I sigh as I wander around the celebration in the dining hall, which is full of red, white, and gold. Crowds full of people mingle around and I manage to spot Reine talking to Azuma and Eden, their children hanging around their legs. I notice Eden's beautiful emerald gown and Azuma's black suit with an emerald tie and I can't help but smile at how they seem so perfect for each other. My breath hitches upon looking at Reine in her floor length ruby red dress, the back curving down and the front being held up by two thin straps that tie behind her neck. I make my way over to her and Eden's eyes flicker over to me, a smile of recognition creeping up her face as Azuma and Reine continue to talk. Azuma's eyes flicker over to my figure after noticing Eden's attention drifted away and Reine turns halfway to look at me. Reine smiles softly as I arrive and the royal children run around in circles.

"Carry me! Carry me!" one of the small girls shouts and Azuma laughs as he bends down and picks up the red haired, blue eyed girl.

"I thought you only had two children?" I ask.

"Who told you that?" Eden raises a brow.

"Bridgette and Aidan were talking about them," I shrug.

"We do. This is Hikari," Azuma says, bouncing the girl in his arms once before he turns his attention to the blond haired, green eyed boy running around, "and that's her older brother Axen."

"Then who..." I trail off, watching the third little girl with blonde hair and brown eyes curiously.

"That's Ruki," Eden smiles, "she's Hikari's and Axen's cousin."

"Cousin?" I raise a brow, my mind automatically thinking of Aidan and I'm pretty sure that he doesn't have kids yet-- especially one this old already.

"Azuma has siblings too, you know," Reine chimes in with a chuckle and my lips part in realization.

"Right...I don't know why I didn't think of that," I sigh, laughing awkwardly.

"Probably because I never told you?" Azuma smiles bemusedly, "Eden and I have been talking to Reine for about a half hour, so you're a bit behind. Sorry about that. I have three sisters and two brothers, by the way."

"Sekai!" Bridgette shouts over the crowd as she makes her way over in a silver floor length dress similar to Reine's that shimmers when the lighting from the room hits it, joining the conversation, "you look nice, your highness. As do you, my queen."

"Thank you, Bridgette," Eden smiles fondly and Bridgette nods in appreciation.

"You don't need to call me by my last name, Bridgette," Azuma sighs, "how many times have I told you that? Call me Azuma."

"Sorry...Azuma," Bridgette chuckles before she glances around our small circle, "Reine, Gabriel. Nice to see you both."

"Likewise," Reine smiles.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," I say as I turn to leave before I smirk and lean down to Reine's ear as I do so, "you look very nice, by the way."

I don't miss the way Reine's breath hitches at hearing my words as I start to walk away and I continue smiling, hoping that she realizes I truly meant it. I make my way over to the table that's used for snacks and drinks before the dinner begins and I grab a wine glass as I scan the options on the table. I settle for a foreign sounding drink that looks close enough to a soda, its color being a deep red with hints of deep brown and it reminds me of Cherry Cola. As I turn around, I accidentally run into a blue eyed brunette who rushes passed me and the drink goes flying out of my glass and towards her. My eyes widen in horror and she gasps, but the drink stops midair and becomes captured in a bubble-like substance. I lock eyes with her and we stand there frozen for a few seconds, unsure of what to do or say.

"Sorry..." the girl mutters and bows her head before taking off in another run.

"Hey, wait!" I shout, taking a few steps forward and reaching out for her just as the bubble pops.

I turn back to expect my drink to be splattered all over the floor, or worse, all over someone else, but to my surprise it's entirely gone.

"Weird..." I mutter and shake my head, wondering just who that was.

I turn back around to the table and pour another drink, turning around more cautiously this time before leaning against the table and taking a sip from my glass. As I'm drinking some of the strangely good tasting substance, Kaltrina slides up to me in a strapless, blue, mermaid cut gown that has white ruffles starting from an upside-down "v" at the waist and has sparkles and clear jewels by the top.

"How's it going?" she asks and I shrug as I swallow the current mouthful of my drink that I have.

"Pretty good, you?" I ask.

"Alright," she sighs, her eyes scanning the crowd, "big crowds aren't really my thing and I saw you standing over here, so I figure hey, why not? Plus, how could I not come over here to tease you about your little run-in."

"You saw that?" my eyes widen.

"Yup," Kaltrina chuckles, "it was priceless."

"Great," I sigh, dread filling me, "I wonder how many other people I looked like a fool in front of."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Kaltrina says, "who cares what people think anyway."

"Yeah," I agree and share a small smile with her as we glance over at each other and lock gazes, "hey...Kaltrina? Did you happen to see anything...else?"

"Anything else?" she raises a brow, "what are you talking about?"

"Like, that girl...she used this weird type of magic. I just assumed she was an Iegashyia, but..."

"But now you think she might be something else?" Kaltrina asks.

"Yeah. I don't know why, but...something tells me there's something about her that isn't normal. Well, normal for around here," I explain, "she seemed in a hurry. It was almost as if she was frightened."

"Who knows?" Kaltrina sighs, "she's probably long gone by now and there's no way you're getting through this crowd and calling the attention of the guards to go find her. This celebration is important to the people. If you really think there's something up with her, we'll check it out ourselves."

"How?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Follow me, lover boy," Kaltrina grins and smacks a hand against my chest hard as she saunters off and I narrow my eyes at her retreating figure, deciding to go with whatever she has in mind and follow her.

I follow Kaltrina through the party and through the empty halls of the royal palace, the sound of the party in the distance as I can still hear the loud boom of the music and people chatting with one another. Kaltrina glances behind her shoulder to make sure I'm still following her before she reaches down and hikes up the sides of her dress, taking off in a jog as she holds the blue and white fabric at her sides. Kaltrina stops near the front doors and glances around quickly before pushing them open as I catch up to her. As we're standing there, I feel a hand on my shoulder and I jolt, my eyes wide as I turn around and Kaltrina does as well.

"Did you really think I'd let you wander off in my palace alone?" Aidan grins and my eyes flicker from him in his black suit and white tie to Aislinn, who's standing behind him with her longsword over her shoulder in her slim white gown.

"We came to help," Aislinn says and Kaltrina nods.

"This way," Kaltrina says and the four of us head outside.

It takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and the multitude of fireflies flying around the palace gardens.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Aidan asks.

"A girl," I say, my eyes still scanning the area.

"Well--" Aidan starts.

"Don't even," I sigh and Aidan chuckles.

"Mh," Aislinn hums and nods towards a shrubbery tree.

My eyes flicker over to where Aislinn nodded and I can faintly make out the outline of a being hiding behind the shrubbery, their hands sticking out as they lean around the shrub. The figure audibly gasps and takes off in a run down the pathway, their shoes clicking against the ground throughout the nighttime.

"Hey, wait!" I shout and begin to chase after them with Kaltrina, Adrian, and Aislinn following after me.

As we get closer, I can definitely make out that it's the girl from earlier. She glances over her shoulder with wide blue eyes and makes a hand gesture towards us before a giant gust of wind hurls towards us and sends us flying backwards as she continues running. Well, sends me flying backwards. Aislinn anticipated it somehow and stood her ground, her dress whipping in the wind as she held her longsword out and Kaltrina caught on to a tree while Aidan flew up before managing to summon his naginata and he dug it in the ground, holding on to it. Me, however, I flew several feet backwards and landed in the middle of the palace courtyard on my back.

"Nice job, Gabriel," I mutter as I climb up, shake myself off, and run towards the others.

As I run up to the others, Aislinn makes a sweeping cut in the air with her longsword and sends a ray of white energy out that forms into a sigil of a circle with a pair of intersecting lines that have sharp arrow-shaped points as it flies towards the girl. The girl turns around once more to check if we're gone and she gasps as the sigil makes contact with her, trapping her in the rune and lifting her off the ground. The rune continues to spin around her as she floats there, unable to escape as she struggles frantically.

"If you're gonna kill me, do it now!" she shouts as we approach and Aislinn furrows her eyebrows.

"We are not--" Aislinn starts.

"Wait a second," Aidan breathes out as his eyes lock on something and he walks forwards, reaching a hand up to the girl who stopped thrashing around as much, but not completely, "you're..."

Aidan brushes a lock of her hair behind her right ear and she glances off to the side defeatedly as his emerald eyes lock on the silver spiral earring that starts as a circular-cut emerald pierced at the cartilage by the top of her ear and winds down in an elven pattern around her ear until it reaches the lobe, where it's pierced through with a dangling golden chain that has an emerald hanging from it in the shape of a tear-drop. Aidan brushes her hair behind her left ear as well to find an earring that matches the other and he takes a step back, his breath hitching.

"What is it?" Kaltrina asks, her eyebrows furrowing.

"She's..." Aidan starts, turning to face us with wide eyes, "she's a relic holder."