I looked at the girl who was smiling shyly at me. She was holding on the young man's arm, telling me they were close.
"Hello, princess Graciella." I greeted her back.
Graciella Brouette made a face before pouting a little.
"Please call me Graciella or Gracie, lady Mel." She said as she smiled awkwardly before looking up at the young man beside her. "Shouldn't you greet her Sky?"
"Good evening, lady Castellan." Schyler Rutchel greeted stiffly. The two of them were wearing matching emerald colored clothes.
I nodded at the young Rutchel before looking back at Gracie. Seeing as I was rather quiet around the boy, Gracie politely asked him to join the other young men who were standing on the other side of the hall. Sky agreed and bowed lightly to me again before leaving us alone to join the others.
"Would you like something to drink lady Mel?" Graciella asked me while looking at the table filled with different drinks in shiny glasses.
"Should we go get some?" I smiled at her.
It could be me agreeing to go get some refreshments with her or that I smiled at her, but Graciella looked me as if in a daze. I had to call her name a couple of times before she got out of her daze.
"Graciella? Hey?" I called her name.
"Huh? Oh.. Oh! Yes, let's go." She replied embarrassed.
We went to get the drinks before heading out to one of the balconies to talk quietly.
The balcony was covered by a thick and heavy purple curtain with gold embroidery. Good thing that the balcony we went to was empty amd only the two of us were here. I placed my glass on the hand rail and looked up at the sky which has already turned dark.
"Uhmm.. Lady Mel.." Graciella stood behind me holding her glass with both hands. Nervousness obvious from the way she stood and her smile.
"Melody.." I cut her off then turned to look at her. "You can drop the formalities and call me Melody or Mel."
Her face instantly brightened after hearing my words. The nervousness written on her face earlier disappeared and was replaced by a bright smile.
"Thank you." She said before walking close and standing beside me. "I was a little nervous that you might reject me if I was a bit informal."
"You think I'm that petty?" I snorted.
"Well.." She hesitated looking down on her glass.
I kind of understood her silence, I mean, I am a little cold to outsiders.
"I'm not that hard to approach." I said quietly. "If I have no reason to hate someone, that is."
Graciella looked at me and slowly nodded.
"You are a bit scary when you don't speak." She chuckled and I smiled. "And I'm someone who rarely speak to other ladies besides family and our maids.
I tilted my head curiously at her. It was something I found doubtful to believe. A daughter of a duke does not talk to other noble ladies?
I did not press further as I dis not want to make it seem like an interrogation.
"It's hard to talk to people who only see me as a vessel. A form of power." I snorted. "As if they could actually take me or my power."
"Then, you don't mind me talking with you, right?" She urged shyly. "I don't have a lot of female friends you see."
"I noticed." I nodded towards the banquet hall. "You are always with the boys."
She smiled and nodded.
"They are the only ones who would dare to talk to me." She smiled sincerely.
"The other girls don't like you for your skin color?" I raised a brow at her. "Or because of your status? Are they insecure?"
Graciella chuckled at my deductions before shaking her head.
"Not really." She said. "It's mostly because of my bluntness."
I looked at her as she stared at the sky.
"I don't like to be used for my status, so if one tries to, I would cut ties with that person. I also don't stand for my friend's mistakes. If she is wrong, then she is wrong." She explained.
Ahhh.. The woe of the powerful.
I could understand her. People would try to get close to others with power and then try to use that person's power to bully others or to raise themselves. Situations where the bad things that those people did, when found out, could implicate their friends in power.
"You did well." I told her. She must have complicated feelings about losing friends over it. "No one should look at the person's status or power when making friends."
Graciella turned to me, a soft wind blew past us as we both smiled at each other. A bond of friendship quietly forming under the starry sky. It was one that would last an entire lifetime.
We spent the time in the balcony talking about things that we liked, our hobbies and interests. We just stood there enjoying each others company while drinking juice from our shiny glasses.
Our alone time was broken by the sound of a glass breaking.