4.9

The banquet hall was as lively as it was in the beginning. After the arrival of the royal family, the party had really begun. The music had changed melody and now started a lively song, great for dancing between partners, typical programming of these events. Most of the younger nobles, who came with those they were betrothed to or who were looking for such betrothals, moved into the center and began to dance to the music.

Their steps were muffled by the sound of instruments and their movements were all rhythmic, following each action as instructed in dance class. The men with their hands on the ladies' waists and squeezing them so they wouldn't fall. Women, on the other hand, followed in their partners' footsteps and allowed themselves to be led with grace and lightness. The movements of both, when synchronized, were elegant and the whole dance had the atmosphere of being something of the aristocracy.

However, there was someone who was looking at it with boredom.

James had been sitting in the same spot since he followed his mother to the ladies' table and overheard them talking about gossip. At first, he was really interested about the not-so-famous occurrences or just rumors going around the court, but he felt bored after a while, his expression neutral and, in a way, despondent. He was tired of it. He had already eaten enough of the sweets and didn't want to take another bite of something that had sugar in it and now all that was left was watching the environment.

His mother and the ladies continued to chat. He was tempted to tug on his mother's skirt slightly to get her attention and ask them to do something else or allow him to go after one of his brothers or his father. Maybe he'd even go outside to a porch and breathe fresh air, not smelling the sweet perfumes he smelled everywhere. Besides, the music was starting to get on his nerves as he watched the throngs of people demonstrate their artistic prowess in dancing downtown.

He really wasn't a fan of dancing and not a good dancer, even though he took classes in that. Thus, he could not appreciate the graceful movements of women nor the skills of men. The gods had given him two left feet and he was grateful for it.

His eyes roamed around the room, looking for something that interested him. Even royalty wasn't a good topic of curiosity for him. The Emperor was at all times seated in a chair at the top and the Princess and the First Prince were surrounded by their followers and other nobles who wanted to talk. Most interesting was the second prince and the man he saw in the street the other day, the Grand Duke, but from his position he couldn't figure out where they were and observe them discreetly.

He continued like this, until he saw something interesting. Her brother Phillip was in the center along with the crowd. He was dancing with Johannes so well that he was surprised. He didn't imagine that his brother's bride would know how to dance the high-class dance of the empire, being a foreigner, and that his sword-loving brother would also know how to lead a woman. In fact, he had underestimated him.

He watched some more. The white dress with her companion's outfit when it fluttered was beautiful. He made her stand out from those piles of colorful clothes from the other ladies.

He had to admit, the two looked good together.

Even though he continued to watch her performance, he still got bored after a while. His eyes strayed from his brother and his fiancée to their small white hands looking for something to interest him. Her nails were beautifully manicured and her hand was milky and a little pink. But it wasn't enough to distract him. It looked like the boredom at the feast would be his companion. He seemed the only one, while everyone else was happily interacting.

'How I wish Brandon were here.' He thought, his face down a little.

He didn't have anyone, as he didn't know any of the people invited, with the exception of his family and the few friends of his parents that he saw throughout his life. There were a few teenagers his age and a few kids over ten, but he didn't have the heart to approach. It was just like the awards after-party earlier, everyone either had a small group and looked so obnoxious with their noses high, or she didn't even feel like going.

The most probable? The two together. Really, he didn't want to befriend people who didn't understand his love of magic and were so arrogant.

Finally, he was very tired of standing there in boredom. He decided. He didn't want to sit in that chair for a few more hours. He swore he'd feel his ass itch just to stay a few more minutes. James wanted to walk, if only a few feet from his mother's desk. Timidly, without attracting the attention of the other ladies, he reached his hand towards his mother's clothes and tugged lightly to attract her attention, successfully.

"Mom, can I walk around the room for a bit?" He asked next to her. His brown eyes blinked trying to draw sympathy. He wanted permission.

His thoughts were obvious. How could his mother, Countess Miller, not see what her son was thinking? But she had to admit that for someone his age chaperoning her might be boring. Even more so without anyone to talk to, since he'd been quiet since he sat down next to her, just eating.

"Are you bored?" she questioned, just to confirm her mind. James nodded, of course. "Okay, you can go out and walk around a bit. But it's not to go far and it's always in my line of sight."

"OK mother." He nodded, standing up and taking his first steps away from the table.

The countess' female friends obviously saw such a situation and couldn't help but notice.

"Your son stayed with us so much, I'm surprised he didn't go sooner, Claire." Ginus spoke with expressed surprise. "I wanted my son to stay with me for a while too. I haven't seen him since we arrived."

"He's too young. I don't like him straying too far from me in an unfamiliar place." She replied to Ginus. Her reasons were valid and everyone understood her. They would also be concerned if they had a 13-year-old son and were his first at a palace party.

"We understand. So would I. But I doubt mine would stick with me as much as yours did at this age. It would be gone before I even sat down." She complained Lanus, with a rather sullen face. "He would have given me a headache."

"I only have daughters, but I understand how they feel. Mine weren't that great either." Laughed Maliart, thinking of the mess yours already made.

"And you, Duchess? What was your son like?"

"Mine? Oh, at that age… No, Carlos was never a problem." Duchess Uersth said, feeling the rather incredulous stares of her friends. "Seriously, he was always a kid who liked spending his time in the library more than making trouble. I often went out with him just to see the sun. He looks like me, but behaves just like his father."

"Well, I guess James is similar then. You'll see Claire, you have nothing to worry about." Maliart said to her friend smiling.

Claire saw her friends looking at her and smiled, feeling lucky to have made true friendships in the muddy water that is the aristocratic social circle. At the very least, this indicates that she has a very good eye for people. She laughed, fan in her mouth, and tried to change the subject. However, there was still a glimmer of concern for James in her heart.

James, the son who is so thought of by his mother, didn't move that far from the table where she was. It wasn't close to downtown and further away from where most people were. In fact, he walked over to the food table that was there to quench her thirst with a glass of juice. The drinks the servants had in their hands when they walked around the room were mostly alcohol, which was not appropriate for someone his age.

'Huh? What…?' However, as soon as he reached the table, he noticed something strange and peculiar.

A hand similar to hers came out from under the table, on the opposite side to the one she was on, and felt over the flat surface until she reached a plate full of appetizing and well decorated cookies. When finally holding the food, she pulled quickly, as if she was afraid of being discovered. Obviously, her purpose was to act discreetly and almost unnoticed, but that wasn't possible.

James looked around and, as he had noticed, there weren't many people near the table he was at, with the exception of his mother's.

He walked around the furniture and all he saw on the other side was the luxurious fabric that reached the floor. There was no one there, much less did he see anyone coming out the sides and walking away, as if nothing had happened. What was left was only one answer. Whoever the mystery eater was was under the table.

Then, unobtrusively and silently, he lowered himself to a crouch, with his fingers extended toward the fabric, and he felt the soft, light texture of the cloth. And he pulled quickly, afraid that the person would run away when he saw his hand there. The image that revealed itself under the table and covered by shadows where even the light did not reach was a boy in somewhat luxurious, but not formal clothes, with a last piece of the cupcake in his mouth.

No one reacted and there was barely a sound of breathing as they both held her.

The boy turned his head stiffly and shoved the piece into his mouth with his index finger, his eyes widening at the fact that he'd been discovered and hadn't even noticed. He nearly died of fright, thinking it was one of the servants or, worse, one of his brothers. He would have been screwed a lot if they found out he crashed when he said he didn't want to and how he was behaving sneaking snacks.

Not that he couldn't eat, but his nanny didn't allow such foods very much, which displeased him a lot.

However, the boy was still vigilant, albeit relieved. Who showed up was a stranger who was the son of some noble family if he managed to get into the palace. He deduced this from the clothes the other wore, which was not much inferior to his, and from the fact that he was at the party. But he did not recognize such a person, although he had seen most of the sons of the capital's nobles.

"Your Highness?" James said, surprised by who he found there. It was the third prince, Bellus Yulard, who was under the table. He had seen it in the books detailing the history of the royal family in his studies.

"Who are you?" She questioned, her light blue eyes fixed on James. She was trying her best to maintain a dignified and respectable image of a royal, but failing. Her face was red from being picked up by a stranger and she was afraid he would tip someone off.

"Um, I'm James." She introduced herself casually. The situation did not seem to require courtesy and politeness, even though the other was of a higher status than him. "What is your highness doing there? Other than sneaking some muffins." He chuckled at the end of the sentence.

Bellus' face darkened another shade of red upon hearing the laughter in conjunction with the phrase. It would be a black spot on his life story.

"I'm hiding" he mumbled sheepishly. There was no point in denying it, after all, he saw him eating a scone under the table.

"From your highnesses? Why?"

"They wanted to bring me to the party, but I didn't want to. Why do I have to keep talking to a bunch of people I don't know? So I refused and said I was going to sleep." He spoke, remembering when they called him. He also didn't want to be around some of the boys he met who were also coming to the palace party. He couldn't forget the slight they made of him behind his back. "But then I thought I would have delicious food and I wanted to come, but without alerting anyone and I got here.

"I understand." He shook his head, noticing more closely the garment the other wore. A thin white shirt that reached to the wrists and black pants with slippers. It certainly wasn't a party outfit.

"Please don't tell anyone I'm here." He asked, with a tone of pleading and fear. He really didn't want to be found out.

James looked at Bellus and thought about what Brandon would do. If it was him, he would have covered for it and the moment he was asked he would answer as if it had nothing to do with him. And, depending on the moment, he would have acted too friendly to befriend. The redhead had a talent for making friends with children, perhaps because he had taken care of him since he was very young and got used to his way of thinking and acting.

He sighed, before following his brother's lead.

"Don't worry, I won't." He said, going up a little and taking the plate of dumplings that was on top, as well as some other food, and taking it down to the third prince's level. "Here."

"Thanks!" He smiled at the foods he was prevented from eating on his plate. He figured the kid in front of him was cool for doing it.

"You are welcome." He replied, looking around to see if he caught attention. Noticing that he didn't, he spoke again. "It came out from under the table. It doesn't matter if it's hidden, but it's not a good place for a royal to hide. Stay here by my side and just ask me for whatever you want to eat."

Bellus looked at him and nodded, ducking out from under and taking the seat next to James standing. In front of him was a wall and the light from the place did not reach him, since his figure was covered by the shadow that was being made. The boy who discovered him became more visible to see and he saw his appearance. The brown eyes in the gentle face and her curly purple hair, she looked to be the same age as him and almost the same height. The idea of having made a new friend was pleasant, even more so with someone nice like him.

"What house are you from?"

"From the Miller house, your highness." He replied, also reaching out his hand among the numerous snacks and picking up one of pasta with cheese filling. Sweets are out for now due to having eaten at your mother's table.

"Miller house, okay. I'll return the favor." He said firmly, to show the other that he would.

"As you wish."

"And what do you like?" He questioned, curious. He would have to look for something he liked to thank him for. And he took another bite of one of the snacks, watching the profile figure beside him. "To give you something you like."

"Hm, could be something about magic. A book or parchment. It's always good to know more."

"Magic!" He exclaimed in surprise, a smile on his face. "I like magic too. It's my favorite subject of my studies. The last book I read was Telbin's on the fusion of natural elements."

"Really? I prefer Jesia more and her idea that harmony is able to bring out all their power."

"What? But…"

The conversation continued animatedly between the two. The two defended their opinions on which magic was better and how to use it efficiently, as well as commenting on authors' ideas that were good. After that, it moved on to more common interests, even about the stories they read and about the characters in the books. James read some out of curiosity, as Brandon was a lover of such stories, especially romance novels. And Bellus, well, that was the only thing to do besides study when you were grounded for some prank or prank.

The night passed like this. With both creating a friendship. And now and then James would wave to his mother, who would look at him to confirm his position.