Alek's smile widens, even if he's not trying to make her self-conscious. It's supposed to be reassurance; he's not great at this whole thing, but he wants to try. "Never been to a masquerade ball before?" he asks, though the question itself is a bit needless. She hasn't had time to catch up on movies - much less would she have time to go to balls.

They're not much his style, but he's probably gone to more of them than he cares to.