Trial Two~Bonds317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfThR2hQTF7
Sin panicked and made the flames disappear along with his whip. He flew down to meet his mother, ducking his head in a guilty manner.
"I'm sorry mom I got carried away!"
Nikiro followed him down. Glancing at Sin, his brows knit in confusion. "Hold on. You didn't say anything about us not being able to battle here. Zur-sin, at least lead me to a proper place to fight before you actually engage in combat. Be a little more sensitive with the people around you, yeah?"
Illya sighed, rubbing her temples. "It's not that you aren't allowed to spar here. It's that this one gets far too carried away sometimes and I can't be constantly repairing things that shouldn't need repairing!"
Luckily for Sin, Illya hadn't seen the half smashed balcony that he had fallen into earlier. While Tekina checked on her son, Sin apologized once more and was led away by Illya.
"I have something important to discuss with Sin so I'm afraid I'll have to leave you two."
Tekina nodded understandingly. "It's fine. We can chat when you aren't busy."
Illya smiled and walked away with Sin.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Tobi and Astrid had returned later that evening. On their way back into the palace, they ran into Hayate.
"Hayate! Perfect timing! Can you take me to see mama? She's not busy, is she? I have something to speak with her about."
Hayate nodded. "Of course Princess. Follow me."
Astrid pulled Tobi along as they were escorted to the throne room. When they entered Illya was already speaking with Sin. Sin looked at her worriedly.
"Mama? What's wrong?" Asked Astrid as she walked up to the pair.
Illya stopped and turned to face her. "Astrid! We were just talking about you. Listen mama was just thinking, you're getting older and I know you're at that age when you start noticing boys and you've always been a social butterfly, I just—"
"Mama! That's exactly why I came here to speak with you! I've decided to marry Cheng," she declared confidently.
Illya froze. "What! No! Astrid think about this seriously you're -"
"I am thinking seriously mama! Why are you so worried about this issue all of sudden?"
Sin looked at his mother and sighed. "Astrid what she's trying to say is that you're only sixteen. You don't need to get married right now."
"Why not? Mama was getting sent off to suitors at younger ages than me!"
"Those were different times Astrid. I never wanted to have my future sold off like that and it's the last thing I want for you guys. What I'm trying to say is that seeing as how you've expressed an interest in finding a partner I've come up with the idea to let you hold a ball. I had many of these when I was younger. You can dance and enjoy the evening without the added stress of finding a partner. Just enjoy yourself and—"
"But wouldn't an alliance with the summer Isle be beneficial to us?"
Illya paused and looked at her daughter. "Astrid. Let me ask you something. Are you in love with Cheng? And I don't mean do you find him handsome or do you think he treats you well. I'm asking are you in love with him."
Astrid frowned. "I...don't...I...." she trailed off.
Illya closed her eyes and sighed. "Exactly. You don't know. I don't think you've experienced enough of life to even fully comprehend what being in love means. You shouldn't marry someone because you want to benefit from them. You should marry for love. You aren't going to find what love means to you unless you stop trying so hard to find it and just do things that make you happy. When I was young the last thing I wanted to do was get married. The pressure everyone put on me drove me wild and I started rebelling by finding many different lovers that didn't at all match the criteria for the man I was supposed to marry.
By no means am I saying to do that. It was far too dangerous and the people I picked up with were very powerful people that could have ruined me at any given moment. I'm saying that I don't want you to drive yourself crazy like I did. So why don't you think about our suggestion of having the ball? It'll give you a chance to socialize more and make an informed decision once you get a feel for what you like and don't like. You should enjoy your youth sea star!"
Illya smiled pleadingly at Astrid. Astrid hung her head and thought for a moment. She could never argue with her mother's logic. Perhaps she was jumping into things a little too fast.
"Alright...we'll have the ball," she said in defeat.
Both Illya and Sin breathed a sigh of relief. Fantastic! I was just talking to Sin about it. I want him to organize it. I think it's a perfect opportunity for him to practice building different kinds of management skills!"
Tobi looked at both Astrid and Sin and noticed how apprehensive they were."Why Sin?" He blurted the question that popped into his head.
"Well Ea is already a wonderfully rounded leader, Ri-is prefers to keep to himself when practicing his sorcery and I'm afraid my youngest son likes to do things on his own, so he's hardly ever home. Sin is such a social butterfly but he lacks the discipline of his brothers. Hopefully, this can give him a chance to grow in that area!"
Sin laughed. It looked like a normal response on the surface but he was clearly trying to mask his anxiousness on this task of his. He grabbed Astrid's hand and nodded to Tobi and his mother.
"I'll be sure to do my best! Come Astrid! let's go prepare!"
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
A couple of days later Sin and Astrid found themselves in the courtyard. She knew how to dance, but she seldom danced with men. So Sin took it upon himself to teach her.
"No no! Don't look down at your feet. Look at your partner!"
"But then I'll step on his feet!"
A snicker caught their attention and both of them turned around to see Tobi and Nikiro giggling at the pair. They were sitting on the stairs, watching them struggling and couldn't contain themselves.
"Oh don't mind us! Carry on!" Tobi laughed.
Astrid pouted. "Guuuys! Don't laugh at us!"
"Haha! Sorry, it's just that the two of you look like newborn deers when you're trying to dance with each other," said Nikiro.
Sin let go of Astrid and crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? I'll have you know I'm a fabulous dancer. It's just Astrid who sucks at dancing."
"Hey I can dance too I just don't know how to do it with a partner!"
"Like I said, Astrid sucks at this. If I had a different partner it'd be obvious!" Sin puffed up proudly.
"It's hard to tell when you've been stumbling around like a baby chick for the past twenty minutes," Nikiro said, holding back laughter.
It was Sin's turn to pout as he put his hands on his hips. "What? Think you can do better?"
"Course I can."
"Oh yeah? Prove it then!" Sin said with a grin.
Nikiro stood up and dusted himself off. "Alright then."
Nikiro strode over to Sin and grabbed him. It took Sin by surprise and he began to stammer in confusion. Tobi began playing the music again and Nikiro started to move.
"W-Wait! I didn't mean with me!" Sin naturally began to follow Nikiro's lead.
Nikiro laughed at the flustered prince. "Why not? Isn't it better if you see it up close?"
Sin was rendered speechless. His reddened face said it all and both Astrid and Tobi were getting a real kick out of this. Finally, the resident trickster was getting a taste of his own medicine. They cheered and laughed as Sin did everything in his power to not make eye contact with Nikiro. Nikiro chuckled and spun him around. When Sin stumbled back into him and looked up, something made Nikiro freeze for a moment. Perhaps it was the way his face reddened when he got close, or the way his dark hair fell into his ruby eyes when he looked up at him, maybe even the way he bit his lip in embarrassment. Whatever it was, Nikiro couldn't help but find extremely captivating in that moment.
Sin raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Nikiro was just standing there, staring at him. He waved his hand in front of Nikiro's face.
"Helloooo?"
Nikiro didn't respond and Sin tried to pull away but Nikiro just held him there and didn't let go. Sin laughed.
"What's the matter? You fall in love or something," he joked.
Dramatic "ooooh's" from Astrid and Tobi echoed in the courtyard as they laughed. Nikiro snapped out of it and pushed Sin away.
"You wish," He said, slipping his hand's into his pockets and walking back to the steps.
Sin wrapped his arms around himself. The places where Nikiro touched tingled and Sin found himself feeling a little bit lonely as he watched him walk away. He shook his head and dragged Astrid back on her feet.
"Noooo! I don't wanna!!" She whined.
"Too bad!"
Sin continued his lesson. Every so often he'd lock eyes with Nikiro. Nobody noticed and neither Nikiro or Sin acknowledged it, but the way their heart fluttered whenever they caught each other's gaze was undeniable.317Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIRtfxJUf8
