“Interesting. It confirms much of what I’ve found.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Elizabeth regulated me to the alcove while two women dressed and fixed her hair. I dressed without help. The clothing she’d ordered for me appeared almost military, the trousers cut too narrow for my liking and the neck of the shirt too high. A banner of green went over my left shoulder to the right side of my waist. A new belt had appeared to carry my sword, also polished to reflect light.
To further enhance the military cut, green stripes matching the banner went down both outside seams of my pants. The new boots with hard heels added to the impression. I stood and looked down at myself, pictured my new beard-style and haircut, and realized my sister would walk right past on the street without recognizing me.
A woman approached and asked permission to do something with my hair. I saw no reason to refuse. She used a scented oil to tame the wayward strands and gave me a few words of encouragement.
Elizabeth called for them all to depart. I left my alcove and found a princess had arrived in her place. My old friend stood near the foot of the bed dressed in a satiny material of butter-yellow. It shimmied as she moved. I’d never seen her so lovely.
The balls at Crestfallen were competitions between all the unmarried women, intended to attract the most eligible men. Even the married competed, yet none compared to Elizabeth. I couldn’t even guess what her dress had cost.
A golden stone the size of my thumb hung on a gold chain at her throat.
She said, “Yes?”
“If that does not attract attention, I don’t know what will.”
She smiled. “I do. The dress is nice, but I need to ask you a question. The golden halo you made for me, will the color match of my dress?”
“It is the same. I can adjust it if need be.”
“What does it take for you to maintain it? I mean, what if I ask you to make it appear and keep it in place all night? Even while you’re busy dancing or talking?”
Remembering the incident of the personal rainstorm, I’d held it in place while joking and playing. Even napping, in a manner. It may have slipped then, but I would be awake all night. “I can do that.”
“Good. We will be formally announced. Our arrival will be after most of the other guests, and instead of hiding, I want to make such a scene the king invites me to meet with him. Your crown will help do that.”
I gave her a slight bow.
She continued, “Practice making the crown here. Match the colors exactly. Adjust the amount of glow to maximize impact. I want every eye looking at me, every mouth to drop open at my appearance. Can you do that?”
I sat and looked at her as she stood alone. I reached for essence and dabbled it around her head in the vague shape of a crown, the center open. It grew taller and overshadowed her face. I reduced it, and adjusted the color to match her gown better, then played with intensity. Too much and she lit the room like a candle.
I finally got it right. Her crown was the gold hue of a summer sunset, not lighting the land as the sun in daylight, but as dusk on a clear twilight when all eyes are drawn to the last rays of the day. I fixed it in my mind. Duplicating it and maintaining all evening it would be no problem, not even while I talked or listened to music. Despite what she’d said, I didn’t believe I’d be doing much dancing as I watched and protected her.
I glanced at the small windows and found it was full dark. I’d been at it far longer than expected. “I’m ready.”
“Will it do as I asked?”
“And then some.”
She lifted a linen robe. “Help me into this. There is one for you too.”
They were simple, colorless, baggy, and lightweight. They would keep dust off us while in the carriage. Bran was waiting at the front door of the Black Swan, wearing all black, from hat to shoes.
He helped us climb in, and without a word started the trip. I leaned closer to her. “Excited?”
“Yes. Listen, if you must drop the crown after my entrance to keep any of the six mages at bay, do so. I want the king all to myself for a few heartbeats.”
“How much of a scene can I make?” I laughed.
She didn’t. “You can burn down the ballroom if that’s what you need to do. Keep those damn mages and any sorceresses away from the two of us while we talk.”
“They, the mages, I mean, will know how your crown is made. One of them may make it disappear and I might not be able to stop him.”
“No matter. It is the initial impression we are going to make. After that, we’ll do what we must. You are authorized to do any trickery without asking me for permission. You will stop any of their antics, and if that is not clear enough, you are authorized to use your sword. Do I make myself clear?”
“You do.” I sat back and considered her instructions. She was worried and that was to be expected. She was also in command. Instead of asking my opinions and discussing them, she told me the results she wanted. I’d become more of a tool than a friend.
I allowed the coolness of the night air to revive me. Her changes didn’t upset me, they encouraged me to an extent. I was not afraid because there were too many unknowns to consider, too many things to go wrong. My tasks this evening were simple. Act as the escort of a princess and keep her glowing halo of a crown intact while protecting her from mages, assassins, thieves, and worse.
She had all the hard work to do.
We arrived at the ballroom and found three coaches in front of us. We waited silently. When we dismounted, there were aides to walk us inside. Honest Bran helped us out of our linen dusters and my eyes saw his reaction. I glanced at the aide and saw the same. Elizabeth impressed.
I fought to withhold my smile. They hadn’t seen the whole package yet. The glowing crown would come later, so the impact would stun.
Inside, she handed the invitation to an aide who read it before handing it off to the caller, the royal Herold, if they had such a position. Her title and what she wanted him to introduce was on the invitation. His eyes went wide as he did a double-take at Elizabeth, who stood cool and calm, her eyes lowered. Clearly, they had not expected a royal princess from another kingdom.
To me, he leaned closer and whispered as he held the invitation where I could see it, “All this?”
I glanced down. In tiny writing, instead of simply our names, and perhaps a title, she had written a lengthy description detailing her entire royal name, her royal position, some of her many duties, and embellished the kingdom of Dire as the ‘wonderland of the north’ among other things.
I said abruptly, “That will do.”
On the last line, she introduced me as a Kaon Prince of the Old Order, whatever that meant. I was no prince, of any order, and doubted there was such a thing as the Old Order, but it sounded nice to my ears.
We stood at the top of the stairs behind two other couples waiting for the Herald to announce them and finally us. Below, music merrily played softly, softening even more as each measured announcement by the Herald was made, then it increased again until the next announcement.
Looking over the baluster, the room was smaller than expected, the royal dais at the far end, the band under us, and the crowd of people in the center talking, drinking, dancing, and generally ignoring those arriving and descending the stairs in honor.
Our turn came. The Herald glanced at the invitation, up at us, and at my nod, he shouted the standard call for attention, which was ignored. The music softened. I took Elizabeth’s arm and she said from the corner of her mouth, “Wait until we reach the third step.”