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[color=seagreen][h1]Drake[/h1][/color]

[color=greenyellow][b]Time:[/b] Evening of Ignis 10[/color] 
[color=greenyellow][b]Location:[/b] Danrose Castle[/color]
[color=greenyellow][b]Mentions:[/b] Nolan [@Remram], Marina/King Edin [@princess], Olivia [@Potter], Ariella [@tpartywithzombi], Ambrose/Cassius [@Oso], Stratya [@Citrus Arms], Mina/Thea [@Tae] and Lucian [@HylianRose][/color]

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Drake took on the interesting role of merely being an observer from the second he coaxed Nolan into that particular group. Yet he still stood guard, ready to pull him from the depths of depravity should his actions result in some form of degradation of his night. Because that’s what big brothers do. However as fate would have it, no such misfortune would befall the man. Marina’s antics were admirable. She was certainly a strong force that compelled all to follow, not merely for her sake but theirs.

Nolan better learn quickly. 

The first pair to go were Sir Ambrose and Stratya. Drake nodded at the Captain as they passed. [color=greenyellow][i]You’ve earned a good dance[/i][/color] He would say if not for their rapid departure and his lack of reflexes. Then came Marina and Nolan, one far more chaotic than the other. For every heaven there must be the earth to ground it, for every yin … its yang. Opposites always did attract in the most fascinating of ways.

Drake had half a mind to parlay with Sir Lucian–the man definitely seemed as though he had a lot on his mind. Once the crowd thinned, there were only three. Mina, the sweetheart she was, sought to include Drake for that fleeting moment of questioning his stoic nature at a time like this.

[color=greenyellow]”Honestly I find her quite endearing. And one must practice good poise when faced with the unexpected. I’m sure Lucian is well aware as well. Sleepovers and garter snatching is only par for the course I would surmise when someone like her is involved.”[/color] His words carried no ill-will, but more so a tacit understanding. He too had a fairly chaotic and whimsical woman for a sister–a fate he wouldn’t trade the world for.

Despite his contribution, Drake could see the events unfolding before him. He was, to put it frankly, a background voice in an otherwise solitary duet. Not in a cruel way, as if they disliked him, but this was their story. So once Lucian had shifted from the look of a man lost in his own thoughts to a man lost in the world standing in front of him. He offered a polite bow and left the two to their long awaited dance.

And then came the shouting. The looks you read about in crime novels just before the killing blow is dealt. The fiery passion indistinguishable from hatred boiling from the quartet across the room. All of which were friends he cared for deeply. The young lord had every mind to walk across the room and join them, but would this folly do more harm than good?

What realistically could he change right then and there? The King will likely scold them, at worst stripping away the Vikena title. But what if they became another example? What if they became like Alibeth? 

No. 

That wouldn’t happen. Cassius alone could wage war with the country if it meant keeping her safe. Olivia would send the entire castle up in a pyre before anything came of her beloved friend. And Lorenzo? That duke was the wildest card of them all. There’s no telling what he was capable of. And not least of all, Charlotte herself held the unseen strength that rivaled leaders and quieted weaker men. They would be fine in the face of a man full of scandal, uncertainty, and thinly veiled authority.

His place was somewhere else entirely for the time being. Drake still kept a silent prayer for them at the back of his mind. A prayer that the King in all his hubris and outward power-hungry foolhardiness that he of all people would exercise restraint.If not, then this would be his last chance to do something like this before things truly went up in flames. 

So Drake chose to stride across the ballroom, through ladies and lords alike. His route was planned, like a force was drawing him there all this time. He clacked his boots against the glistening floor with two final steps as he walked right up to her.

[color=greenyellow]”Lady Thea. Would you make the happiest man here by giving me your first dance, and all the ones after?”[/color]

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