~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The last week had come.
Corren stared into his pillow, knowing that by the next ball tomorrow he would be betrothed to someone, hopefully Selene. And he had no choice, because the rumors in the City was that fire from the sky would burn them all if he did not marry soon.
Stupid idiots. What was the rush? No meteor would cut short their breath if he didn't marry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I suppose it's time to prepare," Elesia said, shaking out her silk gown from the last ball. "Mother's still angry with me, so could you help me do my hair again?"
Selene grimaced. "It won't look the way Terah did it. I'm all thumbs."
Carriage wheels clattered over the cobblestones. "Girls?" The motherly voice of the old nurse rang out with all the skill of repremanding careless children. "Where are you?"
"Terah?"
"The one and only."
"In the attic," Selene called out, opening the doors to the staircase. The woman arrived up the stairs breathless, with her followers carrying boxes. "What is all this?" The young maids grinned, pleased with their burdens.
Terah snorted. "It's not fashionable to be seen in the same dress for two consecutive balls. Or three, for that matter." Waving away all protests, she accepted their profuse thanks.
And so the evening saw Selene in white and gold, the beautifully embroidered gold skirts and bodice gleaming in the lantern light. Hair bound up traditionally instead of trendfully in a heavy braided bun, Terah carefully placed a delicate diamond and gold crown on the golden mass of shimmering locks.
"Is this blasphemous?" she asked idly, spinning the chain of her diamond necklace between two fingers. "I'm not the King or Queen."
"Oh, don't worry about that," the woman said cryptically. "It's fitting. Besides," she added quickly before Selene asked a question. "Other women wear crowns besides the monarchs. But only as decorations."
"Ready, Selene?" Elesia squealed. Her face, normally so reserved, was open and shining as she twirled around. "Do I look all right?" Her rose pink skirts swirled around her, hair once again in a long braid with rose quartz droplets bound into the auburn mass.
And, decked out in finery, they were met by Corren and Trenel near the gate, same as the last time. As he took her hand, Selene paled slightly at the thought of him, married, but stoically smiled and entered the pretty vehicle.
Trenel, in one of his barding moods, sang a sonnet to the blushing Elesia, though she thoroughly enjoyed the attention of the handsome young man, a duke-to-be.
Elenia scowled, but flounced off to her Lord in his carriage. Mother had always said she was the greater of the twins, and she was determined not to let this humiliating sister ruin her night.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Corren fingered the circle of gold in his pocket. How was he ever going to muster up the courage...?
Next to him, Selene was daintily eating her dinner, manners and ettiquette returning to her memory after so many years. The covert glances down the table from the younger nobles was a testimony to her beauty, yet the young men's eager glances did not catch her eye contact.
Not that she didn't notice the looks from the young women. They knew he was honor-bound to betroth himself that night, and they were all hopeful despite the Lady sitting at his right. Their gazes were a mix of envy and wistfulness, though none were actually malicious.
Corren sighed, picking up his fork. Determined to finish the meal, he choked down the delicious food as his stomach fluttered with nervousness.
~~~~~~~~~~`
Selene whirled experimentally around the dance floor. Since the last ball, Elesia had managed to teach her the simpler aspects of dancing, and she had yet to tangle herself into a mess. Her partner, a twenty-something year old noble, seemed to be an expert.
She sighed inwardly, for Corren was across the large room as his mother introduced several maidens, each who curtsyed gracefully. "And he will be betrothed this week," she whispered, blinking back tears.
"Excuse me?" her partner said courteously.
"My apologies," Selene demurred. "It was not of any consequence." He nodded, satisfied with this polite answer, and twirled her around for the rest of the dance.
Bowing to her, and kissing her extended hand through its delicate silk glove, he smiled. "It was my pleasure for this brief acquaintance."
"And mine, good sir," she replied, as the courtly ettiquette demanded.
As she departed to the chairs, gracefully declining several offers for a dance or two, Corren caught her eye. Gesturing with his head, he indicated their curtained balcony, and she quietly and inconspicuously made her way through the crowd.
As soon as the velvet slid back into place behind them, cutting off the ballroom from the starry night sky, the prince let out a breath of relief. "It's good to be away from all those people."
"Yes, it is," she replied, slightly detached.
He cleared his throat, eyes wild with nerves as he fidgeted by the railing. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, it's a lovely ball. I am thoroughly enjoying myself, your Highness."
Corren grimaced. "Is that the way you want to talk? Then I shall say, 'The weather is exquisite, clear as a golden bell rung by the hand of the sweetest Lady.'" He picked up her hand, but it remained soft and limp, and she made no answer. He sighed. "Selene, what's the matter?"
A single tear slid down her cheek and her aloofness broke as a small spasm shook her shoulders. "After this, I won't see you again. Ever!" Her last word was a quiet wail, her face clearly distraught.
"You don't want to? See me again?" he whispered, hands shaking as he pulled her closer. What was going on?
She stared up at him with surprise. "It's not that I don't wish to, Corren. I cannot!" she exclaimed. "After all, you're to be married and-"
He stopped her with an upraised hand. "Is this what it's about?" he said, well pleased. "My marriage?" Selene nodded, and buried her face into his tunic. Well, he was in luck! Corren thought to himself. It wasn't that she didn't love him...
Then he snapped back into the present, to his current problem. She had stopped crying but her face was grimly set, and she was staring straight out into the sky. "I'm going to miss you," she said, voice oddly muted. "But I suppose I'll be content with the starwish." She held out her hand and cupped the silver star, the north star, in her fingertips, but it sagged sorrowfully and drooped down with it's own unhappy weight. Closing her eyes, one more tear left it's track over her pale cheek.
And it was then that a smooth, heavy circle was placed in the center of her palm.
~~~~~~~~~~`
Opening her green eyes, the first thing she saw was Corren, hovering above her anxiously. Then she focused on the small round thing in her hand, a tiny circlet of gold crowned by a sapphire.
"Is..." she breathed. He took a deep breath, and cradled her hand within both of his.
Meeting his eyes, Selene saw the unasked question in his gold-brown eyes before he even spoke. "Will you marry me?"
Maintaining eye contact, she gazed directly into his face. "Will you marry me? A poor servant girl, with no penny to her name?"
"Yes, I will."
"With no reletives? And nothing to offer the royal family?"
"Yes." He smiled faintly. "If you will have a clumsy, uncivilized, and completely out-of-place Prince, who will positively manage to ruin every banquet, meeting, and ball ever created?"
"Then," she smiled up into his face. "I will marry you."
Sweeping her up into a tight embrace, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he mumbled into her hair, feeling like bawling himself at the moment.
"I thank you too," she added, her own maudlin emotions getting the better of her. "By the way, what are your parents going to say?"
He grinned. "I think they'll see it through my eyes, one way or another."
Selene laughed into the crisp air. "I cannot wait to tell Elesia!"
"Then, let's go, by all means." Grabbing her hand, Corren tugged on it gently. "Can we possibly wait to tell the happy news? Trenel will be estatic, and will probably dance in circles."
Her silverly laugh echoed through the cold air. "Don't laugh, love. I'll probably be doing the same."
~~~~~~~