Arthion sighs, “Maybe the food is a redeeming feature of this place.”
Kenric laughs. “Having been to Fey parties and banquets, I think the food might be one of your bigger disappointments.”
Rosaniya rounds on Kenric. “You didn’t warn us about any of this.”
Kenric shakes his head. “I did. I warned you about all of it. I know that all of you were terribly excited to travel outside the Fey kingdom, and I don’t think you paid much attention to what I had to say about it.”
I sigh and nod. “You did. I recall you specifically mentioning chamber pots. I know you said it was going to be colder here, too. That’s why you had me get these fur-lined dresses made up before we left.”
Kenric leans down and smiles at me, “I also told you that I’d make sure you were warm at night.”
I smile a bit and nestle into him.
He continues to comfort me. “I’ll try to do some shopping and have some things sent here from my home. I know we can make this place significantly more comfortable than it is right now. Maybe they’ll let us bring in a plasterer to seal up some of the drafts. Part of the reason for these rooms is that I’m just a viscount. I knew there were things you wouldn’t be happy about, that they wouldn’t be what you’re used to, because of the big gap in our rank. I didn’t think about that being the rooms we were assigned in the King’s palace.”
Rosaniya laughs. “I told you it was all his fault.”
Kenric gives her a wry look. “How could I resist her? I adore her.”
Halaema nods. “We know. We’ve heard all about you from her, too, remember? I don’t think she could resist you either.”
Arthion grumbles. “I blame the rest of the trade delegation for pressuring Kenric into coming back here and making you go with him. I don’t like it, Víl?. You watch yourself around those men. They’re up to something. Mark my words.”
I shudder. “I didn’t care for them at all. I think Rolf was the only one, aside from Kenric, who was half-decent, and that was only when the others weren’t around. The rest of them are boorish old goats. Even the sailors on the ship were better mannered. Duke Jellema tried to be kind to me. Duchess Ina was delightful. Some of the people in the hallway have been more polite.”
Nodding, Halaema agrees. “The sailors on our ship were too. Everything here is so different. If I want hot water, I have to flag down a maid and get her to bring it, one bucket at a time. Gods forbid all of us should ever want a bath at the same time. We’d run that poor girl senseless if we all needed a bath to attend the same function.”
I shrug. “This is why I hired Melina. We’ll have to hire our own staff. We don’t have any of that yet. That’s part of the problem. It’s probably my responsibility to have a maid who will sweep, mop, and clean in here. Melina will determine whether the castle staff should do it or if I should do it myself. It might even be my responsibility to fix that chimney, which likely has a nest of some kind stuck somewhere, given how smoky it is. If nothing is blocking it, it wasn’t built properly. I’ve seen poor farm houses and inn tap rooms here that had better chimneys.
Rosaniya nods in agreement. “It does make you wonder if they can really afford to purchase everything they’ve negotiated for in the quantities they demanded. This place seems to be… leaning toward impoverished. When they said we’d be staying at the palace, I was expecting it to be… grander.”
“I know,” Arthion replies, “I was expecting something closer to Ellisar’s palace. This is just… shabby. You can tell it’s run down and a bit sad.”
Halaema shrugs. “Maybe they’ve fallen on hard times due to some war or plague. You see hints, here and there, that it was once a much more elegant place.”
Melina laughs. “I’m certain it’s some petty lordling who arranged for you to be here. I know there are better places in this palace.”
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I do my best to look and sound upset as I look at my “ladies.” “Thank the Gods that Melina’s here. If you three abandon me in this hovel, I’ll have to hire more help to make it livable. Local people probably won’t mind these conditions as much, since it’s apparently what they’re accustomed to. I’ll need someone to help me find them, determine what to pay them, manage them, and identify the skills I’ll need them to have, among other things. I’m sorry, everything here is so dreadful. I’m so sorry that I had you come here to turn right around and go back home. I truly wish I could go with you, but we have to stay here for at least a month for the wedding, so that’s a given. If I don’t stay that long, I’ll never hear the end of Ellisar’s whinging. Please have him call us back as soon as possible.
With promises to do that as soon as they get home, the three of them trudge off to change for dinner.
Kenric snuggles me for a moment longer. “I suppose I should go change as well. What should I wear?”
I think for a moment, having packed his Fey clothing. “Wear the wine-red formal outfit, the one with the gold and copper embroidery.”
A quick kiss to my forehead, and I’m pushed off his lap and handed to Melina.
Melina grins at me and winks. “Which dress were you thinking, Princess Víl??”
I frown for a moment. “Something to match Kenric, I think. We need a united front here. I think I have one that’s Fey silk.”
Melina laughs, “Almost all of your dresses are Fey silk. That doesn’t narrow it down much.”
Sighing, we start opening trunks and unpacking things, looking for the dress I know I want. We finally find it at the bottom of the third trunk. We will be resplendent together. His suit features a high-necked tunic worked in gold and copper embroidery, while the jacket’s cuffs and shoulders are trimmed in the same fabric. A sash of copper-colored Fey silk, black pants, and black Fey boots. He looked positively delectable when I had him try it on.
My somewhat matching dress is a multilayered confection somewhere between Fey style and the local style. The chemise underneath is a bit sheer, but the only place another layer won’t cover is literally my elbows to my wrists. The long drapey sleeves, which I am still certain will end up in the gravy eventually, are in the sheerest of Fey silk. The next layer is the underdress, a beaded wine-red Fey silk with sleeves that come to my elbows. The sleeveless overdress, cut to resemble Kenric’s jacket, is in the same gold and copper embroidered fabric.
Melina takes my hair down, brushes it out, and re-pins it into a new style to accommodate the headpiece that goes with the dress. It is a wreath of strawberries and wild roses studded with gems. It almost covers my hair, and the style is very Fey with tinkling chains studded with jewels and chimes that fall beside my face and down my back.
Melina helps me into the matching slippers and nods. “You are definitely the exotic princess here. Everything you wear is so… lavish. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The effect is stunning.”
I cock my head and look at Melina, puzzled. “This, by Fey standards, isn’t lavish. It was before I was born, when Myanthar, Ellisar’s uncle, was still king. There are quite a few portraits of his queen, Queen Roshani. She was lavish. If I can, I’ll take you to Imelenora, to the palace, and show you the portraits. Even in this, I feel rather drab by comparison.”
Melina looks gobsmacked, but recovers quickly. “You shouldn’t feel drab.”
I grin. “Do you think that there might be some dancing after dinner?”
Melina shakes her head. “Not at a state dinner. The two of you will be expected to stand around chatting with various important people for a few hours before and after the meal.”
I roll my eyes. “The men will all talk down to me or be angry with me because I actually have opinions. The women will hate me because they are not me. I hope I can find one friendly person to at least gossip with. I’d like to know who’s who here at the very least.”
“Hasn’t Lord Kenric explained all that to you?” Melina asks, alarmed.
I shake my head. “Kenric is very good with names, but not so good at describing people in a way that you can recognize them. While I might know a thousand things about Lord Velam, I have no idea whatsoever what he looks like.”
Melina laughs, “I’ll try to send someone to you who can point everyone out. Just sit here and wait for Lord Kenric.”
I nod absently, and before long, a knock sounds. I open the door, and it’s Kenric. I take his arm, and we walk toward dinner. Many who pass us in the hallway turn back to stare at us. I catch this out of the corner of my eye. I smile serenely and keep walking. We arrive at the dinner, and it is much as Melina predicted. Everyone wants to come by and meet us. We’re supposed to stand here, like some prize cow at the livestock show, so that King Oskar can show off his newest pets.
While we stand there, I tell Kenric in Fey, “I’m surprised no one’s asked to examine our teeth to estimate our ages.”
Kenric smirks for a moment before shifting slightly to step on my slipper. He replies, also in Fey, “Be nice or I shall have to deal with you later.”
While we’re standing there, a lovely blonde woman wanders toward us. I see everyone starting to curtsey, and as she approaches, I follow suit. I assume she is Oskar’s queen.
She reaches out and touches the wild roses that crown my hair. “My, you are a tiny thing.”
This woman is not tiny. She’s nearly as tall as Kenric.
I smile at her. “I assume from all the curtseys that you’re the queen. Please pardon me, Your Royal Highness, but no one has mentioned your name. I take it that even you are subject to the male ideas that say we are all as empty-headed as the carved squash decorating the table.”
Her eyes crinkle at this, and she suppresses a smile. “I am called Grethe. I think we are going to get on famously. Tell me, do you know anyone here at all, aside from Kenric?”
I shake my head.
She perks up and loops her arm through mine. “Come, then. You must let me introduce you. I know absolutely everyone.”
I smile. “That would be lovely, Your Royal Highness. Kenric has told me so much about everyone, but his descriptions of how people look are sadly lacking. I know that Kenric can tell people apart, but in his mind, being a male who is this tall (I gesture with my hand) and having brown hair is sufficient.”
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