[Şmøöţh Śăīłįñğ]

[24]

The purple hedgehog turned the corner, jumping when she saw a familiar magenta hedgehog. He looked down at her sternly, clearly going to berate her.

"Shouldn't you be down at the party?" He asked, not expecting a reply. Aleena spoke anyway. "It's useless, father." She reasoned. "I don't want a husband." His father shook his head. "It's your duty as our only child to have kids and carry on our lineage." She sighed. "I'm still young." She insisted. The older hedgehog, grey in colour, shook his head once more. "You could die at any time, and I'd prefer for you to have an heir before that." The young hedgehog sighed.

She trudged back to the party, her father's hand resting on her shoulder all the way. She dusted off her sea foam green dress and messed around with her fringe. Her father opened the doors to the ballroom, an array of smells, sound and sights flooding Aleena's senses.

A silver hedgehog made his way over to her, dragging along a dark teal hedgehog also. The hedgehog seemed less than thrilled, unlike his silver companion who greeted Aleena warmly. "Hello!" He smiled. Aleena greeted the two back. "I'm Alumin!" The silver hedgehog, named Alumin supposedly, smiled. His green eyes shifted to the taller hedgehog. "And this is Jules." The teal hedgehog gave a lackluster wave.

Aleena instantly recognised the male. He was the crowned Prince of Robotropolis;  renowned for his lack of chivalry and his lack of care for the throne. She often heard her parents condemning his actions upon recieving word of the crimes he had committed. She was in awe of how he was walking as a free man.

"I'm Aleena." She smiled back and curtseyed. "Princess Aleena?" The Silver hedgehog asked. She nodded. "Weird how Jules doesn't recognise you." He joked. Jules merely rolled his eyes, stopping as something appeared to catch his eye. Aleena payed it no mind however. She was more focused on getting to know the two - Alumin seemed nice enough, a good friend or even allie to be sure.

The three eventually sat down at a nearby table. They all seemed to be roughly Aleena's age - late teens or perhaps early twenties. They sat and talked for awhile. Alumin was far more open than Jules; his favourite colour was purple, he was the son of the Keiser however when he becomes Keiser he plans to create a democracy and be the Prime Minister instead. All she really got about Jules was that he wasn't very social, he was mopey and had a short attention span - she found his company quite nice despite this.

After a little more, Jules waved over another hedgehog. He appeared to be a guard - or perhaps one in training. "Reno!" Jules grinned. The hedgehog look away, blushing slightly out of embarrassment seemingly as the other two looked. Jules' seemingly distant, mopey demeanor changed almost mechanically upon noticing the orange hedgehog.

Sheepishly, the small hedgehog sat down with the group, keeping his eyes on the table. "Didn't tell me you'd be here." The teal hedgehog smirked, leaning in closer to the male. Alumin merely waved at the hedgehog "Been awhile, Reno." He smiled. The orange hedgehog nodded in response. "Oh! This is Aleena!" Alumin introduced. The purple hedgehog waved warmly, the guard doing the same however reverting back to staring down at the table immediatley after.

"He isn't much of a talker near new people." Alumin explained. It made sense, he seemed to tense up once he saw Aleena. She practically saw the relief leave his body when their eyes met. She found it ironic; a training knight trusted by the future king is timid and shy - towards a woman of all things.

Jules eventually revealed he had stowed a large bottle of wine for the group. At the time, Aleena was slightly nervous. She had never gone against her father's word and feared the consequences, but she soon warmed up to a glass when she began to feel the night would drag on.

Reno's confidence upped despite his very little dose of wine. He was a sip away from tipsy yet became far more bold. He was telling jokes, recounting old memories and somewhere along the way Aleena ended up on Jules' lap as they recounted old memories from their youth. Aleena sadly couldn't share the memories, but found fun in laughing at them anyway.