a party, isn't it?" Sara smirked before turning to grab fresh wine flutes for them both. "That is the point of it all."

Rean chuckled, accepting the glass. "This is quite a bit different from life on the road though, isn't it?" He struggled to remember the last time he'd even stepped into a place as fancy as this, or when he'd last worn a suit.

"Just a little." Sara smiled. "As much as I love the life of a Bracer, it's nice to take a step back every now and then, you know? To take some time for ourselves and just live it up a little."

"Well, hopefully the royal family will put on a few more dances, just for us." Rean smirked.

Sara chuckled. "I don't see that happening any time soon, so let's make the most of this one, shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan." Rean murmured in agreement. He eyed the collection of dancing couples spinning around on the dance floor in harmony. He turned back to Sara. "Would you like to dance?"

Sara eyed him with an amused expression. "Well, well, well, I didn't take you for a dancer, Rean?"

"I've been known to dance a little." Rean rubbed at the back of his neck a little awkwardly.

"Only under great duress." Sara chuckled. She inspected her fingernails with a feigned expression of indifference. "Very well Mr Schwarzer, I suppose I could make room in my busy schedule for a dance."

"Uh huh." Rean took note of her currently very busy demeanour, idly loitering about by the side of a packed dance floor. He smiled anyway and took the wine flute from her hand and placed both glasses on the nearby table. Then, he took a step back before bowing his head low before her, holding a hand out expectantly. "Well then, Miss Sara Valestein, may I have the honour of a dance?"

"You most certainly may, Mr Lord Baron Rean Schwarzer Esquire." Sara responded in her most aristocratic voice as she took his hand daintily, her chin rose in a haughty fashion.

Rean chuckled before leading her off towards the dance floor. They drifted amongst the throng of dancing couples, finding a free space before taking each other in their arms. Rean took a moment to ready himself. He kept part of his attention on the dancers around them, trying to gauge the best point to join in the synchronicity.

The greater part of his attention however, was devoted to Sara herself. She always looked beautiful, but it was hard not to be taken back with just how heavenly she looked in that flowing silver dress that highlighted her seductive form exquisitely. He was certain that Sara knew it as well. There was a deliberate swagger to each of her movements that seemed designed to tease Rean with each and every part of her body.

It was hard for Rean to focus on the dancing and on what steps he should be taking. He was certain he was probably making something of a fool of himself before all the lords and ladies of the realm, but he didn't much care, not with the way Sara was smiling at him.

"I trust you realise that you're falling right into my trap?" Sara smirked as they spun and spiralled.

"I am?" Rean asked, even though he knew full well that he'd already fallen for it many hours and years ago.

"Oh yes. This is all part of my cunning master plan."

Rean chuckled. "I see, and what is this 'master plan' all about?"

"Well, step one was to drink plenty of wine each."

"I'd say we've just about managed that, give or take a few glasses." Rean smirked.

"Then, step two: We head out onto the dance floor together and dance, a bit like we are doing right now."

"Just a bit." Rean agreed with a nod.

"Before we execute my masterstroke that is step three, and – stay with me on this one – we make out sloppily at the climax of the dance." Sara smirked.

"'Sloppily'?" Rean raised a curious eyebrow.

"Well, it doesn't have to be sloppy, but after all the wine I figured we wouldn't be able to manage much else." Sara pouted a little. "Although, you did drag me out here before either of us were properly drunk and ready. I thought it'd take you a lot more wine before you'd pluck up the courage to ask me to dance."

"Oh?" Rean breathed a chuckle. "Sorry for ruining your plans."

"So you should be." Sara sighed. Then a devilish smirk took hold. "Although, this wasn't a completely unforeseen outcome. I did have a backup step in mind, you know, just in case step three didn't go to plan."

"Let me guess, we drink even more wine and repeat it all from scratch?"

"Even better." Sara leaned in towards his ear so that she could whisper. "We sneak off somewhere, so we can have a bit of private fun, away from prying eyes." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Rean couldn't help but chuckle, even as he felt a little bashful at the mere thought. "We're in the royal palace, Sara."

"Exactly! Think about how many bedrooms this place must have. You could easily fit twenty whole Thors' in this place, maybe thirty even, and that's including the swimming pool and the playing field."

"They'll be guards everywhere." Rean bit his lip softly.

"They'll all be around here, managing this shindig." Sara gestured to the party around them with a jerk of her head. "Besides, we've sneaked past armed guards plenty of times before, for much less important reasons than this."

Rean chuckled. Those 'less important reasons' were often their mission objectives as Bracers. Still, she wasn't wrong. They had slipped undiscovered into some very heavily guarded facilities in the past.

Sara sighed and put on a sad pout once more. "But, if you really don't want to, I suppose we could just dance instead."

Then it was Rean's turn to sigh. He surreptitiously glanced around at the guards stationed around the hall. Many of them looked distinctly bored and un-alert. One of them yawned lazily. He looked back to Sara. She really was laying it on thick with those adorable puppy dog eyes …

"Alright, but we'll have to be careful. I don't fancy getting caught sneaking around the palace." Rean murmured with a grin.

"Yes! I knew you'd come around." Sara snickered. "Step four is officially underway."

"I thought this was just an alternative to step three?"

Sara's smirk was delightfully evil. "Oh Rean, everything is going exactly according to plan."

xxx

It didn't take long for Rean and Sara to remove themselves from the dance floor and slip away. They snuck past the uninterested guards and swiftly headed deeper into the palace unimpeded. If anything it was too easy. The hardest part was keeping Sara quiet as she giggled and tittered like an excited little girl sneaking into her birthday presents before dawn.

They soon found themselves walking along a long corridor, one bedecked in portraits of rulers past and weapons and armours from bygone ages. It was also completely vacant of any guards, so Rean felt slightly more assured at letting Sara hum and trill to herself as they wandered along the hallway.

"Which one looks like a master bedroom to you?" Sara asked as she peered at all the doors.

"They all look the same to me." Rean shrugged.

"Oh well, let's just try one." Sara smiled as she reached for a door handle.

Rean was about to try and stop her – there could have been some sort of alarm of booby trap in place – before the door opened simply to allow them access.

Sara wandered in and gave a whistle of approval. "Wow, check this place out. Now this is peak fanciness." She murmured with a nod.

Rean could only nod back in agreement. The bedroom was indeed something of a sight to behold. Two large, four poster double beds stood proud at the back of the room. A small army of fancy armoires and dressers stood around the walls. A glittering chandelier hung overhead and a regal fireplace that would have been much too large in the average Erebonian home was surrounded by a semicircle of plush settees. Two doors provided egress to the back of the room, one onto the balcony overlooking the rear of the estate, the other presumably to the en suite.

"This will do just nicely." Sara chuckled before summarily dragging Rean by the lapels into the room proper.

"Whoa, you're certainly eager." Rean chuckled, almost tripping over his own feet from Sara's urgency.

"Absolutely." Sara's smirk was divine. "I've waited much too long as it is. Don't think you're making me wait any longer."

Rean would have been tempted to remind her that they had only last made love the previous night. That is, he would have reminded her, had the devilish look in her eyes and the urgent tugs on his shirt and jacket and trousers not been so enticing. There were many perks to dating Miss Sara Valestein after all. Her powerful libido was just one of them.

"We don't know whose room this is though." Rean murmured, even as he found his hands reaching to her waist and thighs, pushing her dress up to reveal the supple flesh hidden within. "What if they walk in?"

"Everyone's downstairs, probably dancing right now." Sara was adamant. "Trust me, no one will come. Well, apart from me hopefully." She chuckled, pulling his tie loose in a smooth motion and popping open his shirt to her obvious delight.

"You absolute child." Rean shook his head but couldn't help but smirk himself.

"Hey, I'll make sure you'll get your turn too." Sara preened with a wink. "Now get those pants off."

"Yes, Instructor." Rean dutifully obeyed. He made sure to pepper her with kisses as he did so and didn't stop once he'd completed the task.

Sara sighed even as she hugged him closer. "We're in a palace, Rean. I should be your Queen today."

Rean chuckled with his lips against her neck. "Alright, my Queen."

"No, wait! Empress!" Sara hastily amended. "That's higher than a Queen, right?"

"Were you really an Instructor once?" Rean smirked at her. "How is it you don't know this stuff?"

"Hey! I was never into history, ok?"

"We're ruled by an Emperor now."

"I'm a North Ambrian, you jerk!" Sara shook her head at him with a scowl. "Royalty's what you simple Erebonian's do. Now stop complaining and get inside me."

Rean had no idea why such a brusque command had such an effect on him, but by Aidios he was glad it did. He lifted Sara into his arms with an animalistic growl. She yelped slightly but her surprise quickly dissolved into giggles. Rean carried her over to one of the massive beds and threw her down on the luxurious sheets. Sara barely had time to lift her gaze up to meet his again before his lips had claimed hers once more.

"As you command, my Empress." Rean purred once their lips parted. He delighted in that shiver that rang throughout Sara's body.

"Now that's more like it, my strong, handsome, sexy Emperor." Sara sang with a smirk. She threw her arms around his neck as Rean dove in.

His hands pawed at her greedily, impatient for every moment of ecstasy he could claim. He was never satisfied, one touch was never enough, never could be enough.

Sara clawed at him just as eagerly. She soon had his shirt opened and his chest bare for her to delight in. Every touch and stroke and squeeze from her fingers drove him all the wilder.

"Instructor?" A sudden voice called, barged its way into the moment. "Instructor Rean, where are you? The Prince is about to give a speech." It sounded awfully familiar and female.

"Instructor Sara?" Another voice rang out, this one deeper and male.

"Shit!" Rean swore quietly, reluctantly breaking away from his embrace. He knew those voices well: Juna and Kurt.

"Just ignore them." Sara pleaded, her hands still roaming his bare chest through his open shirt. "They'll go away."

"What if they come in?" Rean asked urgently.

"Why would they-" Sara began.

"I wonder if they're in here." Juna mused from the other side of the door.

The sound of a door opening.

"Shit!" Sara swore in a hiss as she and Rean both leapt from the bed.

Rean blinked at the door. It was still closed in the frame. It hadn't opened.

"Juna!" Kurt remonstrated from somewhere beyond the expensive wood and lacquer. It didn't sound like he was right outside, perhaps just across the corridor? "You can't just go snooping around every room."

"What? We're looking for people aren't we?" Juna sounded like she was scowling at her former classmate. Rean could just tell from the tone of her voice, he'd heard that same tone many times. "What's the point of looking if we don't actually check everywhere?"

Kurt sighed. "Well … alright, just- be careful, ok? We're in the royal palace after all, there's no telling what trouble we might stir up just wandering around like this."

"Where's the fun in that?" Juna chuckled. "Come on, let's try this one next."

Two sets of footsteps rang into the quiet, growing louder and louder.

Rean threw his gaze around frantically, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Over here!" Sara whispered frantically, already sprinting to one of the large, heavy set armoires that lined the bedroom.

Rean threw a quick glance at the door leading to the corridor. Two shadows loomed through the gap at the bottom of the door. Rean dashed for the wardrobe, diving in beside Sara before she shut the door quickly.

The bedroom door opened not a moment later.

"Did you hear something?" Kurt murmured.

Rean did his best to settle into a more comfortable position silently. It was pretty cramped with the two of them in there, but there was just about enough room for them both to stand. Through the crack between the armoire's doors, Rean could just about make out Kurt's frown. Juna however didn't look at all concerned.

"Nope. You're probably just hearing things, Kurt." Juna smirked. She smacked him on the shoulder playfully as she stepped into the room, gazing up and around at all the finery on display. "Damn, now this is fancy."

"Well, it is the royal palace." Kurt reminded her needlessly.

"No shit, detective." Juna chuckled. "Want me to write you a recommendation to the SSS?"

"Ha ha." Kurt drawled. "Very funny."

Juna smirked at his expense. "Say, it is pretty cosy in here, don't you think?" She continued, eyeing the pair of beds before turning a strange look to her former classmate.

Kurt's face flustered. He coughed to clear his throat. "Yes, I … suppose it is."

"Oh my Goddess." Sara chuckled in a whisper beside Rean.

"What?" Rean asked back in the same whisper.

"They're gonna do it!"

"What? No they're not!" Rean couldn't believe it.

"Fifty mira says they do!"

"I'm not betting on my students do- having- getting it on!"

Sara huffed. "You're no fun."

As the two Bracers quietly argued, Kurt found his voice. "Juna, we- we really shouldn't."

"Why not?" Juna purred, curling her fingers into the collar of Kurt's shirt, undoing a button then a second. "Come on, you know you want to. Besides, when else are we going to get this sorta chance, here in a palace of all places?"

Kurt sighed. He grabbed Juna's hands in his own. "We're supposed to be looking for Instructor Rean, and Sara, remember?"

Good boy Kurt, you were always my favourite. Rean praised him silently. Now go look for me elsewhere.

Juna rolled her eyes. "Like they can't take care of themselves. Besides, they're probably getting it on in another room right now."

Rean and Sara glanced at each other.

Kurt chuckled. "You're probably right."

"Of course I am." Juna smirked, a predatory look in her eyes. "Now stop worrying about them. Let's take a moment or two to think about us." She leaned up to kiss him deeply, slow and seductive.

No! Bad Juna, bad! Rean moaned in silence. I don't care that you're no longer a student, a year's worth of detentions for you!

Rean could only watch in mute horror as Juna pulled Kurt back towards the bed – the same one he and Sara had just vacated – before swinging him round and plonking him down to sit on the edge of the mattress.

Kurt chuckled. "You're sure about this? You don't … want it first?"

Juna smirked. "Oh don't worry. I'll make sure you do your bit later."

"Looking forward to it already." Kurt grinned wide, like the cat that had just stumbled upon all of the finest cream.

Juna leaned up once more and was kissing him, and Kurt was kissing her back. His hands crept into her hair as hers dove into his shirt, searching for his skin.

Aidios, this can't be happening! Rean silently wailed.

"Ready?" Juna's eyes sparkled with mischief. She settled back down onto her knees before him, her fingers already working the zip of his trousers, feeling at him leisurely. "Damn, I doubt even Instructor Rean's this big." She chuckled.

Rean couldn't help but blink rapidly. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, or seeing.

Sara snorted beside him.

Kurt breathed a brief chuckle, more of a cough really. His features darkened suddenly. "Just- Try not to think about the Instructor the whole time, will you?" He murmured a little bitterly.

Juna sighed and hissed at the same time. "Shit, sorry Kurt, I didn't mean it like that. I told you that was just a phase."

"Phase? What phase?" Rean whispered, confused and alarmed somehow. "What?"

"Oh Rean, you really can be so dense sometimes." Sara chuckled, reaching up in the shadowed confines of the armoire to pat him on the head.

"You really think I'd be here with you right now, about to take your pants down, if I still had a thing for him? I want you, Kurt." Juna quietly pleaded with him. "You know that."

Kurt sighed. "I know. I'm sorry, that wasn't fair of me."

"Well, maybe not, but I shouldn't have brought him up, so I'm sorry for that too." Juna smiled a little apprehensively before her expression found full voltage once more. "How about we both shut up so I can just blow you, deal?"

Kurt chuckled, cheeks flushing even more. "Well how can I say no to that?"

Rean couldn't believe the sheer filth coming out of his former students' mouths. "Did she just say …" He began, his eyes widening in horror at the scene playing out before his poor, innocent eyes. "Oh Aidios, no!"

"Hah, told you! You owe me fifty mira!" Sara smirked. She was clearly pretty happy to watch.

"I didn't agree to that!"

"Don't care, pay up!"

"I can't watch this …" Rean moaned, shutting his eyes and turning away.

Try as he might, Rean just couldn't completely shut out the sounds of Juna's muffled moaning, Kurt's blissful sighing, or any other … noises. It seemed to go on and on and on. The only respite was the occasional murmur of intrigue or amused chuckle from Sara beside him. Rean did his best to shut those noises out too.

"Rean?" A new voice rang out from the hallway. This one male, older than Kurt and had the distinct undertone of noble upbringing.

Jusis, Rean realised, praise Aidios!

"Oh fuck!" Juna swore, bringing her head free with a wet 'pop' and whipping it round frantically for an escape.

"Rean, where are you?" A second voice called out, it was distinctly Machias'.

"Quick, hide!" Kurt urged as he clumsily pulled his trousers back up to a more respectable height.

"Where?" Juna whispered anxiously.

Please not here! Please not here! Please not here! Rean prayed frantically.

"The bed! Quick, hide under the bed!" Kurt led the way.

Oh thank Aidios, Rean sighed in relief as his students dived under the bed they'd just been defiling.

"Rean? Are you in here?" Jusis called as the door opened. Juna's heel disappeared under the frilly bedcovers just in time. The Albarea son cast his keen gaze over the room suspiciously.

"Well, is he in there?" Machias asked impatiently.

"Not at first glance." Jusis murmured.

"And what does that mean?"

"Look at the bed." Jusis pointed it out. Rean looked himself, seeing it distinctly dishevelled from both his and Sara's and Juna's and Kurt's efforts. "Someone's been here."

Rean swallowed nervously.

"What, you don't think …" Machias began.

Jusis marched over toward the en suite. He peered inside for a moment before shutting the door once more and turning back to Machias with a shake of his head. "He's not in there, neither of them are."

Machias furrowed his brow at the disturbed bedding as if the idea were absurd. "No, not Rean, it can't be."

Rean was quietly touched that his friend wouldn't believe that he'd be so dirty minded as to defile a royal bedroom with his lover.

"He's far too oblivious for that sort of thing. He never even notices when someone tries to flirt with him. I mean, I doubt he'd even catch on if someone just outright said: 'Hey Rean, want to have sex with me, right here and now?'" Machias chuckled.

Rean glared dangerously at his former friend.

"He's got a point, you know." Sara murmured helpfully from the side.

"Thanks." Rean glowered.

"I mean, you didn't even know that I really liked you until we first kissed. Remember, back in the hot springs of Ymir? We were pretty much completely naked if you recall. I was straddling your lap and everything. I almost thought that I'd just have to throw you down on a bed and grab your-"

"Yes, thank you, Sara." Rean drawled.

"Don't be so vulgar." Jusis wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"What, don't tell me you're a complete prude now, as well as a noble jerk? Or are the facts of life too far below the importance of Lord Albarea now?" Machias jeered with a smirk.

Oh, here we go, Rean sighed. He adjusted his footing in the armoire to a more comfortable position, preparing for the long haul.

"Don't be absurd." Jusis scoffed. "I just know that there's a time and a place for such … behaviour."

"We're in a bedroom, you idiot." Machias gestured it out. "This is pretty much the place for it. Where else should it be talked about, or done?" There was a distinct glint of something that Rean could only term as 'mischievous' in Machias' eye.

Jusis sighed, he sounded more disappointed than annoyed. He rubbed at his eyes. "You have all the subtlety of a freight train."

"Oh Aidios." Sara sighed, leaning against the back of the armoire and slumping down a little. "Round three, ding, ding, ding."

"Wait, you don't mean …" Rean began before realising that yes, Sara did in fact mean that.

"Yep, another mating pair." Sara chuckled.

"This isn't funny!" Rean scowled.

"I beg to differ."

Jusis took out his ARCUS unit and inspected it a moment before flipping it back into his pocket. "We've already been gone nearly twenty minutes." He murmured. "People will begin to wonder what's taking us so long."

"It's a big palace after all. What's another twenty?" Machias asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

The noble scoffed. "You only need five at most."

Sara snorted.

"Fuck you." Machias scowled.

"Yes, you'd like to do that, wouldn't you?" Jusis deftly loosened the cravat around his collar a little, a predatory look in his eyes above his self-satisfied smirk. "A pity you can never best me."

"Wait, are they about to fight or fuck?" Sara mused with interest.

"I'm not sure even they know." Rean drawled.

"You insufferable, elitist jackass!" Machias snarled.

"You unbearable, insolent cur!" Jusis sneered.

"I should box that smug sneer from your face, you sanctimonious bastard!"

"You wouldn't dare, you fatuous prick!"

"Don't you just love their pet names for each other?" Sara sighed wistfully.

Then, with no more bickering of words between them, Jusis and Machias crashed into each other, their lips fighting for dominance as their hands quickly sought to rid each other of their clothes. It was messy and rushed and frantic.

Jusis roughly dragged down Machias' pants with his teeth, scraping the skin coarsely, before climbing back up to bite blistering kisses into his forever rival's neck.

Machias growled hot and heated as he suffered the onslaught. He turned the balance swiftly though, grabbing Jusis tight by the arms before swinging him around. The nobleman planted his hands on one of the bed posts before he collided with it. He had no time to gather himself before Machias was upon him, clawing and scratching and biting.

As with everything else between them, they were locked in a battle, a vicious fight for supremacy. Though instead of drawing blood – well, not just blood – they drew their satisfaction from each other through those ragged moans and breathless gasps as their hands and fingers dove and roamed over their taut, muscular bodies.

"Hot damn." Sara murmured in appreciation. "They're really going at it."

"Please tell me you're not getting off to this?" Rean asked warily.

"Rean, you know I love you very much, and that you're the only man for me, but two strapping young men are going at it like the last two rabbits in all of Zemuria out there." Sara threw a smirk his way. "Do you really expect me not to look?"

He opened his mouth to complain, but instead, Rean sighed. "Fair enough."

Rean did his best to block out the sounds of Machias crying out for Jusis to 'just try and take him', or of Jusis' growling for Machias to 'show him that he was a real man for once'. He felt sorry for Juna and Kurt, still trapped under the bed. They were much closer to the 'action' than he and Sara were.

"You know those are two of your former students out there, right?" Rean eyed Sara warily.

"And? So are you." Sara murmured with a smirk. She reached around to give one his cheeks a couple of quick pats and a squeeze to emphasise her point. "Besides, are you honestly telling me you didn't look at Juna at least once earlier?"

Rean flushed. He struggled to find the words to defend himself.

"Relax, I don't mind." Sara chuckled. "Be a bit hypocritical of me if I did. Besides, it's not like her and Kurt are underage anymore, right?"

Rean prayed to Aidios that was the case, although the logical part of his brain knew that it was so. She'd graduated from Thors like the rest of her peers in Class VII and was legally an adult now. That didn't make it any less weird though. Although, Sara had a point, if she wasn't weirded out by sleeping with Rean, Rean didn't really need to be overly worried about witnessing his own former students in a compromising position. Also there was the fact that he was essentially trapped and had no means of escaping the current situation.

Yes, that's what he would claim in court, he decided.

"Rean!" Another new voice rang out from the corridor. This time, it seemed to be Towa on the search. "Rean, where are you?"

Aidios, whatever did I do to deserve this? Rean pleaded silently.

"Urgh!" Jusis complained quietly as he roughly pushed Machias' face from his neck. "You took too long!"

"Me!" Machias spluttered. "You were just complaining how I-"

"Shut up, let's just hide!" Jusis growled.

"Rean." Yet another voice called from beyond the bedroom door. Though 'called' was certainly a misnomer. The second voice spoke Rean's name with all the energy and eagerness of a slumbering sloth. "Sara? Oh no, I guess they aren't here."

"Angie, will you take this a little more seriously please?" Towa complained.

Angelica sighed. "What are we even searching for? They're both Bracers. They can take care of themselves. What's the worst that could happen? They get trapped in the larder or something?"

"Quick, in here!" Machias beckoned over towards the en suite.

"Are you completely simple?" Jusis scoffed. "That's the first place they'll look. Here!" He made for the other bed.

Miraculously, it somehow wasn't the one Juna and Kurt were still hiding under.

"Urgh, fine!" Machias growled and sprinted to join the nobleman, sliding under in a smooth slide that surely spoke of much practice.

"The speeches will be starting about now." Towa complained. "They both should be there."

"No, we should be there." Angie corrected her. "Though actually, I don't really care. The only reason I came to this bash was to get a dance or two out of you. Although …" she broke off into a chuckle.

"Although what?" Towa asked warily.

"Although, maybe this was all part of your plan all along, you clever little kitten you."

"Huh?" Towa murmured as the door opened. Rean's former colleague and friend strode into the room with a raised eyebrow, inspecting the bedroom curiously. She wore a pretty white dress, all frills and embroidered flowers.

At her back, Angelica strode in with the confident prowl of a lioness. The taller woman wore a dark purple dress that was nearly black, in perfect contrast to the bright white that Towa wore. Where Towa's had frills and pleated volume, Angelica's hugged her form in a sleek, seductive manner.

"No need to be coy. You dragged me away from all those stuffed shirts downstairs for some quality 'us time', didn't you my angel?" Angelica's voice took on an all too familiar tone, one that many a maiden across Zemuria had surely heard before.

"Angie, now is not the time." Towa glowered, a strange expression on a face normally so bright and positive.

"Towa? What's wrong?" Angelica frowned, concern dampening the lust in her violet eyes, only a little though.

"Not everything's about sex, Angie!" Towa threw another scowl her way.

"I never said it was, kitten." Angelica chuckled.

"Yes you do!" Towa rounded on her, suddenly a ball of anger. Though shorter by a head, the Thors Instructor had the Rogner daughter back peddling a little in surprise. "You say it all the time! With every dirty look you give a girl, or every time you flirt with someone! That's all you think about, sex! You're obsessed!"

"Oh damn, these two are finally having it out." Sara murmured. "About damn time."

"Now is not the time!" Rean complained.

Angelica had the grace to at least look admonished. She ghosted a rough chuckle. "Ah, you're feeling jealous?"

Towa shuffled a little on her feet, arms crossed in discomfort. "No! I just- Is that all women are to you, just playthings for you to use as you please?"

"Of course not, kitten." Angelica shook her head with something of a sad smile. "It's just flirting, a bit of harmless fun, that's all."

"Oh really?" Towa scowled afresh. "Then how do you explain getting all 'handsy' with everyone? You want to touch and grope every single girl you meet!"

"She's got her there." Rean mused.

"Hmm hmm." Sara nodded in agreement. "You tell her, Towa!"

Angelica rubbed at the back of her neck a little awkwardly. "Ok, maybe I get a bit … carried away with that."

"A bit?" Towa barked incredulously. "A bit? Angie, it's a miracle you're not on some sort of register, that you haven't been arrested!"

"Ok, ok I get it." Angelica waved off the impending lecture with a grimace. "But … did you ever wonder why I'm like that?"

"Because you're a pervert?" Sara smirked.

"Because you're a pervert?" Towa scowled.

"Snap." Rean chuckled.

"Maybe." Angelica conceded with a sigh. She bit her lip before the plunge. "But maybe, it's because the one woman I actually want doesn't look at me the same way."

"That's a coward's excuse, Angie." Towa shook her head. "And I don't remember you ever being cowardly. And are you really going to blame me for your lecherous ways? How many women are you going to molest before you grow up?"

"No, that's not what I meant! Sorry, that came out wrong, I- wait, 'me'? As in 'you'? You already know?" Angelica blinked.

"Of course I know, Angie!" Towa rolled her eyes. "Aidios' sake, you're not exactly subtle."

"I … I didn't think you really knew." Angelica bit her lip anxiously. "I- I don't know what to say."

"Well, you could start by explaining how touching up every girl in the Empire is supposed to get me to like you?" Towa raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"It's a good question." Sara murmured with a nod.

Angelica's cheeks flushed. "I- I'm sorry! I know it's stupid, I just …" A ragged sigh. "I just, I started it because I was scared you'd reject me!"

"What?" Towa, Rean, Sara and surely everyone else in hiding, exclaimed all at once.

"I was never like this before, but when I first met you, I just- I just couldn't help myself! I went in for the hug and I knew- I knew I was hugging you too quickly! I knew that my hands wandered a little, I'm sorry. I knew I was stepping over the line, a little. I just- I panicked, ok! I just wanted the beautiful little student council president to like me!"

"Aww." Sara smiled. "That's strangely sweet."

"But when you didn't, you know, hug me back, I panicked. So I – and I know this is stupid – I just thought that maybe if I acted the same around any girl, it wouldn't seem as weird to you. I thought, maybe you'd grow to like me at some point if you, I don't know, just thought that was how I was?"

Towa shook her head in disbelief. "That's stupid, Angie. That's beyond stupid."

"I never said it was smart!" Angelica slapped a hand to her face in her embarrassment. "I just, I panicked, ok? I'm sorry."

Towa sighed. "But I did like you, Angie." She smiled, still shaking her head. "I've always liked you."

"You did?"

"Yes, I mean, I won't lie, all the flirting was a bit much at first, but I still liked you, and I … I wanted you to notice me too, but – and don't take this the wrong way – but unlike you Angie, I'm a normal human being. Constantly groping people isn't how we do things."

Angelica sighed. She looked up into Towa's eyes with a new resolve. "I know. I'm sorry. I won't do it ever again. I won't touch another woman for as long as I live."

Towa looked up into Angelica's eyes a little warily, but Rean could see the glimmer of hope there, even through the slight crack between the wardrobe's doors. "You promise?"

A hint of the familiar Angelica Rogner spark returned to her eyes. "For you my kitten, anything."

Rean could see Towa weighing up the promise against a lifetime of lecherousness. "Ok. Though I'll be keeping an eye on you, you hear?" Towa brought all her presidential and captain's experience to the fore as she raised a stern finger.

"Yes ma'am." Angelica smirked. She started to reach out for Towa, but hesitated.

Towa rolled her eyes with the hint of a smirk. "Other women, Angie, you can touch me, you know."

That was all the encouragement Angelica needed. She took Towa's hand in hers and pulled it up to her lips to kiss. "Thank you, Towa. You were always my one and only."

"I know." Towa smiled. "Now come on, we'd better get going. We might still find them in time, and you might just get that dance you wanted."

"What's the rush?" Angelica smirked.

"Here we go." Rean groaned, resigning himself to the inevitable.

"Angie." Towa chuckled as Angelica took to pressing hot kisses up the shorter woman's arm. "We need to find Rean and Sara."

"They'll be fine. They've both been through a lot worse than getting lost in a palace."

"Still …" Towa's resistance was fading fast.

"Let me make it all up to you." Angelica pleaded softly. "Let me prove my devotion to you, my angel."

"Say what you like about her, but Angelica certainly goes all out." Sara smirked.

Rean murmured in vague agreement as he watched Towa nod gently.

"I thought this whole thing was freaking you out?" Sara eyed her partner with a smirk.

"I've become acclimatised." Rean shrugged with a sigh.

"Sure." Sara chuckled. "Angie's not the only pervert around here."

Angelica smiled wide and swept in to press a vigorous kiss to Towa's lips. She kept up the momentum and gradually pushed Towa back over towards the beds, not stopping till Towa's legs had hit the end of the bed that hadn't yet been defiled, the one Machias and Jusis were under.

"Can't wait to see where these two go to hide when the next lot come in." Rean murmured.

Angelica had pushed Towa back to recline on the bed. The former student council president fell back with a sigh, looking back up at her lover just as Angelica was leaning down to reach beneath her dress. In no time at all, Angelica had divested Towa of her underwear and had flung them across the room, worryingly close to where Rean and Sara where hiding.

"Angie, what are you- oh!"

Her question was answered by Angelica hoisting one of Towa's legs up over her shoulder. The taller woman smirked as she pushed the bright white dress further up Towa's body, granting her access. Angelica wasted no time at all in putting her mouth to good use. It had to be good, judging by the all heated gasps and sighs Towa was emitting.

"I mean – you know I'm not into girls, Rean – but damn, that's pretty hot." Sara murmured in appreciation. She eyed Rean with a smirk. "Hope you're taking notes here, you could learn a thing or two."

Rean merely nodded. He had been trying to shut everything out but at this point he wasn't sure what more damage, if any, could be done to his retinas.

"Maybe they're in here?" Yet another new voice echoed from the hallway. Was that Gaius?

"Ok, let's check it out." A female voice Rean didn't immediately recognise, though it did seem familiar.

"Aw, come on!" Angelica growled, voicing everyone's frustrations.

"But- what will we do?" Towa's head shot back up in panic.

"How about you go hide somewhere?" Sara sighed wearily. Perhaps the novelty of all these intruding couples was wearing on her. "All the cool kids are doing it."

"It'll be alright, kitten." Angelica used her patented confidence to calm her lover. "We'll hide in the bathroom."

Rean could just imagine hearing Jusis mutter 'Tch, amateurs' from his hiding place. He also found it mildly curious how every couple thus far had chosen a different place to hide. He wondered how long that would last. There weren't many places left for two people to conceivably cram into.

Angelica and Towa ran for the en suite. Towa glanced over her shoulder a moment before doubling back to grab her panties from the far end of the room. Thankfully she was too panicked to even think of investigating the armoire standing over them at all. Angelica chuckled at her expense before accepting the shorter woman into her arms and closing the bathroom door.

The bedroom door opened once more and sure enough, Gaius strode into the room. The Nord huntsman sported a dashing burgundy jacket over a white shirt and black trousers. A pretty, familiar female figure followed him, one with long pink hair and sporting a matching dress.

"Linde?" Sara murmured with eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, who'd have thought?" Rean breathed a chuckle.

The nurse huddled close to Gaius, her hand looking suspiciously comfortable on his broad chest. "There doesn't look to be anyone here."

You're just not looking hard enough, Rean thought sarcastically. Including himself and Sara, there were now eight people hiding in and around this one room, with varying levels of knowledge of the others. Hell, the ways things had gone so far, he wouldn't have been all too surprised to discover that there were a few more couples hiding about the place before he and Sara had entered the room.

"No, there doesn't." Gaius murmured. He looked around the room, taking in all the finery.

"It's all beautiful, isn't it?" Linde smiled.

"It really is." Gaius nodded. He turned to his partner with a loving, tender gaze. "It's the kind of place I'll give to you one day."

"What?" Linde blinked in surprise.

"Ooh, a romantic?" Sara grinned. "This should be good."

Rean prepared himself to make some mental notes. Though he'd already learned far too much as it was.

"I mean it, Linde." Gaius took the nurse's soft hand in his roughhewn one gently. "One day, I'll build you a palace just like this one, made in gold and marble and dressed in all the finery you could ever ask for."

"Gaius, be serious." Linde chuckled a little nervously, though she was clearly touched by his words. "However will you do that?"

"I'll find us a place, a piece of land somewhere no one knows about, that isn't claimed by kings or princes. A place I can build you your own kingdom. I may not have much money, but I'll build it for you. I'll cut down the trees and carve the stone from the earth with my own two hands if I have to. I'll build it all on my own. Whatever it takes, I will build a home for you."

"Hot damn, if she doesn't fall for him then I'm certainly about to." Sara smirked.

Rean scowled at her.

"But Gaius, I don't need such things. You know that." Linde shook her head with a smile.

"I know you don't, but you deserve them all, and more. I love you Linde, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I would bring the stars themselves down to Zemuria if it would make you smile."

Linde chuckled a little bashfully. She reached up to caress Gaius' cheek so softly. Gaius put his hand over hers in a gentle embrace.

"Do you know what I really want?" The nurse asked the huntsman softly.

Gaius swallowed almost imperceptibly.

"All I want is you, my love." Linde smiled.

"Oh, Linde …" Gaius was almost overcome with emotion.

"Gaius …" Linde breathed.

Then, the two lovers had their lips collide. Their arms wrapped around each other in a longing, desperate embrace. It was almost as if it were their last chance to hold each other, as though their parents were about to charge in through the doors and tear them away from each other forever.

It didn't take long before Gaius had scooped the nurse into his strong arms. He carried her over towards the settee before the fireplace, directly opposite Rean and Sara. Gaius set her down gently, as though she were made of porcelain or glass. Standing before her, Gaius made quick work of removing his shirt and jacket.

A hand emerged over the back of the settee, beckoning.

Gaius dove into Linde's ready embrace. Only their limbs and heads were visible in erratic intervals as they tussled about in carnal abandon.

Sara fanned at herself with her hand. "Wow, that might have been the best one yet."

"Problem is, I'm going to have to find a place to make you a palace now." Rean chuckled joylessly. "Know any ideal locations?"

"I'd settle for a cardboard box if it didn't get disturbed as much as this place." Sara breathed a chuckle. She shook her head. "Seriously, don't think you ever need to do any of that stuff, Rean. Although, you could learn to talk like that from time to time. You know, if you ever get bored."

"I'll bear it in mind."

"Ah, my dear Schera." The unmistakable tone of one Prince Olivert Reise Arnor carried down the corridor loud and clear. "This has been the most delightful party, wouldn't you agree?"

"It's much the same as any other, I'd say." A humourless chuckle answered the Prince, surely belonging to his wife, Scherazard, the fabled A ranked Bracer Silver Streak.

What the hell is going on? Rean was bemused. Had someone put something in the wine? He wondered when it would be Elliott's turn to stumble in, and who would he bring with him? How long would they have to wait until Altina came to join the fray with a lover?

"Oh no!" Linde's head popped up from the settee, cheeks flushed. "What will we do?"

"Uh …" Gaius' head followed suit. Normally the coolest, calmest, most collected member of Class VII, he looked stunned.

"Quick, the balcony!" Linde dashed the distance, hastily snatching up her clothes to hug to her chest.

"Uh, right!" Gaius snapped out of his reverie and followed the nurse, grabbing his clothes up in haste as he went.

The bedroom doors opened with a flourish that could only have been executed by Prince Olivert Reise Arnor. Thankfully for Gaius and Linde, the blond Prince and his wife had their gazes pinned on each other and didn't note the hastily closing balcony door.

"Ah, but the night is still young!" Prince Olivert was saying as he strode into the room. "There's plenty of time yet for the thrills of the dancing and the music to captivate your heart."

Scherazard rolled her eyes at him. "I'll take your word for it."

"I'm sure they'll be plenty of drinking as well." The Prince smirked.

"Now you're talking." Scherazard grinned.

Olivert chuckled softly. "But first, I could do with a bit of a breather."

"Oh? Is that what you're calling it now?" Scherazard chuckled, teasing her husband's jaw with a finger.

"Patience, my sweet. I meant a bath if anything."

"That'll do for starters." The Silver Streak's eyes glistened.

"Later, I promise." Prince Olivert pressed a quick kiss to her lips. He turned towards the bed and began to doff his regal attire. "Would you get my gown for me dear? I think it's in the armoire."

Rean's heartbeat spiked.

Scherazard wandered over to the armoire.

Sara gulped audibly.

The armoire doors opened.

Scherazard blinked.

Rean and Sara both sweated.

"Purple Lightning." Scherazard greeted her fellow Bracer with a nod and an unreadable expression.

"Silver Streak." Sara smiled back. Rean could see the bead of sweat gliding down her forehead. "Fancy seeing you here."

Scherazard turned her gaze to Rean.

Rean swallowed thickly.

"Schwarzer, was it?" Scherazard narrowed her eyes a fraction. "B rank?"

"Yes ma'am." Rean managed to strain out. He only just remembered that he was in the presence of literal royalty as well as Bracer royalty.

"Rean?" Prince Olivert's voice emerged before his face did from behind his wife. He chuckled. "My, what on earth are you doing here?"

"Well …" Rean began, quickly looking to Sara for ideas.

"You see, the funny thing is …" Sara breathed a vague chuckle.

"I didn't take you for a voyeur, Valestein?" Scherazard raised an elegant, silvery eyebrow.

"No!" Rean and Sara blurted out together.

"That's not it at all!" Sara protested.

"My dears, there's no shame in it." Prince Olivert laughed. "Well, there is actually, you should have asked first." He wagged a finger at them both as though they were mildly unruly children. "Consent between all partners is the cornerstone of any healthy relationship, whether sexual or otherwise. Remember that, and you'll rarely put a foot wrong, my dears."

"Yes, I mean, we know, but that isn't- we weren't-" Rean rambled.

"We didn't realise this was your room, Prince Olivert." Sara finished the excuse.

"Oh, I see." The Prince chuckled. "Ah, I suppose that makes sense, you just thought to sneak away from all the dancing downstairs didn't you, for a bit of private time I imagine?"

Rean and Sara both nodded meekly, ashamed.

"Ah ha! Not to worry my friends, no need to feel embarrassed, it's perfectly natural after all for young lovers to seek solace in each other's arms. Why, I myself have often sought the warmth and comfort of my dear Schera, haven't I dear?"

For her part, Scherazard rolled her eyes at her husband fondly. She looked to Rean and Sara. "Trust me you two, we've been caught in far more compromising positions than this."

Rean chuckled vaguely, unsure what to say to that. He knew at least that he didn't want to pry. "Right, well, we really should be going." He grabbed Sara's hand and made to retreat. "Wouldn't want to intrude any longer."

"Oh, come now Rean, are you sure you two don't want to stay?" The Prince flashed a bright smile. "It's quite alright, my wife and I are very accommodating you know."

Rean blinked.

He looked to Sara. She had the same startled expression he surely wore.

He looked to Scherazard. The Silver Streak waggled her eyebrows at them both playfully.

He thought of all the eyes and ears surely on them in that very moment.

"Very tempting." Rean began. "But I think we'll have to pass. Thanks for the offer though."

"Yeah, you know, monogamy and all that." Sara shrugged as if to say 'sucks, but what can you do?'

The Prince took the rejection in stride with a chuckle. "Not a problem, my dears. You have to stick with what works for you, don't you?"

Scherazard smiled as well. "A pity, but kudos to you both, you know what you want."

The Bracer turned princess began wandering over towards the en suite.

The en suite Angelica and Towa were hiding in.

"Well, can't say it hasn't been great and all." Sara smiled the strained smile of someone who wanted to be anywhere but right there. "We better get going, see if there aren't any dances left to be had."

"Yes, dances, sounds lovely!" Rean enthused while back pedalling.

"Ah yes, I remember my first dance with my dear Schera." Prince Olivert began with a wistful sigh. "It was such a wonderful day …"

He didn't get too far into the story before Schera had opened the door to the bathroom, glanced inside, heard a startled squeak, and closed it again. She turned to Rean and Sara.

Alerted by the high pitched squeak, The Prince turned around. "Is something the matter, Schera?"

"You guys are 'monogamists', eh?" The Silver Streak had a knowing look in her eyes as she smirked at Rean and Sara.

"No! Those two have nothing to do with us." Rean protested.

"Those two?" Olivert blinked.

Schera nodded, opened the door once more and dragged the beet red forms of Angelica and Towa out by the ear. The pair were even more dishevelled than when they'd fled into the en suite to escape Gaius and Linde.

"Well, well, well, one naughty couple is one thing, but two at the same time?" The Prince chuckled, looking back to Rean and Sara with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I think lightning has a greater chance of striking the same place twice."

"You ain't seen nothing yet, Princey." Sara murmured in a whisper only Rean could hear.

"Your Grace, I'm so sorry! We had no idea this was your room." Towa pleaded her case.

Angelica said nothing. She busied herself trying to straighten Towa's dress to a more respectable position.

"That's quite alright my dear, quite alright." The Prince calmed her with a smile. "But, just for my own curiosity you understand, may I ask how you came to be in such a dishevelled state in my en suite at the same time that these two were hiding out in my armoire?"

"We, erm, we were only looking for Rean and Sara." Towa looked like she wanted to find the nearest hole to crawl into and die.

"That's right." Angelica spoke up to support her lover. "We were just looking for them, but we … got a little distracted."

Towa covered her face with her hands and quietly wailed from the embarrassment.

"So, let me get this straight, the pair of you came looking for these two, and then, upon not finding them, you opted to take the time to enjoy yourselves in my quarters?" It was clear that the Prince didn't believe a word of it.

To be fair, Rean could hardly blame him.

Angelica and Towa looked at Rean and Sara with a shared grimace and an understanding that there was only more to come.

"That's … ok, I know it sounds crazy when you say it out loud." Angelica murmured slowly.

"I'm glad you agree." The Prince smiled.

"But it's the truth!" Angelica protested.

"Ok, let's say for a moment that it is." Scherazard turned her gaze to Ren and Sara with a piercing look. "If they were hiding in the bathroom, why were you two in the wardrobe?"

"Well, we were hiding from them." Sara began, indicating Angelica and Towa with what was clearly meant to be a winning smile.

Rean tried the same expression. He didn't much like lying, but they were in too deep now. They had to band together to protect whoever they could. "Yes, we heard them in the corridor and panicked and-"

"Achoo!" One of the beds suddenly sneezed. It sounded an awful lot like Machias.

A moment of silence.

"Bless you dear." Sara smiled at Rean innocently.

"Oh Aidios." Scherazard shook her head with a chuckle. She strode over towards the offending bed, hands on her hips. "Alright, come on out!"

There was a long, pregnant pause. Then, finally, a pair of heads slowly emerged from beneath one of the beds: Machias and Jusis.

"Let me guess, were you two hiding from Rean and Sara here?" The Prince mused with a smirk.

"Your Grace, I am so sorry for disturbing you!" Machias dove into a bow, pleading for mercy.

"I apologise as well, Your Majesty." Jusis did his best to keep some sort of hold onto the last remnants of his dignity. "Rest assured it won't happen again." He scowled at Machias as if it were his fault in particular.

"Yes, yes, yes, that's all well and good." Prince Olivert waved off the apologies. "Let's cut to the interesting part, shall we? Why were you two gentlemen hiding beneath my bed?"

"Well, you see Your Grace-" Jusis began before being cut off.

"We were hiding from them, Your Majesty!" Machias blurted out, pointing an accusing finger at Angelica and Towa.

Towa seemed to recoil in shock a little, as if she were just accused of murder. Angelica hugged her closer, protectively, as she scowled at Machias.

Jusis elbowed his partner in the ribs with a glare.

"I'm sorry!" Machias cringed. "I've never been able to lie to royalty!"

Rean would have asked just how many times that particular character trait had come up in the past, were he not more interested in removing himself and Sara from the current situation that is.

Jusis sighed. "Your Grace, we were looking for Rean as well. We stumbled upon your bedroom and, well …"

"Well, aren't you a popular boy, Rean?" Prince Olivert smirked at the Ashen Chevalier.

"Your Majesty, I-" Rean began.

"I thought you two were hiding from the ladies?" Scherazard cut across him with an evil smirk aimed at both Rean and Sara.

"Well, I mean, technically we were." Sara chuckled lifelessly.

"You just happened to pre-emptively hide in my armoire before the gentlemen here could get the chance to hide underneath my bed?" Prince Olivert offered with a smile.

"Well, that wasn't quite what I meant." Sara licked her dry lips anxiously. "We were most definitely hiding, that part is true."

"Clearly." Scherazard nodded sagely.

"We were just hiding for … a different reason." Rean continued, hoping to buy them both some time to think of an appropriate explanation.

"Oh? And what reason might that be?" Olivert smiled. It wasn't an evil or a malicious smile at all, but it had a bead of sweat run down Rean's back all the same. "Was it yet another pair of uncontrollable lovers barging in on your private time, perhaps?"

"Well …" Sara strained out in a high pitched whine.

"Oh, for the love of Aidios." Scherazard sighed. She cast her gaze about the room. "Whoever else is hiding, come out, now!"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Rean's and Sara's eyes doggedly ignored both the other bed and the door leading to the balcony. The other's stayed quiet as well, presumably out of sheer embarrassment more than anything else.

The Silver Streak was perceptive however, and she sighed as she strode over towards the other bed. She tapped her foot impatiently. "Come out, or I'll do a bit of spring cleaning with my whip!" She growled.

"We're coming, we're coming!" Juna's voice blurted out before she and Kurt hurried out of their hiding place.

Sara sighed quietly so that only Rean could hear. "Don't think anyone's coming tonight."

Rean elbowed her in the ribs.

"Normally, I'd honestly be a little flattered, but this is just damn creepy." Scherazard glared at everyone at large.

"We're so sorry!" Juna flinched.

"Yes, please accept our apologies!" Kurt bowed his head in shame.

"Kurt my boy, what will Mueller make of all this, I wonder?" Prince Olivert shook his head with a light smirk.

"Your Majesty, I beg of you, please don't tell him!" Kurt winced at the mere thought of his brother finding out about any of this.

"Calm yourself, Kurt." The Prince smiled. "I presume you've heard the rest, now what were you two doing here?"

"We, erm …" Juna rubbed at her elbow anxiously. She glanced up at Rean so very reluctantly and grimaced in what was presumably an apology. "We came looking for Instructor Rean as well."

"Yes, and then we got … side tracked." Kurt finished, his cheeks redder than the sun.

"I see." Prince Olivert nodded in understanding. He turned back to Rean with a smirk. "Well, I don't know how you do it, Rean, I really don't, but I suppose I should offer you my congratulations."

"Your Majesty, I- I really don't have anything to do with anyone else here, just Sara!" Rean protested.

"That's right! You really think I'd touch a guy, like him?" Angelica looked revolted at the mere thought.

Could have done without the last part, but thanks for backing me up, Angie. Rean thought to himself a little bitterly.

"I assure you, Your Majesty, we are not all affiliated with Rean in that sort of manner." Jusis huffed indignantly.

"He was our Instructor." Kurt added with a nod. "That would be vile!"

Juna pointedly looked in any other direction.

"Hey! Watch it lover boy! Don't knock it till you try it!" Sara threw a scowl the Vander scion's way as she threw an arm around Rean possessively.

"Not helping, Sara." Rean sighed.

"Rean's just a friend, really." Towa murmured, her face still half hidden behind her hands.

"Of course, of course, whatever you all say." Prince Olivert chuckled. Clearly he didn't believe a word of it. "Oh well, I know how to read a room. You all want to be anywhere but here right now, don't you?" Prince Olivert asked with a wry smile.

There was a round of mute nodding. Everyone was too embarrassed to even speak.

The Prince chuckled. "Very well, I won't keep you. Oh! If any of you do wish to, ahem, continue, might I recommend the third floor of the eastern wing? There's a lovely master bedroom there with plenty of space for …" He did a quick headcount. "Eight at once. It's kept prepared for foreign dignitaries mostly, and we don't have an overabundance of those visiting us at the moment, so you're more than welcome to make use of it without fear of disturbances. You might have to push a couple of beds together though." He winked at them all.

"Your Majesty, we really aren't all-" Rean started in vain.

"It's alright, Rean, it's alright." The Prince assured him with what he clearly assumed was a knowing smile. "No need to explain or defend anything. Your personal lives are all your own after all. Now then, with all these flustered faces it's getting a little stuffy in here, don't you think? I'll open up the balcony, let a little air in."

Rean and Sara both sighed. They didn't even bother trying to flee or come up with an excuse or anything. They wouldn't have had any time anyway, as a moment later there was a surprised yelp from Linde and a startled gasp from Gaius.

"We were just looking for Rean!" Gaius exclaimed.

The Prince blinked. He turned back to look at Rean with a mixture of bemusement and respect. "My, my, my, Rean, you are a very popular one indeed."

xxx

The walk of shame out of the Prince's bedroom was an interesting one. They were all very much aware of just what they had all been up to, or trying to get up at any rate.

It was just the Prince and Scherazard who hadn't seemed to cotton onto the exact truth of things. They'd clearly been left with the impression that Rean and the others were all part of some weird sex society or something and were no doubt disappointed that they hadn't been invited.

Everyone was silent, staying doggedly with their partners and refusing to make eye contact with anyone or anything else. Even when they'd left the swallowing quiet of the palace's private corridors and were just re-joining the party proper, no one dared say anything.

Eventually, Rean just couldn't stand the awkward tension any longer. "Well, congratulations everyone. Let's never speak of this – or to each other – again."

There was a general murmur of agreement. A couple of meagre congratulations were shared before each pair fanned out far, far away from everyone else.

Sara sighed by Rean's side, her cheeks still red. "Well, that could have gone better."

"I'm not sure if it could have gone any worse." Rean chuckled in spite of current events.

Sara chuckled herself. "So …" She began, walking a pair of fingers up Rean's arm in a very deliberately casual fashion.

"You want to head up to that room the Prince was talking about, don't you?"

"Oh Aidios, yes!" Sara whispered. "All that show and no, no …"

"Touch?" Rean finished for her.

"Yes! Exactly." Sara sighed once more and reached up to rove the fingers of one hand up into his hair. "I'm a starving woman, Rean. I need you, now more than ever." She bit on one end of her lip for seductive effect.

Rean couldn't deny that he still felt the urge as well, though that expression on her face would likely have tipped him over the edge even if he hadn't have been. He glanced about to check if they were being overheard at all. "Alright, but let's be sure to lock the door this time."

"Absolutely." Sara smirked. "We'll stick a dresser in front of it or something."

It didn't take them long to slip out of the party once more and track down the corridor the Prince mentioned. As promised, it was quiet and deserted. The lights had been turned off as well until they'd arrived. Clearly no one was expected to be roaming those halls. Sara quickly found the largest door along the hallway.

"This must be the place." Sara murmured, quickly turning her back to the door and hot kisses to Rean's lips, her hands pawing at him impatiently.

"Let's at least make sure this is the right place first." Rean smirked as he suffered her attentions without any real complaint. "You're too eager."

"Shut up. Like you aren't?" Sara smirked, running a hand to his crotch to feel at his growing excitement. "That doesn't feel like an ARCUS in your pocket, Mr Schwarzer."

Rean breathed a chuckle. He followed her into the room as Sara kept on kissing him. She worked the door handle behind her back with her free hand and sashayed in.

It was only after that blissful moment of budding ecstasy did Rean notice the rush of movement and the slam of something on the edges of his awareness.

"Wait." Rean broke away from Sara's delicious touch reluctantly.

The cerise haired Bracer scowled at him in annoyance for disrupting her latest plans.

"Did you hear that?"

"Nope, you're just imagining things." Sara eagerly tried to return her lips to his.

"Sara, you did hear it, didn't you?" Rean scowled at her a little.

"Ok, maybe I did." She admitted reluctantly with a sigh. "Can we just ignore it?" She asked half-heartedly.

Rean breathed a chuckle and moved over to where he thought he saw a vaguely humanoid shape run into the en suite. Slowly, Rean reached for the handle, before thinking better of it and opting to knock instead.

"Is that you Juna?" Rean asked with a bit of a grimace. "Kurt?"

"… No?" Came Juna's voice from beyond the door.

A hushed growl of annoyance that was surely Kurt remonstrating with her followed.

Rean looked to Sara with a smirk. For her part, the Purple Lightning looked distinctly unamused, her arms folded irritably before her chest, foot tapping impatiently. She clearly wanted to get back to whatever plans she had set in store for the Ashen Chevalier post haste, witnesses be damned.

"Ok, we'll find another room then." Rean shook his head with a smile. "Have fun, you two."

"Wait, why should we move? We're older." Sara raised a sceptical eyebrow over her scowl.

Rean blinked. He struggled for a moment for any words to say. He really didn't care where they were. As long as they were together, he'd have been perfectly happy with a cave or in a tent by the side of a busy road in that moment.

There was a rustle and a short yelp of surprise from beyond the bathroom door before it opened and Juna's head popped around. It was very apparent she was clutching her shirt to her chest to preserve her modesty.

"We were here first!" Juna scowled at the Purple Lightning. "Go find your own room!"

"Hey, we got to the Prince's room first!" Sara countered. "And didn't Rean ever teach you to respect your elders?"

"We got caught because of you!"

"We were trying to protect you!"

"Sara, it really doesn't matter." Rean moved forward to put both hands on Sara's shoulders to calm her. This wasn't at all how he saw the evening progressing. "There's plenty of other rooms we can take."

Sara seemed to realise she was being obstinate for no real reason. Her scowl dropped and she sighed. "Alright. No point letting the whole evening go to waste after all."

"Exactly." Rean smiled.

"Oh, and hey, Kurt!" Sara growled out loud, making for the en suite door suddenly.

Oh boy, Rean grimaced.

Sara reached the door and wrenched it open fully. Juna yelped in surprise and jumped back. Thankfully she only had to cover her chest. The younger couple hadn't gotten too far in divesting each other of clothes it seemed. Kurt was stood there as expected, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights.

Kurt swallowed. "Instructor Sara, I- I'm sorry. When I said that being with our Instructor was vile, I didn't mean-"

"Save it, lover boy." Sara strode right up to the silver haired Vander with a scowl. "Now listen here, you're a very lucky guy, you've got yourself a real sweet girl here. Now you better treat her right, and everything she does for you, you better return the favour, you hear me?"

"Ye- Yes, of course!" Kurt nodded profusely.

"Good! Then carry on!" Sara nodded sharply once before marching back out of the bathroom.

Kurt and Juna both looked stunned.

Rean blinked. He offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile to them both. "Well, congratulations you two, I'm really happy for you both."

"Err, thanks Instructor." Juna blushed a bashful smile.

"Thank you, that means a lot coming from you." Kurt seemed genuinely touched.

"And Vander!" Sara barked, marching right back over, once more on the warpath.

"Yes!" Kurt gave a frightened yelp.

Sara stalked right up to him again, eyes dark and dangerous. "Next time I see you, I'll tell you exactly how to rock her fucking world!" She jabbed a finger towards Juna, who just looked alarmed by the whole exchange. "Understood?"

Kurt could only nod. A bead of sweat slid down his temple.

"Good boy, and congratulations to you both." Sara echoed Rean, if less enthusiastically and more murderous sounding. "Now, disturb us again and I'll kill you both myself."

"Erm, understood, Instructor Sara." Juna swallowed thickly.

Kurt merely nodded meekly.

"Grand, now that that's settled, come on Rean." Sara took Rean's hand and dragged him off before he or anyone could object.

Rean let himself be dragged out and into another bedroom further down the hall. Sara wasted no time in checking the bathroom, the wardrobes, the balcony and even under the bed for any further disturbances. Once certain that they were alone, she marched over to the door, locked it and checked it twice, before grabbing a nearby dresser and hauling it over – one handed – in front of the door. Finally satisfied, she turned right back to Rean.

"Finally, nothing's going to stop me from taking you now." Sara smirked wide and proud.

With that, Sara launched herself at him.

Rean chuckled even as she collided with him. He couldn't help but smirk when she pinned him down on the bed and set about the glorious task of ravishing him senseless.

Sara made sure that she got exactly what she was looking for, and made sure that Rean got what he wanted as well. Many, many times over.

xxx

A few months later, Rean and Sara were ambling through Crossbell's busy streets, hand in hand as they browsed the shop windows.

"Oh look, it's Kurt and Juna." Rean smiled as he nodded towards his former students.

The younger couple were doing some window shopping of their own by the looks of things.

Juna's eyes widened over a bright smile as she caught sight of the Bracers both.

Then, she was running over, darting between throngs of people as they walked about the crowded street. The pink haired girl drew more than a few scowls and tuts of annoyance as she brushed past them. She practically threw herself at Sara when she reached the Purple Lightning and wrapped both arms around her tight.

"Thank you!" Juna enthused with a wide smile.

Then, after flashing Rean a quick smirk, she was running back to Kurt's side once more.

Rean raised a curious eyebrow at his lover.

"Heh, I've still got it." Sara smirked ever so proudly.

"Do I even want to ask?" Rean ventured warily.

"Oh, I've just been passing on some 'important life lessons' to young Vander over there. That's all." Sara's eyes twinkled as she nodded Kurt's way.

Rean looked back over towards the younger couple. Though Kurt looked almost as bemused as Rean did, he did wear increasingly reddening cheeks as well.

"I taught you everything you know, after all. I'm just spreading the joy." Sara shrugged innocently.

Rean's brow furrowed for a moment before he finally cottoned on to what she was saying.

"You didn't teach me everything I know." Rean frowned, cheeks flushing like Kurt's.

Sara laughed. She reached up to pinch his cheek playfully. "Oh Rean, it's cute that you think that."