Eye stared down at the swirling liquid within that ill gotten glass. Confusion as to what even lay harbored inside, further uncertainty lingering on just why that man insisted this sparkling liquid was any better than what cascaded over polished surfaces. No matter the reasons if so many others downed such a drink it had to be good! Yet before he could get to tasting there was another to track down in the crowd but while she had given direction, she’d offered no clues as to what she wore. If it would be the same shades worn in the market or something far flashier, closer to what decorated those he could only label as entertainment.

Crown shook as steps began to pull away, but a glance offered brief distraction. The figure of one familiar captured in his peripheral. One which brought a more noticeable turn of his head as if to ensure a mind did not play tricks. What was she doing here? A question he could ask so many though an answer would no doubt be the same - to partake in the festivities provided. Whatever, Fineás had no intention of hanging around the fountain especially if old timers were going to continuously shoo him away from it. At least he wasn’t going to leave empty handed.

The goblet cradled with both hands while attentions temporarily held to the very frame stared at when facing a wild hound. Maybe she wouldn’t notice this time, however, he wasn’t going to hang around and risk listening to a lecture. Focus swiftly turning back toward the crowd as hurried step carried him into that unfamiliar sea. Passing faces offered nothing more than a glance, searching for something familiar that would hold his gaze. And eventually it would come in the styling and tone of hair. While so many others could have worn theirs in the same manner, this one held recognizable features beneath it, “Julie! There you are, why’d ya make me look so hard?” 

Breath huffed in disapproval as if it were something she could help, as if she had not kept her own eyes peeled in search. Though any ‘annoyance’ quickly passed, “But never mind that, look what I got!” A glass held as if it were a prized possession stolen away from the hosting family, “Do you know what it is? Some loser said this one tasted best.”

I hated it.  I hated the way these maids fussed over my hair with their brushes and powders and the crystal flower holding it in place.  But, like a good girl, I didn't squirm from their tools or gnarled fingers.  Even when they tugged and pulled at my lanky body while fastening the buttons on my ivory dress inlaid with golden trim, I was obedient if not altogether away.  Distant from the surreal event.  My mind drifted to familiar times, haunting times, a past that I longed to forget.  A time when I was forced to endure this from another's hand.  Theirs were far more gentle in comparison.  Even if this was all for Papa, I hated it. My eyes lingered on the elder woman standing at his side.  They drifted to the sea of faces that began to flood the ballroom where music invited them to dance.  I felt... out of place.  I felt so small like a star fading in the night sky.  It took every fibre of my being not to flee.  When I felt that I would, a voice pulled at me, calling me by name and the faintest hint of an awkward smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I turned to face the familiar boy, Fin.  "Sorry."  Was all I could offer before he began flaunting a chalice filled with crimson liquid. I looked at it first and the way it settled in the glass with an inviting shimmer, and then I looked at him with a sceptical gleam.  Had he never seen wine before?  Mr Ajax made it seem so commonplace that anyone would know what it was.  For the first time, I felt as if I wasn't a useless simpleton.  "Noble's drink it when they want to feel fancy.  They call it wine."  Admittedly, I'd never sampled it.  Mr August claimed that it would make children sick so I couldn't help but wonder why Fin had a glass of it.  "Did you try it yet?"  I asked with a slight tilt of my crown.

Features would pinch lightly at the look he received, did she not know what it was either? Is that why she made such a face? Though before he could offer some snide retort her voice would rise, chasing away the assumptions that she was as clueless as he over this matter. So while he knew of metals and jewels she knew of what these so called nobles thought was fancy. However, the name applied was not where his assumptions originally laid when setting sights upon the flowing substance.

To he it looked like blood.

The favored drink of those not only within the shadowed embrace of the city he dwelt in but to a number of his family as well, even if they held little choice in the matter. It was what what he knew the damned to thrive on, however, this smelled fruity. Almost sweet compared to the metallic tang which wafted from the glasses back home. Wine? Half sights drifted down to the crimson liquid, swirling it lightly in his hand to watch the way it seemed to shimmer before focus returned to Julie with a short shake of his crown. “Not yet. I don’t go around puttin’ weird things in my mouth like some people.” Not without knowing what it was anyways.

But so many had seemingly flocked around this particular beverage. That meant it had to be good, right? Even if he had never tasted it before and had been shooed away from the more viscous alternative back in Lavalles, there was opportunity to sample it now. “Any idea what this shit’s supposed to taste like? Mom drinks it a lot but she’s never called it wine.” Because it wasn’t wine, it was a substance which pulsed beneath the very flesh so many craved. Wild eyes of those who hungered more openly always whirling upon he or any other that bled, whenever a pulse jumped at the feeling of those unfamiliar staring.

Right now there was no difference between the two other than smell and consistency, spices likely added to twist the flavors into something more palatable to all who attended. These nobles got one thing wrong though, if it was anything like what the damned drank it hardly made them ‘fancy’. More so tamed the wild gleam in their eyes or sparked it to grow ever brighter in their thirst. “Never seen it make her,” or any else for that matter, “some fancypants either.” The harshness of her words were still the same. The looks issued whenever it was declared he’d done something utterly stupid.

"Not yet.  I don't go around puttin' weird things in my mouth like some people."  I almost giggled. Almost.  The faintest hint of a smile lingered on the painted crease of my mouth instead.  It felt strange to be trapped behind these powders and paints.  Stranger still to feel emotion mar it.  My face was accustomed to its natural, neutral state; pale skin being free of heavy makeup.  There was an oddness in my thoughts, a concern about whether he thought I looked as strange as I felt.    If he did, there wasn't a word addressing it and what I knew of Fin so far, he had no shyness when it came to speaking his thoughts.  Did he, perhaps, like when women looked like this? Despite myself, a warm sensation rushed to my face and I was thankful for his question, the distraction that it gave.  I nodded in denial.  Mr August had said I was too young for such drinks and I never challenged his judgement.  He gave me no reason to thus far.  "I've never tried it."  I admitted while eyeing the glass curiously.  Everyone around us seemed to be enjoying the wine.  They came hither and to, filling their glasses in the fountain or grabbing cocktails from the table.  Papa said I was too young for it... but surely he'd understand if I had just one sip, right?  Would he be upset with me for disobeying?  For a moment I froze, my gaze roving over to the figure of my guardian whose back I barely managed to see before he slipped from sight in the company of a woman I didn't know.  Then I looked for Mr Ajax whose face I couldn't discern from the crowd.  "May I try a sip?  I'll let you know if it's good or not."  My voice was almost a whisper lest those I sought somehow managed to hear that resistive request.