“Oh, we look HOT!” Reysha declared.
Part of their preparations was a new set of clothes for the occasion. They had a few fine dresses, but nothing in the style of the Sleeping Empire. The three dresses and one suit had cost them 20 Platin. The results were so stunning that not even Korith found it in her to complain about this price.
The tailor had done excellent work on the colour coordination. Reysha wore red and black satin, covering her athletic hourglass with alluring tightness. A skilled interplay of wire and taut tailoring let the dress stay put despite the lack of collar or shoulders. Her skirt was short, extrely so. A gap of chocolate thigh was marked by black straps that connected to equally dark thigh-highs, ending in bright red high heels.
Aclysia wore blue and white, shaped into a considerably more modest dress. The cloth was thicker and covered more, closing around her neck at the top and cascading in a long skirt at the bottom. Still, she was not without her own gratifying displays. A long side slit opened her skirt to a view of a single alluring thigh in all of this pale thickness. The back of her dress was open to let her fuzzy wings fall behind her like a cape.
Korith wore green and gold, struggling to contain her curves. The tailor had just given up trying to make her look modest, a task near impossible when the dium was this compact and lusciously endowed. Her tits were on full display, frad by the gold trim of her dress. A pelvic curtain covered the necessary bits at the front, the back similarly draping over the roundness of her derriere. Everything else was naked, tan skin. Rather than shoes, she had been given ankle bracelets to decorate her clawed feet.
Apexus wrote black, white and gold, all the secondary colours of his won. Originally the tailor had attempted to stick him in a layered suit, but the Monk had been too uncomfortable and the amount of cloth needed to cover his enormous fra had been deed too expensive.
Instead, he wore a simple shirt of white satin, and above it, a flowing, gold-trimd, black coat. By his personal request. His pants were left relatively loose. Though it was a violation of standard fashion, he was also barefoot. According to the castellan, it would be an ‘amusing oddity’, acceptable for an adventurer.
The entirety of the ballroom agreed with Reysha’s assessnt.
“The guests of honour – the Inevitable party, slayers of the Blizzard Drake! Apexus, Reysha, Aclysia and Korith!” The herald’s voice accompanied them as they stepped out of the side chamber.
There were over two hundred people in attendance, coming in from all corners of the Leaf. Young nobles, eager to get their chance at networking, mingled with the seasoned ntors that stayed on this world in perpetuity. To teach the upcoming elite about dealing with powerful adventurers was a rare opportunity.
Like the people, the room was opulent. The Sleeping Empire had a preference for shades of blue and this castle had been built in the gothic style. Polished black stone and plaster were used alongside the various blue hues to create a room that evoked a feeling of midnight. The rounded ceiling was painted with a fresco of prominent constellations of the ho world of the Sleeping Empire. Scattered among them were the three overlapping eyes, the symbol of Aranea, Winter Goddess of Dark and Dreams, patron of the royal dynasty.
Rather than joining the crowd imdiately, the quartet walked once around the outer edge of the room. It was a procedure that let everyone see them once, to make sure everyone was aware who they were talking to. This could have also been achieved by having them descend the prominent staircase at the far end of the wall. However, that one was reserved for nobles.
Upon finishing their circle, they were then expected to each pick a corner of the room and walk to it. This was done as an invitation to the locals to speak to the specific guest of honour they were most interested in. Apexus did not much care for this tradition, but he saw its utility.
After they had scattered across the enormous room, their part in the opening ceremony was complete. However, it was not yet ti for them to actually join the crowd. A song played on a distant violin was the signal for all of the nobles in the room to sink to one knee, bowing towards the staircase. Only the quartet, having sworn no fealty to the Sleeping Empire, were allowed to stand.
“His majesty, the viceroy of Yukana, Prince Azureas of the Dreaming Dynasty, 7th in line for the imperial throne, ruler of the Cold Embrace, the Sleephold and Where Fishes Sleep, and your host,” the herald proclaid.
Azureas was an old elf. It was a rarity to be seen. Elves typically stopped ageing visibly in their twenties, slowly advanced into their thirties, and then began to age (relatively) rapidly in the final 50 years of their life. Though deep wrinkles betrayed a life of frowning, he moved with certainty down the stairs all the sa. His clothes were colourful and expensive. The tock-tock-tock of his lacquered walking stick accompanied his steps.
Though he was, without a doubt, the most powerful man in the room, the honour of last arrival was given to soone else. Privileges as the holder of the coveted position were trumped only by the ancient privileges of the local ally.
“The Yuki-Onna of Yukana, honoured daughters of the houses of frost and snow,” the herald announced.
A long list of nas followed as twenty individual won stread down the staircase. They stood out for multiple reasons. With their pale, often blue-hued skin, they contrasted with the dark grey shade that the dark elven nobility typically had. Their hairs ca in few colours, white and blue being most prominent, distantly followed by black. Often, two of those colours were present, one bleeding into the other in a gradient.
Their faces were shaped differently, most prominently the eyes. They had an almond-like shape to them, one Apexus recognised as similar to Aclysia’s. He had not co across many species that shared this trait. He found it quite alluring.
What set them apart the most was the fashion. Rather than the dresses and layered suits of the Sleeping Empire, the Yuki-Onnas wore their traditional clothes – yukatas. Flowing robes, tied by an ornate sash that sat tightly around their waists, covered their feminine fras in a multitude of ways. The length of the skirt varied wildly. So of the won had pulled the overlaying cloth covering the chest tight, others so loosely that their shoulders were entirely bare.
One, in particular, caught Apexus’ eye. A base male instinct drew his gaze to her cleavage. She was more endowed than her kin and displayed this fact clearly. On her blue-hued, pale shoulders were scattered markings of blue snowflakes. The rest of her yukata was conservative. The skirt was long, her sleeves decadently long and loose. Expensive cloth glided over the polished floor with barely a whisper as she took her confident steps.
She had black hair, transitioning to various shades of blue as it flowed. She wore it long and straight. Swept bangs covered one of her blue eyes. The other, clearly displayed, was marked by a black scar, crossing her eyebrow at the top and down her cheek at the bottom. A light, confident smile played on her black lips.
Apexus caught her title among the long list of nas.
“The Lady Yuzuki of the Cracked Lake.”
[Yuzuki AI: scdn.imgchest/files/9f7c5212c9fd.png ]
Their gazes crossed and Apexus felt sothing he hadn’t felt for a new woman in a long ti.
Desire.
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