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"People often do get the wrong impression of me at first," Algernon said, continuing their little 'game', as he so believed it to be. "One second I'm the chief event of some sacrificial ceremony, the next I'm courting Poseidon himself. Don't worry. Things of that sort happen to me all the time. I'm rather used to it by now." It allowed himself a chuckle before turning his eyes to a nearly sincere note on the prince, stopping as if to hold sturdy his next words.

"But truthfully, in all my proclaimed adventures, whether they be fictional or otherwise, I have yet to come across anyone as breath-taking as you," he said, voice lowering several notches, just barely above a whisper. But the wizard knew his part, and knew it well. He was a most brilliant actor. Averting his eyes hastily, as if highly embarassed at being caught in such a trance of words, the 'prince' turned away while clearing his throat.

"Interesting!" Algernon said quickly, running a hand through his shortened hair. "What I meant to say was 'interesting'. Forgive me, I really must learn to tame this silver-tongue of mine. Must be all the magical energies in the air here. Making me a bit light-headed, if you will. Are you feeling anything similar or is it just me being affected?" All was said in a nearly one-breathed, jumbled mess of nervous words.

Jack smiled and nodded in acknowledgment. "Yeah. I guess I'll try asking hims nicely...if he does catch me." he said with a laugh. "I'd rather not speak with him. He's too sensitive and easy to piss off."

[[I'd say it's steel by the looks of it in the picture. I'd rather go by that.]]

Jack giggled lightly. "I know that much already." he said. "I could tell by his reaction to you earlier that you seem to get in trouble with him often." Jack squeezed Remy's hand gently. It was nice to just sit and hold hands. Perhaps there was actually something special growing between them, and they weren't both just looking for a good time. "Lucky? Do you envy him?" Jack asked Remy, raising an eyebrow. There was a hint of teasing in his voice, though he was actually curious about the subject.

Ryland looked to the crowned molding of the hall's ceiling in disbelief at the prince's claims to court his God, yet the halt in Balthier's steps threw him. Suddenly, Ryland's ability to listen seemed to increase 10-fold the softer Balthier's voice grew. The guised villian brought a visibe flush to the ruby-locked royal's face, who grew tensely at the other's false confession. Despite his usual playful nature, cautious blue hues surveyed the seemingly embarrassed Balthier, judging.

Finally, Ryland seemed to have decided the 'prince' was truthful. His charming disposition in begging forgiveness only strengthened his appeal.

Reaching to tug on the 'prince's' sleeve and pull him toward himself, Ryland grinned at Balthier's fidgety nature. "Mmm... I might be able to tell you better... if you came ... closer."

As Ryland stood so close to this 'Balthier,' this masked evil creature whom he was entirely ignorant of, he found himself overheating.

He felt such a strong attraction to Balthier, it almost felt magnetic.

Ryland was mildly confused by Balthier's response... and even annoyed. Interesting? Here Balthier was, an attractive and successful prince, clearly flirting with Ryland, and perfectly charming in every way. He'd done such a good job up to this point. Then he had to go and ruin the mood with calling the merman 'interesting'... no, it wasn't so much that interesting was a horrible adjective. It was flattering on its own. But Ryland took offense at how he'd replaced something much more flirtatious and flattering as 'breathtaking' with the dull, unattached, scientific word 'interesting.'

"My answer is...Welcome to 'interesting' Exhibit A, a merman prince from Atlantis. He has two legs, and no tail, no gills, no webbed fingers, no trident on his person. Pity shame you can't see him in his true form, for how much more 'interesting' would that be? So 'interesting' it should probably be in a museum, or perhaps a circus. I'm honestly not sure if you're delusional or not, Balthier, but I'd say visit a circus for something interesting. Or look at your tongue. If its silver, that's something interesting that should entertain you for hours."

Following his small rant, the prince took a step back and began heading off in the direction from where they came.

((Haha, yeah, college would be a strain.... if I was in college. xD I still have to finish high school, though.... I'm still dealing with junior year, but I already have premature senioritus! gonk

Anyway, I am SOSO sorry for taking so long to reply! I kept forgetting and school work kept piling up.... gonk ))

Amethyst hues watched as Nic investigated some of the more girlish accessories of the bathroom, a small giggle escaping his lips as Nic accedentally got more than the wiff he had been aiming for, leaving the brunette in a minor sneezing fit. "Hmm, well, then if the ever bold and daring Sir Nicholos is afraid of a simple spritz, I know what to use next when encountered with some dangerous foe or kidnapper," the blond replied, a lightly teasing grin on his lips.

Now that the prince's hair was dry, it was back to its usual look of platinum perfection, each lock shining like a strand of finely woven gold. Nic left and, several moments later, Aurora followed. He made his way to the end of the room where all his closets and dressers and other such clothes-containing acomadations had been placed. He quickly riffled past all the overly garish and girly apparell, picking out the few ambiguous garments that Emily had snuck past Celestine's watch. Happy with his catch, Aurora closed the closet door behind himself. There was a sound of his towel dropping to the floor and then, several moments later, the prince exited the closet, towel in hand. The towel was then placed on a hanger on the outside of the closet door.

"I think Mother got you some new clothes.... they should be over there," Aurora said, gesturing to a wardrobe on the other side of the closet he had just exited.

Algernon believed he had played the 'nervous prince' long enough now. It was time he had his Balthier side step it up a notch. So, the darker-haired boy put up no resistance this time as he was coaxed forward to stand directly in front of the Atlantian prince. Their bodies were scant inches apart. He brought up his other hand to cup the back of Ryland's neck in a strong hand, some of his fingers tangling in his mess of red hair. It was exactly this type of thing he so loved pulling himself out of his castle to do. And it always such a big bonus when his catches were as pretty as this particular prince, and that was quite the rarity.

"I couldn't possibly deny you," Balthier replied, closing the short distance between their two sets of lips. He ran his tongue slowly across Ryland's bottom lip before capturing it between both of his own with a little suckle. The disguised prince believed he tasted a mix of salt water and something.. sweet. A very intoxicating mixture, and something he wanted to taste deeper. And desiring such, the wizard connected their lips fully, his tongue trying to press between the ruby-haired prince's own lips momentarily, almost teasingly.

"Is that to your satisfaction, Prince Ryland?" he whispered coyly against his lips.