The road to the Palace center was surrounded with perfectly groomed flower beds and young flowering trees. Since we were no longer apart of the parade I finally sat down, letting out a satisfied sigh. Eclis sat stiffly in front of me. From what Richard had taught me about the palace its grounds were larger than Eclis' estate and getting from wing to wing and building to building would require a carriage. Now that the parade was finished, I could see the crown prince's chariot drawing nearer. There wasn't enough room for it to pull up beside us but from our position I could tell he was looking at me. I turned around and called out to Heinrick making small talk with him until we reached the central courtyard. Heinrick was happily talking about the different military accomplishments each knight faction had accomplished. The Alenta Knights accomplishments were of recent feats defending or retaking High Castle while the Dumont knights boasted centuries old feats from the war. Interestingly, there wasn't much to boast about when it came to the imperial knights, despite them claiming they were the best trained out of all three.
The central courtyard was a massive garden, complete with a lake at its center and surrounded by the palace on three sides. The carriage rode over the grass coming to a stop in front of a red velvet carpet. On either side were rows of the highest-ranking nobility and diplomats in the capital. Because of my lessons with Richard I was able to put a name to most of the faces here including which faction they hailed from. At the front of the ceremony stood the faction heads nearest the Emperor.
Eclis stepped down from carriage first and like planned, he didn't wait to escort me. Instead, Richard offered me his escort leading me in Eclis' shadow as he marched down the carpet to meet with the Emperor. Richard and I stopped short, joining with the crowd in front. As we walked I could feel everyone's gazes on me. Some looked like they were sneering, others held passive curiosity. Others still looked like they were calculating my usefulness too them. Instead of acknowledging anyone I kept my stare straight ahead, watching Eclis' back as he marched down to meet with his Emperor officially.
From here the ceremony moved forward exactly how it was explained to me. First, the Emperor addressed Eclis by his full title before recounting all of the heroic acts he had done for the empire. After this, Eclis would confirm his loyalty to the empire and to the Emperor at which point the feast in his honour would be announced.
This was my first time seeing the Emperor for myself. He had an intimidating presence that begged no question on who was Emperor. He was as tall as Eclis with his burgundy hair perfectly styled back matching his attire that was neatly tailored if not a bit excessive. He wore massive shoulder pieces just like it was described in the book. Supposedly, Julia saw him as kind and caring but that description didn't fit the person standing in front of me today. He looked cold and calculative and perfectly comfortable using the power he held. This was the man who set the original novel in motion, granting Julia's wish to be with Eclis when he'd rejected her intially. I felt uncomfortable seeing him in person. Eclis' words rang out in my mind again. Why did this man have an obsession with Eclis?
Eclis kneeled, offering his loyalty to the Empire once again as its protector and its prince. The ceremony was nearly finished. I scanned the sea of faces. My eyes locked with the crown princes. He was openly staring at me. Beside him, Vermillion Xavier the head of the imperial faction was also smiling kindly at me. Taken aback, I returned my gaze to Eclis as the ceremony completed. The look the Emperor wore bothered me. He looked like he had just tasted something foul. In my peripheral vision I could see the crown prince still watching. He was being so unashamed about it that it was likely the entire crowd would have noticed by now.
"Then I invite you and everyone here to a midnight feast in honour of Eclis Dumont for his numerous contributions to the Empire!" A smirk crossed the Emperors face as he regarded both princes. "Tonight, we shall honour Claude Alenta, crown prince of the Empire for his recent victory at High Castle!" There was a brief murmur in the crowd. To attach the crown prince to the feast that was meant to honour Eclis was an insult, as if to say neither of their accomplishments were great enough to warrant their own celebrations. The smile on Vermillion's face was gone.
"It would be my honour to stand beside the second prince." The crown prince bowed deeply, breaking the hushed silence.
"And I am honoured to share this day with you Crown prince." Eclis also bowed deeply. Hearing this, the Emperor rose and left towards the palace. Everyone else remained in place, silently watching until he disappeared inside. Only then did anyone move. Oddly, none of the nobles remarked on the turn of events. Many of the men near me turned to introduce themselves, seemingly forgetting the transgression of the Emperor. Thankfully, Heinrick approached us. He towered over the crowd that formed around me and helped Richard excuse ourselves from getting caught up with introductions. They'd all have their turn at me at the ball after all.
On my away across the gardens I made the mistake of looking back once more at the crowd. I couldn't find Eclis where I'd last saw him, instead watching me in his place was the crown prince.
It was frustrating not being able to speak my mind. Everything I said I had to assume was being heard by spies as well as the sensitive ears of the vampiric nobles in the capital. If I could, I would've asked Richard what he thought about the crown prince and how he was acting. It felt far more overt than simply wanting to form a contract.
When we reached the palace proper I was impressed by the décor but not really blown away by it. Not after seeing Eclis' palace in all its glory. We entered on dwarvern wing of the palace. It was massive and carved out of a single piece of stone. Its exterior was beautifully engraved depicting dwarvern patterns lining all the windows and entrances. Inside the halls were decorated with suites of armours, expertly crafted weapons, as well as sculptures of heroes and animals alike.
Noticing my fascination Richard began explaining, "The Dwarvern Kingdoms designed the western wing encompassing some of their greatest works," he gestured to the weapons hanging along the walls, "And representing their expert craftmanship." He nodded to the sculptures and suites of armour we passed. "Throughout the wing you'll find every sculpture and weapon is crafted in a different material, showcasing the adaptability and talents of their people. The sculptures themselves represent mythical creatures or hero's from their long histories." He smiled at me, "The entire palace is built by the kingdom's that contributed to the liberation of Ganimede. Of all the wings I think the dwarvern one is my favourite, simply because of the precise and exquisite beauty in the craftmanship of the place. That and I know the story of every single sculpture here."
"I'll have to get you to tell me about them some someday." I laughed. Richard had a soft spot for art, though I was surprised to hear that he'd love dwarvern art so much. He struck me as someone interested in the high art of the capital rather than the 'rural' art of the many kingdoms it represented.
The room I would be using in the palace for the rest of the night was already prepared by Misa and Maybella. It was the first time I saw them in their 'human' forms. Their normally deep purple skin flecked with spots of black or gold were replaced with an olive skin tone. Their cute stubby horns and thin tails were nowhere to be seen, though they kept their rambunctious purple and red hair. Joining them was Ethan who had an excited spark of joy in his eyes. Or maybe it was anxiety, it was hard to tell with him.
My more traditional dress was delicately removed. Misa and Maybella set upon me a thorough hair and skin routine, something that I had become used to in preparation for this feast while Ethan took on the task of preparing my gown. Now that the parade was over my second dress for the night did not need to be in the Dumont colours. When workshopping my attire, and yes, that was something we toiled over for several days; Ethan challenged me to decide on what message I wanted to convey for my first debut into high society. In this world, symbols were found in everything, even down the meaning behind the colour of your dress.
My preparation for the feast took three hours to complete. I stood before the mirror looking at the transformed beauty before me. There were sparkling little rubies dotted throughout my hair. The top half was pulled into a bun with all the strands styled to look like little petals swirling into a large ruby at the center of my bun. The lower half of my hair was curled and shimmered like molten gold in the candle light. My clear emerald eyes shined in contrast to the ruby and topaz teardrop necklace they'd placed against the pale skin of my chest.
All the exercising I'd been doing had begun to show on my form. My arms no longer looked thin and soft, they'd grown slightly in size though there was no shape to the individual muscles. My waist had slimmed down giving me a beautiful hourglass shape in the tight dress I wore despite there being no corset. It was a deep navy colour to symbolize the freedom I cherished. The red rubies symbolized war and the willingness to fight while the topaz represented hope. Finally, I had wanted my jewelry in teardrop form as a symbol of eternity, life and death. The message? I would fight to the death on the mere hope of protecting my freedom. As I turned to stare at myself in the mirror tiny sparkles, like diamonds, glinted throughout my dress. It caught the light beautifully and the simple design was catching to look upon. It lured the eyes towards my chest where the teardrop necklace proudly displayed.
Beside me Ethan beamed, a nervous sweat beading down his brow. "You look stunning, Madam." He spoke softly, in awe seeing his work about to be displayed like this.
"Beauty is my weapon for tonight." My smile softened. "Thank you." A nervous laugh bubbled out of him.
"I should be thanking you Madam. Never had I dreamed I would be standing here, with you... In the capital." A nervous butterfly flitted through my chest. It wasn't just my, nor Eclis' honour on the line tonight. Ethan's entire future hinged on how well I performed at this ball. This was more pressure than I'd ever felt in my previous life. To top things off there was an ominous feeling I'd been carrying around, ever since I'd seen the Emperors expression at the ceremony. Eclis' question kept echoing through my mind. Why did the Emperor play fairy god mother for Julia? In Eclis' own words the Emperor never left him alone to live in peace, no matter how much he lost or gave up. When I read the novel, I thought it had made sense since he saw Julia like a long lost daughter and Eclis like his son. Seeing the Emperor's look today had broken that image in my mind.
A soft knock at the door told me it was time. Richard was the one meant to escort me to the ball tonight but when it opened, in his place stood James.