[color=lightgray][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wpUjo4c.png[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/YkGU2zv.png[/img]

[sub][color=DDB775]Interaction:[/color] [@Remram] Askel [@AuthenticTomb] Aslam [@Tae] Ranya [@Infinite Cosmos] Munir[/sub]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcUZcpUU7Dw[/youtube]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/sPIxd99.png[/img][/center]


Hafiz did not drink yet.

He allowed the glass to remain raised while [color=#FFCE00]Munir[/color] made his little entrance, all noise as per usual. The boy thought himself clever for dragging the Sultan’s name into the circle. Perhaps he was. It forced dignity over the conversation, forced witnesses into the shape of celebration, forced Hafiz to answer as uncle and servant of the crown rather than as the man [color=#C84808]Askel[/color] had just dared to provoke.

Then [color=#C84808]Askel[/color] spoke, and Hafiz’s attention returned to him with dreadful patience.

He listened to the prince’s Gazalian without interruption. He listened to the insults, the talk of fear, the men named Hafiz, the blades, the hearts, the accusation that he had blinked before Raif. By the end of it, Hafiz knew exactly what he needed to know. 

For a moment, Hafiz’s pleasant expression dissipated. There was no smile left on his face, no false gentleness, no warm amusement. Only his eyes remained alive, shining beneath the chandelier light with contained rage, like a forest fire burning deep beyond the trees—far from the closest village, controlled for now, but inevitable all the same.

When he smiled again, it was slower than before.

[color=#B39700]“You speak Gazalian beautifully, Prince Askel,”[/color] he told him gently. [color=#B39700]“That is wise. A man should always learn the language of the places where he intends to leave pieces of himself behind.”[/color]

His voice remained soft enough for the prince alone to hear.

[color=#B39700]“You are very proud of your temper. I imagine it has worked rather well for you in rooms where men mistake a steady voice for a steady hand.”[/color]

Hafiz’s gaze moved over him once more, colder now. [color=#B39700]“But no matter. You answered me plainly enough.”[/color]

He leaned closer, not enough to make a spectacle, only enough to make the next words belong to [color=#C84808]Askel[/color].[i] [color=#B39700]“You should have made yourself boring.”[/color][/i]

His smile held despite his words.

Then [color=#FEF698]Aslam[/color] spoke, and Hafiz turned to him slowly.

[color=#FFCE00]Munir[/color] had brought the noise, and [color=#FEF698]Aslam[/color] had brought the witnesses. 

[sub][i]Friends closer together. New ones discovered. Courage to find that special someone free from pressure. Loud enough for nearby ears.[/i] [/sub]

Hafiz looked at his nephew for a long moment.[color=#B39700]“Beautifully said, Shehzade.”[/color]

At last, Hafiz lifted his goblet fully. [color=#B39700]“To the Sultan. May his reign endure.”[/color]

His eyes moved to [color=#FFCE00]Munir[/color].

[color=#B39700]“To his sons, who are so eager tonight to prove the strength of his line.”[/color]

Then to [color=#FEF698]Aslam[/color]. [color=#B39700]“To new connections, freely chosen.”[/color] Finally, his gaze settled on [color=#C84808]Askel[/color] as his voice grew loud enough to travel throughout the room and over the cacophony of the ball.

[b][color=#B39700]“And to my niece, Shehzadi Ranya, and Prince Askel of Varian!”[/color][/b]

His smile widened, but there was nothing kind in it.

[color=#B39700]“May their affection prosper beneath all the attention it has earned.”[/color]

Then Hafiz drank. He finished the goblet calmly, lowered it, and looked between the three young men with a grin that finally showed too much of himself.

[color=#B39700]“Enjoy the rest of your evening.”[/color]

His eyes lingered on [color=#C84808]Askel[/color] one last time. [color=#B39700]“I certainly will.”[/color]

Then he inclined his head with perfect courtesy and left them.



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