– Prior –
As Prior walked slowly around the hall, she suddenly noticed a little girl standing not far from her, staring at her. Prior smiled, and the girl quickly looked away in fright. Prior chuckled softly—she was probably just shy.
"Prior!" a voice suddenly called.
Prior turned around. She had ended up near the table Tin had gone to. He had called her.
"Prior, I'd like to introduce you to Professor Nara. She also works in Laboratory 1," he explained.
Prior greeted the woman, who looked much younger than her title suggested.
She had smooth, short red hair and light brown eyes. She smiled very kindly and seemed very warm to Prior. "Nice to meet you, Prior," Nara said. "I've already heard quite a bit about you—and that you're quite an Aethereleum specialist."
Prior laughed. By now she found the praise rather misplaced. "Oh, come now," she replied. "I can only remember a few facts, nothing more. What is your field?"
"Condensation research."
"Oh, extremely interesting. I'll have to come by your lab sometime."
"With pleasure, Prior." When the music paused briefly, Nara quickly glanced at Tin and said, "Excuse me, but Tin promised me the next dance." She smiled, and the two of them headed toward the dance floor.
Prior felt a little lost. Suddenly she felt something at the back of her leg.
– Kashion –
Kashion escorted his sister back to her seat. It was nice to see her happy. He knew that court life was not always easy for her. Her husband, Council Member Tendol, was deeply engaged in conversation with Council Member Pil. Hardly anyone else remained at the large table.
He searched for Evlina and saw that she was standing not far from the dance floor, speaking with several women of the council. Good—she was taken care of.
"Where is Yina?" Kassia asked.
Kashion looked at his sister. "Wasn't she with her father?" He glanced around but couldn't see his niece either.
"She was, but she's not here." Kassia briefly interrupted the men's conversation, but Teldon only replied that he had been too absorbed in discussion to notice where Yina was.
It pained Kashion to see Kassia worried. "Kassia, she'll be somewhere in the hall playing. The servants are surely watching to make sure she doesn't leave. Nothing will happen to her," he reassured her.
Kassia sighed. "I know. But you know her. She's so shy, and I don't want her to get scared. I shouldn't have left her alone."
Kashion glanced at Teldon. He knew that work and politics meant more to him than anything—even family—and that hurt him.
"Let's look for her," Kashion suggested. "The hall isn't that big. We'll find her quickly."
Kassia smiled at him. "Thank you, brother."
– Prior –
Prior turned around but saw nothing at first. Then she looked down—and there stood the little girl, touching her leg.
How sweet, Prior thought. The small, pretty girl with smooth black hair and dark brown almond-shaped eyes looked at her curiously.
"Hello, I'm Prior," Prior said.
The girl didn't respond at first.
Then she whispered something softly, and Prior couldn't quite understand it. So she crouched down. The girl seemed a little embarrassed, pressing her lips together. Then she looked at Prior and said in a quiet voice, "You have light curls."
Prior smiled warmly. "Would you like to touch them?" she asked.
The girl nodded and reached out her hand, gently brushing over Prior's curls. "Oh, they're soft," she said in amazement.
Prior laughed. "What's your name?"
"I'm already four!" the girl said proudly, holding up four fingers.
"Should I call you 'Four' then?" Prior asked playfully.
The girl shook her head. "My name is Yina. I want to go to my mama, but she wasn't there anymore."
"Oh. I'll help you find her. Who is your mama?" Prior asked.
"Mama," the girl replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well then, come on," Prior said, standing up again.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Yina took her hand.
Prior felt touched by this little girl. She was so adorable—and the fact that she trusted her so easily moved her deeply.
They walked a few steps.
Suddenly the girl exclaimed, "There's Mama!" She ran off, pulling Prior behind her.
– Kashion –
Kashion had not gone far with Kassia when he suddenly heard the word "Mama." He turned and saw Yina running toward them. She was holding someone's hand and dragging the person along behind her.
Kashion froze in surprise when he realized it was none other than Prior holding Yina's hand. He stared at her in astonishment and disbelief.
Soon Yina and Prior stood before them.
Kassia immediately lifted Yina into her arms.
Prior looked as though she wanted to leave at once, but Yina looked at her happily and announced, "That's my mama and my uncle!"
Prior nodded quietly.
Yina seemed to like Prior very much. She looked at her with such joy, and somehow Kashion felt a warmth in his chest as well.
He didn't know what to say.
"Thank you," he heard Kassia say.
"No problem. I'm glad I could help," Prior replied.
She avoided eye contact and looked down at the floor.
Kashion found it strange that Prior had bonded so quickly with his niece, who was usually extremely shy. There must be something about her. And yet now Prior herself seemed almost as shy as Yina. The situation clearly made her uncomfortable.
Kashion didn't know why, but he could hear the rush of blood in his ears.
Then Yina spoke again.
"That's my friend, Prior!" she laughed. "Uncle, you're wearing almost the same color as her!"
Kashion looked more closely at Prior. Yes, it was true—they were wearing nearly the same color. Inwardly, he found it amusing. But he also noticed that Prior was blushing slightly.
Why?
– Prior –
Prior wished the ground would swallow her whole. The entire situation was so embarrassing, and she didn't dare look up because Prince Kashion always made her feel flustered. Even now, though he hadn't said a word, she could feel his gaze resting on her.
She just wanted to leave—but she didn't want to be rude.
When Yina had made that comment about the colors, it had been unbearably awkward. She could feel her face growing warm.
Hopefully no one notices, she thought.
"It was truly an honor," she finally managed to say and was just about to turn away when Yina's mother—the woman Kashion had danced with earlier—said, "Wait!"
Prior looked at her. She smiled warmly and kindly, and with Yina in her arms, it was a harmonious sight.
"Prior, it's a pleasure to meet you. You're from Saturn, aren't you?" she asked.
Prior nodded.
"I'm Kassia, Kashion's sister. I hope we'll see each other more often."
That was almost too much for Prior. She didn't want that at all. Interacting with the royal family should be reserved for Evlina.
"Would you like to sit with us?" Kassia continued.
"Oh yes!" Yina said happily.
No! No! I don't want that! Prior thought. But how could she say it?
"Ah, um… I don't think that would be entirely appropriate," she finally replied.
Kassia laughed softly. "The friend of my daughter may certainly sit with us," she said with a wink.
Prior realized she would have to give in—but she had no idea how she was going to survive this.
– Kashion –
Then at least I can find out more about her, Kashion thought.
Suddenly he felt more nervous than before the dance, as if there were something more—something he couldn't quite grasp. But the idea of sitting at the table with Prior and his sister felt strangely inviting.
Kassia looked at him. "Kashion, thank you again for the dance and your help. I'll leave you to your guests now. We'll see each other later."
With those words, she politely dismissed him.
Prior glanced at Kashion briefly—just for a fraction of a second—and then followed Kassia to the table.
Should he tell Kassia about his concerns regarding Prior? But Kassia was a very intelligent woman; it was difficult to hide anything from her. He could speak to her later.
Now Kashion felt almost a little lost. He looked around the hall. Should he go to Evlina?
But then he saw Oren standing alone in a corner and decided to go to him instead.