A Royal encounter

The king was gracious enough to give my companions and i lodgings at a private residence just outside of the city. I was nervous about the upcoming ball and wondered what was the correct way to behave around royalty since i never attended a royal ball before. In my homeland i had revered the elders in our tribe showing them great respect and had attended tribal ceremonies my tribe performed. I was uncertain if my behaviour would be suitable when it came to people of regal standing, plus i figured a tribal ceremony was very different to a royal ball.
 
The next morning i heard a small squad of soliders approaching our residence. Myself, Roza Baze and Arthom went outside and an Aurelian elf in fancy clothing announced that prince Liuni had come to greet us. The prince astride a beautiful steed approcahed, dismounted and then greeted us. I attemped to curtzy at the prince and was glad that i did not trip over myself in the attempt. I let Roza Baze and Arthom do the talking since i was not ready at this stage to practise my social skills with a royal. The prince suggested that we visit a cloth merchant in town to obtain suitable clothing for the royal ball and gave us directions. He then departed with his entourage of soliders.
 
Not long after myself, Ko Rava, Arthom, Syrus, Lucid and Roza Baze headed towards the city centre to find the cloth merchant the prince had mentioned. Suddenly a portal opened above us and Nakah, Gurval and Zyanya fell out. They got to their feet andd told us they had been at Dabh this whole time looking for Velanna. Luckily they were able to find her and she was back at Maya. We then told them all about the arena fights and the invitation to the royal ball. At one point Arthom was picking on Ko Rava saying how much of a child she was. I reminded him that she had gone through a lot on this adventure and had a handled it as well as any adult. I think Ko Rava appreciated what i said because she then grinned at me.
 
We made our way to the clothes merchant's shop and once i saw the many equiste gowns on display doubt started to creep up on me. I had never considered myself poor since the natural resources of the Tire forest were usually enough to sustain me and my tribe. However, as i stood in the clothes shop i began to realise the meager gold i acquired in my lifetime might not be enough. I asked the clothes merchant for a nice gown with the cheapest price. He attempted to sell me higher priced gowns and i could tell he sensed my hesitiaton. He told me his name was Menet and proposed that if i was to take him to the ball as my date, he would give me one of his finest gowns for free. I agreed to the idea, i did not mind having him as a date and had noticed he was quite handsome for an elf.
Gurval then entered the shop with a female aurelian elf. He told me he was taking her to the ball and her name was Lu. He mentioned that he promised her family he would get her a house and I asked if he had unknowlngly agreed to marry her. He disagreed but i still wondered if he had misunderstood what her family asked of him, he seemed to misunderstand a lot of things. Zyanaya then approached with that warrior Zeno from the arena fight. They seemed very cozy with each other and Zeno asked Menet to find Zyana the most amazing gown for the ball because she was so beautiful. It did not surprise me Zyanya picked a date that would brag to people about her beauty.
 
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My nervousness came back as i climbed the palace stairs with Menet on my arm. Even though my companions and i looked quite nice in our fancy clothes, i could not help but worry that i would say something stupid to one of the royals. We entered the ballroom and i was taken aback by the grandeur of the room. Menet then suggested that we dance and lead me to the dancefloor. I attempted to dance in time with the music, which was very different to what i usually danced to back home, but was clusmy in my attempts. Menet did not seem upset at my clumsiness and suggested that i follow his lead. While we danced a servant announced the entrance of King Aras and also announced the rest of the royal family as they entered. They sat at a long raised table at the end of the hall and then a servant announced that dinner was ready. My companions and i had the honour of sitting near the royal family during dinner.
 
The food was delicious and the wine very exquisite, and i could not help but have many glaseses of the wine. Some time passed and I noticed that Gurval and Ko Rava were talking with the King. I mustered up some courage and went to join them so i could talk with the king. Unfortunately as soon as i approached there was a bad smell in the air and the king made a joke about Lupo's smelling bad. I knew the smell had nothing to do with me but i was so embarassed, and not long after i excused myself and sat with Menet at the table. We both continued to drink and it felt like he was enjoying my company. While i sat with Menet I heard Nakah say that he figured out where the torn leyline was in Diomeda and asked Lucid to go with him to fix it, then they left.
 
I was not sure if it was the wine or Menet's company but i started to enjoy myself. I asked Menet to dance again and as we circled the dancefloor i felt i was starting to dance in time with the music, although i was tipsy enough by this point that i did not care how my dancing looked. However my enjoyment did not last because suddenly i heard a loud crash. I looked in the direction of the king and saw a female aurelian elf with short black hair in white robes run up to the king. She grabbed the kings sword from his waist and then stabbed him in the chest. We could no nothing but watch in shock as the king burned and became a pile of ashes.