Whoo! They are FINALLY at the ball!
It's been quite a long time coming, but the party is yet to be over!
Tell me what you think!
Thanks to everyone once again for all your lovely support and reviews!
I'll need all your kind words to get over my depression of having school start again on Monday...
GAH! I'm sooo lazy!
Chapter Twelve
In which Sophie and Howl are finally at the Royal Ball.
Valeria watched, feeling extremely irritated and disgusted as Sebastian smiled with practiced if absent charm as the gaggle of society misses cooed, giggled like demented loons and batted their eyelashes at him. Damn the man! She hardly recognised him anymore…
He had changed so much from the quiet gawky boy she had idolised and adored from a distance… she had not had much contact with him even when they were children growing up in the same palace… He was always with Ambrosia. The Queen had placed both of them together constantly and Valeria had sadly resigned herself to the fact that they were likely to be married someday until the day when all the netherworld broke loose!
Queen Amabel, her stepmother, was found in bed with her lover by the king himself and the infuriated monarch had heard enough of their pillow talk to realise that the faithless female was not only an adulteress but was plotting treason as well. She and Sebastian's father, who was then the Royal Sorcerer was planning to assassinate the King! The adulterous pair was arrested and put on trial where they quickly were banished from the kingdom; the king had requested the courts not to impose the usual penalty for treason against the crown upon them: slow death by dragon's breath.
Her beloved father had felt vaguely guilty that he had not cared much for his second wife and that he had married her more for his only child's sake than for any other reason. Unfortunately, Valeria's new mother was shown to care for nothing and no-one except herself. She did not even care much for Ambrosia, her daughter from her first marriage. Though to her credit, the Queen appeared to do all she could to further Ambrosia's lot in life, even to the extent where she tried to create a wedge between Valeria and her Royal father for the sake of her own child.
In the beginning, Valeria was fully prepared to accept and even welcome her new stepmother and stepsister in their lives, but she became very quickly aware of their true characters. Hence, she became very careful not to reveal any hint of weakness or her true thoughts and feelings in front of her step-family. They were experts at manipulation and mayhem. Ambrosia possessed full measure of her mother's duplicity and cunning; she was sure that her beautiful amoral stepsister also had a hand in the planning of the failed assassination. Both the failed assassinations!
The queen and Wizard Cesare had foolishly tried again, but unluckily for them, the king's new young bodyguard was well-versed in sorcery as well as the physical defensive arts; Wizard Suliman caught them and in the last desperate melee, the traitors were killed.
Ambrosia was allowed to remain in the palace as there was no proof of her involvement in the plot and the king was kind enough to believe that the sins of the mother should not be visited upon the daughter. However, to Valeria secret sorrow, Sebastian's poor suffering mother had removed her son and herself post-haste from the palace despite the king's generosity in allowing them to continue living at the palace too.
She had not seen Sebastian again until the other day at the restaurant.
"A penny for your thoughts, my dear?"
Valeria looked up and smiled at her father.
"They're not worth that much, papa… Is Uncle Justin back yet from Miss Hatter's?"
"No… They should be here soon though; the ball is about to begin… Your uncle is certainly very interested in this Miss Hatter, isn't he?"
"Yes… I think he could be in love with her. She really is a marvellous person, papa! You'll like her as much as Uncle Justin and I do!"
"I'm sure I will…. Speaking of love, poppet…" said the king gently as he tucked his daughter's gloved hand in the crook of his arm and patted it gently, "I hope you do not still care so much for young Cesare. I do not mean to be indelicate, but my sources reported to me that he was seen leaving your stepsister's chambers right before coming here. They appear to be as close as they had ever been, in spite of not seeing each other for nearly five years!"
"Yes… I know… the possibility of a relationship with Sebastian Cesare had never occurred to me!" A small flurry caught Valeria's eye and with unashamedly relief she turned towards it.
"Uncle Justin! Sophie! I'm so glad that you're finally here! Sophie, let me introduce you to my father! Papa, this is Sophie Hatter. She's just moved here from Market Chipping."
Sophie blushed and tried not to feel nervous as she curtsied fully.
"Your majesty… It's an honour."
"The pleasure is all mine, my dear. I always enjoy the attention of lovely young women. Valeria has told me much about you; I hope that you will visit us often. My daughter could use the company of other ladies!" declared the king who decided that he like this young clear-eyed woman who brought a sparkle to both his daughter's and his brother's eye! Why… she reminded him of his beloved late wife, Valeria's sainted mother! He had never loved a woman more and he knew that he would never love as deeply and passionately again!
"Wizard Pendragon!" called out Valeria waving him over as she caught sight of the tall dark-haired man, holding up a pillar watching them.
"Your highnesses… Your majesty" murmured Howl as bowed at them in turn. "Thank you for your invitation."
"Ah… Pendragon! Are you going to finally agree to join my staff as Royal Sorcerer? The country needs a man like you!"
"Your majesty… I'm sorry but I really don't think that I am the man for the job… "
"Papa! Let's not talk business at the party! Besides, the ball is about to officially begin and we have to greet our guests."
Prince Justin looked at the very flushed Sophie and just knew with a sense of regret that she did not have the same amount of feeling that he had for her. She loved that blasted Pendragon! Well… she had not made any decisions yet and he still had a chance to win her affections! Dragon's breath! He, too, was needed to greet the guests! And he was not stupid enough to leave the two of them alone!
"Ah… Cesare! Come here! Please stay and chat with Miss Hatter and Wizard Pendragon as we have to go meet the guests!"
"Certainly, your highness. It would be my pleasure."
Sebastian smiled with satisfaction.
He and Ambrosia could not have planned it better themselves. He had been summoned to the palace earlier by Ambrosia to finalise their little strategy to separate Howl and Sophie and now that he was commanded to be around their targets, things would be that much simpler!
Life was good!
