Cinder X Bella ~ Thirty-Seven!

- Cinder -

Prince Cinder staggered to the refreshment table, reaching over and snagging a cup of ice-cold punch. Tossing it back in one quick pull, he grabbed another before swaying slightly in exhaustion as he turned to survey the grand ballroom. As he slowly sipped the second drink, he watched as lines of masked dancers swirled around, dancing to the lively tune the musicians were playing. Between the formal wear, the masks, the lowered lighting, and the bright glow coming from the attending chaperones, it was a chaotic kaleidoscope of color and motion.

“Whew… lots going on here,” he muttered to himself, not expecting an answer but receiving one anyway. 

Another guest, a young man, clapped him on the shoulder, Cinder’s mask doing its job by not allowing the person touching him to know who he was. “Isn't this great? By the system, that prince of ours is a celestial-touched hero. I've never had so many beautiful women fighting for the chance to talk to me, let alone dance with me! This may be the best night of my life. So far, if you catch my drift.”

“Yeah, that's one way of looking at it.” Cinder chuckled in reply, taking another sip of his drink before continuing, “On the other hand, if I have to look into another set of wild eyes clearly trying to see through my mask to figure out if I'm the prince or not, I might just have to bow out for the rest of the evening.”

“Good thing there's just a touch of skill applied to these, isn't it? Only way for them to come off is if we take them off ourselves.” The unknown young man shook Cinder slightly, the grip on his shoulder not letting up even a little. “The last dozen in a row tried to pull it off of me, anyway. I extracted a promise of a kiss before showing I wasn't our valiant leader. Again… it's been a fun night.”

Cinder rolled his eyes at the antics of his fellow, sighing inwardly while tugging at the collar of his suit. Though it was his birthday, it was starting to feel as though he were the prize on the inside of a pinata, and his dance partners were simply trying to buffet their way through his colorful wrapper to see what they’d won. 

Even worse than the people who didn't know him were the ladies of high nobility that could pick him out by his posture alone. Out of sheer angst over knowing they weren't in the running for his hand, they’d been sending clearly unacceptable partners over whenever they could manage to do so. He had always been gracious, dancing with them, holding a short conversation, perhaps sharing the hors d'oeuvres making their way around the room.

But there was a reason they were unacceptable. 

Almost all of them completely froze up, barely managing to speak a word out of sheer fear of the difference in their stations. “Dozens of young maidens fair, yet not even one had time to prepare? A barmaid, a milkmaid, a seamstress, a nurse… there's been that, and so much worse.” 

“Hey, that rhymed!” Cinder’s new friend excitedly pointed out. “Do you attend the university? Sounds like you just came up with that, so you've got to be one of the scholars, yes? I heard the royals hired the entire class of male students who were approximately the prince’s age to come and make it harder to find him. Do you like it there?”

“The university is… exemplary. The care, devotion, and coinage the king and queen have poured into it are enough to make my jaw drop to the floor. Truly, they have given the kingdom a wonderful gift.” At that moment, the enormous door from the entry of the palace swung open, drawing Cinder’s attention. “Oh? Is someone new arriving? I can't imagine anyone leaving before we kick them—er… before they are asked to leave.”

As expected, a young woman stepped into the room. She was shimmering softly in the warm glow of the chandeliers, or so he thought, until the door closed and cut off the light from outside the room. In fact, her silver-blue gown was sparkling like the torches of an army on the move, which showed she was one of the wealthier attendees. Over a dozen of the high nobility were wearing dresses with magical threads woven into them, but no matter how many times he saw something similar, it was still an eye-catching design. 

Surprisingly, the makeup she was wearing and the bright yellow gems in her hair complimented her mask perfectly. Cinder frowned at that realization, as no one should have been given advance warning of the masquerade portion of this ball. He was fairly certain no one who had arrived had yet departed, as again, they wanted to be here. “Let's see who you really are…”

The Prince knew all the highborn ladies quite well, having grown up with them, studied with them, been annoyingly courted by them. Activating his Fire Communion skill caused his eyes to light up with a smoldering glow and essentially allowed him to ignore the barrier of the masks, which had been specifically designed to allow him to peer through them. To his astonishment, while he did recognize her, she wasn't one of his peers. “Where have I seen you before…? Ah, that's it! At the Earl's estate. We danced, if I remember correctly.” 

To his astonishment, his skill picked up a faint coating of what seemed to be soot of all things covering her skin and coating her hair. To his eyes, it was no different than if she had just crawled out of a chimney. His skill loved it, and his curiosity was thoroughly piqued. Cinder began walking toward her of his own volition, yet another first of the night.

As he got close to her, the surprises kept coming. The incredibly expensive, elegant magical material of her dress had been used to create a gown with a simple cut, which fit her exceedingly well, but was certainly not the current fashion of the court. What he had taken at a distance to be yellow gems in her hair turned out to be fire lilies, his favorite flower, for obvious reasons. He came to a stop in front of her, just as the young woman stopped looking around the room and admiring its design.

“Well, you've certainly done your homework on the prince.” Cinder chuckled softly at her blatant attempts to appeal to his personal desires. He waited for her to answer, but she merely looked at him in confusion.

“I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean… Signore?” Her tone was polite, but it was clear she didn't want to be having this conversation. “I'm so sorry, I don't mean to be rude; could you direct me to the queen?”

She’d stepped closer so she could be heard without shouting over the cacophony of the area, and the prince found himself surprisingly drawn to her. Something… something about her was very, very different from everyone else he had spoken to over the course of the evening. When he realized what it was, Cinder’s mouth moved before his mind managed to add a filter between his thoughts and his tongue wagging. “Ah, that's what it is! You do not carry the overpowering scent of Eau de Toilette like the rest of them!”

They stood there, staring at each other, for a few seconds before the young woman took a step back and to the side. “Thank you? I… don't worry, I'll ask someone else. I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

Cinder found himself stunned as the girl in the sparkling gown gracefully glided away. After a few moments of cursing himself, he started chasing after her to better explain himself. “Wait! I’ve been churlish. Please, allow me to-”

Then he realized he was practically running after someone who was clearly trying to get away from him, and Cinder paused in place, realizing what this must look like to anyone watching. He stepped to the side, moving at a sedate pace back to the refreshments area, internally groaning and wondering what hole he could burn into the ground to hide himself. “Well, that's the end of that.”

Break over, the musicians of the orchestra got back to work, filling the room with even more sound as those who had stepped away from each other got back out on the floor. Rolling his shoulders, he prepared himself for several more hours of being asked to dance; only to go still—like a hunter spotting a deer in the woods—as the mysterious young lady stepped up to the refreshment table and scooped up a fruit tart, popping it in her mouth before chewing with gusto and clear enjoyment. 

Realizing he might have a second chance to make a first impression, he stepped up and offered his hand. “Pardon me, would you care to dance?” 

There were dozens of other young men who looked exactly like him at the ball, so when she looked up and hesitated, wincing before answering, Cinder had to wonder if she had recognized him or simply had no desire to partake of the night's festivities. Even so, she reluctantly took his hand, and they stepped out onto the floor.

“Careful, this close, I may actually smell terrible. Who knows?” she deadpanned at him, leaving Cinder feeling like he was about to sink through the floor from sheer embarrassment.

“Please, that was very unlike me, it's been a long… long night.” She didn't say anything, but her lips softened slightly at his pleading apology, even curling into a small smile. 

“I can understand that, at least. This has been going on for hours at this point, yes? I'd be surprised if you weren't getting tired. I suppose I can forget our first conversation, if you wouldn't mind helping me find the queen? The king, maybe?”

At the repeated request, Cinder frowned slightly, his mind going back to the horrible night in the not-distant-enough past when an assassin came after his father. “Might I ask… why are you seeking them out so boldly? I'm sure you understand, there are guards preventing anyone from getting too close without a valid reason.”

“Abyss, no, I didn't think of that.” She bit her lower lip quite adorably, and it was only after a moment that Cinder was shocked to realize he had considered it adorable. 

He stepped away immediately.

“I'm sorry, did I step on your feet? I got distracted.” The sheer nervousness with which she asked that question calmed the prince down slightly—no one who was here to strike a blow against the ruler of the kingdom would be overly concerned about his toes. He glanced at her feet, planning to brush off her concerns and find an excuse to leave, only to realize they were clad in perfectly clear crystal.

“No… um. No. You didn't.” Internally wrestling with himself, Cinder couldn't find a reason not to step in and begin to dance once more. “So… could you tell me why you need to meet the queen? Unfortunately, the king isn't feeling well this evening and is not in attendance.”

“Okay… but only if you promise to keep it to yourself.” Her words made Cinder’s mask-concealed eyebrow lift, but he nodded anyway. “You see, I've been unable to make the journey to a Class Shrine, and I was hoping she was feeling generous tonight. I want to advance my class, but even before that-”

“You’re already eighteen? Yet you haven't made it to a Class Shrine?” His question interrupted her thought, and she stuttered to a stop. “Wait, that can't be right. You have to be under twenty years old in order to be considered anything other than a chaperone for the evening, but I just turned eighteen today, and you seem younger than I am.”

As soon as he realized he had all but announced who he was, Cinder’s internal cursing ramped up even higher. He expected her to turn into a quivering puddle of nerves in the next instant, but instead all he received was a brilliant smile. 

“Oh! Congratulations, and happy birthday! Did you get to unlock your Full Class today? What was it like? Is the skill you gained in line with the ones from your other classes? Wait, did you even like the skills from your previous classes? I heard that, if you get your skills to a high enough level, the system will grant you power in such a way that everything works together. Was that your experience, or-” 

Seemingly realizing that he’d been given no chance to respond, she blushed prettily and winced, her nose twitching to the side as she sketched a smile. “Ah… sorry about that, I really like my skills, and I'm hoping to unlock something which will bring them even higher. That's why I wanted to meet the queen; sorry if my excitement killed your fun just now.”

“No! Ahem… that is, no, in fact skill progression is one of my favorite topics,” Cinder admitted, just as he realized they were standing still in the middle of a dance floor. “Come with me, let's talk. I might be able to help you.”

They walked over to one of the small private alcoves, surrounded by silence as soon as they sat down thanks to the muffling magic woven into the drapes around them. Seeing his dance partner look at the cloth excitedly made him change his opinion of her yet again. This was no High Noble masquerading as someone else; this was someone who had truly not experienced the life of those in high society.

“Might I get your name?” he graciously questioned her, in his mind quite conspicuously not offering his own first. “You can call me… Ash.”

“My name is, um, Bella,” she replied uneasily, leaving him to wonder if she had also given him a false name. 

They made polite conversation for a short while, discussing the thrill of advancing their skills and classes. Both of them agreed that there was no better feeling than seeing their personal power increase—something that was inherently theirs, which hadn't been given to them and couldn't be taken from them. The more they spoke, the more Cinder found himself enjoying the conversation. Finally, he offered a piece of information as a small boast, hoping to impress her.

“I actually didn't unlock my Full Class today.” He leaned in and whispered to her, delighting in the way her eyes went wide, and her mouth made a small ‘o’ of surprise. “You see, I have a very powerful Advanced Class, with skills that give me strength beyond even most people who have unlocked their Full Class. My mother says it is due to my lineage being carefully selected and pruned, but in reality, it’s just because I love what I can do so very much.”

“Why wouldn't you unlock your Full Class right away? Wouldn't that just give you more to work with?” When Cinder realized that Bella didn’t instantly grasp why he wouldn't immediately step into the next realm of power, he was left wondering where she’d been educated.

Leaning back slightly, he folded his hands over his lap, a smile with just a hint of smugness added to the mix on his lips. “I'm on the verge of reaching Mastery level nine with my Advanced Skill. There's a good chance I'll earn my Breakthrough Skill in the next couple of years. I'm willing to hold off on advancing my class so that I'll have an incredibly potent skill at my fingertips. It will give me a level of power and an edge no one will be expecting.”

To his surprise, she didn't seem nearly as impressed as he felt she should be. Instead, she seemed to be chewing on something, though he was certain she had finished the fruit tart a while ago.

Finally, she looked up at him and sheepishly let fly her words. “Is a Breakthrough Skill that powerful? Is it useful enough that someone might want to take someone with it on as an apprentice, even if their other skills are Common?”

“Oh, yes.” Cinder nodded knowingly. “Though, I doubt anyone who has a Breakthrough Skill would be someone else's apprentice. No one gets there without years and years of dedicated effort. If I manage to achieve it before I'm twenty-two, the system might even give me bonuses toward the power of my next class. That's what I'm really after.”

“Okay, that sounds awesome.” Once more, Bella hesitated, and when she spoke next Cinder couldn't believe what he was hearing. “Is that something the queen could unlock as well? The system tells me that even though I earned one, I need to touch a Class Shrine to unlock it.”