[center][h2][color=FF0000] Mai Mei of Liang [/color][/h2][/center]
Mai had been up since the crack of dawn, getting ready for one of the most important days of her life. First, she combed her long wavy hair, ensuring that her midnight locks were free of all knots and snares. Sitting in front of her mirror, Mai had stared at herself in silence, thinking about all that her life had been up to that day. In her twenty-one years that she'd been alive, Mai had gone from hiding her identity from everyone to practically flaunting it in front of the most powerful people of Liang, and now the entire world. "Niklas König of Königreich der Welten," she said clumsily out loud. The foreign name sat heavily on her tongue, while her native language flowed fluidly out of her mouth. Mai winced, more aware than ever of her slight accent. She sighed-there was not much that she could do about [i]that[/i] right then.

Mai had mixed feelings about being betrothed to Niklas König. On one hand, she understood the political implications of her marriage; Königreich der Welten would provide her uncle's precarious regime with much-needed advanced technology, especially in terms of military technology. But on the other hand, Mai had never been particularly fond of soldiers. She [i]tsk[/i]ed irritably to herself. Now was certainly not the time to be remembering [i]that[/i] kind of stuff. Mai steeled her resolve and settled into the rhythmic motion of combing her hair. No, she would play her part, as she had always done. There was no need for the royalty of the entire damn world to know about the things that she'd seen and the things that she remembered. [i]Besides, I'll know soon enough what kind of person Prince Niklas König is in a few hours,[/i] she reminded herself.

After her hair was combed, Mai pinned it out of her face while she went to get dressed. She carefully slipped into the [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c6/b7/a3/c6b7a36c783c843d334fa7b2e1c9ba55.jpg] dress[/url] that she'd picked out a month in advance, admiring the bodice and skirt in the full-length mirror on the wall next to the vanity in the hotel room. The dress featured a wide black sash with a large silk rose sewn into the front of the dress, just under the bodice. The skirt was long and flowing, and it started a white color but gradually darkened to black. Near the bottom of the skirt, there were splashes of bright red that contrasted nicely with the black. Mai had fallen in love with the dress as soon as she'd laid eyes on it, and best of all, the skirt was long and billowy. There would be plenty of room to conceal whatever she needed under it.

Mai sat down again at her vanity and prepared to work magic with her hair. With an arsenal of bobby pins, hair spray, and combs spread out on the vanity in front of her, Mai eventually managed to tease her hair into an artfully messy [url=http://static.becomegorgeous.com/gallery/pictures/sebastian_messy_updo_hair.jpg]updo[/url]. She tucked in some of the stray strands and smoothed out the back of the hairstyle so that it appeared less haphazard, pinning her bangs back as well. Mai retrieved her wooden jewelry box decorated with intricate carvings of koi fish and lotus flowers and pagodas, opening it and assessing her collection of hairpins, earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces with a critical eye. A particular set of [url=http://www.thesnowfairy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Butterfly_Hairpin.jpg]hairpins[/url] with bright red glass beads hanging from a butterfly caught her attention, and Mai picked two of them up. She examined the ends, which were wickedly sharp, albeit extremely tiny, blades of sorts. Mai nodded idly to herself-they would do-and stuck the hairpins into her "bun", crossing them in a manner that reminded Mai of the hairstyles that featured two chopsticks in the bun. Mai ensured that no parts of the bladed ends were visible. After critically studying her reflection, Mai added a third one in between the two hairpins that were already there.

Now for makeup. Mai put away her hair products and shoved her jewelry box to the side for the time being. She went through the motions of rubbing foundation across her skin and applying a slight hint of pale pink blush with a practiced ease, her mind on other things. Mai had pored over the reports of the other royalty that her uncle had provided her and listened intently to what Ming Mei said about each and every person that would be in attendance. Zhou had been there too, but he had seemed rather bored. Mai rolled her eyes when she thought of Zhou; her cousin was much too rash for his own good, but there was something endearing to her about the younger man's rashness. Not that she would ever [i]tell[/i] him that, mind you, and his rashness had gotten him into plenty of trouble in the past. Speaking of Zhou...

Mai finished touching up the light blush and padded out of her room in the suite and to Zhou's. As she approached his bedroom, the familiar sound of Zhou's shout floated out into the hall. Mai smiled to herself-Liu was probably trying to get Zhou to get out of bed at the very moment. "Hey! You guys dressed yet or are you fooling around again?" Mai called out teasingly, knocking on the door.

"We're doing stuff!" came the reply from both Zhou and Liu. Mai laughed softly before deciding that even though they obviously were not even close to being ready, the two would most likely be done earlier than she would be, and left them alone to their antics. She could only hope that they did not completely burn down the place while she was getting ready. As Mai predicted, she had scarcely returned to her own bedroom when Zhou yelled out. "See you at the ball or whatever Rosie!" he said, and the sound of feet rushing out the door could be heard. Mai arched an eyebrow-she would have to remind Zhou about [i]not[/i] running every which way like a fool the next chance that she got. There was also the horribly informal word choice that Mai would have to scold him about.

[i]I feel like a prissy grandmother obsessed with etiquette around Zhou,[/i] Mai thought dryly to herself. Although she was fond of him, he was just so terribly [i]improper[/i]. Mai pushed Zhou out of her mind and concentrated on her makeup; there would be plenty of time to reprimand him later.

Having finished with blush, Mai carefully applied some eyeliner and mascara. After that, Mai selected a smoky grey eyeshadow, dusting her eyelids with the soft hue that matched the middle part of her skirt. Then came the lipstick, which had always been Mai's favorite part about makeup. She went with her usual deep-red color, smiling at her reflection. Perfect.

"Alright, just a few more things left to do," Mai said out loud to the empty room. She put away her cosmetics and picked up the jewelry box again. Gold bangles went around her wrists and a delicate gold chain went around her neck. She settled on ruby-red studs for her ears. Mai selected a black [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ea/0a/84/ea0a845ff6a893a2428857a7a618aef4.jpg]fan[/url] with razor-sharp blades on the end hidden by a wide cloth border. Finally, Mai took out about half a dozen small daggers and concealed them in the bodice of her dress and under her skirts. To top off the entire ensemble, Mai slipped into a pair of spiky black high heels that added a few inches to her height, making her almost freakishly tall. That was alright, though: she could deal with being extremely tall if it meant that she had an extra pair of weapons.

Mai [i]knew[/i] that having weapons on her was not something that she should be doing. But old habits die hard, and you would have to be a fool to go around weaponless in court back in Liang. It wasn't like she was planning on using any of them anyway; they served more as a reassurance than anything else. And if somebody happened to discover them-well, considering where her daggers were [i]placed[/i], they'd have a hard time justifying why they'd been looking there in the first place. It was true that Mai had told Liu to keep Zhou away from his own weaponry, though-Mai knew she was being a hypocrite. [i]He'll live,[/i] she thought dismissively.

Mai stepped out of her room, dressed to kill (both literally and metaphorically). Her heels click-clacked against the fine mahogany floor of the hotel room. One of her uncle's advisers-Zheng-rose to meet her. "You look beautiful, as always," he said politely when he laid eyes on her.

"Thank you," Mai replied.

"Are you ready to go?" Zheng asked.

Mai nodded. The pair made their way out of the hotel, where a luxurious car was waiting for them. Mai carefully stepped inside and sat down, Zheng beside her. The car began to move through the streets of Aciras, and Mai watched the scenery roll by, thinking about the other people who would be there too, as well as the prince that she was betrothed to. Mai and Zheng said nothing to each other. What needed to be said had already been said many, many times. However, it was not an awkward silence that the two lapsed into, but a companionable one. If Ming Mei was like Mai's father, then Zheng was like her uncle. It was Zheng who had marshaled mass support for her uncle when he was trying to restore the dynastic rule, it was Zheng who had risked everything for them in opposing the socialists, and it was Zheng who her uncle had first contacted when he came out of isolation. Mai glanced at the austere man-with his salt-and-pepper hair, severe expression, and rigid posture, one would never have guessed that he had a warmer side to him. Mai considered it a great honor that she was privy to this warm side.

As they drove through Aciras, Mai mentally went through everything she knew about the other royalty. First and foremost, there would be Niklas; the soldier prince from Königreich der Welten that she was betrothed to. According to the reports she'd received as well as Ming's insightful comments, Niklas was the type that thought honor and honesty and whatnot were important. Mai supposed that she could respect that-though she wasn't particularly [i]honest[/i] herself, somebody who was frank would be a breath of fresh air compared to the stifling atmosphere of Liang court politics, what with its sly half-smiles and subtle insinuations that were the norm. Of course, there [i]was[/i] Zhou, who, in Mai's opinion, was much too honest for his own good.

Mai wasn't so sure about the "soldier-prince" part. She hadn't exactly had a great experience with soldiers or their commanding officers in the past. Zheng must have seen something on Mai's face, because he gave her a reassuring look. "You're going to be alright," he said. "Ming never would have betrothed you to somebody that he didn't approve of." Mai nodded, her face expressionless.

Mai's thoughts drifted to the princess Zhou was betrothed to-Delia Oblitus-Veren, of the Verenoblitus Empire. From the reports, Mai knew that Delia was regal and elegant, composed and proper, and just the opposite of everything that Zhou was. Where Zhou was brash and reckless, Delia was careful and thought everything through. Mai's lipstick-coated lips twitched slightly at the sides. [i]That[/i] would be interesting to see. Mai almost felt sorry for the poor girl. In any case, it would be up to Mai to keep the marriage from falling apart before the two were even formally married. Her uncle, and the people of Liang, expected no less from her.

Some of the other royalty that had stood out in the reports included Cara O'Brien of the Celtic Consortium, Liviana Traianus of Lusitania, and Karma Kennen of the Verenoblitus Empire. The first two were regarded as highly intelligent-well, no, that was not true. It was widely known that Cara O'Brien would have to be intelligent, with the way that the Celtic Consortium picked its heirs, but as for Liviana Traianus, the report had not said much. She was the tenth child or something like that, and small and sickly at that. However, Mai's uncle had told her that she was definitely the most intelligent out of her siblings. Mai believed that the most intelligent people were the most dangerous.

As for Karma Kennen, the half-sibling of her cousin's betrothed: Mai knew that he had trained in various forms of combat as a child, which was not a surprise considering his mother's position. She imagined that he would be a formidable ally and an even more formidable enemy. Hopefully, it would be the former, especially since Zhou was marrying the heir of the Verenoblitus Empire. 

And of course, Amunemhet Ramesses Sipar of Egypt had caught Mai's eye too. With his love of culture and his penchant for fashion, Mai felt that if she lived in a different world, the two of them would have been the closest of friends. However, in the real world of scheming and politics and diplomacy, Mai wasn't so sure. In any case, it was entirely possible that they could discuss clothing or cosmetics by way of making small talk. 

Zheng cleared his throat quietly. "We're here," he said. Mai gave him a small nod as the car pulled up to the steps of the castle. Mai stepped out of the vehicle, with Zheng by her side. She mentally steeled herself for the introductions-Mai knew of Liang's reputation with the other nations-and took a deep breath. [i]Alright, here goes. This can't be worse than court back at home: there is a very slim chance that anybody is plotting to overthrow uncle or somehow take control of the throne here. I can do this...[/i]

Mai's silent pep talk was interrupted by the most humiliating thing she had ever seen. Zhou-Zhou, as in, her [i]cousin[/i] Zhou-had somehow gotten his hands on a bottle of vodka. And what did he decide to do with it? Use it to create a...a fireball, or whatever the hell it was! [i]Nevermind. I absolutely[/i] cannot[i] do this.[/i] Beside her, it seemed that Zheng was just as shocked as she was.

Without waiting for Zheng to say anything, Mai marched up the steps. her head held high. When she reached the top, she curtsied in the way that Westerners did in front of the royal family of Aciras. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesties," Mai said, her slight accent giving her voice a lilting quality. "My uncle apologizes for not being able to attend this gathering." Mai glanced at Raven, the princess of Aciras. "And you as well, Princess," she continued, dipping her head in the princess of Aciras's direction. 

[i]Time for the hard part.[/i] There was nothing that Mai wanted more than to smack Zhou upside the head, but she had a role to play, and that role unfortunately did not involve smacking her dumbass cousin. Mai turned to the other princes and princesses assembled, plastering a smile on her face. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you," Mai said, curtsying again. She straightened up and gestured in Zhou's direction. "I see that you have also met my cousin, Zhou. I apologize for his...antics. Young men can be most unruly sometimes, can they not?" she said, her eyes staring straight at Zhou. Although Mai held a sugary sweet smile on her face, the gaze she directed at Zhou was anything but [i]sweet[/i]. 

Mai surveyed the other princes and princesses gathered, easily finding her betrothed. She quickly noted his appearance-a military jacket with the insignia of a Master Sergeant. The slight bulge in his left arm indicated a concealed weapon, which made Mai's skin crawl, though she kept the smile on her face and the outwardly pleasant expression in her eyes. Mai took a few steadying breaths as unwanted memories flooded her mind. [i]Get ahold of yourself. This is not the time to remember,[/i] Mai chided herself. Besides, Niklas König was not a socialist soldier or a soldier from the Empire of Nippon. Surely an advanced nation like Königreich der Welten would not train their soldiers to be such...[i]Stop it,[/i] Mai ordered silently. [i]This will get you nowhere.[/i]

Mai moved to Zhou's side. She purposefully ignored him and motioned for Liu. "Next time, do [i]not[/i] let Zhou do something so utterly idiotic, is that clear?" she whispered in their native language, praying that if anybody heard, they would not understand what she was saying. It was just like Zhou to potentially alienate his future wife, who was staring at him with an unreadable expression, as well as the most prominent royalty of the world ten seconds after arriving. Mai sighed. It was going to be a long three months.

[hider=Summary] 
-Mai takes a long time to get ready, hiding weapons in her outfit 
-Thinks about other people who will be in attendance and Niklas
-Arrives and greets everyone, wants to smack Zhou

[/hider]