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Lord Swizec stood next to his son. "You should dance with the other girls, Altair. Young Vivian has wanted to dance with you, yet you keep ignoring her to dance with Lord Gerald's daughter." Altair made a face at the thought of Vivian Jasper. "Father, you can't expect me to dance with her! She only talks about our family wealth, and that's boring to discuss..." Sighing, Lord Swizec looked at his son sternly. "Your mother will be disgraced if she finds out you have been ignoring the daughters of our other guests. We want to find you a suitable wife, and Lord Jasper's family would make a nice political ally."
Gripping his son's arm, Lord Swizec brought Altair over to Lord Jasper and his daughter. "William! It's good to see you again my friend." Altair thought he was going to be sick at the fake pleasantries. "Ah, Ruben! You seem to be doing well." After shaking hands and the short swapping of stories, Lord Swizec thrust his son forward to Vivian.
She was a year younger than Altair, with rich brown hair and dark green eyes. The younger boys were quite taken by her beauty. "I'm pleased to see you Altair." A short curtsy was followed after, and he tried not to roll his eyes. Giving a slight bow, he forced out his words with distaste. "I'm glad you were able to come."
He was about to run off when he caught sight of Robyn, but Lord Swizec would have none of that. Practically throwing his son at Vivian, he offered a joke to Lord Jasper on how difficult children could be. Admitting defeat, he grabbed Vivian's hand and rested his left against her waist. Altair grimaced when he looked at her eyes. He loved Robyn's green eyes; they were always so bright and full of life. Vivian's, however, looked like dull glass that badly needed to be polished.
Looking over her shoulder, he caught sight of Robyn dancing with a young boy. She looked miserable as the boy rambled on about something Altair could only imagine. He continued to dance with Vivian, but moved her closer and closer to where Robyn was dancing. The dance required partners to be swapped for a brief moment with the pair next to them, and then swap back to the original partner.
They were dancing right next to Robyn now, and Altair timed it so Robyn would be the partner he swapped with. Grinning, he quickly moved Robyn away with him and began to dance with her in the opposite corner of Vivian. Their fun was short lived though when he noticed his father's disapproving glare.
Altair awoke from his troubled sleep as the sun began its crawl into the sky. His wounds were feeling a little better and his spirits raised at the sight of Robyn asleep next to him. The sunlight reflected against the pendant she had left out, and he reached out to examine it better.
He knew it was several years old, yet she had taken such good care of it that it appeared new. Resting the pendant back against her shirt, he started to wonder what Lord Gerald would say about the situation. Altair knew the man was gravely wounded, and would need his daughter more than ever. Letting out a deep breath, he knew today would be a changing point in his life, and he could only hope that it would be for the better.
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