#james.001

For once, he allowed himself to drink. It was New Year’s Eve, and while James was still cautious, still calculating every one of his moves, he was still partying. Drinks were flowing, music was surrounding him, and the man spent most of the time chatting to people, joking around, and just generally relaxing. Before he knew it, it was almost midnight, and people began pairing up- sometimes the oddest of pairings even- and he was left on his own.

That was, at least, until one of the Royals next to him spoke up. “I’m sure you could find someone better for this tradition.” He assured her with a joking smile. “But I don’t mind either way.”

Unabashedly, Rasa looked him up and down, taking in everything she could about the man. Instead of quipping to his words, the Lithuanian drew her shoulders in a shrug. "So could you. Yet, here we are," she gestured around the place. Life happened in little moments, and she might as well try to make the most out of them, for God knew what she had to make up for.

As the crowd feverishly shouted 'one', Rasa captured the man's jaw with a hand. "Happy New Year," she whispered, planting her lips on his for a beat or two before she stepped away. "Now, that didn't hurt, did it?" The princess found herself teasing.

There was so much that James still had to do, so many tasks to go over, and letters to read, but even he was willing to put all of it aside for a few hours. Wandering around, observing all the options, the man eventually settled down to watching one of the few older horror movies, only to come across one of the castle’s residents. “Rose Red? Haven’t heard that in a while.” He had overheard the other’s statement, and it brought a polite smile on his face. “That’d be great, if you don’t mind.”

Hunter shrugged his shoulders and made an ample gesture to the large area of the blanket he could still share. "Suit yourself," he offered. "And, well, Rose Red was already an obscure movie when it came out one hundred and," the Canadian paused as he tried to think about it, realizing he had no idea when the movie was released, only that it had been a long time since it happened. "Well, too many years ago," he sounded a little disappointed over that fact. "It's really a shame. But it's one of those underappreciated gems, for sure."

“Of course, the seat’s free for taking.” James nodded along with a smile, before faking a small gasp. He had seen the movies plenty of times, but he was willing to play along and pretend as if she had just revealed something terrible. “Careful! You might just get kicked out for telling spoilers to everyone around you.” 

Bee offered the man a smile as she settled next to him. "People really came for this," the girl mused, looking over to the crowd that stretched almost as far as the eye could see. Bee snapped her head back in his direction, a wary look upon her face. "Do you think they would do that?! Because, you know, I didn't do it on purpose. It just slipped out. I'm sure they could forgive me for a tiny accident, right?"