Ch. 8

An hour and a half later, after everyone had showered off the sweat of the day and changed clothes, they all began to meet in the foyer as before. The giddiness from earlier had worn off as they faced their mission with renewed determination. At last they were here. Soon they would get down to business and see once and for all where these paratrooper assassins were coming from, and what their intentions were. One step closer to finding their lost and well-loved comrade.

Alice changed clothes at the last minute. She had almost attended in a formal dress uniform, but recalling the reactions of her sisters thought better of it. She wore a simple, yet tasteful gown the color of coral pink, with cream and gold highlights. With the help of a Rodelian maid, her hair was worked into loose curls.

You'd be proud, Ell, she thought with a wan smile.

Elsewhere, Lily was all flustered.

"Oh goodness, I haven't needed help dressing myself since I was three!" she wailed. "Must you make such a fuss? OW!"

She was surrounded by three Rodelian maids who seemed hell bent on their tasks to groom her. Her skin was scrubbed until it glowed, and her hair was tugged, yanked and twisted in place, until it became a graceful updo, secured by dozens of bobby pins. A dress swept over her head and was secured by ties and ribbons. Finally her face was powdered, with a bit of rouge for her cheeks and carmine for her lips. When she saw the finished product reflected back at her in the full-length mirror, Lily hardly recognized herself. Her dress was the color of a stormy sea, which only served to enhance her brown eyes, as well as her fair skin, which was almost pearlescent. Pearls graced her neck to add to the effect. Long gloves covered her hands to her elbows, as there wasn't time to groom her nails.

"I'm…"she mumbled, "I…look like a…princess." She turned to her attendants. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice thin and shaky. Tears welled in her eyes.

The three Rodelian maids bowed, one offering her a handkerchief.

"You mustn't ruin your make-up, miss," she said. Lily giggled and dabbed her eyes quickly.

When she regained her composure, she stepped out of the room, and almost ran over Alan, knocking his glasses askew.

"Oh, Mr. Alan!" she cried, trying to help him, ""I'm so sorry! Gee whiz, I'm such a klutz lately!"

Alan straightened quickly. He cleaned his brass spectacles and readjusted them on his face. Once he took a proper look at her, his eyes slowly widened.

He swallowed hard once. "I'm…" he stammered, "I'm quite all right, my lady. No harm done."

"Oh," she laughed nervously, "that's probably not true, Mr. Alan. I think I caused you a great deal of harm earlier. Sub-Lieutenant Oreldo was right. I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings, though."

Alan looked down at Lily so intently she blushed, which he thought was most becoming. His expression changed and she thought she saw the merest hint of a smile. He bowed low to her.

"Please," he said softly, "my lady needn't fret after this pathetic excuse for a servant. I understand that earlier, your intent was meant to be kind. My humblest apologies to you for causing such unnecessary distress. I am unworthy of such an honor."

Lily was speechless. "Wha…but, I should be apologizing to you!"

Alan bowed again and his smile grew. "If my lady insists, then consider your apology accepted."

Lily was delighted. "Oh, good!" she said, considering the matter settled and forgotten. She giggled, unmindful that it was Alan's turn to blush.

"Oh my," she said, "I've never had someone call me 'my lady' before. I almost feel like Cinderella! This is too cool!"

Alan couldn't help chuckling. In a way, Lily's bubbly personality reminded him of the Rodelia children when they were young and still fairly innocent.

He gulped again. "Then…" he said, "if my lady permits, allow this humble servant to escort her to dinner?"

He offered her his elbow. Lily almost squealed for joy but held it back at the last second. After all, Cinderella never squealed.

Instead, she cleared her throat and tried to think of what Alice would say. "I would like nothing better than to be in your company, Mr. Alan. I thank you. You are most kind."

Alan chuckled again. "My lady is far too generous with her praise," he said.

"I am not!"

Oreldo and Martis dressed in separate rooms that had adjoining baths, attended by maids and manservants alike. Oreldo flirted with the maids, causing many to giggle and blush, to the point where a few of them had to be dismissed as a form of discipline.

"They never let me have any fun," Oreldo sighed.

"Can't you keep your hound dog at bay for even a day?" Martis asked, chuckling.

"What, and ruin my reputation?"

Martis just shook his head in response. He finished dressing, and noted the maids looked somewhat familiar. He then realized many of them were from Carlotta's unit from the Cavern City caves. He asked Jean, a pretty maid with freckles, if Carlotta was all right. The maid smiled and curtsied.

"Miss Carlotta is quite well, noble sir. You will see her later at dinner."

"Oh good," Martis said, brightening, "I'm glad she's safe. Is she…joining us?"

"Wait a second," Oreldo interjected, entering the room, "I just noticed something. Why do you and all the attendants call Mr. Martis here 'noble sir'?" He looked at Martis and chuckled. "Did you get knighted and I missed the ceremony?"

Martis gave a nervous laugh. Of course, he'd noticed it too, but hadn't said anything. He had a good idea why, but didn't want to make a fuss.

"It is the wish of Her Highness, Mr. Oreldo," Jean answered. "We are to treat Mr. Martis as though he were a noble, almost in equal rank to herself. It's a great honor, one of the highest compliments Her Highness can bestow."

She turned to Martis. "As for Miss Carlotta, she has the honor of being your guardian and poison tester for tonight."

Martis blanched. "Uh…is that really necessary?"

"I'll have one too," Oreldo said, "won't I?" Martis glared at him and waited for Jean to continue.

Jean looked worried. "It was meant to be unobtrusive," she said, "Her Highness didn't want you to worry, but attacks against her have been getting worse lately. She wanted to take every precaution and thought Miss Carlotta would make you feel more comfortable."

"I don't want Carlotta to get hurt, either!" Martis said. "That almost seems like a punishment…but, who has been attacking Her Highness? Is it one of her siblings? An outside source?"

Jean shook her head in dismay. "The nature of the attacks point to an internal source, but we're unsure yet as to who is responsible."

"Are we dining with the princess?" Martis asked, "Will we be meeting her family tonight, too?"

"Oh no, this is a private dinner."

Martis nodded. "All right, I guess that's something."

"Something like indigestion," Oreldo groaned. "Well, so much for our vacation. Why doesn't the Captain ever warn us about these things?"

"Because he knows you won't go." Martis answered, deadpan.

"Too true, old chum. Too true."

Elsewhere again, Lionel adjusted his tie and slicked the hair out of his face. He said nothing to the servants, taking note of their faces and memorizing the rooms he'd seen so far. Matching wits with Rodelians…it might be a challenge, but he doubted it. Their sense of honor was so ingrained it made them vulnerable.

His mind went back to the attack on the train. Damn that Mad Minstrel. How did she know? Good thing the 906 worked in pairs. He'd have never gotten the report otherwise…