The air was cool against the back of his neck but Velden hardly noticed. The glitzy lights of the human world, trying so desperately to be elegant - and in truth, perhaps managing in their eyes - burned at him with a lack of subtlety that spoke of electric gizmos and wires with no soul or heart. He thought back to his own home, where magic imbued lanterns with a gentle force that seemed to glow and hum all by itself.

Even better, he thought of Ceres' Kingdom, the Queen of Stars and Ruler of the Kingdom of Sirens, a place where light had it's own sentience and magic. One could not beat starlight for subtlety, power or romance, and Velden himself could not deny that such an enchanting land was a million leagues ahead of this place's masquerade of beauty. All kingdoms were strange, but there were good reasons why Velden refused to step foot in the others. Good reasons. Dangerous reasons.

Even a kingdom of beauty had it's dark secrets, as all magical realms did.

Still, as he scanned the door thinking of the vapid thoughts of humans, He knew true beauty was here. The soul kind, the type of purity and strength that could power a world. One unique enough, apparently, that all his shards had called for her in one unified voice. He could sense it, his prey, flitting between the withering souls of the uppercrust in a vintage dress bought from a quaint boutique that few knew about.

[center][img]http://orig13.deviantart.net/b3b7/f/2013/226/1/8/queen_of_versailles_by_emilysoto-d6hglrn.jpg[/img][/center]
[color=9999FF]"Nothing against my handywork, is it?"[/color] purred a soft voice painted with the colours of the night sky from beside him. Velden did not move, but his gaze flicked towards the enchanting creature with deep distain. She'd opted for an eleborate dress that to most would seem reminiscent of petals - but to Velden, who knew her, he was sure she had hand plucked them from her kingdom and imbued them with magic to preserve and give the illusion of textile. Their quickfire conversation went thusly so.

"I was not expecting company." came Velden's deep, resonant reply, but he gave her her arm and the pair began to climb the stone steps to the entrancehall.

[color=9999FF]"Why, you seem unhappy to see me."[/color]

"This visage is not beffitting of you, Ceres."

[color=9999FF]"Please, call me Cosette."[/color]

"That name is not befitting of you either, Cosette."

[color=9999FF]"She's quite the looker, isn't she?"[/color] The phrase cut through Valden's irritability. It was a rare thing to see him so tightmouthed.

They'd handed their forged invitations in and swept through the doorway galliently, ignoring the swathes of people to both let their gaze drift onto the young girl with the cream mask. The two of them stared for a moment, but Valden did not voice his inner thoughts.

"It is hardly relevant."

[color=9999FF]"Really now?"[/color] she sweeped around him and his eyes followed, lifting his hand as if their arms were swans and she was beckoning for a dance, but instead the pair drifted to one corner so they could talk freely. [color=9999FF]"My dear,"[/color] she said with a smile that spoke of a happy love life to the humans in this room, [color=9999FF]"Don't deny it, you've always had a soft spot for the pretty ones."[/color]

She leaned in as her arms wrapped around his neck, her cool breath flirting with his ear as he caught a waft of her subtle scent.  [color=9999FF]"A bit kinky, don't you think? Do you like it better when you're grinding a dagger through their heart? Does their blood taste all the sweeter against your lips? You are a vile, nasty man, Mister Valden, and don't I know it better then anyone else."[/color]

Valden was by all accounts a patient man, and chivalrous - well, at least while masquerading as a human, at least - but Ceres had a way of tormenting him that drove thorns between where his sense and aggression should be.

He grabbed her wrist, then, pressing his cheek against hers so she could hear him all the better.

"May I remind you, [i]my lady[/i], for that is what you are supposed to be tonight, that while you are under the confides of the human world I can rip you apart piece from piece without consequence. I really do think that for a winter ball, there isn't enough [i]red[/i] - don't you agree, [i]Cosette[/i]?" his grip tightened, a flash of ferocity entering his usually guarded eyes. Ceres' pretty expression hardened for but a moment.

A soft series of laughs escaped her lips and she lightly batted his arm, as his grip softened to take her hand and the two flitted towards the dance floor. [color=9999FF]"He does so jest! Darling, this is hardly the time or place."[/color] of course, no human could of heard their argument, bar the body language.

So we were playing that game? "Well, I do hope you'll think about my proposition. I do consider it quite delightful."
He enjoyed seeing that brief moment of annoyance seep into her fake smile. 

[color=9999FF]""Well, I do hope you'll keep what I think in mind. Do remember that life is [i]short[/i], and there's more then one player in the game."[/color]

That took him aback. In truth he had not expected to see Ceres here at all, and the way she'd said that had unnerved him. She seemed to delight in it, he could tell.

[color=9999FF]"Relax, dear. I have buisness to conduct elsewhere."[/color] Her eyes flitted from Velden's prize and then away to the rest of the room with soft eyes that spoke of a predatory nature. [color=9999FF]"There are plenty of prospective contacts here for growth in my buinsess. I do however hope you'll remember our little contract. It can be a pain, but every venture is a joint venture, you know."[/color] and with that she melted into the crowd to go ruin someone else's day - or for these poor mortals, lift up their lives and then brutally smash them into smithereens.

Velden stood with his arms folded behind his back, a stony point in a sea of dancers. Ceres' cryptic words spelled beware in his mind, but he could not place the missing detail he needed to complete the equation. There was something he had forgotten.

Blast! Either way he had hoped to keep his Tithe out of politics. Everything had just got far more complicated that he had planned. Of course, it had been so long that Velden had taken a tithe that of course the other kingdoms would take note. 

He turned on his heels, a purposefully designed walk to look casual but be anything but, as he approached his prize and ward. How could she possibly know of the danger she was in? He'd have to be extra careful to protect her from Ceres... though of course - he was getting ahead of himself.

She could always shun his offer, deny herself entry to the magical world. In truth if Velden had her best interests at heart he'd never had approached her in the first place, for doing so was to set in motion a destiny that could only lead to her demise. As it was now, he thought only of her safety as a mean to his kingdom's end - protecting her from Ceres was one thing, but how could he be so blind as to not realise she also needed protection from himself?

A wanton thought he could not even conceive to dismiss. 
[center]"Would you care to dance?"[/center]

His voice cut through the hubbub and low chatter of the room, the music faded for a moment as the pair stood near side by side, his hand outstretched in confident expectancy. Perhaps she thought her life was normal, uneventful, another blip in the big city.That she was just another life in a sea of other uneventful lives. She could not be more wrong.

[center]Everything was about to change for her. And for Velden, his whole world hinged on her choices.[/center]
[i]clink[/i] went the glass as it was placed aside and a soft hand was placed in his gloved one.

He whisked her away onto the dance floor as her words rung in his ears and brought a soft smile to his lips:

[b][center]"I would love to."[/center][/b]