Ciara tentatively reached up and knocked on the door before her. Finally, she'd be learning something about this ball. The maids had been fluttering about for almost a full cycle now, and as had the several carts that pulled in every day, filled to the top with objects of all kinds.
"Enter," sounded from the other side. Narza, no doubt. She gave Alex and Greg a little smile, and then did as told.
In the room she usually would've found the king, she instead found only the advisor and the Commander of the Royal Guard. It felt kind of empty without the king's imposing presence to fill it.
"Princess," Narza curtly greeted her while Sergon sent her a friendly smile. "Please take a seat." He gestured to the chair in front of the office desk, where she'd been sitting quite a few times before. Only, no one sat in the chair across from her this time around.
It was kind of a relief not having him here, glaring at her. But at the same time, it also felt really wrong.
"As you well know, the time for the ball is near," Narza said, skipping straight to the point. "As such, you are to know what role you are expected to play in the duration of this."
She smiled - she'd really looked forward to this.
"There will be a lot of nobles there, that is why we must set some rules," Sergon pointed out.
"It is not a problem, I am happy to help."
"You must understand that the majority of these nobles will be doubting you. Your affections for the king, your intentions with being here, even your skills with dragons," Narza kept her gaze locked as a deep frown grew on her face.
She didn't understand why it always had to be like this. Surely, if she'd had any malintent, she would've done something already.
"As such, it is imperative that you remain stable and unbreakable always. It will be a warfare of words and you must stay vigilant and only ever give vague answers. It is not custom here for a lady to share too much of herself."
She nodded slowly as she processed the information given to her. It was fairly similar to everything Kaisog had told her on the ship here. She'd like to say she could do all that without a doubt, but the truth of the matter was she wasn't so sure she could. Not to their expectations at least. She could, however, do her best.
"Some will probably become quite personal with you, Ciara. So, should you ever feel it be too much, simply start playing with your hair. I will make sure to let the guards know that as a sign that you require help," Sergon quickly promised her.
"I would really appreciate that. Thank you, Sergon."
He only managed to give her a nod in return before Narza quickly took the word again.
"At the beginning of the ball, you will arrive with his majesty in the ballroom and descend the stairs with him. As his future wife, you are expected to remain by his side, especially in the beginning and again in the end." He paused for a moment. "Even in the time in between, it would be unwise of you to stray too far from the room itself."
She frowned. "Why is that? Is it because it would seem bad to others?" She doubted she'd ever really feel the need to leave the room, but she wanted to understand why.
"It would not be safe," Narza curtly replied, saying no more.
"This is the king's castle, filled with his men. Surely, of all places, this is the safest?"
Sergon grimaced lightly. "I would like to say that it is - and it is on any other day - however in the duration of the ball, most of our guards will be in that room. They will be few and far between in the hallways," he explained, still seeing the confusion written on the princess' face. "Nobles are particularly known for their backhanded ways, so I implore you to stay where we will be able to see you. For your own safety, of course, but also so that you raise no suspicion from the nobles themselves."
Once again, she nodded, though this time more firmly because of the look in the Commander's eyes. What he said made sense. Kaisog had also told her to be cautious of the nobles back on the ship.
If they really were as backhanded as everyone claimed them to be, then they'd always be searching her for the smallest clue or reason they might suspect her. If she suddenly just disappeared, it'd look awfully suspicious. Even if she did nothing, she had no way of proving it.
"I understand." She wouldn't be stepping out into the hallways under any circumstances.
"Good," Narza simply said. "In that same line of thinking, it is imperative that you do not let yourself be courted by anyone who is not the king. Just as important, however, you must not outright refuse anyone either."
She stared at him with wide eyes for a moment as several thoughts flew through her mind.
Did they think her such a simple woman she would jump on the first and best that would present himself to her? And if they didn't, then why did they feel the need to tell her at all?
"They might test your loyalty to the king, Ciara," Sergon cleared up for her.
"They would actually go that far?"
"They would go much further," the advisor told her, closing the conversation there.
She sighed lightly to herself, catching the apologetic look on the Royal Guard's face. It was a lot of things to remember all at once. So many things to watch out for. And if they really all were as sneaky as they said...
Sergon stepped forward and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It is a lot, yes, but you will not be alone. Okay?"
"Speaking of alone-" Narza said, revealing he didn't have a sense of the atmosphere whatsoever. "I would like to ask you to keep those two dragons away from the castle in the duration of the event. For obvious reasons, I should think." He didn't even wait for confirmation from her this time before continuing on. "Now then, let us go through the entirety of the ball step by step, shall we?"