[center][h2][i][color=a187be]~Meruin Hazy~[/color][/i][/h2]
[sup][@floodtalon][@RabidAnubis][/sup][/center]

Heather had just about had her fill of matchmaking when a new player made his move on the board, and what a move it was! The pornstar recognized the boy on sight – he wasn’t the kind you forgot easily. It was the same guy from the day before, only this time, his focus was entirely on Meruin, and again, in the most unexpected way.

For the first few seconds, the spirit could scarcely believe what she heard from Chens’ own mouth. Her mouth hung down in surprise and took a while for her to remember how to return it. 

"Besides, if this lovely young lady were to go to the ball with anyone, it would be with me. She deserves something more than some fool who would forget to introduce himself before asking someone to a ball.

"With that being said, would you like to go to the ball with me, Ms. Hazy?" 

That was what he said. Not only did he just snub Swen by inviting Meruin when he clearly did so first, he even went and contradicted himself by the very same action. To Heather, that meant he was either A; very confident in himself or B; he had a genuine interest in her little Merry and was about as smooth as sandpaper when going about it. Looking at how he acted, Heather leaned on option B.

“Maybe girls like Merry are the fad nowadays,” mumbled Heather, unable to comprehend just how Meruin had managed to ensnare the attention of two admittedly hot guys in the process. Best of all, it looked like for all their posturing, this was their first time attempting to court a lady.

Oh, Chen and Swen (even their names rhyme, she thought conspiratorially) may try to hide their insecurity, but Heather, and consequently Meruin, could pick up on it by sheer experience. 

"My full title is Magierprinz Swen Runvall Von Zauberbuch, but I would be honored if you would treat me with more familiarity than that, and simply call me Swen.

"As I said before, I would greatly appreciate having you hand at the dance and your mind afterwards, Meriun Hazy."

Then came the revelation that Swen was a prince, and that meant they both were. Oh wow. Merry dear, you never fail to impress. For the first time in her life, Heather felt like Meruin may actually just have beaten her on the boy game. 

If Heather had been in control, the first thing she would have done was play coy. Play as coy as possible! She would drag this on for as long as she could before picking whichever boy took her fancy, and look forward to the hot, steamy nights afterwards!

Unfortunately for her, she was not in control.

“Are you two . . . perhaps, playing a prank on me?”

Meruin had stood to her full height, which admittedly didn’t amount to much, but it did speak volumes about how she took the situation she was in. For Meruin, logic and sequence were tantamount to her way of living. Patterns and the meanings behind those patterns where what Meruin lived for, and right now, she had detected a very strange pattern indeed.

For one, she had met a prince in the library. Of course, she had yet to confirm whether their claims were true or not. She would have given them the benefit of the doubt had it been an individual case, however, now she had met the both of them, and both had just invited her to the introductory ball. The main thing about this was the fact that somehow, for some reason, two random people just happened to be princes’, which should have been hard to come by at the very least, and then took an interest in her specifically. To Meruin, it was all very suspect.
She was never an avid believer in coincidence, after all.

She couldn’t comprehend what they would gain from such an inane scheme, asides from her ire, so for lack of motive, she would be willing to play along with this to some extent. Though that extent was not very much.

“Because if you are, I’d rather you stop. It is one thing to be approached by a single “prince”, and quite another to be approached by two on the same day,” she said, giving Chen a level gaze. “In the first place you’ve provided neither proof of your status nor incentive for me to accept your invitations.”

Meruin paused for a moment, then sighed.

“However, there is no reason why I can’t accept your offer either. If I may compromise . . .” Meruin turned to Swen. “I think I wouldn’t mind studying with you Swen,” she said, deliberately using the name he asked her to use, “but perhaps the ball can wait? After all, I’ve heard that these events require some degree of familiarity. I know you’d prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to your companions. I may not be the best one to be at your side, when all is said and done.” By this point, it was evident that she was talking to the both of them.

Inwardly, Heather was snickering. To others, Meruin might have come off as trying to sound modest, but she knew the truth. Meruin was literal in everything she said. From start to finish, this had been a cost-benefit analysis for both, although it was somewhat unusual in that she was considering the potential benefits for the two boys as well, speculating the perhaps someone else would be a better fit for them.