A/N: Not quite the music being described, but definitely the vibe. 

"A pity we'll never know the truth from the legend," Kyril replied with a sniff. The words were more polite than before, perhaps because they were directed at the queen mother. That fell away as his eyes skipped to Kain."Unless, of course...His Highness knows something on the subject?"

Kyril paused for only a split-second, giving Kain no chance to add to the conversation before he continued with faux repentance. "Ah, my apologies if that's a rude request. I'd forgotten that the prince was raised outside the court."

Kain drew in a deep breath. His nerves felt like they'd been drawn to the point of snapping, but he forced his voice past his usual political anxiety. He had aimed his sword at nightmares and demons. Facing the spineless Duke of Levantis was nothing.

"Given that the misunderstanding started in your ignorance, I'll accept the apology," Kain replied. Perhaps it was the anger fueling his words, but somehow, his voice was free of any hesitance or stammer. A thrill of pleasure eased the knot in his chest as Kyril stiffened. "And in turn ask that you understand how little I can share about matters of state and religion. I can tell my own story, but sharing my mother's seems ill-advised, given her current position as regent. Whatever truth lies within the rumor is not for foreign ears."

Kyril opened his mouth, but just as the duke had interrupted before, Kain cut in after the barest pause. "Ah, I suppose that was a bit blunt. I don't have the layered talk of nobility down, unfortunately. As you said, I was raised outside of court. And Artemios was much more interested in military matters than court. Something I imagine you're familiar with, Duke? I heard our entertainment today comes as a celebration for your own accomplishments."

Kyril flushed with anger, but didn't immediately reply. As expected, there had to have been no accomplishments for him to brag with. Mara had implied as much during their conversation about the past. The nobleman who had been so interested in talking to Kyril before leaned closer to the table as his eyes lit with interest.

"So, it's true, then? You were raised by the Hero?"

Why did that sound like a title?

"Artemios acted as a father for me," Kain hedged.

"How intriguing," Kostantia mused. "You must have heard first hand about his adventures, then."

"I--"

"Lord Callias of Cieon."

Kain breathed a sigh of relief as the announcement dragged the noble's attention away from him. While no one stood for Callias' entrance--his status didn't demand it--there were murmured greetings as the merman approached his seat at the top of their connecting table. Before sitting, however, he shifted into a deep bow.

"Greetings to the queen mother," he murmured. Kostantia offered a small nod in response, following which Callias slid into his seat.

Kain studied him quietly. He had elected to hang back from arriving with the rest of them in order to take advantage of the last day the archive would go unguarded. Whether Callias had discovered anything, Kain had no idea, given his expression had fallen back into it's usual default blankness.

"Lord Callias, was it?" Kostantia questioned.

Callias stiffened, his attention shifting away from Melitta and back to where the queen mother sat. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Please, that's the reverence you offer a queen," Kostantia replied dismissively. Her studious attention seemed to skim Callias critically, lingering on his own, sea-blue gaze. "Lady Kostantia is fine. I noticed it before, but...you have beautiful eyes. Does that come from being one of the merfolk?"

Melitta stiffened and Callias seemed to hesitate. "That--"

"His Majesty King Alekos the Second."

Conversation turned to silence and all eyes shifted to the side door. Chairs scraped as people rose to their feet and dropped into station appropriate curtsies and bows. As Kain stood, he resisted the urge to dip as low as he would have done before the rumors.

Alekos, with confidence in every step, and a stranger on his arm, strode past them all before coming to a stop at the head of the table. He drew out his seat--an ostentatious thing that resembled a throne more than a dining chair--and settled in place. "Rise and be seated."

Kain slid back into his seat, anxiety bungling his thoughts. He was more grateful for Melitta than ever as he realized how difficult it would be to make pleasant conversation with the king. She, he knew, would have no trouble handling herself despite everything they'd learned.

"Today, we celebrate many things. New trade, new friends, and even new power."

As Alekos' speech drew out, dwelling on public aspects of his trade agreement with Kyril, Kain found his mind drifting. His eyes skipped past Alekos, instead settling on Kostantia with curiosity. What had sparked her interest in Callias? A desire to help Kain escape the conversation, or something else?

Whatever the reason, it seemed to have fallen away with the drone of Alekos' speech. The queen mother had elected to study the crowd with the blank smile of a noble. It made knowing her thoughts impossible, but given how her eyes lingered on where Isidor and Natia sat, he could hazard a guess.

She was looking for Rhode.

It was odd, given she of all people had to know why Rhode couldn't attend the event. Was she relieved they were prudent enough to keep the former queen away? Or disappointed?

"--and, finally, the new friends I mentioned. We welcome Kain Okeanos, crown prince of Cieon, as well as his lovely companions."

Kain grimaced as his name forced attention back to the king. Did Alekos really have to introduce him in that manner? No matter what the king assumed would come in the future, Kain technically held no formal title. It felt presumptuous to label him a prince, let alone first in line.

"Let's show them a wonderful time while they're with us," Alekos concluded after several more, flowery verses of speech. Kain had to wonder how many people in the crowd would actually remember much of what the king had said, given how much of his words were buried beneath purple prose. "Much care has gone into this banquet. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you enjoying yourselves."

Servants emerged the moment Alekos finished speaking. One approached their portion of the table, and after a shallow bow began filling any empty wine glasses. Kain held back his initial impulse to refuse when his turn arose. It would draw needless attention. And, it wasn't as if he was a complete lightweight. He had drank rum aboard the Airlea. Occasionally.

"You look more lovely each time I see you, Lady Melitta," Alekos greeted as a buzz of conversation overtook the previously silent hall. "And the colors of Eol suit you, Kain."

The king's address felt like stones in Kain's chest. It felt noteworthy that he'd dropped all sense of formality after offering Kain use of his shortened name. Somehow it made his compliments feel akin to the unpleasant manner of a prisoner being given their last rites.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Melitta replied. "Your gifts have helped, as has the ease of our stay in the palace."

Alekos grinned. "It's a shame it's temporary."

"It is indeed."

There was a faint lull, sending heat to Kain's face as he realized the pause had been his place to join in. His mind scrambled for something--anything, really--to add. He found it in his previous jab at Kyril. "I heard there will be a sword dancer tonight."

"Not just any sword dancer," Alekos replied instantly. A smug pleasure slipped into his tone. "One of the best dancers in the West."

Kain's choice of conversation seemed to have been the right one, because Alekos took that opportunity to launch into a thorough explanation of how difficult it had been for Kostantia to find and book them on such short notice, and how he'd personally had to step in and assist. The story took very little input on Kain's side, only the occasional bit of flattery.

"You aren't drinking, Your Grace?"

The servant's quiet inquiry drew Kain's attention. Mara's hand laid over her wine glass, an embarrassed smile on her lips. "Apologies. I had hoped for juice, if possible?"

Alekos' story abruptly stopped. It seemed he, too, had been caught by Mara's words. The king's eyebrows shot up with an obvious, quick study of Mara and Kyril. The duke appeared flattered by the attention if the sudden smirk on his lips was any indication.

"I had heard the rumors, Lady Mara," Alekos mused. "May I take your request as a confirmation?"

Is he asking if she's...? Kain's mind spun as Mara seemed to hesitate rather than instantly deny the implications of Alekos' inquiry.

"No, Your Majesty," she murmured after a long second. "I am just afraid of drinking too much so early into a pleasant evening."

"How prudent of you," Alekos replied instantly. "But also disappointing. I had hoped to be the first to wish you congratulations."

The way Mara smiled in return to Alekos' oddly heavy words tugged at Kain's memories. It scratched at him, until he could realize why. It was the same expression Iliana wore when she was feigning ignorance. Whatever meaning the king had, Mara had no desire to acknowledge it. That realization, however, was buried beneath the weight of another, unsettling thought.

The weight loss. Her sallow pallor. The fall the gossips had spoken of before. If the noble they mentioned had been Mara...

Was she ill, or...was she pregnant?

┈♔◦𓇣◦☽◦❤◦☾◦𓇣◦♔┈

The banquet ended up just as exhausting as Kain imagined it would be.

Alekos shifted his attention between them and Kyril's party as it suited him, leaving Kain floundering between conversation with the king and other nobility. Callias stayed silent, as one might expect, and Melitta jumped in to assist whenever it was appropriate. Gratefulness for her political know-how laced his chest each time she redirected a conversation with a polite smile, or offered a sharp retort to an obviously double-sided statement.

Kyril refrained from attempting to antagonize them again, instead choosing to turn the cold shoulder for the rest of the evening. While it was preferable, it also settled an uneasy sensation in the pit of his stomach. Was the duke planning something else? Or was it simply because he didn't want to look disgraceful in front of the king if Kain somehow managed to find something else to shove in his face?

Whatever the reason, it made the dull night easier to handle.

Eventually, Alekos waved his hand, following which a stranger seated at one of the tables stood and directed a bow at the king, before disappearing into the hall. Moments later they returned with several musicians in tow. The hall quieted as the dancer stopped in the center of the prepared space. They held a long, beautiful sword in one hand, and a much smaller, thin blue dagger in the other.

They were bejeweled and shined to perfection--weapons of vanity, not practice. But what stood out to Kain more than the price of the blade was the crossguard. Instead of being thick and straight like Kain's, it was thin, and circular. He couldn't see how it would stand a chance of protecting the wielder's hand--another impracticality in his opinion. But, then again, he had seen blades of that style wielded by some of the island countries.

Kain leaned forward, eagerness shifting over his previous anxiety.

"I'm looking forward to your performance," Alekos announced. "Do well, Eccles."

The dancer bowed. Seeming to notice Kain's curiosity, Alekos chuckled and laid back in his seat. Eccles settled his blades on the floor before him, before settling into what was presumably their starting stance.

"They are unable to speak," Alekos explained. "So there will be no introduction. I offered to honor him with a direct greeting instead."

"How generous," Melitta muttered.

Whispers settled into silence as a long, drawn chord from the violin swept through the room. It was followed by another, before the gentle thrum of a drum and the haunting hum of a flute joined the mix.

A chill crept down Kain's spine as the dancer drew his leg through a slow sweep over the weapons, before shifting into another step. Eccles' dance quickened with the pace of the music, and soon he was shifting through step after step around the weapons. His hands occasionally brushed the blades as he twisted through difficult maneuvers, but it felt like ages before he actually gripped the hilts.

Then, magic.

His patterns were nearly too fast for Kain to follow. The ethereal music created a hypnotizing swirl of blades and body as the dancer swept through the room. He seemed to take up the entire space, and yet none of it.

By the time the dancer finished, and the last violin note drifted into nothing, there was the oddest ache in Kain's chest. He clapped with the rest, voicing an appreciation for the skilled artist when questioned by Alekos, but couldn't shake the bitter longing that lingered past his fading excitement.

Somehow, it was this above everything else that made Kain realize how much he'd lost by being forced to the sea as a newborn.

He could see it in the graceful sweeps of the blade, and in the cheer, but not outright awe that reflected in the faces of the other nobility. Had he grown up at court like a proper prince, he wouldn't be unfamiliar with performances. It would have been a harder life, one full of double words and hidden blades, but it wouldn't have been so sheltered. He wouldn't have been struck near-wordless by the ethereal skill of a sword-dancer.

As night fell, and they eventually returned to their rooms, that feeling refused to budge. It grated at his insides, worsened by the memory of Kyril's taunting words, Alekos' choice of address, and even deeper--by the rumor of why his mother was regent to begin with.

Please let him be okay, Kain prayed. If his grandfather died...if the people of Cieon found him as Alekos anticipated...

What would become of him? Of Cieon?

Did someone like Kain who hadn't experienced the world outside the Airlea before three months ago really belong on a throne?

The answer was obvious.

He didn't. 

A/N: As we head into the upcoming events, this will probably be the last double update week unless I manage to accomplish the chapters quicker than anticipated. Just as a forewarning. 

Anyways, hope you enjoy! Unless we hit the upcoming mile markers (200k reads on SS, 10k on MT) I probably will wait until next week for the next update so that the climax doesn't put me behind. See you then!