18th of Junious, 1503
Current time: 20:02:36
'Why does the Grand Ball have to take place so late in the evening? I need to get my beauty sleep before training. I wasn't able to rest last night and I won't be able to rest tonight as well… Is he punishing me or something? Why do I have to train every day? Why can't I even have one day off…'
Neoma was grumbling inwardly as he stood by the entrance of the main ballroom. He could already hear classical music being played inside by the best musicians of Aekodora and a few people chatting. He wore a grey suit with a white button up shirt.
Next to him stood Juno, his mentor. He wore a black suit unlike his student; however, the bandages were still covering most of his face, revealing only his green coloured eyes and up.
Both the elf and the human had their suits tailor made for this event. Neoma was actually impressed how fast the tailor sewed these outfits for them. Only at noon did his measurements were taken and the suits were ready at 7 in the evening.
'I suppose it's not that surprising… After all, only the best of the best professionals of their trade can work in the royal palace.'
Just as he thought of that, the doors to the Grand Ball were opened by the elven guards, allowing the mentor and his student to enter. As Neoma stepped inside, he was mesmerised by the grandeur of the ballroom. The walls were tall and the ceiling was high. There was a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. The windows were tall and the entire place was decorated with many gold and silver ornaments.
'Seeing this place in real life and reading about it in the novel are very different. It's hard to even put it into words how stunning this ballroom is. No wonder it was the favourite of Kyros.'
Neoma thought as music began to fill his ears. For a brief moment, he had forgotten why he had come here in the first place and what kind of people were surrounding him.
"You must be Neoma, the human with anti-magic. And you must be Juno, The Killing Gale, who only took in one student under him – Neoma. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Duchess Einar. But please, just call me Rose."
The first to approach them was one of the characters of the main cast of "The Elven Hero", Duchess Einar, who was most often referred to as Rose in the novel. She was considered to be incredibly beautiful even by the elves. She had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her name was befitting her appearance, but it also represented her personality and powers well.
Rose could wield a subelement, plants, which is also called 'flowering'. Like other elements and subelements, the magic of plants also had different forms. Rose's magic was purely in flowers. They could range from ordinary harmless daisies to moon shines, one of the deadliest flowers in "The Elven Hero".
The name Rose also was befitting because of her personality. Like any rose, at first she seems beautiful, delicate like any flower, innocent. However, once you get too close, you get pricked by her thorns. She fools you with her naiveness and kindness, and then shows you her true darkness.
That is why Neoma didn't wish to get on Duchess Einar's bad side. Kyros wasn't aware of Rose's thorns, but all her enemies suffered from them and feared her. She was nice to her allies, but the others had to endure the stinging pain.
'No wonder she was one of the favourites of the readers. I liked her myself quite a bit when I was reading "The Elven Hero". However, seeing her right in front of me and knowing her true– no… Knowing all of her colours is truly a terrifying experience.'
Just Neoma thought, both he and the green eyed elf bowed to the duchess, showing her great respect. You could say that she was just below Kyros when it came to her status and authority she had in Aekodora.
"It is an honour to meet you, ma'am. However, I believe it will be difficult for us to refer to you by your name only, considering your and our statuses. I kindly ask you to not refer to me by such a nickname as well… It is quite embarrassing."
Juno spoke with utmost respect as he bowed to the duchess. Of course, the way he spoke wasn't as formal and respectful when he spoke to Kyros. That would just be an insult to the king of Aekodora.
"It is an honour for me to meet you as well, madam."
Neoma greeted Rose as he bowed. Once the mentor and his student had raised their heads back up and straightened their backs, they could see the gentle smile on Duchess Einar's lips.
"I've been anticipating our meeting. I was very interested to meet the human who saved the elves and the people who decided to train him. However, let's leave the chatting for a bit later. I believe the others are wishing to meet you as well."
The duchess spoke in a soft and comforting voice as she observed the elf and the human. Both of them bowed to her again as they went to greet the rest of the attendees of the Grand Ball.
"What an interesting pair…"
Rose mumbled under her breath as she watched Neoma and Juno walk off and head to greet the king.
As a form of respect, the king must always be the one who you go to greet first unless someone else approaches you. Since it was Duchess Einar who had approached them first, because of her high status, there weren't any issues or problems that could have arisen from her behaviour.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. We wish to thank You for inviting us to the Grand Ball. We will forever be grateful for Your kindness."
Juno spoke as he and Neoma bowed their heads low in front of Kyros.
'What a smoothtalker in front of the king.'
Neoma thought as he bowed with his mentor.
"We thank You for the invitation."
The human said his short but formal and respectful greeting. Kyros smiled softly as he watched the elf and the human bow to him.
"You may stand."
He told the two, wishing for them to relax and not be as tense around him. After all, this evening will be hard for both the mentor and his student. Especially for the human.
Neoma and Juno lifted their heads up and straightened their backs.
"I am glad that both of you were able to come to the Grand Ball. I hope that no matter what gets decided today and what you will hear from the other guests won't affect your mood too much. I hope that both of you will enjoy the ball."
Just as Kyros finished saying those words, he gently placed a hand on Neoma's left shoulder. He kept looking down at the human with a kind smile on his face; however, there was a hint of worry in his eyes. He didn't wish for anything bad to happen to the youth which he had taken in and decided to nurture.
"Tonight will be especially hard on you. However, do not worry. Remember that the king of Aekodora, protector of all elves, is on your side."
'Strange… Wasn't he supposed to be a reckless– no… A stubborn and immature king? He is still stubborn, but he's so calm and serious. Yes, he did become more mature at the end of "The Elven Hero", but he was still supposed to be careless and wild in this part of the story. Did something change? But my arrival here shouldn't have changed his personality so drastically…'
Neoma was a bit lost in thought after Kyros had placed his hand on his shoulder and said those words. This made him a bit late with his response.
"Thank You, Your Majesty."
The human quickly thanked the king of Aekodora once his mind was brought back to reality. He bowed his head only slightly, since he was unable to properly do so due to Kyros holding his hand on his shoulder.
Kyros let go of Neoma and looked around the ballroom. He saw that all of the guests had arrived, including the most troublesome one – Fachnan.
Once the mentor and his student finished greeting and thanking the king for the invitation, they went to quickly introduce themselves to the rest of the guests until Kyros announces the beginning of the gathering.
However, before they could decide who they both wished to greet first, Fachnan, one of the seven administrators of the kingdom of Aekodora, had approached the elf and the human first.
"Greetings. You must be Juno and that human who beat my son."
Fachnan, an elf with long dark red hair and brown eyes, spoke as his eyes were mainly fixed on Neoma. He looked him up and down, not even calling the human by his name as he greeted the duo. There was no hint of kindness and friendliness in his tone.