The Fair-Caste debutant

Part Three

  My Aunt and Uncle climbed up the stairs slowly, with me and my mother following behind closely. As we climbed the last step, the massive twin doors swung open and a well dressed butler stepped forward
  He bowed and asked us to follow him, leading us through the halls of the palace. I was tempted to stop and admire the wonder that was the entrance hall. The Fair-Caste mansion in town was beautiful with amazing architecture but this hall literally left me speechless.
The floor was waxed so thoroughly that I could see my reflection in the black tiles. The four pillars in the room had beautifully carved cherubs on their top corner and the large ceiling was covered in a vibrant and detailed painting. A gold chandelier with an impossible number of candles and crystals glimmered on the ceiling.
A grand staircase, larger and more majestic than any other I had seen, sat just opposite the massive doors, its banisters made of polished gold. A red rug ran in the middle of the stairs. The room screamed wealth in bold, capital letters.
We were led down a long corridor leading to the ballroom form the faint music I was hearing.
"Your Grace," the butler bowed again to my uncle "the debutant and her mother are expected to stay at the back room where they will wait for the debutant to be announced and presented."
"Oh, we know!" My aunt replied giving the butler a dismissive wave. "This is not our first season as guardians after all."
Without so much as a backward glance, my aunt and uncle walk into the ballroom
"Mother, is there any update on Belle and Audra?" I asked as we followed the butler to the back room.
Belle and Audra were my younger cousins from my mother's side. The daughters of my mother's immediate younger brother uncle Timothy. My mother had requested for them to be my ladies-in-waiting.
"Timothy said they will be here latest tomorrow morning. Although he mentioned that if they get to Newell at good time, they may come before nightfall." Newell, the capital of Aldrone where the palace is located.
We walk into a comfortable and nicely decorated space with numerous plush couches. The array of colourful gown in the space was indeed interesting. Every debutant wore the colors of her house.
"Try to socialize, this is the best place to make friends." My mother said quietly as we sat down
I surveyed the room deciding to take her advice. She after all was a part of the royal season, it was actually where she met my father.
I spotted a girl in a dark green and gold dress by the buffet table, the colour of her gown sending a very clear message about her house. The green signifies land, in that shade it signified lush and dense vegetation. The metal colour of Gold signifies the influence and affluence the house has.
She was from Taryn, a land in the far south of the kingdom, who had been part of the King's council long before I was born
The colours of my house royal blue and silver meant that my family line had come from royalty a long, long, long time ago. My ancestor was the second son of the third monarch of Aldrone. We were currently on the fourteenth monarch so we are long removed from the line of succession.
The silver and not gold was because we are no more a house of great wealth, just of influence.
I walked up to her, smiling pleasantly as she selects some shortbreads from the buffet.
"Are those any good?" I ask her as I pick up a saucer for myself. She looks up sharply, almost startled, her swift movement made her brown hair shine like bronze in the well lit room. I guess she had been more focused on the shortbreads than I thought.
"They are, trust me, I've had two already." She focused back on the buffet, not in a dismissive manner but as one heavily interested in food.
"The chef at home makes them, but not nearly this buttery. I love soft shortbreads like this and considering my mother is absent, I can have as much as I like."
I smile and pick two for myself.
"My name is Anastasia by the way." She turns to me again when I speak and she smiles softly, her green eyes, which are almost the same shade of her dress soften.
"I'm Adela, it's nice to meet you. I'm from the house Taryn." She said confirming my assumption.
"I'm from Fair-Caste. This is actually the first time I have been to the palace."
"Oh, I've been here a few times with my Father. Just briefly when he had important council meetings." I just gained another bit of useful information about her; her father is on the council which means she is the daughter of Lord Taryn.
"What is Taryn like? I have heard many stories about it."
"Oh it's really green and beautiful. All the trees are evergreens. It always looks like summer even in the season you call fall. We rarely get any snow though. Can you tell me about Fair-Caste? It is by the sea isn't it?" She finished and we both walked away from the table.
"Yes, Fair-Caste is but the sea. It just mostly moist, almost uncomfortably humid but the view is spectacular. I moved to Newell when I was fourteen." That was almost four years ago. In three months I would be eighteen. Majority of debutants are usually late sixteen or early seventeen. So I was almost a year older than them.
We settled in a love seat just opposite the door, discussing things about our homelands.

Author's Note:
Hallo again guys, I am writing this book so fast because I'm sort of using it as a means of relaxation. It's actually therapeutic😉. I hope it is as relaxing to read as it is to write.😘😘
Do you think I should change the chapter to heading rather than parts (like this chapter will be something like 'A new friend' rather than Part 3)
Pls comment you opinion below 😘