"I'm afraid I haven't had the opportunity to try much of the food," Fanilly admitted. First there had been Velbrance, who had caught her up in his conversation before she was quite ready to handle any of it. Then the Princess had entered the room, and from that moment onward the smallish girl-knight was rather too caught up in conversation with her. Admittedly she was actually feeling quite hungry, but it would be rude to interrupt her conversation with Princess. In fact, saying it was simply 'rude' would have been a considerable understatement. But when directly asked, there was little she could do other then admit to the fact.

"Oh, that simply won't do," Eliabelle replied, folding her arms firmly across her chest, "Anyone I have invited should enjoy the food! Father hired chefs from local and foreign lands, to ensure we had plenty... of..."

The Princess trailed off as her eyes met the tables on which the food had been arranged. Following her gaze, Fanilly was confused to see that the largest single item on the dessert table was now entirely gone.

Who was responsible for [i]that[/i]?

"... How rude, hording the whole cake..." commented Eliabelle with a frown, "It was made for everyone to enjoy, not to vanish when the ball has barely begun! ... Some... how..."

She trailed off once more, confused. Fanilly couldn't help but be at a loss, either. How did a cake that big just disappear? Did someone use magic to make it vanish completely?

"... I shall have to admonish the one responsible. So unfair to our guests," asserted the Princess, nodding to herself, "But come now, you must try the food!"

She smiled at Fanilly.

"Ah, er, yes!" the knight-captain nodded, as the Princess waved towards the other knights nearby, in a bid to get their attention to try some of the food as well.

"To be honest, I'm quite hungry myself, your highness," Fanilly added, now that it seemed more appropriate to do so. She hadn't wanted to sound as if she wasn't interested in talking to Princess Eliabelle, after all...

[hr]

Violette was silent for several moments. It seemed as if the surly, sarcastic girl who had struggled to even make an apology was momentarily awestruck. It was possible, as a member of nobility, she had met a dwarf or even an elf before. Dealings with some such races wasn't unheard of in Thaln. But one of the monstrous races... Northwards, there were some countries where it wasn't so uncommon to see them working in some kind of position in the capital. But for the young noble girl in Thaln, a country where even the most common of nonhuman species was rarely seen(at least aside from fairies, who were likely to be spotted any time someone entered a forest), the sight of a naga in such a public place was a surprising one.

For several moments, the black-haired girl was speechless.

"Naga..." she trailed off for a moment.

"... Nevermind, it's not as if I care," she commented, looking away again and blushing. It was clear both the apology and her moment of genuine awe were embarrassing for her, but both of them had seemed quite genuine. "Simply because I have never seen someone of a certain kind before does not mean I would be so enthralled."

Meanwhile, closer to the edge of the gardens, there was a young girl with dark gray pigtails, seemingly around Violette's age as well. The more striking thing, perhaps, as she gazed out into the guardians, was the tall knight in entirely black armor that stood beside her...

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