𝕻𝖔𝖊𝖙𝖊𝖘𝖘 - (Wilbur)

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔

The next day, that evening as they were getting ready, Inka had a maid drying her hair while another did her accessories. Both concluded a nymph didn't need makeup, born naturally with the gift of beauty from the forgiving touch of Aphrodite as she asked Hephaestus to forge their faces all of those years ago. The same way they did for Pandora. The room was filled with pink from the sun setting, Mercury claimed it to be a famous feature of where they were. The pair had plenty of time to communicate, it was almost strange undisturbed since Wilbur would always butt in. They spoke of Wilbur, their pasts - Mercury confessed to having a small interest in who was now his older brother's empress, to say he was surprised, happy for them and jealous, he confessed, was an understatement - and why they were going to the event.

It wasn't anything major, yet the king was famous for his parties he threw once in a while, rivalling those to the "ex-independent kingdom Olympa" as Mercury would put it. Inka had never heard of the place. The king threw parties for a range of reasons, usually not needing one and throwing parties because he was bored. His reputation was below him though. The man was a morbid surprise to most and Inka swore she would be ready for it, Mercury only chuckled and swore he would be by her side when it came reassuringly. Though Inka wasn't sure how reassuring that was. The reason for the event they were attending was to celebrate the partnership of two kingdoms, the king and his good friend - who helped make the building Inka was sitting in.

Once they were done with her hair, and the jewellery: golden cuffs around her ears and in her hair as well as a golden necklace and bangles, it was nice and it jingled when she moved her arms around - she ended up doing that a lot. They put her into the dress Mercury had gotten her that day, off-white with the orange collared bow and a fur-lined neck: frilly at the bottom with an opaque, lacy underlayer of grey to match her frills which reached to her knees.

She did a spin for the two silent but friendly maids to applaud at, and Mercury walked out of the bedroom fixing his bow tie. He looked Inka up and down and grinned, giving her a thumbs up.

"Looking wonderful as always! Let's go through the song once more." He suggested and sat with a guitar he had gotten, it was a quick, three minute warm-up and then, they left. Mercury guided Inka down with a cover so she could make her way down without getting everything wet. And then they were off, making their way into the carriage and going to where the party was. Apparently a venue Mercury suggested was built. As they sat, Inka fiddled with the heels she wore, Mercury let her practise wearing them the day before and though she didn't find it too hard to walk around in them (as she was on her toes a lot when sneaking around the woods) she still found them cramping and uncomfortable. She still wore them, she wasn't being pressured to, Mercury was too conscious of how she felt to force her, but she still wore them. A test of resilience, as well as a good way to flatter her height.

They eventually made it to the venue, which had no roof oddly enough; many people were there and the place looked fantastic, she looked around wondrously at the place, and so many larger buildings in the kingdom of parties compared to where Inka had lived her whole life. Mercury did warn however that after formalities and his performance, he would be getting drunk. Inka had only heard of drunk people. Never seen them. They were loud and giggly, almost friendly. Some were sad and others were angry. She didn't exactly mind that Mercury was going to get drunk but she did worry for his dignity in the occurrence that he did humiliate himself while intoxicated.

Walking in, there was a cheer for his arrival and at the amount of people Inka could see, she felt shy. It had been a while since she wanted to put up her hood that never was truly there, she got used to the stares she would get when walking with the royal family and they were so welcoming as it was. The cheer was led by a man, shorter than Mercury but still tall. He had pink, long hair and a basic crown on his head, with a red cloak and slightly pink-tinted skin. He was clearly a king. Inka knew he wasn't normal, no one was born with naturally pink hair, not unless they weren't human; since her hair was such a shade of red that made even the most vibrant of rubies go green with envy. He held up a glass for Mercury along with the woman beside him, wearing matching clothes and a crown similar to his. A gorgeous girl who had the form of a graceful warlord. If that made sense. She was breathtaking, and raised her cup for Mercury who waved at everyone brightly. Inka felt like a shadow beside him. Not that she minded. There was a certain power that lurked behind the couple leading the cheers as music hummed across the venue, they approached Inka with Mercury and greeted themselves, "hello Pwyll! Who's this one beside you?" The pink-haired man asked. Inka waved nonchalantly, not feeling exactly threatened by his power; she felt threatened by power her whole life. But Pwyll was a name she hadn't heard, and still, Mercury responded by taking his hand.