She began to move.
The ice queen was moving.
It was honestly shocking to the people in the hall, as they seemed to forget what they were doing. For a brief second, their hopes... and fears raised by thinking she might be coming towards them however those were soon dashed.
Instead she did the unimaginable. She walked up to the black haired boy, not breaking eye contact as they stared at each other.
"Hello Your Majesty."
"Yes... hello child."
Indeed, the world was ending for the majority of the people in the hall, but in the eyes of Rain and the ice queen, An, this was a rather sensible option. In the interest of making the night more interesting, this was a necessary action in An's eyes and after they had started they had started staring at each other, acknowledging that the other was interesting, Rain had thought this might happen. Hoped actually.
A wide berth full of wide eyes stared at them, waiting to see what would happen next, but nothing did. They just looked at each other. Then, slowly, Rain pulled out a chair at the table he was standing at. He motioned for her to sit down and then sat in a chair of his own next to it.
The message was clear, this was their table. Nobody broke this rule.
Rain started scooping food onto his plate. He had finally found something that might have been semi edible to him. It was some sort of meat that was sliced. It looked like flank steak, but it had a weird sauce draped across it that made Rain uneasy. He just hoped people wouldn't get mad at him for picking his food apart. He couldn't be bothered with maintaining a semblance of table manners. He then turned and offered a slice to her. She shook her head and then looked at him as if waiting for him to begin.
An had enough pride to not be the one to start the conversation. That would be a little demeaning for a queen to actively try to make conversation with a 9 year old. She had already sacrificed her image a little bit by approaching him, though that couldn't be helped. He couldn't approach her after all.
"..."
"..."
"Would you like any food?"
"No."
'It's like talking to myself.'
"Very well, may I ask why you have come over to talk to me."
"Seemed more interesting then just staring at the sky, waiting for the formalities to end."
"It would seem you don't want to be here."
"Do you want to be here?"
"No, but that is inevitable. I have no wish to interact with my siblings or anyone in this kingdom for that matter. Though I am glad for the opportunity to judge their character. What about you? You don't have to be here. Not technically. If were talking formality then yes, but you can do whatever you want. Not even the king can easily stop you if you decide to screw tradition."
An shifted uncomfortably, it was true she didn't have to necessarily be here. She had already ignored tradition many times. From not consumating her marriage with her husband, which was supposed to be done regardless of a loveless marriage or not, too ignoring several meetings that she was supposed to have attended for the kingdom's future, she honestly didn't care. She married because her family told her to. That was all.
However, here she was. Why? Honestly, she wanted to see if there wanted to see if there was anyone in this kingdom worth anything. She had seen many different characters in her life and had a good grasp on who she liked and didn't. She had stayed out of the kingdom's business and was happy with that, but now that everyone worth anything was gathering in this kingdom, she wanted to see if their was anyone who would look at her without jealous eyes. She didn't expect to find some solace in 9 year old child.
Honestly, she was a bit frightened by how a child could have such empty eyes and it gave her an even worse opinion of the king and his subjects. Little does she know that Rain is a special case.
"Same as you."
"Ah, I see."
The two paused. Rain ripped his food apart with his fingers, all pretext of manners gone, and An just sat and watched him. Their expressions didn't change. Seeing this, the crowd dispersed, though some inquisitive eyes stayed on them. Namely, the three headliners were very focused on what made the black haired boy interesting enough for their step-mother to approach him, something she had never done to any of them. This was much to the chagrin of both Mo Fang, who harbored something bordering on obsession, and Mo Na, who hoped to find solace in another female forced to be perfect. Mo Enlai was just jealous.
"You're a concubine's child, right? However, you seem to be in a different situation than the others of your creed. Why is that?"
An wasn't informed on the matters of the kingdom so Rain decided to give her a history lesson.
"...And that seems to be everything."
Several minutes later, he finished his tale, explaining the complicated circumstances that surrounded him.
Mo An just nodded. She could see why the child in front of her might turn against the kingdom eventually, just from his tone, though she wouldn't stop him. Over the course of their conversation, they had come to a silent agreement not to fuck with each other after is became apparent that Rain would inevitably screw the Mo family.
"It would seem you've had fun during your stay in The Northern Kingdom."
"Haha, indeed I've enjoyed my time."
Rather than the normal apathetic voice she was used to hearing, she began to hear bit of emotion creep into his voice.
"I've got much I want to do. Contrary to what your opinion might be of me, I only seem dead inside. I have plans and goals to achieve. Of course nothing will happen, not until I figure out whether I can do anything when I turn 13."
An nodded. He was weak and worthless currently. Any ideas he might have would be useless if he had bad talent.
Rain originally had wanted to just spend his time sleeping, but he had come to the conclusion after observing the world that he was living in that power was necessary. Besides, sleeping wasn't always fun and Rain had peculiar tastes. Sometimes he like frolicking in forests and sometimes he liked watching documentaries that showcased bunches of innocent people dying for no reason. His lack of aversion to most things gave him a good, broad pallet.
An and Rain sat for a while, in silence after that. They didn't have anything to talk about. Unlike most, they didn't particularly enjoy interaction, especially with the prideful monkeys that were currently all around them.
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"You will owe me one. And it depends on what it is."
"That's fine. It's about my sister. When she turns 13, could you teach her how to properly utilize her physique? I feel you would be the best choice for that and the two of you are similar."
"Electric Flash, huh? What, you don't want to try your hand at teaching her as her older brother."
"No, I will be gone by then. I plan on training here for two years and then going out into the world. There's quite a lot for me to see, after all."
An considered it. She knew about his sister and her physique, even if she wasn't involved in the kingdom's affairs she would know about a physique on the same grade as hers. She would certainly be a good teacher. And Rain saying that they were similar meant she wouldn't be annoying to people like them.
"That's fine."
"Un. Thanks. I get the feeling she's gonna want to catch up to me. I will have a head start after all. My families a bit attached to me."
"Will you leave them behind?"
"If I was going to do that, I would have made it clear to them long ago. I'll just get some fresh air for a little while. Unlike your husband, I don't like leading people on."
"Heh, you're not wrong. Though that is the most effective way, after all. Hope, that is."
"Point taken."