As guests and allies, Annan and the Scarlet Princess attended in their finest clothes.
Annan wore the Black Gemstone Earring he had taken off on his second day at Crimson Castle. Paired with his black hair, now a little longer and curling at the ends, it made him look like a work of art.
The Crimson Princess still wore a scarlet gown. Her smooth golden hair fell naturally around her shoulders, and her eyes shone like magnificent rubies.
Annan escorted the Scarlet Princess into the banquet.
The Skeleton King introduced the Grand Cemetery's allies, the Scarlet Princess and Annan, to the guests. Annan took the chance to study the crowd.
The figures dressed as nobles who showed resentment and other dark emotions were Vampires from rival factions. Almost none of the other guests looked alike... At the edge of the banquet, one guest even tried to eat another and had to be hurriedly pulled away by a servant.
The nature of the Undying made the banquet feel like a costume ball.
Once the Skeleton King had finished the introductions, Annan followed the Crimson Princess into the banquet hall amid a burst of bizarre applause, staying close on her heels.
When she spoke with a guest, he stood beside her and watched them warily. When she picked up a glass, Annan warned her, "Don't drink."
"What are you doing?"
After Annan drove away the second guest, the Crimson Princess pretended to be angry.
"Lucy told me to keep an eye on you."
"I'm not a child!" Then the Crimson Princess remembered something. "How old are you, anyway?"
"Not eighteen yet."
"I'm almost five hundred!"
"But you look about my age."
Many Long-lived Races did not mature until much later in life. Dwarves, for instance, could live to four hundred and were