On a day as pleasant as it was, it was certainly a waste to be stuck inside the walls of the castle. Hence why the princess had elected to curl herself into one of the many windowed alcoves within the library, staring out at the outside world. It wasn’t a very proper position, with her knees tucked into her chest and her cheek pressed against the cool glass, though it wasn’t like anyone was around to judge. Not that anyone that saw Serafina would recognize the princess upon first glance, for she was adorned in attire far from her usual clothing. The silvery gray gown draped across the cushions she sat on, embroidered in gold and turquoise colored threads, a golden circlet placed delicately upon her braided black hair.

The library was quiet and devoid of any movement besides her own, a stark contrast to the bustling courtyard below or the busy corridors of the castle. The stillness of the room was exactly why she’d chosen to retreat there, given for the day she had been ordered to stay within the walls of the castle. It was an annoyance, as she would have preferred to spend the day with her dragon, out in the world. She did understand the reasoning behind her father’s decision at least. It would reflect rather poorly on their kingdom if their crown princess was late to greet their very important guests.

Serafina’s encounters with the fae had been limited to those where neither side was being friendly to the other, so she wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this attempt at diplomacy. Perhaps everything would go well, and how she hoped it would, so that they could quit worrying about a war coming to their doorstep. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if it didn’t, electing to trust the fae and believe that they wanted peace as well. Afterall, they had to want the same thing too. If only the fae had been weaker, then perhaps they wouldn’t have to deal with diplomacy, and simply settled matters in a far less political manner. Politics were far from her favorite matter, though she was fairly decent at dealing with them, just preffered not to do so if she had a choice.

A rap at the library door drew her attention, and her gaze moved away from the window as a familiar face peered in. A smile lit the princess’ face as Vera stepped in, who returned her smile. Captain of the guard and a rather close friend of Sera’s, Vera was the one person she wanted to see most. She was slightly taller than Sera was, with brunette hair and warm brown eyes which at the moment were full of warmoth. “Let me guess, I’m needed?” She hopped off the seat, reaching a hand up to stop her circlet from falling as it started to slip.

“What a guess. More like Cierre would like you downstairs in case the fae arrive this very moment, he’s been worried about you being late for the past hour.” She held open the door as the princess went to depart, falling into step beside her.

“Not surprised. He seems a little too interested in all this… banquet and ball stuff.” She quickly weaved her way through the halls, not having to think about where she was going. “If this diplomacy matter doesn’t take up all my time, may I interest you in a sparring match tomorrow morning?”

“Do you even need to ask?” Vera laughed, keeping pace with the princess’s brisk pace easily, even though she seemed to expect her to move slower given she was in a gown.

“I suppose not. May I ask a favor of you?” She paused for a moment, though continued on without really awaiting an answer. “Can you be my shadow tonight? You can wear any of the gowns in my room, they should be your size and I certainly won’t wear them. I just want someone to keep an eye out for anything that I should be concerned about. Balls can be a little… overwhelming.”

“Of course. What type of friend would I be to refuse?”

Serafina was relieved, though she wasn’t even sure why she’d worried Vera would refuse. “Thank you.” She’d practically whispered the words, halting as she entered the main hall. “Stay with me while I wait? Unless you have other duties of course.” She hadn’t really needed to ask, as Vera stayed close to her side, showing no intentions of moving elsewhere.

The carriage ride was long and boring. The male sat across from them, staring, waiting for Alexi to make a mistake, something he could report to their parents and finally give then an excuse to ship them off permanently. Or at least that’s what Alexi thought that look meant. Clasping their hands tightly in their lap, they stared out the window, “It is a rather nice day,” they remarked softly.

Lucien offered little response beyond a sigh and a bitter, “The weather is far nicer at the Seelie court.”

Resisting the urge to roll their eyes, Alexi just sighed gently and said, “If it is so bad, why did you volunteer to come with me?”

This time Lucien looked angry shoulder tense and eyes narrowed, “I didn’t volunteer to come with you. I volunteered to be an ambassador to the humans, not your babysitter.”

The rest of the carriage ride was tense and thankfully rather short. Lucien was supposed to be an ally and so far, he had proved himself to be nothing more than a miserable companion. They could not have chosen a worse companion for the princen. Alexi wanted to choose their own companion but to quote the queen ’this is a political venture; you are not there to enjoy yourself.’ Ugh, who says you cannot do both? Assuming that the humans are not a terrible bore.

Shadows flickered around Alexi’s fingers, weaving in and out as if an extension of them. That earned them an eye roll from Lucien and a pair of leather gloves being tossed at their face. “Do I have to? It’s so much more effort to use magic with gloves on,” Alexi complained.

“Your mother’s orders and yes that is exactly the point,” Lucien replied, “We are almost there, try and be nice.”

Alexi sighed, carefully pulling on the gloves then the sliver circlet Lucien handed them. They brushed their short platinum blond hair out of their face as the carriage came to a halt.

The carriage doors opened, and Lucien exited first as was the proper fashion. He offered Alexi his hand which they refused. They were not some precious object that would break getting out of a carriage. “Princen Alexi Jurre Kami,” Lucien announced.

Alexi walked with elegance and purpose, head held high with a hint of arrogance. Their suit was immaculate, dark purple with their house symbol embroidered over their heart, an ornate oak tree. Other than the circlet, Alexi rarely wore much in the way of accessories. They would not be seen dead in a neckless unless it was something particularly expensive. Their pointed ears were decorated with multiple piercings, small silver and black rings. If it wasn’t for the gloves, they would have been wearing several of the rings they forced Lucien to bring along. Alexi tipped their head and offered a easy grin, exposing their short fangs. “It is a pleasure to be here.”

Alexi surveyed the crowd, they towered over most, if not all of the humans. The fae were none for being tall but Alexi didn’t expect it to be this obvious. It was obvious which was the princess, dressed in an ornate, elegant grey gown, paired with a gold circlet, interesting choice of accessory but they weren’t there to judge the human’s fashion. Although that did pose the question of what they were going to wear at the ball that night. Alexi didn’t particularly want to wear a gown, too impractical if anything were to happen. They still didn’t trust the humans.

Serafina knew the fae were nearly there the moment a guard rushed in, following his movement as he entered the throne room, clearly not wasting much time as he moved. Preparing herself to greet their guests, she brushed off her gown, smoothing the fabric to rid it of any wrinkles it had acquired. Moments after she had finished doing so her father strode out of the throne room, Cierre following close behind. As advisor to the king it was quite normal to see the shorter male trailing around after her father, though she’d half expected him to be busy making final preparations for that following evening. Yet it was foolish to think he’d miss greeting the fae. The two approached her, Cierre eyeing her outfit to make sure she still appeared presentable, whilst her father smiled.

“The fae will be here soon. Are you ready?” The king asked, seeming concerned but most likely for her behavior rather than how she felt.

Serafina nodded, eyes flicking over to the door. “Of course.” She replied, following in step behind her father as they walked out into the courtyard. For a moment she squinted, adjusting to the change in lighting from the darker castle lighting to the rays of sunlight bearing down on the stone bricks. She stood on his right whilst Cierre stood to the side, and Vera joined in with the other captains standing on either side of the courtyard. It was odd to see it so quiet, without guards and their dragons passing through or the distant clanging of the blacksmith repairing armor. The quiet was shattered rather quickly by the approaching carriage, which came to a halt before them, and two fae emerged from it.

She wasn’t sure what to make of the Princen, her gaze analytical as she made quick note of the way they carried themself and how they greeted them, paying little mind to appearance for the time being. They seemed rather intriguing if anything, though perhaps their companion was moreso. There was no introduction for them, leaving her to presume they were not of too great importance, though she was cautious to make such an assumption. Still the Princen remained the one she figured she should be concerned about the most, as they were fellow royalty after all. As Cierre stepped forward she prepared herself for whatever manner he’d choose to introduce them to the fae, for at times he was a little eccentric.

“King Kyran Eodhai and Crown Princess Serafina Eodhai.” Cierre did not disappoint, introducing them with a slight flourish, though Sera had almost expected more.

She greeted the Princen with a small smile and a deep nod, remaining silent as the King began to speak. “It is a pleasure to welcome you here. Your journey must have been quite long. Perhaps you would like to rest before any of the later events begin?”

Sera caught onto his hint quickly enough. “I can show you where you will be staying if that is of interest to you.” She offered, speaking mainly to the Princen but leaving her offer to both to respond to. It had taken some time to notice the gloves, as her focus had been far from the Princen’s fashion, figuring it was an attempt to appear less threatening much like the lack of dragons around their castle. It was appreciated, it saved her from having to be overly concerned about their magical affinities, though she realized such concerns hadn’t been at the forefront of her worries. Failing to be concerned about it was something she’d probably regret, though she had to trust nothing would happen. If she didn’t, then there really wasn’t any hope for this to work out.

The princen bowed to the king, “And this is my companion, Lord Lucien Dyek, scholar and my trusted advisor.”

Lucien seemed to appreciate the glowing introduction, hopefully that would prevent them from getting scolded about etiquette later. Alexi doubted it but one could always hope.

The castle was quiet, unnaturally so for a building that should be the epicentre of court. There were no sounds of children playing, chatter or laughter. Few guards as well. Perhaps it was an attempt to remain non-threatening, much like Lucien forcing them to wear gloves. The gloves seemed to make the princess more relaxed, so at least it had worked o her, the doubted the rest of their cohort had noticed the detail.

The humans had to know that the fae had an affinity for the magical arts, the tales of their siblings had been spread far and wide. All very talented and excelled in their chosen element. Little was ever said about Alexi, the youngest child. It was a rarity for fae to have multiple children, let alone the four of the royal family, yet as the youngest by several hundred years Alexi had big shoes to fill and this was only the start of their diplomatic duties. As long as they didn’t get married off to some unnecessarily stuck up prince or princess, the thought made them sick to the stomach.

Alexi bowed to the king, “It has been a rather long journey, some rest would be much appreciated.”

Alexi didn’t know what to make of the king. He didn’t seem to have a huge well of power like the fae leaders but there had to be something that made the humans respect his status. It was truly strange. Power was everything. Yet the humans seemed blissfully ignorant or were they truly at peace without it.

The princen tugged at the gloves and looked up at the princess, “I would appreciate that, thank you. Lucien will come later, once he has organised the removal of our luggage and written to my parents informing them of our safe travel and arrival.”

Alexi clasped their hands in front of them as they stepped towards the princess. Lucien didn’t like being forced away from Alexi, but it was deliberate. Lucien was supposed to be their mentor and advisor but neither of them were particularly happy about it. After being forced to wear ridiculous gloves, Alexi would appreciate some time apart.

Serafina was surprised the advisors name was more familiar than the princen’s, though she wasn’t exactly sure why. She had read up on the fae court and the royal family, as since they were immortal she could at least find information on them whilst they were alive. There was a tendency to go into great detail when it came to the fae royalty for a number of reasons, but she could only remember three of the royal children clearly. She knew the princen’s name well enough just to know that they were who they said they were, but not a great deal about their magic, or what they had done with their life. The lack of information only peaked her curiosity, though for the sake of remaining polite and not prying into their own private matters, she left such questions alone.

She was pleased that the princen did accept her offer, accepting it as a chance to engage in conversation as they would be free of the presence of others. It was easier for herself to engage in conversation without the presence of bystanders, and so she figured the case may be the same with the Princen. Her father wanted her to take responsibility for the diplomats after all, so she may as well get started as quickly as she could. “Follow me then, one of the staff can show your companion to his room once he is ready.”

Sera led the way into the main hall, glancing up at the high arches and hanging banners adorned with their crest, a dragon curled around a shape in the form of a mountain. “I would give you a proper tour, but I figure such a thing can wait til tomorrow if you are interested. Your rooms are fairly easy to locate from here so it will not be a problem for today.” She started up a staircase on the side of the room, turning down a hallway at the top. She kept her pace slower than usual, not wanting to leave the Princen lost. It was a bit of a maze within the building, particularly to anyone not used to making their way through the halls. “I trust your journey went well, even if it was long?” She paused, looking back towards them, her gaze falling upon the gloves for a brief moment. “If you want to take your gloves off, you can do so.”

She wasn’t concerned anything would happen if they did take off their gloves, a decision that may have been foolish. From a more diplomatic perspective, it made sense. Like how they both made sure to appear non-threatening, they both needed to accept that any potential threats could not be hidden away forever. The sooner that was accepted the better. She was quick to move on, not wanting to linger too long on anything, and quite certain the princen was more interested in getting the chance to rest. The hallway was rather bright, windows lining one side and doors on the other. She walked by most of them, for many led to unused rooms, more guest rooms, or storage. Her movements halted when she came towards the end of the stretch where it came to a t-intersection with another hallway, standing outside a door.

“This room here, and the one adjacent, are for you and your advisor. Though if you don’t wish to live next to each other, the third room is available as well.” She turned to face them, though she looked behind her towards the door at the end of the hall for a moment before returning her focus to them. “The room at the end of the hall is my own. I am usually there in the evenings, in case you have questions or need assistance.”

It had not been her idea to stick the diplomats in the rooms closest to her own, but it would make it easier to keep an eye on them. Besides, like she had already said to the princen, when they had questions it would be easier to answer them. They were certainly going to have questions, given her kingdom was quite different from their own and most other kingdoms. Such a thing already had to be on their mind. “Do you have any questions you would like answers to now? Otherwise I will leave you to rest.”

Alexi moved to follow the princess, only hesitating to look over their shoulder at Lucien and nodded, slipping into Lucien’s mind, they said, Enjoy being stuck with the king. Lucien scowled but allowed the expression to fade to one of neutrality as he faced their hosts in an attempt to appear pleasant and non-threatening.

They willingly followed Princess Seraphina down the halls. Walking slowly to take in everything, the human architecture was so strange and they would have loved a tour but they were exhausted. It was an effort just to remember the path from the entrance to the rooms, they may get lost later.

Being given permission to remove the gloves was such a strange thing for the human to say, their magic was mental and manipulative, gloves only made a minor difference for some aspects. “Thank you,” they said offering a grateful smile, the flexed their fingers, gloves were restrictive in a way that was frustrating at times.

They hesitated outside their room, mostly trying to decide if they wanted to talk more or sleep. Finally, after an awkward pause Alexi said, “Do you have a library? I’m fluent in your language but would always love more practise reading it. I’m sure there is much I do not know, thus much I would like to learn.”

After that the princen retreated to their quarters. Not as grand nor well decorated as the ones in their home castle but adequate. Alexi sat on the bed removing their boots and stretching. Much to their dismay, that was when Lucien decided to make another appearance, servants in tow carrying their luggage.

Once the human servants were gone Alexi started unpacking their crate. Something they had requested to themselves as they did not want humans examining all of their belongings. They carefully unpacked various items of finery, “What do you think I should wear to the ball dearest Lucien?”

Lucien rolled his eyes, “I am not your personal stylist,” he said.

Alexi rolled their eyes, but you are my advisor.

Lucien shuddered, “Would you stop doing that. If you wish not to be overheard then speak faerie, very few here can speak it but that mind speak thing is just unnerving,” he scolded.

Alexi sighed dramatically and flopped onto the bed, “If I can’t practise, then what is the point. It’s a useless gift otherwise. I’m sure I could do so much more if you would all just let me use my magic and practise.”

“No and that’s final. You have your orders and I have mine, it would do you well to follow them for a change.”

“We most certainly do have a library. I will make sure to show it to you tomorrow, for now I will leave you to rest.” Sera smiled, bowing slightly before spinning on her heel and heading back the way they had come. As she passed their advisor, Lucien, if she recalled correctly, she gave him a friendly smile, keeping to the side of the hallway as the luggage was carried by. For a moment she paused, watching as they continued down the hall, continuing as soon as they were out of sight. She probably should’ve made sure to stay in that wing of the building in case anything were to happen, though before then she had things to check up on.

As she re-entered the main hall she came to a halt, clasping her hands behind her back as her gaze fell upon her father. He was busy talking to some of the guards, so as to leave him to his conversation she kept to the edge of the room, slipping through one of the doors on the other side. Into the banquet hall she went, giving everything a look over to make sure there were no hazards anywhere. The last thing they needed to happen was something falling, and whilst nothing of the sort had ever happened before, it was good to be careful. Satisfied with its state she moved through a smaller hallway into the ballroom, quickly circling it and completing the same checks as she’d done in the banquet hall.

It had been quite some time since she’d participated in a ball, particularly the dancing part of it. Which did seem to be most of what a ball was. She’d probably be expected to dance at least once, quite likely with one of the diplomats. Least dancing was not too far off from fighting, her feet finding the necessary rhythm as she dredged up what dancing knowledge she had. For several minutes she forgot she was in an empty ballroom, nearly falling over when someone cleared their throat, sending her heart racing. Quickly she whipped around, finding Cierre looking at her quite peculiarly.

“What?” She questioned, raising a brow as he chuckled. “It's completely normal to be dancing in an empty room.”

“Yes, completely normal.” He repeated, watching as her cheeks reddened slightly before continuing on with whatever he was wandering about doing. She stood alone in the room for a bit longer, waiting til her heart rate slowed down from being startled. Part of her was slightly embarrassed by being caught doing… whatever that could be described as. Solo dancing?

She was quick to leave after that, making her way back through the halls to her own room. Her own chambers were decorated quite heavily, with a number of personal touches adorning the walls. Fairly large as well, divided into three sections with one room on either side of the foyer, though that was to be expected of the room of someone of such a rank. Letting out a sigh she pulled off her heels, leaving them by the door as she moved towards the back of the room, where she kept her own personal collection of books. She pulled one off at random to entertain herself whilst she waited, with time to kill before anything else were to happen.

(We can timeskip ahead to the ball or banquet if you want, whichever comes first)