"And our last member of the Carthak delegation, Lady Varice Kingsford!" the herald called.
Varice adjusted her skirts and stepped into the doorway. She rested her hand on the banister as she made her way down the stairs into the ballroom, her steps light. As she walked down the long staircase, her eyes searched the crowd. She restrained a smile as she saw the untidy black hair belonging to the man she was looking for, but her happiness faded when she saw that his hand rested low on the back of the young woman next to him, whose brown hair was swept over one shoulder. She was talking cheerfully to a young woman with light brown hair. The young woman's hand rested on the arm of a tall man with dark brown hair and blue eyes, who was smiling fondly at his companion. Varice stepped off the last stair and opened her fan, hiding her face behind it as she approached the two couples.
"Well, if it isn't Numair Salmalín," Varice said, stopping beside him.
He turned to look at her. "Varice!"
She smiled and curtsied. "It's lovely to see you."
He smiled politely. "Yes, it is. I don't believe you know Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan, or her fiancé, Commander Domitan of Masbolle?"
"No, I can't say I do," Varice said, looking at the young couple.
The young woman- Keladry, Varice reminded herself- nodded in greeting. "I would bow, but it's a bit difficult in this dress."
Domitan laughed. "Even in a dress, she's still a knight through and through. It's a pleasure, Lady Varice."
Varice turned back to Numair. "I thought you hated parties."
"I do," Numair said, "This lovely lady always convinces me to come to them though." He smiled down at the young woman that he had his arm around. "You remember Daine, Varice?"
"Of course," Varice said, her smile tightening at the mention of the girl. "Veralidaine Sarrasri, correct?"
Veralidaine smiled softly. "Call me Daine, please."
"It's Veralidaine Salmalín now, actually," Numair said, pressing a quick kiss to the young woman's hair, "As of a few weeks ago."
Daine hit him lightly with her fan. "Numair!"
"I can't help boasting, love," Numair said, smiling wickedly at his wife.
Varice shifted uncomfortably. "So you're married then."
"It took him long enough to ask," Daine said, shaking her head, "Eight years."
"At least the idiot wasn't in love with you for six before saying a word about it," Keladry said, rolling her eyes.
Domitan glared playfully at his companion. "Well, you are six years younger than I am, Kel, darling. I couldn't exactly declare my love to a fourteen year old."
"Well, you didn't have to wait until I was twenty," Keladry said, "You're lucky I'm carrying my shukusen tonight, or I'd hit you with it. I don't want to damage your delicate physique."
"Speaking of, have you seen Her Highness?" Daine asked, only a small smile revealing her notice of Domitan's shocked expression, "I haven't said hello yet and I'm afraid I'll be in trouble if I don't."
"She's in the library with Roald, Buri, and Raoul," Numair said, "Onua is there too, I believe. I'll come with you."
"We will as well," Keladry said, "Yuki went to find her just a little while ago, I'm sure she has Neal there as well."
"You're welcome to join us, Lady Varice," Daine said.
Varice shook her head. "Thank you for the invitation, but I'll let you get to your friends."
Daine nodded and curtsied. Numair and Domitan bowed, and Keladry nodded again. They left Varice standing there alone in the middle of the ballroom amidst the sea of dancing couples.
Later that evening, as the dancers began to leave, Varice made her way to a cushioned window seat. She sat down, shutting her fan and setting it in her lap. A bought of raucous laughter caused her to look up, and she flinched at what she saw. Numair and Daine were leading a number of other couples across the room. He was whispering in his wife's ear, and occasionally he would press a kiss to her lips. Neither seemed to notice Varice, and while that made her happy, it also made her heart ache. Numair had once been able to pick her out of a dozen rooms filled with every kind of person imaginable, and now, in a near-empty ballroom, he couldn't even notice his former lover.
"As long as he's happy," she murmured to herself.
And he was, she could see that. His eyes softened immediately as they landed on Daine, and his young wife smiled at him with obvious love and adoration.
Varice slipped out of the room, unnoticed.