An interesting girl

I walk through the crowd of people towards the tables, returning pleasantries and dodging being pulled into a conversation. If I don’t get something to eat soon, I will surely collapse. Once I finally reach the tables, I scan the area for a table to sit at. I don’t want to sit at a table full of people because I won’t be able to properly eat with how much speaking I would have to do. I notice an almost empty table by a large window near the wall. The sole occupant of the table is a girl my age reading a book. That’s a bit strange. I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I will satisfy my curiosity about why a girl is sitting alone and reading at the ball, and I will eat mostly in peace.

I approach the table and address the girl. “May I join you at the table?”

She looks up at me and I can finally see her face. She is cute and it is clear to see that she will become a true beauty when she grows up. She has long flowing blonde hair and big light blue eyes. Her lips are pink and on their way to filling out. She was wearing a pale blue dress. It had no frills in it, but it only made her beauty stand out.

“You may,” she says.

I take a sit across from her. “My name is Zenovia. What is yours?”

The girl sighs with exasperation and closes her book. “No need to introduce yourself. Everyone in this hall knows who you are,” she says brashly before trying to contain her frustration. “I am the Third Princess of the Kingdom of Castrevia. My name is Alissia de Castor,” she introduces herself offhandedly.

“Is there something bothering you? You seem to be upset by something,” I notice.

“I am not upset. I am angry. My mother was the one who was supposed to attend this ball, not me. She had a slight complication during her pregnancy recently so it was decided that she would stay back in Lodnan. I was chosen to come in her stead. None of my older siblings couldn’t attend. I say couldn’t but they made excuses not to. Lazy bunch,” she grumbles.

“I see. No wonder you look so frustrated. Are your older siblings always like that?” I ask.

“Not always, but often. Sometimes I feel like I am the older one among them. I have two older sisters who are 15 and 17 and an older brother who is 20,” she replies.

“Why didn’t you want to come tonight?” I ask. “Also, is it okay if I order some food? I haven’t eaten in hours.”

“Sure, go on,” she says. I hail the closest servant. He hands me the menu and I choose a rabbit ragu with wild vegetables. Alissia continues her rant. “I find balls like this extremely boring. I don’t like dancing and the amount of pleasantries I have to exchange with her is nauseating.”

“I have to agree on that point. I am not a big fan of dancing myself. Talking to this many people is exhausting. All the politeness is making me a bit sick already. The only normal conversations I had were with the representatives from the United Tribes of Kin and now you,” I say.

“Oh, yeah. I talked to them as well. They were really cool. When I become older, I want to visit their nation,” she eagerly nods.

My food arrives and I dig in but I continue the conversation. “What are you reading, by the way?

“Oh, this book?” It appears like I chose the right topic because her eyes light up. “This is the most extensive encyclopedia of sea creatures. It was released recently by researchers in Castrevia. As you might know, the sea is our home, basically. Castrevians are great fishermen and we have the strongest fleet on the continent. Our naval army is unparalleled,” she proudly states.

I finish eating my dish while she explains all that. “That is very impressive,” I say. “By the way, if I remember correctly I have heard that you can use magic, correct?”

“I sure do,” she smugly replies. “I have a high affinity for water and fire magic. My teachers say that I will reach the adept level in a year and a half at most.”

“That is impressive. How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” I ask.

“I will be 12 in five months,” she keeps her smug expression.

We are then interrupted by a flock of young noble ladies approaching our table and asking for me to dance with them.

Duty calls. I stand up from the table. “It was a pleasure talking with you, Lady Alissia,” I say and bow.

She huffs and picks up her book without replying.

Nothing else interesting happened for the rest of the evening. I kept dancing with partner after partner until the ball came to a conclusion and guests started taking their leave. Overall, the evening went well. I spoke to as many guests as humanly possible. Everyone seemed to have been content with the attention that Arti and I gave to them. I met interesting people as well. Once the last of the guests left, I let out a deep exhale. Arti was there with me. Although, he looked better than me. Our father approached us.

“You two did good tonight,” he says. “Go rest now. Your studies continue starting tomorrow.”

He turns around and walks away. Arti and I exchanged glances and started making our way to our room. Servants have already started cleaning the reception hall. We saw our mom giving directions to the headmaid. We waved at her and she waved back with a smile. Once we got back to our room, we changed into our sleepwear and went straight to bed.

Patreon (posting 7 chapters ahead of public release)