Chapter 11

"Oh, gods curse it," Eliena muttered. She was supposed to have been at the grand staircase ten minutes ago. But her hair just would not stay in its place. She made quick work of the pins attempting to hold her curls up, releasing inky hair down around her shoulders. She ran a brush through her hair to make it look at least presentable and placed her tiara on top of her head again. "There." She hoisted the hem of her gown and took off her heels. She opened the door and ran to the grand staircase, holding her shoes in one hand and skirts in the other.

When she finally reached the staircase, Eliena was losing breath. "I'm here!" she exclaimed. Her parents and Leo glanced at her.

Eliena's black hair—by some miracle—wasn't frizzy or out of control from her run. She had barely broken a sweat, so her make-up was still intact. She slipped her feet into her white silk shoes by supporting herself on the wall. She smoothed her full white skirt. The rubies sprinkled on it winked perfectly, and the crimson hem skimmed the ground. She—in a quite un-princess-like manner—adjusted the neckline of her off the shoulder bodice.

"Where were you?" Jonathan asked.

"My hair was misbehaving," Eliena replied, tossing silky black locks over her shoulder. "Now, shall we begin?" She offered Leo her arm, and he looped it through his. They stood in front of Jonathan and Alanna.

"Her Royal Highness Princess Eliena of Conté and her escort, Squire Leonard of Pirate's Swoop!" the herald announced. Smiling, Eliena and Leo floated down the staircase. Leo kissed Eliena's hand as she took her seat, and then went to stand just behind her. The crowd murmured: that was the position of someone courting her, not the king's squire! The king and queen took their seats, but Jonathan soon rose again.

"Welcome to the first ball of Midwinter. We are in the second day of the festivities, which leaves you one final day to do your shopping for Midwinter gifts. As you can tell by the placement of my squire, Leonard of Pirate's Swoop is officially courting my daughter, Princess Eliena. The queen and I couldn't be happier at her choice of men and we hope that it will end in a marriage. For now, enjoy the ball and we shall inform you when it is time for the banquet," Jonathan said, his voice filling every corner of the room. He sat down, the music started, and people ran to gossip.

Neal, who was standing with his friends, was rooted to the spot. He felt paralyzed, and his brain had gone numb. Eli and… Leo? But they were practically related! Adopted step-cousins, Eliena's voice said in his mind. He swallowed hard, fighting the urge to run to her and get down on his knees before her, apologizing profusely and begging for her forgiveness.

"Neal? Are you all right?" Kel asked. Neal blinked and Kel's concerned face filled his vision. Neal managed a stiff nod.

"Yes," he replied. "Perfectly fine."

"No you aren't," Cleon said.

"He's upset that the princess is being courted by that squire," Merric remarked.

"That squire happens to be one of Eli—her highness's best friends," Neal corrected. "They've been friends since birth. And he's had a crush on her for many years."

"He's not being sarcastic. There's something wrong," Esmond said.

"Go ask her to dance." Kel nudged him. Neal shook his head.

"In accordance to the customs of courting, the one who is courting the woman gets the first dance, and it is up to the woman to chose anyone she wishes to dance with," Neal informed them. "Which means that I won't dance with her highness all night."

"Oh, stop calling her 'her highness'," Kel told him. "You were friends with her, weren't you?"

"She herself informed me that, as we were no longer friends, and only her friends and family used 'shortened forms of her name', Eliena included, that I am to refer to her as 'highness', just like everyone else," Neal responded.

"Well that's silly," Kel challenged.

"That's Eliena," Neal retorted.

Hearing her name, Eliena looked around. She and Leo were gliding past Neal and Co. She smiled. "One second, Leo. Let's go talk to Kel," Eliena said.

"Eli…" Leo warned.

"What?" she asked as they made their way to the group of pages.

"If we're going to bother Neal, I don't want any part of it," Leo replied.

"What makes you think we're going to bother Neal?" They had reached the pages, so Leo couldn't answer. "Kel!" They all bowed to her.

"Your highness," Kel said.

"Oh, no, none of that, Kel. Eliena, remember?" Eliena smiled at the group. "Care to introduce me to your friends?"

"We can introduce ourselves," Neal snapped. Eliena raised her eyebrows.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe I was addressing you, page," she remarked coolly. "But, if you can introduce yourselves, by all means, do." The pages glared at Neal. It was the princess!

"I'll introduce them," Kel said. "This is Esmond of Nicoline, Seaver of Tasride, Merric of Hollyrose, Faleron of King's Reach—he's a second year, Cleon of Kennan—a third-year, and… Nealan of Queenscove." Eliena smiled at them.

"A pleasure to meet you. I at least knew your names from speaking to your group earlier," she remarked. She turned unreadable violet eyes onto Neal. "Next time you wish to speak to your princess, Nealan of Queenscove, I suggest you do it with more respect." She turned to Leo. "Have you all met Leonard of Pirate's Swoop?"

"Nice to meet you all," Leo said.

"And you, Squire Leonard," the pages returned.

"Well, Leo, we had better get back to dancing," Eliena remarked. "It was nice to meet you!" She walked away with Leo.

"'Next time you wish to speak to your princess, Nealan of Queenscove, I suggest you do it with more respect'," Merric teased. Neal glared at him.

"She just humiliated you!" Cleon laughed. As his friends laughed at his expense, Neal glared at him.

"You are all too immature to understand the ways of the heart," he told them, which got them laughing harder.

"And you do?" Faleron wanted to know. "The only time you've ever courted a girl you fouled up!"

Neal scowled. "I hardly think I 'fouled it up', Faleron. It was a mere misunderstanding," he replied with a sniff.

"Sure, Neal," Kel said, giggling and patting him on the back. "Whatever you say."

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"Congratulations!" Raoul said, hugging Eliena as they were sitting down for the banquet.

"Yes, congratulations!" the others seated at the table agreed. Leo and Eliena smiled at each other.

"If my City instincts haven't failed me, then I think that I'm going to have the Crown Princess for a daughter-in-law!" George remarked. Eliena smiled down the table at him.

"We'll see," Jonathan said, squeezing his daughter's hand. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, George."

"So, how are things with the Copper Islands and Scanra?" Thom asked. He didn't know much about these things unless they directly involved him.

"Scanra's nibbling at the edges," Raoul growled. "Just as they've been doing for years."

"Raoul, please don't remind me of the work that still needs to be done since my father's passing," Jonathan requested. "We've all been doing our best."

"I'm not saying we haven't," Raoul replied. "All I'm saying is that they've been nibbling for too long."

"Can we please not discuss these things at dinner?" Myles asked. "We get enough of them during the day, don't we?"

"And, besides, there are too many people around to hear secrets," George put in. As the second-in-command of the Realm's spies, George worked in secret, and not entirely legally.

"I just like to know what's going on," Thom said. "Is that wrong?"

"Of course not," Myles told him. "But ask us in private."

Alanna smiled. "Thom is like me, Myles. Doesn't know when the time is right." Thom glared at his twin, and Alanna glared back playfully.

"Aren't you two a little old for this?" Eliena wanted to know.

"Oh? And when did you become my mother?" Alanna asked. Eliena stuck her tongue out at her mother. "Aren't you a little old for that?" Alanna matched Eliena's voice perfectly.

"Oh, shut up," Eliena grumbled.

"Have you heard of this new mage who was kicked out of the City of the Gods?" Thom asked. Alanna, Jonathan, and Eliena all turned their attention to him. Eliena's twin siblings were there.

"No," Jonathan replied. "You're the only one who keeps up with them."

"His specialty is necromancy," Thom explained. "If I remember correctly his name is Blayce the Younger of Galla."

"Necromancy?" Numair asked with a frown. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Nor do I," Alanna agreed.

"Galla?" Daine asked. "Do we know where from?"

"No," Thom replied. "Sorry." Daine nodded. There wasn't anyone named Blayce in Snowsdale that she could remember anyway.

"They kicked him out, you said?" Jonathan asked. "Any idea of where he went?" Thom shook his head.

"No one knows for sure. Though, they suspect he either returned to Galla or went to Scanra. The reason I asked is that I felt some strange power coming from the north—the strength of which is what's needed for necromancy," Thom replied.

"North?" Alanna asked, voice cracking. "As in… Scanra area?" Thom nodded.

"I felt it to," Numair said. "But it was stronger than normal necromancy. I think we're dealing with the raising of a mage here."

"Mage?" Alanna squeaked. "Oh, gods, no."

"Relax, Alanna. I don't think it could be who you're thinking," Jon assured his wife.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Thom said. "Everyone's heard of what Alanna did that day, and it would be the perfect weapon against us."

"Just stop!" Eliena exclaimed. "You're upsetting my mother and its Midwinter! This is a time to be happy. We'll deal with it when it comes!"

"I agree," George said. "We'll take it one day at a time."

"But how many days might we have?" Thom murmured.

Author's Note- I have the most EVIL smile on my face right now. This is going to be GOOD… REVIEW.