"Well, I suppose curiosity wouldn't count as a good reason....I'll level with you, miss. I pocketed a letter earlier today. The symbol on it was not one belonging to any of the noble houses, but it bore a weight to it. Truthfully I had wanted to toss the thing. A letter isn't worth much, you see, but something about the event...I don't know, something told me not to throw the invitation away. So I came, and I had been planning to bail out after my little chat with the queen. Something is fishy here, and after watching the people, I think half of them know what's coming. The other half don't," Flint said leaning in closer to her. " And I don't know about you, but I don't like being part of the half not in the know."<br/><br/>As he said that he pulled his hand from his pocket, the coin still held firmly, before he stepped back from her and flicked the coin to her, smirking a bit when it landed at her feet. "Now, then, forget you saw me for a while, yes?" he said and with a flash of gold in his eyes Alma's mind stalled as the coin released it's spell, and a pressure built in the back of her skull. Flint used her temporary confusion, and loss of intellect to slip away, feeling only a little bad about using such a dirty trick, but he didn't have time to be arrested. Besides the spell would wear off in a minute or two. She might have a splitting headache though.<br/><br/>Flint used the time the coin granted him to conceal himself deep in the crowd. He needed to get closer to the queen. Speak with her to maybe figure out what was going on. He just needed to find her. Flint groaned inwardly and went about searching. He was painfully aware of the spell he had cast on Alma wearing off after a short time, and he knew she'd be mad, but she wasn't his concern right now. He picked up the speed, but stopped when the music halted and the king and queen stood before their guest, waiting for the crowd's attention.<br/><br/>"Well, I hope you all are having a lovely time," It was the king who spoke, and when he spoke people listened. The nobles all stopped, and turned to look to him. King Cordell was as unnerving as his wife, and though the people regarded the pair fondly, Flint felt a fear raise in him. " Me, and my darling wife would like to thank you all for coming tonight. It's a special occasion after all, this feast. A tribute to the lost." At that Flint noticed certain nobles frown, obviously confused. Did they not get the same invitation? One Lord stepped up, and drew the Kings focus to him. Flint recognized the man as Lord Darwin Ainsworth, one of the few Lords Flint had a respect for. The man generally cared for the people, and had spoken out against other nobles to ensure the people where safe, and happy. He cleared his throat and stood tall.<br/><br/>"My Lord, my Lady, I apologize, but the invitation we received said this was a ball to celebrate the recent trade deal with the kingdom Astaria." The queen chuckled at that, and half the room joined her, all turning cold eyes towards the man. "My dear Ainsworth, this party was indeed a celebration, but you see, it's to celebrate the death of you, and all the others here that would get in the way of our plan." Her eyes grew wild, and a large smirk spread across her face. At first the people thought it was a joke until all the windows and doors slammed shut, locking with the force of powerful magic, then they started to worry. Worry turned to outright panic when the queen held up a smooth black stone, with an intricate rune carved into it, and out of it a dark glow shone, and a swirl of shadows wrapped around the men and woman who were still laughing, turning them into large furred beast, eyes glowing bright red. Flint's eyes went wide, and he rushed towards the stairs, making his way towards the royals.