Candi stared at the Emperor's sparkling violet eyes and almost gagged.
He seemed inordinately amused by it all, it was almost as if he was playing a huge multi-dimensional chess game and he was placing the pieces in all the places and watching the outcome from the comfort of his chair.
Dante cleared his throat.
"Second place is the same as last place. There is no reason to shoot for second place."
Slate shot him a disparaging look.
"Aren't you the guy who kept harping on how great second place is?"
Dante narrowed his green eyes at Slate, as if to say 'stay out of this'.
"There are still five events left." Dante continued, as if Slate hadn't said anything. "It is far too early at this point to know who the winner is. Everything is still very much up in the air."
"Ahem. Yes of course." The Emperor harrumphed. "Well, I have an Empire to tend, so I've got to get back to the daily grind. You kids enjoy the rest of your day." He turned to Slate. "Get well soon, Son."
And with that, he winked off.
"Aaarghhhhh!!!" Dante growled after the Emperor had disappeared from view. "The way that man keeps meddling in our lives drives me insane. Why I bother to keep talking to him, I have no idea."
"Like it or not, he is still the Emperor of this Empire." Leonardo shook his head as he tended to Slate. "His reach extends everywhere, including this Avgo Event."
Slate turned to Candi.
"Did you mean it when you said you didn't want the Crown Prince?"
Candi blinked.
"It was just a hypothetical question. It seemed to me a bit imbalanced that the winner of the Avgo contest doesn't get a say in who she marries."
She scratched her head.
"I mean…what if the Crown Prince is a nasty troll with bad breath and a hump back? Is she still stuck having to marry him just because she won a contest?"
For a moment, no one said anything. Suddenly, all the Princes along with Lyra howled with laughter.
Whatever Byron's faults may be, bad breath and humpback were definitely not on the list.
"If you really don't want the bad breath, humpback Crown Prince, maybe one of his brothers might have a fighting chance…" Leonardo turned to gaze into her eyes.
"Does this have anything to do with what you said to your father?" Candi asked.
Dante and Slate immediately pounced on that.
"Marriage?" Slate eyed him.
"What's that about?" Dante asked.
Leonardo turned to Candi.
"I am a simple man and I don't play games. I know you still have the events to finish, but you don't have to win the Avgo Events to win my heart. You already have it, if you'll take it."
She looked at the tall statuesque man with the long platinum blond hair glistening in the light like a golden waterfall, framing a classically beautiful male face.
He was the epitome of what a demigod should look like. His aquamarine eyes were so clear and warm, it showed how tenderhearted and kind he truly was.
Why did she ever think he was frightening and monstrous just because he had bat wings that could soar into the sky? Leonardo was a healer, not a killer.
"Thank you, Leonardo." She smiled with gratitude.
He had shown that he was someone she could count on through any situation to be honest with her, to allow her to make the choices that mattered to her, and he would treat her kindly through it all.
=====
For the next three days, Candi's routine normalized. She would wake up early, have a glass of warm milk and honey with toast, put on her catsuit and be at the ballroom working on her dancing for an hour.
Most of the servers left her alone to do as she pleased for most of the day but when she started dancing, they would all gather to watch.
The first day when this occurred, she had invited them into the room so they didn't have to stand outside peeking through the entryway. Thereafter, it turned into a daily show for them, with cheering and clapping after each number.
After the dancing was done, she would go shower and change into her 'museum outfit', which was a fancy word for a work dress that she begged off one of the servant women.
She couldn't stay in her restrictive catsuit all day, and the servants' clothes were more comfortable and suitable for clambering up and down ladders to reach books and items that were far out of her reach.
The servants would bring her meals at regularly scheduled times, which she ate alone in the adjoining suite of rooms that had been built to include a bedroom, dining area, and comfortable seating area that she could use to relax in.
Dante had flown off to take care of his various far-flung corporations. He had left her to the care of his staff, promising to return before the ball. This meant she had the moon to herself for those few days and she spent quite a bit of time exploring a small section of its nooks and crannies.
The night before the ball was to happen, she was looking through her closet at the three fancy outfits that Jason and Jared had created for her.
One was the white ballet wedding gown-looking creation. One was a tiny black dress that was short and sweet. Neither of these two were of the formal ball type of dress, which left the last dress.
She fingering the royal purple and gold dress that she had worn the first night she had landed on Dante's Moon and was double checking it to make sure it was presentable when a handmaid appeared.
"Milady. The Princes Jason and Jared are here and waiting at the Main Hall for you."
The twins! Candi smiled with excitement.
She hadn't seen them for a few days either. They were constantly busy with their fashion houses and it was rare when they popped up.
She ran out to the Main Hall.
"Jason! Jared!" She called out and ran to them, dropping a kiss on each of their cheeks. "Where have you two been? I haven't seen you in ages!"
"Oh my goodness. If I knew that I would get kisses every time I dropped by, I'd be coming around every hour on the hour!" Jared laughed.
"And I'd drop by every half hour, on the half hour." Jason chimed in.
She laughed at their silliness and was about to invite them to stay for lunch when Jared fingered the brown servant dress she was wearing.
"What in the world is this ugly thing you are wearing?"
"Oh this?" Candi looked down at the baggy brown dress that she hadn't even bothered to lace up properly. "It's just my work dress."
Jared narrowed his eyes.
"Has Dante gotten so poor that you've been forced to wear an old brown bag?"