Simone was near panic at the size of the crowd, but took comfort in Kyler's friendliness. He was much kinder and more forgiving than his brother.
"I'm curious, are you the elder or younger brother?" She asked, walking beside him towards the door.
"The elder, by a little over a year," Kyler smiled warmly at her, "can't you tell by my rugged good looks and obvious maturity?"
Simone giggled, glancing over her shoulder at Shayn's glowering face. It delighted her more to see him so angry.
"Yes, it makes perfect sense," She agreed with a grin. Shayn rolled his eyes.
"May I ask what inspired my brother to show unprecedented wisdom and invite you to our party?" Kyler followed her gaze back to where Shayn walked behind them.
"It wasn't him," She confided. "I've been working with Queen Serafina on the book exchange and the mapping. I've been assigned to help consolidate your work into the library's existing atlases, and–"
"You?" Kyler's eyebrows rose as he looked her up and down. "You're the extremely competent library assistant Riley assigned to work with Shayn for several months?"
Simone ducked her head and blushed under the compliment. "I'm familiar with the process, and have helped one or two of the previous surveyors do so. Anyway, your brother recognized me, and Her Highness was kind enough to extend an invitation to the party. I hope it's not an imposition to have me here."
"I'm delighted you could come," Kyler said graciously.
Simone smiled genuinely at him. How different he was than Shayn! Come to think of it, he hadn't really said a rude word about her from the beginning. He'd even called her beautiful in the tavern, even if she wasn't meant to overhear.
"May I escort you inside?" He asked, offering his elbow while maintaining his grip on his crutch.
"That's very kind of you," Simone replied, resting her hand gently in the crook. She didn't want to upset his balance, but it was nice to be made to feel like she belonged here. Shayn certainly hadn't done a thing to calm her nerves walking into this strange social situation.
She noticed Kyler send a wink over his shoulder at the younger brother, and she wondered at it. Shayn looked more irritated than ever.
Good, let him seethe in his own self-absorbed frustration!
As they entered the grand home, Simone was in awe. She'd never seen the inside of a residence like this! The apprentice dormitories were old and a bit cramped, often with two or more girls to a room in the female area. This was marvelous, and so beautifully decorated!
"How amazing," She whispered, almost not realizing she spoke aloud.
"Riley married into money," Kyler confided.
"The General?" She was unused to such important people being referred to in such informal terms.
"Sure, if you want to call him that. We all call him 'jerk' or 'Hey you!' or 'Stop that!'" Kyler teased. Simone laughed, thoroughly enjoying the knack he had for putting her at ease.
Someone tapped a glass and the music paused. The gathered crowd in a great large ballroom ceased their talking for a moment as a woman raised her voice.
"Will everyone please welcome our guests of honor, Kyler and Shayn! Welcome home!" A beautiful woman announced, and the room broke into applause.
Simone quickly stepped backward so that she wasn't at the center of attention next to the brothers. Shayn gave her a sharp look, which she met with a bewildered shrug. What was she supposed to do?
The clapping subsided, and the murmurs of the crowd resumed as the music did.
"Just ready to abandon Kyler as soon as there's a risk of being seen with him?" Shayn whispered viciously at her.
"What? I didn't want to invade your moment!" Simone protested angrily.
"Ah, the sparks of young love," Kyler grinned, earning a look of censure from his brother and horror from the young lady.
"You want to say that again to my face and give the crowd a fight to entertain them?" Shayn asked.
"Please. You wouldn't attack a crippled war hero in front of a crowd at a party in his honor," Kyler smirked.
"A party in our honor," Shayn corrected.
"The statement stands. I was merely pointing out what our dear relatives will think if you keep staring at each other so intensely," The elder brother advised quietly. "Keep it together unless you want everyone on the case."
Simone watched the interaction silently, taking a prudent step backward and looking around to find someone, anyone else she knew. The only person was Queen Serafina, and while Simone didn't know too much about etiquette, it seemed wrong to approach a royal in a crowded room without explicit invitation to do so.
So, for the time being she would either have to make do talking to the brothers, or strike out on her own and try to make new friends. She didn't know which sounded worse.
Kyler glanced at her, seeming to sense her discomfort.
"I apologize for my rude younger brother. It seems he's forgotten how to treat a beautiful young woman during our years in the wilderness. Since we are already acquainted and Shayn is apparently incapable of being polite for thirty seconds in a row, will you allow me to introduce you around the room?"
Simone blushed lightly at being referred to as beautiful, but quickly became perplexed as she realized that Kyler wasn't looking at her as he spoke, but at Shayn. The younger was glaring back at him, and some sort of silent battle was taking place.
She was completely at sea about the contents of the back and forth, and didn't know whether to answer until it was resolved.
"It would be nice to not be left to my own devices," She admitted. "I'm not used to crowds."
"I'll walk you around, then," Kyler said, taking a few steps with a light grimace. Was he in pain? She wanted to ask, but Shayn would probably accuse her of being nosy or insensitive to Kyler's disability.
"Was it a far distance for you to come here?" She asked, trying a polite roundabout way of broaching the topic.
"It was not a long walk, but of course, the slight chill in the air today does cause me some discomfort," Kyler smiled graciously.
"For the love of all that is holy, Ky, stop it, will you? I'll walk her around," Shayn said with exasperation. "Although, the guilt trips are getting tired. They won't work forever."
"Mother will be glad to hear of your recently-improved manners," Kyler responded with a grin.
"You're as bad as the rest of the family. Just you wait," Shayn said. "You'll regret being this way."
The younger man gestured Simone forward, and she took a few steps, but hesitated, not really knowing what direction to go first. It was a large room, and there were many people waiting to greet the guests of honor.
Kyler moved to a row of ornate chairs arranged along a wall and took a seat, looking genuinely relieved to be off his feet. Simone glanced at Shayn and noticed his eyes were also on his brother.
"Stubborn idiot," He murmured.
"You don't actually have to take me anywhere. I can make an appearance, greet Queen Serafina so that she knows I didn't snub her invitation, and then make my escape." She offered. It did sound like the best possible option.
Shayn looked her up and down, a note of relief coloring his expression. He was as anxious to be rid of her as she was to leave. But his face darkened.
"If I'm suspected to have been anything other than intensely welcoming, I'll never hear the end of it," He shook his head.
"I feel intensely welcomed," She gave him a sarcastic smile. When could she get out of here?
"Shayn!" A girl of about eighteen with long dark hair and large eyes flounced up to him with enthusiasm. She pulled his arm and went onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "I'm so glad you're back!"
"Hello," He smiled.
"Victoria! I'm Victoria!" She pouted slightly.
"Yes, I remember. It hasn't been all that long," Shayn assured her. "How have you been?"
For someone who was supposed to be introducing Simone around, he was certainly doing a good job of ignoring her existence!
"School is almost done. Father is ready for me to pick what to do with my life," The woman said breezily. "But right now, I only want to dance!"
Shayn inclined his head at the hint and offered his arm to Victoria. She took it eagerly and they proceeded to the middle of the ballroom to take up the dance.
Simone stood alone, watching after them and not quite knowing what to do. Shayn hadn't introduced her, hadn't so much as excused himself from her presence to go dance with the pretty young woman. She shrugged with indifference, deciding to be glad she was free of the rude man's presence.
"Don't mind Victoria, she doesn't mean anything by it," A voice said from behind her, causing her face to flame with embarrassment.