The carriage ride to the Midas kingdom was long and surprisingly quiet. Aurelia didn't know what to discuss, Lucas was putting off the vibe that he didn't wish to be spoken to, and Serenity sensed tension from the quietness so for most of the ride no one spoke.

Lucas stared out the carriage window, blankly. Aurelia who sat right besides him, finally had enough of the quiet and spoke up starting with a big sigh.

"Are you still worried about Mr. Gold?" Aurelia wondered, creases of worry etching into her face. "I thought we ended that discussion a while ago."

"No." Lucas grumbled. "I don't want to talk to people."

"You don't want to talk to us?" Serenity asked. "Why?"

"Not you. At the party." Lucas still refused to look at them.

Aurelia smiled, glad that he was worrying about something less stressful than their end goal.

"Aw, Luke, are you still nervous about talking to people?" Aurelia tried to keep the teasing tone out of her voice.

"I don't like people." The boy grumbled.

"Why?" Aurelia asked innocently enough.

"Because- because they-" The words wouldn't quite arrive.

"Because they have opinions and you assume that they are better than you at plenty of stuff. By talking to them and actually meeting them you fear that you are only proving them correct and looking like a doofus while doing it?" Aurelia stated. Serenity and Lucas stared at her.

"Where did that come from?" Lucas asked.

"My little brother gets picked on a lot. He's pretty insecure. Someone has to listen to him." Aurelia shrugged.

"You could be a pretty good therapist, I bet." Serenity gave Aurelia a warm smile. Aurelia shook her head in disagreement.

"I just don't like people. They make things awkward." Lucas shrugged.

"Or you make things awkward by fearing that things will be awkward." Aurelia suggested.

"Why must you continue to do this?" Lucas asked. He knew she was right. It was just something he didn't want to admit was true.

"Because you don't need to feel uncomfortable around other people. They are actually pretty nice a lot of the time." Aurelia stated. "Communication is an important skill, you know."

"Yeah that's the problem. I'm not very good at communicating." Lucas rolled his eyes at the girl. He expected her to scowl at him due to his reluctant behavior. She surprises him when she didn't.

"Well I guess I'll just have to help you." Aurelia grinned.

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "Wait you're actually going to try to get Lucas to be social at a party?" Disbelief drenched her tone, causing her voice to sound sharper and more cynical than it normally would be. The change didn't fit her well.

"Yeah, I think it's about time he enjoyed himself at a party."

"Good luck with that." Lucas grumbled, returning to gaze out the window.

Serenity peered out the window too, wondering where they were. Her sapphire eyes twinkled with joy as a golden castle appeared in her sight.

"We're here."