Upon entry to the castle, you had to continuously remind Gabi and Falco to keep walking with their eyes ahead of them. Every so often, they would stop in their paths to look up at a painting or at a stained glass window. Each time you would have to correct them by nudging their shoulders or by placing a hand on their backs to usher them forwards. When the group walked through a long corridor that led to the ballroom, the two teenagers nearly walked into the Queen because they were looking up at a chandelier that made the ceiling shimmer. Regaining their senses after a long glare from you, they both walked as if they could not see anything else around them. With a sigh, you allowed Connie and Levi to trail ahead, smiling at the two of them as they passed by you.
Your shoes tapped against the rug along the tiled floor as you held your hands behind your back and lingered just behind the group. The smell of the castle was so clean, making you close your eyes and slow your pace for a moment. It had been such a long time since you had been inside the palace, let alone the capital. However, those types of memories were not something that you wanted to dwell on today. For once, you felt as though being on this island was not a negative experience. Every time you visited, you always felt as though there was a looming sense of dread that weighs you down. Today, it felt as though you could take in a fresh breath without having to worry about anything. You were unsure of what made you feel such relief, but, whatever it could have been, you were happy that it calmed your conscience.
As you reached the end of the corridor, two men stood beside a large door. At the command of the Queen, their gold and green uniforms moved in unison as they opened the double doors to the front entrance to the ballroom. The second they were open, the sound of music and chatter filled your ears. The entrance had been between two staircases and below a small balcony on the second floor of the room. Upstairs was a small orchestra playing soft songs that flowed down to the mingling and dancing below. As you slowly stepped onto the polished wood flooring and took a long look around you, you mindlessly noted that this room seemed to be a new addition to the castle. Or, at least, had been recently redone.
Once the doors were closed behind you, you paused while fidgeting with your hands in front of you. To your left was a grazing table that extended from one end of the ballroom to the other. On one end was an array of cheeses, meats, vegetables, and small snacks that had been put together. Each little section was marked with a small sign with what the items were in a few different languages. Beautiful purple and pink flowers decorated what would be blank spaces, along with leafy vines that delicately hung off the front to make the table look more full. Towards the opposite end were glasses set up with different beverages. From wines, to whiskey, to water, to juice; there had been too many options for you to even count them all. This end had been more clear, lacking any of the decoration that had littered the snack portion.
On the right of the room, there was a large sheet against the pale blue wall, seemingly covering something up. A thin red rope connected by two pillars prevented people from getting too close to that section of the wall. Hanging from the ceiling in the center of the ballroom was one of the largest chandeliers you had ever seen. It had been fitted with a large light in the center, surrounded by what you could only assume were diamonds. It glowed, sending light glittering down the walls. Directly beneath it, in the middle of the ballroom floor, was a large brown granite pot resting atop a six foot chiseled pillar. Inside was a display of pink, purple, and baby blue flowers. Surrounding it were those similar vines that had been seen on the table. They hung down, though not one of them touched the floor.
"Oh, there you are," a voice almost caused you to gasp in surprise as you looked beside you. It was Jean, wearing a deep red suit, the color looking almost black in the dim lighting you had been standing under. "Thought you guys just weren't going to show up."
CZYTASZ
From the Start (Reiner Braun X Reader)
Fanfiction(Reiner Braun X Genderless Reader) [From the Start - Laufey] Blinking a few times, Jean suddenly realized that he was still in the bar and sitting across from the blonde. He had only been lost in thought for a few minutes, but it felt like forever...
