"You've done a wonderful job you know." Zory added as she watched the wheels spinning but failing to gain traction. "I happen to now for a fact this won't be easy but that doesn't mean it won't feel like it was worth it in the end."
After Trixxie's uncle had led the charge in the attack that had left so many horrendously injured or dead, her parents had swept it all under the rug. It was just easier that way. Her uncle's ravings about invasions and rebellions were madness prior and everyone knew it. His cruelty had certainly sparked retaliations to begin, but not without justifiable cause. It wasn't uncommon for far more visitors to pour in whether they were nova-types or not every passing spring. There were still less varieties of travelers that had been willing to accept exclusive level invitations to the starlighter's gala as they usually did in the fall. Had Trixxie given Zory one back then? Her deranged uncle wouldn't have managed to pull off planning what he had under everyone's noses, including Ozzy. Zory was not a rebel or a spy, she was just trying to go home, but she never made it out, no one did. That guilt was hard to shake.
"You seem off." Zory acknowledged softly.
"I miss them too, you know." Trixxie admitted in an even smaller voice. "I know meeting new people won't make it any better, but how excited they are to meet you might."
"I am looking forward to meeting your family." Zory noted with a knowing smile. "Stop worrying so much."
When Trixxie had cashed in all of her birthday wishes early in exchange for getting to choose the guest of honor on top of keeping it a secret up until the grand reveal, the generals were mostly impressed by her dedication. No matter how steep the bribes grew from eager bachelors or their increasingly irritated admirers, she stood her ground and kept her lips sealed. Even her father was proud of how no offer that hit the table was even taken into consideration for so much as a second. She stuck to her tiny guns and even started making cracks about taking all of the other seers in play to the real gun show today. She even at times blew out fake smoking guns after counter offering increasingly fascinating hints or flexed her tiny arms to playfully kiss the mighty yet scrawny biceps she had.
No matter how hard anyone tried to fish for something to go off of regarding how to impress the mysterious woman that was going to be the center of attention tonight, Trixxie would just laugh and laugh them all right off. Her mother could tell she meant it every single time she promised this was going to be the best guest of honor anyone had ever wrangled because she wasn't being silly about it whenever they came at her head on to vow she was still sure about her pick.
The structure that housed the best of the best showdown at the end of open courting season was a marvel to most that had never seen it before, but Zory seemed immune. The likelihood that she had already attended at some point before was all too evident in how she only stopped to admire the newly updated level of decor in the pavilion. That was yet another courtesy of all the new bartering skills Trixxie had already been surprising them with as this day had finally come.
"Is that the Milky Way?" Zory asked warmly.
The massively breathtaking projections that were glowing above them were an intricately designed and layered image of the galaxy that would always be Zory's favorite. Despite her extensive studies of many over the years that had elapsed since she first discovered what it meant to be a zelestial-type being, there was simply always no place like home.
"Do you like it?" Trixxie asked cautiously.
Zory withheld the laugh she almost let loose at her for even bothering to ask. Even the least broadly cultured among the novas who were present had likely been blown away by just how very zelestial grade Trixxie's creation was.
Trixxie wasn't the nervous type either in most situations, even when she should have been, but she had every right to be anxious regarding Zory's assessment of it. There was ample merit to people gushing about what sort of things had been written in the stars and Trixxie was barely a novice in the types of languages that had been used. There was in fact only one general among the eighty-one in the Nova Alliance that was proficient in Zimiiran and even he had admitted he wasn't quite as fluent as he had once been.
"Can't say that I do." Zory noted smoothly, causing Trixxie's poor little face to fall instantaneously.
The loss of language is the most common hallmark when it comes to varying degrees of forced assimilation in worlds like this. Zory knew that handiwork anywhere regardless of how blatantly sloppy and muddled some of it was. Regardless of when General Vizzario was or wasn't going to show his face, all the damage would be done with most of the other familiar faces she was expecting in the room. Several people already bore disgruntled expressions that were now being contorted with either a sense of insult or disapproval. The complicated feelings Trixxie had already promised to do her best to ignore rippling off them at all times tonight were more of a threat than Zory could ever be to her.
"I don't know why you thought I would like this…" Zory continued with a devious smirk that made Trixxie light right back up. "I do happen to love it, though."
"Really?!" The young royal all but squealed in delight.
"Try Andromeda next." Zory suggested crisply.
"But isn't this one your favorite?" Trixxie pouted with a furrowed brow. "I really thought it would help if there was at least one thing you actually liked here."
Giving away the fact there was little else about any of this Zory did like wouldn't sit well, but Zory knew circling back to that out of pocket comment later would be the best play for now. Biting her tongue was the best option to keep the peace here for as long as possible. Picking an overt fight with even a young royal over how rude it was to let all of them think all of their other efforts to dazzle their guest of honor had gone to waste would not end well at this juncture either.
Speaking somewhat freely while they were still navigating the cobblestone paths that led them here was one thing, still continuing to display a typically carefree level of friendship in such an open manner at the Grand Central Pavilion was going to be another. It was asking for trouble, inviting a challenge. As good as her intentions were, Trixxie's people were not as ready for change as she was hoping they might be.
"I was already promised dancing, was I not?" Zory smiled. "There's bound to be at least one I was glad I did."
Traditionally speaking, the guest of honor would have been here far earlier. During the far more private banquet at one of the nearest gaudy castles she would have been exposed to far more introductions than just the one she was dreading most. It had gone over well with no one, not even people who were just hoping to catch a glimpse of her in advance when Trixxie revealed she hadn't even invited the guest of honor to that part of the night. She stayed her hand on explaining it would have only been wasting Zory's limited time. All of the attempts at small talk she had ever seen anyone make with Zory typically went nowhere. Watching Zory figure out polite ways to shirk or reject every candidate for the famous last dance tonight would have only been funny to a point.
Whoever the guest of honor chose to dance with during the final minutes of the night was always the talk of every local town for the foreseeable future too. It was the final highlight of this social season that made everyone overly twitterpated to begin with. Someone as radiant as Zory always was even at first glance was going to draw plenty of attention all by itself here whether she chose anyone or not.
"Do you really want to, though?" Trixxie questioned at a volume that was barely above a whisper.
The enhanced senses their apparent and growing audience was riddled with promised it wasn't about not wanting anyone to hear. The stonewall routine Trixxie had upheld until now was finally more like walking on eggshells instead. Trixxie was worried the answer was no and it most certainly was, but Zory had no intentions of breaking that carefully worded style of promise nor any other she had made to Trixxie if she could help it. She was going to dance with none other than Trixxie tonight whether it was frowned upon or not.
"Usually the less I want to do something," Zory clarified as she squatted down to sit on her heels and took both of Trixxie's hands in hers. "The more I probably need to do it anyway… Like pros and cons met cause and effect."
Trixxie's eyes narrowed in thought as she contemplated the likely several different applications Zory had just intentionally layered into that statement as she usually did. "Like when you make kids eat some fruit instead of another cookie?"
"Mhmm." Zory hummed with approval of the astoundingly practical deduction the future ruler of Zayin had announced. It was grounded in intent to only discuss what she figured would be the safest bet to mention. "But also-? Not at all unlike when I remind you when we don't want to be kind, that is probably exactly when it's most important."