Chapter 63- Party

[Luna POV]

I spent all of the next day going over party etiquette with Nia and now I was getting ready to go.  Velvet was helping me out with putting on my kimono.

“Honestly Luna, you look gorgeous in this.  It’s like it was made specifically for you.”

“Thanks Velvet.”

{…}

‘What’s wrong, Tamamo?’

{…}

‘Tamamo!?’

{Eh!  Sorry Luna, did you say something?}

‘I was asking if you were alright?’

{I’m fine, I was just struck speechless by your beauty, Luna.}

My face instantly turned red after hearing Tamamo’s words.  Seeing that, Velvet stopped what she was doing for a second, but she didn’t ask anything and started helping me out again.

{Ufufufufufufufufu.}

“HEY TAMAMO!  I’VE COME TO SEE YA!”

{Gah!  Why do you have to yell so loud, Atmos?}

‘Even I heard her.’

“Hello Luna.  I must say, you are quite stunning in that.”

‘Thanks Atmos, but can I ask why you were so loud?  Even my ears are ringing a bit so I can’t imagine how bad it is for Tamamo.’

“Ehe.  Sorry about that, I’ve been busy recently and I haven’t been able to sp- I mean see Tamamo much and I couldn’t contain myself.”

{You were about to say spy, weren’t you?}

“Whistle, whistle, whistle”

‘Saying the word doesn’t count as whistling, Atmos.’

{Sorry Luna, it seems I need to have a private talk with Atmos for a bit.}

“Now hang on Tamamo, we can talk about this.”

{On my, why are you backing away Atmos, I just want to have a small chat with you.  Isn’t that the whole reason you’re here after all?}

‘…’

“I’m just going to ignore all of that.”

“What’s up, Luna?  You just went quiet there for a few minutes.”

“Nothing much, Velvet, though we should both pray for Atmos to be alright.”

The both of us put our hands together in a praying gesture.  It was then that someone knocked on my door.

“Can I come in, Luna” (Nia)

Nia opened the door and walked in, when she saw me, though, she stopped in her tracks.

“You good Nia?” (Luna)

“*Sigh* Luna, look at yourself in the mirror and you’ll figure it out.” (Velvet)

I turned around and looked at myself in the mirror.  At the price of sounding conceited, I looked amazing.  So amazing in fact, that I could give models a run for their money.

“Just where did you find something like that Luna?” (Nia)

“Just a shop in Savanna’s capital.  Tamamo told me I would look good in this, so I bought it.” (Luna)

“I see.  Velvet, do you think this will cause any problems?” (Nia)

“Maybe, but there’s no time to do anything different now.” (Velvet)

“True.  Ok Luna, you’re going to stick by my side this whole party so that you won’t be swarmed by others.  If you absolutely have to be separated from me, be near your father.  This is non-negotiable, understand?” (Nia)

“Yes.” I said, performing a salute.

Once I was done getting ready, we went to the door to Nia’s villa.  Bas opened the door for us and told us to have a good evening.  He didn’t even show the slightest reaction to how I was dressed.

“Tch.”

“What’s up, Luna?”

“I though I would get a better reaction out of him.”

“Just give it up, Luna.  He’s been my personal butler since I was a child, even I’ve never got a reaction out of him.  He never breaks the image of the perfect butler.”

“You realize that makes me want to try, right?”

“Don’t say I didn’t try.”

We continued to banter like this the whole way to the party venue.

[Crown Prince Zeke POV]

“Hey Pneuma, why did father want us to come to this party again?”

“*Sigh* Zeke, we’re here to get connections to the nobility that serve our kingdom as well as meet the generals of the other countries.”

“Oh right.”

“Honestly brother, why is it that you are so good at things like going over budgets and such, but are horrible at socializing?”

“I’m not sure myself, I guess I just don’t like interacting with people.”

“That’s literally half, if not more, of what is expected of you as crown prince.”

“Anyway, have we finished greeting all of the people we were supposed to?”

“No, we still need to greet General Deacon Reed of Savanna, Aunt Nia, and her guest.”

“Aunt Nia’s guest is the one father told me not to bother too much, right?”

“Yes.  That’s the other reason I’m here, though you hate socializing, when it comes to someone that catches your eye, you get pushy.”

While we were having this conversation, a tall, brown haired kitsune entered the room.

“I’m assuming that is General Deacon Reed?”

“Yes brother.”

We started to make our way over to him when the other generals stopped to talk with him.  When they saw us approaching, they made way for us.

“Good evening General Reed.” (Zeke)

“Thank you for joining us this evening.” (Pneuma)

“It’s my pleasure, Prince Zeke, Princess Pneuma.” (Deacon)

“Pardon my bluntness, General Reed, but do you know when Princess Nia and her guest will arrive?” (Zeke)

“Brother!” (Pneuma)

“Haha.  It’s fine, Princess Pneuma.  As for your question, Prince Zeke, they should be here shortly.” (Deacon)

Just as he said this, the doors opened again and two people entered the room.  The first person was Aunt Nia.  When the second person entered, my heart started pounding in my chest.  She was the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.  She had long black hair and tail while the tips of her ears and tail were silver.  Her eyes were also silver and seemed to glow a little.  She was wearing a beautiful blue kimono which meant she was from a foreign country.

“*Sigh* She really takes after her mother when wearing something like that.” (Deacon)

“Do you know her identity, General Deacon?” (Zeke)

“Naturally, she’s my daughter after all.  Her name is Luna.” (Deacon)

While I was conversing with General Deacon, Aunt Nia noticed us and started to walk our way, followed by the other Lady Luna.  On their way over here, they got stopped a few times by other nobles, which made me a bit impatient.  Pneuma noticed this and let out a sigh.

“*Sigh* Now I’m glad father asked me to watch over you, brother.  Please clam yourself down and don’t get any funny ideas.”

“What do you mean funny ideas?”

“Pay close attention to her left hand and you’ll find out.”

I did as Pneuma said and looked closer at Lady Luna’s left hand.  What I saw immediately shattered any plans I had to try and court her.

“I see.” I said, deflated.

“Better to learn you have no chance now, brother, instead of making a fool of yourself.” Pneuma said, patting me on the shoulder.

It was then that Aunt Nia and Lady Luna finally made it to where we were.

“Hello Prince Zeke, Princess Pneuma, how have you two been?” (Nia)

“It is nice to meet you, Prince Zeke, Princess Pneuma.  I am Luna Reed.” (Luna)

“We have been well, Princess Nia.  A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Luna Reed, I am First Princess Pneuma de Celestia.  This is my brother, Crown Prince Zeke de Celestia.” (Pneuma)

“Good evening.” (Zeke)

“If you’ll excuse us for a moment, we must greet the generals before we can chat.” (Nia)

The both of them walked off to finish their greetings, leaving me and Pneuma alone.

“I’m glad you held yourself back brother.” Pneuma said with a smile.

“Who do you think she will marry, Pneuma?”

“Why?” She asked, the smile she had becoming stiff.

“Do you think I can challe…” At that moment I felt a weight press down on me like someone was using gravity magic.  The more I wanted to finish my sentence, the heavier the weight became. ‘On second thought, I will be fine if I can befriend her at most.’

When I thought this, the weight vanished like it was never there to begin with.  I looked over to Pneuma to see if she felt what I did, but she was just looking at me strangely.

“Is something wrong brother, you were about to say something but stopped?”

“Please ignore anything I was saying.” I quickly said with cold sweat running down my forehead.

While Pneuma was still giving me a strange look, she didn’t say any more and our night continued.

[Luna POV]

When Nia and I made it to the party, we were bombarded by nobles instantly.  I let Nia do most of the talking while I just introduced my self and answered a question or two to be polite.

After a bit, we made our way over to two people that looked to be about my age.  The man was a few inches taller than me and looked like a younger version of King Drome.  The woman was as tall as Nia and had greenish hair.

“Hello Prince Zeke, Princess Pneuma, how have you two been?” (Nia)

“It is nice to meet you, Prince Zeke, Princess Pneuma.  I am Luna Reed.” (Luna)

“We have been well, Princess Nia.  A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Luna Reed, I am First Princess Pneuma de Celestia.  This is my brother, Crown Prince Zeke de Celestia.” (Pneuma)

“Good evening.” (Zeke)

While Princess Pneuma’s greeting was polite, Prince Zeke’s was a bit blunt.  I took a quick glance at the prince and I could see that he was blushing a bit.

“If you’ll excuse us for a moment, we must greet the generals before we can chat.” (Nia)

Before it could become awkward, Nia gave an excuse and we walked off to find dad and the other generals so we could greet them.

“I’m surprised Zeke was able to hold himself back.”

“I don’t want to sound full of myself, but do you think he fell for me at first sight?”

“Judging by how he was looking at you, and how he was blushing, probably.”

All I could do was sigh.  Suddenly, I felt a bit of Tamamo’s mana somewhere behind me.

‘Tamamo?’

{Don’t worry Luna, I’m just letting someone know not to try anything reckless like challenging me.}

‘If that’s all, then it’s fine.’

“Something up, Luna?”

“No.”

We finally made it to where dad and the other generals were and the first thing I noticed was that a tall demon man was looking at dad with a serious look.

“Are you certain about this, Deacon?” (Damon)

“Yes, Damon, I’m certain I will not let Luna marry one of your sons.” (Deacon)

“At least tell me why.” (Damon)

“She’s already engaged.” (Deacon)

“Just give it a rest, Damon.” (Lia)

“I’m with Lia on this one Damon, just give up.” (Dar)

“Why are you so persistent about this, anyway?” (Deacon)

“I’m getting old and none of my sons are married yet, I’m worried about them and the future of my family.” (Damon)

“Hello everyone, it’s been a long time.” (Nia)

“””Hello Princess Nia.””” (Lia, Dar, Damon)

“Evening Princess Nia, Luna.” (Deacon)

“Good evening, generals, I am Luna Reed.” (Luna)

“Good to meet’cha, Luna lass.  I’m Dar, the dwarf general.” (Dar)

“It’s a pleasure.  My name is Lia, general of the elves.” (Lia)

“My name is Damon, the demon general.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.” (Damon)

After the greetings were over, Nia started to talk with all of the generals about this and that and I was completely left out.

‘Well, I have no idea about what to do now.’

{While you wait to talk to the elf over there, you can talk with me.}

‘Funny, I was just about to suggest the same thing.’

{How are you enjoying your first noble party?}

‘It’s actually quite boring, all I’ve done is some small greetings and that’s it.  Not what I thought a party of nobles would be like.’

{What were you expecting?}

‘I though there would be something like some classical music that some people would be dancing to and other things like that.’

{This is more of a gathering to get connections and trade gossip, Luna.  The thing you are talking about is a ball.}

‘I thought that they were the same thing.’

{They’re not the same and even if they were, who would you dance with?}

‘I would say you, but there are several problems with that answer with the biggest two being you can’t be here, and I can’t dance.’

{Believe it or not, I can’t either.  All I know are ritual dances.}

‘I bet seeing you dance like that is a beautiful sight that I’d love to see one day.’

{Then you’re in luck.  I’m the one who is supposed to perform a dance for the new year this year, and I’ll tell you now that that night also happens to be a full moon.  Of course, you won’t be alone watching that night, but at least you’ll get to be there.}

‘Who else will be there?’

{The God of Creation, God of Time, Atmos, Grey, and the Goddess of the Sun: Quetz.}

‘Feathered Serpent?’

{Yep.  If you want to talk to the elf, now is your chance.}

‘Thanks.’

I walked over to General Lia and spoke to her.

“General Lia, may I have some of your time?”

“Sure, Miss Luna.  Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I was wondering if you would be interested in having a little competition with me before you headed back to your country.”

“A competition?”

“Yes.  I’ve heard from my father that you are an amazing archer, and I wanted to test my archery against yours.  It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for years.  Naturally, I will give you some compensation for taking your time.”

“While I wouldn’t mind doing it, I’m curious about this compensation.”

“Well, I also heard you are a great spirit mage and want to have a contract with every known spirit.”

“That is one of my goals in life.”

“Well I just so happen to know of a newly born great spirit of an unknown type that is willing to contract with someone.”

When she heard my words, her eyes widened to a surprising degree.

“Where did you meet this spirit and how do I find it?”

“Meet me at Nia’s villa tomorrow and I’ll explain.”

“I understand, I’ll come over there tomorrow morning.”

I nodded my head and General Lia went back to the group.  A few minutes later, the prince and princess walked over to me.

“It seems you lack a conversation partner, Lady Luna.  Me and my brother would gladly take up that role, if you would like.” (Pneuma)

“I’ll gladly take your offer, Princess Pneuma.” (Luna)

“I must say, you are quite stunning Lady Luna.  Can you tell me where you got your lovely kimono?” (Pneuma)

“It was a shop in Savanna’s capital.  I went there at the recommendation from a friend and got it there.” (Luna)

“…” (Zeke)

“If I ever get the chance to go to Savanna, I’ll have to stop by there.” (Pneuma)

“Your dress is beautiful as well, is it custom made?” (Luna)

“My mother made it actually, she loves sewing and dress making.  Most of the dresses that I own are actually made by her.” (Pneuma)

“…” (Zeke)

“If I may ask, what are you in the Celestia Kingdom for?” (Pneuma)

“I’m an adventurer and I needed to come here to take care of some personal business.  I would appreciate it if you didn’t ask for more though.” (Luna)

“I understand.  Zeke, is there anything you would like to say?” (Pneuma)

“M-may I pet your tail?” (Zeke)

“…” (Pneuma)

“…” (Luna)

{…}

‘Maybe my illusion will have it’s time in the spotlight tonight after all.’

As I was about to trap the prince in an illusion, the princess spoke up.

“Brother.  It seems like you’re drunk.” (Pneuma)

Princess Pneuma waved her hand and a maid came over to us.

“It seems like my brother has had too much to drink, please make sure he makes it to his room immediately.” (Pneuma)

“Right this way, your highness.”

The called over maid led the prince away before I could finish the spell.

“Please forgive my brother’s rudeness, he is clueless when it comes to social situations like this.”

I took a deep breath before I answered.

“I’ll overlook it this once since he only asked a question and because I promised Nia not to cause trouble tonight, but I won’t be so nice next time.  I hope you understand.”

“If I’m being completely honest, I would have slapped him, but thank you for holding back.  If he does something like that again, you are free to do whatever you want as long as you don’t cripple or kill him.”

At this point in our conversation, Nia came over to us.

“What happened Luna, why were you preparing magic just now?” (Nia)

“It was my socially inept brother, Aunt Nia.  He asked Lady Luna here for something he shouldn’t have.  After this party is over I’ll get mother to help ‘reeducate’ him on proper social etiquette.” (Pneuma)

“Good, and Luna, thanks for holding back.” (Nia)

“You’re welcome.” I said.

“It’s not me you need to worry about holding back.” I told Nia through telepathy.

“*Sigh*” (Nia)

“Is something wrong, Aunt Nia?” (Pneuma)

“No, I’m just worried about the future.” (Nia)

“I understand completely.” (Pneuma)

‘Tamamo, please don’t go too hard on the guy.  For Nia’s sake.’

{Fine, but there won’t be a third time.}

‘If he does something else like that, then it’s fine for you to do something.’

“Is everything good, Luna?” (Nia)

“For now, but he has no more chances to mess up after this.” (Luna)

“Pneuma, make sure to tell your father to meet me after this party is over.  Luna, I’ll have to ask you to go back to the villa with your father.” (Nia)

“Understood.” (Pneuma)

“That’s fine.” (Luna)

After that little event, the party continued for about another hour.  Dad decided to go back early and I went with him.  On the way back to Nia’s villa, I filled him in on what happened and he started to massage the bridge of his nose.

“I pity the prince.”

{Don’t.  He should know better than to ask an engaged women for something like that.”

“I guess you’re right, Goddess.”

“Dad, how do you always know what Tamamo is saying at times like this?”

“I don’t know.  And before you ask, no, I don’t have diviner skills.”

“What are you doing tomorrow, dad?”

“Nothing much in the morning, but in the afternoon all of the generals are going to get together.  Why?”

“I’m having my long wanted contest with General Lia tomorrow morning as well as introducing her to the new great spirit.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?”

{It’ll be fine, I even got Atmos’s guarantee that she is trustworthy.}

“Is that so?  It’s fine then.”

“And you’re absolutely sure you’re not a diviner or oracle?”

“100%”

Author's Note:

Luna: I hope the prince learns from this.

He should, by the way, since when could you talk in my notes?

Luna: Since about a week ago.  I wanted to hide it, but Tamamo convinced me not to.  She said it would be funnier this way.

This sounds more like something Atmos would do.

Luna: She'll probably join in one day.