"Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't make a fool of yourself if you get too drunk," Max promised with a soft laugh, handing one glass to Audi and taking another for himself, "A few glasses of champagne won't get me drunk, so I'll look out for you." The last thing Max planned to do was get drunk anyway. He wasn't the smartest person when intoxicated, and tended to not think things through, mostly saying and acting on whatever he wanted to do at the moment. He didn't let go of Audi's hand as he sipped at his drink again, more used to the bubbles this time. Once his drink was gone then it would be time to figure out what to do for the rest of the party.
"Aww, my personal bodyguard," Audi giggled, taking a sip of the drink, before downing the entire glass. "That's yummy." He hiccuped, squeezing Max's hand. "What do you want to do now?" He set down the glass and raised their connected hands before twirling himself in a circle. "We can do more dancing if you'd like. Or I can show you around the castle? We didn't go through a lot of rooms the last time. Ooh there's our music room, and our horse stable where my siblings and I keep our horses!" He got more excited the more he talked, gesturing around with his free hand. "Or I could have some more to drink," he suggested, reaching for another full glass of champagne.
It was impossible for Max not to smile as Audi twirled, happy to see that he was having fun..even if he was tipsy. "One more drink, then I'm cutting you off for now so we can go see the rest of the castle," He decided with a smile, finishing the rest of his glass and starting to lead his boyfriend away from the drinks once he had grabbed his glass of champagne, "Plus once you finish your tour, I can finally give you my present." In reality, he would do whatever Audi wanted, even if that meant dancing until he was dizzy and making a fool of himself. As long as he was able to spend time with him, it didn't matter.
"Ooh, a present!" Audi's tone became more childlike, and he leaned over to give Max a kiss on the cheek. "You really didn't have to do that. I'm happy enough just being here with you." His grin melted into a genuine, joyful smile as he looked to Max. He raised their joined hands to kiss his boyfriend's knuckles, and then accepted his third glass of champagne of the night. "Tour time!" Singing those last two words, he tugged Max away from the table and through the crowd of people, doing his best to avoid his mother. Thank the gods that they did, because her nasty attitude would really put a damper on how happy he was feeling. They broke free of the crowd and left the party room. Finally Audi could breathe.
Max laughed lightly as Audi pulled him away from the party, letting him lead, a look of pure happiness on his face. "Lead the way, Prince," He said, squeezing his hand and catching up so they could walk alongside each other. The castle was huge and Max was sure that if he didn't have Audi to show him around, he would be lost within minutes, meaning there was no way he was leaving his side until they had finished the tour.
"Let's go to the music room first!" Audi said happily, swinging their hands and taking a sip of champagne. "I can't play lots of things in there, but it's really big and really pretty! Also there's bound to be no one else in there." He led Max down a maze of hallways and corridors, ones that, if he hadn't grown up in the Castle, would endlessly confuse him and turn him around. They reached a simple wooden door, one that that's normally mistaken for servants quarters or storage. Audi opened it, pulled Max inside, and shut it again. "Wouldn't want anyone to see the open door and get curious," he explained. Then they were able to look around.
Lanterns hung off the walls, and with a flip of a switch Audi lit them. The chandelier burst aflame with light as well, and the entire room was filled with the brightness. The walls shone in a shimmering golden way that looked more like real gold than paint, even though it was. Instruments of every category stood on stands around room, too many to count without getting bored.
After gazing around a moment, (even after seeing it very regularly, the room still amazed him), Audi turned to Max, awaiting his reaction.
Like Max had guessed, he was confused the entire time Audi lead the way, not even attempting to memorize the route. He just smiled and went along instead, studying the halls with interest. Even when he was pulled into the music room, he was confused, until the lights were flicked on and he was staring at one of the most interesting rooms he had seen in forever. "Wow…this place is amazing," He said quietly, in awe at the sheer number of instruments with the largest smile on his face, "Every instrument that has ever existed must exist in this room." There were only a few that he recognized though, and so Max turned to his boyfriend, motioning around, "Why would a place this amazing be hiding behind an unrecognizable wooden door?"
"Oh, there's a a bigger, fancier door on the other side of the room." He pointed, and sure enough, there was. It was still wood, but a dark polished oak almost the same height as the room. "That's for when my parents want to show all this stuff off. The door we used was for when we want to come in here without other people noticing. For privacy and such. My siblings and I usually use it when we want to be in here when our parents have told us to be someplace else. I'm not sure they even remember it's here." He pulled Max in the center of the room, and the small door they came through seemingly disappeared. "There's not every single instrument ever in here, but my father likes to collect them, so we have more than most people. My brother knows how to play most everything in here, he loves music and can pick it up really fast. I just like to sing." Audi picked up a lute and strummed a chord. "Cali has taught me a few chords on this, but I don't know much."
(I'm sorry it's so short, I'm swamped in homework right now >-<)
Max wandered over to where Audi was, smiling happily, "I'm not the best at playing instruments, but I know how to play some melodies on that if you want to sing." He and Liam had gone through a phase when they were younger, trying to outdo each other in how much they could learn to play, and even the few songs Max had learned still stuck with him. "I would love to hear you sing..if you want to that is. You don't have to."
(Totally fine! I completely understand! :))
"Oh, that would be amazing!" Audi exclaimed. "I haven't sung much lately with all these stupid preparations going on, and Cali's so busy nowadays with all the 'learning how to become a proper King' shit that I haven't sung to someone playing in a very long time." A thought crossed his mind and he looked down shyly. "Promise you won't laugh if I mess up or I'm just plain awful? Living your whole life with people constantly trying to please you doesn't give you a very good judgement of how good you actually are at something." His eyes raised to Max's. "Most days I wish I wasn't royalty, because in the town people are actually honest. If they like you or think you're good at something they'll let you know. If they don't like you… well let's just say that you'd know that too," he chuckled.
"I promise on my job as a metalworker that I won't laugh at you," Max said, acting serious until a smile broke back over his face, "You can't be worse than me if you're worried. I'm a terrible singer, Liam can testify." He listened as Audi talked, nodding and understanding what she meant, "People in the town aren't afraid to voice their opinion about anyone, that's for sure. If anything it's thought to be rude not to tell someone what you think of them." As the pair talked, Max grabbed a lute, strumming it quietly as he got used to the different chords and notes again. "I'm sure you're a wonderful singer, Audi. If your singing is anything like your dancing skills, then you'll be nothing short of amazing."
