JUST AS Senara had said, the castle was alive tonight.

Men and women from neighboring kingdoms, as well as our own Kingdom, had bright smiles on their faces. Though there were only a few genuine smiles. Looking out into the crowd I could tell which ones were fake.

Their meaningless chatter filled the room like water. I could barely hear myself think.

I stayed positioned at my self-designated post. I could easily see the ballroom as a whole. Every member of the royal family was in my sights, as well as the exits. If there was an ounce of suspicion, I would be able to see it.

"Aislin! Hello Darling!" The Queen beamed as she waved at me. The dark chestnut skin of the Queen glistened like oiled flower petals. The dark green gown hugged her form tightly, and the hourglass shape enhanced her appearance. The gold crown was placed on her head, and the curls of her hair bounced with each step she took toward me. She embraced me in a hug.

I pulled back with a smile, "Hello my queen, how may I help you?"

She smiled, "I wanted to introduce you to some friends of mine." She gestured to the two large figures behind her. "This is Tyrone. He's the Duke of Ecrin."

Ecrin..? Isn't that the same Kingdom the King was visiting before his disappearance?

"Hello there." The older man behind her said. I raised my eyes to the guy. His dirty blonde hair sat on top of his head, and his grey-ish blue eyes pierced mine, but it was the deep scar that ran down his face that caught my attention. From his left eye to the bottom right corner of his face, it reached. Seeing this brought a nostalgic feeling. How do I know this man?

A smirk was laced in his expression and he brought the gold cup of wine to his lips.

He reached his hand out for mine and I shook it. The queen then gestured to the blonde woman next to him, "This is Caitlin, Tyrone's wife."

"Hello, child." She smirked holding her arms out for me. I welcomed her small embrace tensely then pulled away and slightly bowed my head in respect. "Hello. It's nice to meet you all. My name is Aislin."

"You as well." Tyrone smiled slyly.

"You are such a beautiful young woman," Caitlin said in a state of wonder. "I mean, you have striking features. You look like someone I know. Honey doesn't she look like one of our guards at the palace. What was his name? It started with a Z-"

"Aria!" I voice yelled for the queen. She turned around and lit up at the woman calling her name.

The queen turned back to us and smiled, "I am very sorry to leave but I am being called."

"Oh, I'll come with you!" Caitlin beamed. The Queen turned her back to us and excused herself from the group, followed by Caitlin.

"Are you alright?" Tyrone asked me with a raised eyebrow, "I noticed you earlier all by yourself, you seemed like you could use some company."

I hummed looking back to the crowd, making sure everything was still in line, "Thank you for your concern but I am okay on my own."

I felt the vibrations from his deep chuckle, "Alright, well then answer me this, what is it you looking for?" I looked back at the man with a guarded expression which caused him to laugh again and raise his hands in surrender, "Only someone with an alert expression like that would be looking for something or someone."

My gut suddenly pulled together and warning signs were going off in my brain. Who was this man?

I clenched my jaw, "I am just doing my job."

He dropped his hands and raised an amused eyebrow. He knew he was annoying me, "Oh? And would a woman like you do that the other twenty men guarding can't?"

At this, my anger rose, "What do you mean by that?"

He shrugged, his smirk growing. He raised the glass to his lips again and looked at me through his lashes, "Well it just that, don't you think a woman like you should be somewhere else? Perhaps the kitchen?"

My nostrils flared and my fingers twitched from my daggers at my rising anger. Whoever this man was, it didn't matter anymore. He had insulted me, that was the end of that.

With a scoff, I replied, "Does the lion apologize to the sheep for being at the top of the food chain? No. They accept their role and have a feast." I took an intimidating step towards the man, my glare hardening, "I suggest you recognize which one of us is the sheep versus the lion in this situation."

His gaze never faltered nor did his smirk. He was unaffected by my threat. His laughter filled my ears, "Yes, and I suggest you do the same, Aislin." With that, the man walked away leaving me raging in anger.

I forced my gaze back to the ballroom and away from his moving form. As I stood there, I felt it. That weird burning coursing through my veins. Except for this time, it was stronger. I clenched my fists together and set my jaw, feeling that bubbling fury in my gut that threatened to erupt out of me.

"You okay?"

I turned around to see Leland standing there, a concerned look on his face. His hands behind his back, his white coat lining the shaping of his body, gold buttons lining the inner vest, and cuffs of his white jacket, he stood next to me. As he walked next to me, his tight white pants hugged his legs and his knee-length boots clicked.

I shrugged, "I'm fine."

"I don't believe you." He said raising an eyebrow.

"You don't have to."

He shifted his gaze to the left, past me. I followed his eyes across the room to see the guy who had just interacted with me with the same nasty smirk on his face. As I turned away from him and surveyed the ballroom once more, a growl rumbled in my throat. The royal family was still visible.

Leland let out an unamused chuckle, "What did he do to tick you off?"

I scoffed feeling my face heat up, "Scarface over there insulted me. Do you know what angers me the most? It's when men and women assume that because I am a female, I cant do what men can. Only men can be strong, only men have good enough muscles, Men need to be working while women stay at home tending to them and their family like maids. It's stupid. I don't understand."

"We both know that isn't true, Aislin." He shifts closer to me as our eyes meet. "There is a reason why the men couldn't handle this themselves. A reason why you are here to help us. It doesn't matter what they say. You know what you are here for, and you know what you are capable of."

"Yes, I know," I sighed, "But you don't see me going around and judging everyone based on their gender."

"People around here are just..." he hesitates for a moment, thinking of the right word to say. "...different. They are scared, afraid of change. And when a strong woman like you comes in, it intimidates them. They can't overpower you, so they try to belittle you, rile you up."

I looked back around the ballroom then bac at Leland, his emerald eyes burning into mine, "Honestly, I should stop being so surprised. I am used to this treatment." Humorless laughter bubbled out of me.

"But you shouldn't be." He places an arm on my shoulder. "You are so much more than what they say you are. Don't let them get to you."

"You wouldn't understand." I shrugged with a smile that didn't reach my eyes, "You're a man. I have been fighting the same war, the same argument, all my life. No one looks down on you like they do me."

"Aislin..." He slows as if he is unsure of what to say next. "You're right, I don't understand and I probably never will. But I'm here and I'm listening, and will try my best to understand what you are going through."

Words have no true meaning. They are just useless letters put together, but as I looked into Leland's eyes, I believed his useless words. And suddenly they didn't seem so useless. I let a genuine smile slip after I stared into his emerald eyes. "Thank you," I mumbled.

There was a mutual silence between us, our eyes stayed locked. "How did you end up here?" He spoke softly, breaking the eye contact and looking down towards the floor. "I mean, your views seem to be so different than everyone else's here."

I thought about it for a moment. How did I end up here? "A continuum of terrible choices," I answered.

I shook my head and leaned against the hard pillar in the wall behind me and thought about every bad choice I've made. You never really understand how much your choices affect other people until your choices directly affect the people you care about.

He chuckled at my response. "You'd be surprised how often people say that. But I mean, you are so different from everyone else here. Everyone had predetermined thoughts about you, and you took us all by surprise."

"I guess it was just the way I was raised," I hummed, "I'd rather die as I am, as for me, than live as someone you think I should be."

I sighed, "Everyone around us strives to be someone they aren't, they end up forgetting who they originally were."

"Well, it's like they say, the world wasn't created equal." He states as though he's reciting from memory.

"Yes, it was." I scoffed, "Then someone decided they were better."

Leland seemed to be in his thoughts after my reply. What I said was true. It's always hard to accept the brutal truth. And a few seconds of silence, he looked at me, "Are you ready for another war?"

I couldn't help but chuckle, "Same war. It's only the enemy that's different."

After that, there wasn't much we could say. We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments while watching the ballroom continue with life.

The silence between us wasn't suffocating, but rather calming. Though neither of us we speaking, our minds were still loud and noisy. We were talking but not with words. Often, to help you think, silence is what you need.

I looked around the ballroom and froze at the sight of a blonde head coming towards us. Her bright smile immediately lifted my spirit. I felt myself relax, and my first genuine smile since coming here break out on my face.

"Elowen!" I said gleefully. She continued her way to me and wrapped me in her arms. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her with all my might. Her bubbly laughter erupted from her chest and she returned the strength in the hug I was giving.

I released her and smiled at her, "You're here! Why?!"

"Well, my parents invited me to come. I figured you were probably going to be here so I came." She explained, "How have you been? I've been worried."

"You're parents are here? I can't wait to meet them finally!" I then shook my head teasingly, "You don't have to worry about me."

"You can't tell me to stop worrying about you when all you do is get yourself into dangerous situations." She chuckled.

I shrugged, "It's part of the job."

"I can see." She laughed. Elowen turned her head to the side and looked over my shoulder at Leland.

"Hello." She greeted, bowing her head.

"Hello, Miss." He greeted.

"Elowen, this is Commander Leland," I introduced, "Leland, this is my best friend Elowen."

"It's nice to meet you, commander." Elowen smiled. She then looked at me with her eyebrow going up and down and her eyes going from me to him. I felt myself redden before I could stop it, which caused her smile to grow.

"You as well, Elowen." He politely smiled back.

I am suddenly painfully aware of the loud music surrounding us, and it seems Leland noticed too. His eyes gazed around at the people dancing before landing back on me. "Care to dance?" He raised an eyebrow as he leaned his hand out for me to grab.

I shook my head with a laugh, "Oh no! I can't dance! I have two left feet."

"Well, then I guess today is the day you learn." He grinned as he took a hold of my hand.

I looked at Elowen who began pushing us to the dance floor, "Take her!"

I went to object but stopped when Leland pulled me closer to him.

××××××××××××

Author Note!

Hi Cuties, Mickey Here!

CHAPTER Nineteen!! Thank you to my friends who helped me write thisss!

Thoughts >

Predictions >

Feelings >

Random >

How is your day today? Was it bad? Good? In between?

QOTD: What's your Favorite and least favorite color(s)?

I LOVE BLUE, BLACK, RED AND PURPLE.

I hate pink. i cant even wear it..

AND BEFORE YOU GO ON AND ON, yes i know black is a shadeee. okay honey, no it aint.

Okay because if that was true then every other color would e a shade too. light yellow is a shade of normal yellow. okay, grey is a shadeee of black.

~The Queen and Lelands fits~