Fictober 2020 day 6 prompt: "That was impressive."

POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR DRAGONWATCH 4 AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I don't personally think there's anything spoilerific in here, but maybe avoid this one if you haven't read Champion of the Titan Games yet.

This is where my mind immediately went upon hearing of Prince Doriano.

"Tell me, Kendra. How did it feel to wear the crown of the Fairy Queen?" Ronodin leaned his head against one of his hands and peered at her with the same distantly interested look he often tended to give her.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Kendra cooly replied. Her patience with him was growing thin. How much longer did she have to put up with this infuriating, evil unicorn? At what point was she allowed to politely slip away? Curse societal convention! The fact that she kept running into him in moments when she couldn't just outright scream at him was fraying her nerves.

"I admit, that was impressive," Ronodin said. "Not as impressive as some things I have witnessed in my time, but still. Very clever, Kendra. I understand why people tend to be so very enamored of you."

She did her best to kill him with her glare. He simply chuckled and placed his drink down on the tabletop nearest to him. And then he did something Kendra didn't think she could ever forgive him for.

He held his hand out to her and said, "Would you care to dance?"

Kendra glanced around the room and saw many eyes looking in their direction. She was in the care of the Giant Queen. The Queen and her guests - both large and small - knew Ronodin by a very different name and personality than Kendra did. She knew the truth. They did not.

Unfortunately, Kendra was the new girl in town; she hadn't done anything to earn the giant's trust yet, at least not that they knew of or cared about. Ronodin had formed a camaraderie with the Queen and her council. They trusted him. For her to follow through with her desire to punch Ronodin in his stupid face would be for her to invoke the wrath of the Giant Queen upon herself, and she knew better than that.

Societal convention.

Play the part, Kendra, she told herself. Pretend you don't know who he actually is. Play the part and then move on.

Kendra was sure that the smile which spread across her face looked as forced as it actually was, but she took his hand and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor in silence. Their awkward walk was short-lived, and when Ronodin turned toward her, he leaned in close and whispered, "You don't have to scream so loudly at me."

She yanked her hand out of his and he laughed. He'd been listening to her thoughts! How could she have forgotten that he had that ability?!

Laughter continued to gush out of him as he pulled her into a dance without warning. She stumbled over her feet, righted herself, and before she knew it, she was being whisked all over the dance floor. Kendra was passed between several different partners. She was spun and twirled and lifted and everyone moved so quickly that she found she was actually somewhat enjoying herself. If Ronodin hadn't been there, she might've even been having fun.

"Ouch, Kendra," his voice rang in her ears. "That was mean." She'd managed to wind up back in his arms again.

"Oh, please," she replied. "Don't pretend you didn't know how I feel about you."

"This particular virtuous maiden has an edge to her," he crowed. "I've never met anyone quite like you before. I can see why my cousin likes you so much."

"I don't want to talk to you about-"

"Sorry, but you'll have to hold that thought," he interrupted. "Time to trade partners again."

The next man she was partnered with didn't say anything to her. He followed the steps of the dance, which Kendra now had memorized, spun her under his arm, then passed her to another person. She went through three additional partners before winding back up with Ronodin once more.

"Still want to punch my face in, hmm?" he asked. His tone of voice held a lilt of teasing in it.

"More than anything," she replied as sweetly as she could.

"I'm really not as bad as you think I am."

"Your actions suggest otherwise."

He appeared to be thoughtful for a moment. "I wonder, if you truly knew my past, if you would still think that way."

That struck her as an odd thing to say. Odd and wrong. She opened her mouth to ask him to explain himself, but he let go of her hand and bowed to her as the music ceased.

As suddenly as she'd been swept up into it, the dance had ended.

"Thank you for your company," Ronodin said as he stood back up. "I'm sure I'll see you again, although perhaps sooner than you'd prefer."

Kendra was left standing on the dance floor, staring after him in confusion and what felt like even more frustration than earlier.

Stupid, evil, cryptic unicorn, she thought. And I didn't get to punch him in the face.