Act VI

The week has gone by shortly and today is the day of the royal celebration of the Princess's birthday. The celebration itself would be in the form of a masquerade. The people all about the village would also prepare as the town would also go into the festival celebrating their princess's birthday. The heroes of Lore would be going back and forth, providing their assistance to the villagers that would need help setting things up. Regis was at the inn helping Serenity stock up on items for when the tipsy would come in later since the festival would be held in the time square. Twilly was perched unto Regis' shoulder doing what he can to help. The little moglin would sometimes peer to Regis while he was carrying several of the crates into the inn. He soon poked his head with his stick staff in curiosity.

"Hey Regis, you seem a little nervous about something. Are you okay?"

The Riftwalker was caught with a blank mind about later tonight as he was requested to be at the ball.

"It's nothing Twilly. I was just thinking."

"Heh, lucky you since you will be at the ball."

"Hey, I'm still attending the festival aren't I?"

"You have to, Twilly helped make the fireworks"

The little moglin was energetic and excited all throughout. The two would soon exit the inn as the clock had reached high noon before he nearly got tackled from the side by a familiar adolescent girl with red hair. He was not exactly thrown off-balance, but it was enough to send Twilly flying off Regis and into the ground with a face plant.

"Regis, Regis!"

"Hahaha, what is it Aria?"

She would appear to be flailing her arm about as she held him by his arm and pulled him downward a little considering she was a bit short.

"You're coming to the festival right?"

The riftwalker would turn to Aria and nod to her, indicating he had the full intention of attending the festival on the first hours. It did not take long before nighttime began to settle in. Once the sun disappeared from the horizon, fireworks started launching into the hair and covered the skies in vibrant colors which the whole of Falconreach and Oaklore could clearly see. Everyone would mostly watch the aforementioned light show from the decorated town square. Shortly after the display, the town was covered in messes of people dancing, drinking, and being merry. There would be several instances where Captain Rhubarb himself would be seen chatting with several folks with a tankard in hand. Aria and Ash were by the side drinking berry juice since they were under aged. Regis was in front of the inn with Cysero and Zhoom as they exchanged words regarding their adventures.

"Hehehe, and then I said: messing around with time and space!"

"Yeah, I had to fight that guy because of you."

"Haha, probably wasn't the first time Cysero happened."

"Well, he did use the black hole machine thing to make his spaghetti longer."

"Whoa wait, I'm a phenomenon now?"

"-a phenomenon of misfortune. Hahahahaha"

The three were about joiking around with the merry making before Regis would be receiving a single tap on the shoulder. He did not seem to mind the slender and tanned hand which tapped him again before slapping him on the back of his head.

"Oww, what the.."

"Hey, I don't like being ignored you know."

Regis would come to have a light smile as he was nursing his head as he was laughing to his thick-headedness.

"Sorry about that Valencia, I didn't know you'd be around."

"Riiiight, I just hope you haven't drunk too much mulberry juice."

"Oh this, I just hold it to be polite. I don't handle alcohol very well."

A melancholic smirk would appear upon Surehunter as her arms rose over her chest and began to rub against her chin. She also seemed to make devious humming sound beneath her breath which made Regis slightly uncomfortable.

"Why do I get the feeling I shouldn't have told you that?"

The sound of violins, drums, and guitars soon filled the air with an energetic tune which would beckon many of the villagers and the heroes to start dancing. Valencia turned her head to the direction of the music before looking back to the Riftwalker with an eyebrow raised at him. Regis immediately got the hint before raising his hands and waved them in a frantic declining motion.

"Ohhh no. No, Valencia."

Valencia would paw against Regis' arms before grabbing hold of his sleeve to lightly pull him into the direction of the dance floor. She seemed to need the enjoyment as Zhoom and Cysero would be trying to push him to the dance floor as well.

"C'mon Regis, I want to dance, just once."

"Yeah, it wouldn't kill you to dance."

"Don't be a buzzkill."

Regis was soon convinced to join Valencia on the dance floor before he would seem to feel awkward. He turned his head left and right where he could see many of the villagers dancing about before he looked towards Zhoom and Cysero who were clapping to the beat of the song. His thoughts were soon interrupted by the item hunter who would call his attention.

"Regis!"

"Huh, what?"

"Robina taught you how to dance didn't she?"

"Yeah, but just the waltz"

"Well, just do it faster."

At first, he did not seem to understand what she had meant before she started to grab his arms and wrap them around her into a waltz position before beginning to dance. Regis was able to pick up the patterns as Valencia was deriving the dance from the waltz into a more energetic form. Regis would chuckle from time to time before the two finished and pulled to the side to catch their breaths.

"See, that wasn't so bad."

"Guess you're right, hah."

"Well then, I'm sure you'll break a leg in the castle."

"Are you coming?"

"Of course, but you won't see me."

The two looked up to the castle which soon began to light up upon the inside to begin the celebration of the princess's birthday. They greeted each other before parting ways, slipping away from the party. Regis managed to sneak into his own room by the window where he would find suitable attire. In his room, he would find a suit and a mask ready for the ball. He would only think that the servants must have prepared them for him.

"King Alteon sure knows how to take care of his bodyguards"

Without a second to lose, Regis had discarded all of his equipment to done on the suit. As he was now working with the tie, he looked upon the bangle that he had traded with Valencia earlier. It glimmered to him a bit which made him recall that it was his gift to Princess Victoria, and he hasn't even wrapped it yet. Funny enough, a voice could be heard from his doorstep which had Regis turn to see who it was.

"Didn't wrap it now, did you?"

"Sir Ano, w...why aren't you wearing your mask?"

"Not much of a point when you got a shnoze like mine."

"Hahahahaha, that's true."

"My suggestion; just put it on her like a gentleman."

"Isn't that rude?"

"Not in public, dummy."

"Ohhh..uhhhh… okay."

The two would soon finish fixing their suits and begin to join the party at the gardens. The hedges were lit up by fireflies as flags of Okalore hung from the walls. The place itself was surrounded by hedge mazes. It was a grand area that was comepletely elegant, yet suits the character of Princess Victoria. It would seem that they were slightly late as the dancing would already be taking place. Regis, was wearing an elegant suit like many of the men about the area, only with the difference of wearing a red cravat rather than the usual white on. His mask was also in a crimson color that was slightly embroidered in gold patterns. He was a little worried that he stuck out a little bit before a hand wrapped in white cloth had wrapped around his own. He turned towards the side where he would see none other than Princess Victoria. Regis himself could not seem to believe his eyes when he had seen her. Her brown hair was tied into a bunch that was held together by a single green ribbon which had streamed down and over her bare shoulder. A tiara rested naturally upon her head, sparkling slightly from the diamonds. The face was slightly covered in simple mascara as well as foundation powder which lightened her skin-tone radiantly. Her lips were covered in a clean bloody color which parted slightly within a smile. Her dress was draped in ivory and emerald silk that flowed most natural with her posture while having some more streams upon her waist to cover her feet that stood upon high heeled shoes. But, with everything upon her, Regis could only seem to recognize her through her light blue eyes that could easily see through movements of colors and perfect her aim. It was Robina smiling at him while holding his hand. Regis' face was covered in a deep heavy blush that was hiding by the eye mask that just about covered his cheeks. She began to strike a conversation that possessed a tone of relief.

"I'm glad you're here. I feel so uncomfortable in this crowd."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Two things; I told Sir Vant to give you a red cravat and you smell of lilacs which were around your window."

"You're as sharp as ever."

Victoria began to tug unto Regis' shirt as she was lightly but elegantly pulling him to the dance floor. "Not again" was his thought as he still held an ironic smile before he went into the waltz with Victoria. As the two began to dance, Regis would seem to feel that all eyes were upon him as he looked upon Victoria once more in slight confusion. He began to whisper slightly in question of this.

"Why is everyone looking at me?"

"It's because you're my first dance as of tonight."

"Whoah, is this even alright."

"Mmmhmm. Because among all the people in this party, you're pretty much the only person I would dance with."

"Well, I'm glad this is a masquerade then."

"Ohh don't be such a baby."

The two continued to dance in the orchestrate music as the party seemed to go on. It was a lengthy celebration as the events soon changed to the speeches, the rites, to the blowing of the candles. The party soon proceeded into the normal paces of people conversing with one another. Victoria was talking to some of the other guests while Regis stood in the background looking about the area. He hasn't forgotten his duty as the princess's escort and made sure everything was alright before he got silently smacked in the head by a maiden in a golden dress which would appear to be Valencia Surehunter again.

"How many times are you going to hit me over the head?"

"This is a party, you should relax a little more. Let the knights of the Pactagonal table handle the security detail. Besides, I think the princess wants you to sweep her off her feet."

Valencia would place her hand upon Regis' chin and turn his head towards Victoria, who was signaling with her blue eyes to a certain direction indicating him to come to her. Regis would only chuckle once before coming to oblige to her request as he approached her. Since he still had his mask on, it was difficult to recognize his identity before. He stood next to Victoria before she looked to her guests.

"Ohh, please excuse me, ladies."

She soon pulled Regis by his sleeve as they walked into the maze of the hedges where the lights were dimmed, with the exception for the fireflies going about. They would look around to see if anyone was nearby before they burst into fits of laughter.

"Hahahahahahaha, we finally got out of there."

"You looked really bored the whole time Robina."

"Well; you were the one standing on the sides as if something was gonna jump in."

"I couldn't help it. It's not my type of crowd"

"So says the lone hero. Speaking of which, you can take off the mask now."

Regis proceeds to take off his mask to finally get his face into free air. He even shook his head to fix his hair that had been stifled from the ribbons of the mask. He then looked upon to the princess and smiled jokingly.

"I hope not, wouldn't want people to freak out that your bodyguard is your first dance."

The two came to joke upon each other more as the night was pleasant and the stars shined. They talked about things they did in the past as well as certain experiences when one was doing something else at the time. They just sat there talking casually and it was rather pleasant that they could.

"You know, I never thought the stars were so bright."

"That's because the only white glints you see are from sharp edges heading for you."

"I really do miss out on a lot of things huh?"

"Apparently… It's getting a little cold."

Princess Victoria had claimed before Regis would take off his coat to wrap it around her shoulders before she began to lean upon his shoulder for comfort. The two didn't really think much of the gestures. Strangely enough, a question had popped into Victoria's mind as she came to word it out without actually giving any prior thought.

"Hey, Regis..."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever kissed a girl before?"

The Riftwalker would turn a wide eye upon the maiden next to him as she was looking at him with curious expressions riddled over her face. He looked back up to the stars as he gave his answer.

"No. I don't even think the opportunity came."

"Why not?"

"You should already know by now. I've been to so many adventures that the thought never even crossed my mind."

She began to shift her position now looking straight towards Regis. Her bright sapphire eyes locked in contact with his brown hues as she spoke softly to him.

"What if you were given the opportunity?"

"I'm not sure, how would have anyone done it?"

"I don't know. I guess they started looking each other in the eyes."

"They'd probably be at a loss of words."

"Things just… click, I guess."

Two out of three of their shared statements would appear to describe the position they were in. They had been looking straight each with only but a few inches of distance between their faces. Their cheeks have been covered in a deep blush that would be invisible to the nightly ambience. All the while, they could feel a thumping feeling that reached from their chests to their ears as their breaths began to tickle their lips. The two had been locked in a daze that was a little strange to them, but not in a way that they could just escape from. All of a sudden, a call from the back would suddenly bring them to their senses before they just snapped back into reality. Regis had quickly placed on his mask and Victoria would fix her self before Valencia arrived to the two sitting in upright positions.

"Oh, there you two are. It's almost time for the party to end. They'll notice you missing."

"Right, we should be heading back"

Valencia had already started to run back as Regis and Victoria would be standing and facing each other awkwardly before Regis opened his eyes to reach into his pocket, pulling out the bangle from his coat to give to Victoria.

"I almost forgot. Give me your hand"

Victoria nearly shied away for a moment before she placed her hand upon Regis'. He then placed the bangle into her palm and looked to her with a smile.

"Happy Birthday, Princess."

Robina nearly gasp and looked at the bangle wide-eyed before she suddenly wrapped her arms around him. They remained that way until Valencia's cough comes up as she returned to check if they were following. The two quickly stepped away from each other, looking at opposite directions before Valencia smirked.

"Come on, you two. Let's go."

She left with her gleeful hum as the Regis and Victoria were left silent.

"Well uh, we should probably get back, Robina."

Robina nodded before starting to run, but suddenly stopped to pivot on the grass to face Regis while she had a blushed smile on her face.

"You weren't going to do anything weird, were you?"

"What? No, I wasn't. I swear."

Victoria would just stick her tongue out before running back out of the hedge maze with Regis behind her.

"C'mon Regis, if I get there before you; you're buying me some mulberry juice!"

"Hey, wait. Don't just decide that one your own!"

(Thank you for reading this fanfic so far. I hope you are currently enjoying the story. I apologize for my typo errors and I'm currently addressing that for the incoming chapters. Please stay tuned for Act VII)