BURN

I thee wed

"She's making herself more despicable by the second." mumbles Tedros, accepting his drink from Weatherford, who has been waiting for him to take it, looking rather long-suffering. He takes a bad-tempered swig and stares out at the swathes of people at the other tables as the desserts are set on the table before them. Agatha peers at the plate hopefully. The food has been the best bit about today-- just as elaborate and delicious as all of the other dinners she's been to.

"It's some kind of bavarois." says Tedros. Agatha looks blankly at him and he raises his eyebrows. "It's like a cream thing? It's chocolate and passionfruit--"

Agatha is already scrabbling for her fork. Tedros snorts, but he pushes her wrist away before she can stab it.

"Have mine, it's got more chocolate on it."

Thinking this is probably an attempt at making her feel better, Agatha mutters a thank you and accepts the swap. Various trays of sweet pastries are also being set at intervals on the tables, and people are being offered coffee. If this was a less stressful situation, she'd probably be quite content. But since she's sat in her wedding dress, next to her hateful mother, with her face fully exposed to hundreds of people... it's hard to feel anything but rigidly on guard.

Agatha sets her fork back on her empty plate and considers the pastries, fully aware she's only eating because she's unhappy, not because she's really that hungry.

Tedros nudges her elbow, and she looks over to find him offering her half of whatever he's chosen.

"Do you want the other half?"

Agatha looks at him for a second, wondering why it felt so familiar--

"Oh, ha ha."

Tedros grins and puts it into her hand. She thinks he looks rather pleased with himself.

---

Soon after, they're ushered from the banquet hall, through the palace and into the ballroom where the rest of the night will be spent. There's no real procession or order, so Agatha finds herself separated from Tedros and with the Princess of Shazabah.

And her girlfriend.

"Why didn't you tell me?" hisses Agatha.

"It didn't come up." says Beatrix sweetly.

"It did! You spent ten minutes telling us about the Shazabah royal family!"

"How do you think I knew so much, genius?" grins Beatrix. "Did you not make the connection between my Reena and Princess Reena of Shazabah?"

"I think you'll find I've been worrying about a couple of other things for the last few months, so... no." mutters Agatha, ducking her head as a few pageboys going the opposite way try and get a look at her.

"She did it on purpose." says Reena calmly as they start down the steps to the already bustling ballroom. "She wanted to see how long it took you."

"At least you're honest." sighs Agatha, but she can't help but grin. Reena is one of the only dignitaries she's met this evening who's looked her in the face, and made no comment, which she's glad for. Also, she's a lot nicer than her womanising, balding father. Agatha was immensely relieved when Reena told her she was usually the one sent to do the negotiating.

They reach the bottom of the stairs and Reena and Beatrix disappear off to dance, with a brief goodbye. Agatha casts around for Tedros, vaguely accepting congratulations--

She turns and is met with the red-faced, goose-feather endowed Empress of Putsi.

"So!" says the Empress, in the self-satisfied manner of someone who's just been proven very right. "The veil finally comes off, eh?"