Prince Niklas turned his smiles to Princess Mai Mei, and found himself genuinely enjoying her company. He was no stranger to beautiful women- even though his squadmates probably were, and even now were probably salivating over the fact that he just gets to marry this woman- but this one stood out a little bit above the rest. Not traditionally beautiful, not according to old western views, but she was exotic and alluring. Being married to her would be, he suspected, a constant battle of wits.

Marriage... by then, his father's plans would've been slightly more apparent. They'd be gathering momentum- harder to keep from prying eyes. He felt a brief twinge of guilt about what had to be done- what's already done, before he momentarily examined it. Her brother, half-brother, pirate brother, won't be taking any more room in their royalty. A necessary evil, but the man had no control- heaven knows what the man might do when the truth of the world comes out to him. Niklas examined his guilt a moment more, and then... extinguished it. There was nothing to be guilty about- to mourn, yes, but not to regret.

"That's agreed upon, my dear. It simply wouldn't do to be normally late, eh? Someone as classy as myself and as exotic as yourself couldn't possibly be allowed to arrive on time. It's showtime!"

And with a flourish of one hand and a quarter-bow from the waist, led the Princess past the servants stationed at the ballroom's entryways, and into an artificial sunset of color.

Reds, blues, purples, golds, yellows, it all adorned the walls, the ceilings, in ways that he'd never be able to design or sketch, much less recall. Even he had limits, it seems. Ah, and the princes and princesses of various nations weren't the only one mingling.

"Look at them, they're so green." He was referring to the dukes, the counts, the barons, of a dozen different nations, all of which were invited for this particular ball. Servants that he hadn't seen before- large servants, men and women who had that steel edge of a Defense agent- swept through the crowds, alternatively serving and watching the nobility that mingled in the ballroom. Dresses and gowns of various colors, fabrics, and decency mixed together into a blur, it seemed. 

But that was at the northern end of the ballroom, closer to where a great curtain had obscured the Aciras King's throne. Here in this half of the room, less important and younger persons mixed, as well as the less assured and influential princes and princesses of the major kingdoms and city-states in attendance.

And as Mai pointed out, Fareeha Amari had already taken up a vigilant guard over the southern side's buffet table, picking over it with a practiced eye. Once they approached, she spun around as if having eyes in the back of her head, eyes twinkling and a delighted smile on her face.

"Greetings Princess Mai Mei, and salutations Prince Niklas! Enough formalities, we've got that out of the way, check these beauties out!"

Without further ado, she spun around and around [i]again[/i], one hand held triumphantly up between the couple.

On the flat of her palm, a dark chocolate sphere sat, criss-crossed with a similarly smooth red chocolate.

"The most delicious red velvet cake I've ever tasted, coated in one of the finest layers of dark chocolate, and what tastes like primarily cherry sauce-mixed chocolate drizzled over the top. You two can have this one." 

Niklas glanced at Fareeha again; there was a mischievous glint in her eye. Ah, she wanted Mai Mei and Niklas to share a single cake ball. Clever girl, he thought.

But he wasn't one to assume what others wanted, so he turned his eyes to Mai, lips already curving up in amusement. He said naught, but his eyes conveyed a question- would she slip her way out of it, as she most certainly could, he knew, or would she go for it?