Anton stated that she, Niklas, and Fareeha were not three people he would have expected to find together. Mai tilted her head to the side slightly and gave him a curious look. "Well, to be quite fair, Prince Niklas and I are betrothed," she said light-heartedly, placing a gloved hand on his upper arm. "And as for Princess Fareeha, I certainly could not have passed up the opportunity to compliment her on her gown!" Mai declared with a small laugh. 

[i]He reacted in almost exactly the way I would have, if I were in his shoes. He was a little more blunt than I would have been, but still. Best keep an eye on that one,[/i] thought Mai shrewdly. [i]Fareeha has the privilege of saying whatever the hell she wants to, given her circumstances and her nation's current standing in the world, but I, unfortunately, do not. Not that I would, anyway. It would be horribly rude.[/i]

If Anton was anything, he was a businessman, the same way that Mai was a politician and that Fareeha was a soldier and that Niklas was a prince. Being the businessman that he was, he would surely know how to negotiate his way around the other royalty (for businessmen and politicians like Mai herself weren't really all that different) to get what he wanted. And right now, Mai presumed, he wanted a wife. Mai certainly could see the advantages the Athenian Federation would gain from an alliance with Mamlakat Alssahra. Watching Anton try to get Fareeha to agree to marry him would be quite interesting indeed.

Just then, Liviana joined their little group. "Ave, friends. You all are beautiful this evening." She smiled. "Even you, Prince Niklas. The lack of a fedora suits you quite well." 

Mai giggled quietly at the last bit, giving her betrothed a delightedly mischievous look. Mai was about to compliment Liviana on [i]her[/i] gown-it seemed like that would be what she would be doing all evening!-when tension filled the air as Liviana turned and saw Anton. Liviana's muscles went taut, and her small hands clenched into fists. Mai mentally raised an eyebrow. [i]Well. This is something different indeed.[/i]

Mai was aware of the relations in between the Lusitanian Empire and the Athenian Federation, of course, but she hadn't expected Liviana's reaction to be so...drastic. And horribly improper, too! Anton seemed to take the diminutive princess's hostility in a stride, giving her a pleasant, cordial greeting. He appeared to be totally in control of the situation, until Liviana said something about his grief and his duty. Then, an uncomfortable expression flashed across his face, and Mai inwardly grinned to herself at the look in Liviana's beautiful blue eyes. Politics aside, it seemed like the make-up was doing its job.

There was obviously history between Anton and Liviana, which was to be expected. Their nations were closely allied, and hadn't Anton married one of Liviana's cousins? [i]Hmm. Liviana's making no secret of the bad blood, that's for sure.[/i]

Anton stepped in so that he was much too close to Liviana by all standards of polite society and hissed something about being silent. [i]Goodness. Just how many breaches of propriety will I have to endure tonight?[/i] she wondered to herself, absurdly. 

Then-and Mai could not [i]believe[/i] that this happened, though she was secretly quite pleased at the effect that the red lipstick and winged eyeliner had on the younger princess-Liviana slapped Anton, right in the face! The side of Mai's lip twitched in a ghost of a smile. Liviana curtsied and muttered something under her breath, presumably in Latin, while Anton gaped at her. 

[i]Time to get involved, I suppose,[/i] Mai mused to herself. Throughout their entire interaction, she hadn't done anything but watched with sharp, focused eyes. Now, she wanted nothing more than to scold both of them on their manners, which was the most absurd thing to be thinking in this particular moment. But still. This was outrageous!

Instead of reprimanding them for highly improper conduct at a ball, Mai simply smiled sweetly at both of them. "My apologies, Prince Anton," Mai said, her chocolate-brown eyes positively twinkling. "I should have warned you beforehand-it is not a good idea to get all up in a girl's face, [i]especially[/i] not one who is wearing make-up," she explained patiently. "There are million things that could be smudged, smeared, or otherwise ruined!" she exclaimed dramatically, then sighed and smiled coquettishly. "But I suppose this is an easy mistake for men to make, hmm? We cannot all be graced with such an impeccable sense of style, though I must admit, Prince Anton, your ensemble tonight is quite becoming."

There. That should lighten the mood a bit. Hopefully.