It felt like the world was going mad around her.
All night Juliette had observed Auradonians and Shadow Realm-ers releasing their inhibitions, and yet her mood had not changed the entire evening. She had snacked, had drank, had attempted to be merry, and yet...
She had been immune to whatever it was that was causing everyone to feel such a sense of lightness.
No, instead she was watching as person after person made their way to the dance floor, moving in ways that she was positive would be frowned upon any other night in Auradon. It was like they didn’t even require music. They were just feeling.
Juliette knew, deep down, that she should be thankful that she wasn’t just feeling. She knew that if she opened herself up, let herself say or do whatever she was thinking in the moment, things would be said that could never be taken back. Since the end of the Grand Fete, she had been hanging on by a thread as she waited for Julien to declare his intentions. He had not. And again, she was back to square one, terrified of the news getting out that she had given herself to two men prior to an eventual engagement and marriage.
Without a filter, she would ruin herself. Left to feel, she could be swallowed up by sorrow.
So instead she plastered on a smile as she carefully approached a group of people who seemed to be in the same boat as her... or, at least, a group that wasn’t as carefree as those surrounding them.
“It looks like we are the ones cursed with an average evening,” she started only once she was within earshot of the group.
But there was still someone in between her and the group, and as she spoke he turned just enough so that his identity was immediately known to her.
The faerie prince. Because of course it would be.
“I didn’t mean-” she immediately jumped in to backtrack. “I’m assuming this is... your party.”
@discnchant
