Five minutes passed before she finally got a chance to step away from the entrance and get her Leventis guests to actually take their seats. She'd tried on multiple occasions to be curt and stop talking but they just couldn't get a hint to save their lives.
With more guests arriving she had an excuse to greet them, instead letting them chat up with everyone else beside them. Just a few more guests until she'd finally be able to sit down properly and talk with the guests at her table and around her.
There were no sights of the third prince yet, but in came a familiar face she didn't quite expect despite the invitation. "Greetings, Duchess Elyas." She gave a curtsy, crossing her legs and bending. The look on the Duchess's face was just like Arkadios, the only difference between the two was that he had brown hair.
"Thank you for the invitation, Lady Theia, I hope my son has been taking good care of you." She smiled, briefly exchanging conversation with her before quickly leaving to find some other ladies. She couldn't tell what was on her mind, but it definitely didn't look like she was just here to mingle as she chatted away with Rosalyn.
There was still no sign of the third prince, much to her own happiness, but in came more important guests. Finally, one of the last expected guests entered. "Duchess Vasilakis greets the eleventh daughter of the Argyris family." A woman with pinkish hair and green eyes she'd only ever seen from a distance said, it seemed like all the ducal families had actually came.
The woman's eyes glared into her own, but she kept her ground unphased as she glared back. The tension was thick as the woman and her children stared in silence as she and Arkadios did, even Phius hissing and slowly rising. At long last the duchess shut her eyes and brought her fan close to her lips with a tiny smile.
She was being tested! "Lady Theia Argyris," she smiled, giving her own curtsy making sure to emphasize her name. "greets the Duchess of Vasilakis. I am happy the duchess has made time in her schedule for me." While people were watching she couldn't afford to let anyone belittle her.
Beside her were two children, a little boy with pinkish hair and a little girl with faded pink hair, the boy looked a bit older than her, but the girl looked rather small as well. If she were correct, this little girl was not the daughter of the duchess, but rather her sister's daughter, a child of a Viscount.
"Theia Argyris greets the fourth young master of Vasilakis, the second lady of Biros." Giving his own bow, Arkadios smiled and followed suit, expression matching her's quite well. If they wanted to pick a fight, they'd be getting one.
Instead, the greetings continued smoothly as they walked on by after and begun conversing with others, the girl taking a small peek at her when they were walking past. That was quite the short lived fight, she thought.
Several minutes passed and she assumed nobody else was coming. There was only one set of guests that didn't arrive, anyways. It'd be fine without them. Remembering Rosalyn's instructions, she took a small breath and nodded over at Arkadios, following her.
Walking up to the front of the room, she tucked any stray hairs out of her face and held her fan to her lips, being as graceful as she could. "If I could please have everyone's attention." Her voice was clear and smooth, loud but not ear piercing. It was quick for silence to gather around her, not even a murmur as eyes of dozens of noblewomen and noble children stared at her.
Some looked as though they were trying to find fault, others looked in curiosity and others hid their emotions better. "Thank you for your cooperation," she hummed, casually outstretching her arm a bit to allow Phius to slither down it, gently rubbing the back of his head with her thumb while continuing her speech.
"It seems like all the guests have arrived, so let us begin. If you take a look at your table, you'll seeing gifts in front of you. Please feel free to open them and view the contents." The fruits of her hard work were about to pay off as soon people's murmurs grew and the sound of unwrapping filled the room from the small bags.
In it were rather expensive custom made jewelry for the noblewomen, and a small charm of a snake wrapped around a vermillion bird, depending on the person that received the gift the color and gem of the charm had changed. For the daughters they were given ribbons and the sons received brooches by Rosalyn's suggestion. Not only that, but each gift was dabbed with a bit of perfume from scents that she had been told the receiver liked.
She was happy with the awe some people had, taking a peek at the different reactions. Raising her hand near her face, she felt Phius's cold face press against her cheek. "I do hope that these gifts are to your taste." She could see his tongue flickering as the crowd of people tried to thank her but were drowned out by one another.
She was about to consider it a success when the door to the room slammed open unexpectedly, who on earth was that? She didn't think any other guests would arrive this late, but she supposed that the third prince and his mother did want to come to a tea party hosted by the "neutral" Argyris family. Especially with all the other honorable families present.
Mentally preparing herself she gave yet another curtsy perfectly, bowing her head to show respect to the royal family, even if they were nobodies. She could hear people shuffling to their feet in hurry and she thought about how drastic their reaction changed just because she was polite to them. Lifting her head, she opened her mouth to greet them.
Her mouth was left agape for what seemed like forever as she stared at the tall and handsome man who entered, dark blue hair styled and silver eyes, his attire fancier than normal, carrying a small box in his hand while making his way straight towards her.