{Aleks}

The vampire was genuinely surprised when Faust accepted his invitation to dance. He beamed as he led Faust the rest of the way on to the dance floor. The song had changed again but he didn't care. He smirked as he moved to lead, "forgive me prince and I am sure you are an excellent dancer however I am the more sober one so it's probably safer for me to lead."

He placed Faustian's hands into the right positions. He wondered if Faust had ever not been the lead. The music picked up and Alex moved them out onto the floor in a fluid movement, acutely aware of the warmth of Faustian's body and their closeness. He should have had at least one more drink before suggesting this. He ginned as the dance picked up, " See this is fun," he said laughing. He moved so Faustian could twirl. A stupid grin plastered on his face. Maybe it was worth coming to the ball afterall. Dancing combined with the strange warmth of the drink made him more happy go lucky.

{Monty}

He grinned as they continued the dance. He enjoyed dancing and Freyja was an adequate partner. She was at least able to match his movements with the required grace. It really was a shame she was fae. "I can agree with the Keenan being annoying thing he said with a snort," he and Keenan rarely saw eye to eye, this who fae and halfling thing only made it worse.

Monty resisted to roll his eyes at her surprise. Sure the fre had been disasterous and it had taken him a long time to even be willing to rebuild but there was a strange beauty to the place. The memories he had formed there as a child were still important to him. "Yes," he said finally, "My lands are our side of the border to Sylivia hence why we were targeted. The fire may have destroyed the old buildings but it carries a strange sort of hope for a better future. It's existence is a sign of change." He shrugged, "I mean objectively the lands are pretty if you wanted a more superficial answer."

Freyja went pale and her heartrate quickened, Montague found it deafening. He tighted his grip, worried that she may faint. She seemed afraid, and he could not see why. It was a ball, no one would be stupid enough to hurt her with so many powerful beings in the room. "Are you okay?" he asked, voice full of genuine concern (yes, surprisingly enough, he actually cared about her well being), he couldn't let anything happen to her (it was definitely only for Keenan's sake, he did not care about her. No way).

He actually sighed when she asked if he had any family that lived in the manor. "It's a new build that's mostly empty, save for when I visit on occassion in the summer and a staff I keep to ensure it is kept in top condition. As for family...My direct family all died during the war. My father died on the battlefield and my mother and sister died in the fire. Afterall, the best way to kill a vampire and ensure they stay dead is with fire," he said bitterly.

The song came to an end and he guided her off the dance floor and towards a more private space where she could rest without prying eyes. "Want to tell me what happened out there? You don't seem like the fainting type."

{Keenan}

Keenan finished dancing with the blonde vampire and soon found himself flirting with a fae crowd. They really did have more fun. The king was giving him side eye but Keenan didn't stop. If flirting with Fae pissed him off, all the more reason to do it. Also Faustian told him to be careful so all in all he had a lot of people to spite by doing this.

{Aleks}

Faust was so drunk that Alek's doubted he would remember any of this in the morning. He did know that his friend was going to wake with a hell of a headache in the morning. The fact that they would both be travelling in the morning was laughable.

His next worry was Faust going to bed drunk and accidentally drowning in his own vomit or something. Gods, the fae were high maintenance. Also he like Faust enough to actually care what happened to him.

Aleks laughed at his admission at being terrible at their dances, "you would probably find this much easier sober, besides I am sure you are used to usually leading the dance," he said shaking his head.

{Montague}

He gave Freyja a weak smile at her condolences. He let out an audible sigh when she said that war is war. "I know the cost. Why do you think I encouraged Keenan into a marriage alliance instead of him jut disappearing? I am no innocent in all of this. It always feels different when it gets personal but that is just how life works," he said as flatly as he could manage. It still ate him up inside. If he and Keenan had just left half an hour earlier, they would have been there in time to at least save his mother and sister if anything. Keenan had to hold him back to stop him getting caught in the flames trying to save them. He gave a small shudder at the memory, hoping Freyja didn't notice.

He let out a harsh laugh when she said the reality of her situation just hit her, "I mean you literally got plucked from your kingdom of light to our kingdom of death and darkness and you are literally married to one of the monsters who plagued your bedtime stories," he said wit a grin. Did he just attempt humor? What was wrong with him?

When Freyja took off he weighed up his options. He gravitated towards the edge of the ballroom, torn between finding Keenan and continuing his evening.

That was when he caught the scent of salt...tears. Oh hell no. This looked really bad for him, like Keenan leaving him behind in the dungeon bad. He could have sworn he didn't do anything but if there was something that had upset her to the point of tears he was going to have to fix it. Keenan would tear him apart otherwise.

He looked around for the others contemplating finding Keenan first before leaving a message with a servant and taking off down the hall after Freyja. He knew her quarters were opposite Keenan's, lucky otherwise he may not have found them. He could still smell the salt of tears and the scent of her panic as he stood outside her door. He knocked firmly, "Freyja, are you sure you are okay?" he said as gently as possible (which was very hard for him). "Don't stew on it alone," he said softly, "if you don't want to talk to me... which would be more than understandable, I can get Keenan."

{Keenan}

He was really enjoying flirting with the fae. He had stopped drinking a while ago so he was semi sober and definitely more sober than Faust who he noticed stumbling around on the dance floor. At least drunk the male fae couldn't scold him about the dangers of flirting with fae and one attempting to 'claim him', such a gross old fashion concept and as much is it made him uncomfortable, he was more than confident in his ability to hold himself together so no one else would find out.

Daemon. His heart fluttered and his fae form wanted out. First of all ugh, and secondly no way. Keenan plastered an easy smile on his face, hoping that the male would merely be passing through.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly disappointed when Daemon dismissed the fae. Stupid crown prince ruining his fun and he had a feeling Daemon had nothing helpful to say. Keenan tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ears before following Daemon. Faust knew the truth but surely the male hadn't had time to tell his brother yet. If he had then Keenan was well and truly stuffed.

He sighed pinching the bridge of his nose when Daemon said Freyja had left in tears after dancing with Montague. He told him to be nice, making her cry did not fall under that. ugh if Daemon was telling the truth, he would have to follow through with his threat. That would really be a shame but at least a week wouldn't break the male.

That was when a servant rounded the corner, "Lord Montague requested that I tell you that he had gone after Freyja," the vampire said their voice shaking slightly. Keenan and Daemon stood together was bound to be slightly intimidating. Keenan nodded, "Thank you," he said dismissing the vampire.

He turned back to Daemon, "I will find out the truth at the end of the night however, I believe it is best they at least attempt to sort it out themselves. Freyja has made it clear that she does not want me to be meddling in her affairs. I will deal with Montague if that is necessary, besides, we both know that your sister is more than capable of handling him herself," he said bluntly.

"Now," he said firmly, "Was there anything else you needed? I believe you just dismissed my next dance partners and I was rather enjoying their company." It was partially to spite Faustian but also because fae had a beauty that was unparalelled, other than by his own but then he was a halfling so that even kind of counted.

double oopsie

{Keenan}

Why did Daemon's smile have to be so charming? This was exactly what he was worried about. This was dangerous territory and a very dangerous game he was attempting to play. He knee masquerade balls made everyone a little more flirty so he he deliberate avoided Freyja's older brother and now here he was, actively seeking him out. After the events of the last few days this was a very bad idea but he wanted it.

The impulsive (more fun) fae side of him told him to blindly jump into it and enjoy himself. The more rational vampire part encouraged him to be more cautious, after all it was no secret that Daemon actively hated vampires. Sure Faust warned him to stay away from fae but surely Daemon didn't count.

Keenan coughed and his eyes widened at the last line of Daemon's statement. Just being in the male's presence was making it hard to think, then he went and said that. He did want to dance and it seemed that Daemon had scared off anyone else who was previously interested so without Freyja, this male fae was his only option.

A small amount of heat trickled in his cheeks and he could feel his fae form fighting for control. Nope not happening, they did not need that drama right now. Finally after much contemplation he gave Daemon and easy smile (he couldn't afford to appear to eager, despite what his actual feelings may be) and finally spoke, "I would quite enjoy that, thank you," he said with a small tip of his head, more than glad he'd only had two glasses of the blueraspberry.

He offered Daemon his hand, "Shall we?"

The idea of spending the evening with the fae crown Prince excited him and as long as he wasn't as insufferable as Faust, he could see himself having a good time.

Just heading to the dance floor was an experience. The two of them together sent both the Fae and vampires darting out of their path. A small flame of excitement was live in his stomach (he was actually doing this!) He smiled "would you like to lead, or shall I?"

{Aleks}

Aleks laughed when Faust said Freyja had managed to get him into a dress, "Corset and all? That's a sight I would have loved to see."

He frowned when he saw Faust really struggled to stay upright, especially the moment he stumbled forward and Aleks moved to catch him to stop him actually hitting the floor.

He sighed as he helped him over to the seats around the edge of the room. He called over a servant to fetch Faust a glass of water. He handed it to Faust, "drink this to start and then stick to punch," he said sipping at a a glass of punch he picked up for himself, savouring the insane sweetness.

"Next, have you actually eaten tonight? Because you are barely able to stay on your feet."

He caught a glimpse of Keenan and Daemon together on the dance floor, "you are right about me dodging a bullet. Keenan is currently dancing with your older brother and it looks like they have collectively managed to terrify the crowd although I'd say that's more on Daemon. He carries himself more threateningly than Keenan," he said with a shrug.

{Monty}

He averted his gaze when Freyja came out in a dressing gown. He sighed, "why do I feel like there is something you aren't telling me Freyja?" He said suspiciously.

"Fine. I won't disturb Keenan. He is probably enjoying himself right now. Your older brother approached him as I left and we have all seen the way Keenan looks at that fae." It was laughable really. Keenan, the vampire crown Prince had a thing for the fae crown Prince. It was more funny as Keenan was a halfling. "However, I am still worried about you. We are supposed to be travelling tomorrow and you nearly fainted on me. You didn't even faint after meeting Keenan and us so I have reason to believe this is odd. At least promise to eat something." He sighed, "and I did mean what I said earlier. I am sorry."

{Keenan}

Daemon continued with an easy smile, one that made Keenan want to melt. Keenan smirked when Daemon said the celebrations were there because of his marriage, "This ball was mostly for my Father's sake. He believes Freyja will force me to settle down, besides a party is a good way to spend my last day here before travelling don't you think?"

Now deciding who would lead was a whole other stressor. Did he wasn't to lead? Or did he want to be led? When was the last time he had let himself be led? In his opinion, he was the best dancer of the vampires so when dancing with them, it only made sense for him to lead, then with the fae tonight, he was the only one sober enough to pay attention. He scanned the room, checking that the King had well and truly gone before smiling at Daemon, "Why don't you lead?" he said moving himself into a position so that he could easily follow the other male's movements. Daemon said he was a good dancer, well now was the time for him to prove it.

His stomach was filled with butterflies as he waited for the next song to start. The two second pause felt like an eternity.

Once they were moving, he became acutely aware of just how close he was to Daemon. Was that lavender he could smell? Interesting choice considering what he knew about the male thus far. His jaw was beginning to ache again and he knew what that meant. It wasn't this bad around the other fae but the infernal hormones were making him feel like a teenager again. It did not help that Daemon was very, very attractive and equally as charming.

Daemon was an excellent dancer, far exceeding Keenan's expectations. Keenan had a grin plastered on his face as they moved through the dance. For the two of them it was so well practiced that it was automatic. "I do hope that with the two of us at the helm of our two countries, we will be able to move past the war of our parents," our parents, well, the blame could be placed almost fully on his father, "More accurately, the war my father started. I do hope that you will be willing to judge myself and my people on our own merits, not what we were forced to do during wartime following the orders of my father."

Talking hurt and the effort it took to stop the shift starting was frustrating but talking also distracted him. Helped him not think about how close he was stood to Daemon, the fact that the were dancing together in front of his court. He did not want to think about that at all (okay maybe a little).

{Aleksander}

Aleks laughed when Faust complained that his sisters corsets were too small. The male seemed to have no problem with the idea beyond the size. The thought was amusing, even big tough General Prince Faustian played dress ups with his sister. Out of the three fae siblings, she seemed to be the most artistic, maybe he should make more of an effort to get to know her.

Aleks plucked the water out of Faust's hand and replaced it with punch hoping the sugar would help his mood. He offered Faust a smile, "I promise she is still allowed to go outside during the day. We are all aware that she has different requirements to remain healthy than us vampires. There is a human day staff and she is more than safe. I promise that she will still get some sunlight," he said trying to reassure a Faust whose mood was about to take a nose dive.

{Montague}

Monty sighed, growing frustrated. He was trying to be nice, there was some stupid part of him that wanted to. Something had changed but he didn't know what. Maybe it was just the combination of Keenan's threats and a few glasses of the fae liquor, although he wasn't that drunk. He didn't even feel tipsy. Freyja just made it very hard, "First things first, I would not have your burned at the stake. I would not subject anyone to that pain," he said his voice full of hurt, he stiffened, now annoyed at himself for displaying any weakness, "I was merely suggesting that we lock you in the dungeon while we make a better plan. Unlike vampires, we don't starve living prisoners," he said rollig his eyes, "I am not that much of a monster."

Montague actually laughed when Freyja expressed her disgust at the thought of Keenan with her older brother, "Oh thank goodness, I thought I was the only one. I'm sure Daemon is lovely and all but I feel like he and Kee should stay far away from each other." He raised an eyebrow when she blushed and he could have fallen over when she actually invited him inside. He smiled widely, removing his mask and tucking it into his pocket. "I would be honored your highness, on the one condition that you eat something. We have lots of travelling to do."

{Keenan}

Daemon seemed distracted which was both a blessing and a curse. Keenan wanted his attention. That was bad. The fae part of him wanted it more, that was very bad. The fae part of him was fighting for control and Keenan was not feeling well. The amount of shifting he had done in the past two days was really beginning to catch up to him.

He offered Daemon a week smile, just praying he could hold it together. "Regardless, I hope you have enjoyed your stay here," he said after what felt like several long moments.

The twirling was the end point for him. He should have led this dance. He finished the spin and lost his composure, stumbling forward into Daemon. It was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. Dancing was something that he was good at and he ruined it. He regained some semblance of dignity and looked at Daemon, he just hoped he didn't look as shaky as he felt. Was he going to faint or shift? Neither were exactly ideal. He straighten up and flushed red, "I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me." He was about to claim that he was drunk but he doubted that would be believable, he wasn't even tipsy.

His teeth hurt, his entire body ached but he didn't want to give up on the night. Right up until that moment he was enjoying it. "I apologise for ruining the dance, it's most out of character for me," he offered Daemon a smile, ignoring the growing headache, "you are in fact an excellent dancer," he said plainly, most overestimate their skill but Daemon seemed more than capable.

He straightened his vest and took a couple of breaths to make sure nothing was going to happen before offering Daemon his hand as the music changed, "perhaps I should lead this one?" he suggested.

{Aleks}

Aleks laughed when Faust made a face sipping the punch, "I'm fairly sure it was made to taste for vampires," he took another sip of his own, "I'm pretty sure this one has some fancy name to do with the night or something, that's why it's such a dark blue," his brows furrowed as he tried to remember the name, "ah yeah, this particular flavour is called, ad astra, you usually mix it with some sort of spirit by they served it as a non-alcoholic option tonight," he shrugged.

He rolled his eyes when Faust threatened to leave his post to make sure Freyja was getting outside. "Yes Faust, I promise. I'll remind her to make sure she goes in the sun from time to time."

He let out an audible groan as Faust grabbed another drink, pinching the bridge of his nose he said, "you do not learn, do you? How on earth do you survive these events alone?"

{Montague}

Montague rolled his eyes as she said he clearly wanted her dead. "If I really wanted you dead, you would not be here right now. Also I would never burn anyone at the stake. If I was going to execute someone, I would choose a more humane method."

He was surprised when she let him in and he couldn't help but snort when she ordered blood for him. "You do know vampires can go at least a week between feeding right? I literally fed before changing for the ball."

The princess was acting strange. He was acting strange. Some part of him wanted to be with her but he couldn't put his finger on why. She literally murdered someone in the castle. Then again he had murdered many over th years but at least he remembered it and knew exactly what type of person he was. She also smelled different. There was something that had changed about her since they had danced. "You smell different," he remarked. There was no way she would be with child yet, Keenan would not have done that, unless she had been with that fae before she killed him but then he would have noticed it before now. There had to be something else.

Smirking, he sat in one of the chairs she pointed to. Gods she was fussy about positioning, why had he agreed to this? It wasn't a good look, he was sat in his best friends wifes room, while she was sat there in her night gown and bed coat. If people found out, what would they think? How would Keenan feel? Would the male mind? He stook a breath as he followed her instructions, carefully positioning himself so he wa looking slightly off into the distance somewhere.

He was blankly staring into space, lost in his own thoughts when she spoke to him, she asked him to tell her about himself. Heat filled his cheeks at the question, "I don't think there is much to tell. I'm the son of a man who was arguably one of the most wealthy vampire lords. I was sent to the castle to train when I was a young child. I grew up with Keenan, we are only a year apart. I was one of the few friends he was allowed to have growing up. I gradually rose through the ranks, until I was promoted to general for the war and given the title as Keenan's right hand man. I have a manor near the border with Sylvia and I visit it once a year if that," he shrugged, "that is essentially my whole life story. Unless you count the tragic part about having a dead family." The way he spoke about himself was cold, clinical almost with a sense of disconnect. "What about you Freyja, What is your story?"