[h2]M A I   M E I   O F   L I A N G[/h2]
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Mai had been getting ready for hours. First, she’d combed her long, wavy hair, ensuring that her midnight locks were free of all knots and snares. Sitting in front of her mirror, Mai had stared at herself in silence, thinking about all that her life had been up to that day. In her twenty-four years that she'd been alive, Mai had gone from hiding her identity from everyone to practically flaunting it in front of the most powerful people of Liang, and now the entire world. "Leonard Ford of Krieg-Königreich," she said out loud, clumsily. The foreign name sat heavily on her tongue, while her native language flowed fluidly out of her mouth. Mai winced, more aware than ever of her slight accent. She sighed-there was not much that she could do about that right then.

Mai had mixed feelings about being betrothed to Leonard Ford. On one hand, she understood the political implications of her marriage; Krieg-Königreich would provide her uncle's precarious regime with much-needed advanced technology, especially in terms of military technology. But on the other hand, Mai had never been particularly fond of soldiers. She [i]tsked[/i] irritably to herself. Now was certainly not the time to be remembering that kind of stuff. Mai steeled her resolve and settled into the rhythmic motion of combing her hair. No, she would play her part, as she had always done. There was no need for the royalty of the entire damn world to know about the things that she'd seen and the things that she remembered. [i]Besides, we've met before,[/i] she reminded herself. Even if the first time Mai had been sixteen and Leon eleven, and all subsequent encounters had been...awkward.

From what she'd seen and read, Leon was friendly enough, if on the more private side. He'd be the first of the royal family marrying a foreigner, and most news reports painted him in a relatively positive light. What more could she ask for?

Mai was not so foolish as to believe everything that people said, though. Being the crown prince of a kingdom with the world's most advanced military required more than just [i]friendliness[/i]. No, there would be a certain [i]cunning[/i] that only rulers and politicians and generals had within him, too. Mai had spent her life around that lot, for goodness's sake. She of all people would know.

After she had combed her hair until it shone, Mai pinned it out of her face while she went to get dressed. She carefully slipped into the gown that was hanging in the closet, admiring the smooth silk and the rose motifs. The billowy skirt fell down to the ground, almost covering Mai's feet, and Mai couldn't help but to think that it would be [i]exceedingly[/i] easy to conceal a weapon underneath it. The bodice was a snowy white, featuring a wide black sash and a large silk rose, velvet ribbons creating the effect of leaves. The white gradually darkened into gray and then black as one traveled from bodice to hem, bright red accents that resembled rose petals splayed out across the bottom half of the skirt.

Mai sat down again at the vanity and prepared to work magic with her hair. With a veritable arsenal of bobby pins, hair gel, and combs spread out on the vanity in front of her, Mai eventually managed to tease her hair into a half-up, half-down hairstyle. She curled the ends of the tendrils of hair that hung against her back just so, examining her handiwork in the mirror. Satisfied with her hair, Mai retrieved her wooden jewelry box decorated with intricate carvings of koi fish and lotus flowers and pagodas, opening it and assessing her collection of hairpins, earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces with a critical eye. A particular set of hairpins with bright red glass beads hanging from a butterfly caught her attention, and Mai picked two of them up. She examined the ends, which were wickedly sharp, albeit extremely tiny, blades of sorts. Mai nodded idly to herself-they would do-and arranged them in her hair on the back of her head, crossing them in a manner that reminded Mai of hairstyles that featured two chopsticks in the bun. 

After ensuring that no parts of the bladed ends were visible, Mai moved on to make-up, putting away her hair products and shoved her jewelry box to the side for the time being. She went through the motions of rubbing foundation across her skin and applying a slight hint of pale pink blush with a practiced ease, her mind on other things. Mai had pored over the reports of the other royalty that her uncle had provided her and listened intently to what Ming Mei said about each and every person that would be in attendance. Zhou had been there too, but he had seemed rather bored. 

Mai rolled her eyes when she thought of Zhou; her cousin was much too rash for his own good, but there was something endearing to her about the the prince’s rashness. Not that she would ever [i]tell[/i] him that, mind you, and his rashness had gotten him into plenty of trouble in the past.

Mai allowed herself a small grin. Despite all his glaring flaws, Mai had grown quite fond of Zhou. She finished touching up the light blush and carefully applied eyeliner and a pale gray eyeshadow, dusting her eyelids with the soft hue that set off the inky black of her hair. Then came the lipstick, which had always been Mai's favorite part about makeup. She went with her usual deep-red color, smiling at her reflection. Perfect.

[i]Just a few more things left to do,[/i] she thought idly to herself. She put away her cosmetics and picked up the jewelry box again. A collar-like necklace of rubies, set in gold, went around her neck. She settled on ruby studs for her ears, to match the necklace. Mai pulled on a pair of evening gloves, the black satin gleaming in the soft glow of the electric lights in her room. A tiny dagger-the size of a nail file-went into her bodice. To top off the entire ensemble, Mai slipped into a pair of spiky black high heels that added a few inches to her height, making her almost freakishly tall. That was alright, though: she could deal with being extremely tall if it meant that she had an extra pair of weapons, so to speak.

Mai [i]knew[/i] that having weapons on her was not something that she should be doing. But old habits die hard, and you would have to be a fool to go around weaponless in court back in Liang. It wasn't like she was planning on using any of them anyway; they served more as a reassurance than anything else. And if somebody happened to discover them-well, considering where her daggers were placed, they'd have a hard time justifying why they'd been looking there in the first place.

Mai stepped out of her room, taking a deep breath. Now that she was dressed, Mai felt a good deal better. Her heels click-clacked against the fine mahogany floor of the hotel room. One of her uncle's advisers-Liu-rose to meet her. "You look beautiful, as always," he said politely when he laid eyes on her.

"Thank you," Mai replied.

"Are you ready to go?" Liu asked.

Mai nodded. They set on their way.

As they made their way to the ballroom, Mai began thinking about the other people who would be there, as well as the prince that she was betrothed to. Mai and Liu said nothing to each other. What needed to be said had already been said many, many times. However, it was not an awkward silence that the two lapsed into, but a companionable one. If Ming Mei was like Mai's father, then Liu was like her uncle. It was Liu who had marshaled mass support for her uncle when he was trying to restore the dynastic rule, it was Liu who had risked everything for them in opposing the socialists, and it was Liu who her uncle had first contacted when he came out of isolation. Mai glanced at the austere man-with his salt-and-pepper hair, severe expression, and rigid posture, one would never have guessed that he had a warmer side to him. Mai considered it a great honor that she was privy to this warm side.

As they walked, Mai mentally went through everything she knew about the other royalty. First and foremost, there would be her betrothed, the prince of what some would argue was the most militarized nation in the world. Mai wasn't so sure about that part; she hadn't exactly had a great experience with soldiers or their commanding officers in the past, to put it lightly. Liu must have seen something in Mai's eyes, because he gave her a reassuring look. "You're going to be alright," he said. "Your uncle would not have betrothed you to somebody that he didn't approve of." Mai nodded, her face expressionless. Whether or not her uncle [i]approved[/i] of Prince Leonard was not the question. It was the question of whether or not Prince Leon's kingdom could help Liang, if a marriage to him would help her people. And, of course, the answer was yes.

The Aciran ballroom was lovely. Crystal chandeliers glimmered up above, the gilt accents of the massive room sparkling in the light. The herald announced Mai's arrival, and she strode forward to greet the hosts, the king and queen of Aciras. Princess Ayleanna (whom everyone referred to as "Princess Lea") was there as well. Mai had read and heard many interesting things about the Aciran crown princess, from her commitment to the environment to her unhealthy obsession with social media and her love of fashion and haute couture. Mai smiled internally. She and Prince Alejandro probably got along swellingly.

Mai shook hands with Queen Cecilia, King Landon, and Princess Lea. The other princess flashed her a broad, genuine smile. "Oh wow, Princess Mai, I absolutely [i]adore[/i] your gown," Lea gushed. "You look so lovely tonight."

Mai allowed a small but sincere smile to slip onto her face. "You flatter me, Princess Lea," she murmured softly. "But I must say, [i]your[/i] gown is very beautiful as well."

Lea's sparkling eyes lit up, and she gave Mai another wide grin as Mai plunged into the crowd that had started to form inside the ballroom. She swept her gaze around the room, taking in the scene. Her betrothed had not arrived yet, but Princess Rhiannon of Wales was standing near the entrance, absolutely stunning in her gown. Princess Genevieve Anders of Maris-a small, isolated, and frankly, rather insignificant nation (at least, from the perspective of the Liangii. There was not much they could do with a tiny kingdom in the far north, in terms of trade or alliances)-was also already present, and Mai just [i]had[/i] to take a moment to admire her hairstyle; it was quite pretty. The two sisters from Notia were there, together; Talya, the older one, in a pretty white dress with a lacy bodice, and Ivelynne, the younger one, wearing blue.

[i]Wasn't their brother killed a year or two ago?[/i] Mai thought idly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. [i]Hmm.[/i]

Finally, there was the diminutive Princess Liviana Viriatus, accompanied by her niece, Princess Domitia. Mai admired Liviana's gown, for a moment, before-

-wait. [i]What[/i] was Domitia wearing?

[i]Well, I must say that I am impressed by her boldness,[/i] Mai mused to herself. [i]I certainly would not have been gutsy enough to wear a...a suit of armor to a ball. Heavens above. How did she ever get away with that, if what I have heard about the Lusitanians is true?[/i]

In any case, she needed something to do as she waited for Prince Leon to show up. She accepted a glass of champagne from one of the members of the staff, taking a few dainty sips as her gaze swept over the ballroom once again. Her eyes were drawn in Princess Genvieve's direction. The blues and whites and greys of her gown were a stark contrast to the mulberry lipstick she wore. Deciding that out of all the people in the room, she knew the least about the red-haired princess of Maris, Mai wandered over to her, giving her a warm smile.

"Princess Genevieve, is it?" she asked, pleasantly. "Pardon me for being forward, but I simply [i]adore[/i] your gown. As well as the lipstick. It is absolutely [i]gorgeous[/i]."

[hider=Mai's Dress][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/434211524416897025/439459960636833793/mais_dress.jpg?width=461&height=565[/img][/hider]