The coronation ball was finally here. Everyone and their cousin was decked out in their finest clothing and jewels, trying desperately to increase their status, by showing off their marriageable daughters, or the sons they hoped to enslave those daughters to. Overall, the situation did nothing but make her feel slightly ill, and yet here she was, as coiffed, and prettied up as any of the others. Liana felt slightly hypocritical, but there really was not much she could do, she was a noble woman of Benthey, and her father had served with the King, it was expected that she would be here in support of his coronation.


Gavin was off again wooing some woman or another, she wondered if her parents were truly going to let him choose his own bride or if they would blindside him with whatever girl they could find. Lia often found herself thinking about that as well. The chances of them allowing her to choose for herself were far more slim then they were for Gavin, and the thought of being stuck with someone forever without any form of understanding or caring between them, well it was not a pretty thought in the least.


Lia snorted softly. In all honesty it probably did not matter. Even if they did allow her to choose, would she really be able to find someone? It was obvious from the length of time she had been standing off in the corner by herself, that she was not the most sought after beauty in the room. Oh, she was pretty enough, she supposed if people actually saw her that is. She had become quite used to fading into the background, though it still boggled her mind sometimes as to how she accomplished it.


She reached out her hand and snagged a goblet of wine from a passing server, pulling her arm back carefully to not muss the dress she wore. The many layers of light fabric cut in such a way to resemble leaves, and dyed in the colors of the autumn matched the fae mask she wore. Her long red hair was left loose down her back and brushed her hips as she swayed slightly to the music.


She wore very little in the way of jewels, a thin circlet of silver vines, studded with peridot leaves graced her brow, the small sprite hiding in the shadows where no one would look, she felt oddly puckish, and it made her smile. She wondered what news she would have to carry back to the king of the fairies at the end of the night, for there were always interesting things to learn if you took the time to be silent and listen. Perhaps if she was lucky she might actually dance at least once, stranger things had happened after all.

Kian surveyed the room and found nothing that he could enjoy about the festivities. He didn't even have a wife to ridicule him for wearing the scarlet tunic with the silver trimming that he had worn, mostly because his wife hated the color on him. Lucy had declined to come to the ball, claiming illness. Kian smiled, Lucy was not ill except possibly over the woman that she refused to talk to him about. Despite the fact their new arrangement granted him a certain amount of freedom, it still ached inside of him to know that the woman he must bear a child with was never going to love him.

Throw in the family affair that he has been dealing with Ewan and Aoife, it didn't help matters. Misery loved company, and he could sure use some at the moment.

Suddenly, Kian's eyes fell upon a beautiful young woman who seemed as if she would rather be anywhere else than here. But also, at the same time, seemed to look almost enviously at the dance floor.

Misery loves company.

"Pray tell, what could possibly have a beautiful woman such as yourself tucked away in a corner for no one to see?" Kian asked taking the woman's hand and kissing it.

I'm an idiot, please delete.

"Pray tell, what could possibly have a beautiful woman such as yourself tucked away in a corner for no one to see?"


Liana blinked up at the man before her. He was certainly attractive with his dark hair, and skin, which seemed to contrast well with his blue eyes. It was rather odd when she thought about it. Years of being nearly completely invisible to men and women alike, and now it seemed she was drawing the same sort of attention that most people had always given to Nonah. It was certainly a heady feeling to say the least, but one she could almost become accustomed to.


She smiled at the gentleman her cheeks heating as he took her hand and kissed it. Gallantry was something she had not had much exposure to in the past. She was grateful that her mask hid the crimson color that flooded her cheeks, but she was fairly sure that it was obvious from the other parts of her face that were not so covered.


“Habit I would suppose.” She said softly her voice barely rising above a whisper as was her wont. “My brother has often said I lurk in the shadows in a slightly disconcerting manner.” She paused before meeting his eyes with hers. “My name is Lady Liana Alix, of Benthey, and you are?”

Kian smiled as the young woman introduced herself. He found it very hard to believe that such a woman could lurk in shadows and not attract some kind of attention.


Kian grabbed a couple of goblets off a passing by tray and handed one to his new friend. "Liana, it is a pleasure to meet you." Kian watched those at the ball dance or socialize as they saw fit. Kian put on his black leather mask and looked into the young lady's eyes, and was about to introduce himself when a thought crossed his mind.

What if she knows about my marriage?


Kian had to think very carefully as to how he would be able to get through this, then a smile crossed his face. "Lord Kinnear, of Marcheford," this would at least buy him some time.

Maybe he was being paranoid, hopefully so, he was not sure if he would be able to maintain a charade. Granted, his whole marriage was a sham, so he should be used to it by now.

Liana took the glass he handed her with a small smile. In all honesty, she thought she could get used to this type of attention. First with Theo and then with this gentleman… the attention was a heady thing. She knew that her sister did nothing but bemoan the attention she received from men, never content unless she was left on her own to do whatever it was that had caught her fancy this week, but Lia had always been alone. Ignored by most people who were not her family and virtually invisible at times, she craved the attention she was now receiving.


“Tis a pleasure to meet you Lord Kinnear.” She said softly, it was not an affectation, it was just her normal speaking voice, but it did tend to make people either ignore her, or lean closer to better hear the words she spoke. “Are you enjoying the ball? It is a dazzling affair is it not the light from the candles alone could blind you if you’re not careful.” Small talk had never been her forte, perhaps because she had not spent much time doing it, or it could be genetic, none of the rest of her family excelled in it either. Except Gavin, he had a bit more in the way of charm then the rest.


She looked around the room trying not to stare at the man before her, when she spotted an unfortunate lady in a horse costume. The horses head seemed to wobble on her fragile neck, and Lia was surprised that she could hold the entire thing up. Her eyes grew wide and she chuckled softly to herself biting back the comment that came so easily to her lips. Her father had already reprimanded her in the past for her tendency to make caustic and quite unladylike comments. He blamed the time she spent with Nonah, but in all honesty, it was just a part of the person she was.

Kian found the woman provocative, though not very confident in herself. Kian had no idea why this was the case, she was obviously attractive and appeared to at least have a moderate upbringing. Granted, the latter was no longer a problem for Kian, seeing as his wife was a fine catch and now he had been taken off of his leash. A grin came across his face.

Kian leaned in closer to hear the young woman, as her voice was very quiet. It did the job of giving him an excuse to get closer to her. Kian then looked back into her eyes, "Then I had best be careful, for missing beauty such as yours would be a mortal sin," Kian said, keeping his tone soft and low so as to make her lean closer to him to hear.

Kian saw her eyes wander for a moment and he turned to see what had grasped her attention. It was not that hard to find as he looked at the horse costume making its way across the room. "I wonder where the horse's ass is?" Kian said with a grin, seeing that a similar thought had probably crossed her mind. But a lady, was far too delicate to say such things. But not he.

Hailing from Benthey, and in all honesty, not being a big fan other gossip, unless it served a purpose, Lia had no idea about Kian or anything that involved him. Not that she wasn’t interested in learning about the man, but it was truth and conversation she sought, not rumors that were being told and retold, created, and swept under the carpets, in hopes that others would not find them. However, that did not stop her from responding to his intimate tone and leaning closer to him to catch his words.


The words made her blush, the deep crimson color creeping over her face. Such words, such words… did they teach them to men? Did they hold lessons on how to turn a girls head with things that you wished were true, and always seemed to come off flat in the end? She sighed and tried not to drown herself in melancholy, as it was never the best course of action.


Liana noticed that he was exceptionally observant, having pinpointed exactly what she was looking at, and his witty comment made her snicker. “What? You have not met the woman’s mate. Her husband may not have dressed the part, but he certainly plays the part to a tee.” Her eyebrow twitched upward thinking this could be fun.

Kian chuckled as quietly as his low tone would allow him. Kian looked around the room to see what other treasures he could see from her vantage point. Though there was plenty for the eye to see, including the horse being reunited with her ass, Kian saw something a bit more more private. Kian knew that he would have to do a lot more charming before he could get her alone on the balcony, but Kian was always up for a challenge.

Kian took Lia's hand in his and kissed it, suckling a bit on the knuckle. He then began to lead her to the dance floor. "Why simply watch the madness from the shadows when you can join right in?" Kian said with a grin as the waltz began.

Kian pulled her close to him and whispered so only she could hear him during the dance. "For a woman who watches the world around her, you seem rather reluctant to be a part of it. Is there a particular reason for it?" Kian asked the question to see what information he could gather from her, but also to have her open to him and possibly to trust him. Trust him enough for him to trust her at the very least.