Levana couldn't stop thinking about how much she hated those galas.
For one, they were so terribly boring. Not that much attention was ever directed towards Levana, who was always overshadowed by the radiant Channary. Her sister was always flanked by hundreds of—attractive, on top of that—males, whom were all too blind to ever see past her pretty face.
It was something that Levana was only the tiniest bit jealous over.
Even then, as she watched Channary waltz with the first lucky man, she felt the tiniest pang of envy. The crowd parted for her and her partner, the most handsome man in the room; the emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth. Channary held a poised smile, but the emperor's expression was as unfeeling as stone as they waltzed across the marble floor.
Levana peered over at her parents, who gazed at the dancing royals with pride. She internally scoffed. They were so proud of their little girl, luring another unsuspecting man to his death, like the siren that she was.
Levana's internal grumbling went on, getting louder and louder with each second that passed. She stood, frozen—her posture poised, her spine as straight as an arrow—and it irritated her. She was tired of standing that way. The three minute waltz seemed to last three hours, she was that uncomfortable.
Much to her relief, the music finally ceased and the crowd began to applaud. Her gaze turned to the dance floor and she saw the emperor and her sister parting ways—he with a stiff bow and she with the grace of a swan. As the orchestra started again, the entire ballroom joined in the dancing. Levana, however, felt no urge to dance or mingle with the crowd. She just wanted to get the night over with. To her immense surprise, she would've even played PrincessBall with Akiho if it meant getting out of there.
Sighing, she made her way to the table stocked with every single type of desert imaginable, ranging from chocolate soufflés to ice cream tarts to mango mousse. The food, in Levana's opinion, was the only thing worth coming to the gala for. She picked up a piece of caramel stuffed chocolate and smiled. She was a romantic, and she had fallen in love with all things chocolate. She popped it in her mouth and chewed it in an unladylike fashion, swallowing as she licked her lips. There was nothing better than lunar chocolate, all rich and creamy.
The euphoria made her stand there, like a fool, taking in the scent of sugar and fruit. After a moment, though, she was snapped out of her desert-induced haze by a curt tap on her shoulder.
"Your Highness?"
She frowned, annoyed. Just what she wanted—another guard, coming to reprimand her for being in the way of the other guests' desire for sweets.
As soon as she turned around, though, her frown turned into a timid smile. She was met with soft copper-brown eyes that shone with the ballroom light. Standing before her was probably the beautiful human being she had ever seen. He was tall and slender, but still muscular. He had raven black hair that hung past his ears and lips that every girl, Lunar and Earthen, had admired a thousand times, whether from netscreens or in real life. He wore a red and gold uniform embroidered with lotus flowers and motifs of dragons. He was a real live Prince Chocolate. Delicious.
For a moment, Levana just stood there, speechless, until she realized that the man was expecting an answer.
"Yes?" she said softly. She could feel the blush creeping across her cheeks. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
The man held out a hand. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but I was wondering if I could have this next dance?"
"Of cour—wait, dance?!"
"Well, yeah. It's a ball, that's kind of what you do here," he replied sarcastically. Levana said nothing. She was a bit appalled at the man's sarcasm, considering she didn't even know his name, although he did look familiar.
The man noticed Levana's expression, and his gaze immediately softened, apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. I just...had to endure a very unpleasant waltz," he said bitterly.
"With whom?"
"Princess Channary," he muttered.
The whole thing clicked in Levana's mind. Oh. Oh. Her eyes widened, and she dipped into the most graceful curtsey she could muster, which probably wasn't much."Y-your Majesty..." she stammered.
She expected a scolding or a sneer from the emperor, but instead, he started laughing. Levana righted herself immediately, frowning. She crossed her arms over her chest. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, it's just that I…sort of expected a different reaction." He chuckled. "You're really odd, you know."
She frowned.
The man grinned playfully. "I meant that in the best possible way."
Levana lowered her head, her cheeks flushed. "I apologize, Your Majesty. My reaction was unwarranted."
His gaze softened, and he lifted her chin up with his fingers. "You can call me Saito."
She blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Please, no more 'Your Majesty.' I get enough of that from…everyone else. You should just call me Saito."
"No. That wouldn't be—"
"Don't make me turn it into a royal command," he grinned. Levana smiled back, the awkwardness dissipating.
"If I call you Saito, then you can call me Levana, then," she said playfully. She blushed internally. Since when was she such a flirt?
"Sounds like a plan." Saito reached forward and took her hand, and before she realized what was happening, he had plucked her away from the desert table and taken her into his arms.
They were dancing.
Heart hammering, Levana pried her gaze away from him and looked over his shoulder. Channary had already found herself a new partner and was oblivious to her or the emperor. Saito grinned, coaxing her back to arm's length, but he didn't tease her. He held up her right hand, and Levana gulped, suddenly self-conscious. It took her a moment to remember that she was wearing her gloves, that no one could see her metal arm. Calming down somewhat, she blushed slightly, her chest pressing against his.
"So. That's your sister," he said, glancing over to the crown princess.
Levana's lips pressed into a thin line. "Yes, unfortunately."
"She seems like a real treasure." His voice dripped with sarcasm.
Levana scoffed, and she started to ease. She pictured the ever-graceful Channary in her ball gown and heels, and wished her body into conformity. At least her feet seemed to be memorizing the pattern of the dance steps, making each movement slightly more fluid than the last, until she almost felt as if she knew what she were doing. Of course, the tender pressure of Saito's hand on her waist didn't hurt.
"I pity you, since you were the one who had to dance with her," Levana said.
"Better me than Rikan, my brother. He has a very strong dislike for Lunars—no offense."
She smiled back. "None taken."
"It took hours just to get him on the ship to get here. I couldn't bear to imagine how he would react if he had to dance with her, of all people."
Levana's breath hitched as he spun her around, the skirt of her gown swishing around her legs. "He would probably have his tongue cut out within five minutes," she said, once she was back against him.
Saito paled, his eyes widening.
She regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. "I mean, if he says something bad—"
"I know," the emperor said softly. He sighed. "I really want him to remain vigilant tonight. Knowing him, I just hope that he watches what he says and does."
Levana gave him a sweet smile, her heart warming at the care and worry that he showed for his younger brother. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be okay."
Before they knew it, the music had ended and everyone bowed, going off in search of new partners. Levana sighed, letting go of Saito's shoulders, expecting him to leave her alone once again. But instead, he took her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckle, making her blush.
"Levana, I've really enjoyed this last dance with you. Would I be too bold to ask for another?"
Levana smiled timidly. "Of course not."
He grinned, placing one hand on her waist and holding one of her hands in the other, as he led her into another dance.
The next dance ended up being the next three dances. The two of them were quite rapid, and they both were rather flushed afterward. Plus, the ballroom was getting a tad on the warm side, so Levana decided to go for a stroll in the palace garden, and offered Saito the chance to escort her. He readily accepted. Soon, they were leaving the hustle and bustle of the ballroom behind, and enjoying the warm summer night, listening to the sounds of animals coming from the menagerie and admiring the smell of the flowers hanging from the arbors as they walked by.
While they walked, they began to get to talking, asking each other about themselves and how their lives were like.
When it was his turn to speak, Levana was fascinated by his stories of Earth, of the Eastern Commonwealth. He told witty anecdotes about his visits around the country, of all the traders that came by, and how they actually received shipments from tropical isles every so often with things most Lunars had never even heard of before. Over the course of talking, the two made their way back inside and, before she knew it, went to one of the glass balconies that overlooked Artemisia, to sit under the stars and continue the conversation, just as it turned to his own family.
"Ah...Rikan. He always was a handful."
Levana feigned ignorance. "Oh, really? I never would have guessed."
They both chuckled. "Yeah. One day, he decided to give me a haircut in my sleep. I couldn't take any pictures for a month, he had butchered my hair so much. I was forced to wear a hat the whole time," Saito said.
The princess couldn't help but let out a louder laugh, cupping her mouth a bit as she did so. "Oh, that's terrible!" she said, in spite of that. "I can't believe he'd be that mean!"
"It's okay, though. It's just who he is. Tsukune and I, despite being further in age, were the closest, before he, well, died." Levana gave him a sympathetic look, which he gave a smile in return, "I still love Rikan dearly. I don't know what I'd do without him."
"I wish that I had a sibling who felt that way."
Saito raised an eyebrow. "And Channary doesn't?"
"Not at all. She's hardly a sister in any sense of the word."
His curiosity piqued. "Why do you say that?"
"I..." Levana sighed, "don't really want to talk about it."
His face fell. "Well...you don't have to, if you don't want to."
She looked back up at him, her smile having melted into a frown. "Let's just say that most of her interactions with me involved either glamouring me, insulting me or shutting me out."
Saito's gaze softened. "I could never shut you out," he told her. "You're the most energetic and exciting young woman I have ever met. I don't see how anyone could turn you away."
Levana, on hearing that, couldn't help but smile again. It felt so nice to just get complimented for once. All of that evening felt so lovely. As nice as the party was, the nicest part by far was Saito. She realized she wouldn't have minded if he had been the only person who had shown up, so long as it meant spending that time there.
"Hey...you want to know something crazy?"
Saito chuckled a bit. "Crazy? I'm used to it. Go on."
"Living here for the past nineteen years, it's felt almost like my whole life, everyone has only been isolating themselves from me or shutting doors in my face. Like they've been going out of their way to ignore me, but then, I met you tonight, and you're the first person in ages who feels like you actually want to get to know me. Like you actually enjoy being around me." She paused a moment, then sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry—maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic but...if you lived like I have for so long..."
"No, no, it's alright!" he immediately corrected. "It's actually really funny that you say that."
Levana looked up a bit. "It is? Like 'ha, ha' funny or..."
"I mean...I kind of feel the same way. I've been to a lot of places on Earth, too. Trying to find somewhere that, I don't know, felt right. Somewhere I felt I belonged, and someone who I felt I belonged with. And then, well, I met you tonight. And it almost feels as if something is going right for a change."
Levana blinked and stared back momentarily at that, honestly surprised.
On seeing her reaction, the emperor's face blanched a bit. "I'm sorry, did I come on too strong? I shouldn't have said that out loud..." He began to turn his head away slightly. "I'm-"
Before he could say another word, however, Levana's hand went out and took his. Immediately, he looked back up to her, and saw her surprise had vanished and was replaced with growing excitement. She began to pull him up.
"Come on."
He blinked. "Where are we going?"
She smiled. "To do something that I haven't done for most of my life—have some fun."