21. The Royal Banquet

(Sonya POV)

I stood in the small candle-lit parlour at the entrance to the Grand Ballroom, and as I waited to be announced I caught sight of my reflection in the ornate mirror that hung from the wall. Each morning for the past three days I had allowed myself a nervous glimpse at the gown Misha bought for me on our shopping trip, but now I was actually wearing it I knew I'd made the right choice.

The dress clung to my body like a caress. The outer layer – a sheer forest-green fabric delicately embroidered with hundreds of tiny jewels – draped softly from my shoulders, the straps sweeping down at the back to form a small train that brushed along the floor behind me. Its high neckline was balanced by a low-cut V at the back, which exposed my skin right down to the single button that fastened the dress at my waist. Underneath, the cream-coloured satin slip blended perfectly with my complexion to give the illusion of nakedness.

The only adornment I wore was the gift the shop-assistant had selected for me – a pair of exquisite gloves that perfectly matched the dress. A delicate band of black and green lace wrapped around each wrist and looped over my middle finger, revealing my long, slender fingers and manicured nails. To complete the effect, I'd gathered my hair up in a loose bun, applying just enough make-up to accentuate my features.

'Miss Sonya Karp,' a voice declared, and the doors to the ballroom were thrust open, allowing the strains of classical music and conversation to filter out into the parlour.

My hand crept nervously to my throat as I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. I just hoped Misha would be pleased with his purchase. You can do this, Sonya, I told myself sternly, before lifting my chin up and stepping into the room, the black lace Jimmy Choo stilettos I'd ordered online peeking out from under the hem of my dress as I walked.

Looking around me in surprise, I saw that the usually bare, drafty old hall had been miraculously transformed into a scene of elegance and beauty. A long table sat at the head of the room, decorated tastefully with a cream and bronze colour theme, and dozens of royals and moroi teachers already mingled together between the smaller circular tables; each set out with fine cutlery, glassware and hand-written place cards indicating where the guests were to sit. At the other end of the hall was a wooden sprung dancefloor, and a small orchestra sat off to one side, swaying gently with the ebb and flow of the music as they drew their bows across the strings.

I spied a few of my colleagues at a table at the side of the room and headed in that direction, hoping to slip past the royal guests without being noticed, but I wasn't so lucky. I was only a few steps into the hall when a young woman I didn't recognise reached out to touch my dress.

'Gorgeous gown, darling. Who's it by?'

'I bought it in Missoula,' I replied, having no idea if the designer was anybody she would know.

'How ghastly,' she responded condescendingly, the dress suddenly plain in her eyes. 'I'm wearing Zac Posen. You like?' she swished the fishtail skirt for my benefit then turned back to her friend to continue their conversation, ignoring me completely.

I blushed self-consciously, getting a horrible flash-back of that banquet I'd attended when I was at college, and hastily continued towards my goal when I was stopped by a familiar voice.

'So you made it after all,' Ellen Kirova welcomed me in her typical snarky tone. 'I'd gasp in astonishment, only this dress is so tight I can't be bothered wasting my breath on you,' she concluded dismissively then tottered off to find Queen Tatiana.

At least it can't get much worse from here, I consoled myself dryly, then was surprised when somebody actually approached me with a genuine smile on their face.

'Miss Karp, isn't it?' the woman offered me her hand. 'I'm Marie Conta – you teach my daughter Camille.

'It's a pleasure to speak with you Lady Conta,' I bowed my head respectfully. 'Camille is a bright girl. I'm sure you must be very proud of her.'

The woman glowed at the praise for her child. 'Yes, I am. I just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work. I know many of the students at St. Vladimir's aren't as studious and well behaved as my Camille and it must be quite a trial even turning up some days,' she empathised.

You're not too far from the truth there, I thought to myself, but thanked her for the compliment as graciously as I could before turning to leave.

She grabbed my arm, wanting to add one more thing. 'Oh, and I apologise for anything my niece Mirabelle might have said earlier. Pay no attention to her. She's a throwback from her mother's side – no class,' the lady whispered archly. 'I'm sure your dress has her and half of the women in the room green with envy!'

I smiled at her warmly then moved across to take my place at the teachers' table beside Mr Nagy.

When I was finally settled I took a moment to scan the crowd, looking for the one face I hoped to see, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Misha standing only a few metres off to my right, his hands folded in front of him as he stood with the other guardians that flanked the room. To anybody else he would have appeared expressionless and entirely focused on his task, but when the guardian's eyes swept across the room to meet mine I saw his face flash with admiration and pride. He shook his head almost imperceptibly and mouthed the word 'wow!' before settling back into professional mode. That was more than enough for me. I ducked my head and smiled secretly to myself before turning to ask Mr Nagy how he was enjoying the warmer weather.

Soon, a small bell tinkled to signal the start of the banquet and everybody made their way to be seated. As host, Headmistress Kirova sat at the main table by the queen, looking smug as the importance of her position went to her head, but it was Queen Tatiana who stood up to address the crowd.

'I would like to welcome you all here this morning, and add a special thank you to Headmistress Ellen Kirova for providing the use of her beautiful venue at St. Vladimir's,' the queen nodded to the cheshire cat beside her. 'The loss of our dear Dragomir family has shaken our whole community and we all offer our deepest condolences to the surviving child Vasilisa Dragomir. Princess Vasilisa, would you like to say a few words?'

The slim girl who was seated at Tatiana's right side rose elegantly, before dropping into a shallow curtsey to acknowledge the queen and turning to greet her guests.

'Thank you all for coming to pay your respects tonight and for your presence at the funeral last week,' the princess began. 'It means so much to me that my dear parents and brother have been fondly remembered. I am particularly grateful to Queen Tatiana and Headmistress Kirova for organising this banquet in their honour, and to the many of you who have travelled great distances to be with us at this difficult time.'

Vasilisa looked out over the crowd and was met by a sea of sympathetic faces. I don't think any of us could believe such a young girl was handling this situation so graciously. Anybody else would have still been at home grieving, but she stood before us well-groomed and entirely dignified.

'Before we commence the banquet,' the young princess continued, 'I would like to pass on the apologies of a dear family friend, Prince Victor Dashkov, who was unable to attend due to his illness. He wanted me to give you all his very best wishes and promised he will see you again soon. If anybody would like to send him their regards, I encourage you to speak with his lovely daughter Natalie after the function.' She extended an arm to point out a short, pug-faced girl at one of the tables in the front row, who stood and turned to wave at the guests, giggling nervously as she sat down again.

I sat straighter in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable – I had no idea Victor even had a daughter at The Academy. I guess I'd just assumed he was too old to have school-aged children. As I looked at the girl, I realised that she was the one who had summoned me to Ellen Kirova's office earlier in the week and I got the feeling I had seen her around campus more than a few times. An unpleasant thought popped into my mind – was she the one spying on me all this time? I threw a look to Mikhail and saw him return my glance, but his face was an expressionless mask. As I dwelt on the issue, my growing anxiety was gradually replaced by a feeling of annoyance. I'd been forced to come to this banquet and I'd put so much effort into dressing up for the occasion. Why should I let some sick old fool – who wasn't even here – ruin this for me? With a final, stubborn effort I pushed Dashkov from my mind and tuned back into Vasilisa's voice.

'My final task this morning is to wish you all the greatest happiness,' she concluded. 'While I will always feel the loss of my mother, father and brother very deeply, my family loved being alive and they wouldn't want us to mourn forever. Let us remember them with joy. Starting from this moment, I declare the period of public mourning at an end! Put aside your sorrow and let us join together in celebration and friendship!'

The hall broke into genuine applause that lasted several minutes as the royals acknowledged the brave speech of the young girl before them. When the clapping eventually subsided, the musicians struck up a brighter tune and it began to feel like a real party. Food was brought out, one exquisite course after another, and waiters hovered by each table, ready to replenish the guests' drinks the moment a glass was emptied.

When the diners gradually began to sit back in their chairs, satisfied or over-full, the bell tinkled once more and everybody fell silent as Queen Tatiana rose to speak once more.

'Before the banquet draws to a close I would like to express my compliments to the Head Chef – I'm sure you've all enjoyed the food,' she was interrupted by a polite smattering of applause, 'and the wine.' There were several whoops from the younger members of the party who had clearly indulged in more than their fair share of the drinks.

'While the official part of the function is over, I encourage you to stay on and continue the celebration with some dancing. The orchestra is happy to entertain you until you are ready to retire.' On her cue, the bandmaster struck up a waltz and immediately couples began to make their way onto the dance floor.

The clock on the wall told me it was 9:15am, and I wondered how much longer I would need to stay so as not to appear rude. Glancing around the room I noticed that Mikhail had left his station – he said he would be off-duty at nine and I wondered where I would find him. Rising undecidedly from my chair, I moved to the edge of the room to look out over the guests but Mikhail was nowhere to be seen. I was just considering going over to talk to Natasha Ozera when a female guardian approached me - it was Alberta Petrov.

'A note for you, Miss Karp,' the woman said sternly, her eyes giving away nothing about who the message might be from before she disappeared back into the throng of guests and returned to her post.

I instantly went on the alert, worried Victor Dashkov might be hidden away in some back room after all, waiting for a chance to get me alone. My hands trembled slightly as I lifted the flap of the small envelope and drew out the card within. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the simple printed handwriting, so different from Prince Dashkov's spidery scrawl.

Meet me on the balcony. M.

Mikhail.

I felt a sense of relief and anticipation as I glanced across to the large doors on the far side of the room that opened out onto a private terrace. Trying to move casually, I picked my way through the clusters of guests who were chatting together around the edges of the dancefloor, and that's when somebody grabbed me. I nearly shouted out in fear and surprise but I soon found myself being swept along into the swirling mass of dancers, spinning in the arms of a man in his late fifties.

'You wouldn't deny a prince his wishes, would you, dear girl?' the tall man fixed his piercing green eyes upon me, and his hand settled on my lower back as he steered me artfully across the dancefloor. His face was so close to my ear that I could feel the tickle of his silvery moustache, and my skin crawled as his hand slid down a bit lower.

'It is an honour to dance with you, Prince Ivashkov,' I gasped, 'but this particular song is too vigorous for my taste. I apologise, but I really must get some fresh air.'

I used the next leap in the music to spin away from his grasping fingers, hurrying to the edge of the dancefloor and off towards the double doors at the end of the room. As I looked back, I saw the old man cut in on another couple, taking the woman in his arms as her previous partner looked on in disgust. Clearly I hadn't broken any hearts.

Reaching the huge wooden doors at last, I settled my hands lightly on the brass handles and slipped out onto the balcony. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the change in light but then I let out a soft breath of wonder as I gazed at the scene before me. The balcony was shielded from the cool morning sunlight by climbing vines that crept along the walls and hung down from the ceiling with the weight of their flowers. I walked forwards slowly, taking in the deep ivy greens and soft white roses that waved gently against the stunning backdrop of Montana's mountainous landscape.

A small movement to the left caught my eye and I turned my head to see Mikhail rise from a chair at the far end of the balcony. He raised a hand in invitation for me to join him and I held my breath as I made the final journey to his side.

Author's Note:

This banquet scene is a nod to the royal dinner that Rose attended with Lissa in Frostbite (just before her mum turned up and got her in trouble). I liked the idea that Rose/Sonya are so close to their man yet unable to communicate openly due to the social constraints of being at a royal function.

I had fun constructing the mean comments from minor characters that Sonya met at the banquet, and loved playing on the fact that Adrian Ivashkov's uncle was a total womaniser.

The dress I chose for Sonya is an Elie Saab gown worn by Eva Green at the premiere of Sin City. I wanted something unusual that would bring out her complexion & hair colour and make her stand out from the crowd. (Incidentally, I think Eva Green would have also made a great actor for the character of Sonya.) The lace gloves are sold on Etsy by the shop GlovesByJana.