A warm gleam had swept across Dacian's face when their eyes had met. Seeing the king smile a little again was oddly refreshing and captivating just the last time. When the king had made his way over to him, he bowed before they shook hands. "It is good to see you again as well, Your Majesty," He nodded. Briefly, he had gazed around the ballroom. "Oh it had been quite marvelous I must say. Thank you for everything. And how have you been, my king?"
Evander nodded a little. "I have been…well, thank you." he replied, inclining his head in acknowledgement. His grey eyes were tired, but calm. He was king, after all. If he wasn't calm as much as possible, then he wouldn't remain king for long. "I trust that you have not run into trouble, working with my advisors?" Evander hadn't had time to arrange a meeting with Dacian yet, and so the ambassador had therefore been working mostly with Evander's council-members.
Dacian could feel his grin fade as he heard the king, and yet he forced himself to hold a warm expression. "Perfect! A strong king makes a strong country after all," He beamed. There is something about His Majesty that alarmed him. How long can one go on in such a miserable state? Only he can assume that it must not be long. The king's question got him out of his thoughts. At first, he just shook his head. "No, I have not had any trouble with them. They are terrific to work with," He responded. "I do apologize for not being able to meet with you yet.
He nodded. "It isn't your fault, no need for apologies. It's my fault, after all. Busy schedule, and all of that." He spoke easily, still calm and collected and assuring. "I do hope to be able to arrange a meeting with you soon, though, as I believe a meeting would be beneficial."
Again, he shook his head. Dacian's hand jerked forward but he paused for a second. His eyes widened. "Oh no, Your Majesty, it is not your fault at all as well. You are very busy and I simply do not wish to burden you, that is all," He said. "I hope as well. I will gladly meet with you whenever you wish, day or night."
He nodded a little. "Of course. I'll check my schedule. Don't worry about it, ambassador Dacian. I'll figure it out." He smiled a little bit again, inclining his head.
Dacian glanced down at the floor as he laughed a little. Staring back at the king, he beamed. "I will do my best to not worry," He reassured. "Although, I feel as if it is something that I cannot help sadly, but all will be well, I hope." His gaze lingered, observing the king and his grin. Another chuckle left from his lips. "I must say, Your Majesty, that you look amazing as always, especially when you smile. With your strength, kindness, and that smile, I believe that your descendants will be just as wonderful as you. Wouldn't you agree?"
Evander paused for a moment, looking at Dacian with a faint amount of confusion in his eyes. "I…suppose I must accept the compliment, yes." he replied, with a small bow. "Though I must say, I haven't any descendants as of right now, and may not have any for a while yet." he had no wish to get married or have children until he figured out a way to stop the monster from coming out.
Are his efforts to stay away from another moment like their first interaction going to waste? Dacian bit the inside of his lip, observing the king's face. Perhaps they are. He laughed again and bowed at the same time as the king did. "Ah, well of course. You are a very busy monarch and you should also look after yourself too," He nodded. "It probably is best to given the current circumstances as well, but I am sure everything will be fine."
Evander let out a small laugh of his own. "Of course, of course. Now, if you'll pardon me, I have others I must speak to. Perhaps we can continue our conversation later, when time allows?" it wasn't really a question, though it was phrased like one. He couldn't let one ambassador take too much of his time right now.
Dacian felt frozen where he stood, listening to the king as he laughed a little. He wondered what his Majesty looked like with a beam or full of laughter. The corners of his lips spread further while his nose scrunched a bit. "Whenever time and fate will allow it, Your Majesty. I do thank you for taking some time to to talk with me now, it is an honor," He said. His eyes took a swift glimpse around at the others before landing back on the king. "Go on and enjoy the rest of the evening, Your Majesty. If you happen to need anything, you know where to find me."
Evander nodded, moving on through the crowd as he carried out small conversations with anyone who wanted to. It was exhausting, sometimes, to be a king. Because everyone wanted time and attention and heaven help him if he was ever rude to anyone. But he wasn't bad at it. Not when he could push the monster away and be just him.
Once the king had walked away, he let out a sigh. Dacian turned his head to the right so he could still look at His Majesty from afar. The gleam in his face faded, yet he maintained a soft smile. He covered his mouth as he coughed a little before walking over to some of the ambassadors. It sounded as if they were in the middle of a conversation, so he just stood besides one of them and listened along.
Evander continued in his same easy, light conversations with various ambassadors and nobility. Aven had come a long way in the last year, but it still had a ways to go, and the shadows of the war wouldn't go away for a long time. Many of the nobles, young or old, bore scars or marks from the wars. Many of the young men had scars running along their faces, or missing limbs, or even just a certain hauntedness to their gaze. A few had eyepatches. One had his head shaved, a gnarled, ugly scar curling over his bare head. Even the women bore marks of their own; missing fingers, scars along cheeks and throats or along arms. They all looked more tired and worn than nobility in other courts; no one had come through the war unscathed. Even Evander had scarring, though much of his was hidden by the clothes he wore.
Dacian began to lose his focus with the group's conversations. His weight shifted to his left foot as he started to observe his surroundings. Compared to what he had seen in Aven's towns and villages, this ball had to be the most vibrant thing he's seen so far. On the other hand, he was able to see that the effects of the war had bleed into every class and background except for some, if not, most of the foreigners such as himself. Just a year ago, he was reading letters and newspapers about it all, not being fully aware of what Farrantil had done. He can recall Avenian ambassador's face every time there was a letter, and he even remembered the day when they all had found that Aven won the war. A chill crept down his spine. There is still so much that he does not know and he is not sure if he will learn anything at all.
The worst part of the war, perhaps, was that Aven had been caught completely unawares. With their pants down, so to speak. They had had a treaty with Farrantil, and so had had little to no guardposts along the shared border. This meant that when the attack came, Farrantil had marched deep into Aven by the time Evander's father had been able to muster the troops enough to give any real resistance. That was why the war had gone on for so long. Evander's father, Theodore, had been killed three years into the war, leaving Evander to lead for the next four.
As a Sceivanian, it was difficult when it came to the war in Aven. Dacian recalled also being worried about the east border with one if their own enemies as tensions began to rise around the time Farrantil invaded Aven. His older brothers and brother-in-laws had to go and protect their own border. Their king was focused on trying to prevent them from facing a fate like their allies all while attempting to secretly send support. Most of his earlier memories about it were foggy since he was only sixteen and could finally read a whole Avenian paper without much trouble. He started to read a lot about the country, getting incredibly fascinated with every page he read, but his heart always sunk at seeing the latest on the war. It felt crushed at hearing about the towns and villages being destroyed or seeing the ambassador grieve. He wondered if his heart is staying afloat or sinking deeper. What is King Evander's heart doing? Floating or sinking?
Evander was doing his best. Whether he was floating or sinking now…well. He was doing his best to stay afloat, but with the monster always clawing for release, it was like trying to swim with bags of bricks tied to his feet. He could stay above the water for a while, but eventually he would slip beneath the surface, exhausted. It was already happening. This ball was his last gasp above water, he could feel it in the way exhaustion pulled at him, the way the beast roamed just beneath his skin, waiting eagerly for his control to slip even for a moment.
So much was floating around in his mind, and it made the ability for his mind to drift away more feasible. Dacian was only able to get back to the present when one of the ambassadors in his little circle laughed. Though he was not sure what was going on, he managed to force a small chuckle. He pulled out a handkerchief his mother had given him, then used it to lightly dab against his forehead. In the corner of his eye, he was able to see the king from afar. To him it was clear that he was struggling, but with what? How is nobody else noticing or are they just ignoring it? The king's words replayed in his mind and yet it only made him feel worse about the while situation. He really wondered he could do, if he was able to in one way or another.
The ball was beginning to start in earnest now, as Evander had spoken to many of the people there already, and the wide expanse of the dance floor was slowly beginning to fill. Evander himself was not yet dancing; who knew if he actually would? Too often, whoever he danced with got the wrong idea and thought of it as akin to a marriage proposal, considering he was a young, handsome, single king, without any sort of engagement at all.
When he realized that the dancing portion was about to begin, Dacian had walked to the side away from the dance floor. While he loves dancing, despite always watching his feet, he really does not have anyone to dance with. He isn't close with anyone yet for him to go and ask. If he were to dance with someone, there would be a good chance that he'd engage in a conversation with them. He isn't sure if many like that or not. Probably not.. Besides, it is quite lovely to just stand back and watch. Thankfully there were others who were doing the same.
Evander stood to the side, quietly conversing with one of his advisors; a short, older man with a thick mustache and short, close-cropped hair. Evander, taller than the man by a full head and shoulders, bent just a little so as to be able to speak with him easier, a calm, placid smile on his face as he spoke.
Dacian could feel the corners of his lips spread further apart as he watched people danced. The mellifluous music filled the air. Beautiful dresses swaying. His eyes lit up as he observed from where he stood. It felt as if he was staring at a moving painting. The scene is just so goregous to him and it made him reminisce about the ones back at home. If only he did have someone to dance with now, that would be even better.
(gonna have someone approach Dacian~)
One of the young noblewomen approached Dacian with a shy smile on her face. "Would you, ah, care to dance, ambassador?" she asked. She had pale brown hair bound back into a bun, and a long, emerald dress. A necklace hung around her neck. The only incongruous part of her was the scar that arched from the left side of her jaw all the way down her neck and along her shoulder.
It was like as if the spirits above were listening to him. He noticed that the noblewoman was walking up to him. She looked beautiful and her dress was lovely as well. At first, he took a glance around the ballroom. When his eyes laid back on the noblewoman, he nodded in response to her question. Dacian held out his right hand and said, "Of course, it would be an honor, my lady."