The prince breathed a convulsive breath. He's been through four dances - and only the last one has knocked him out of his way. The behavior of the southern king was not worthy of the Tournament, and Charles was sure that his father was already talking to him about it, in his usual soft and compromise manner, but he would not be excluded from participation exactly. I wanted to lie on the floor right here, or better yet, jump off that balcony and stop it all at once, but...
Charles thought it would be Wilson next. The thought of the king of the land of fire made him smile and the prince rose to shake off his clothes. He looked confidently at Hank, breathing deeply and slowly out.
- No way they're gonna take me out of the game, - Charles smiled cunningly as he walked towards the door.
* * *
The Prince of Central Lands was moving quietly and quickly, so no one noticed his return to the hall. Charles was looking for a specific person, inspired by the sudden thought of annoying everyone who thought the prize was already in his pocket. The young Xavier carefully touched the king of the Fiery Lands by the shoulder, and he turned around, and his anxiety on his face was instantly replaced by a half-smile, it seems that he was really worried about the disappearance of the prince. Charles wanted to think that it wasn't just his turn to dance.
- Shall we dance? - He smiled a little embarrassed, breaking the rules, but he didn't have a father around to resent it.
- With pleasure.
King Wade grabbed him by the palm of his hand carefully, his hands were as always tightened in gloves, though Xavier would like to touch his skin, feel how it felt without fear of scars. They went downtown, and this time the guests did not part immediately, because they did not see that the prince was here again, and only the voice of the King of the Fiery Lands attracted the attention of the crowd.
- I invite the prince to a cascarde!
He bowed down a little to Charles, and he smiled back, noticing with his side vision how Houlette was squeezing his glass to the white knuckles, because the young man had escaped from him without listening to his gratitude, and the southern king wanted to look into these huge blue eyes again.
Funny and quite cheerful music filled the hall, Charles and King Wade moved easily and smoothly, then in a small jump getting closer, then diverging again. The prince quickly ran him over, barely touching Wilson's hand with his fingers, and immediately stood across the street again. Xavier smiled widely and openly at the man, and the king smiled back, relaxing a little.
They jumped a little at each step, converging and holding hands for a while to make a few jumps together, turn around and make them in a different direction - and immediately begin to move in a circle without interrupting eye contact. Charles kept his hands down as the dance demanded, although he was eager to touch the king, to mark his attention, because Xavier was still thinking that he was uncomfortable being here because of his constant oblique glances.
The king's counselor watched the dance, squeezing the rosary in his hands so hard that it seemed as if it was about to tear them apart. Shaw suddenly realized that he couldn't take it anymore, and there was only one way: to eliminate the two remaining participants at least for a while. Sebastian quickly found them with his eyes, Stark and Lenscherre were standing close together, and the counselor smiled, quietly approaching the table and pouring some powder from a small bag of two glasses. Sleeping pills, strong enough, should have worked quickly - ideally until the end of the dance. The show went to the guests with glasses, with a polite smile offering to taste the most delicious wine in the Central Lands. He immediately stepped aside, watching from afar, smirking as Stark drank almost all in a volley, looking at the dancing prince. It seems that the young Xavier really attracted everyone's attention in the hall, worthy of a prize for the tournament, of course.
And so, at the end of the dance, King Wade bows down to Charles, thanks to his - and immediately all the attention is drawn to the king of the Western lands, suddenly losing consciousness. It seems that Xavier was the first to be around, not jokingly frightened, but the advisor hastily leaned over the guest, instantly making a conclusion about the change of climate and fatigue.
- He just needs to rest, all right, - Shaw carefully pulled the glass out of King Anthony's fingers, and his courtiers began to move his ruler to his chambers.