"May I present the new ambassadors from Anguis, your majesty," the seneschal said. It was a huge crowd of nobles, in court finery, crowded around the brightly lit center of the huge hall. The King and His Queen waited, glowing with beauty, as the half dozen Anguan nobles descended and bowed. There was Sayo.
She was amazing. She really was a beauty, although few besides Alanna knew how painful this was for her. She had never seen Sayo in a dress before. It was deep wine-red, framed with silver lace, the corset framed with delicate silver scrollwork. The neckline dipped low; silver lace graced her shoulders, where the sleeves, made of several layers of sheer red fabric puffed dramatically, gathered once at the shoulder and once at the wrist, where they were framed with thick silver, attached to the diamond rings she wore on both hands. The skirt was velvet; she was introduced as "Princess Sayo of Anguis" and as she curtsied to the kind, yards and yards of frothy lace petticoats were revealed. Women sighed, and men sat up a little straighter. Her brown hair was pinned under a wirework of diamonds and intricate silver scrollwork, the pattern of which was repeated in her crown, a delicate silver circlet with silver diamond-encrusted patterns across her brow. A single ruby teardrop hung low over her forehead.
She translated the ambassadors' greetings, and, rigid as a board, uncomforatable and miserable, but showing nothing, joined the ball in honor of the new embassy.
She was hung with jewelry. She had not been lying when she said Anguis was rich. It could afford to show off it's princess. Her dress was more beautiful than the Queen's. All of the young bloods asked her to dance, and one unexpected figure.
Sayo glanced up at the extended hand. She was slightly breathless, and was not aided by the imposing figure of Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak.
"May I?" he asked politely.
Sayo flushed a little, and extended her hand. She was dwarfed by his height; she was a foot shorter, maybe more. Alanna knew that Raoul was required to be there, but his dislike of social events and his avoidance of court ladies was quite well know. She looked at the way he held her (he was actually not a bad dancer) and the flush on Sayo's face, and immediately came to the right conclusion.
He graciously gave her hand, at the end of an all-too-short song, to an eager young man all but snatching it from him, and relaxed, hidden, for the rest of the evening, unaware of Sayo's glances around the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
There were not enough friendly faces at these things. Sayo was fully miserable. Her dress was heavy and too tight and much too revealing. Her hair was pulled back to tightly and the weight of the crown gave her a headache. People were snatching at her, disguised as it was as dancing. She remembered, very clearly, why she had left Anguis, and princesses, and balls.
Now Raoul was gone. It had been nice to see a friendly face, and he was actually not a bad dancer. Relief came when she was called again to translate, and she broke away from an exceedingly unpleasant rich old Baron. Well, age isn't all that important, she told herself, and wondered why that thought had suddenly come to her.
It was over, finally; the ball, anyway. She had a lot more princess to be, before this was over.
[Author; 'k, that last line didn't make any sense. But this is getting better? I should stop worrying so much about reviews, but they can really brighten up a day, you know?]