Chapter Sixteen: Scheming Royal Twins

Akatsuki took a final twirl, his dress drifting ever so softly up as he came to a stop a few paces from his father. A curtsy on his side and a bow on the other signaled the end of the symphony of instruments. The dance of father and daughter came to a stop, and officially Akatsuki was considered an adult within the kingdom.

He still held an unconscious smile as he tried his best to catch his breath. Despite all his training, his body still wasn't even close to on par with his former physique. His feet already hurt, and yet he still had a night full of dancing left in front of him.

The sound of clapping brought Akatsuki's attention to the group of people who had formed around him. He watched as many of the people's expressions changed from a predator's gaze to that of something similar to greed. It was the look of a tiger tamer before his big act. Only there was no tiger present, just the young heir of the Blanc family. If he was naive, they sought to take advantage, and if he was intense, they sought to tame. It was good to know in this world or the next politicians even with a fancy name never changed.

Nobles began to break the artificial boundary the dance had created. People scattered and started mingling and talking, but Akatsuki more than noticed the occasional glances his way. And as a group of nobles walked his way, he was positive before the night was over, he'd have to dance each stance at least a dozen times.

"I have to say you've improved tremendously since we last spoke, Ashley." A deep voice Akatsuki didn't recognize sent a shiver down his spine as it cut through the chatter of the other nobles talking to him. The unfamiliar voice had a name soon after Akatsuki turned around.

"Ah, It has been too long, prince Kato!" Akatsuki curtsied towards the twins before continuing. He was tired of the custom already. "It's unfortunate you could only visit occasionally while your sister visited. I so do enjoy your company." Akatsuki decided to play along with the prince. He knew more than anyone that this was more than a simple greeting.

Not only was it strange for the crown prince to attend the party, but for him to openly announce that he had visited Akatsuki often, well Akatsuki's peaceful life of leisure seemed to be getting further and further away. He was sure to get more than his fair share of sideways glances after today.

"Do two perhaps know each other?" Emily asked, a bit of a flutter reaching her voice. Gossip was the lifeblood of noblewomen even within this world, and Emily, a particularly elegant noblewoman Akatsuki had been talking to, was no exception.

"He visited quite a few times while I tutored Ashley." another voice echoed; it was strange to hear the voices side by side.

"It seems I'm lucky enough to be greeted by the royal twins a second time." Akatsuki decided to speak up before the conversation got out of hand. He turned, lowering his head, and once again curtsied towards the two.

They were both almost otherworldly in beauty, and Akatsuki was reminded of a beautiful fantasy race from his world, the elves. Although they looked similar, without the magic of illusion, the two had noticeable differences even if they weren't wearing different clothes. Katarina's dress was deep black, and as the fabric got closer to the ground, deep orange and red fabric seemed to dance as if alive with fire. It was an enchanted piece and an extravagant one at that. Her eyes sat in contrast and were the first noticeable difference between the twins. If Kato's eyes were the deep blue of boiling mischief, Katarina's were cold and calculating sapphires. Her eyes took in the detail of the room simultaneously, not the cornered rat frantically switching from place to place, but a hawk sizing up their prey. Her eyes fixed on a single figure, Akatsuki.

Kato cleared his throat before speaking up. "Perhaps you could offer me an example of your practice since you worked so hard." He said, trying to circumvent the hostile stare down from his sister, but Akatsuki wasn't one to step down from a fight.

"What a wonderful idea!" His voice was cheerful as he grasped both hands of Kato's sister Katarina. "Let's give your brother a show to remember." Akatsuki's eyes held a sense of challenge towards the princess, who had skipped his lessons to do who knows what and had instead made him spend an uncomfortable amount of time with her brother. Her slight smirk in the corner of her mouth was all Akatsuki needed, and he slowly moved Katarina to the floor before she could protest, leaving a rather spiteful Kato behind.