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Description
If I felt weird in my Laylania costume, I felt like an alien in the scarlet red dress Cleite forced me to wear. The scarlet dress had one strap on the right shoulder and the top of the dress was decorated with shining red gems (which I hoped weren't real gems!). The dress flowed to the floor and had a pretty long slash on the left side which I tried to hide as much as I could while I walked. Not only that, but Cleite forced me wear extremely tall high heels that were also scarlet with white gems on them.

I looked at Cleite and she was wearing a pink gown that was strapless and the end of the dress trailed after her as she walked. Like me, Cleite wore tall high heels.

I wobbled across my room, "Cleite! How the heck do I walk in these things?!" I then shrieked as I fell, luckily, onto the bed.

Laughing Cleite said, "Trust me, you'll get the hang of it. Eventually".

"Eventually isn't soon enough Cleite!" I complained. My feet hurt already and I wanted these death traps off!

Cleite reached out and forced me back on my feet. "It's only for one night Kasai, you'll live".

"But for how long?" I asked, my feet in pain.

"Only a few hours so it won't be too bad," Cleite tried to assure me.

"A few hours? And how long is this banquet going to last anyway?" I asked suspicious. '"Besides eating, what else will we be doing?"

Cleite looked out the window and replied, "Well eating and talking. And maybe dancing if you're interested in that stuff".

I laughed without any humor in it and said, "I can't even walk in these things! How the heck do you expect me to dance?"

"Um magic?" she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Anyway, it's about time we went downstairs to the banquet!" She then grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my room.

We walked into the common room of our apartment and we saw that everyone was already gone.

Giggling, Cleite pondered, "I wonder what everyone else is wearing!"

I looked at the clock and it read 7:24 pm. The banquet started about twenty minutes ago. "Um Cleite?"

"Yea?"

"We're late for the banquet . . ."

She looked at the clock and said, "No worries, it's cool to be fashionably late!" She then winked at me, "We would've been there on time if you weren't so against the outfit".

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Cleite then grabbed my arm and dragged me out of our apartment.

"Cleite! I can walk by myself. Kinda," I said as I pulled out of her grasp.

She just snickered at me as she watched me stumble down the steps. Finally we reached the first floor and Cleite led me to the great hall where we could hear a ton of people talking and laughing.

"Ready?" Cleite asked me.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied as I smoothed my dress.

Cleite gave me a once over and nodded. She then turned around and opened the doors with a flourish. Everyone became silent as they all watched Cleite and I walk down to the banquet. Cleite was strutting down the room as if she owned the place while I stumbled after her awkwardly.

I looked around and saw that everyone was wearing fancy clothes. Rida in his fashion, was wearing an all black tux with a black bow tie with his top hat and cane. Gadalka was wearing an elegant purple dress that had wide sleeves that fell towards the ground. Tanken was wearing a black tux with a red bow tie and he was talking to Wudao who was wearing a simple but elegant yellow dress that had white stones on the bodice. Yan and Kuma were talking to some people I didn't know and they both wore tuxes with ties. Nathair was wandering the room with a snake which kept most people at bay and I was surprised to see that he was wearing a black tux with a green shirt.

Dao met us and said, "Look who finally shows up!" He then gave Cleite a look and pushed her towards Prince Regius. He then turned to me and looked at what I was wearing.

I felt my cheeks heat up.

Dao coughed and said, "Um . . . You look nice".

I quickly glanced at what Dao was wearing: a black tux with a white shirt and a red tie.

"You don't look too bad yourself," I replied awkwardly as I brushed some of my hair back. Yeah, Cleite somehow convinced me to wear my hair down for once too.

I looked over at Cleite and Prince Regius and saw that they were talking to each other. Suddenly, the music changed from being fast paced to a slow song. Awkwardly, Prince Regius asked Cleite something and she nodded in response. They then walked to the dance floor and started to slow dance with each other.

"Aww look at the two love birds!" Dao cooed as he pointed at them.

I laughed and said, "Ha! I knew there was something between them!"

He looked at me and said, "And I told her that it was obvious! But she didn't believe me!"

We then both laughed. Dao suddenly stopped and said, "Um Kasai?"

"Yeah?" I replied confused.

I think it was just the bad lighting, but Dao might've been blushing when he said, "Wanna dance with me?"

I stuttered, "U-Umm sure".

He then led me to the dance floor and put his hands on my waist while I wrapped my hands around his neck. We slowly swayed to the music. I looked everywhere but at Dao. The ceiling, the floor, my feet, the walls.

Thankfully, the slow song finally ended and everyone's attention was on the king who stood up from his seat and said loudly, "Since Laylania has come back from their dangerous exploits, it's time for everyone to have a feast!"

Dao grabbed my arm and led me to the table where the king sat.

"W-We're going to sit with the king?!" I exclaimed.

"Yup. It's a seat of honor you know!"

Once we finally got settled, everyone became quiet. The king sat at the far end of the table with Prince Regius on his right and Rida on his left. On Rida's side sat Gadalka, Yan, Cleite, Tanken and Nathair. On Prince Regius's side sat Kuma, Wudao, Dao, and I.

King Kashikoi stood up and made some speech about how blessed everyone was because of the "Bearers of the Angelic Marks". After some cheering and toasting, the food was finally brought out. Servants came out bearing huge plates of meat, fruit, vegetables, and bread. There was so much food, I thought there would be enough for a few more banquets.

I took a little bit of everything and put it on my plate. I glanced at Dao and saw that he had three times the amount I did. And somehow he was stuffing it all in his mouth in a somewhat cleaner manner than normal. As I took a bite of meat, I was stunned by the amazing flavor.

One look from me and Dao laughed saying, "Told ya the food here was amazing!"

I only mutely nodded and started to stuff my face with more food.

The room was filled with people talking and laughing about trivial things.

As I stuffed my face with food, I looked around me at the splendor and beauty of the room. A giant chandelier hung from the ceiling that had crystals that reflected light everywhere. Everyone was happy and chatting among themselves.

I heard the king talk to Rida. "Rida, you must have everyone perform for us before you go!" He bellowed loudly while patting RIda's back.

"Don't worry, we will Your Majesty," Rida promised.

"Oh before you guys ago again, there is something I must discuss with you later Rida," the king said a lower voice.

Rida only nodded.

I wonder what they are going to discuss. Anyway, Dao and Cleite dragged me into their conversation about what things we need to see before we leave the kingdom.

"Kasai MUST see The Bell!" Cleite exclaimed.

"Oh oh oh! She also needs to visit the market place!" Dao said while stuffing his face with food. I glanced at his plate and it looked like it was his third serving.

"Pffft! You only want to go there so you can oggle the food!" Cleite said jokingly.

"Can't help it! The food is amazing!" Dao replied.

Hearing this, Gadalka said teasingly, "So my cooking isn't good enough for you Dao?"

Blushing he said quickly, "Of course not Gadalka! Your cooking is superb!"

She giggled and said, "That's what I thought you said".

I rolled my eyes and joined in Cleite's and Dao's conversation, "Sure sure. We can go to The Bell and the market".

"See? Kasai knows we gotta go to the market!" Dao said happily.

This time Cleite rolled her eyes, "I think she only said that to make you shut up".

They then got into an argument about whether they should take me to the market or not. I looked around the table and saw that everyone was about done eating (except for Dao of course who was still eating).

King Kashikoi then hit a fork gently on his glass of wine and everyone fell silent. He then stood up and said, "It is a great blessing for our Angelic Bearers to grant us their presence and protection against the demons who seek our destruction!"

Everyone cheered.

After the cheering died away the king continued, "So now let us celebrate their happy return!"

Again everyone cheered and the band started to play music again. As one, everyone stood up and went to the dance floor. I felt someone pull on my arm and saw that Dao had finally finished shoving food into his face and was pulling me towards the dance floor.

The rest of the night was spent dancing and all I can remember is the swirl of colors as the room cpun around me and the all the laughter.

Description
If I felt weird in my Laylania costume, I felt like an alien in the scarlet red dress Cleite forced me to wear. The scarlet dress had one strap on the right shoulder and the top of the dress was decorated with shining red gems (which I hoped weren't real gems!). The dress flowed to the floor and had a pretty long slash on the left side which I tried to hide as much as I could while I walked. Not only that, but Cleite forced me wear extremely tall high heels that were also scarlet with white gems on them.

I looked at Cleite and she was wearing a pink gown that was strapless and the end of the dress trailed after her as she walked. Like me, Cleite wore tall high heels.

I wobbled across my room, "Cleite! How the heck do I walk in these things?!" I then shrieked as I fell, luckily, onto the bed.

Laughing Cleite said, "Trust me, you'll get the hang of it. Eventually".

"Eventually isn't soon enough Cleite!" I complained. My feet hurt already and I wanted these death traps off!

Cleite reached out and forced me back on my feet. "It's only for one night Kasai, you'll live".

"But for how long?" I asked, my feet in pain.

"Only a few hours so it won't be too bad," Cleite tried to assure me.

"A few hours? And how long is this banquet going to last anyway?" I asked suspicious. '"Besides eating, what else will we be doing?"

Cleite looked out the window and replied, "Well eating and talking. And maybe dancing if you're interested in that stuff".

I laughed without any humor in it and said, "I can't even walk in these things! How the heck do you expect me to dance?"

"Um magic?" she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Anyway, it's about time we went downstairs to the banquet!" She then grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my room.

We walked into the common room of our apartment and we saw that everyone was already gone.

Giggling, Cleite pondered, "I wonder what everyone else is wearing!"

I looked at the clock and it read 7:24 pm. The banquet started about twenty minutes ago. "Um Cleite?"

"Yea?"

"We're late for the banquet . . ."

She looked at the clock and said, "No worries, it's cool to be fashionably late!" She then winked at me, "We would've been there on time if you weren't so against the outfit".

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Cleite then grabbed my arm and dragged me out of our apartment.

"Cleite! I can walk by myself. Kinda," I said as I pulled out of her grasp.

She just snickered at me as she watched me stumble down the steps. Finally we reached the first floor and Cleite led me to the great hall where we could hear a ton of people talking and laughing.

"Ready?" Cleite asked me.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied as I smoothed my dress.

Cleite gave me a once over and nodded. She then turned around and opened the doors with a flourish. Everyone became silent as they all watched Cleite and I walk down to the banquet. Cleite was strutting down the room as if she owned the place while I stumbled after her awkwardly.

I looked around and saw that everyone was wearing fancy clothes. Rida in his fashion, was wearing an all black tux with a black bow tie with his top hat and cane. Gadalka was wearing an elegant purple dress that had wide sleeves that fell towards the ground. Tanken was wearing a black tux with a red bow tie and he was talking to Wudao who was wearing a simple but elegant yellow dress that had white stones on the bodice. Yan and Kuma were talking to some people I didn't know and they both wore tuxes with ties. Nathair was wandering the room with a snake which kept most people at bay and I was surprised to see that he was wearing a black tux with a green shirt.

Dao met us and said, "Look who finally shows up!" He then gave Cleite a look and pushed her towards Prince Regius. He then turned to me and looked at what I was wearing.

I felt my cheeks heat up.

Dao coughed and said, "Um . . . You look nice".

I quickly glanced at what Dao was wearing: a black tux with a white shirt and a red tie.

"You don't look too bad yourself," I replied awkwardly as I brushed some of my hair back. Yeah, Cleite somehow convinced me to wear my hair down for once too.

I looked over at Cleite and Prince Regius and saw that they were talking to each other. Suddenly, the music changed from being fast paced to a slow song. Awkwardly, Prince Regius asked Cleite something and she nodded in response. They then walked to the dance floor and started to slow dance with each other.

"Aww look at the two love birds!" Dao cooed as he pointed at them.

I laughed and said, "Ha! I knew there was something between them!"

He looked at me and said, "And I told her that it was obvious! But she didn't believe me!"

We then both laughed. Dao suddenly stopped and said, "Um Kasai?"

"Yeah?" I replied confused.

I think it was just the bad lighting, but Dao might've been blushing when he said, "Wanna dance with me?"

I stuttered, "U-Umm sure".

He then led me to the dance floor and put his hands on my waist while I wrapped my hands around his neck. We slowly swayed to the music. I looked everywhere but at Dao. The ceiling, the floor, my feet, the walls.

Thankfully, the slow song finally ended and everyone's attention was on the king who stood up from his seat and said loudly, "Since Laylania has come back from their dangerous exploits, it's time for everyone to have a feast!"

Dao grabbed my arm and led me to the table where the king sat.

"W-We're going to sit with the king?!" I exclaimed.

"Yup. It's a seat of honor you know!"

Once we finally got settled, everyone became quiet. The king sat at the far end of the table with Prince Regius on his right and Rida on his left. On Rida's side sat Gadalka, Yan, Cleite, Tanken and Nathair. On Prince Regius's side sat Kuma, Wudao, Dao, and I.

King Kashikoi stood up and made some speech about how blessed everyone was because of the "Bearers of the Angelic Marks". After some cheering and toasting, the food was finally brought out. Servants came out bearing huge plates of meat, fruit, vegetables, and bread. There was so much food, I thought there would be enough for a few more banquets.

I took a little bit of everything and put it on my plate. I glanced at Dao and saw that he had three times the amount I did. And somehow he was stuffing it all in his mouth in a somewhat cleaner manner than normal. As I took a bite of meat, I was stunned by the amazing flavor.

One look from me and Dao laughed saying, "Told ya the food here was amazing!"

I only mutely nodded and started to stuff my face with more food.

The room was filled with people talking and laughing about trivial things.

As I stuffed my face with food, I looked around me at the splendor and beauty of the room. A giant chandelier hung from the ceiling that had crystals that reflected light everywhere. Everyone was happy and chatting among themselves.

I heard the king talk to Rida. "Rida, you must have everyone perform for us before you go!" He bellowed loudly while patting RIda's back.

"Don't worry, we will Your Majesty," Rida promised.

"Oh before you guys ago again, there is something I must discuss with you later Rida," the king said a lower voice.

Rida only nodded.

I wonder what they are going to discuss. Anyway, Dao and Cleite dragged me into their conversation about what things we need to see before we leave the kingdom.

"Kasai MUST see The Bell!" Cleite exclaimed.

"Oh oh oh! She also needs to visit the market place!" Dao said while stuffing his face with food. I glanced at his plate and it looked like it was his third serving.

"Pffft! You only want to go there so you can oggle the food!" Cleite said jokingly.

"Can't help it! The food is amazing!" Dao replied.

Hearing this, Gadalka said teasingly, "So my cooking isn't good enough for you Dao?"

Blushing he said quickly, "Of course not Gadalka! Your cooking is superb!"

She giggled and said, "That's what I thought you said".

I rolled my eyes and joined in Cleite's and Dao's conversation, "Sure sure. We can go to The Bell and the market".

"See? Kasai knows we gotta go to the market!" Dao said happily.

This time Cleite rolled her eyes, "I think she only said that to make you shut up".

They then got into an argument about whether they should take me to the market or not. I looked around the table and saw that everyone was about done eating (except for Dao of course who was still eating).

King Kashikoi then hit a fork gently on his glass of wine and everyone fell silent. He then stood up and said, "It is a great blessing for our Angelic Bearers to grant us their presence and protection against the demons who seek our destruction!"

Everyone cheered.

After the cheering died away the king continued, "So now let us celebrate their happy return!"

Again everyone cheered and the band started to play music again. As one, everyone stood up and went to the dance floor. I felt someone pull on my arm and saw that Dao had finally finished shoving food into his face and was pulling me towards the dance floor.

The rest of the night was spent dancing and all I can remember is the swirl of colors as the room cpun around me and the all the laughter.