Winter isn't fair, Lianne thought, resting her weight against the smooth stone railing which fenced in the small balcony she stood on. It's too hot to stay in there and too cold to be out here.

Though it was getting late, the party inside was still as lively as it had been. The masses of people and the material of her dress made the ballroom's atmosphere seem stifling, and when Daine had excused herself to put Sarralyn to bed, Lianne had used the chance to slip away, herself. Now she stood, eyes on the snow covered gardens below. In any other season, this particular garden would be home to at least one pair of lovers seeking a private moment in the moonlight, but the deep snow and icy paths sent couples to warmer locals, which Lianne was grateful for. The quiet was nice, even if the cold wasn't.

At 16 years old, Lianne was being asked to dance by young men much more frequently than in previous years. Since being formally presented at court two years ago, Lianne had been asked to dance her fair share of times, but the requests were noticeably numerous this year. Lianne expected she knew why; Kalasin, her older sister and the elder princess, was not present this year. She was, instead, touring Carthak with the Emperor Kaddar, her future husband. She would not return until late February or March, when the preparations for the wedding would begin in earnest. The wedding itself would take place around Midsummer. Lianne was not looking forward to it.

Her sister seemed to like Kaddar well enough, that's not what displeased her. Lianne liked Kaddar as well, and he held Daine, Numair, and Alanna's full confidence, which greatly boosted the general population's opinion of him. But when she thought about it to herself, Carthak was so terribly far away. Kalasin had only just returned from spending a good deal of time with their aunt, the Countess, when she agreed to the match between her and Kaddar. Now she had been gone two months already.

At least the progress here is over, Lianne sighed. As the country was at war, the progress for Kalasin had been significantly smaller than that for their oldest brother, Roald, when he was engaged. It was still much too long for Lianne's taste, and she was extremely thankful that it was over and there was no talk of anyone else marrying in the near future. She didn't expect she could manage so many parties again so soon and keep her sanity.

"Who're you hiding from, then?" A deep voice drew Lianne out of her thoughts, and another pair of arms entered her line of vision to rest against the stone. She turned her eyes up to the face of her older brother, Liam of Conte. He smiled at her, though his deep blue eyes, so known in the Royal family, were curious.

 "I am not hiding," she said, though she fully expected him to see right through that flimsy denial. "I'm just getting some air."

"It's cold - you should go inside."

"So should you.  Lets not, shall we?" Lianne offered a quick grin to her brother, who chuckled slightly. He ran a hand over his tunic, feeling the deep blue velvet thoughtfully.

"This is very warm," he informed her, mock seriously. With a nod in the direction of her much lighter blue silk gown, he smirked. "Much warmer than that, I'm sure."

Lianne didn't bother to argue. She was freezing. "I don't mind the cold. It was too hot inside." She paused, turning her eyes back out to the night sky as they stood in comfortable silence. "You couldn't have known I was out here when you came," she finally said, turning to him fully. "Why are you here?"

Liam shrugged. "Mother and father are being very serious right now, and so everyone else around them is too. I wasn't really in the mood for it."

"What's upsetting them?"

"Oh, you know how it goes lately," Liam tapped his fingers against the stone, tone vague. "Aly sends word about whatever it is she's off doing and everyone is very quiet for a few days before something happens somewhere else and we forget all about her."

"Aly?" Lianne perked up instantly, tugging her brother's arm. "No one told me she sent word! How is she? Where is she? Do you know what she wrote about?"

"No."

Lianne paused and frowned, drawing her hand away. She had not inherited the Conte gift, as all of her siblings excepting Liam himself had.  She did, however, have the Sight, which her uncle had told her appeared fairly regular in her grandmother's family.  It wasn't strong enough to be particularly noteworthy, but it did let her see when someone lied to her, as Liam just had. It didn't sit well with her; Liam generally didn't to other people, but he almost never lied to her. She had always been closest to him of her all her siblings, and unlike Jasson, she never had to talk him around to find things out; they always told each other everything. His dishonesty raised flags in her mind. Unsure of how to reply, she said nothing.

"Besides," he went on, "You know how it'll turn out. Whatever the problem is, they'll fix it and we'll never hear about it again. It won't matter in a month."

This time he told the truth, which set Lianne slightly at ease, though not completely. If it were something very serious, he'd be acting differently. She'd not bother finding out the contents of Aly's letter tonight. Roald would probably give in and tell her in the morning. "My fingers are going numb. Let's go in."

-

Jasson was staring at a spot on the wall, quite obviously incredibly bored, when they reached the table at which they had been sitting earlier. Lianne smiled brightly, smoothing her skirts as she looked from one brother to the other. Though she participated in the conversation, her mind was not on her brothers' idle chatter (and bickering). She could not help but realize with a pang that she preferred when they were younger, and would have their own party with some of the younger children of the Court Nobles at Midwinter. As Kalasin and Roald had generally made public appearances at the big party, Lianne and Liam had lorded over the loud group of children in the nursery as the Midwinter 'King' and 'Queen' and Jasson was usually dubbed the King's Champion for the evening.

Now they all attended the big party, and did not have nearly as much fun. Jasson was dressed in the formal red and gold tunic and hose, marking him as a royal page. A squire as soon as he's asked, Lianne realized, and he'll probably go north. The thought did not settle her. Liam, by contrast, wore the royal blue and silver of their house. This both amused and saddened her. He usually shied away from going out of his way to distinguish himself as a member of the Royal Family, but having been awarded his shield mere days before, he didn't seem to mind showing off his status as a full knight this year. She had half expected him to show up this evening fully accessorized with his sword and shield. Alan had probably talked him out of it, she realized, eyeing the squire in question.

Alan of Pirate's Swoop and Olau had appeared in the space between Jasson and Liam, also adorned in his house colors, though he would not enter the Chamber for another few nights. Winking at her, he punched Liam's upper arm lightly in their traditional greeting. He went to do the same to Jasson, and then stopped; his fist poised a few inches away and his face a mask of worry. "You won't thrash me if I do this, will you?"

Jasson scowled and Alan beamed, having been granted his desired reaction. That done, he turned his attentions to Lianne. "Princess! You are by far the most ravishing woman here tonight, excepting your dear Mother, of course, who is sadly already spoken for, damn your Father. I would be honored – so honored – if you would grant a humble nearly-knight with a moment of your divine time and a dance." With a flourish, he bowed low, ignoring the eye rolls offered in his direction by both Conte boys.

"You know, one day you're going to sweet-talk a girl who doesn't know not to take you seriously," Lianne told him, as solemnly as she could manage. "And then you'll be a whole world of trouble, won't you?"

Alan held a hand to his breast dramatically, eyes wide. "You don't take me seriously? I proclaim my undying affection for you each and every day and you laugh. You're cruel."

"Shut him up and dance with him," said Liam, shooting his closest friend a look that was more amused than annoyed, "Before I make Jasson."

As Lianne rose and took Alan's offered arm, Jasson shot Liam a skeptical look. She could hear him over her shoulder challenging their brother. "I would love to see you try."

Alan whirled her on the dance floor, and she momentarily forgot her brothers, concentrating completely on keeping up with him. No matter what the occasion, Alan always made dancing a very silly experience.

Liam and Jasson didn't see Lianne for quite some time. When Alan returned, he reported, among comical moans of love lost, that she had been swept away by another newly knighted young man and he hadn't seen her since.

When Jasson did see her next, she was dancing with Emrest. He rolled his eyes and knew there'd be no living with his friend for months.