Lily felt a sudden shiver up her back, almost a sense that she was being watched; "A goose walked over your grave," her governess would have said. Back when she still had a governess, of course.
She shook the feeling away and smiled at Kentamin as he returned, taking the offered cup gracefully. "Thank you." She took a slightly cautious sip, then smiled. "It is sweet." With a wry little chuckle, she added, "I'm afraid I don't have much of a head for alcohol, so something like this probably suits me perfectly."
Her eyes, which people at first always seemed to see as flat gray, had softened to something closer to shimmering silver. She reached up to brush an errant curl behind her ear, thanking her lucky stars that her hair had decided to be at least halfway manageable today.
"I know you said you're tired of dancing, but, ah...would you care to take a turn about the room with me?" She nodded to the people milling around the edges of the dance floor, then lowered her voice and added, "I feel somehow I draw more attention for being a wallflower than I do if I at least pretend to be social." The words had a distinct ring of truth, but the quirk to her lips and glint in her eyes was...playful.
"Hello."
A distinctly accented voice--Serenian, Rillaria if anyone wanted to get specific, though Connlaothians rarely seemed to care enough--cut easily through the murmur and chatter of the ballroom as a young woman dressed in a gown of icy blues and white approached a brooding Duke Arrant.
Everything about her was clearly Serenian: voice, dress, eyes, even the way she held herself was just a bit different from most of the other noblewomen she'd seen tonight. Good. Her family may be here for a union of houses, but she had no interest in letting Connlaoth think it could change her manner for its ridiculousness.
Still, Reina Bartok's smile was polite and perfectly respectful as she dipped her head to the man who seemed to be just...lurking in the corner. "Well met, sir. You're not interested in the festivities?"
She saw no reason to tiptoe around the point. Politics were exhausting, and these weren't her politics. Time to have some fun.