⚓ Ballroom

@☁ Mir Soojung let out a soft, twinkling laugh as he posed to show off his "new hairstyle" as she shook her head lightly in amusement. "It's a wonderful look." She laughed as she held up two thumbs up. She smiled, shaking her head as he mentioned how people would be more concerned about him abducting her

"I don't think they'd see any of us to be honest, especially with that leafy hairstyle earlier. They'd think you're just some weirdly grown tree that can walk" She laughed. "You would've camoflaged so well." She joked before pretending to gasp. "Oh my gosh- Where'd you go? You were here just a second ago. Did the trees hide you?" At that joke, she was mentally facepalming at the lameness of it. "I should seriously stop saying jokes before I end up killing people with my terrible jokes." She laughed before following after him.

"I wouldn't let them throw you to prison." Soojung said. "They'd have to go through me!" She added as she pushed away some branches that nearly whacked her right in the face. She blinked in surprise when he suddenly pulled off his suit jacket before draping it over her head causing the jacket to suddenly turn into a hood. With a free hand, she held onto the jacket and with the other, well he was holding her other hand so she'd most definitely be holding onto his hand too. For some unknown reason, she liked the way her hand fit perfectly into his. From then on, she stayed silent as she followed him down the passage that led to their destination.

[The cliffs it is \o/]

@⚓ Soojung His heart had skipped a beat. For a second, he couldn't hear anything or comprehend anything. All he had seen was her face, her delicate hand coming closer to his face, her fingers picking a leaf out of his hair. For a moment, all he'd been transfixed on was her face - was she always this beautiful? Maybe it was the lighting or how close they were. But, for some reason, his palms had begun to sweat; and not because of the heat.

Mir shook away the feeling. This was ridiculous. He had to be professional; he didn't have time to be having deluded, hypnotising feelings. Just one night - he'd take her out for one night, would assure that she could guarantee a meeting with the king and they could leave on good terms. The heart could not be mixed up in this.

Mir snapped out of his trance, cracking a smile. "Isn't it a great look?" he posed, showing off his leafy hair. "Next fashion statement, I guarantee it."

With a chuckle, he shook the leaves out of his hair, making sure to pluck out any stubborn ones. When she attempted a joke, he only laughed, finding it really quite endearing. Especially how quickly she admitted to how terrible it was. Mir simply grinned, humouring her; "I can guarantee that, if anyone saw me right now, they'd be more concerned about how I'm abducting you." A playful humour flashed in his eyes as he glanced sideways at her.

Honestly, escaping the palace was not just for her benefit. He needed to escape the constrictions of ballroom dancing and suit ties. He finally understood how a ruler would feel, now that every citizen of his kingdom looked to him. If he slipped up, they'd know it. He had to get everything right, had to make sure that he didn't bring his kingdom into ruin. And he wasn't even the king. He supposed he understood a little of how Soojung felt.

"This way," he ushered her through the trees, brushing away any branches that would obstruct her face. Making sure she didn't get lost, he reached over and took her hand, noticing how soft her skin was. He coughed awkwardly, pushing away the thought and gazing off into the distance. He couldn't bear to look at her in that moment. "Let's hope nobody recognises you. Otherwise I'm gonna be thrown in prison."

The thought made him pause, stopping where he stood. He dropped her hand for a brief minute before pulling off his suit jacket and placing it over her head like a hood. "Just in case," he whispered playfully. Then he took her hand again and led her through back passages that would lead straight to the coast.

{{should we go to the cliffs then? :3}}

@☁ Mir As Soojung landed on him, they both fell to the floor. She still had her eyes shut but right after the impact, she peeked open one eye before opening both her eyes. Relief washed over her as she realized that she was still alive.

She blinked in surprise upon hearing him call her first name before apologizing. The corners of her lips curved up into a smile as she shook her head. "No it's okay. Go ahead and call me by my first name." She then kept quiet for a moment as she realized that he had called her heavy. "I'm not that heavy, am I?" She pouted ever so slightly as she got up with his help.

Soojung smiled and nodded as she followed him only to stop after a few steps before turning to face him.

"Wait." She reached towards one of the many leaves still in his hair before picking it off with her free hand . "There are leaves in your hair. Tons of them." She then quickly retracted her hand as she realized what she'd just done. "Uhm..S-Sorry." She dropped the leaf she'd taken onto the ground. She looked away as she felt her cheeks heating up from her accidental action earlier.

"You should probably brush off all of those leaves though." She said. "What if someone saw you? They'd probably be all" she paused before pretending to be a passerby. "Woah~ Who's that guy with the leaves stuck in his hair like that? What in the world happened to him?" She laughed slightly at her corny joke. "I just realized how bad I am with jokes." She smiled sheepishly. It was true, most of her jokes were probably cold jokes that was so bad even kids wouldn't laugh at it. In fact, even she herself wasn't finding her joke funny which was probably a sign that her joke was terrible.

It was probably one of the only times that Soojung got to behave as a normal girl rather than a princess who was always all prim and proper because of the amount of eyes watching her and honestly, Soojung was finding this type of feeling nice. She looked at the male as thoughts formed in her head. She'd just formally met him a while ago and yet here he was, already making her feel all happy when other people couldn't ever since she came back from being missing.

[ I'm fine with any tbh xD ]

@⚓ Soojung {{Trust me, I'm doing it already otl~}}

"Then you'll die a thrill seeker!" He grinned up at her, watching her lean over the railing cautiously, dread written on her face. "And not as a stiff princess! Come on, you know you want to break the rules."

He looked confident, cocky even, standing there below the balcony, trees reaching out around him as if they too doubted his ability to catch her. But in all honesty, he was anxious. His palms had already begun to sweat, his collar getting sticky against his neck. What if he couldn't catch her? She could end up with broken bones or, even worse, a broken neck. Then the alliance would be completely out of the question and he'd probably be executed for causing her death.

But he hardened himself, pumping up his chest and tightening his fists. He could do this. It wasn't that much of a drop and he trusted his sense of aim to be able to catch her in the right place.

And he wasn't going to damage his pride by slinking back up to her.

So when she began to climb over the railing, he readied himself, positioning himself in the right place.

If anyone could jump gracefully, it was Soojung. Maybe it was just her dress that made it so; the fabric fluttering in the wind like feathers, her hair swept up like it was floating in the air. But, for the first time, she looked free.

For a split second, Mir was transfixed by just that sight, and then her body came crashing into his arms and he fell back against the grass, letting out a "oomph" sound.

"Ow," he said, his voice constructed by her weight on his chest. "Soojung, your heavy." He laughed before feigning a grimace, waiting for her to slap him. Then he realised his mistake. He had called her by her first name. "Sorry, Your Highne-" He stopped short. Tonight she didn't want to be the princess. Tonight, she just wanted to be a girl.

So, with leaves in his hair, Mir helped Soojung off his lap before climbing to his feet. "Come on," he encouraged her as he helped her off his feet. "This way." He indicated to the path between the trees before taking her hand and leading her through them, the outline of the beach on the horizon.

{{shall we move to the cliffs or the beach? Up to you :3}}

@☁ Mir Krystal stopped in surprise when he grabbed her wrist and she turned around to face Mir. She had a confused, slightly bewildered look as he suggested getting out of there. Before she knew it, they were standing at the railings. She looked at the railings, slightly confused before turning towards to him. Finally, she got what he meant. They were going to escape from the castle, and away from the suffocating masquerade ball. She smiled and nodded but her smile quickly dropped when she saw him climbing over the railing.

"What are you-" Her eyes were wide as she watched in concern. She looked down from the railing as he climbed his way down the building from where he originally was which was the second- or third floor of the castle making it quite high. She let out a soft sigh of relief as he reached the ground safely, closing her eyes for a brief moment. /Thank Heavens../ She thought to herself.

"Jump!" Krystal heard him saying and her eyes snapped open. Jump?! Even after hearing his promise, the suggestion did not seem all that welcoming. Jumping from the third floor of the castle? Even if she was fearless, she wouldn't dare do that. What if the impact caused both of their bones to break? She wrapped her arms around herself before shaking her head lightly.

"What if the impact causes us both to die from broken bones?!" She blurted out pretty loudly before quickly realizing that her thought was probably pretty stupid but she'd blurted it out already so she couldn't take it back even if she wanted to. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she felt highly conflicted. She wanted to spend time with him but she was scared. She didn't want to die just yet.

Climbing down the building was most definitely out of the question. Her ballgown was long and not to mention heavy from the layers of cloth used to make it. Jumping, well maybe it was the best solution or.. she could sneak out from the castle by going inside and coming out downstairs but then again, that'd be risky considering the fact that she didn't have her mask on any longer and everyone was most probably looking for her.

Krystal sighed to herself. Since when did jumping become the only option for her? That was probably going to be a question she'll always have to wonder.

"Okay. I'll jump." She said, making up her mind. "But you'd better catch me! I don't want to die early.." Krystal told him before taking a few steps back. Her heart raced madly at the thought of jumping off a building so she blew air on her thumb first before drawing in a deep breath and jumping off, praying madly that she wasn't going to die. "Dear heavens, please don't let me die so early." She kept muttering over and over as she fell.

[ I ship them so badly omfg i cannot even- with them anymore. the feels odg. but what man- xD ]

@⚓ Soojung The more she talked, the more that Mir's eyes were opening up to her. As soon as he'd found out she was the princess, he'd instinctively closed himself off to her. But hearing her voice break like that as she talked about how this sudden, heavy atmosphere was a burden on her, Mir realised how they weren't so different after all. They were both trapped inside social statuses, wrapped up with expectations. For a second, he felt like he could understand her; for one night, she just wanted to be free.

And Mir wasn't particularly enjoying this night anyway. There was no harm in escaping now.

So when she began stepping away, he swept forward and grabbed her wrist. "Wait," he said with meaningful eyes, finding hers. "Let's get out of here." Daringly, he gave her a flicker of a smirk before pulling her to the railing. He glanced over the side. He could climb down if he was very careful. There were bricks jutting out that would be perfect for footholds. There was even a stretch of vines that weaved their way up the side of the building. He hoped for heaven's sake that they were strong enough to hold his body otherwise his plans were as good as scrapped.

Turning back to Soojung, he smiled with a glint in his eye, clasping her hand in a promise; "Tonight, you're not a princess. You're just a girl spending the night with a very handsome guy." He winked and chuckled before dropping her hand and climbing over the railing. At first, he was going to say that she could follow him but one glance at her ball gown and he knew that wasn't exactly the best attire to be wearing when scaling a building. So, with a nod, he said, "Wait here."

Then he slowly and cautiously climbed his way down the building. He wasn't exactly the most experienced with scaling buildings. It wasn't like he did it on a daily basis - or at all. He had never had a reason to escape a palace before now. But it wasn't like he cared if he scuffed his suit. It was probably better in the trash anyway than in his wardrobe.

As soon as he'd reached the ground, he let out a puff of relief and looked back up at the balcony to see if he could see the princess. "Jump!" he called with a grin, lifting his arms out wide. "I'll catch you, I promise!"

{{I imagine them running away to the beach to have a splash about, or to the cliffs to hang out or something x3
Dayum, MirStal are incredibly cute xD that she's already got a man ;)))) }}

@☁ Mir The heavy atmosphere was something she absolutely detested. If anything, she'd preferred the light atmosphere earlier.

Krystal simply looked at him before nodding at his words. "If it can fix things up, I'll be willing to help." She told him. "In fact, I'll personally see my cousin and speak to him about it." She nodded her head. "and if you don't trust me in convincing him, you can come along too when I do speak to him.." She paused. "so that you can make sure that I'm not up to any tricks." She sighed.

"And don't apologize. I liked that light atmosphere.." Krystal muttered. "If anything, I hate this type of heavy atmosphere.. It's almost the same as how some of the ex-advisors used to talk to me." She sighed. "It was the first time anyone joked around me ever since I returned to be honest." She looked at him before continuing. "So can't you treat this as though you don't know I'm the princess?" She asked, her eyes literally pleading him. "but I suppose you'd prefer not have my company now so I'll just leave you alone." Somehow, she felt disappointed that they most probably weren't going to talk like how they did earlier when they were dancing. That atmosphere earlier made her feel warm and joyful on the inside but unfortunately, it was probably coming to an end so quickly.

Krystal nodded her head slightly before excusing herself as she took small steps towards the door to the balcony, probably trying to drag time out so that she wouldn't have to return to the despised ballroom so fast.

@⚓ Soojung Mir barely noticed when she took her mask off, the flimsy material falling to the ground. He was too wrapped up in his own misery to care about what mindless events were going on around him. It was only the sound of the door swinging open, the ballroom suddenly feeling a whole lot closer now that the music was pouring out into the balcony, that yanked him away from it.

He lifted his head, staring at the maid with bleary eyes. He knew he probably looked a mess - with his shirt untidy and upbottoned at the top, his hair in a mess and his missing mask revealing the sweaty skin of his face. The maid passed her eyes over him for a brief second and he realised that the situation probably didn't look like it was in his favour. He was already partly unclothed and this balcony was secluded - anyone could make their guesses as to what the pair of them were doing out here. In fact his messy hair could be the evidence to suggest that it was her fingers running through it and not his.

And then he froze when he heard her voice. The princess? He'd been with her all night? His mouth ran dry, his throat closing up as he took a step back, suddenly looking at the girl with a new light.

He cursed himself internally. If he'd been screwed at first, he was even more so now. He'd practically been complaining about her to her face without him even knowing. Her impression of him was probably worse now than it had ever been.

He felt sick as the princess dismissed her maid, convinced she was going to send him away, ban him from her palace and even her Kingdom. When she turned to face him, he couldn't even look at her. It didn't matter how well they had gotten on with masks on, now the masks were off, the atmosphere had changed. It felt tenser, heavier.

"What?" His eyes flashed to hers. Was she serious? He didn't want to get his hopes up in case she was tricking him but, in seconds, he had let out a sigh of relief. "That would... Fix everything." Well, that was an exaggeration. It wouldn't fix /everything/ but it would get pretty close.

"If I may, Your Highness," he added, his voice now far more awkward, knowing who she really was. "I'm sorry for the way I acted. I should have been more professional and-" His words cut off, not knowing what else to say, bowing his head.

@☁ Mir Krystal flinched when he threw the tie onto the ground. She honestly didn't know why the stranger seemed so.. irritated at that moment and she wasn't going to ask why in case it was something he wouldn't share.

"I'm sure she-" Krystal paused upon seeing his face. It was the advisor from the Grassland Kingdom, the one her own advisor had asked to reject without listening to her opinion back when she was still queen. She watched as the mask flew off due to the wind and she tightened her grip on the railings. She didn't know what was going on in the politics right now but if she could help, she would. She turned away to face the other direction for a moment before turning back, finally making up her mind.

Without further hesitation, she tugged off her black mask and let it fall to the ground. She was about to turn around to speak to him when the balcony doors threw open and in stepped her maid.

"Princess Soojung! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you, your majesty." Krystal turned to face her. "The guests are still waiting for you to make your speech upon your return." Her maid told her and she nodded. She didn't dare look at her partner at that particular moment.

"Tell them that I'm busy. I.. I have some other matters to attend to." Her orders were clear and her maid bowed before leaving the two alone once more. This time, she turned her head to face him once more before stepping away.

"If this is about the alliance from back then, you don't have to worry about it. I.." Krystal paused. "I'll talk to my cousin for you and if you want, I'll try to get him to have an audience with you." She said. "I have to do something to make up for the rejection I was forced to make in the past." She added.

@❊ Soojung Mir was distracted. He was leaning his forearms against the balcony, raking fingers through his hair. By how many times he'd done that this evening, his hair was probably already a mess. Not that he cared. He wasn't here to be presentable; he was here to persuade the king to have an audience with him. But now even that was balanced on the edge of a cliff, about to tumble down into the ferocious waves.

He growled, frustrated, irritated and fed up with everything. In one huff, he'd loosened his tie and pulled it off, throwing it to the ground below. He didn't care about a little shred of material. The wind could eat it up all it wanted. Feeling uncomfortable around his neck. He undid the top button of his shirt. "Seriously," he muttered. "Are all suits this uncomfortable?"

He hadn't really been paying much attention to the words company was speaking. She seemed to be talking to herself too. And if she wasn't? Well, she'd just have to deal with being ignored. In all honesty, he wanted to block everything out. He wanted to forget that any of this had happened and declare the mission a failure already.

It was only his traitor ears that betrayed him, picking up the girl's next words. Mir sighed in frustration - not at her but at the situation - and not even looking at her. "It doesn't matter how I feel about her," he explained, all his energy being out of his body, making him deflate. "It's more about how she feels about me."

Mir groaned at the thought. "Actually, feelings don't even matter," he shook his head, exhausted. "Bloody politics."

Everything was suddenly irritating him; his suit, the wind, the sounds of music from the ballroom behind them. His mask. He was sick of this stupid mask. In seconds, he ripped it off his face, not even caring if his company saw what he looked like. He could be an ugly monster and he wouldn't care. There were far more important things at stake.

Mir held the mask between the fingers of his right hand, resting his arm over the railing. He swung it aimlessly, frustrated and exhausted from everything. Could he really go back to his kingdom? Tell the other advisors that the plan had failed? What did that mean for the rest of his people? They were a weak target, the assassination of the king kicking them in the knees. Without a strong leader and alliance, they could fall.

The wind tugged at the masked between his fingers. Mir swore as it snatched it free, the black, feathery accessory plummeting to the ground below, lost in between trees. The wind really was his worst enemy in that moment.

@☁ Mir Krystal was just one second from running away from the party when her partner grabbed onto her hand before hurrying for the nearest exit, bringing her over to the balcony and slammed shut the door. She looked at him slightly curiously. Why did he seem so upset from hearing that she was back? She stood there silently as she watched him lean over the balcony. It was only when he spoke that she walked towards him.

"Plan what?" Krystal asked, looking at the faraway dark land stretching before them. "Nobody expected for the announcer to ask us to take off our masks." She muttered. "It's such a stupid request." She sighed. From her words, one could tell that she was completely against the request earlier. If she could, she would've stormed up there and shouted a 'NEVERMIND!' but she couldn't and she didn't.

"I'm actually curious about one thing." She suddenly said, changing the topic. She turned to look at him. "Why did you seem so mad to hear that the princess is back?" She asked. "It was almost as though your whole entire mood dampened after hearing the news that her royal highness is back.." She said. "Do you dislike her or something?" She questioned. "I mean, I'm sure she's not that bad right?" To be quite honest, she didn't dare hear his answer. What if he really does hate her? How should she react? Should she just jump out and say 'Oho you just said that you hate me in front of me- well not really but yeah' if he did say that he hates her? Thoughts ran through her mind as she stood there silently waiting for his answer.

Thoughts aside, the balcony was in fact really cooling, especially since the cold night wind was picking up once more.

@❊ Soojung Mir listened to he insistence that there was nothing special about her at all. With the way things were in the room, and the atmosphere building it up, that didn't seem to be entirely the case. "Apparently," Mir commented, surveying the room. Every few seconds, a man would swerve his head to get a look at her. It was like she was metal and their empty, steel-headed brains were the magnets. "All the men in this room disagree."

But before Mir could hear a sliver of her response, an announcers voices boomed around the room and the girl stepped back, startling Mir.

What? Mir made a face at the cheesy, so-called tradition. He rolled his eyes at the girl but she didn't seem quite so amused. Was everything okay?

And then his mouth ran dry. The princess was here? Mir swallowed hard, internally panicking. If she was here, this could be the end of his possible alliance with this Kingdom. Mir and his people had disregarded a possible alliance when she had been in power; she was the one who had been reluctant, had put up barriers. When Mir had heard of her apparent abnegation and disappearance, he had seen the situation as an opportunity - which was why she was now here.

But if Soojung was here now, she could persuade the new king and ruin any chances of an alliance.

And if she was here, she could recognise him. He had, after all, been well known among the kingdoms as a respected advisor. Maybe she knew now that he was leading his people.

In a split second decision, Mir grabbed the girl's hand, hissed, "Let's get out of here," and hurried for the nearest exit.

The cool breeze hit him as he pulled himself and his partner onto the balcony and slamming the door behind them. Quickly, he ran to the barrier and leaned over, looking down at the drop below. He swore. Why had he gone to the balcony? Why didn't he go to somewhere where an escape was much easier.

"I think I should have planned this in advance," he laughed awkwardly, directing it to her. He only prayed that no one would think to look here.

@☁ Mir Krystal laughed at his words. "If I'd taken a bite of my cake already, nobody could pull me away from it." She told him. It was true. If she had even taken one tiny bite of the cake, she wouldn't have budged even if guards were coming to pull her away. They'd simply have to wait until she was satisfied. It was a wonder she wasn't all fat from eating cake. Thank heavens for her fast metabolism so she could eat as much as she wanted to without worry.

She blinked when he suddenly dropped her hand to rub the back of his head. His actions caused her to let out a soft laugh, one that hasn't been heard for ever so long. It was a wonder how a stranger could make her laugh so easily. At his next question, she smiled.

"Well when you're the le-" She cut herself off, nearly giving her identity away. "Well, I suppose so. It isn't like this is some birthday celebration." She said. "But if I were to host one, then I most certainly won't let it be this boring." She added.

"A ploy to get rid of you?" Krystal feigned a gasp. "Why! How could you even suggest that, good sir?" She asked. "Your company is perfectly good." She said. It was the first time in years since she last joked like that and it felt good to be able to let go especially since when one got the throne and lost it at such a young age, one was sure to become mature pretty quickly. A smile dawned her face as they danced.

His next question left Krystal bewildered. "Actually, yes. You are the first person to dance with me tonight. I wasn't planning on dancing until," she paused. "well until you came along and pulled all the way here." She said. She laughed at his next words. "I don't think so. Who would behave like that woman anyways?" She asked. "As for me, there's nothing special about me." She told him. "Absolutely nothing." She added. She wasn't planning on revealing who she was anytime soon.

At that moment, however, the music stopped and someone stepped onto the platform in front to make an announcement. This caused Krystal to step away from the male.

"It's that time of the night, everybody. It's time to take off your masks and reveal who you are to your dance partners." Krystal's eyebrows furrowed at that announcement. Was there even such an event? She was completely hesitant about revealing herself. "Also, as the main event today is to celebrate the return of Princess Soojung, we'd like to invite her onto stage to make a short speech." At once, murmurs filled the ballroom as everyone looked around, hoping to see who the said princess was. Instantly, she stepped back with the intention of walking away.

@❊ Soojung "I should have swept you off to dance after you'd eaten your cake then," Mir chuckled under his breath. "Then you could have exercised it off."

Mir grimaced when she said that, shaking his shoulders as if he could shove of the woman's glare. Couldn't she just take the hint and leave him the hell alone? There were plenty of desperate men willing to dance with the likes of her. Wasn't it obvious Mir wasn't one of them.

Dropping her hand for a brief second, Mir rubbed the back of his head, pretending that the woman's stare actually hurt. "Ow," he joked, relaxing ever so slightly in this girl's company. Thank goodness for her for keeping him sane.

All around them, the ballroom felt so stale. Everyone was talking but they were so formal and stiff and it made Mir shudder. The only thing that remotely sounded like laughter was coming from him and his dance partner. "Tell me," Mir asked under his breath, are all balls like this? Why can't anyone have a little fun for once?" He growled slightly, spinning the girl around again for good measure.

He laughed as soon as she returned, hearing what she had suggested. "Is that your ploy to get rid of me?" He grinned, shaking his head. "You lied! You don't like my company after all!" At least there was something to do that was remotely interesting at this ball; poking fun at her. It was harmless enough and at least it amused him.

But Mir quickly rejected her suggestion. He highly doubted he'd be left alone out on the balcony - the other woman was bound to ditch her partner and storm after him - and he wouldn't be surprised if he bumped into some soppy couples making out on the way.

Mir's attention was suddenly drawn by the stares on him; specifically from men. He narrowed his eyes, bewildered. Then it clicked; perhaps they weren't on him but on /her/. "Tell me the truth," he said suddenly, low enough so only she could hear. "Am I the first to dance with you tonight?" He paused, keeping an eye on the jealous men around them. "Because if I am, I think that woman won't be the only person having it in for me tonight."

Mir sighed casually; "What's so special about you anyway?" He hadn't meant for it to sound like an insult. But it was her responsibility to take it the way she wanted to.

@☁ Mir Krystal blinked at his words, wanting to laugh. "Well, cake is most certainly my favorite thing in the whole entire world but I don't mind dancing with you. It is a form of exercise after all." She smiled. If anything, dancing was probably the last thing she would think of doing at that particular moment. Sure, she liked to dance but she certainly didn't like ballroom dancing. It was probably the most boring type of dance in the whole entire world.

"Well, seeing as you suddenly asked me to dance with you as well as the woman burning holes into the back of your head, it isn't all that hard to guess." She replied. "As for your question, yes. She's still burning holes into the back of your head." She told him. "Boy am I glad I'm not you right now because if looks could kill, she'd have killed you a thousand times already." She laughed. "The way she's glaring at you is just so.." She shook her head as she stopped herself from continuing.

"Sweating?" Krystal looked at him. "Well-" She was about to say no when she noticed a drop of sweat roll down his face. "Sorta. The balcony of the ballroom is much cooler so maybe you should go there and cool yourself. Also, nobody will disturb you there so why don't you head there instead?" She suggested, stopping the dance."Then maybe the mountain of cake over there can receive my attention that was diverted earlier." She said.

[ LOL What even xD ]

@❊ Soojung {{like, "I'm king now so you do what I say" kind of bribe xD then shoes cake at her, lmao.}}

"Sorry," Mir gritted his teeth in a sheepish smile. His eyes were distracted as he spun the mysterious woman around the dance floor, her balloon swaying around his legs. "I'm sure your cake was much better company than me."

Mir could still feel the eyes of the other woman glaring at him and it made the back of his neck prickle, his skin shivering under his suit. But at least his dance partner had given him opportunity for a respite - and she certainly was beautiful company.

As soon as this dance was over, though, Mir wouldn't be able to escape the other woman any longer. He'd have to make a dash for it. Alliances be damned.

"How did you guess?" Mir rolled his eyes, sounding exhausted, sweeping the woman away in a twirl before capturing her back into the waltz hold. As much as Mir didn't like to dance, he knew how to do it. Having lived most of his adult life in the palace as an adviser, he'd been given dance lessens so as to not make a fool of the king when frivolous balls were held.

"Is she still looking at me?" Mir asked coyly, desperately not wanting to look back in the change that they might lock eyes.

He swallowed hard, meeting his dance partner's gaze. "Am I sweating?" He asked, having joking, itching to adjust his mask. He could feel beads of sweat building up underneath it.

@☁ Mir [Bribing her? xD For what?]

"My favorite cake!!" Krystal was about to reach for a slice of her favorite chocolate cake when she was stopped short by a man approached her. Out of nowhere, he captured her wrist as he looked straight into her eyes before asking her to dance with him. Never had she felt so flabbergasted.

"What? But-" Before she could even finish her sentence, he'd swept her over to the dance floor with a hand on her waist. As she turned her head to look at the buffet table, she noticed how several people were already hogging her food all to themselves. Mentally, she sighed in defeat before turning to her dance partner. Finally, she realized how desperate he had looked earlier before noticing another woman standing not too far away looking absolutely furious. That woman had stomped her feet before walking away. Blinking, she turned back to her dance partner as she silently danced with him with thoughts formulating in her head.

"What made you suddenly ask me to dance?" Krystal finally spoke after a minute or so of dancing. Her voice was soft but it still rang clear in the loud ballroom. Her hazel eyes were looking straight into his as she spoke. "My guess is.." She slightly nodded at the direction of the woman earlier who was now dancing with someone else. "Right?" The tips of her lips curled upwards into an amused smile as she spoke. The woman earlier was most definitely still glancing in their direction every few seconds and that amused Krystal even more.

@❊ Soojung {{haha, I totally imagine Jun.K putting out all her favourite foods to make sure Krystal stayed at the ball :P

Totally bribing her xD}}

Mir felt entirely out of his comfort zone. Everyone else was mingling and chatting and, for heaven's sake, dancing. All Mir was doing was wishing he'd chosen a better shirt - this one was itching his skin.

His back prickled and he turned around, praying it was just the shirt making him feel that way. But, no. For all his luck, he had to have some greasy, unfeminine lump of a woman ogling him. Mir swallowed hard, his eyes widening in panic.

For heaven's sake, Mir didn't want her to get her paws on him. And by the way she was waving ridiculously - her evident attempt at flirting - at him, he knew she wanted to dance.

Mir shivered when the woman curled her finger up and urged him towards her. He knew that it was etiquette for men to ask women to dance but, knowing this one, he wouldn't be surprised if she grabbed him and slung him over to the dance floor.

So Mir's eyes darted all around, desperately looking for a way out. All the other - attractive - women were already on the dance floor or congregated in groups. And there was nothing worse than approaching a woman in a group. They were like a pack of hyenas.

There! Alone, at the food table. His lifeline!

As the greasy woman started to take her few steps towards him, he fled back, aiming specifically for the pond girl at the buffet table.

Swiftly, he swooped in and captured her wrist, and made sure to look straight into her eyes. "Dance with me," he begged underneath his breath. "/Please/."

Then he swept her over to the dance floor, placing his hand at her waist and prayed that the greasy woman would just leave him alone.

@☁ Mir Krystal sighed as she thumbed the necklace she was wearing. She hadn't wanted some stupid event to celebrate her return from being missing. In fact, she'd rather keep quiet about the whole ordeal. After the whole almost-assassination, she did not want to be in the star of attention again, at least not right now when the incident haven't really pass for a long enough time. To be quite honest, she had no idea why she was back at the palace. Perhaps it was because /he/ disappeared for some reason that brought her back to the palace so here she was, standing by the buffet table feeling completely uncomfortable. If it wasn't for the fact that her identity was hidden at this masquerade ball, star of the event or not, she would never have shown up.

Krystal picked up a glass of high-quality wine from the buffet table and took a careful sip. She was dressed in a black ballgown with golden frills on the edge and a beautiful lacy black mask adorned her facial features. She had caught sight of several men from other kingdoms eyeing her hungrily. If it wasn't for the fact that she was trying to avoid attention, she would've done something to make them stop staring. With her free hand, she tugged on her hair to cover her exposed shoulders before turning back to the buffet table.

There were so many mouth-watering treats on the buffet table and she simply couldn't choose one. Perhaps her cousin brother had made sure that all of her favorite food were there because from the table was simply filled with all of her favorite food from a-z.

"Well, this is going to be a difficult decision." Krystal muttered until she caught sight of her favorite cake at the end of the table. Without hesitation, she put down her now empty glass of wine before heading straight for the slices of cake.

@❊ Soojung So this was where he had ended up. This was what it took to gain an alliance?

Mir shuffled uncomfortably in his two piece suit, tucking his index finger under his tie at his neck, loosening it.

Apparently this was some sort of event they were holding in celebration of somebody's birthday or anniversary or something. He hadn't paid that much attention to the details. He had tuned out after "black and white masquerade ball". That was when he'd zoned out, internally panicking. As much as Mir was used to living in a castle, he'd never really gotten used to the formal clothing. Personally, he'd rather just be wearing sweats all day. If he didn't have to leave the castle, he probably would.

But he had to make a good impression. Not long now would he be having his meeting with the new King of this place and trying to organise some kind of alliance. The kingdom he was looking after now needed some stability, especially after the recent king's assassination.

Despite Mir's misleading unenthusiasm, he did care about his kingdom. And he wanted the best for his people.

Grumbling, he readjusted the black, raven like mask on his face, his skin clammy underneath.