Only two reviews this time? *sigh* Ah well. Two is better then none, I suppose.
One of these days I'll get the bold and italics down. One of these days. Anyway, on to my reviews.
Wolfdrifter – Have you ever read Misery by Stephen King? So long as you don't take the fandom to that extreme, I'm flattered that you like my writing that much. The 'tomarrow' thing was a typo that I missed, but I had to go and didn't have the minute to run spell check that I usually do. Nice to see a fan though.
Chris steel - I think you'll like this chapter then. J
NOTE: I know there's no such thing as a clear flower. However because I want one, there will be, and this is a different world anyway. It's a minor detail, and I don't want to have to debate it. Just so everyone knows.
NOTE 2: The song listed below is from Final Fantasy VI. I don't own it, nor did I write it. For the translation of the lyrics go here:
OK? Good.
Without further ado:
Chapter 11: The Ball Begins
Achmed was frustrated. It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and he hadn't seen Isis since breakfast. He needed to ask her something, but every time he found her she seemed a step ahead of him. Already he had tracked her through the now decorated ballroom, through the kitchens four times, through the servants' quarters twice, through the rooms made ready in case someone unexpectedly spent the night three times, and was now tracking her through the servant hallways that lay behind the walls of the ballroom. He finally found her near one of the doors into the ball room. She was adjusting the silks and vases that helped to conceal the door.
"There you are!" Achmed replied.
"What do you mean 'there I am'? I've been around all day," Isis replied without looking at him.
"I've been tracking you all day."
"You can find me by my heartbeat. Why didn't you do that?" Isis gave the silks a final twitch, and smiled at her work.
"I tried. You kept moving. You haven't stopped moving since ten this morning." Achmed continued to grumble, and Isis led him through the servant passage to the kitchens. From there they went into the sleeping wing. They were chatting about this and that when Rhapsody cornered Isis.
"There you are!" she said. "Come on, we have to get ready."
"You have two hours!" replied Achmed with a shake of his head.
"We only have two hours," Rhapsody said with a sigh. She grabbed Isis's wrist and pulled her over toward her room.
"Wait! I needed to ask you what your dress looked like!" Achmed called.
"I can't tell you that," Isis replied with a raised eyebrow. "Where's all the fun in the surprise?"
"Can I at least have a color?" Achmed said, clearly irritated by now. Isis and Rhapsody glanced at each other before Rhapsody replied.
"Dark blue." With that said the door to Isis's room shut and Achmed left. He found it to be a bit too much of a coincidence that her dress is that color, seeing as that was the color his new robes were. He walked down to one of the gardens and hunted around for what he was looking for. They were flowers that Rhapsody planted two years ago, and when he found them he smiled. There was what he was looking for. Tiny light blue flowers that should (he hoped, he didn't have much of an eye for this type of thing) offset her dress nicely. When he took enough to make sure that he had more than enough, he retired to his room. His excuse was that he was going to get ready, and no one except Grunthor noticed the bundle of tiny flowers he was carrying. Grunthor didn't say anything, however. Instead he chuckled to himself, and went off to make sure the guards had clean uniforms.
An hour later Grunthor walked by Achmed's room to hear a stream of curses. Raising an eyebrow he knocked on the door and walked in to find Achmed sitting at his desk staring hatefully at a bunch of flowers.
"Everythin' alrite, Yer Majesty?" Grunthor asked.
"Just dandy, Grunthor," Achmed spit.
"Wha's frustratin' ye so much?" Grunthor walked over and looked on the desk. It took all the effort he could muster not to burst out laughing. It looked like Achmed was trying to tie the little flowers together. "I'm gettin' the Duchess. She'll be able to help ye."
"I don't need her help," snapped Achmed. These little flowers would be the death of him, by the gods.
"I think ye do. I'll be righ' back." Grunthor left as Achmed sighed and slumped in his chair.
"May as well get ready while she's coming," he muttered to himself. With that thought in mind, he grabbed the special cloak that he'd gotten commissioned for this (under Isis's insistence) and walked into his bathroom to go get changed.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Aren't we done yet?" asked Isis.
"You're not good with dressing up, are you?" asked Rhapsody with a laugh. Four hand maidens were in the room with the two of them. They were already dressed up and were (in Rhapsody's case) sitting patiently while one maiden did their hair and the other put face paints on them. Isis was getting impatient, and her hair maiden suddenly made a noise of surprise.
"Miss, why didn't you tell us about that tiara?" she asked chidingly. Isis looked over at her desk; it was the tiara that appeared when she went to meet with the oaf Tristan.
"I forgot about it," she answered truthfully.
"Miss, this would go lovely with your dress! We should put it in your hair."
"Does that mean we'll have to start over?" asked Isis, clearly horrified. Rhapsody couldn't help but laugh.
"No, if I use it now I can make it work," she decided after looking over the hair style critically.
"Then use it."
The handmaidens had finally finished and left, much to Isis's relief and Rhapsody's amusement when there was a knock on the door.
"Duchess? Are ye decent?" called a voice.
"We're fine Grunthor, come on in," called Isis. The door opened, and the Sergeant-Major walked in and broke into a grin.
"Yer beautiful. Both of ye. Yer Ladyship," he said, turning to Rhapsody as he addressed her, "'is Majesty needs you. He's in his room." Rhapsody and Isis exchanged a glance, and with a shrug Rhapsody stood up. She smoothed the skirt of her dress reflexively: it was a simple, pale silver dress that had a V-Cut neck and fit over her upper body tightly before flaring out at the skirt. The sleeves were long. They hugged her arm until just below her elbows, and a train of fabric fell to her knees from them. Her jewelry consisted of her simple gold locket and her ring that Ashe gave her, along with the intricate crown of the Lirin peoples. Her hair was done up in an intricate style that included the maidens literally twisting her hair and creating patterns on it. They weren't anything in particular this time, but it was still beautiful all the same. There were bits of her hair curled around her face, and what hair they didn't use in the designs was curled into a slightly messy bun at the nape of her neck. While the bun looked slightly messy, it was perfectly set though, so it didn't look shabby. Rhapsody swept her way out of the room, and turned to look at Grunthor.
"Are you coming, or staying?" she asked simply.
"I'll stay. I don't have to keep people away from ye, between tha' crown and Ashe, I'd say yer fine. As for this lady 'ere, she won' have anyone to protect 'er until she meets up with 'is majesty in the ball room to gree' the blue bloods," Grunthor reasoned. Isis managed to control her blush for the most part, causing herself and her slight glow to turn slightly pink for only a second. Rhapsody smiled and laughed before walking over to Achmed's room.
"Grunthor, they had me here for two hours getting ready. TWO HOURS," Isis complained good naturedly. Grunthor couldn't help but laugh. Isis was wearing a gown with two thin straps holding it up. It was somewhat low cut, hinting at cleavage (as usual with her) but not overly exposing it. It hugged her bodice, and dropped straight to the floor once it hit her hips. It was dark blue velvet, and had a slit up each leg for ease of walking. She had a thin, dark blue wrap around her back, and matching dark blue shoes. The only jewelry she wore was the tiara and her necklace. Her hair was up in an elegant twist, with soft curls drifting down around her face. She allowed the staff to use the barest of paints on her face, just a bit of powder on her eyes and cheeks, a slight darkening of her lashes, and a gloss over her lips.
"Seems worth it te me," Grunthor replied with a grin. "'xcept I'm gonna hav' to be the one te make sure none o' the unattached gents there run off with ye. Thouh' I mus' admit, some o' the attached ones are gonna try to run off with ye too."
"And that would be why I have a foreboding sensation about this ball," Isis decided with a grimace. "The last thing I need is to be stolen by Tristan Stewart. It would drive me absolutely mad."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rhapsody entered Achmed's room, and reflexively walked over to him to straighten his robes.
"Grunthor told me that you had a problem for me to solve?" Rhapsody asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"I think I need the woman's touch for this," Achmed replied gruffly.
"What?" asked Rhapsody. Achmed merely motioned over to his desk. Sitting there was his pile of blue flowers, and a drawing. Rhapsody picked up the drawing, and looked at Achmed with a grin. "This is for Isis, isn't it?" she asked.
"It's in thanks for her setting up this ball for me," Achmed grumbled, clearly not liking where Rhapsody's mind was going.
"Really? Not because you're infatuated with her?" Rhapsody asked.
"Can you make it, or not?" snapped Achmed.
"I can make it, I can make it. Where's the bud you want in the middle?" asked Rhapsody with a laugh. Achmed motioned over to a small box on her left. She opened it and gasped.
"Achmed, WHERE did you find this?"
"It doesn't matter. That's what I want in the middle."
"Is it?"
"Real? Yes. If you must know, we have a small patch of them growing in the mountains that I'd found a few years ago. Hard to spot."
"She's going to love it, Achmed," Rhapsody said with a smile. She immediately set herself to the task of making the corsage.
"She'd better," Achmed grumbled.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A half hour after Rhapsody finished, Achmed was pacing in the ball room near where he, Rhapsody, Isis, Grunthor, and Ashe would stand so they could welcome people to the ball. The musicians had finished eating, and were tuning their instruments. They had just struck up a warm up song when, according to his monitoring of their heartbeats, Grunthor and Isis arrived outside the door. When she entered the room, he couldn't help but swallow and use every ounce of his efforts to maintain a cool look. She was gorgeous.
"Well?" Isis asked, turning this way and that.
"You're stunning," admitted Achmed. Isis smiled softly, and noticed that Achmed was holding a box in his hand. She looked at it curiously, and looked back at him.
"Any particular reason you brought a box to this ball?" she asked dryly.
"Yes, actually," Achmed replied with a small smile. He lifted it to Isis. "It's for you." Isis raised an eyebrow and opened the box. She gasped when she saw the corsage. The blue flowers, while light, would go perfectly with her dress, but what was in the center was what made her knees tremble.
It was a rose. A rose that looked like it was carved from a diamond. Isis touched it softly with her finger to discover that it was as soft as a normal rose petal.
"Is this –" Isis looked at Achmed.
"Real? Yes. As for the craftsmanship, give the credit to Rhapsody. I found the flowers at least."
"Achmed, it's beautiful."
"I think it'd look more beautiful around your wrist. May I?" he asked. Isis raised her left wrist, and Achmed carefully fastened the creation that caused him so much grief around her wrist. She looked at it and smiled before hugging him.
"Thank you," she whispered. Achmed stiffened up for a second and relaxed before briefly returning the embrace. They pulled apart at the sound of Grunthor's voice.
"No isn' tha' sweet. I'm tellin' the Duchess."
"Not if you don't want your head shoved in your arse you won't tell Rhapsody," warned Achmed. Just then Rhapsody walked in on Ashe's arm.
"Won't tell Rhapsody what?" asked Rhapsody. Isis closed her eyes and sighed, raising a hand to her forehead. Achmed glared at Grunthor, but as usual, he ignored it.
"'is majesty was huggin' the Lady Isis over here." He said with a grin.
"Quiet, you." Achmed snapped. Ashe had a look on his face that suggested that he didn't care whether Achmed hugged Isis, who he couldn't help but at least like a little. As long as he didn't steal Rhapsody from for a dance like he did on their wedding day, he was fine. Grunthor was grinning, and Rhapsody had a delighted look on her face. She was saved the problem of commenting, however, as the servants entered the ball room with their respective wines, and people began trickling in.
The greeting procession was most tolerable, except when Tristan Stewart bowed to Isis. She granted him a small curtsy in return.
"My Lady Isis, I am absolutely thrilled to meet with you again. You're more stunning every time I see you."
Achmed glared at the noble before smothering it and asking in an oily voice, "Isn't your wife around here somewhere Tristan? I can't seem to find her, though she's quite hard to miss." Tristan choked and with a glare at Achmed spun back to Isis. He pecked a kiss on her hand and went off to sit with his wife.
"Thanks, I owe you one," Isis whispered.
"No problem," replied Achmed.
Once everyone was seated, including those at the door, dinner was served. The first course was several different types of appetizers, each portion no bigger then a thumbnail. The wine was already beginning to flow, and Achmed was happy that Isis had talked him into buying so much extra. Salads followed the appetizers as quickly as the dirtied plates were whisked away. Isis had arranged it so twenty different types of dressings circled the place, causing many people to murmur in favor of Ylorc's superior hospitality. Rhapsody pointed this out to Isis and Achmed with a smile. Achmed shrugged it off, but Isis answered with a triumphant grin.
"I told you it was necessary," she whispered.
"Alright, you win," Achmed grumbled. The soups followed the salad. Though it was traditionally the other way around, Isis had decided that taste wise the soup should come after the salads. People didn't understand this until the main course came out. Beefs, chickens, venison, ducks, and pheasants made their rounds for meats. Freshly cooked vegetables, potatoes, warmed rolls with butter melting on their slices, and five different types of noodles followed, and already those at the upper table heard plans from those who were hosting their own parties to switch the order of the soup and salad courses. The musicians were up and playing a soft piece as the guests ate, and took a break during desert. Desert consisted of sugared fruit slices from all around the world, delicate violets spun from sugar the size of Isis's pinky finger nail, cakes the size of a palm, and scoops of iced cream the size of a child's fist. Once the food was finished, and the plates cleared away, the conductor turned to the audience as the musicians picked up their instruments and a small chorus, Lirin and Human alike, filed up onto the stage. It consisted of eight people: two sopranos, two alto, to tenor, two bases. One of the sopranos stepped forward as the conductor called out:
"And now the Lord and Lady Cymerian, along with the host King Achmed and his partner will open up the dancing to "Aria de Mezzo Carattere". Achmed's eyes widened.
"You never mentioned this," he growled to Rhapsody. He stood up, and much to his relief, Isis took his arm.
"May I have the honor of this dance?" she asked with a smile.
"Shouldn't I be asking you this question?" smirked Achmed. Isis's smile widened a bit.
"Consider us even for you saving me from Tristan," Isis whispered as they walked to the floor. The sun had set by now, and the servants abruptly closed the curtains. There was a gasp as the place was for a brief second shrouded in darkness, but then the flowers that Isis had created, along with her creations on the ceiling lit up. The guests gasped again, this time awestruck. They had never seen something like this before.
Isis turned to face Achmed, put a hand around his waist, and took his hand in her other one as the song started up.
Amor mio, caro bene,
Perché vai lontan da me?
Giurasti un amor, che mai non dovea
Aver fine per noi.
Isis looked up into Achmed's hood with a smile. Now would be the perfect time to tell Achmed exactly how she felt about him. But how could she do it?
Nei momenti di tristezza,
Nei momenti di dolor,
A te, mia stella, penso
Con infinito ardore
Achmed looked into Isis's eyes, and finally his heart and his mind snapped into the same mindset. For the first time when he looked at her he wasn't conflicted, nor kept up all night. He knew that this night would be the night he slept.
"Isis," he whispered.
Un legame senza speme
Perché mai dovrei aver?
Che cosa tu vuoi ch'io faccia oramai,
Mi devi dire tu.
"Yes Achmed?" she asked. Her eyes locked on his and at that moment the world around them seemed to freeze in time.
Ti ringrazio, caro bene,
Amor mio, vita mia,
Al grave doler, al buio timor
Che il cuore mi turbó,
"I…" Achmed was at a loss of words, so just decided to go on instinct. He closed his eyes and lowered his head to hers. He hesitated for a moment as his lips brushed with her soft ones, praying that he wasn't doing something stupid. What he didn't expect was for her head to rise up and for her lips to meet his in a full kiss.
Dolcemente, con amore,
Hai risposto al mio gridare,
Per sempre ognor, per sempre ognor,
Qui a me, t'attenderò.
"Well, i's abou' time," Grunthor muttered to himself when he saw the couple on the floor. He couldn't help but to smile for Achmed and Isis.
Rhapsody was thrilled for both of her friends. Both of them needed someone to love, and she was happy that they found each other.
Ashe was relatively indifferent, though he couldn't help but wonder why anyone would want to lock lips with Achmed of all people. Luckily for him, Rhapsody was too busy looking at Achmed and Isis to notice.
All around the room people erupted into delighted whispers. All except for two.
If looks could kill, the glare Tristan sent to Achmed would have him incinerated and turned to dust. He's lucky his wife didn't notice; she was too busy gossiping with the lady next to her.
Another set of eyes stared at the couple, but not at them. They were focused on Isis. In particular, they were focused on the tiara that rested on her head.
"The diamond," she whispered. She quickly excused herself from the table for a moment and exited the room. She quickly walked out to the room that her belongings were put in and that she was given to change into her finery out of her traveling clothes. In a cage was a small fire bird. It resembled a phoenix, but unlike it's cousin it had destructive powers instead of healing ones. The woman quickly scribbled a note, and handed it to the bird. It disappeared in a flame of fire, and reappeared a moment later without the note.
While the woman went back to enjoy the ball, in a castle far to the south a scream of fury reverberated in it's halls. It wasn't normal fury; it was the fury of a thwarted F'dor. The F'dor stormed out of the room, leaving the crumpled note on the floor.
Serena wears a tiara. It houses your diamonds.