Re: {Open}
Jeffrey was well aware of all those eyes on him and that he stood their beneath their scrutiny and their judgments spoke of bravery and a strength of character that Shayleiah Alcaeyn would one day come to admire. Those same eyes were on here now, by her doing, but she didn’t seem to even notice. Maybe it said something else that the little girl only had eyes for Jeffrey right now. It was absolutely something that would worry her father, more than her assault on a child so dear to the Queen while he was standing in her presence. She was two years his junior, which among the Sidhe was nothing at all. When it came to emotional maturity, it was quite significant. She had arrived at the beginning of the evening as the very image of innocent perfection, with bouncing golden curls adorned by white ribbon, pure as that snow and those lovely little wings. Now the curls were a complete disaster, half-soaked from their earlier playing. Her dress had originally been a soft purple, which she had chosen for herself, but then she found out that Melisande was in something else and had demanded she wear the same. Mikino, who was already exhausted by then, relented and at the last minute a new outfit was arranged.
Tiny slippers sparkled on her feet, blessedly kept on for once. Unlike Liliana, she was not immune to the cold. Her cheeks were a ruddy pink from all of her exertion, matched by the bold display of her tongue as she stuck it out at Jeffrey in a taunt. Everyone within line of sight was looking to how the Queen was going to respond, probably even her father, but Shay was waiting for Jeffrey to make a move, and the second he did she would shriek with a childish mingling or terror and delight and scramble to run in the other direction, fingers bunching up her ruined gown as she did.