[center][h2][color=FF0000] Mai Mei of Liang [/color] and [color=sandybrown] Casimir D'strad of Ortha[/color][/h2][/center]

[center] Collab in between [@ayzrules] and [@ReapTheMusic] [/center]

Mai smiled brightly at Feora. [color=FF0000]"Thank you," [/color] she said, her eyes flashing over the delicate lace of Feora's dress once again. Just then, a loud "Your Majesties!" rang out from somewhere above her. Mai glanced up in the direction of the voice.

At the top of the elegant staircase was none other than Casimir Antik D'strad. Mai grinned in spite of herself at the sight of the olive-skinned prince and his absolutely outrageous attire. [i]Really, why does Casimir insist on going shirtless no matter what the occasion?[/i] thought Mai wryly. He promptly offered the services of "personal handmaidens and men" to the assembled royalty as a gift. Mai resisted the urge to roll her eyes. [i]I don't want to think about why he decided that this would be an appropriate gift,[/i] she said to herself. 

Having descended the staircase completely, Casimir strode purposefully in Mai and Feora's direction. As he came closer, Mai was able to fully...[i]appreciate[/i] what he was wearing. High-waisted red trousers, a black sash, a long-sleeved jacket made of gold fabric, and eyeliner. [i]Lots[/i] of eyeliner. 

Casimir stopped in front of Mai and bowed, then gently kissed her hand. The side of Mai's lip twitched, and she couldn't help but to remember how Niklas had done the exact same thing not thirty minutes ago. At the mention of an additional present, Mai arched an eyebrow. It was then she noticed the white box Casimir had brought inside with him. He opened it, revealing a parasol. It was crimson and decorated with black lace. Casimir presented it to her with a flourish. He smiled, and there was a slight hint of wistfulness in his expression. 

Mai was surprised that Casimir had chosen to give Mai a present before he so much as met his betrothed. She recalled that he was betrothed to Serafina "Ariel" Grey, the princess whom Mai had noticed wearing all black earlier. [i]Seeing her paired with Casimir will be like watching a raven and a peacock,[/i] Mai mused to herself.

[color=sandybrown]"It is a shame you are not my betrothed,"[/color] Casimir murmured quietly. [color=sandybrown]"But I take comfort in knowing... I may be able to protect you from harming your delicate skin in the sunlight."[/color]

[color=FF0000]"Oh, Casimir. I agree, it is a shame, but life is not perfect, no?"[/color] Mai replied in a soft voice, a coy smile playing over her lips. It had been quite some time since she'd last seen Casimir. Mai tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gently examined the parasol. It was absolutely exquisite, and upon further inspection, she noticed that the lace was actually black Orthan silk woven so that it resembled lace. [i]How ingenious![/i]

Mai laughed lightly and opened the parasol. [color=FF0000]"How will I ever be able to thank you for this wonderful gift?" [/color] she asked, looking up at him from under lowered lashes.

 Though Casimir had turned his attention to Feora, he looked back at her. His green eyes gently gazed down the tresses of her ebony lockes to the bright color of her dress, then back to meet her brown eyes. He gave her a slightly crooked smile, his shoulders falling back as his posture straightened.

[color=sandybrown]"Well, Lady Rose..."[/color] He glanced over, suddenly noting the bounce of pink hair drifting towards him like a cloud of fantasy in a world of darkness. Catching his attention, he turned to be suddenly greeted by Isobel, his eyes wide and his eyes sparkling as she recounted her thanks to him. 

[color=FF4193]"Prince Casimir, Sorry for interrupting but I just came to thank you for your... generous gift. I mean, I'm not accustomed to having a handmaiden and doubt I ever will again but for the sake of kingdom peace, right? Anyway, miss Ziria here seems she will make great company. So thank you,"[/color]

Casimir chuckled, taking a step back from the women before him and took a bow, one hand in front of his abdomen and the other behind his back. As he raised, he extended his hand to take Isobel's within it and giving it a gentle kiss as well. As he was about to respond, a voice called across the room towards him. 

[color=rosybrown]"My thanks for the gift, Prince Casimier. Gracious gratitude is all I have."[/color]

These were the words uttered by Fareeha before she sent his servant away. The servant looked... incredibly sad. He made his way back to Casimir and stood beside his prince, uncertain of what to do. Casimir's grin faded slowly from his face as he looked at his very disappointed servant. His face had fallen completely flat, the eyeliner on his face giving him a stoic and hardened expression. He looked to the servant and gestured with a nod to Deriez. The servant begrudgingly made his way back to the Prince's advisor. His servants had truly been looking forward to this small vacation for themselves, and Casimir knew that. The Orthan Prince slowly turned on his heels to face Fareeha... then burst out laughing, his voice echoing around the ballroom with his hands on his hips. He looked at her, his eyes sparkling just as much as they were before, if not brighter.

[color=sandybrown]"Princess Fareeha! This is joyous news!"[/color] He grinned at her, green eyes catching hers from across the room. [color=sandybrown]"I, too, have no interest in you!"[/color] He turned back towards Mai mei, Isobel, and Feora, chuckling heartily. 

[color=sandybrown]"If you don't mind, I think I will help myself to those amazing looking Aciran delicacies... Isobel, won't you join me?."[/color]

Mai kept her expression arranged in one of mild curiosity as Fareeha and Casimir called to each other from across the room. She didn't know [i]what[/i] Casimir was thinking, alienating her like that, but then again, she didn't know what Fareeha was thinking either, rejecting a generous gift from another kingdom. Even if Fareeha had no desire for the servant, it was better to pretend to appreciate him than to publicly reject Casimir's "gift". That's what Mai would have done, anyway-and what she would probably be doing, seeing as she truly had no need of a handmaid or manservant. Back in Liang, Mai took care of her personal needs herself, like she had her entire life before her uncle had taken the throne. She didn't intend on changing that just because she was in Aciras. Besides, she wouldn't trust anyone but herself with her bladed hairpins, fans, and parasols, nor did she trust anyone but herself with her make-up, for that matter.

Casimir spontaneously decided to tackle the sweets table. Mai impulsively trailed after him, giving Feora one last smile. Mai had learned a great deal about her in their short interaction-she was not openly aggressive, and she was sincere. She had learned a great deal about Fareeha as well, for that matter, and Mai thought that she had to amend her earlier thoughts about the princess from  Mamlakat Alssahra. [i]Like Elizaveta, Fareeha reminds me of myself, if I fought with snake venom instead of bladed fans and rocket launchers instead of daggers disguised as hairpins, and if I had no filter on my mouth.[/i] Still, Mai would tread carefully around her. If she was so bold as to publicly reject a gift from Casimir, and by extension, Ortha, then she would not hesitate to take more drastic measures if she felt they were necessary.

Mai closed the parasol gently and handed it to Zheng, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He nodded slightly at her before disappearing once again, leaving Mai's hands free. Although she had not noticed them before due to Casimir's showy entrance, Mai spotted Shawn and Zac Hunter of Avalon mingling with the others. [i]Immature pranksters and jokesters, those two,[/i] thought Mai. [i]Not worth my time. They remind me of Zhou.[/i] Speaking of which, where the bloody [i]hell[/i] was he?

Next, Mai picked out Leonard Fords of Krieg-Königreich. [i]The neighbor of König der Welten, it seems. Interesting. Well, if I am to wed the heir to the throne of König der Welten, I should do my best to be friendly to him.[/i] Leonard hadn't said anything to anybody yet, opting to simply people watch. 

Near the sweets table was the bar, where visibly distraught Caterina Versini of Svearike was currently standing with Elizaveta Romanava and her betrothed, Nikolai Johanseen of Anduin. The Sveariken princess was staring in horror at the pair. Mai spared them a glance, not wanting to stare, before moving on. 

She finally caught up to Casimir, who was about to attack the food. [i]That was one thing he and Zhou had in common-an unnatural capacity to[/i] eat[i]. Really, I do not understand it,[/i] Mai recalled. In fact, now that she thought about it, it was the [i]only[/i] thing that the two had in common. For some reason, they just wouldn't get along while in Ortha. Oh, they put on a show, of course, although Zhou's pretense was much worse than Casimir's, but Mai wasn't stupid. They didn't like each other, and no matter what Mai said or did, they would not like each other. For the remainder of their trip to Ortha, Mai had done her best to keep Zhou as far away from Casimir as possible.

[color=FF0000]"Are you just going to walk off like that after giving me such a lovely present?" [/color] Mai asked teasingly. She drew up alongside Casimir, raising an eyebrow at him. "Just because we are not betrothed does not mean that we cannot spend time with each other," she continued, popping a cherry into her mouth. She chewed slowly and swallowed before speaking again. [color=FF0000]"It has been so long since we last saw each other. What have you been occupying your time with? Lavishing other pretty girls with gifts, I presume?" [/color] questioned Mai, her soft voice laced with playfulness. She honestly would not have been surprised to learn that he was doing just that. Casimir, above all, liked to impress others. To be blunt-he liked to show off. Mai loved that about him, though she would never let anyone know, of course.

[color=sandybrown]" ... Just you."[/color] He admitted this softly, almost under his breath as his heels clacked gently, having given a lingering look on Mai Mei as he made his way to the table of food, looking over the spread with a keen and curious eye. Should she have followed him, he would start speaking to the pink haired princess while beginning to heap his plate with two of everything on the table. And it was a long table. Thus an anthill was beginning to form much to the strained faces of some of the maid staff around the table he drew the goods from. Having been a practiced dancer and sword fighter since he was small, he looked away from the small mountain of food on his plate towards her without dropping anything.

[color=sandybrown]"It is my pleasure... Princess Isobel."[/color] He smiled warmly at her, a small smile that was a touch more shy than his shining grin. [color=sandybrown]"I take comfort that my gift pleases the representative of Trèlins. You look..."[/color] Casimir cleared his throat, hiding the fact that she honestly took his breath away as he straightened up before her, the food balanced in one hand. [color=sandybrown]"You look radiant, Princess."[/color]

When Casimir moved away this time, Mai let him go, an almost melancholy air in both of their words, despite their previous playfulness. Mai sighed slightly and turned away, wondering if Niklas was still outside greeting the arriving royalty. Her eyes roamed around the room, looking for what, she didn't know-oh, yes, Zhou. Where was he? He was more than just [i]fashionably[/i] late now, he was plain old late! 

Zheng must have sensed her agitation, although how Mai could not possibly fathom, considering the fact that her expression barely changed, but suddenly he had appeared by her side. [color=FF0000]"Zhou. Where is he?" [/color] she hissed out of the corner of her mouth. Zheng shook his head slightly. Mai let out a breath. [color=FF0000] "Would you mind trying to get him over here?[/color] she asked.

"Not at all." And with that, Zheng was gone.

Alone once more, Mai surveyed the room. [i]Anything with Casimir around is always...interesting,[/i] she thought, contemplating all that had transpired in the past day. [i]Given the choice between Niklas and Casimir, would I marry Casimir?[/i] As soon as the notion popped into her head, Mai ruthlessly shut it down. [i]No. I will marry Niklas, no matter how I personally feel, because that is what I need to do. That is what Liang needs me to do. For all our "flirting", my relationship-if you can truly call it that-with Casimir ends now.[/i]

With that settled, Mai straightened her back, brushed an invisible speck of dust off of her sleeve, and strode confidently back into the crowd. It was done. It had been settled ages ago.

Glancing one last time in bold, flamboyant Casimir's direction, Mai's lipstick-coated lips formed a small half-smile as she walked towards the opposite side of the room. [i]I think I'll keep the parasol, though. What's the harm in a few memories?[/i]