Prince Zentik of the Winter Nation Shezen
----
Zentik was charming, as he was often told. People were drawn to his defined features and bright eyes. They saw his soft smile and kind words to all, and they immediately wanted to befriend him.
He wasn't surprised when literally every noble at the Celebration introduced their children to him.
He smiled and greeted them. He made small talk with noble fathers, and he complimented the beauty of noble mothers. He listened to the words of noble elders - the words that told him who gossiped, and who lied. The words that told him who was cold and who was warm.
It was tiring, but it was the way of life for anyone in one of the four Imperial Families. Every noble across Shezul wanted to say that their child married an Heir. They wanted to say that their child was friends with an Imperial. Their son was courting a Princess. Their daughter had caught the eye of a Prince.
Zentik wouldn't care so much if he didn't have his eye on anyone.
But, he wasn't someone to turn down a polite conversation and possible friend, so he went along with the heartless words.
Until the King of Shezum spoke to the band, and a bright band began to play an upbeat tune with hard hits on the drums. All around Shezul, this was known as the elo stara - or, clover dance.
The more outgoing noble teens immediately ran to the center of the room, forming a four-leaf clover and stem. They began the intricate dance, which was made of rhythmically tapping the feet while keeping the upper body stiff. If Zentik were braver - and he actually knew how to do the dance - he would join them.
As Zentik stood by the food table drinking tea, the Heir Princess of Shezon - Zoneen - walked over to him.
"Hello!" she said brightly. "Why aren't you dancing?"
"I'm not coordinated enough to learn it. Especially the Shezen way."
Princess Zoneen laughed.
"What's the Shezen way?"
"Way too many hand motions for a sane person to learn."
"How so?"
Zentik shifted his hold on his tea and awkwardly tried to make the hand symbols, but he couldn't even get his wrist to bend the right way. His fingers didn't straighten easily, either, so he looked like a toddler asking for food.
It made Princess Zoneen laugh.
"I think you should stick to watching the others do this dance, because if you keep watching me, it'll lose its charm," Zentik said, readjusting the way he held his tea.
"If I look out there, I'll get distracted."
"From what?"
Princess Zoneen pointed at a girl around her age in the crowd of dancers. Like everyone in Shezon, the other girl had skin the color of olives and straight black hair.
"Who is that?"
Princess Zoneen smiled and held up her wrist, revealing an engagement bracelet. It was a dark blue leather with silver filling in the indents on the leather, making a flower design. It fit snugly on the Princess's wrist, tightened there by two thick strings.
"Congratulations. When's the wedding?"
"We haven't planned that yet," Princess Zoneen said, moving her sleeve to cover the bracelet. "It only happened last week. In fact, my father will be announcing it tonight."
Zentik nodded.
"I'll make sure to act surprised when he does."
Princess Zoneen laughed and went back to watching her future wife in the crowd.
----
Heir Princess Zoneen of the Summer Nation Shezon
----
After a few hours of dancing, everyone gathered to listen to a speech from each of the Monarchs. Zoneen's father would go last, adding a grand finale to the main festivities.
The first to speak was King Neko of Shezum. He made jokes about the past Celebrations he went to, and even the most serious of nobles smiled at his stories.
Second was Abil of Shezil. He spoke with care, and made sure to point out the best parts of each nation. His warm compliments prepared the listeners for the next speech, which came from King Lonek of Shezen.
King Lonek was like every other Shezen Monarch - cold to others, ruthless in battle. As he spoke in a monotone voice, Zoneen stood closer to her future wife Iris. King Lonek's voice alone had brought a solemn chill upon the room.
Finally, Zoneen's father stood to talk.
"Tonight has been tremendous. Thank you, Shabo, for allowing us to stay here and celebrate. This kind gesture has truly shown the unity that we want to promote in our lives.
Unity is something that we can never forsake. It is the duty of the Imperial Families, of the nobles, of the citizens, and of the servants to keep our beautiful land unified. A single pillar taken will cause the whole building to crumble.
The topic of unity has been something very fresh in the minds of my family, and it will now be fresh in the minds of the world. Why? Well, my only child… my daughter and my heir… She is engaged! She is engaged to one of the only people with a heart as big as her: a healer named Iris. Zoneen, Iris, let's drink to you! The first Imperial Wedding in many years is a true cause to celebrate!"
Everyone cheered and lifted their glass. Those nearby put their right hands over their hearts while bowing slightly to acknowledge Iris. Iris smiled at them, nodding her head to each. Zoneen took her hand between two of hers and squeezed it lightly as various nobles came to congratulate them.
----
Heir Princess Kiran of the Spring Nation Shezil
----
"Well, that's exciting news," a new voice said next to Kiran.
Kiran turned and saw King Lonek.
"Yes, it is," she responded. "I wonder how long they've known each other."
King Lonek shrugged.
Honestly, Kiran was intimidated. She could smile and speak to the cold nobles, but smiling and speaking to a cold King… It felt unnatural. King Lonek's very presence near her made her notice everything that was out of place in the room. She felt every stray strand of hair, which contrasted to the perfectly uniform hair of King Lonek.
She felt cold in her soul.
"Your father asked me to speak to you," King Lonek said, shaking Kiran out of her thoughts. "He said that you're kind."
Kiran's heart dropped. She knew exactly what her father sent the youngest King over for.
"Oh."
"They're playing music soon, if you wanted to dance."
"Uh… I don't believe that's appropriate. Two different nations, and we've barely spoken tonight."
King Lonek nodded and Kiran swore she saw relief in his eyes.
"I'm glad we agree on something. I'll tell him that you're tired, so you don't want to dance."
King Lonek walked away. Deep down, Kiran was relieved. At least he shared distaste with her father's obvious plans.
"You just turned down a King's request to dance."
Kiran turned to the left and saw Heir Prince Veiris. His eyes - which were the same shade of dark brown as his hair - were wide with shock.
"Yes. And?"
"There's going to be so many rumors."
Kiran shrugged.
"Nobles will gossip about anything. They have no political power, but no reason to work, so they really have nothing else to do."
Prince Veiris nodded, seeming to understand.
"At least he didn't get mad," Prince Veiris said, moving to stand closer to Kiran. Unlike everyone else who stood by her that night, Prince Veiris's presence made Kiran feel comfortable and safe. Contrasting King Lonek's cold chill, Prince Veiris sent a warm glow in Kiran's heart.
"I think the only one who's getting mad is my father. He obviously wants to make our nations better allies. There's few other ways to do that peacefully than a marriage."
"But, won't your nation lose its heir if you marry someone from another nation? King Lonek is already a Monarch, so I'm sure you'd become Queen Consort of Shezen, rather than him becoming King Consort of Shezil."
"If my father wants me to marry King Lonek, he's probably planning to get another heir. I've heard rumors from the servants at night. They think I can't hear as they clean the halls. They say that my parents are trying to get me to marry King Lonek, then they'll have an excuse to try having a son."
"What if they don't have a son?"
"They'll hope that another Imperial Family has a child within the appropriate age range, and set her and that kid up. They'll keep trying until they have a son."
"If they're doing it to have a more powerful Monarch, they obviously haven't read history books. Did you know that the Monarch who defended Shezul from sea attackers was a woman? Her granddaughter wasn't a Queen, but she became a feared General at the time that Shezul split. In fact, that granddaughter helped create Shabo as a military base. At the time, the army was made of nearly a million people. As things became more peaceful, they eventually settled down, and now Shabo's a whole nation."
Kiran nodded. She certainly hadn't been told that.
"I'll have to tell them that."
"Oh, you should."
Kiran smiled as Prince Veiris nodded. He was looking into the crowd the whole time he spoke, and Kiran saw how interested he was in the random facts he knew. She tilted her head in observation, then refocused on the crowd.
Of everyone who she met that night, Prince Veiris was the kindest.