Meanwhile in the royal court, Ari's father, King Assur, sat surrounded by pillows at the end of the large hall on a small, raised platform. There was some quiet chatter in the glittering, golden hall as prominent people entered, including two of Assur's sons. They were sitting in comfortable places along the sides, leaving the spots closest to the king for royal family members. After things settled down and the sun had set, they all began to wonder what was so important about the meeting that night.
King Assur's personal guard whispered something into the king's ear and his face lit up in excitement. The announcer at the door of the hall called out, "His Highness, Prince Arellan of Otha enters, Your Royal Majesty."
The prince glided up to the platform with his personal guard trailing behind and knelt on his knee, bowing his head to King Assur. "Prince Arellan greets His Royal Majesty," his deep voice echoed throughout the now-silent hall.
The king waved his hand at Arellan. "No need for formalities! Please, stand! We welcome you to Atrana, young prince. If you'll sit next to me here," Assur gestured to a spot of pillows directly to the right of the platform. Arellan sat while his guard stood behind him and King Assur announced, "Prince Arellan will be our royal guest while he is here. Please welcome him kindly and show him our unique culture."
Maids went around blowing out candles and dimming the lights. As everyone clapped, dancers dressed in purple and gold tops with flowing pants, purple face veils, and twirling scarves entered the hall. Arellan thought they looked like desert beauties. Music started and they began dancing in sync, the scarves flowing wonderfully around them. This kind of dancing was very new and intriguing to Arellan, who was used to a more formal style of dancing with partners. Suddenly, one of the dancers broke from the synchronization and the other dancers immediately became more of an accessory. The woman moved with complete grace, as if she were fluid and floating with her scarf. Her legs moved around her effortlessly, sometimes even straight in the air. Arellan almost gawked at the strength and flexibility the dance took. The woman spun as the music got louder until she was a blur of black hair and purple scarf. The moment the music ended, she stopped her spin with her foot pointed out, at a perfect bow to the king.
Assur stood and clapped loudly and everyone else in the court followed suit. Arellan was stunned speechless and the king grinned at him. "Are you that shocked, young prince?" Assur asked.
"Ah... Yes, actually, Your Majesty. That was the most beautiful dance I've seen as of yet. It was quite... passionate." Arellan tried to blink away the amazement and smiled.
"Ho ho. Well, it just so happens that the reason we are here tonight is because of this young woman here." Assur gestured to the solo dancer. She looked at the king with furrowed eyebrows, then at Arellan. For a moment, her eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened, then furrowed again, a more confused look in her teal eyes.
She removed the veil from her face to reveal lovely fair skin, a small nose, and luscious lips. "I can never hide anything from you, Father."
King Assur raised his chin proudly. "Of course! My daughter is the most incredible dancer in the whole country." He turned to Arellan. "This is the only princess of Atrana, Her Highness Arinja." Ari and Arellan bowed their heads toward each other as the king continued. "The reason I gathered everyone for this meeting tonight is to officially announce the engagement of Arellan and Arinja!"
There was an awkward moment of silence before everyone began clapping slowly. Ari's eyes widened as she gazed at Arellan, whose dark green eyes were also wide with shock.