Charlton and Kylo were led to seat at the very front nearest to the stage. The table was good for 10 people, and before Kylo had the chance to ask, he saw Victor approaching with 4 others.
"Good luck Kylo." George said as he chuckled before he left.
Kylo's eyes widened in panic. It's too soon to meet them. He turned to Charlton for help.
"Relax. Just try to act normal, they don't know you're together with Via yet, right?"
Kylo nodded his head. Well, he was only about to make a formal call tomorrow.
"Then, try to make a good impression now and stop fidgeting." Charlton said as the two of them stood up from their seats when the 5 people reached the table.
--
Since Victor has been introduced to them earlier, so he became the person to introduce them to his family members. Kylo and Charlton both walked to meet the 5.
"Kylo, Charlton, these are my family members, my father Earl Vernon Morris, my mother, Countess Vivien Morris, My Eldest brother, Viscount Vince Morris, and my 2nd brother, Lord Visor Morris. Father, mother, brothers, these are Prince Kylo Louis of Alighieri, and Lord Charlton Daniel from Windsor."
"It's an honor to meet you, your highness." Vernon was first to say. Although he's an earl, the person in front of him was still a prince. His wife also made a curtsy, while the other 2 gave a slight bow.
Kylo did not know how to respond. His future in-laws were being so respectful because of his station. Then, was it going to be easy tomorrow? He tried to size up Via's father and brothers again. They were all chunky in a muscular sense. He tried not to gulp.
"The honor is all mine, earl and countess Morris. Viscount Vince, and lord Visor. Please, just call me Kylo." Kylo replied and smiled, as he gave them a nod of acknowledgement. Hopefully, tomorrow, they would still be giving him the same treatment.
Via's family members gave a polite smile back.
Vernon then turned his attention to Charlton to ask, "Are you by chance related to his grace, grand duke Charles?"
"Yes, he is my father. It's my pleasure to meat you Earl Morris, and your lovely family too." Charlton replied as he smiled at the others.
Vernon's eyes mooned, having a good impression of the boy and subsequently his companion. "Just call me Uncle Vernon. I have fought alongside his grace, in the war against Jinjoo. It's also my pleasure to meet you. By the way, how is you father?""
"Then, Uncle Vernon, my father is doing fine, thank you for asking. I will mention that I met you today to him when I return home. "
Vernon would have liked to talk to Charlton more, but they would be the only ones standing left. "Please do. Do tell him that I look forward to meeting him again someday. Come, let us seat, I believe that the program shall be starting soon."
Walking to their seat, Kylo nudged Charlton with his elbow.
"What?"
"I think you should butter me up to Via's father."
"If I get the chance, sure."
The seats have been preassigned with a name card, so they all took a specific seat. Kylo was sitting on Charlton's left. While the seat on Charlton's right has been reserved for Serena and beside hers was reserved for Milly and beside that was Via's then her mother's. On Kylo's left was Victor and so on. The 10 of them made up for the table.
When they all have been seated, before anyone could make small talk, the lights were all suddenly shut off. And darkness immediately blanketed the whole ballroom.
Thankfully, before people start panicking, a spotlight was lit and was directed to the middle of the dancefloor.
--
Marquess Gregory Morris continued entertaining their guests, doing rounds, moving from one table to the next, while deep inside, he was already annoyed that his wife hasn't joined the party just yet. People kept on asking him where she was and all he can say was that she's coming to join them shortly.
Anyway, when the lights were suddenly shut-off, he worried that they lost electricity. It would be a disaster if that were the case. Gods, nothing was going right. His wife did not bother helping him host the guests, in fact he hasn't seen her since morning. Then, the electricity was gone. He just wanted to sigh in exasperation and tell the guests, goodbye, party's over.
Suddenly, the spotlight was turned on and from where he was standing, he saw a woman, her back facing the audience, garbed in a bright red dress. The dress was eye catching with dangling crystals as embellishments. It was sleeveless, had a fitted bodice up to the hips which was followed by a flowing skirt with slits that reached a few inches below the knees. She was also wearing matching red heels.
He walked nearer to the dancefloor as he thought that the woman looked familiar. When he was near enough to see who it was, he belatedly recognized that the woman must be his wife. Although he could not see her face, he knew her back all too well.
Short to say, he was surprised. He always knew that his wife was still fit, but it's the first time he saw her wear something like that dress. And, although they were already in their early 40's he could not deny that she was still as beautiful as when they first met. In fact, she's more beautiful now, well, at least to him.
Anyway, he wondered what she was up to. Then suddenly, musical instruments started to play in the background, and his wife made sashaying movements he assumed must be some form of a dance that he did not recognize.
--
When Charlton heard the music instruments playing, his eyes immediately went to the stage where the piano was. Instantly, his eyes zeroed in on Serena who was standing behind the mic.
Although she was shrouded in the darkness, he could still see her clearly because of the proximity. He wanted nothing else but the go where she was and embrace her. She was more beautiful than he remembered and just before she started singing, she gave him a smile which made him feel like a thousand butterflies started fluttering inside his stomach.
--
TBC