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        The first thing Alejandro had done, after receiving the invitation, was text Phillip, asking if he would be there too. And Alejandro had smiled to himself when Phillip replied, confirming that both he and Gen would be there. He and Phillip hadn't been in the same place for eight weeks straight in...probably years. Certainly not after they started hooking up. Of course, Phillip's subsequent betrothal, sham that it was - and Alejandro's very real, very much not-a-sham betrothal - had put a damper on things, but still. Two months in the same place as Phillip was still [i]two months in the same place as Phillip[/i], and Alejandro intended to make the best of it.

        Alejandro had told Phillip about his betrothal to Han Nguyen of Tuyen Phu the moment it was official. Hell, he'd mentioned that his parents were trying to arrange it [i]before[/i] it was official. But he saw no need to tell Han about his...dalliance? Was that what it was, what he and Phillip had? Not yet, anyway. Because Han's parents would find out and probably break off the engagement, which was all well and good, but then [i]his[/i] parents would know, and they'd be upset. More than upset. No, Alejandro would need to wait until the timing was alright, but preferably not [i]too[/i] close to whenever the actual wedding would be, because the longer he waited, the more of a scandal it would be. And although Alejandro was perfectly find with being part of a [i]scandal[/i], thank you very much, he didn't want to be involved in this kind of scandal.

        Besides seeing Phillip, though, Alejandro was also looking forward to seeing all the other people he knew - Chris, Gen, Arabelle, Imani, [i]Raven[/i]. And Leonor would be there too, Alejandro remembered. And Henri, who was friends with Genevieve. Dear god, Henri had seemed so [i]flustered[/i] when he'd caught him and Phillip kissing, that one time back in Maris. [i]It's one of those things that's funnier in hindsight,[/i] Alejandro reflected, smiling to himself as he adjusted his sleeve. [i]And I think that Phillip would actually murder me if I ever told him that I thought it was kind of funny. Awkward for a little bit, but still funny.[/i]

        Alejandro thought that it was strange that they had not been invited to the palace before the ball, to get everything settled and whatnot - there were [i]always[/i] things to be settled, with this many princes and princesses - but he hadn't commented, because he would never be that [i]impolite[/i]. He was mostly a bit disappointed because he'd planned on texting Phillip and hopefully convincing him to come to his room while he was getting ready, but it was no big deal. Alejandro knew that they'd have plenty of chances to mess around, later. And snuggle, and take baths, and do all the things that they usually did when they were together, but for eight weeks straight. 

        Sighing, Alejandro took out his phone, re-reading their last text conversation. It was mostly Phillip threatening him with various unpleasant scenarios if he 1) mentioned anything that they did behind closed doors to Imani, or 2) made a [i]joke[/i] about anything that they did behind closed doors to Imani. Alejandro rolled his eyes, smiling, as he tapped out a message.

[indent][indent][color=ff8c00][i]whatcha' doing?[/i][/color] 😘😉😜[/indent][/indent]
        It didn't take long for Phillip to respond. Alejandro feels his insides warm, reading the text.

[indent][indent][color=darkgoldenrod][i]Getting dressed. Does the fashionable Alejandro Agustin approve?[/i][/color][/indent][/indent]
        The message was accompanied by a selfie, which Alejandro immediately saved to his phone. He responded:

[indent][indent][color=ff8c00][i]well, since it's a pic of your face, always[/i][/color] 😍😍😍[/indent][/indent]
        And then, still smiling to himself, Alejandro unbuttoned his shirt so that his collarbone and sternum were visible. He replied with a selfie of his own, then tapped out:

[indent][indent][color=ff8c00][i]i’m still getting dressed[/i][/color] 😉😩[/indent][/indent]
        Alejandro set his phone aside for the time being and turned back to the mirror, grabbing a comb and running it through his hair before getting fully dressed. For the welcome ball, he was wearing a rather flashy ensemble of metallic gold brocade, decorated with copious amounts of floral embroidery; simple, but impossible to miss, and perfecting complementing the gold eyeshadow that shimmered over his eyelids. His polished dress shoes were decorated with sparkly gold hearts, and ruby rings adorned his fingers. A pair of unduly large ruby studs dangled from his ears, and strands of rubies glittered around his neck. The added height that his shoes gave him did nothing but emphasize the elegant cut of the gold trousers and jacket - an effect that was, of course, intentional.

        When he was done fussing with his hair (which he was leaving down for the event, because as much as he would have liked to show up with braided her, he thought that his parents might just kill him. And his parents let him get away with a [i]lot[/i] of the stuff that Alejandro cared to partake in, all things considered, so Alejandro wasn’t going to push it. Even if their [i]reasons[/i] for letting him get away with it basically amounted to ‘oh, he’s already hopeless, might as well just let him do what he wants’), Alejandro went downstairs and stepped into the waiting car, thanking the driver as he put all the suitcases into the trunk. He checked his reflection one last time, as the driver started the car and pulled away from the building he’d been staying at. [i]It’s a shame that this isn’t the kind of event where I could be wearing one of the scarves I packed,[/i] he mused to himself, idly. [i]Phillip would kill me if I[/i] did[i] show up with one of them on, of course, but that’s half the fun.[/i]

        On the ride over, he mentally ran through the guest list one last time. He and Raven needed to catch up, for sure; Alejandro had imagined that Raven would be [i]much[/i] too busy planning the get-together and making preparations for her sister’s wedding for them to go to a few fashion shows together during September, so he hadn’t asked. He hadn’t seen Imani for some time now, either - this would be the first time he saw her after her “betrothal” with Phillip had been finalized. And he and Phillip had seen each other a few weeks back, of course, but Gen hadn’t been there, so it would be nice to see her again too. 

        Chris, and Ara (and Cat!), and Leonor would all be there, which would be a ton of fun; Alejandro was friends with all of them, especially Chris. [i]Oh, but I wonder what new hairstyles Leonor will be wearing,[/i] he thought. [i]She and Gen always have the best braided styles.[/i]

        But speaking of betrothals; Alejandro had to admit that the news of Princess Beatrice König of Königreich der Welten being betrothed to Prince Raiden Zhao of Xi’n was [i]interesting[/i], to say the least. Königreich der Welten was usually more of an insular country, not prone to marrying its royal children off to kingdoms further than about, oh, Russia. Alejandro supposed that the precedent had already been set a generation ago, with King Niklas and Queen Mai - of Liang - and the news hadn’t been [i]that[/i] surprising, given the fact that the monarchs of Königreich der Welten and Xi’n had entered into official negotiations a couple months ago. Alejandro still found it interesting, though. In his humble opinion, there was [i]definitely[/i] some tea to be spilled about that match.

        And Prince Henri? With Princess Fareeha Amari of Mamlakat Asslahra? [i]If Henri was scandalized by walking into me and Phillip doing not much more than[/i] kissing[i], he might just have a stroke with some of the things that[/i] Fareeha[i] does. For entirely different reasons, of course,[/i] Alejandro thought to himself, a bit amused. [i]Really, though, they’re complete opposites. And I’m surprised Mamlakat wanted to ally itself with Luxembourg in the first place. I thought they’d go for Königreich der Welten; not the crown prince, because Fareeha’s set to inherit, but perhaps the younger one. Alex.[/i]

        Ah, but there were some very unfortunate betrothals. Henri had hinted as to his preferences after he'd caught Phillip and Alejandro in Maris, and then Leo, who was being married to Prince Asher of Notia. Leo, who was publicly out. He was glad that she would have Chris; Alejandro knew that the two of them were very close. And Prince Quentin and Princess Maeryn, Alejandro thought, would be [i]quite[/i] a sight to see.

        They finally arrived at the palace. Alejandro adjusted his sleeves one last time, then stepped out of the car, flashing the waiting paparazzi a wide grin, ignoring all the questions that they shouted at him as he walked up to the main entrance - rather slowly, of course, posing for pictures and such all the way. Nobody would ever say that Alejandro didn't like posing for the camera. 

        When he finally reached the doors, Princess Raven was there, of course, as were the king and queen of Aciras. Alejandro greeted the kin gand queen more formally, using all the proper titles and fancy words and such, then turned to Raven, leaning in to give her a playful half-hug, followed by two air-kisses, one on each side of her face.

        [color=FF8C00]“Raven, how are you?”[/color] he asked, beaming. [color=FF8C00]“Oh, but you look [i]beautiful[/i]. As always. And your hair - absolutely [i]gorgeous[/i]. You’ll have to teach me how you do it, one day.”[/color]

        After the remaining greetings and pleasantries were exchanged, Alejandro headed inside, noting the lavish decorations. [i]Did Raven do these?[/i] he wondered to himself, absentmindedly. [i]It looks good, so I'm going to go with 'yes'. I love it all.[/i]

        Alejandro scanned the ballroom, trying to take stock of everyone who had arrived before him. Phillip and Gen were nowhere in sight, but he noticed that Henri was there, with his older brother, Prince Elias, the crown prince of Luxembourg. Princess Cassandra of Dal Riata, Imani, Erik Bel Auster, the two Arcenian princesses (Alejandro made a mental note to compliment both of them on their outfits, later. He [i]loved[/i] their gowns. Oh, but he would have to go talk to Imani at some point, too. She also looked stunning)...

        Alejandro passed by Chris and Leonor, grinning and blowing them both a kiss. He'd go talk to them later, of course, but it would be rude to stop and chat before he went to go say hi to his betrothed. [i]Leo's braids are as gorgeous as always,[/i] he thought to himself. Prince Asher, Leonor's betrothed, had just approached them, and Alejandro thought that he might have flirted a bit with him, if Phillip wasn't going to be in Aciras as well.

        Raiden Zhao, Maeryn and Rhys Raske (Alejandro vaguely remembered spending the night with Rhys, years and years ago. He was a good time), Zheng Hu from Liang...ah. There was Han. 

        Alejandro grabbed a delicate flute of champagne, then strode over to his betrothed, flashing her a cheery grin. [color=FF8C00]"Princess Han, how have you been? That dress is lovely. I [i]love[/i] the diamonds."[/color]