Peace Maker - Chapter 178

Falls stared at her for a moment, his eyes locking with hers. He looked away with a nervous smile, ignoring the skip his heart had made. “Yes… hello Lady Annabeth.”

Annabeth stood up straight, flashing Falls a smile, “Hello.”

Falls smiled back and nodded in the direction of the crowd. “We should probably get going now… would hate to have come all this far and then get some rumors simply because we’re standing in some corner like this.”

Annabeth chuckled, “Agreed.” She looked back into the room for a moment and then slowly shut the door, being careful not to alarm any of the kids. Quietly, they both turned and began walking back into the crowd of people.

Falls glanced in front of him for a moment before looking down at Annabeth, sneaking a glance at her. He immediately turned away when his eyes landed on her face. A skip occurred in his chest again. ‘Now I understand what the masks were for…’ Falls thought to himself, ‘it almost seems like a sin to be able to look at her.’

They continued to walk in silence for a moment before he looked back at her again, unable to resist wanting to look at her. Once again, he averted his eyes and once staring at the crowd for another moment, was about to turn back to her when Annabeth let out a soft chuckle.

“Is there something you’d like to say to me, Lord Falls?” She asked, her eyes continuing to look forward.

Falls flinched, his cheeks heating up when he realized he had been caught. A tiny smirk formed on his face. “No my lady. Is there something I’m supposed to be asking?”

Annabeth smiled, her eyes turning and peering up at Falls, stealing his gaze immediately. “Unless the question is written on my face, I’m not sure if there’s something you need to ask.”

Falls flinched as his eyes were drawn into her’s, the piercing green of her eyes seemed to trap him for a moment, sending a shiver down his spine. He turned away, his hand running through his hair as a smile formed on his face, “Hah…” he chuckled, “seems I’ve been caught staring.”

Annabeth shrugged, “Is that so?”

“I’m afraid I won’t be the only one staring though…” Falls continued, his eyes catching a man gazing at Annabeth. He turned away the moment their eyes met. “There are a lot more people in this party that sneak stares at you. Quite the magnet you are, my lady.”

Annabeth smiled. “Apparently so.”

They stood in each other’s company for a moment, the loud chattering from around them failing to cover up the momentary awkwardness.

“Is there a place you’d like to go?”

“Snacks table?”

“A gourmet venturer I see,”

“Simply a woman with an appetite, it’s been long since I had something to eat,”

Falls chuckled as they began walking towards the food tables. “Is there something in particular that you’d like to try? I’m very familiar with this place and the food that will be served so just a mention and I’ll know exactly what you’re looking for, and where to find it.”

“Hmmmm, nothing in particular, anything that’s edible right now I will take,” Annabeth sighed, she flinched when she realized how that may have sounded. “Not to sound like a glutton or anything, I’ve just been starved.”

“Nono, I understand,” Falls grinned, stifling a burst of laughter.

“Doesn’t sound like you do…” Annabeth muttered, her voice carrying a slight pouting tone.

“Haha, I’m serious, my lady. I know they don’t really give you a chance to even have a snack in this place. Pretty sure that’s something I’ll have to complain about soon,” Falls smiled.

“Please do,” Annabeth nodded, “keeping our figure is not the same as being sticks.”

“Luckily, we’ve reached your destination!” Falls exclaimed with a smile as the snack tables began to appear before them. “I took you to the light food section, if you don’t mind, it’s much better to start light and then make your way up to the heavy foods.”

Annabeth nodded, “Understandable.”

Falls smiled as he watched Annabeth make her way over to the tables and surveyed the foods that were laid before her. He quickly stepped up behind her, trying to match her pace. “A picky eater?”

“Only to certain things. I’m not really… accustomed to events like this so I’m just trying to have a good grasp of the selections first,” Annabeth replied absentmindedly as she started down at a red-velvet cupcake, “it looks like that’s not something I’ll have to worry about though…everything here looks like it took hours to make each separate piece.”

Falls nodded. “The best in the kingdom. It is the palace afterall.”

Annabeth nodded her head in agreement as she picked up the red-velvet cupcake she had been watching. Making sure to cover her mouth, she took a bite out of it, a sparkle lighting in her eyes as the rest of her face remained stoic.

‘Does she not like it?’ Falls thought to himself as he watched her eat, ‘her expressions are a bit hard to read.’

“Do you like it my lady?” he asked as his head tilted slightly, “I can’t tell by your expressions.”

“Ah…” Annabeth muttered as she locked eyes with Falls. Her lips spread into a smile as she held up the empty cupcake wrapper. “It was delicious, I loved it.”

Falls flinched, his cheeks heating up again as he stared at her as she turned back to the selection of food, her eyes scanning over her next food to try. ‘What a beauty…’ he thought to himself as he watched her silently, ‘so captivating… it’s intoxicating.’

In the background of noise, his ears picked up the change in music and he grinned, looking down at Annabeth. “My lady?” he called out to which Annabeth turned to him, her deep-green eyes staring up directly into his eyes.

“Yes? What is it, Lord Falls?” she replied.

Falls smiled. “There has been a change in music,” he commented.

Annabeth nodded her head, turning back to her food. “It looks like there has been.”

Fall tilted his head slightly. ‘Does she not like me?’ he thought to himself. ‘Or does she not realize what I’m trying to say?… either way…’ he gave a little smile again. ‘I still want to dance with her.’

“It’s a slow dance,” Falls commented.

Annabeth paused, freezing at his comment. She turned back to him, her face still settled in calmness. ‘Is he?’ she thought to herself as he watched him give her a little bow. ‘Yes.. yes he is.’

Falls stretched out his hand. “Would you like to dance with me?” His eyes looked up at Annabeth, locked gazes with her.

Annabeth stared down at him for a moment, her lips twitching. They stayed in eye contact for a moment before she smiled and bowed. Slowly, she placed her hand in his and looked into his eyes. “Of course,” she replied, her eyes staring into his with a clear gaze. A calmness. A blankness. A void he didn’t notice.

Falls grinned, leading Annabeth into the crowd of people, their hands interlocked with each other. Once in a clear spot, he turned to her and bowed once again. “Thank you, my lady.”

Annabeth returned his bow with another and a bright smile as her eyes remained locked in his. Unmoving, stoic.

Slowly, Falls stepped closer, stopping at a distance, his hand resting on her waist gently as he held her hand. They stared into each other’s eyes as Annabeth placed her hand on his shoulder and after a moment of silence, they began to dance along with the music.

Their steps were synchronized, just like they had been thought to dance in school since they were younger. One step, two-step, three, twirl, pull, repeat. Again and again, as the song continued to play.

Annabeth glanced over his shoulder, peering at the others that were dancing. Their steps were the same, their positions were the same, but their expressions were different. She turned back to Falls catching his stare. ‘This looks familiar…’ she thought to herself as she looked over his shoulder again at two people that were dancing behind them. After a moment of watching she turned back to him and smiled.

Now it was perfect. The same as the others around them. The same dance, the same positions, and now, the same expressions. She locked eyes with Falls.

“You dance lovely, Lord Falls,” She commented, “looks like I need to practice my dancing skills just to keep up with you.”

Falls chuckled. “Oh please, you’re doing perfectly fine my lady. It would seem like I’m the one who’s out of practice.” They exchanged a chuckle and Falls continued to look at her as she did to him. The words lingered on his tongue. He couldn’t help it, he was curious. “If you don’t mind me asking my lady…” he muttered, “Why are you in the baby room…. With Antonio?”