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Ahren could only shake his head towards Jolanta, "You're a brave man." He commented before turning on a heel and walking away, "Why do I have the feeling this is coming from my pocket somehow?" He asked ever so quietly under his breath before daring to shoot his ever 'innocent' sister a look. Instead of any reply the Matori girl just smiled and waved her hand to move her brother forward. As they walked through the crowd more and more dancers started to emerge from the ballroom and out into the open air of the gardens. Pressing through them Ahren managed to skirt around as many as possible before holding up a hand, "Hold on and let me go check. Can't really introduce your beau if they're still in the middle of negotiations....which it appears they are doing so." His golden gaze narrowed thoughtfully as he glanced towards a group of older Matori who were keeping to themselves at a table positioned away from the noisier area of the party.

"I suppose that simply means we have to wait a bit longer then." Nadiya pursed her lips in a slight protest as she glanced towards the group, "It would probably not be the smartest idea to just barge in....Papa does get rather upset when I do that." She reached up and twisted a stray curl in her fingers, "Well I for one am not one to just sit around and we have a relationship to uphold!" She announced suddenly as she held out a hand towards Jolanta, "Care to dance, sir? You don't have to worry, I can lead while you just follow~"

Ahren rubbed his forehead in frustration, "I suppose your fun can actually assist in your guise. Just don't get too carried away and please stay close." He shook his head and turned his back to the pair, "I'll go and try to investigate what matters are being discussed."

As the music started to pick up in another song Nadiya turned once more to Jolanta with a swish of her silk skirts, "What do you think? It would really help to pass time and keep up the image for us." She beamed at him, the tips of her finned ears ever so slightly flushed as she held her hand out towards Jolanta, "It'll be fun, promise."

"Well then you're fortunate that I have honed it to the point that I have enough skills for two." Teased Nadiya with a small laugh, "Unfortunately I'm most fond of reels while this music is a bit more...docile." She glanced around the room before shaking her head, "I suppose a few of these people would have a stroke if they heard a good reel during such an elegant event." So they would have to stick with what was currently being played, a waltz.

As Jolanta took her hand Nadiya's smile brightened as she led him towards the ballroom floor. She navigated the two of them through the crowd before stopping so that she could raise his other hand to her waist, "It's simple, all you have to do is hold here and follow my steps. It's mostly side to side with a few steps forward and backward to keep in with the beat." She flushed lightly as she listened to the stringed instruments and the flutes that were accompanied by the occasional ringing of bells, "I'll place my other hand here on your shoulder like this..." She moved her hand as she spoke before raising their clasped hands together, "Then we can keep these hands together while moving with the music..."

Nadiya began to sway ever so slightly to make sure that Jolanta was adjusting, "Now we just move with the music and don't worry if you get confused...just keep your eyes on me and ignore everyone else while I lead." Her amber gaze was brilliant as the melodies for a new waltz began and she started to pull him into the moves of the dance with her. His hands were awfully warm, the thought made her cheeks darken before Nadiya focused more on the music.

They were getting stares, that much she knew, and she was certain that the boy 'fiance option' was out there somewhere still keeping an eye on her along with others. She was just thankful that for this dance she could ignore such pressures while enjoying time with Jolanta. She just hoped that he could keep up! The thought made her lips twitch upwards into a playful smile as she twisted to go along with the rest of the waltzing dancers.

He truly was dancing with her. Nadiya was touched if not a little amused by his efforts to keep pace with her. I suppose being a swordsman helps with the whole graceful appearance. Honestly despite nearly stepping on her feet twice, bumping into another couple once, and some other slight stumbles the Matori was impressed with how well Jolanta was handling dancing. As they slipped into the next song Nadiya could only admire the effort that her family had placed into this event. The ballroom was lovely with the way the evening sunlight flickered colors of amber, rose, and other warm colors through stained glass windows and the reflections made the teal and emerald ornaments hanging throughout the room shine even more so. Whenever the faintest of breezes flickered through the opened doors it brought with it the aroma of flowers followed by just the barest hint of the ocean.

In between the songs there was a brief moment when one could hear more of what was going on around them. And as the music faded into the air Nadiya could close her eyes and for a moment catch drifts of honeyed words whispered between lovers out in the garden as their secret words were carried by that very breeze along with the fragrances of the flowers. Or perhaps that was simply how quickly her mind spun stories to romanticize everything. Yet as to testify to some root of why her imagination had spun loving couples out of thin air the next twist of the dance allowed Nadiya to spot a couple as they clung to each other in a corner of the ballroom. I suppose it's not complete fantasy then after all. She thought as her gaze went back to Jolanta, "Lovers..." She found the word escaping her lips as she leaned into him for part of the dance, "I mean I suppose that's what they think of us now."

It was true that there were eyes on them and Nadiya could only imagine the shocked whispers and the rumors. Not only was there a Yaeli, someone still strange to see in their lands, but he was dancing closely with a Matori. Out of all things to be seen tonight this was the least expected one, "But don't worry about them - just keep your eyes on me." She smiled at him as she squeezed his fingers, "Surely their meeting will be done shortly and I'll not torment you with dancing anymore, Jol." Her amber gaze was bright, her cheeks flushed slightly from dancing as she spoke, "Though you're doing remarkably well for someone who has supposedly never danced before."

Ah, perhaps that was an idea. Nadiya smiled even more as she thought of an idea, "Why not share stories about ourselves or just small things while we dance? It's custom for one to speak to their partner while dancing like this so that they can learn more about each other. It also would probably be wise to know something in case anyone questions us..." She trailed off as she studied Jolanta, "Is that okay? I can start by saying I enjoy the color of grass, any shade of dark green to the brightest of emeralds is my favorite while I enjoy a good reel rather than a waltz. I also am the oldest daughter of my family with Ahren as my older brother and we also have triplets below us and a younger sister who is in the middle....it's quite a huge mess really." She shook her head, loose curls bouncing with her again as she maneuvered them away from another couple and continued moving carefully along with the beat.

"I suppose." Nadiya replied with a slight nod of her head, "I guess I was right though about not having to worry about crossing any lines with you since you appear to be as unbothered as usual." The Matori couldn't resist teasing as it allowed her to indirectly vent out what was starting to worry her, "Is it because mainlanders just don't appeal to you? Or am I just too troublesome to be any temptation?" Was that it though? Did she just seem to strange for him as a Matori that she never need worry about him seeing her as a woman? A frustrating feeling surprisingly...something that she really shouldn't be reflecting upon yet it was hard not to do so when she had seen him as a man from the start. Albeit a grumpy man, but still someone that caught her attention regardless. Not that it matters. So why did she seem to keep thinking about it while they danced? Surely it was just because of how intimate the dances were becoming as the beats slowed and allowed for partners to press close while slowly waltzing through the room.

This is far from being torture, Diya. Ah, gods why did he have to respond like that? Nadiya's gaze widened ever so slightly and her lips parted as if she were about to respond before she closed her mouth again. He was simply being nice that was all! Seriously though this man has gotta watch himself. What happened to Steel Eyes? To grumpy McGee? Amusement made her laugh ever so quietly under her breath, "Keep it up and you'll get into trouble." She found herself saying, "By dancing yourself silly that is. You may not feel it now but your legs will be a bit wobbly in the mornin'." Suuure it was the dancing that she was talking about him getting in trouble with...

Nadiya rose a brow as Jolanta began to speak about himself, "That sounds nice. Your aunt must be a really impressive woman - my family would have had a heart attack if I picked up the sword." She joked lightly, "Though could you imagine me carrying around a sword like the one you have? I think it's actually the same height as me." She grinned playfully before studying him some more, "So why did a swordsman like you come all the way over here? I mean I traveled because I wanted to experience all of the world and wanted to collect stories from all over to help connect others from various backgrounds and places. Surely you have some reason for leaving Yael to come here?" It was a dangerous question, but she was truly curious. Why was Jolanta here out of all places? Not that she was complaining for his presence as she was rather thankful that whatever had chased him from Yael had allowed him to come to Matori where she could stumble into him. Though maybe after this he'll want to head straight back to Yael. She teased quietly as she waited for his response.

"Re-really?" Nadiya blinked at him and actually chuckled, "Not that I look down on it but I'm amuse because mainlanders feared you all as well. When I was younger and Yael had just been discovered people whispered that there were monsters that took your souls while you slept hiding on your island. Or that your glowing eyes made you fearful spirits who could tempt you and daze you into doing dangerous things." She shook her head at the memories, "I didn't believe them as much and even told others that perhaps my star would be from Yael..." A confession that instantly had her cheeks darkening and she coughed to the side, "I mean as a child it was pretty silly of me but I enjoyed spinning tales and so when someplace strange opened up I found myself fascinated by what it could offer..."

She glanced back at him with a bright smile, "I'm glad then so that means you probably don't find me so unappealing after all and hopefully I'm far from being a scary creature for you." Her gaze softened as he revealed that he had picked a fight, "Honestly you were just defending someone so it's nothing to be ashamed of. Gods know that our people pick fights just for someone looking at them crossly, especially those Obans." She wrinkled her nose playfully as she waltzed along now suddenly full of energy.

"So I'll be your only partner from now on?" Replied Nadiya lightly, "I suppose I could deal with that." Her skirts swished beneath her feet as she twisted with him once more, "Why not?" She laughed as he actually attempted to imagine her with a sword, "I think I could make a daring warrior." The Matori couldn't resist joking about it as she jutted out her chin like she was posing as one of those warrior statues, "Still perhaps I'm more suited to creating music and stories."

Her expression fell at the sight of his own tension, "Ah." She wanted to apologize but was afraid it would make things even more tense between them. Surely something had happened which was still haunting him, "Well at least you're here now and I'm happy that you are." She found herself saying as she tugged him along after her away from the ballroom and towards the gardens, "If that meeting is going to take so long then we should just walk about and I can show you some of my favorite places in the garden. Dancing so much makes one dizzy after all."

Nadiya's cheeks darkened as Jolanta questioned her about the 'star' comment, "Ah, well you see..." She began slowly before pausing once more as if to ponder over exactly how to explain the concept to him, "I enjoyed fantasies as a child and so I would nickname certain ideas or people. I always thought my love would be like a shining light so I nicknamed the idea of one a 'star'." The Matori peeked at him through lowered lashes, a rare moment of shyness causing her to avert her gaze, "Obviously it was just me being silly as a child of course so no one should take it to heart considering it was at least eight years since I thought of such nonsense." The island had only been discovered after all and rather than being fearful she had found the new comers fascinating with their strange gazes and lilac hair, "I never saw the Yaeli as monsters and even thought that the Matori at one point could have been in your place considering how different we appear as well. So my logic as a child was if I said maybe my love would be a Yaeli then that would defend them from the rumors..."

She shook her head quickly as her words trailed off and thankfully the dance had ended so that she could take a step back from Jolanta, "It was pretty silly, right?" Nadiya bashfully tucked a stray curl behind a finned ear as she walked away from the ballroom and towards the open air of the gardens, "I mean what is the chances of a Yaeli falling for me?" She smiled towards him, her lips forcing out a soft whisper of laughter, "Anyways that was my confession for the night, maybe later if I'm lucky I'll learn something embarrassing about you so we'll be even."

As they walked through the gardens the sunlight was mere dusk that was lighting the skies with a faint amber swirls tinted by red and pink. The garden had torches staked in it and the flickering lights assisted in lighting the paths that were created by shimmering white and gray stones that were buried in the ground and worn down at the edges by all of the feet that had walked across over the years. Along the way there were trellises that dripped vines of a deep green which bloomed tiny flowers of white and rose. Shells were also inlaid in between the stones of the path to reflect Matori while hedges lining certain paths of the garden allotted for some privacy. It was through those that Nadiya led Jolanta, "My favorite flowers bloom out here and it's also towards the cliffs so you can hear and see the ocean." She reached out a hand for him, "It's dark though so it makes it easy to stumble. Thankfully I have this path memorized in the back of my mind." She grinned towards him before her fingers, something one would expect to be ever so soft yet were calloused from the instruments she practiced so often, reached out and wrapped around his own, "This way."

She led him up the path and then at the top of the gardens, at the highest point, one could see the rising moon in the distance as it rose over the ocean which was still shimmering with the colors of the sunset. Now that they were further away from the ballroom the music was only a faint whisper in the background as the sounds of the ocean drifted across the land instead, "Even if I enjoy travelling I can't lie about how much I love this ocean." She found herself saying as her fingers slowly let go of Jolanta's hand so that she could cross her arms for warmth as she stared over the ocean, "I know this isn't your home, but I hope that you can still see how beautiful Matori can be as well." She mentioned as she turned slightly towards Jolanta, her hair gently lifting behind her as the breeze rustled her skirts and hair as it swished around them both.

It would be a picturesque moment, but what Nadiya didn't realize was that at the same moment others were leaving the ballroom so that they too could follow the same path that the couple had taken...

"Is that so?" Nadiya chuckled, "Seems like in a sense we were opposites even then." The super serious one and the playful spirit, the warrior and the one who tamed with music rather than strength, the reserved and the not so reserved....Nadiya shook her head in amusement at how the list could probably go on and on. Either way at least she knew one thing for certain and that was that Jolanta was not a bad person. Else he wouldn't have put up with half of the things I've dragged him through. Though he could be dense at time. She was surprised by the thought that crossed her mind when he replied about how all Yaeli were taught to be cautious, "I see." Nadiya shook her head as if to clear her own thoughts. How else was he supposed to take her secret? Like a confession? Hah! Like I would ever consider such a thing. I may as well just go find some random wall to fall in love with instead. Not that she was finding herself swayed by Jolanta or anything! That would just be silly. It was all just her getting into character - that was all.

It was a thought that she continued to bounce around in her mind as they walked through the gardens. Jolanta was silent during the walk and yet she couldn't resist peeking at him on occasion as if to see what he was thinking. It was so hard to tell and in part it made her even nervous. After all what a perfect place it was to decide to leave and not turn back. He could ask for his money or decide that the money wasn't enough and wave goodbye before slipping out into the darkness. Though she doubted he would ever do such a thing the fear made her feel a bit queasy on the inside. Surely because she knew that if he left then she would be subjugated to others trying to take his place tonight. That's all.

Her gaze softened before she found herself both laughing with amusement and eyes burning at the same time with his words, "You really are a fool at times, Jol. I mean how could you ignore what's right in front of you like that?" Nadiya shook her head before moving so that she could reach for his hands, "Come take a good moment then while we're here so that you can look at it." The Matori tugged him along so that they could look over the hill and towards the ocean, "You know you really should learn to enjoy the moment more rather than thinking about work or what's trying to eat you all the time." The words just escaped her lips as she smiled towards him, "You know I used to always feel like I was on the run before because I was always trying to keep away from my family since I felt like a disappointment. I was the whimsical child in a family of merchants and artisans who crafted with their hands not with their words or music. In fact, my mother was so against music that I had to play in secret on those cliffs that are further down the beach you see."

She shook her head, "I distracted myself in multiple ways, none of which were good for myself really, but then when I was at my lowest point I realized I just had to embrace what was and to accept that there was my own path. Perhaps it wasn't what my family intended and perhaps it means I'll never be able to be as close to home as I once would have liked, but it's still my path." Nadiya shrugged as she nudged Jolanta, "Short story short I just think sometimes we get wrapped up in what we couldn't have in the past instead of just enjoying the present and working towards a happier future. And if something didn't work out like we thought it would perhaps the gods had something else in mind for us. Maybe you coming to Matori was part of the plan all along and that heart break you felt was so that you could one day stare upon this ocean under the setting sun."

"Look at me rambling on." She flushed lightly as she glanced towards Jolanta, "I hope I didn't over speak, but I'm not good at keeping my mouth closed as you very well know." Beneath the sounds of the crashing waves in the distance there was something else disturbing the quiet - the sound of crunching branches as something drew closer.

Her amber gaze studied Jolanta as he made his confession. She was so thankful that he could admit that there was beauty in the Matori ocean yet her gaze was shimmering with tears at his words. Why couldn't he go home? Why did she feel so saddened by that? Was it because she too had felt the same about not being able to return home no matter what? Or was it that she was worried that should things change...would he take the chance to go home? Not that it was any of her business of course! Still she was being rather sensitive about things, wasn't she? I suppose it's just been a long day. Getting carried away like this was so silly. Nadiya reached up to wipe a hand across her face, "I'm glad." She managed to say as she forced a small smile, "I guess I'm just so touched that you agree to its beauty." One day I'll find out why your past is clouded in mystery and seemingly haunts you so.

Why couldn't she ask now? Was it a bad time? Nadiya bit the inside of her cheek as she took a couple of steps closer towards Jolanta and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, "I'm sorry for whatever happened in the past Jol." She whispered quietly, "I know it may not help whatever happened in the past but you've done a lot of good since I've met you." Nadiya flushed lightly as her fingers curled up on his shoulder before retreating sheepishly to her side, "Admittedly a lot of what you've done has been partly my fault for causing the trouble in the first place but you even fought off a dangerous beast for me and whether you admit to it or not I know that you weren't even caring about coin when you risked yourself." She grinned towards him impishly as she poked at his chest, "You're so much like my brother in that sense. All work and no play because you're too busy dreading one or two mistakes here and there to realize what good you're doing overall."

"You'll regret that perhaps." Teased Nadiya as Jolanta gave her permission to talk more, "Silence will be a rare thing if you allow me to keep going." As she spoke her gaze was dancing with a mix of emotions but had gleaming light from how delighted she was that she had broken through to him, "I'm glad, truly, that you're okay listening to me and that you want to appreciate these simple things. I hope that maybe I could help you to see them more...if you'd like to hang around a bit longer that is." Her cheeks were darkening as she bit her bottom lip thoughtfully and took a step closer pressing all boundaries since she was now only a breath away from his face, "That is if you're not tired of me after this facade I think I may li-"

Her words were cut short as noises finally caught her attention and three Matori men came out from the paths behind the two, "Ouch." Her wannabe fiance grinned as his buddies stood next to him on either side, "It seems that you two were getting rather close out here, weren't you? I would apologize but I think I'd rather just take Nadiya back with me while you can just leave whenever, Yaeli." He glanced towards his friends before motioning for them to move forward, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, friend. And honestly no offense, but really do you think it's fine to stay? You obviously don't fit in or belong next to her like one of us would instead."

"You!" Nadiya clenched her fists as she took a step away from Jolanta, "All three of you can get out of here now since I'm quite content where I am and last time I checked I expressed that I was not interested in anyone other than Jol." Her cheeks flushed as she stared them down but it seemed that they weren't quite keen on the idea of her not coming with them since two of the boys were already moving forward with Eriln behind.

"Not going willingly? Then we'll just have to see about beating some sense into you through your Yaeli." That stated the man quickly moved and swung a fist towards Jolanta.

"Hey!" Nadiya moved forward as if to intercept but was tugged back by Eriln who wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, "Let go!"