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Citrinne kept herself busy since being summoned. Obviously there were her missions, as well as continued nightly training sessions with Alcryst and Lapis. Then, she spent time socializing with other heroes to better know them and their worlds. And there was also her work with Commander Anna, helping to secure funds to keep the Order going. Her latest task though, was the one she put the most amount of effort into.
Planning a formal ball.
The noble was over the moon when she heard that Askr held grand balls for their heroes, to help them unwind and have fun in-between all of the wars they needed to fight. She asked the Summoner about it, hearing tales of friends and lovers getting together and dancing the night away. She was so enthralled that the Summoner offered to let her plan the next one. Citrinne felt it an absolute honor, and accepted immediately, her goal becoming to host a ball grander than all previous.
A little while later, she was in the Great Hall. Scattered throughout the room were tables and chairs with the most elegant lining and designs. The fanciest glasses and silverware were boxed and ready to be spread across them. Extra lights and decorations too were set to be placed everywhere. She’d need to set them all up later, but for now, Citrinne was giving her thanks to the woman who helped carry everything up here.
“Just keep following my lead, Nephenee.” Citrinne said, leading her new friend in a practice dance. “Step one and two, and three and four.”
“Step one and two, and three and woah!” Nephenee stumbled a bit, almost taking Citrinne to the ground with her. “Oh whew! Sorry ‘bout that Citrinne, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“Oh not at all. But how about we take a break for now?” Citrinne took one of her fancy chairs and sat, motioning Nephenee to do the same.
“Sorry for taking up your prep time teachin' me how to dance.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I love helping my friends learn. I trained Lapis day and night so that she was ready for her first dance with Alcryst back in Brodia.” Citrinne smiled, remembering how her fellow retainer was not too different from Nephenee in skill. “Besides, you helped me bring all these decorations up here, I’m just returning the favor.”
“If you say so. But I really should be getting it now,” Nephenee bemoaned. “This ain’t my first ball here, but I’m still no good at dancin’ like these castle-breds.”
“Nephenee, please don’t be too harsh on yourself. You’re learning just fine, some just need more time to fully grasp it.”
“Maybe you’re right. It’s just that…I actually love dancin’, especially back in my village.”
“Oh?” Citrinne’s curiosity was now piqued. "Do tell."
“Well our parties weren’t fancy or formal like these galas and balls I keep gettin’ invited to here. We’d all be outside, around a big ol’ bonfire. The young, the old...we all got in a circle, everybody dancin' and laughin'. If ya stumbled, no one would pay a second thought, and you’d just get up and join right back in.” Her face fell a bit. “But here, it’s a bit embarrassing when you don’t know all the steps and mess up, with everybody watchin'. Not saying these balls are bad or anything, maybe I’m just feelin’ a bit more homesick than usual.”
“Homesick huh?” Citrinne sat back in her chair, ruminating on her friend’s dilemma. “Hey Nephenee, would you mind telling me more about the parties in your village?”
A few days later
“Thanks for helping me get dressed for this ball, Queen Elincia.” Nephenee said, adjusting her outfit. “I’ve worn this dress before, but I can never seem to get it all proper and stuff.”
“It’s no problem, Nephenee.” Elincia replied. “And please, we’re fellow soldiers in the Order, just Elincia is fine.”
“R-Right, I’ll be sure to do that...”
Elincia looked over Nephenne one last time before handing her the last piece, her trusty helmet. “You’re all set to go. Shall we be off?”
As Nephenee and Elincia walked towards the party, Nephenee felt a sense of dread and anxiety over her. She’d tried her best to practice her dancing, but it still wasn’t clicking. She was afraid she was going to embarrass herself in front of her friends, and not ever truly fit into these fancy balls. Nephenee wanted nothing more to have as much fun as the rest of her comrades, but it seemed impossible at this point.
She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn’t even realize that Elincia wasn't leading her to the Great Hall.
“Uhhh…Qu-...Elincia? This…ain’t the way to the ball, is it? The Great Hall’s on the upper floors, why are we heading downstairs?”
“Hmm? Oh, didn’t you get the memo?” Elincia answered. “Citrinne made a last second change in the venue.”
“A…last second change?”
Elincia guided Nephenee to the practice field. There, Nephenee was stunned by the sight of a huge bonfire in the center, burning brightly and beautifully, far bigger than the ones in her village. All around it were people all dancing together in groups, having the time of their lives to the upbeat music of Brady’s violin. Some of her friends seemed to feel particularly at home, namely Donnel, Gray, and Tobin as they lead the festivities. And plenty of the royals in the Order looked like they were having just as much fun, Princess Sharena especially as she rushed towards the bonfire to join in, Commander Anna and Princess Eir in hand.
“W-wha…what's this?” Nephenee asked.
“Hmm? It’s the 'Fall Ball', as Citrinne declared.” Elincia said. She spotted her companions off to the side and waved to them. “Ah, well I must be leaving you now. Enjoy yourself tonight, Nephenee.” With a bow, Elincia ran off to join her friends, leaving Nephenee still confused at the state of the party.
“Nephenee! There you are!” Citrinne ran up to her, excited as ever. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
“C-Citrinne, what's goin' on?” Nephenee asked in awe. “I thought we were having that ball in the Great Hall like usual, all fancy like. This feels just like-”
“The parties in the village?” Citrinne said with a grin. “That was the plan! After we talked the other day, I realized that I didn’t want to upstage all the previous balls, but rather do something different. As far as I know, the Order hasn’t had a party like this in a long time, so I based this around what you told me about your village. Impressive, right?”
“Mighty impressive…” Nephenee stared across the field, still in amazement. “But why one of my village's parties?”
“Oh that’s easy. You’re my friend and you said you were feeling homesick. That’s all really.”
Nephenee blushed a bit at Citrinne’s reasoning. “T-that’s uh…really kind of ya, Citrinne.”
Suddenly, a crowd of people gathered around the bonfire, then formed a circle around it, all of them dancing.
“Ah, you missed this, right Nephenee?” Citrinne lightly pushed her towards the circle. “Go and have fun!”
Nephenee glanced back and forth between the bonfire and Citrinne before nodding. “Y-you got it!” She rushed off and joined the circle, happily dancing like she did back home.
Towards the end of the night, the circle had scattered, and Brady switched his style to a slower, more romantic sound as couples started dancing together.
Nephenee looked around the field again. She was happy that even in a energetic night outside, they could still do those ballroom dances that Citrinne loved so much. She looked around to try and see who the noble was dancing with, spotting a few other couples along the way.
Elincia was on the dance floor, slow dancing with Ephraim, who was much better at it than he seemed at first glance. Scáthach attempted to lead Guinivere in a dance, the queen chuckling at his nervousness. The Summoner seemed relaxed for the first time in a while while she contently danced with "Marth". Heck, Astrid was here too, and to Nephenee's surprise had picked out Shez as her dance partner for the night.
But across all the pairs, Nephenee couldn’t see Citrinne with anyone. She eventually spotted her farther back, sitting by catering. “Hey Citrinne,” Nephenee greeted. “You don’t have a partner?”
Citrinne shook her head. “No, I’ve been busy making sure everything runs smoothly. Didn’t have a time to find myself one. Though…” She looked ahead, spotting Alcryst and Lapis dancing together. “I’m pretty satisfied just watching right now.”
“Oh…well, sorry Citrinne, but that’s no good, at least for me!”
“Pardon?”
“It won’t do to have someone who worked so hard to set all this up leave without havin' some fun for herself.” Nephenee reached down and held a hand out for her. “So come on. I might still not be too good at ballroom dancin', but I owe it to you to at least try again!”
Citrinne laughed a little. “Are you sure? There’s still plenty of handsome bachelors around that you can dance with instead.”
“Nah…” Nephenee grinned, “After all, what kinda of person would I be if I let the prettiest gal in the ball leave without a dance?”
“P-Prettiest?” This time, Citrinne was the one caught off guard. She blushed a light shade of pink before reaching out to grab Nephenee’s hand. “Very well Nephenee, I happily accept. Lead the way.”
“Alrighty!” Nephenee guided Citrinne to the dance floor and put her training to good use. Before, she had trouble with these slow, formal dances. However, while dancing with Citrinne after probably the most fun night she’s had in Askr, it all finally seemed to click.