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Alhaitham has always hated crowded events.
The gala was packed, a person in anywhere he turned. The king had set this up, King Colonel, or, as most called him, King KI. He often held events like this, but the reason it was so packed tonight was because the king was showing off his treasure tonight. Most called it a "secret recipe". Whatever it was, it was the kings most valuable possession. Alhaitham's job mainly consisted of fetching the king whatever he wanted at the time and delivering messages. He had never liked his job. Not because of the work itself, but because of the king.
Long ago, the king was a normal human. Only after did he became half cyborg, his entire body becoming metal, did he become hungry with power. Alhaitham knew this. He knew even more how many people wanted to overthrow, hurt, and kill the king. Alhaitham did share this sentiment, but he didn't plan to strike tonight. As the kings right hand man, all he had to do tonight was to make sure the treasure was safe and occasionally make conversation with the guests, which was the part Alhaitham had been dreading all week. Mostly during dances he could stay in his office, but the king insisted this time.
Alhaitham stood in the corner, wine glass in hand. He took a sip, and immediately almost choked on it. There, standing in the crowd was Kaveh. The same Kaveh he haven't seen since their fallout in the Akademiya. Alhaitham kept his composure and swallowed the wine, but his eyes didn't leave Kaveh. There he stood, in a red and white corset and a little beeping machine next to him, looking similar to an aranara.
For a moment, Alhaitham just stood there, staring at Kaveh, gripping the wine class so hard he was afraid it would shatter. Kaveh noticed Alhaitham before he could move. Kaveh hesitated for a moment, and ducked into the crowd, giving one last glance at Alhaitham before walking in-between 2 women having a conversation. Alhaitham set his glass on a nearby table and moved into the crowd, trying to find Kaveh. It wasn't hard, his red cape and beeping device weren't doing him many favors. Plus, Kaveh had retreated to an area with less people. Alhaitham grabs Kaveh's shoulder. Kaveh slowly turns around, giving Alhaitham a sheepish smile.
"Alhaitham! I... I didn't see you there! How have you been?" Was all Kaveh could sputter out. It was a bold face lie and they both obviously knew it. "What are you doing here? The king has a specific white list for this event, and I didn't see a 'Kaveh' on it." Alhaitham crosses his arms. Kaveh's eyes darted around the room, probably looking for an escape. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed. "Alright fine. I'm not on the guest list."
"Then what are you doing?" Alhaitham asked. Kaveh froze up like a deer in headlights. "And why did you bring an aranara robot?" Alhaitham continued. Kaveh almost subconsciously steps in front of the aranara. "This isn't just some robot, this is Mehrak, my assistant."
"I wasn't aware you needed a helper to go to a gala." Alhaitham's eyes narrowed. He takes a look around the ball, making sure the king was nowhere in sight, before saying quietly "If it's about the king, you can tell me."
Kaveh's eyes widen and he nods. "Mehrak! Could you get me the box?" Kaveh asks Mehrak. The device beeps in response, unraveling it's bow, revealing a box that looks similar to the kings treasure box and an invitation to the gala. Alhaitham glances at the invite. "So that's how you got in."
"Obviously, they don't just let you into these things. Even if I wasn't on that fancy list, they let anyone with an invite in." Kaveh rolls his eyes and puts both items back into Mehrak's bow, tying it tightly around it's head. "Anyway, I've been trying to get my hands on that treasure for ages, and to find out the king has it? I knew I had to get it."
Suddenly, the music became louder, turning to a slow, romantic love song. Couples started dancing. They stared at each other and back onto the couples on the dance floor, nobody was left without a partner. Alhaitham turned back to Kaveh, holding out his hand. "Don't want to look suspicious, now do we?"
Kaveh hesitantly grabbed Alhaitham's hand and they started their masked waltz. Alhaitham doesn't let their dancing hinder their talk though. "I could probably help. Just let me know what I can do." Normally, Alhaitham would never do anything like this. But this was the first time he had spoken to Kaveh in years. Taking down the king was just an added bonus for Alhaitham. He noticed Kaveh had fumbled a bit with the dance, but after a moment, he got the hang of it, following Alhaitham's footsteps.
"I plan to get Mehrak to drop the chandelier, and swap the boxes in the chaos. The fake box has an explosive that can explode at my command." Kaveh explained, still keeping a close eye on Alhaitham's footsteps, trying to copy him. Alhaitham raised an eyebrow. "How did you plan to open it? The box can't be broken, only opened by a key."
Kaveh looked up at stared Alhaitham in the eyes for the first time since they started dancing, and laughed. Just a genuine laugh that lit up the room. "Funny that you mention that... I, uhm... actually planned to steal it from you? Look, I thought since you were working for King KI, you were basically as evil as the king now?"
Alhaitham gave a small smile. "I suppose you've got me there. I can put it on my waist to make it easier to grab. But at the kings command, there's a cage that falls right under where the treasure and by extension, you will be. You're lucky I brought my sword, I can break it open for you."
Kaveh winked, completely forgetting he was supposed to also be focusing on dancing. "Oh yes, I'm just the luckiest man at the gala that the kings general secretary was willing to help me." Kaveh was flawlessly following Alhaitham, both of them moving in perect rhythm of each other. To anyone else, they looked like any other couple on that dance floor. "So it's a plan then? After the dance we strike?"
"It's a plan then." Alhaitham agreed.