"He's already down with the crowd," Emma noticed as she and Lily descended the staircase.
"Carrington, arriving without you? Consider me shocked," Lily said truthfully.
Emma gasped.
"Was it something I said?" Lily asked instantly.
Emma shook her head.
"No, it isn't. It's…"
"I forgot to tell you something, Lil," Emma said nervously.
"Why I ditched you, it had something to do with two certain Zenovian princes," Emma said, peering down to see Michael and Adam as she and Lily descended the endless staircase.
"Michael and Adam are here too?" Lily asked in astonishment and incredulity.
"I wish the answer to that question was a no," Emma said sadly.
Lily looked at her best friend adamantly.
"It shouldn't be that big a deal, should it? You and a certain prince are just friends, are you not?" Lily asked, cocking her head to the side.
Emma was silent, which didn't help with her case.