"Presenting King Jasper and Queen Nepheline from the kingdom of Chalcedony!"
Baileywick's voice rang out in the throne room, accompanied by the trumpeting of royal trumpets and the waving of flags, many of which bore the Chalcedony crest of a rust red dragon on a grey mountain. A small procession entered the room, separating and forming flanks to permit the guests of honor to enter the room.
"King Jasper! Queen Nepheline! So good of you to come!" King Roland rose from his throne, and met the guests half way, bowing slightly before taking their hands in a firm handshake. "We are honored to have you here today as our guests. Isn't that right, Miranda?"
The queen smiled warmly, and she too rose from her seat. "Absolutely. And I'm sure we'll be able to help you get your kingdom back on its feet in no time. I only wish you had come to us for help sooner!"
Queen Nepheline laughed nervously and tried to straighten her haggard gown in vain. "Oh oh oh! Believe me, I wish that too. I suppose being a proud people has its share of drawbacks after all. I do apologize for our past behaviors. We never meant to be rude. I suppose we were just embarrassed, and didn't want the other kingdoms to know what dire straits we were in."
King Jasper looked away and grumbled something under his breath, earning him an elbow to the gut from his wife. He shot her a dirty look, but said nothing.
"Not to worry!" Roland took a scroll from the hands of a waiting servant, and started walking down the hall, ringing King Jasper's elbow and leading him away. "We have plenty of ideas to help you, and I've already arranged for a diplomatic dinner with the kingdoms of Tengu, Wei Ling, and Eremurus. And just WAIT until you hear about party announcing your formal re-entry into the royal circle! It's to be held two weeks from today! We've got so much to do, and so little time. Baileywick! Have the kitchen whip up something we can eat and do paperwork with at the same time. King Jasper and I have a LONG night ahead of us!"
"Right away, Your Majesty!"
Jasper dug in his heels, and started to protest, but soon found himself surrounded and being dragged down the hallway by his enthusiastic peer. His stuttering protests fell on deaf ears. A flurry of servants and paperwork followed the kings down the hall, leaving the two queens to their own devices.
"My goodness!" Miranda chuckled. "I love Rollie to pieces, but he certainly gets carried away sometimes. We'll have to check in on them before it gets too late. In the meantime, though, would you care for a tour of the castle? I'll show you to your quarters and then we can go visit the royal gardens. It's one of my favorite things about living here."
"That sounds just perfect" Nepheline crooned, clearly delighted with the prospects. "I just looooove getting to see the castles that other people live in. It gives me so many… ideas… so many… prospects… so many, many things that I could do. You simply must show me every nook and cranny in the castle. A castle like yours, why it's so lovely it's bound to give me more ideas than I can hold on to! I might just have to take notes. "
At this Miranda laughed, "Well, if its ideas for redoing your castle that you're after, I'm sure you'll find plenty of them here. I still don't think I've seen every last inch of the castle, but I'm more than happy to show you my favorite spots. Perhaps the children will fill you in on the rest. James and Amber have lived here their whole lives, and I've often wondered how James manages to get from his room to the kitchen and back again without being seen."
"Ooh ho! Secret passages, you think? How exciting! How very, very… exciting."