𝒜𝒸𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑔𝑒: 𝒯𝒽𝑒 ℳ𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 ℋ𝒾𝓈 ℳ𝒶𝒾𝒹 [Zephyra x Lockdown]

[Zephyra]

┏✧⭒━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━•✶┛
✧ 𝑀𝒾𝑜 ✧
❝𝔓𝔲𝔱𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔬𝔰𝔢𝔰,
𝔓𝔦𝔠𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔲𝔭 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡.❞

Despite Stella's half-hearted reassurances, Mio couldn't hold back the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach that rose up each time she watched Tetsuya sustain another injury. He clashed with the behemoth of a man over and over again, the two of them trading blows like it was nothing. Indeed, she was awestruck getting to watch the prince engage in combat with someone other than herself for the first time. He fought just as valiantly as he had back then, every move he made flowing as naturally as though he'd planned each one beforehand. Forgetting herself, Mio wandered up to the side of the cube encasing them and placed her hands upon the magic wall as she gazed inside, transfixed by the dance of warriors.

"Master!" She called, wincing when the stranger punched him with such force that she could've sworn she felt her own ribs crack as well. She was quick to cover her mouth, however, not wanting to distract him and cause a potentially fatal slip-up. Stella had the right idea — she needed to believe in him, to trust that he could handle himself without her. Tetsuya had beaten her in their own battle, and she knew well of his strength, but it still wasn't enough to stop the concern clouding her head and filling her mind with doubts.

Her worries proved unfounded, thank the stars. Tetsuya turned the tides in a stunning comeback, both onlookers visibly surprised at the storm the prince so effortlessly summoned forth. Even Stella took a few steps forward to get a better look, her green eyes focused intently on the fight. "Damn, is he really going to...?" The ginger murmured, cupping her chin as the battle neared its end. Mio didn't even spare her a glance, so absorbed in witnessing her master's victory that she could only cheer when he successfully won the other's capitulation. "Yes!"

The two men stood and exited their enclosed battlefield to approach their servants. Mio immediately ran up to her master, her golden tail wagging in a show of her excitement and relief at seeing that he was okay, her eyes shining with adoration. Stella, on the other hand, slowly sauntered up behind her, shooting her own master an unamused glance. The two girls couldn't have been more different in the ways that they treated their superiors, contrasting one another like night and day.

Mio looked over to the man known as 'Wolfsbane', a name she did not recognize. The Vanaheim Union, however, was one she was somewhat familiar with. King Roth frequently spoke of conquering other nations, and the Union was one that came up often in his speeches. Timidly, she nodded in greeting, still a bit skeptical of the male due to him attacking Tetsuya and intimidated by his large frame. "It's alright..." Her tone was clipped but polite, her eyes on Stella once more when Vladimir gestured to her.

Immediately, Stella rolled her eyes in response. "Wow, thanks for the introduction." She bit back sarcastically, but she faced the Spardan prince with a more deferential posture. "Likewise. And yes, we had plenty of time to get to know one another while that oaf was fighting you." Mio could've gasped at the way that she was talking about her own prince. The human girl didn't hold back in the slightest, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked from Tetsuya to Vladimir, seemingly none-too-pleased with the latter. Was it acceptable to speak to royalty that way in Vanaheim? Or were the two really just that comfortable with one another? She had a hard time reading social situations, but she hoped that they didn't actually hate each other.

Realizing that they were now being sent away, Mio chewed on her lip anxiously as Stella let out a knowing sigh. "Go figure. I'm not surprised you would get yourself in trouble on our first day, Vlad." Shaking her head, she turned to walk away before glancing over her shoulder at the blonde. "You coming?"

Mio paused to listen to the thoughts that Tetsuya beamed into her head, nodding hesitantly to confirm that she understood them. "... Right. Okay." Was all she replied, her feet pulling her towards the hallway with Stella even as her eyes remained trained on him, his parting wink sending a surge of butterflies into her stomach. She hadn't expected to be separated from him so quickly, and the reality of it deeply unsettled her. It had been a long, long time since she was allowed to roam on her own anywhere. The freedom should have been liberating, but she instead felt stifled, her nerves shot from the realization that she would have to navigate this huge place full of strangers without him. She could run into the fray without a second thought, but socializing with others was too just too frightening, apparently.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and tore her eyes from him at last. Don't hesitate to call for me if you need me, my prince. With that final message, she made her way to the dorms, praying that Tetsuya wouldn't be reprimanded too harshly for his actions.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

​

Some time later, as the ball was set to begin and the prince still had not shown himself, Mio finally gave up waiting around for him. With Mary's guidance, she made her way back to her room to prepare for the upcoming festivities. Stella had told her that students were expected to dress formally for the opening ball, but she emphasized that it was very important for commoners and servants to wear simpler dresses than the princesses and noblewomen. They wanted to be the stars of the show and would not take kindly to having their spotlight stolen away. With that in mind, the beastkin girl opted for a simple black dress she'd found in her new dorm's closet. Somehow, all of these clothes were already in her size, indicating that they'd been prepared for her before she'd even arrived.

The dress was backless and slim, the shape of it hugging her waist and hips as she slid it on and tied the halter ribbon around her neck. She cut a hole in the fabric so that her tail could protrude freely and fixed her braid before taking a look at herself in the full-body mirror across from her. Is this... a bit much? She wondered, blushing lightly as she traced her finger along the hemline where it met the milky white flesh of her thigh, settling an inch or so above her knee. It was certainly less fancy than the other dresses, but she felt a bit exposed, too. For a young woman who was used to wearing a suit of armor as a second skin, she felt practically naked right now.

Nonetheless, she pulled on a pair of black heels and took some time getting used to them before joining the others. She'd never worn them before, but her natural sense of balance helped her adjust to the added height quickly enough. She didn't bother to accessorize or put on any makeup since she wasn't experienced with any of that. For now, this would just have to do.

Mio left her chambers and joined the throng of students making their way to the ballroom. Unfortunately, she didn't see Tetsuya in the crowd, but that didn't stop her from searching restlessly anyway. It wasn't long before she had stepped through the grand doors and found herself in the dance hall, her eyes widening as she was immediately assaulted by bright lights and vivid colors.

╭══• ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ ೋ•✧♡✧•ೋ ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ •══╮

╰══• ೋ•✧๑♡✧•ೋ ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ ೋ•✧♡✧•ೋ ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ ೋ•✧๑♡✧•ೋ•══╯​

Hundreds of students, old and new, were already chatting and laughing together as the evening began. It was hard to even hear herself think over their voices, let alone the orchestra playing tirelessly in the background. Still, the ballroom, awash with color and decorated with floating lights and streamers was a breathtaking sight. Magic crystals suspended in the air above them refracted their multicolored hues across the polished floors, the candles in the chandelier projecting a warm glow that illuminated all in sight. The entire place was practically sparkling, but the people within were determined to shine even brighter than the moon in the skylight above. Noblemen wore suits and robes of the most luxurious make, while the women that clung to their arms adorned dresses of the finest silks. It was easy to tell who was a noble and who was of common birth just based on their outfits alone. Servant girls wore shorter, more plain-looking dresses while princesses and noble daughters flaunted long, colorful gowns with ruffles and expensive jewelry upon their ears and necks. The class disparity was rather obvious, but she supposed that even an establishment such as Alexandrian Academy had to cater to those of high birth.

Uninterested in schmoozing, Mio snuck along the side wall, taking care to avoid bumping into anyone as she headed for the refreshments table. At the very least, she wanted to try to blend in and keep a low profile while waiting for Tetsuya to arrive. With shaking hands, the canine maid grabbed a delicate glass and poured herself some of the sparkling liquid from the first bottle she saw. She sniffed the contents before raising it to her lips and taking a sip, her ears flicking slightly out of curiosity. It was only apple cider.

She took a seat at an empty table near the edge of the room and crossed her legs, her discomfort obvious as she sat there alone and drank the sweet juice idly. As she waited, she couldn't help but tap her nails against her other arm, one of her high-heeled shoes bobbing in the air impatiently as she looked around for any sign of the prince.

Maybe I should go looking for him... Mio thought, her eyes flicking over as she politely turned down a sheepish servant boy who'd come to ask her for a dance. Embarrassingly, she didn't even know how to dance, much less waltz or pirouette as the aristocrats did. With any luck, she wouldn't have to try, either. "Please save me, my prince..." She begged under her breath, wanting nothing more than to escape this party and be alone with him once more.

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