The Prince had disappointed Lillian, as so many seemed to do these days. He had said exactly what he was supposed to say and that was, well, boring. Not to mention the reference to the Order of Nuvyen. She had made a conscious effort not to roll her eyes at the blessing, instead plastering a somewhat painful smile over her features. Lillian was not religious herself (it was a load of nonsense, in her ever-cynical opinion), and she had heard more than enough about the Nuvyen's god from the zealots that had been trickling into Naeran more and more in recent days. The vast majority of the citizens of Naerin were also cynics - few people had time to worry about some all-powerful God who controlled things ignorant people couldn't be bothered explaining. Hence the reason why Naerin was such a hated kingdom; Lillian had heard the whispers of the religious in neighbouring kingdoms such as Gladinis, the righteous looking down their noses at her people, murmuring amongst themselves that 'no wonder Naerin was so barbaric, it was full of heretics that looked up to the most barbaric heretic of them all'. Her father. 

Even so, her father had merely beamed at the Prince and thanked him for his kind words. Barbaric though he was, Ambrose Tillcroft's charisma did him justice. The queen, on the other hand, could barely contain her approval of Prince Renso as they were led to their quarters, Lillian glancing over her shoulder just once to watch him retreat in the opposite direction to the Tillcrofts. Although he had disappointed her with his chauvinistic words, she was still intrigued to know more about the life he ran away to, although she would never admit it.

[b]"Oh, what a lovely man! His manners were [i]impeccable[/i]."[/b] Celeste gushed, her former feelings of disdain towards the Gladinis dynasty forgotten in a flash.

[color=DB7093][b]"What happened to him being a 'stray', as you so wonderfully put it, Mother?" [/b][/color]

[b]"Do not start with your antics, Lillian. You are a grown woman. Act like one."[/b]

[i]Treat me like one, then.[/i] Lillian bit back her sullen retort and turned her attention to their surroundings. The West Wing certainly was more than her family, as guests, could ask for. It was far grander than the simplistic nature of Pernstow Keep, but not in a tasteless fashion. The princess found herself missing the ever-present smell of flowers that perfumed the halls of her home, however, and let out a small sigh. She supposed she was being an utter misery to be around, so she made an attempt to perk up a little as she was deposited in her appointed chambers which were, thank goodness, separated from her parents'.

[b]"The ladies of Drotha will accompany you to the ball in two hours, dearest."[/b] Her mother called over her shoulder as she left with the king. [b]"Try to look a little more sophisticated than them, at least."[/b]

Lillian smirked. That would [i]not[/i] be hard.

[hr]
As much as she dreaded this evening, the Princess of Naerin did rather like her [url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/31/69/c3/3169c33311f91aded15faf622dbe816c.jpg]ballgown[/url]. She couldn't help but swish it a few times in the ornate mirror situated in her chambers when no servant was looking. It was the palest of pinks and draped lazily off her shoulders, which were framed by her curling hair that was fastened half in an updo with the rest cascading down in auburn waves. She looked rather nice for a stone-cold bitch. 

Her reverie was broken by the sound of giggling she had hoped to never hear again. The ladies of Drotha were the three daughters of one of the richest merchants on the continent, and none of them were yet married - which made them her problem. No matter what the celebration was, or where the festivities occurred, that [i]incessant[/i] giggling was never far behind. For some reason, they had convinced themselves that Lillian, being the one of the most sought-after bachelorettes in many of the kingdoms (despite being notoriously stand-offish) was their friend. The Drotha sisters, Lillian reckoned, were the only reason she would ever want to marry - a husband to attend balls with would keep them away. In the mean time, however, she would have to make do.

Plastering a smile on her face, Lillian opened her door to the all-too-familiar made-up faces of her own, personal tormentors. They gushed with compliments, flicking her hair with their perfectly-manicured nails and cooing at her dress. A slightly-too-long silence went by as they waited for her to return the niceties.

[color=DB7093][b]"Mildred. Holly. Fiona. You all look wonderful."[/b] [/color]She inclined her head towards the girls, appraising each one of them, before leading the way. If she was going to be seen with these simpering messes, she might as well appear somewhat above them. They towed along dutifully, seemingly grateful for the lack of icy remarks from the Princess.

Lillian stayed quiet as the trio gossiped away behind her, tuning out without having to worry about missing anything vastly important. Her eyes flitted around the ballroom as they entered, taking in the glorious decorations and splendour Majorka had to offer. She supposed she stuck out like a sore thumb with her muted colours in comparison to the bold colours sported by the majority of ladies already dancing, or maybe it was the utterly bored expression gracing her features. Most lords, by now, knew better than to approach her asking for a dance - especially in the first hour of the ball - but there was always a few desperate bachelors with their hopeful eyes and endless flattery.

[b]"A dance, Your Highness?"

[color=DB7093]"Not tonight, sir."[/color]

"Might I join you, Princess?"

[color=DB7093]"I'm quite fine by myself, thank you."[/color]

"Y-y-you look good enough to eat, miss."[/b]

Okay. That one made her break into a small smile. 

[b]"Oh, you are a hoot, Lillian!"[/b] The blonde Drotha girl, Holly, took her arm in a breeze of too-sweet perfume and body glitter. [b]"We're introducing ourselves to Prince Renso, if you'll join us."[/b]

Speaking to the disappointing prince again was actually on the very bottom of Lillian's to-do list, but it seemed as if she had little choice in the matter as a delicate glass of champagne was thrust into her hand and she was towed along to the other end of the ballroom. For some reason, she was fighting the urge to squirm in embarrassment at the notion of being seen by Prince Renso with these women. She supposed it was the usual need on her part to be better than whomever she happened to be talking to at the moment. And, judging by the way in which his eyes were glinting in amusement as he greeted the group of them, he was currently one up on her. Oh, it was on.

[color=DB7093][b]"Whichever name you made for yourself, Prince, it all comes down to one thing: bravery or cowardice. Which one do you think 'pirate' falls under?" [/b][/color]Making sure to provide just the right amount of emphasis on the word 'cowardice', she lifted an eyebrow and offered him a soft smile. [color=DB7093][b]"That's just my opinion, of course. The entire Continent has heard stories of your... expeditions at sea."[/b][/color]

She'd heard stories, alright. Most of which involved some poor maiden he bewitched by his infuriatingly good looks. Of course, the Drotha girls had clearly heard these rumours, too, as they each seemed to lean forward and look up through their lashes at him, hanging onto his every word.

[color=DB7093][b]"Please, excuse my rudeness. This is Lady Fiona, Lady Mildred, and Lady Holly Drotha. My lifelong friends."[/b] [/color]She tried her hardest not to cringe at that last part.

[b]"Your Majesty."[/b] All three chimed in unison, each curtseying dangerously low. Lillian grit her teeth. They never called [i]her[/i] Your Majesty, or grovelled at [i]her[/i] feet. It was Fiona's turn to speak, still slightly lowered from her curtseying position.

[b]"I'd be honoured to dance with you, and you could tell me [i]all[/i] about your adventures, sire. [i]I[/i] think you were extremely courageous, from what I've heard. Braving the seas, swinging swords and...um... riding boats." [/b]

Lillian snorted. She hastily covered it up with a dainty cough, but couldn't hide the smile that lit up her face. [i]Riding boats.[/i] She had to be joking.