Criston Criston sighed as he straightened his tie and brushed his hair. He hadn't felt this down since his mother told him she wasn't going to throw him birthday parties anymore. Then again, he almost felt guilty for feeling this poorly about it. It wasn't like anyone had really wronged him... He just... felt down. Which was odd for the usually upbeat warlock. Very... odd. [i]Knock, knock[/i] Criston jumped slightly at the sound intruding on his thoughts and turned as the door opened and a [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/61/b7/23/61b72384d1eec60f50f443f74abadebd.jpg]young woman[/url] stepped through. She was small framed and in oriental clothing. She stepped in without a word and walked over to Criston. He lifted his hands as if she meant to attack him and flinched as her hand shot out, holding a letter. Blinking, Criston finally realized the small girl wasn't going to attack him with anything and he took the letter from her hand, his brow furrowing. [i] Criston! Sorry for leaving you to handle things on your own. I've got some important mommy things to do, yanno. Ayane, the girl with this letter, is your new fiance. Since the Fey Queen poofed on us, here's the Merking's daughter, well... one of them. She can't talk, so look out for her, would ya? I don't know what the King would do to us if his daughter had a bad time at this party! <3 Maria [/i] Criston crumbled up the letter, scowl on his face. Holding back a groan, he threw the note in the trashcan and turned to look at the girl. Ayane, hm? [color=yellow]"Ayane?"[/color] He asked and the girl looked up at him like a deer caught in headlights before nodding slowly. Criston sighed and looked down at her. [color=yellow]"You know of the party, I assume?"[/color] He asked and got a nod in return. Smiling at him, Ayane walked up to his and took his hand, holding it in her own. He blinked, taken aback by her sudden movement. When she took her hand away, in his hand he found a opalescent shell with a string strung through it. Ayne motioned for Criston to place the shell around his neck, mocking the motion with her own hands. Criston sighed and pocketed the shell, responding with, [color=yellow]"Maybe later. Come on, we'll be late."[/color] With that, Criston walked briskly to the ballroom and they arrived just in time to see a young boy walking up to Carmen to talk to her. Criston nodded at Carmen in greeting and then led his burden to the other side of the ballroom where he spoke with the DJ about the music for the night, ignoring the small girl beside him who simply stood and stared at him. --- Lily [color=coral]"This sucks..."[/color] She groaned as she fell back against her chair, staring at the choices in dress before her. She wanted to look good for Carmen but at the same time she didn't think a rather racy looking red dress in front of her son. But if she wore the usual white dress, Carmen would give her grief. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she reached her hand out and snagged [url=http://www.starkhickey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/white-backless-maxi-dress.jpg]the white dress[/url]. Carmen was already hers, it wasn't like she had to impress her. Moments later, Lily was dressed with her hair braided down her back, a trick she'd learned from Carmen and was out the door, her heart pumping for the meeting with Edric. It wasn't like she was the best mother in the world, she didn't exactly know how to be one. Maybe it was best if she just... didn't. Would it be better if she didn't try to be his mother and make up the time they'd lost? Would it be weird if she tried? She didn't know. Before she knew it, she was walking in behind Criston and a strange girl he was with. She raised a brow at the sight and then raised one at Carmen as if asking what she knew but then she noticed Edric. She forced a smile and waved at the boy before walking over to them. [color=coral]"Good evening, you two."[/color] She greeted them, picking up a glass of wine from behind Carmen and resisted the urge to chug it.