Chap 13
October drew to a close, and November began, full of fiery colors that livened up the earth. Almira's birthday was the fifth of November, and the palace was in an uproar. The chefs were desperately trying to cook a hundred helpings of all of her favorite foods, the seamstresses were trying to finish the gowns, the courtiers were going crazy trying to decide their outfits, and poor Gallagher was running around like a madman.
Everyone, including Venitia and Donovan were dragged into helping out, Venitia quite willingly and Donovan quite unwillingly. Gallagher took to Donovan right away since he was tall and strong and extremely useful in decorating.
Venitia helped where she could, sometimes in the sewing room with Annette, and sometimes in the ballroom, though that usually consisted of laughing at poor Donovan, who was constantly draped in emerald satin. Even he had to laugh about it.
No one was more excited than Almira. Aragorn made a guard stand at all of the entrances to the ballroom so she couldn't sneak in. As a result, she was constantly badgering Venny.
"For the thousandth time, I am not going to tell you!" Venny said.
"Please?! I'm dying over here, Venny!" Almira pleaded.
"No! The ball is on Sunday; you will find out then!"
"No! Three days is too long! I'll never make it!" Almira said dramatically.
Venitia just made an irritated noise in her throat and tried to leave, but Almira was blocking her bedroom doorway.
"You're not going anywhere," Almira said.
"Fine. Then I suppose you won't have sequins on your dress," Venny said, teasingly holding up the basket of green sequins she was holding.
Almira glared at her, and seemed to be fighting in her head, when finally she stomped her foot in annoyance and backed away.
"Thank you," Venitia said cheekily with a false smile.
Almira just made a face and stormed off. Venitia laughed to herself and headed down to help Annette. She was not going to be happy; she had sent Venny off a half hour ago to get the sequins.
"There you are! Finally! I thought I was going to have to send the army off to find you," Annette said.
Venitia mumbled a 'sorry' and set to work on Almira's dress. It was beautiful, but it wasn't near being done. Annette had been going crazy with worry when Venitia had come in that morning. She assured Annette that she would work on the dress today so Annette could work on her mother's and hers, although they were closer to completion.
Venitia worked for two and a half hours, until her fingers were each either bleeding or numb. Annette came over to check on her.
"Tsk, tsk," she said when she saw Venny's hands. "You are not a professional, but you have been an angel today. Thank you, dearie. Now go up for dinner."
Venitia smiled a gracious thank you, and left. She decided to quick check the ballroom before dinner.
It was gorgeous. Not done by any means, but gorgeous all the same. She was walking backwards when she bumped into someone. It was Donovan. They laughed at each other, for she was red and bleeding, and he was bruised and completely covered in sequins.
"I've been sewing for almost three straight hours," Venitia said stiffly.
"I bumped my head while completing my sixty-fifth drape," he said painfully.
They suddenly burst out laughing.
"Come on, let's go to dinner," she said.
He nodded and they headed off. They were walking fast when she suddenly stopped and made him stop, too. Laughing so hard it was silent, she pointed at them in the huge mirror in the hallway. He looked reluctantly and he, too, was soon laughing. They laughed for nearly five minutes.
Her hair was sticking out every which way, her dress was ripped (from an unfortunate scissor accident), her hands were red and bleeding, and she was walking like an orc because her arms were so stiff.
He had a large lump on his forehead, looked like a shiny tree from all the sequins enveloping him, his hair was also sticking up, and his eyes held a look somewhere between traumatized and fatigued.
After calming down, they slowly made their way to the dining hall, which was just at the end of the hall. They carefully looked in before they went, and laughed when they saw that everyone, except Almira, looked exactly the way they did.
Her father's long hair, which was usually wavy, was stick-straight and his eyes were wide open, as if perpetually in shock. Her mother, always graceful and beautiful, had purple circles under her eyes and didn't seem to be able to bend her arms. Legolas, who you would not expect to be tired at all, was staring into space and his braids had somehow fallen out. Even poor little Muriel, who had been trying to draw Almira all day, had fallen asleep next to her soup.
Venny and Donovan entered the room and sat down in the strange crowd. No one really noticed they were there. Their was soup looked to be the same as the day before and was cold. The chef must have been too busy.
Venny shrugged and started eating. It probably tasted horrible, but she was so stiff and tired she didn't care. All that was in her mind was a long, hot bath.
She finished rather quickly and said good-bye to Donovan, the only one who seemed to be conscious. She left for her room and dashed into the bathroom. She drew a bath, and sunk into it.
Her muscles seemed to relax, and her head started to clear. This party was being a nightmare. I really don't want to think about it, she decided.
She turned her attention to the room around her, her magnificent bathroom. It was probably a little indulgent, but she had designed it when she was eighteen, and still loved it to this day. It was almost as big as her bedroom, with a double glass-plated door. It was almost all gold, including the bathtub. A chaise stood to the side, in front of a screen to change behind. A portrait that an artist had done of her when she had turned sixteen hung above the bathtub. Paintings of flowers hung above the wall-to-wall mirror on the wall opposite, above a counter that held all of her beauty things. Candles lined the other walls.
She got out, still feeling sore but not as stiff. She changed into her nightgown and sank into bed, even though the sun had just set. It was probably barely seven o'clock, but she was so tired, she fell asleep in an instant.
The next morning, she awoke at seven to her entire body being sore. She literally rolled out of bed and fell onto the floor.
"Your highness! Your highness!" Gallagher came running into the room. "Your highness I need your help! …Where are you?"
"Over here," she said weakly as she rolled herself onto her back.
"Your highness! Are you alright?" he said not sounding too worried.
"Yes, I'm fine," she said, sitting up.
"Well, please hurry. We desperately need you in the ballroom."
She nodded and he left, running with a crazed look in his eye. She pulled herself up and walked slowly to her closet. She pulled out the most basic dress she owned and achingly put it on. She didn't bother with her hair; she simply brushed it and pulled it together at the base of her neck. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was paler than usual, but she sardonically smiled to herself and left the room.
It took her ten minutes to reach the ballroom since she walked so slowly. Servants were scampering every which way with fabric or sequins or food or tablecloths; you name it they had or needed it. She was quickly pulled in and started helping with the tablecloths. There were a hundred and fifty tables. Venitia groaned, but put on her battle face and started smoothing.
It took her until noon to finish all of the tables. She had wakened up and was slightly more cheery. She sang as she worked until servants started to glare at her. She never had been much of a singer.
Donovan was also working; he was finishing the drapes that he had started yesterday. The emerald satin was draped from the balcony and the stair rails. It draped from the head table and the chairs. He had finished the balcony and the head table, and was starting the stairs and the chairs.
All in all, the ballroom looked dazzling. The emerald fabric had been studded with sequins, and they glittered and sparkled. The marble floor had been washed at least fifty times, and glistened as a result. The chandelier that hung from the ceiling was also shining, and the marble columns beneath the balcony were also gleaming.
"Come on! Just one little peek!" Venitia heard Almira's voice coming from the entrance. She snorted and went to meet her.
"Come on, I swear I'll look surpri- oops," Almira said when she saw Venitia. "Venny! I was just, uh, just, um, checking! To make sure that everything was uh, running smoothly!"
"Sure," Venitia said sarcastically. "Come on, take me to lunch," she said, dragging her sister away.
"But-" Almira started to say, but shut up when she saw the menacing look on her sister's face.
They ate lunch and Venitia sent her sister to take out Crystal so the horse could get some exercise and to just plain get rid of her.
This routine continued until the end of Saturday, the day before the ball. Venitia and Donovan finally finished in the ballroom and sunk down into chairs.
"Finally," Donovan said.
Venitia only sighed. "Do you know what you are going to wear?" she asked.
He nodded. He must have been too tired to do anything else. "You?"
"Mm-hmm," she said in agreement.
"You think Almira will be happy?"
Venitia smiled. "She'll remember it for the rest of her life."
