I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYONE THAT TALL AND WELL-BUILT...
...ASIDE FROM DEON.
I SENT HIM OUT ON A DIFFICULT MISSION TO KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THE ASSEMBLY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE...
I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S ALREADY DONE.
I'LL JUST PRETEND NOT TO NOTICE HIM.
DAMN IT.
HE FOUND ME.
THAT BASTARD...
HOW DID HE KNOW I WAS HIDING BACK HERE?
YOU'RE THE WORST...
HOW MUCH MORE DO I HAVE TO PUT UP WITH FROM YOU?
I'VE TOLD YOU COUNTLESS TIMES THAT THE SIGHT OF YOU MAKES ME SICK.
I WAS HAVING A NICE EVENING BEFORE YOU CAME AND RUINED IT.
I DON'T EVEN WANT TO HEAR YOU SPEAK. JUST TURN AROUND AND LEAVE, DEON.
DON'T COME NEAR--
!!!
A CLOAK...?
THIS SCENT...
THAT PERSON...
...WASN'T DEON.
WHERE'S DEON?
HE'S NOT HERE YET.
WHAT'S TAKING HIM SO LONG?
TRUST ME, WE'RE BETTER OFF WITHOUT HIM.
BUT HE IS TAKING LONGER THAN EXPECTED...
WHO KNOWS? MAYBE HE'S UP TO NO GOOD WHILE YOU'RE AWAY, FATHER.
I DON'T THINK YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT HIM. THIS IS DEON WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I'M SURE HE'LL BE HERE BEFORE THE END OF THE BANQUET.
YOU'RE RIGHT.
WELL THEN...
LET'S SEE WHICH FOOLS DECIDED TO ATTEND THIS YEAR.
WOW, LOOK AT THEIR STUPID FACES.
HOW PATHETIC.
HM?
MAN, I'M STARVING!
I THOUGHT I FELT SOMEONE WATCHING ME...
TURNS OUT IT WAS LUZARK CASTRO ALL ALONG.
HIS EYES ARE LOOKING EVEN MORE FIERY TODAY.
SERIOUSLY, PLEASE GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF.
STAND UP STRAIGHT AND SMOOTH OUT YOUR CLOTHES!
COME ON!
STOP CLINGING ONTO ME!!!
AW, COME ON...
I WANT TO GO HOME AND EAT NIX'S HOMEMADE TARTS...
STOP WHINING! YOU'LL GET TO GO HOME TOMORROW, OKAY?!
THIS IS WHY NIX NEVER WANTS TO GO ANYWHERE WITH YOU, MASTER NOEL-- AGH...!
URGH!
WALK PROPERLY! PEOPLE ARE STARING!
THAT MAN OVER THERE...
...MUST BE NOEL, HEAD OF THE GOLD VERTIUMS.
BUT... TARTS...
HE'S JUST AS HE WAS DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK.
I GUESS I'M SOMEWHAT RELIEVED BY THAT...
OH?
A-ARE YOU OKAY, MASTER NOEL?!
M-MASTER NOEL!
Y-YOUR NOSE IS BLEEDING...!
UH...
HUH?
WHAT?
UGH!!!
WHAT'S UP WITH THOSE MORONS?
ANYWAY, XANA! AREN'T YOU HUNGRY?
YOU WANT SOMETHING TO EAT?
SHOULD I BRING SOMETHING FOR YOU?
SURE, THANKS.
BANQUETS USUALLY TEND TO BE LIVELY...
...BUT TONIGHT IS EXCEPTIONALLY BOISTEROUS.
OR MAYBE I'M JUST...
...ANXIOUS.
IS THAT EVEN THE RIGHT WORD TO DESCRIBE HOW I'M FEELING RIGHT NOW?
OR PERHAPS...
...I'M JUST...
...WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN.
OH!
THAT'S PROBABLY IT.
I-IT'S...
...CASSIS PEDELIAN!!!
In Roxana Chapter Draft 34, Roxana snaps at the burly figure appearing behind her, thinking it is Deon, but realizes from the cloak draped over her and the unfamiliar scent that it is someone else. While Deon's delay and the guests are discussed in the banquet hall, chaos in the hall grows with the arrival of Noel, leader of the Golden Vertiums. As Roxana anxiously waits for something to happen, she is shaken by the appearance of Cassis Pedelian at the banquet.
