PeaceMaker

THUD 

The door lets off a loud thud that ricochets into the room and drags the eyes of many to them. Paying no mind to the new pairs of eyes that landed on them, the Crowly's walked down the stairs in the noble glory they had been looking forward to.

The ladies attracted the most attention as eyes were glued to the veils that covered their faces. Amongst the silence were little murmurs, no doubts guesses on how they looked underneath the veil. It was a shame it was going to stay on until the king and his family showed themselves.

"Girls," Mr. Crowly whispered as he nodded a greeting with a fellow Marquess. 

"We know," Annabeth interrupted, making sure to keep the smile on her face showing as little bits of her skin could be seen through the veil. 

"And-" 

"Go on and socialize," Annabeth smiled, "we know what to do."

"Great," Mr. Crowly nodded. He early gave out his hand to his wife. She on the other hand took her time getting Mr. Crowly, her steps slow and sturdy to both delay and further portray her calm demeanor. 

They linked arms and the family split into two, both parties sifting into the waves of the crowd to different sides of the room. There the four of them stood at a table with each other for a moment. 

"I'm sure we all know where we need to go right?" Annabeth asked, her question directed at her younger brother. She knew where his eyes wandered and knew very well he should never cross that line unless allowed. 

"Keep your eyes and ears open for father's command as we all have to meet up with him immediately after," Annabeth instructed, "no last-minute drinks until after the party. We came here to show elegance not unruliness. Don't let your guard down."

Despite all her warning beforehand, she wasn't going to send them off immediately, they were going to scout and bait first. 

"After walking around a bit and showing our presence, we take a rest and let them pour to us. No need to move around. They will come to us," Annabeth smiled, "curiosity will always get in the way of their pride."

The others nodded in agreement. They had nothing to add, neither did they find her way of speech surprising. She had always been the type to take charge. If only she had been firstborn. It would have made it easier for them to reduce their pride around her before she lowered it for them. 

As planned, the four of them walked around their designated area. Their curious eyes were basically glued on them. There were eyes from left to right, all examining how they dressed and the faces they were hiding behind the veils. Annabeth giggled lightly when she heard some outrageous rumors and further appealed to them. Her laughter was light and calm. A siren's song. 

Before they knew it, their group was being approached by another. A majority that reversed the majority of their group. It was the sons of the wealthy nobles in the kingdom.

"Good evening my ladies," the sons greeted, bowing before Annabeth and her sisters. 

They did a deep courtesy in return, making sure to keep their eyes low. 

"Good evening Lord Justin," the sons greeted. 

"Good evening lords," Justin smiled, returning their greeting. "May I ask what the names of people I have the pleasure of speaking with today?"'

"I am Marquess Antonio," The lead son greeted, shaking Justin's hand, "son of Duke Christian Hane, brother of-"

"Your introduction is going to bore them to sleep," another boy interrupted, "I'm Marquess Walter, son of Duke Martin Merdia."

Antonio rolled his eyes, "To the left of me is Lord Dramio, son of Marquess Mentio. On Marquess Walter's left is Lord Falls, my brother and behind him is Lord Santigio. Behind me is Knight Ciergo. He's a quiet one."

Annabeth made silent notes to memorize the names of those in the group as they all seemed to come from high ranking families. Marquess Antonio was the nephew of the King's right-hand man, Grayson Hane. 

Antonio looked at the girls behind Justin, his curiosity building. "May I ask the names of these exquisitely dressed ladies?"

Justin flinched, his movement adjusting his stance. He had never liked people trying to get close to his sisters. "Unfortunately no, not for now. Their names will be announced later."

"I supposed you won't be telling us?" Antonio asked, his eyes skirting to Maria. He had laid eyes on her from the distance and was even more intrigued now from close up. 

The girl's didn't flinch at his comments. Marquess Walter was examining the girls or moreso the food behind them.

"I'm afraid not," Justin chuckled. 

"Then I hope you won't mind spending more time with us," Lord Falls spoke up. 

To this, Annabeth flinched, his deep voice much more different than his brother's. Her face remained stoic along with her sister's under the veil. No one dared to move one muscle more than they were told to move. Annabeth liked that.

"Of course we wouldn't mind, the girls won't be able to speak though," Justin sighed. 

"It feels like you're listing reasons to not sit with us," Lord Santigio laughed. Justin laughed along with him.

He wasn't wrong.

Together they walked as a big group with no set destination in mind. They mingled with other Ladies, seemingly annoying them when Annabeth and her sister's refused to return their greetings vocally. In no time their group had grown from 12 to 16, three new Ladies joining them and another marquess.

"Do you know when this is going to end?" Walters asked.

They were seated at a large table taking a break from exploring the large ballroom. Not once had Annabeth or the girls say anything. They weren't planning to, not until their presentation.

"No," Justin sighed, "it's taking longer than I expected just to get some people into the room."

"And I'm starting to get hungry too…" Walter mumbled. 

"You're always hungry Walter," Antonio teased.

The new girls giggled in response. 

"I think the food is somewhere in this room," said one of the girls, Addison. She was one of the free girls who didn't adhere to the strict rules put on her. Partially due to the fact that she was Lord Santigio's cousin and already knew the boys beforehand. She wasn't one bit concerned or annoyed about the fact that Annabeth and her sister's didn't talk. She in fact engaged in conversations with them with questions that would only need a simple yes or no. 

She seemed to be younger than Jena but already engaged to the Marquess beside her, Louis Dove. 

"Really? Then why didn't we see it the first time?" Walter's eyes sparked up at the mention of food. He was a desert addict whose nice figure barely showed the fact that he could eat 3 chocolates in one bite. 

"I am not standing up again, my legs hurt," Louis complained, pouting slightly. He looked like a man-baby. 

"Then stay here and rest," Addison turned to her fiance and smiled. "We can't have you being tired."

Louis frowned, "And then let you go out there? Without me beside you? No."

"All right then," Addison chuckled. 

"My mood is hurt now… how are you going to fix it for me?" Louis smirked, his thick eyebrows rising at Addison.

She immediately blushed.

Dramio groaned immediately, "You've been engaged for a few weeks now, how long are you going to drown us in this honey you have in your eyes."

"Thank you," Lord Falls chuckled. 

Annabeth almost flinched at his laughter. It was so deep and childish at the same time.

"Let's go find the food court then," Antonio spoke up with a playful grin. 

One of the new girl's faces turned pale. It was Andrea. "Do we have to? I'm tired."

"Maybe we should go in groups then," Antonio suggested.

"There's 16 of us here so we can just go 2 with a group of 8 people in each group," Lord Santigio pointed out. 

"Yes, yes, math genius," Falls rolled his eyes. He examined the group first and then spoke, "just so everyone knows, I'll go in group two. I need time for my legs to recuperate."

"Justin, what group would you like to go in?" Antonio asked.

Justin spoke for all 4 of the girls and himself. He could feel Annabeth's glare even if she isn't looking at him. "Hmmm… group two."

"Then we'll need two other people in group two and whoever is leftover is group one. Who has a deck of cards?" Antonio asked. 

"What a random thing to ask for in the middle of this," Dramio twisted into an expression that shot questionable glares at Antonin.

Nobody spoke up after. 

"Nobody…" Antonio muttered, he turned to his guard. "Do you have a deck of cards Ciergo?"

The knight pulls out the deck of cards and hands it to Antonin. "Thanks Ciergo."

Walter looked Ciergo up and down. "Does he even speak? I've never heard his voice before."

Antonino shot Walter a side-glance of annoyance. "That's not important here, you want to starve?"

"Never," Walter shuddered.

"Then let me start the game."