A/N: Today, December 15th, is the first anniversary of In Want of An Heir, the prequel to this lovely fic and really what started this whole AUverse, so I decided to post a chapter here to celebrate!
The Children's Ball
It was a warm day in late winter, just on the cusp of Spring; the seasonal birds were beginning to flit back to Castle Gallifrey and bulb flowers were starting to poke through the earth. The Marquis and Marchioness were spending the morning in the study, going through paperwork and filing letters with their youngest playing quietly on the rug, when the conversation topic arose.
"Lena hasn't planned her first event," the Marquis said, a cold wash of realization dousing him. "She's nearly sixteen and she hasn't hosted an event on her own."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that," the Marchioness replied. She shuffled some papers in order to find the one she was looking for and nodded to herself. "You were never much for entertaining, so maybe she isn't either. There are worse things."
"Yes, but if she never knows how, what will happen if we are gone away on business and she has to throw something together last-minute?" he reasoned. "Parties and balls and formal events don't just magically happen."
"If she was ready to play hostess, I think she would have come forward about it." She paused for a moment as Seren bounced over to her and held up his arms, scooping up the toddler and placing him in her lap so that he could snuggle into his mama. "We can't force these things, you know. If she plans something before she's ready and it goes terribly, she would never want to host another function for as long as she lives."
"Normally I would agree with you, but Lena is not in a normal position," her husband frowned. "Our daughter is not training for a married life where she's shut away or a life where she can have things done in her stead, but is training to be a diplomat of the highest degree. I got away with not entertaining often because I lost Melody, her child, and both our fathers to the earth in quick succession—Lena has no such excuse and I hope she never will."
The Marchioness thought on that, her face drawing thin. "I did not plan my first event until I was well of marrying age."
"…and your father was still attempting to find you a husband without a title so he could rule instead of you." The Marquis sighed heavily as he leaned backwards into his seat. "I respect your papa, but I do think he was wrong in that regard. Please don't think ill of me."
"No, I understand," she replied, petting her youngest child's hair absentmindedly. "Sometimes I do forget our odd situation."
"Only because it is so natural to us, everyone else is the odd one," he grinned. He reached across the table and put his hand on hers, gazing lovingly into her eyes. "Why don't we ask her tonight over dinner? Give her some time to decide on what she wants to plan and request she makes a decision by her birthday; how about it?"
"That sounds reasonable," the Marchioness agreed. "We can give her a budget and offer her opinions, but no help. This has to be hers and hers alone."
"Of course," the Marquis nodded. "Now let us finish up here before we talk any more about it; we can't go to dinner with the children having finished their work for the day while we haven't."
"You want me to what…?" Lena asked, flabbergasted. It was dinnertime and the entire family was gathered at the table. The eldest sibling was stunned at her parents' suggestion, the thought having seemingly come out of the blue. "Mama, Papa, I don't need to bother figuring out how to put on a ball. I'd much rather work on my grasp of law and my military command than have to plan a ball and then sit through it."
"Hosting and attending balls are just as important as law and stratagem," the Marchioness explained. "Women and men both attend them, nobles and soldiers alike, and it's about time you plan your first party."
"That sounds exciting!" Maglina squeaked. "Oh, oh, can we help?! I wanna help!"
"Maggie, we're still in the nursery—we can't help yet," Sterling whispered in his sister's ear. "We'll only be in the way."
"Oh, I want to help," the little girl sighed dejectedly.
"Maybe another time," Astra said kindly. She then turned to her parents. "Mama, Papa, may I help Lena if she needs some assistance? I already plan on being her advisor, so this would be a good exercise for me as well."
"If Lena agrees," the Marquis replied.
"Johan, Lena I understand, but isn't Astra a little young?" the Marchioness questioned.
"No, she's correct," he gently argued. "Our daughters are mature enough to plan an event together if that is what they wish. I'd even suggest getting Tara in on the venture, but something tells me it will be a miracle if she even attends whatever is planned."
"Thanks for being perceptive, Papa," Tara nodded. "Astra can be Lena's right hand here at home, but I can be her left hand out on the front. It's not a problem." She shoveled some food in her mouth and pondered as she chewed. "You know, between the three of us, I'm pretty sure we'll have the marquisate under control before Seren grows chin fuzz."
"Yeah, but, I don't want to plan anything now," Lena protested. "I've got loads of coursework to do for Sir Daniel!"
"Plenty of others, us included, host parties while juggling other tasks that spread beyond the importance of coursework," the Marchioness replied. "It will be good practice, for it won't be all the time if you fall behind on your agenda it's only a matter of extra reading."
Lena's shoulders slumped as a grimace spread across her face. "Do I have to…?"
"Yes," both her parents said. The teen slumped in her chair and groaned in defeat—there was no convincing them if they were already in agreement.
"How long do I have?"
"You need to make a decision on what you shall do by your birthday," the Marquis said. "That should be more than enough time to ponder the event and logistics and how to stay within budget. If you want some advice, your mama and I are always there to help guide you in the right direction."
"What if my birthday comes and I can't think of anything?" she asked.
"Oh, we have faith in you," the Marchioness said. She leaned over and wiped her younger son's face with a cloth, removing the applesauce that seemed to magically be getting everywhere but inside his mouth. "You will have something that you will start putting together by your birthday. Do you understand?"
"…yes, Mama," Lena said. She scowled and began shoving her food around her plate with the fork; this was the last thing that she wanted, yet there was no choice to be had in the matter.
Later on that night, Lena laid slumped on her bed, over the covers and staring at the ceiling. Astra and Tara were in the room with her as well, sitting at the table that contained their sister's multitude of books and papers and barely enough room for their tea tray.
"I don't want to host a ball," Lena grumbled. "Why can't I worry about that when I'm an adult?"
"Probably so that when you are an adult, it won't be a problem," Astra replied, delicately sipping her tea. "Papa and Mama have been taking you to court since you were a baby for that very reason."
"Yeah, but that's court," Lena argued. "Being able to handle yourself in court could end up being a matter of life or death—an event, as vague as that is, is not nearly as dangerous."
"Oh, I dunno, it could be," Tara said as she munched on a biscuit. "I'm sure that between the two of you everything will go great."
"I don't know what to do though," Lena said. She sat up and looked over at her sisters. "We've only really attended balls to watch and unless we go on our own or with Sir Daniel, we don't have a chance of seeing the festivals as they really are. We don't know anything about stuff like logistics… not these sort of logistics, anyways."
It was then that the door to her bedchamber flew open and Maglina ran into the room, followed closely behind by Sterling. The girl flung herself and her stuffed bunny on the bed, while her brother tried to drag her off. They were both in their nightdresses, meaning that they were definitely not supposed to be there.
"Come on, Maggie!" Sterling protested. "Mama and Papa are going to catch us!"
"But I wanna help!" Maglina insisted. She crawled into Lena's side and clung to her eldest sister. "Lena, please tell Sterling I can help!"
"…but I don't know if you can do anything to help," Lena said gently. "It's very nice of you to offer, but I don't know if Astra and I can even do anything. Besides, you both should be in bed."
"Yeah, but Maggie said that she needed to find out what you were going do or she wouldn't sleep," Sterling said. "Papa said you had until your birthday, right?"
"He did, but I don't want to invite a bunch of their friends over so they can tell me how adult I am," Lena groused. "That's really all this is."
"Then don't invite their friends!" Maglina suggested. "Invite yours!"
"Well, that's a very short list," Tara scoffed. "You got us, maybe some of the serdars' kids, Ori… that's not exactly a large social circle."
"Netta Braxos! We can invite her!" Maglina said excitedly.
"Maggie, she's five," Lena sighed. "I don't know if Netta's parents would let her come all this way just for a party." She stroked her baby sister's hair as the girl became crestfallen.
"That's something I don't think Mama and Papa understand," Astra frowned. "We don't have many friends yet, because we don't have the luxury of having been presented or attended balls for socialization. They have, so it's easier for them."
The room grew silent as the siblings thought about that. It really was going to be an uphill battle, whether all of them helped or not. No matter what they were at a disadvantage, which made things seem all the more intimidating.
"Wait a second…" Lena said, perking up slightly. "What if the party isn't for Mama and Papa's friends, but more for those our age?"
"I thought Astra just went over this: we have no friends," Tara deadpanned. "I'm the closest one out of the lot of us to actually have friends, and that's because of the Academy knuckleheads."
"No, I mean, make it open to Gallifrey's youth, since we don't have very many friends to begin with," Lena explained. She stood and walked over to the table, carrying Maglina over and setting her down on a chair. "It can be something just for young people, so that way no one in attendance knows what a real ball should look like. We could make a lot of friends in the smallfolk and open up to some of the people that matter most, before they realize how important they are."
"Wait, you mean everyone…?" Astra marveled. "That's way too many people."
"When Mama and Papa host balls, all the people they invite don't always show up," her elder sister rationalized. "They don't even attend all the balls they're invited to, friends and distant acquaintances alike."
"Yeah, because they have more important shit to do," Tara said. "Who do you want running around? A bunch of farm kids Netta's age?"
"No, I'm thinking seven—any person from Gallifrey and the immediate area from seven to seventeen can attend if their parents permit them. Once you start with that, then you have the kids that aren't allowed to go yet, plus the ones that don't want to go, so everything should be fine crowd-wise."
"You are going to cock this one up," Tara snarked. "Can't wait to hear what the word about it is over at the Academy."
"How about you leave before I go and make sure you're going to school with a black eye for the next week," Lena ordered. She pointed towards her door and her sister left, affectionately flipping her a two-fingered salute as she vanished into the corridor. "Alright, tomorrow's a free day, yeah? I think we should get cracking on coming up with ideas for this party."
"Yes! That's a great idea!" Maglina squealed, rolling around on her sister's bed. "Oh! If it's a free day, that means Ori can come! Can Ori help?!"
"Only if she wants to," Astra said, knowing that's what Lena's answer would be. She then was able to coax their youngest sister out of the room, Sterling going along as they crept back into the nursery. The siblings went to bed feeling good, knowing that they were going to show Gallifrey the best ball that it had ever hosted.
"Alright, this is what I have down so far: a magician, an orchestra, one of those performing bears, a puppet show, that panto group we saw when visiting Grandpapa's summer home last year, and games in the yard." Astra made small dots in front of the items on the list as she named them off. It had been a long, arduous task narrowing it down to those, as most of the morning had been taken up with arguing over what things were appropriate and what was not. Now with Sterling asleep in a pile of cushions, Maglina and Oriana having piled atop him while pretend-playing as bunnies, it was up to the elder two siblings to make the list final.
"Should we ask Sir Daniel what he did as a kid?" Lena wondered. "He grew up in the Gloucester Academy—I'm sure he knows if something is considered as too high-class for smallfolk to enjoy."
"Would that be considered rude?" Astra mused. "I mean, we can't just go up to him and ask what poor kids do for fun."
"Not framed like that we can't," her sister agreed. She thought for a moment before nodding to herself. "We could say that we'd ask Tara, but we want a real answer and not a joke one."
"I guess so… but how late do you think we should keep the ball open?"
"As much as I don't want to: nightfall."
Astra exhaled heavily and rubbed her temple, wishing the teapot had not run out an hour beforehand. "Why?"
"Everyone knows the best balls run into the night—it's in faerie stories," Lena said. She thought for a moment and frowned. "Is that another thing to put on the list of things to ask Sir Daniel?"
"The 'Sir Daniel, please tell us things because you were baseborn until your love for our mama landed you with a body full of metal, an unnatural complexion, and a barony to boot' list. Got it."
"Ha, ha, ha," Lena frowned. Sarcasm sat thick in the air as they continued hammering out their lists.
It was a week before Lena's birthday and she was sitting in on a session of court. Things that morning had run smoothly, even though there had been a long dispute over the ownership of some wayward cattle, to the point where all the disputes and declarations had been taken care of well before lunchtime. The Marquis made to stand and call the session closed, but Lena stopped him.
"Hold on, Papa; I have an announcement concerning that event you wanted me to host," she whispered. "I'll go ahead and close court afterwards."
"Excellent news, starlet," he beamed. Turning back towards the room, he raised his voice so everyone could hear. "And now the Earlessa has an announcement before we finish for the morning. Lena?"
"Thank you, Papa," she said, standing. She waited until her father sat down before addressing the people. "In a week I turn sixteen. Had I been betrothed it would be the earliest day at which I could wed and give myself to a lord husband. That is not my fate, however, and I still get to enjoy my childhood for a while longer."
The crowd murmured and nodded in agreement. The traditional age of marriage was one that was not resorted to often, unless an emergency called for it, and it was always a thing to celebrate when avoided. "That is why," Lena continued, "I shall be hosting a special sort of ball on my birthday, the first of many events I hope to plan during my tenure not only as earlessa, but as marchioness and Doctor alike."
In their seats, the Marquis and Marchioness grinned at one another—their ploy had worked. Lena was to host her first event, and everything would go well… except…
"I shall now formally extend the invitation to attend towards my fellow Kasterborsians, aged seven to seventeen, living within the City of Gallifrey and her surrounding foothills," the teen announced. "I wish to be with my people on such an important day, and it is my humble belief that in order for a ruler to be the most effective, they need to know who it is they have been granted rule over, from the children of lesser lords to those whose only home is the Academy. Permission slips are being passed around to the Gallifreyan Primary, College, and Academy. Chaperones of those twelve and under shall be cared for, and the greatest precaution towards security of my fellow marchers will be taken. The only present I ask for is for as many to attend and enjoy themselves as possible. Thank you for your time, and I call this session of court closed."
Silence gripped the governance hall like few could recall. The earlessa's parents sat dumbstruck, clearly having been sideswiped by the entire thing, while those in attendance were unsure whether to turn the news into paltry gossip or something to protest. Lena descended the dais and walked out of the room, her head held high and a smirk on her face. The shock of opening up a castle ball to commoners was unprecedented, and to even the basest-born of children at that—few had even a hint as to what to think. Astra was waiting for her sister out in the corridor, an expectant look on her face.
"So? How'd they take it?" she wondered. "I couldn't hear a thing."
"That's because they're struck speechless," Lena smirked. The sisters high-fived one another and went on their way, incredibly pleased with their efforts.
A week passed and the most unusual ball that Castle Gallifrey had ever hosted was underway. It started at noon and ran until an hour before sundown, so that the partygoers could still walk home in broad daylight. The Marquis grouchily holed himself up in the family's private wing, avoiding the scores upon scores of tiny pudding brains that were running around his ancestral home, screeching and causing too much a ruckus for his liking, instructing his youngest how to behave despite the fact the boy could barely pronounce large words properly. They kept to themselves, even avoiding Tara as she went between her room and the private family office for some extra studying to prepare for an impending test to be accepted into the Officer's Program at the Academy. She didn't want to be caught by her classmates and need to explain her position, otherwise she'd be down at the party and stay up late for her studies.
From a hidden perch, the Marchioness watched her daughters and eldest son host the informal ball from afar. She saw how the guests were enjoying themselves, and that her own children were getting along well with the strangers, laughing and playing and socializing effortlessly. Lena herself appeared to be the happiest, barely a moment without a young child coming up for a hug, or a group of girls her own age make their way over to gossip. She even saw a sweaty teenaged boy present her daughter with a bouquet of starflowers and a kiss to her hand. Laughing, the Marchioness left her hiding place and went to find the hall where the adult chaperones were being kept, where she too began to mingle with the people she had the honor of governing. They met her with surprise and gratitude, congratulating her on having raised such a level-headed and humble daughter for being only sixteen. It was a party enjoyed by all whom attended and stayed on the lips of the people for years to come.
That night, however, once the castle was cleared and dinners eaten, the earlessa and her siblings began to doze off early, starting to nod off in the lounge as their parents chatted with their tutor and his wife. It was up to the older ones to put the younger children to bed (Oriana included, as she simply shared a bed with Maglina for the night), but afterwards it was all Tara could do to make sure her elder sister and her twin actually made it to their own beds and not just collapsing on a couch in the nursery. It had been an exciting and eventful day, one that, although initially planned out of spite, was one of the best times the children had ever experienced.