"You promise to be a very handsome young lady indeed."said the Empress to Ceres, as Ceres spread her pink damask skirts. "Just like your mother and grandmother."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."said Ceres.
She kept trying to keep in mind not to stare, and tried to keep her eyes on the floor, but they kept looking up at the Empress. The Empress's presence chamber glowed with diamonds, diamond and marble statues, even her throne seemed to be made of diamond and silver.
Which it was, Ceres reminded herself. The first thought that struck her was that sadness, or resignation about the Empress.
"I am very honored to be serving Your Majesty, Her Imperial Highness, the Crown Princess, and Her Imperial Highness, Small Lady."
The Empress nodded.
"I have heard you do very well in your studies. Your tutors speak well of you."
"Oh, yes!"
Behind her back, Ceres crossed her fingers.
"I will do my best to serve Your Imperial Majesty."
She was about to list all the subjects and recite her lessons, but stopped herself.
"I am sure my granddaughter will love you, and that you, she and the rest of the quartet will get along."
Luna, who sat at the Empress's right, handed the Empress something, which she them gave to Ceres. Ceres curtseyed before receiving it.
"A reanimation."said the Empress.
A reanimation! Ceres knew that each quartet received a gift from the empress, but a reanimation! Normally it would be jewels, fabrics or something.
"Only one, however."the Empress told her, stressing on the one. "Use it wisely."
On either side of the Empress, but a step below the imperial dais sat the Crown Prince and Princess, along with her parents and the other senshi and shittenou, the Crown Prince and Princess sitting at the Empress's right, and Small Lady at her left. The four asteroidal duchess stood before the imperial dais. One by one they approached first the royal dais, and then the imperial dais and received their transformation devices.
"It's a little awkward."said Luna. "However, you know that as Small Lady's guardians, the rooms for the asteroid senshi should be in the same ward as hers. They connect to Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion's rooms, them being Crown Princess and Crown Prince. So Small Lady will stay in the Crown Principal rooms, while her parents will move to the Palace of Serenity in her mother's duchy of Serenity. The Empress will stay in the Imperial rooms. Connected to those are the planetary senshi, but they will leave with the Crown Prince and Princess."
"You mean Mama and Papa will be leaving?"asked Pallas.
Luna looked up at her.
"Yes. Their place is with the Selenovna and her husband. The planetary senshi would usually be and Empress's guardians, but since, um, they are the Crown Princess's. The Empress's, as you know, have passed. Everyone loves Empress Serenity, and wish her a long life, but it's unprecedented that an Empress have two heiresses at the same time, so we're kind of improvising."Luna told her.
Ceres felt just as upset as Pallas sounded. She had really wanted her parents here. They had spent time away, at their duties at Magellan while she was apprenticed at Ceres, but this felt different.
"We can always view."Vesta pointed out.
"Yes."agreed Ceres. "And the palace of Serenity isn't too far. It's only a few hours away from here."
"Small Lady!"Ceres exclaimed.
"Shinju! Ceres!"exclaimed Small Lady, as they ran and hugged.
"Wow! It feels so different from viewing!"
Small Lady and Ceres had viewed seKaylal times, but never actually met. The others hadn't met or viewed Small Lady at all.
"You're right!"Small Lady sniffed. "You wear so much cinnamon! While viewing I never noticed that."
"I'm sorry, Your Highness! I just…"
"It's kind of nice! You get to wear scents! Just like the grown ups!"Small Lady sounded envious.
"It's just something we do back home. We wear a lot of scent. You see, it's one way viewing isn't the same as seeing. You couldn't smell the scent from someone's image like you can when you see them, just like you couldn't hug them."
"Here only grown ups do wear scents."
Small Lady looked up at the others.
"Do you?"she asked at them.
"No, Your Highness."Juno answered. "But my mama always uses rose water."
Vesta and Pallas, who was hiding behind Vesta shook their heads.
"You don't have to hide."Small Lady told Pallas.
"You forgot to curtsey."Vesta told Pallas as she stepped forward.
"Oh! Oops."
Pallas stepped forward and curtseyed.
"That's all right. I forgot, too."Small Lady bit her lip. "I shouldn't. Things are always very formal in Grandmama's court. Mama and Papa not so, but Grandmama sets ceremony very highly. And she makes a ceremony of everything."
"As it should be, Your Imperial Highness."
Ceres never missed a single gesture or voice tone in people. She certainly noticed how the girl had stressed the 'imperial', and had looked at her. Obviously it was meant towards her. She didn't know who this other girl was, but she could tell they were not going to get along. Small Lady just nodded at what she said, although it seemed she didn't take any heed.
"Is that why one of the Princess of Mars's ladies used a hologram? So you can tell which one is just the image and which one is the real person? One of them you can hug and smell and one just an image?"Small Lady asked Vesta, after Vesta also curtsied as she'd told everyone else to do.
"You must mean Phobos and Deimos."she was used to those types of questions about them. "No, one of them wasn't a hologram. They both do look exactly alike. One of them wears her hair parted on the right side and the other on the left side. That's the way to tell them apart. They are two my mother's Vestal virgins from when she was Duchess of Vesta. All the others are married now, except for Phobos, so they still serve her."
"Vestal virgins?"asked Small Lady.
"A Duchess of Vesta has six Vestal Virgins. They're something like maids of honor. They're sworn to serve for at least thirty years, and remain unmarried. While they do they live by the strictest moral behavior. They're models for moral behavior."Vesta explained. "After their thirty years are up they are free to marry, and are completely free from any kind of male dominance. Not all six came with me. At least two must stay at the Palace of Vesta. The Fire of Vesta can never be allowed to go out. Even when there isn't a duchess."
"They're just sworn to remain unmarried, or take a vow of celibacy? And if they break the vow?"asked Ceres.
"If any break their vows, they're buried alive outside the walls of the Palace of Vesta. Those who disgraced them are beheaded, at least."Vesta stated. "Their remains are not allowed to rest near the palace, though, where the disgraced virgins are buried."
"That's barbarious!"exclaimed Pallas.
"And I've heard the Mercurians are strict!"said Small Lady.
"Deimos is married, so she can't serve me, Phobos isn't,"she turned to Ceres. "But Phobos and Deimos are inseparable, otherwise Phobos said she would serve another thirty years for me. Only unmarried ladies have the privilege to serve a Duchess of Vesta. And I will also not marry until I become Princess of Mars, or if I reach a certain age, but there has never been a Duke of Vesta."
"Duchesses of Juno always keep an attendant whose only duty is to carry messages for her, but she would never be buried alive or beheaded!"said Juno, as she looked over Vesta's shoulder to see the ladies behind her.
"Is that why they're always with you?"asked Ceres. "So you're never alone…"
Four ladies always followed Vesta, that eventually the other girls stopped even noticing their presence. They assumed they were just part of Vesta's retinue, just like everyone else. Only now did Ceres realize they dressed a little different from the others among Vesta's ladies.
"Send them away!"Small Lady told her. "Or wait, if you do, they won't be…"she didn't dare finish her sentence.
"As long as they don't do something immoral. Don't worry, Imperial Highness."Vesta assured Small Lady. "But is it all right if at least one of them stays with me always? It would just be weird if they weren't, but I can send them away if Your Imperial Highness prefers."
"I respect the customs of other planets. You can keep them with you. Better that way, too. I don't want anything to happen to them while they're here!"Small Lady looked upset.
From now on, whenever she served at the Lunarian court, Ceres would take over the duties of the mistress of Small Lady's household. One of the older girls stepped up from the group behind Small Lady.
"This is Kayla."said Small Lady, as the older girl stepped up. "She is of the Lunarian nobility. A very old family. Her family has served my family for generations. Her mother is mistress of Mama's household. Kayla has served me, but now since I'm going to have my own quartet, you will be my mistress of the household!"Small Lady said to Ceres, as Kayla held her keys to Ceres.
She seemed more than reluctant to let them go. Ceres could tell that she did not like this one bit, and gave the older girl a cold smile. It wasn't like Ceres liked her either.
"Will she remain in Your Imperial Highness's household?"she asked Small Lady. "Or will she leave, perhaps to serve in the Crown Princess's household, perhaps?"
"Oh, no. She stays here. As one of my attendants. Kayla's served me a long time."
Kayla seemed turned her face away, and frowning.
The vestal virgins do serve thirty years. At first I thought to reducing it to six, since the girls are not grown up, but if Small Lady is 900, I thought thirty years was an okay number after all.