No one couldn't deny shin was very handsome. He had the kind of pull one could really find among commoners. Even among nobles he was unique. Now that he was in a suit, Hellan was slowly crushing on the man, Even Alex who acted in disdain was pulled by the man heavenly features. They were currently in a carriage heading to the palace. The sun had already sunk, now only darkness ruled. In the carriage there were four people, Linda, Hellan, Alex and Shin. All of them were currently headed to a fancy princes party, dressed in fancy clothes. Being rich had its own quirks, such as finding a fancy expensive suit in minutes.
Hellan was dressed in a red dress. It wasn't tight but it still showed her curves. The dress had a slit that run from down to her thigh. The dress didn't show any cleavage, it covered her from her neck, down to her shoulders. Her jet black hair was tied in a high messy bun that was held in place by multiple fancy jewels. Her face was powdered and beautified with makeup, her lips died a deep red. The other two sisters were also fancily dressed. Linda wore a silver dress that hugged her a little too tight. This was paired with a white overcoat. Her hair was let to freely fall, and her face, just like Hellan's was beatified with makeup. Alex on the other hand went with the flaunting of her baggage move. Her dress showed almost everything her huge chest had to offer. Her dress was short only shyly reaching her thigh. Her hair just like Hellan's was tied into a bun. Showing her nape and the multiple jewels she hanged on her neck.
Shin on the other hand was dressed wildly. A black suit, only trousers and a windbreaker. The coat was tossed immediately he saw the suit. He had a red shirt on but Shin being Shin didn't bother closing the upper buttons. His silver hair was messed up, he also didn't bother combing it. He was a beautiful mess, a mess the sisters didn't know how to deal with. Alex had been told to show their new cousin his respect but she didn't know why nor did Linda bother explaining to her why. She had tried fighting back but a murderous glare from Linda quieted her down. The carriage rocked back and forth as it hit a misplaced rock on the road. Shin was happily looking out of the window. The other occupants of the carriage just observed him.
The Nurr's palace was located at the highest point of the in this hills. On the fourth wall where only the royals lived. It was a huge behemoth structure made with rare sapphire stone and crimson bricks with tall towers that cast shadows through the whole city. Past the gates was a garden that had flowers, a nice green grass carpet, a stone gargoyle that spewed water endlessly. Being the innermost building in the city, it was surrounded by the other castles and manors that belonged to the nobles. They were all imposing in their own way but the two buildings behind it put more pressure on ones' senses, one was made of white polished marble while the other was made of rough obsidian. One looked clear and calm the other looked like rough and edgy.
They followed the path up to the castle doors where there were other carriages had queued waiting for their turn at the doors. Every year during the harvest games the emperor held a party for his granddaughter. This year was her coming of age ceremony that and the fact that the princes were trying to get supporters after the emperor decide to step down from the throne. A dumb move considering this empire might not even exist next year. Linda checked Hellan and Alex dresses again and tucked a strand of hair that had broken free from Hellan's bun. After a few minutes it was finally their turn to step from the carriage. A coach boy held the door and assisted Linda to step out followed by Alexandria then Hellan and finally Shin got out last. They followed Linda through the palace doors and into the palace.
'Lady Linda, lady Hellan, lady Alexandria and lord Shin Cresworth' Thankfully Shin wasn't petty enough to bother with what he was called. They were announced to the hall as they stepped in. the hall was large and lavishly decorated with sapphire and crimson colours of the Nurr house and their flag and seal symbols, a blue dragon spewing crimson flames. They walked down a short flight of stairs. Under a crystal chandelier and onto the hall. The guest started giving their greetings filled with fluttery and sometimes straight up lies and Linda sweetly smiled as she answered them. Some of the noble ladies tried throwing hints at Shin. A few minutes of that and Hellan, Shin and Alex were bored and mostly disgusted. Shin left the spotlight heading for the bar, Hellan followed him and Alex tagged along. The usher continued announcing the arrivals of the guest.
'Prince Misheck of the Rod clan of giants and princess charlotte of the northern peaks' Shin was slightly interested when he heard the usher call out prince Misheck's clan but this ended almost immediately. Two people walked into the room exuding an aura that made people subconsciously lower their heads. They kept their conversations short as they went from person to person. The prince with brown hair and a darker brown for his suit though from a giants' clan was neither toned nor that tall. The lady next to him who seemed younger than Hellan, was wearing a blue dress not tight and she had no jewellery on. she was just naturally beautiful.
'Grey of the Ashen Planes' The usher announced and a pale skinned man walked into the room. Unlike the other two he didn't exert pressure or an air of superiority. Instead he was humble, meek even as he smiled and greeted those around him. Shin was currently speaking to the barman, not speaking to him more like sweet talking him to get a drink. The barman snorted at him and left for another post. Drinks in nobility parties were not served as shin wanted them, instead they were served during toast and other fancy moments the nobles did to make themselves feel better. Shin as Hellan had heard him, wanted a strong drink that can knock him out in one sip. This was an emperor's princes party for crying out loud, not a bar. Shin seemed mad and Hellan started getting worried.
'Idiot' Shin called out and jumped the bar. Hellan and some nobles nearby watched in with mixed looks, some were confused some disgusted, others were, well minding their own business fabulously. But shin wasn't really bothered by them, he folded the sleeves of his shirt and started pulling bottles from the shelves. The barman came back, this time he was angrier than when he left. Hellan saw him some distance away and stopped him with her palm. The barman was a commoner so the thought of going against a noble never crossed his mind. But Shin didn't behave like a noble, no he was more like him that's why he wanted to confront him but when Hellan stopped him, he didn't hesitate to fall back.
Shin, still wasn't bothered by anything, he solely focused on the drink he was currently mixing. Now a normal person would have poured the drink in a glass and drunk it from there but Shin being the man of the hour, poured his drink in a glass bottle. He had mixed so many drinks from the counter no one could confidently say they knew how it fit into the bottle. He jumped out from the bar in time to hear the usher say.
'First chosen of keel, king of the Golden Valleys' A pale looking young man walked into the hall in a black elegant suit. Shin's face paled slightly when he saw the man. Hellan didn't notice this because he was busy checking out her man. This was Hellan's fiancée, the man that Hellan was head over hill for. The pale looking man greeted the people who were already waiting for him at the bottom of the stair case. He smiled and nodded happily. The man behind him stood silently looking around, watching. Not everyone could notice, but for Shin it was as plain as day, the two men had multiple daggers hidden in their clothes.
'Typical' Shin muttered as he took a sip of his drink. He winced. 'I've definitely missed this' he said as he took another sip.
'My Darling' the pale man walked towards us and said loudly. Everyone in the hall turned to look at where Hellan was standing. He pulled Hellan close to him and held her waist. He proceeded to claim her lips in a deep kiss. There were whistles and shouts in the hall as everyone could see them. There was a jealous look in Alex's eyes. They pulled out of their kiss and the pale man smiled at her and nodded his head to Alex in greeting. He looked at Hellan again and walked away. Hellan had a weird smile on her face, she didn't know exactly how to react. Then from her side she heard shin laughing. This went on for a while. It was a muffled laugh that not many people in the hall could hear but to Hellan and Alex it was very clear.
'Your fiancée is blind' he said this as he muffled his own laugh. Alex snorted, only stopping herself from laughing at the last moment. Hellen was a bit ashamed, all the men in the keel clan were born blind. Their patron was the celestial night, as men who walk the night, they really dint have much use for eyesight. They compensated for this with their other senses. Hellan didn't know hoe, this was what Her fiancée had told her a while back. There was a running gag that Alex had started, Hellan's beauty can only captivate a blind man. She said this out of jealousy but it still hurt Hellan's pride. Now shin was implying the same.
'Too bad' Shin muttered to himself as he took a sip. He offered Hellan the bottle but she refused. Shin took a sip and if one could have looked closely, they could see shins eyes were starting to become unfocused and a drunk blush was forming on his dark skin. Shin was quickly getting drunk.