The Places We Go

Chapter XVII; Anastasia

     Anastasia was happier than ever; she was with Beau. She was his, and he was hers. They were invested in each other, almost never leaving each other's sides. It was hard to hide it from everyone except for Arlie. Anastasia had told her for that reason only, she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep her new relationship a secret from her. Anastasia wanted to hold Beau's hand and kiss him goodbye in the rare times she had to leave him, but she knew that she could not. If their relationship were revealed, it would be obvious she did not mourn Ideus and people may begin to suspect of her murder. To keep one secret, another had to be kept as well. Arlie was proof of it. She had talked to Anastasia about it time and time again, trying to reap more information out of her.
     Arlie had just left for Rielweth, along with Scheven. It had been good to see them, but there were bigger fish to fry now. Queen Luna and Soleil were no doubt back in Imperial City, or at least Queen Luna was should Soleil be dead or abandoned. This was to be a time of training the Faormen and Rielweth soldiers and the continuation of Zellarid training. The attack on Queen Luna would take everything they had; every person, every weapon, every cent. Scheven had become so enthusiastic that he charged nothing at all for the weapons so long as that was mentioned in history that he would be the maker of the weapon that would kill Queen Luna, whichever weapon that may be. He had taken over an abandoned forge in Rielweth, and spent all of his time there according to the messages that Anastasia and Charlotte had been sending back and forth. It scared Anastasia a little, to see Scheven so hungry for blood. It was as if something had taken over him, or that he himself was trying to take something over.
     Anastasia thought that Faormen would be easy to rule, especially compared to Zellard. That was the exact opposite. In Zellarid she had Arlie and Soleil to help her, but here? She only had the few words she could hear Beau whisper to her for help. Even then, she caught the most unimportant words of his sentence, the a's, the's, and's, then's and other words of the sort. She loved that it had been socially acceptable for him to be in meetings because of how things went for the Imperial City and Rielweth takeovers, because he was truly her King though none but they and Arlie knew. As soon as the societal pressure from the Faormen people began to roll in, so would the age of "King Beau". She thought that she would lay the groundwork for it tonight; at the New Years Eve ball.
     It was a grand event in all kingdoms, but none more than in Faormen. The drinking of their signature wine, the throwing of confetti that would take until the next party to fully clean up, and of course, the main attraction; the masquerade ball. Each year, a special tailor came from Imperial City to design the royal family special dresses and suits. The former King and Queen, Xayah, as well as little Anabelle and Anthony, had recently decided to move out of the castle and move to a riverside condo, and decided to have a more intimate new year's like Rielweth tradition. Anastasia, on the other hand, was very excited. She had grown up hearing about Faormen's lavish parties and grew jealous that Zellarid didn't have them. Now, she was able to not experience one, but host it as well. She was sad that Arlie wouldn't be there to celebrate with her, but was ecstatic that she would have her love, her King, her Beau was there to kiss at midnight.
     The tailor had arrived a few weeks before the wedding and had tailored the royal family's outfits. Anastasia thought back to her session with him, where they designed the dress of her dreams. The dress itself was a deep blue taffeta with a mermaid-style skirt. It was sleeveless, but she wore a matching blue shawl over her shoulders to keep them warm from the chilling December air. Her mask was the same shade of blue with a gold trim and handle. The slits let her see only a little bit of her bedroom now as she held it to her face and looked in the mirror. There were special crowns in Faormen for royals on this night, and the magnificent item sat on her head, hiding her brown bun from those standing in front of her.
     She hadn't told anyone about what her dress was to look like, and when the tailor came back recently to speak with Beau, for Anastasia demanded he get the treatment as well, Beau had refused to tell her his design as well, other than the fact that it would match the color of her dress by "accident". As she thought of that conversation between them that took place in the same spot on her bed that she sat now, she heard a knock on the door.
     "Anastasia! Come on! This has been your dream for as long as I can remember, let's go!" It was Beau, mocking her waiting around. Anastasia ran to the door, opened it, and saw him leaning in the sill. He wore a black suit, with blue threads stitched in to make a nice pattern if you were looking for it. His tie was the same material as her dress, and he told her that it had been made from the scrap material from it. He was wearing shoes that made him even taller, which the short Anastasia playfully hated.
     Beau left her and went to the ballroom to wait. Anastasia watched him leave with a loving gaze, until she was pulled away and brought to the more formal staircase that she would make her entrance from. She was placed behind two large double doors, the same doors she and Ideus walked through to be presented for the first time as fiancés. Soon, that would be her and Beau. She began to hear the trumpets blasting, announcing that she was to arrive. It reminded her of Scheven, and that saddened her again that he and so many of her friends weren't here to celebrate in the Faormen style she had petitioned that Zellarid do for so many years.
     As she walked down the stairs for the ball initiation ceremony, her eyes immediately found Beau as he watched her gracefully walk down the steps. She had practiced and practiced time and time again, yet seeing him made her scared of failure even more so that she would have been if her focal point was a stranger. He, however, had situated himself at the center of the staircase, right in front of her. When she got to the bottom step, she was handed the royal goblet and the wine pitcher. She poured her glass, took a sip, and let out the new ceremonial cry; "Let this new year be a successful one! For Rielweth, for Zellarid, for Faormen!" before drinking the rest of the glass in one giant gulp. She gave the goblet back so that it could be placed for dinner and quickly went over to Beau.
     "See, you were worried for nothing!" He exclaimed, hugging her. She took a step back, although she stayed in his embrace. "Not nothing! What if I slipped on my dress, what if I had put the pressure on my heels wrong and toppled over? What if my voice had cracked while saying the cry?" He shook his head. "But you didn't. It's alright! Let's go." He said, taking his hands off of her so they wouldn't look suspicious. They began to walk around and mingle, purposefully splitting up at times but always finding excuses to return to the other. Soon, dinner was served.
     Beau had originally been seated towards the middle of the table, but he had sneaked over and switched the nametags while waiting for Anastasia's appearance. Now, he was sitting on her right hand. Once they were all seated, waiters came to fill their goblets and served the appetizer course. Various conversations began across the table, but as there was an empty chair where Xayah was supposed to sit on Anastasia's left, her and Beau were free to talk amongst themselves.
"Well, is it all you've dreamed of?" he asked, realizing they were able to talk somewhat privately. "Yes, I can't believe I'm really the Queen of this place. I just feel bad about it." He looked surprised. "Oh? What do you mean?" He asked, turning the rest of his body towards her. "I wish Arlie and Soleil were here. As well as Scheven, Charlotte and everyone else in Zellarid." Beau nodded. He knew her dream had always been to celebrate with every Zellaridian, not just him. "If I have to have only one person with me though, I'm glad it's you." Anastasia finished, putting her hands on his before reaching for another serving of the exquisite appetizers. The meal moved swiftly along, Beau and Anastasia never taking their eyes off of one another.
     Finally, it was time for the unveiling of the annual royal portrait. They all made their way to the ballroom where the large painting stood, covered by a velvet curtain. Anastasia quickly remembered that Ideus would be in the picture, as well as the old King, Queen, Xayah, as well as Annabelle and Anthony. Anastasia was worried that the kingdom would be reminded of Ideus' death and the fact that Anastasia had become the sole royal. However, that turned her despair into delight when her pressure to marry, which would be strong here in Faormen, as that was their way, and would make her and Beau's relationship more socially acceptable. She made her way up to the thick rope she was to use to pull the curtain down and waited for the room to go silent.
     "I know that this portrait will be outdated, but things must change. I find that statement symbolic of the concept of the new year. We must know our history or else we are doomed to repeat it. That is why this portrait will still be hung, because we must honor my late husband and respect my fellow Faormen royals. May we live long and our labor be fruiticious!" she shouted as she pulled the rope and the curtain along with it. Then she saw his face once more. Ideus, standing there, next to her. Smiling, his arms around her waist, her own hands on his, mirroring his parents on the other side. In the center, Xayah stood, her hands on the outside shoulder of her younger brother and sister. The guests clapped for the portrait which was taken to the portrait hall to be hung after they all left. "Let the ball commence!" She yelled as she stepped down from the raised platform. Beau rushed over to her. "You looked great in that. The artist did well. He... he really captured you." Anastasia felt herself blushing.
     They went over to the dance floor where they retrieved their dance cards and promptly filled each slot with each other's name. The band came onto the platform, and began to play with their newly recruited trumpet player. As expected by everyone, Anastasia and Beau stole the show. They had always danced in a theatrical manner, but now? The passion in their eyes was glowing so much more now than it had ever before. Each turn with more tenderness, each dip with more devotion, and each step filled with sentiment. Anastasia knew he was the one, the person she was meant to be with. She had had other boyfriends before, but none of them could hope to compare to Beau. Anastasia feared that someone might grow suspicious of them, but she didn't care. Should everything go to plan, her pet name for him would soon become his royal title.
     That night, Beau snuck into her room as he had done for the past few days once everyone in the castle was in their own rooms. Though she loved the dress, Anastasia was glad to have it off now and was in her soft, loose robes. They sat on the bed and talked for a while, going over the events of the night and talking about things they saw but the other didn't. It was a good way to end the night, his company in the bed beside her. For so long she thought it would never happen for her, to fall in love and have that someone fall in love with her, but Beau had come to prove her wrong. He fell asleep first, and Anastasia laid there staring at him. She examined his face, his beautiful, perfect face, and all its features. She scooted in closer to him and wrapped her arm around him. She felt his soft back through the blanket and kept her hand there. He woke up to this, moved his arms and wrapped them around her. She rolled over, and he drew her in closer to him. They finally fell asleep, and in a few weeks this would be where they slept without having to sneak around. She couldn't wait for that time of no sneaking, no silence, just being together; forever. All they had to do was begin the march tomorrow, they would start the process of taking over the continent. Saving Soleil, and killing Queen Luna.