X: The feast.

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The second day was the important one, Alatus was very aware that he had to ensure the safety of his superiors as much as possible and therefore, although internally he wished with all his heart to remain even behind the prince's back for the rest of the day, he kept supervising the other guards and organizing them so that every area inside the palace is guarded and secured.

The rest of the guests started arriving around noon, so he stood at the front door, carefully watching the people coming in, checking them off the list and making sure they were properly frisked. Like a hawk overhead, Alatus's mere presence managed to unnerve every passing noble into paranoid thinking of "what if I accidentally brought something dangerous?", there were no complications for any.

Curiously, there was a young lady who caught the attention of the guard, although he did not understand why, a young woman with dark hair that faded to a slightly lighter color, imperceptible to the eye of a normal person, with a hairstyle identical to that of the other ladies but who for some reason it didn't look favourable. The lower half of her face was covered by an almost transparent white veil that was adorned with pearls, her round honey-golden eyes had a familiar shine, the red paint around them tried to make them look more torn but if you looked at them well you would realize that they were actually big and round. It was not strange to have that shade in the color of the eyes, Alatus himself had yellow eyes similar to those of a cat, but this was... Curious.

As he approached the woman who was escorted by a much taller man, she was met with a fierce look that did not waver, the determination emanated from her, again, it was striking.

"Is there a problem?"

The man asked, seeing that the guard had stopped right in front of them to prevent them from advancing. Despite his smaller size, Alatus managed to intimidate them.

"Your name please."

He said looking at the girl, Alatus could recognize the man with slanted eyes and light blue hair similar to Ganyu's because he had seen him a couple of times, what he did not understand was how someone of his status was escorting a stranger.

"Hiiragi Chisato* and Kamisato Ayato, just now they checked that we are on the list."

The woman answered, her name sounded familiar to the guard but just to be sure he checked the list he had.

"I'll check that out."

He told her without looking at her and checking that, indeed, her name was on the list, apparently it was someone important to Inazuma, the future commission leader of the triumvirate, but since it was her first time coming to the nation her face It was something new, Alatus considered it suspicious enough to take it into account but since she was with someone even more important he let them continue.

. . .

With some anxiety he was waiting at the entrance of his superiors, Alatus felt uncomfortable among so many people even when they forced him to wear something more elegant than his usual outfit so that his presence would not be conspicuous, although he obviously chose something that could give him good mobility.

It seemed that the room had lit up when they entered, perhaps because all eyes were on the emperor and his empress who wore an ensemble that was complemented by colors of black, gold, and dark gray. The two of them advanced, imposing, through the middle of the crowd that sought his attention and Alatus was taken aback by how beautiful Aether looked, smiling so confidently even though he sure as hell hated holding the emperor's arm. The guard looked at Shenhe as he approached her due to proximity and she nodded to him answering the silent question that his shocked expression offered, in the morning Alatus asked that she take care of the prince in his place, (as if she didn't every day), and will make sure he ate something, it was a relief for both of them that this time he's fed properly.

When sitting at one of the main tables, people began to approach little by little, Rex Lapis was used to flattery but it was the first time for the prince in which they called him a deity to his face, he couldn't help but blush when someone really asked if It was made of gold, to which the emperor clear his throat, hoping that they would withdraw before he had to speak to ask that they be thrown out.

The party continued as normal, although for the prince it seemed like just another boring meeting, or a dinner with distinguished people, his smile became more sober as time progressed and he soon stopped listening to the comments directed at his husband and kept drinking tea trying to ignore Alatus' look behind him. The prince really expected something else, maybe his cultures were really opposite since in Celestia there are dances, loud music, continuous movement, in general, a passionate atmosphere.

At one point in the evening a curious man approached them, the emperor greeted him as one more acquaintance but what caught their attention was the woman next to him, she barely said a few words to go unnoticed but they both noticed her, the prince especially since it only took him a few moments to recognize her. They didn't stay long, but it didn't mean that the prince's eyes weren't on the girl, he tried not to be obvious, but with the expression between astonished and scared that he put on when he saw her, the emperor and his guards already had an idea that she was someone known.

The prince apologized, saying that he had to go to the bathroom to be able to get away even a little but he was really obsessed with the person who caught his attention, Alatus, despite having to stay in place, could not help but follow them in a hidden way since he noticed their intentions. The prince discreetly approached and saw how she and the man who accompanied her slipped through the place to get lost in a corridor away from people as if they were calling him to meet in secret, Shenhe was suspicious and Alatus held his spear preparing to attack. anything.

As soon as they saw each other, they remained still for a few seconds, silent, as if they were talking to each other with their eyes, their eyes so similar reflecting each other, the man with light blue hair did not seem surprised by their reaction, but the guards did. The first to take the step was the prince who, without even hesitating, hugged the girl tightly, burying her head in his shoulder, she responded in the same way, seeing her softened expression made Alatus lower the weapon although Shenhe remained alert no matter how close they seemed.

"What the hell are you doing here? I can't believe it, really..."

The prince said at first as a scolding but soon his voice began to sound like he was about to cry, she caressed his head while smiling with a tenderness that showed his affection.

"I had to come, I needed to see you."

She answered rubbing her forehead on the prince's shoulder, being almost the same height it wasn't difficult to complement each other like that. The prince takes a long moment until he decides to separate, both place their hands on each other's cheeks, observing each other carefully, as if they had not seen each other for a lifetime.

"Your hair... Lumi, Dain is going to kill you, how could you do this?"

He said while feeling the girl's hair realizing that part of it wasn't real, she was looking for it to be longer than it really is.

"That doesn't matter, I'll cut it and it will grow again, I have time before I officially have to show myself to everyone."

Maybe it was thanks to those last words that Alatus finally realized, the reason why that girl called his attention and her eyes were so similar to Aether's, was his twin sister who he had told him about a few times, someone who should not be in this place and who has apparently sullied something that in his culture seems so important, they golden hair.

"You are crazy..."

Aether said with a smile on his face, still unable to believe that his sister had traveled there just to see him since they are forbidden to leave their palace and being royalty, except in a few and specific cases, leaving their nation is unthinkable.

"Maybe... But I missed you, a lot."

Aether responds rubbing one of his eyes to avoid crying, the last time he saw her he could not say goodbye properly since things happened in a hurry, he had to do it like that to avoid her taking that responsibility, only when he was traveling to the wedding he realized that he would never see his sister again, his best friend and who until then he considered his half.

Alatus does not know where to go or what to do, he should not bother them but in this situation he feels that he should not relax or neglect his vigilance, he notices how the taller man moves away a bit and remains leaning against the wall as if he did not want to interfere but still looking closely at the pair of young people, he doesn't see evil in him but still he can't be sure.

"Are you okey? Rex Lapis... He looked like an arrogant man who can't be talked to so I didn't say anything in front of him."

Aether smiled bitterly, sighing, not knowing whether to tell his sister about all the things that have happened or whether to hide it so as not to make her carry a weight that she will not be able to get rid of for the rest of her life, because she should be in his place.

"You did well, we probably would have gotten into trouble, you entered in a strange way Lumi, he might think that you are looking for something more than a simple reunion."

He said, alluding to the fact that his actions could be interpreted as an uprising or a violation of the current treaty, perhaps even as an attempt at terrorism.

"I know, but sneaking into the palace seemed like a worse idea."

Aether laughed genuinely knowing that she was only joking, although he saw that she was very capable of doing so.

"Im glad you didn't."

He said softly, he didn't need any more trouble and knowing the emperor he really didn't want to deal with his annoyance. Lumine noticed that her brother was not well, he had lost part of the natural shine that characterized him, she noticed his dull eyes when talking about the emperor and even, being close, as he hid the dark circles under his eyes with makeup, she wanted to check if he was hurt somewhere but her clothes covered a large part of her body and it was impossible to do so without attracting attention.

"Ae... Is he treating you well?"

She decided to ask, even knowing that her brother is not someone who talks about his problems, she knows that if something really bad is happening, he will keep it to himself so as not to make her feel bad, but over time she found a way to know when he was hiding something from her.

"You don't need to worry, I told you, now is the time to focus on your future."

It was only for a second but Lumine noticed how his gaze lowered as he spoke, how he seemed to feel the need to lick his lips considering them dry and how he contained himself to appear comfortable, it wasn't good.

"I know, I just- Please tell me, I need to know that you will be properly cared for from now on."

Aether widened his eyes when he heard her, he completely understood the feeling since he would be the same, he doesn't even want to think about how things would be if it had been different since the mere idea makes him feel sick.

"Hm... Someone is going to take care of me but not who you think." -Aether covered his mouth with some embarrassment for what he was going to say knowing that he would be heard by the other three people around they.- "You... I know you remember what I always told you, Lumi, I fell in love."

"What?? How? Who?" -Aether made a sneaky look as if he was aiming behind him, right where Alatus was, her eyes widened at the realization of her.- "Y-you- ,really?"

"Don't tell me you're disappointed by this."

He said with a mocking tone, although inside he was nervous about his sister's answer since it would hurt him a lot if she didn't accept it.

"No, of course not, just... Is it reciprocated? I don't want you to suffer for a jerk."

Aether hugged her tightly again before speaking, he didn't want them to listen when sHhe whispered something to her.

"You can rest easy, he is good, he makes me happy and... He treats me better than my husband should."

Lumine's cheeks reddened, she wasn't really interested in the same things as her brother but hearing him talk so highly of romance even made her want to experience it sometime, she was happy for him and at the same time she felt the need to get to know properly the person who had won his brother's valuable affection.

"Hmm, you-"

Lumine looked over her brother's shoulder at the yellow-eyed guard like a cat, seeking to ask him to take care of him, but the call of the albino guard silenced her, the harsh sound of footsteps was increasingly notorious.

"What are you doing?"

The deep voice that undoubtedly belonged to Rex Lapis made the pair of twins separate, Lumine noticed how Aether trembled upon hearing it and how one of his hands held onto hers tightly, she could only imagine what the man had done to him in order for his brother to react in this way to his presence, she looked at the emperor with a seriousness that hid her deep desire to assassinate him as he approached as if nothing had happened. The older man didn't feel intimidated but he was surprised to see that look on someone of "low rank", it was just another confirmation of his suspicions, he approached his husband and wrapped his waist around him to bring him closer.

"We have to go back," -He told the prince as he kissed his cheek.- "And, miss, I would appreciate it if you would leave my party before I have to remove you in a more violent way."

"Wha-"

"We'll do that, sorry for the inconvenience."

The nobleman interrupted, approaching the girl and taking her arm to walk away, almost at the same time the emperor and the prince walked away to return to the center of the hall at the party, Aether could feel a gaze fixed on his neck as he walked and that only made him more miserable since he couldn't turn around to see his sister for the last time.

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