Kathryn shifted on the stool. “They’re embarrassing.”
Her friend tossed her a grin. “I guess we’ll have to work on that too.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re a lady of the court,” Amy explained. “You have to know how to accept compliments from smitten young men.” She looked at Kathryn. “Honestly, how did you pass the etiquette courses?”
“I only had one,” Kathryn reminded her.
“There,” Amy said reaching for one last pin. “Done.”
“So I can look?”
“I said your hair was done, we still have make-up to do.”
“No make-up,” Kathryn said firmly.
Amy, who had been reaching for the cosmetics lying on the table, turned to look at her friend. “Why not?”
“I’ve never worn the stuff and don’t intend on starting.”
“Every other lady at court will be wearing some.”
“No make-up.” Kathryn was adamant.
“It will help hide your identity if you wear make-up.”
Scowling Kathryn considered Amy’s argument. “Okay fine,” she groused. “But just a little!”
Grinning like a little girl, Amy quickly applied the cosmetics. “Okay, now I’m done. Let’s do me.”
Kathryn helped Amy into her stunning red and gold dress, “Prince Derek will appreciate this,” she commented as she laced her friend’s corset and tied on her sleeves.
“That’s the idea,” Amy laughed.
Amy wanted her hair up and curled and it took almost the entire rest of the time to finish the style she had imagined. Since Kathryn didn’t know how to apply make-up Amy did her own.
Finally both girls were ready; they didn’t have time to look in the mirrors before they heard a knock at the door.
“Our escorts?” Amy asked as she moved towards the door.
Prince Derek and David were standing outside, both admittedly handsome in their fresh tunics. Kathryn felt herself become increasingly uncomfortable as both escorts stared at them for a few moments in shock.
Finally Derek collected himself and offered Amy his arm. “Are you ready for tonight?”
Amy rewarded him with a smile. “Of course.”
Together they headed down the hall. Kathryn reluctantly turned to look at David.
When Amy had first opened the door, David hadn’t noticed Kathryn in the background. He noticed her now. In fact it was getting to be exceedingly difficult not to stare at her.
What had Amy done?
Kathryn didn’t look like the Kathryn he knew. Her hair was styled so that most of it hung down, softening her facial features to such an extent he almost didn’t recognize her. The dress she was wearing didn’t match any style he had ever seen before, but it enhanced Kathryn’s features and unlike the wider skirts that his sisters wore, hers was left to fall naturally, making her look taller.
Earlier he hadn’t understood what Derek had seen in her that stood out to him. He did now. Kathryn was stunning.
“Is everything alright?” she asked as she closed the door behind her.
“Everything’s perfect,” he assured her as he offered her his arm. He could see her hesitation to accept it. “I don’t bite,” he joked. She took it gingerly.
They met Arianna in the hall and the servant gave Kathryn a peculiar look, followed by one that Kathryn would have sworn was pride, and hurried off.
“What was that about?” David asked curiously.
Kathryn was just as confused as he was. “I have no idea.”
When they reached the courtyard where the feast would take place, Kathryn was surprised at the décor. The Royal table was set at the far end of the courtyard. Behind the table a massive mural depicting the four seasons at the castle formed a colorful backdrop. Five long tables were spread out perpendicular to the head table and it was to the head of one of these tables that a servant showed Kathryn and David. Mercifully, across from them sat Natalie and Luke, which would make the dinner conversation easier. At least it would if Natalie remained civil. As it was, the older girl was eyeing her dress with a calculating gleam in her eye.
The King signaled for the feast to begin and within minutes the servants were carrying platters from the kitchen and filling up the tables with delicious foods.
Kathryn ate sparingly. The nightmare had robbed her of her appetite and even spending time with Amy hadn’t brought it fully back. To her annoyance, David noticed her lack of enthusiasm and kept urging her to try some new dish. Even Natalie began to notice, asking if she’d tried the smoked fish or jellied fruit.
Despite her lack of hunger she had to admit that the food was very good. Roast mallard, goose, pheasant, and quail dominated the farthest reaches of the table. Baskets of breads, tureens of various soups, and bowls of dipping sauces were scattered between and around the various roasted birds. The center of each table was dominated by three large platters; one a roasted pig, another a smoked deer, and the last was covered with various types of fish.
There were several different types of wines and berry juices present and Kathryn filled her cup with berry juice. Her dislike of wine stemmed from her duties at the Blackwood’s and there were nights, especially after a nightmare, when she would swear that she could smell the scent of the sharp wine they had favored in her room.
After dessert, a wide selection of fruits, nuts, berries, and cheeses, the toasts began. If there was any part of a royal, or even noble, party that Kathryn hated the most, it was the toasts. As far as she was concerned, the toasts gave every windbag attending the opportunity to make their presence and perceived importance known to the rest of the poor guests by boring them with long speeches, ridiculously formal phrases, and false nods of acknowledgement to the royal family. This was the one part of the feast she would have given her left leg to be excused from. Blessedly, as a woman, she was excused from having to give a toast.
Prince Derek went first. “Unlike my predecessors,” he began with a smile. “I will not bore you with a long dull speech.” Laughter and cheers erupted from around the courtyard as the people approved. “Instead I will merely toast to my mother’s continued happiness on this special day and to the people for their love.”
That was mercifully short, Kathryn thought as she sipped her drink.
She was back in the exotic hall floating high in the trees. Only instead of being empty, it was filled to capacity with strange faces. As she gazed out at the faces, Kathryn was startled to realize she wasn’t standing near the doors, but next to the raised dais—facing the crowd. She was wearing the same dress she had worn before and those on and around the dais were those who had been in the room the last time she had come to this place.
“Ei syr!” called one of the men on the dais. “Sai Volaer, Estelwen, thys mi car vaeresaer sai iar!”
It was only then that Kathryn realized they were all raising wine goblets high, “Sai Volaer Estelwen!” The crowd echoed enthusiastically.
“Lady Kathryn?”
David’s concerned question brought her out of the vision—she turned to look at him.
“Are you alright?”
She nodded, not trusting her voice to answer confidently. Quickly she turned her attention back to the toasts, pushing back her rising panic.
To her relief the rest of the toasters followed Prince Derek’s example and most were no more than a few sentences. There was one toast that lasted for five minutes but the speaker was eloquent and, as far as Kathryn could tell, spoke the truth in all his words. Best of all, there were no more day…what could she call that? A daydream? A day nightmare? A vision?
I hope not
.
The feast concluded and those who were fortunate enough to have received an invitation left to participate in the ball that followed.
Kathryn accepted David’s arm and allowed him to lead her to the ballroom. As they walked she was eternally grateful that her escort wasn’t pushing to understand what had happened during the toasts—not that she would have had an answer anyway. What—or who— was bringing these…visions, she decided, to mind? She didn’t know and wasn’t entirely confident that she wanted to know. What she did know was that she wanted the visions to stop. Immediately.
They entered the ballroom and David gracefully transitioned their walk into a waltz as he brought them onto the dance floor.
Kathryn hated waltzes. They were intentionally slow to allow the couple a chance to talk, or in some cases flirt, without becoming out of breath. She especially hated how it was an unspoken requirement that you look into your partner’s eyes throughout the dance. She wanted nothing more than walk off the dance floor and get out of sight for a few radians.
“You want to tell me what happened during the toasts?” David asked as he deftly sidestepped a less experienced couple. As much as he had protested to hate the waltz back in the garden at school, he was proving to be an extremely graceful dancer. Kathryn found that this knowledge only served to irritate her even more. When he kept glancing at her expectantly, she forced herself to answer his question.
“Not really.” She worked to keep a straight face. If he kept on this topic, she just might be hitting him before the night was over. Maybe she could make it look like he’d insulted her honor and just maybe, she wouldn’t have to be his sponsor anymore. It was a possibility to consider.
He glanced down at her and grinned. “I’d say that’s progress.”
Confused, Kathryn glanced at him. “Excuse me?”
“Not really is not a no, therefore you aren’t adamant about not telling me which means we’re making progress and you’re considering telling me.”
She stared at him for a full ten seconds before slowly shaking her head. “I hope that made sense in your head, because I can’t follow your logic.”
He laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“You sounded exactly like my mother when you said that. She was always telling me that when my curiosity got the better of me.”
“Who are your parents?” Kathryn asked, genuinely curious. “Are they here tonight?” She was intensely intrigued when he looked away before answering.
David quickly scanned the dance floor and the head table. “No, they aren’t here.”
She tipped her head to the side. “Okay. But who are they?”
“No one of consequence,” he replied as he turned her expertly.
Interesting. She’d never seen him so closed to questions, or at least she’d never seen him so evasive. Usually he encouraged questions within their family in order to facilitate the formation of close relationships that they would need later in life. “Are they nobility?”
‘No.”
“So they’re commoners,” she deliberately used the word nobility used to describe those they believed to be below them.
His reply was calm, unflustered. “No.”
“No?”
“No,” he confirmed.
“They aren’t nobility, but they aren’t commoners either,” Kathryn repeated.
What else is there to be? Do you enjoy riddles? Is this your way of getting back at me?
“What else could they be?” she asked her first question out loud, she didn’t dare voice the last one.
“I told you, no one of consequence.”
Another possibility popped into her head, “Are they dead?”
“No.”
“So they are alive, but neither noble or common.” She mused over the riddle before asking quietly, “Are they Guardians?”
“No.”
She let out a heavy sigh in frustration. David chuckled and she glared at him. Her irritation got the better of her. “You’re doing this just to annoy me.”
He shrugged. “No more so that you refusing to reveal your heritage to me.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Somehow I don’t think you had quite the childhood I had,” she replied stiffly.
“You’re right, I didn’t,” he agreed. “But at least I don’t let mine hold me back.”
The music ended and he bowed to her. “Thank you for the dance, milady.”
Kathryn, still sputtering after his last comment, performed the customary curtsy but before David could escort her off the dance floor, and she could give him a piece of her mind, Prince Derek came to ask her for a dance.
Kathryn acquiesced only to find herself dancing another waltz. She briefly wondered how well the musicians could play if they were soaked completely through.
Jasmine would have my head if I tried such a stunt,
she thought sourly.
Not to mention I’d probably give myself away.
“Are you enjoying the ball, Lady Kathryn?” Derek asked as he steered her around the room.
“Yes, Your Highness, I am. Are you?”
Derek frowned at her. “I thought I told you to call me Derek?”
Kathryn felt her cheeks redden from embarrassment, something that rarely happened, “Yes, you did, forgive me.”
He flashed a grin and winked at her, “No harm done, I just hate being called Your Highness all evening and watching eyes wink at me from behind fluttering fans.”
Kathryn frowned. “Somehow I agree with you.”
He laughed. “Somehow you don’t seem like the type to flirt outrageously with your prince.”
“I believe you to be correct.”
“Are you always so formal?”
“Only during a waltz,” she assured him.
He threw back his head and laughed heartily, drawing the stares of those around them. Kathryn felt exceedingly exposed as she waited for her partner to finish expressing his amusement.
“I like you Lady Kathryn,” he informed her as they waltzed around the room. “You aren’t afraid to speak frankly. I will confide in you that I hate the waltz as much as you appear to.” He bowed to her as the music ended and thanked her for being such a delightful partner.
Matt’s cheerful face appeared before her as he asked her to dance. Kathryn, already tired of playing the part of a noblewoman, agreed only because Matt’s playful manner was infectious and she couldn’t bring herself to say no.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Matt said as he led her around the room.
She rolled her eyes at him. “You need to work on your observation skills, Sir Matias.”
He grimaced. “I hate that name. Why my mother had to give me such a pompous name, I’ll never know.”
Smiling, she couldn’t hold back a small laugh. “Perhaps she thought you would be destined for great things.”
“She was probably hoping that I’d follow my namesake’s example and sire fifteen children.”
Kathryn choked on a laugh. “That’s a lot of kids.”
“Don’t I know it. Try growing up with over two hundred cousins and having to learn everyone’s name. It’s a royal pain.”
“I have to admit, I don’t envy you there.”
Leaning in, he placed his cheek next to her own and Kathryn had to force herself not to react. “So what’s your court name?” he whispered.
“You already know it,” she whispered back.
She laughed at his disappointed look.
Soon the waltz was over and Matt bowed to her, thanking her for the dance and wringing from her the promise of another dance.
Before another eager man could ask her for a dance, Kathryn hurried to the table set up for refreshments. Picking up a pre-filled cup, she slowly sipped the cool liquid. Whenever a hopeful young man approached her and asked for dance she informed them that she wasn’t available at the moment and would hold her glass up as proof.