I was lingering at the fringes of the celebration when I first saw my mother smile. As a woman of high class; she rarely smiled, and when she did it was tight and false from her perfectly red puckered lips to form what was nothing more than an upward turn to the sides of her mouth.
This smile - this fake impersonation - was directed at me, and in return I scowled with all the true emotion festered within me as my mother took my arm and led me through the crowds of mingling, shallow personalities of people.
"Larxene," She said, every syllable pronounced with perfection as we walked, "Your father and I have been speaking with his majesty for a time now and we have decided you should meet your suitor."
My face wrinkled in disgust as I heard the word "suitor". It was nothing but trouble, nothing but idiotic men in their flouncy lace suits and feathered hats, seeing women as nothing but a possession to own.
When I did not reply, my mother continued.
"He is the King's second son." She said with pride, as though that status she cared more for than the well being of her own daughter. This I knew to be true. "You will bring honour and prestige to our household. Finally, we shall have some use for you."
"Of course," I said sarcastically. The fool of a woman did not pick up on this, and simply continued. She spoke to boost her own inflated ego; I was nothing in her picture of perfection through relations to the king.
"He is here tonight. I would like you to meet him."
She took me to one corner of the vast ballroom where I saw my husband-to-be for the first time. I knew which man it was, because he was the only man in the vicinity. He was surrounded by ladies and smooth talking every one of them. He was undoubtedly a narcissistic, egocentric bastard.
"Prince Marluxia," My mother said behind me, steering me towards him.
Upon hearing his name, the man turned. He wasn't unattractive; his pastel brown hair held in thick almost-ringlets as was the customary style in this day and age. He was tall, well built if not quite thick set - and with the delicate hands and long nails one would expect from royalty. He hadn't worked a day in his life.
"Ah," He said, voice deep and charismatic. I was instantly repelled as it drew every other woman close to his self-loving personality. "So this would be the lucky mistress?"
I opened my mouth to say something cutting to the contrary, but a chilly glare from my mother warned me that this was not a good idea. So instead I bowed as low as I could in my restrictive corset - the things women do for fashion, honestly - and humbly didn't meet his gaze.
"It's a pleasure, your majesty."
Marluxia chuckled, shooing the other women away with one hand - the other occupied by a tall, elegant wine glass.
"Likewise. I have heard a lot about you..."
I fought to hold back a smirk.
"I bet you can't even remember my name."
"Of course I do, Larxene," Marluxia instantly parried. "It's a beautiful name. How could I forget?"
I scoffed, daring to look up into my betrothed's eyes now I knew my estranged mother was gone.
"With all due respect; spare me the flattery."
I expected the man to lash out at me for my rudeness but instead he simply smiled with an expression I couldn't place. Approval...? It couldn't be.
For a while, he said nothing. The silence between us could even have been described as pleasant, but for the constant low level murmur of the crowds around us.
"We are due to be married come spring." Marluxia finally said, eyes already trained on another woman. Although I wasn't exactly ugly, I was far from gorgeous: a plain girl, so to speak. My hair was cropped short - over it I wore a golden wig of bouncy ringlets laced with flowers. Make up on me simply looked ridiculous. I was small, too, with no great curves to my body like the other voluptuous mistresses. The dress I wore filled me out a little, but not much. I was a minion, people sometimes told me. The only thing captivating about me was my wide, turquoise eyes. So I wasn't surprised that Marluxia was bored already.
"Sounds wonderful," I said sarcastically. Marluxia smiled.
"I'm sure we'll make do."