Benlunar - Episode 33
Lilian hurriedly prepares for a party.
The city, like a hive is teaming with life
People crawl over it like insects or parasites
It’s a place you can thrive or die in a ditch
Where you can step on the poor to get slightly more rich
When the mountains are flat and the seas are dry
The towers will stand stabbing the sky
As long as there is freedom and people in chains
Humanity dies, Freedos remains
Lilian was holding her breath. She’d been holding the envelope in her hands for two minutes and in all that time, she had barely sighed. Her body was still but her mind was racing. What had just happened? She told herself, and she quickly scanned her surroundings to commit the exact moment to memory. She then cast her mind back to the stairwell up to her room. Nothing too interesting. But there was something. That man she had seen on the way to her door. He’d been smartly dressed, with a hat and a cane. Something strange about it. Lilian examined the image in her head from every angle. He’d had a small beard but there was something about his cane that was blurry in Lilian mind. She’d been trying to remember it for the past thirty seconds but nothing was springing to mind. As far as she could tell, he was the only thing that was different about her journey home. He certainly stood out from the normal crowd on her road. Had he delivered the invitation? Lilian shook herself out of the loop. What did it matter who delivered it, here it was! And it could only be one thing. Lilian went to sit at her small writing desk in the corner under the window. The sky was still blue but little stars could be seen dotting the dusk. Lilian breathed a slow breath and jerked the invitation away from Fritha’s curious and wet nose. The envelope was pink and something had been done to the paper to make it shine, even in the low light of the evening Lilian could see a golden sheen glisten when the envelope was twisted. She paused before breaking the wax seal which was embossed with the head of a lynx in green wax. Should she wait for Mr Attorcop or Katherine to be present before opening it? She glanced at the green ink and the expert calligraphy on the front. It said Lilian Lausanne, top floor, 4th building on the left, Vulpes Road, Old Town, Freedos. Well, she thought, it is addressed to me…
Dear Miss Lausanne,
Your presence is cordially requested in the palace tomorrow evening for a night of frivolity and celebration. As is tradition I would like to apologise for the late notice, but you have been judged a perfect party guest by the lady of the house and we simply cannot celebrate without you. Please dress as your best festive self as befits the theme. This year, the ball is in the enchanted forest. Your friend, Empress Sylvia.
Lilian’s head was still spinning. She re read the invitation two more times and let her brain pick out every problem it could possibly come up with. Some people might call this a nervous breakdown, those people have never trained to fight against Cromwell Attorcop. Some problems had obvious solutions, the dress for example, she could make in the morning. Others, like what exactly an ‘enchanted forest’ was, were tougher to solve there and then. Lilian glanced out of the window and saw the sky had significantly darkened in the time she’d stood there reading. Should she visit Mr Attorcop now? Or was it too late? She wondered. She made up her mind in the same breath and grabbed her cloak to get ready to leave. She folded the invitation up and slotted it neatly back into its envelope. She wanted to hold onto it while walking so as to avoid it creasing in a bag or pocket. Lilian whistled for Fritha to get up off the bed, which she did so reluctantly and after a big yawn.
Moments later they were walking down the road towards where they had just come from. On their second corner they passed a group of young men standing outside an inn. Lilian clutched the invitation close to her chest and quickened her pace as she passed them. She thought she heard one of them say the word ‘letter’ but did not want to look back to check. Thankfully she was not followed to Mr Attorcop’s basement. He opened the trap door after she knocked on it and looked about cautiously before letting her down the steep steps.
“Is everything alright Lilian? It’s awfully late I…” Lilian did not let him finish speaking, she just held up the envelope out in front of her. Mr Attorcop paused. Then pointed. Then said.
“Is that?” To which Lilian nodded so quickly she risked spraining her neck. Mr Attorcop held out his hand, tentatively. Lilian handed it to him and watched him recede into the basement. Lilian followed him and waited at the bottom of the staircase, watching him read the invitation. He began to pace, as he always did when deep in thought. Lilian was waiting for a jump for joy, a celebration. But none came.
“Well!?” she asked, trying to induce some sort of cheer. Mr Attorcop looked back at her with a stern expression on his face.
“Hm? Oh yes! Very good. Excellent news.” Lilian narrowed her eyes.
“But?” She watched him walk towards a chair, grab the back of it and lower himself down. He thought there for a few seconds before speaking.
“Lilian. This world,” he waved the invitation, “this is like a game of chess. You understand? These are people with too much money and time on their hands to do anything else but play. This is great for our purposes of finding the blacksmith, but if I’m being honest I would rather we had stolen one.” Lilian cocked her head in confusion.
“Why?”
“Because this means you’ve been invited to play the game. And in chess, just like in politics, there are Queens, and there are pawns. I don’t want you running in there just to be a piece in someone else’s twisted tactics. If we had more time we could work out who sponsored you or suggested your name to the Empress, but we don’t. This…” He looked back at the pink and shimmering paper, “This is a dangerous key to a very dangerous world. Pieces get taken out in chess and it's usually the pawns that are the first to go.” Almost all of Lilian’s excitement at getting the letter had disappeared. Mr Attorcop was right. This was no small bit of luck. It was a calculated move. But as ever was the case with Lilian Lausanne, her optimism began to take over.
“If we know I’m there because someone else is using me, doesn’t that give me the advantage? I mean, I know what they want, but they don’t know I know. You know?” Mr Attorcop considered this.
“So if you subverted the expectation. Do things at parties that people don’t normally do. Barely speak to anyone and remain aloof while trying to find a quiet spot to search for the bell, then you just might be able to avoid anyone attempting to get to you.”
“Yes.” said Lilian, “Or I could just go and enjoy the party…” She trailed off. She wasn’t even convincing herself. “Fine.” She threw her hands up in the face of Mr Attorcop’s glare. “I’ll do what you said. But if someone talks to me I’m not going to just snub them. I don’t want to leave the ball after having offended everyone.” Mr Attorcop slapped his hands on his knees and hoisted himself up.
“Oh Lilian,” he said, “You have no idea.”
The next day started early. Lilian was up and ready to leave her room by the first sign of sun. Even Fritha protested against the early hour, rolling over on her rug and shutting her eyes when Lilain went to wake her. Soon the two of them were out in the fresh, cool air. Lilian was glad of the weather, by midday Freedos would be a melting pot of sweaty citizens and Lilian intended to get most of her work done in the relative coolness of the morning. She spoke to a linen dealer in the garment district just as he was unloading his cart. She bought a length of blue material and some white lace before stopping off at a small shop for sewing supplies. The sun had almost fully risen by the time she got back to her room and, just as the temperature grew, so did Lilian’s frustration. The glaring, garish light of midday was streaming in through Lilian's little window like molten metal into a blacksmith’s mold. Lilian pricked her finger for the sixth time and threw the entire blue mess onto the floor. She had roughly 8 hours to get ready and this pesky dress was supposed to be done by breakfast.
Lilian’s fury was suddenly interrupted by a timid knock at the door. Great, she thought, this is the last thing I need, Mr Attorcop running me through the plan. But when she opened the door it was Katherine who was standing on the other side.
“Just checking to see how you’re doing. I ran into Cromwell, he told me about tonight. Can I come in?” Lilian nodded and stood aside. “Dear gods, it’s like the twelve hells in here. What’s that?” She pointed to Lilian’s feeble attempt at dressmaking whilst fanning herself with her hand.
“I need a dress and I can’t afford a new one. Not when they’ve upped all their prices today.” Katherine looked at the crumpled pile of blue and shook her head.
“Lilian I love you but that is hideous.” Lilian laughed. It’s all she could do, given the circumstance. “Listen, let me take care of the dress. Just, be at this address at fourth bell and I’ll help you get ready.” Katherine quickly scrawled something onto a sheet and handed the paper to Lilian. “It’s near where we met the Catfish.”
“Isn’t this the house where you work?”
“Yep.” Katherine nodded and then seeing Lilian’s apprehensive expression, “It’s fine. The lady will be out. Now, you get out of this small oven before it cooks you. Look at Fritha.” She pointed to the hot looking Feinhound in the corner. Her fur was bright white and she was panting heavily. “She looks like she’s about to melt. Out, out!”
And for the second time that day, Lilian was outside. It was hotter now, but still cooler than her attic room. Not that that was hard. Katherine waved goodbye and Lilian began to walk towards the coolest place she could think of: Mr Attocop’s new underground home. Most people outside were sticking to the shadows of taller buildings. Several of them got out of her way when they saw Fritha in shining white walking towards them. Perhaps it was the heat but Lilian unfortunately missed the large hand springing out of the alleway and jerking her into it. Fritha continued on, deaf to Lilian’s gasp.
A quick glance up revealed Gus Deakon, Bried’s oversized thug. He said nothing but he did not take his hand off Lilian’s arm as he marched her down the alleyway. Lilian barely had time to get her bearings. One thought did spring up though, if Deakon is here, that means…
“Hello hayseed.” A cold voice cut through the heat. Deakon shoved Lilian forward so that she came face to face with Tazial Bried. She was only a little taller than her and in a proper fight, Lilian thought she might have stood a chance. That was if Deakon had not been there and Bried had two hands tied behind her back. Lilian gritted her teeth and said nothing.
“Not up for chatting? Good. That means I can do all the talking. You just get that silly hair out of your ears and listen to me. My sources say you’ve been very lucky recently and you’ve wangled yourself an invite to the big palace shindig tonight.” Lilian did not deny it, Bried was too clever for that. “Now here’s where it gets interesting. I would like to apologise for my behaviour the other night. My line of work makes it hard to trust strangers. But I like you Lilian. So I want to say sorry. And to sweeten the act, I would like to offer you 50 sovereigns for that invitation. How does that sound?” Lilian gulped and considered her options. Was she serious? Could she even be trusted to deliver on such a promise? Her mind quickly raced passed doubt and ran straight into the world of possibilities that would open up with that kind of money in her possession. She could get a new room. A cool room beside one of the rivers. Lilian’s conscience watched all of this and moved her to shake her head. The invitation was too valuable to risk. She would have to play her hand very carefully.
“Thank you for the apology, but I’m afraid I must offer apologies of my own. The invitation represents interests that exceed monetary value. I’m not ready to part with it.” There was a silence while Bried considered her words. Finally, she spoke in a voice so soft Lilian was worried she might have to slip into focus to hear her.
“Very well. But understand this hayseed, by not giving me what I want for a price that I think you’ll agree is well above its worth, you are effectively taking something away from me. Now I don’t know how things work in the countryside, maybe you deal exclusively in promises and buttercups, but here in the city that means you owe me. Understand?” Lilian instinctively looked for Fritha by her side, or for Mr Attorcop in the alley entrance. But neither of them appeared. So all Lilian could do was nod.
“Good. Well I’ll let you know what I need soon. Bye hayseed, enjoy the sunshine.”
Lilian did not mention the encounter to Mr Attorcop when she saw him. She had found Fritha wandering the fish market and dragged her to Mr Attorcop’s underground home. She had planned to tell him but as soon as she walked down the wooden steps he leapt into his plan for the evening, and the moment passed.
“I think you should avoid sitting down with anyone. There are likely to be seats and people will undoubtedly start sitting in groups. How did the dressmaking go?” Lilian shrugged and helped herself to the pitcher of clean water on the side table.
“I got too hot. Katherine said I should go to where she works and she’ll lend me a dress.” Mr Attorcop paused.
“A little risky don’t you think?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well this is what I wanted to talk to you about. Tonight’s party is going to be one big political battlefield. Leaving a certain nobles house hours before the ball could be used as ammunition against you. In fact, anything that you say or do will be weighed and considered from every angle.”
“Oh nice,” said Lilian after almost spitting out her water, “As if this wasn’t enough pressure!” Mr Attorcop pointed an accusatory finger.
“You were the one who said she could do this. Lilian, it’s not too late to back out, I…”
“No it’s fine. I can do it, I’m just nervous. Dances, nobles, all this fancy stuff isn’t really my thing.” Mr Attorcop patted Fritha on the head and nodded in understanding.
“I know. And you will be fine. Think about it. All those conversations we had on the road here. That was your education and today is the final exam. And hey,” He snapped his fingers and Lilian looked up, “You can do it. Here’s how I see it. Imagine I ask you a question like, who was the first king to unite Alicium? You would say?” Lilian didn’t need to think for too long,
“King Leodin.”
“And what was he famous for wearing in battle?”
“Black armour.”
“Exactly. So if someone approaches you at the ball and makes a comment about somebody’s dark clothes, you could say?” Lilian paused for a few seconds with a quizzical look on her face. Mr Attorcop elaborated,
“Imagine that everything everyone says is an attempt to gain status. You need to either give them status by laughing at the joke, or you elevate your status by making your own. So if a man walks into the ball wearing a dark, dreary suit and you hear a comment about it you would say…” Lilian began to understand, although this was surely the quickest course in court etiquette there ever was. Nobles spent their lives refining these conversational skills, and here she was supposed to master it in a couple of hours?
“I could say, oh look it’s King Leodin.” Mr Attorcop scrunched up his face.
“Yes but, like you’re trying to make me laugh.” The pressure was mounting. Lilian threw her hands up in a huff. She took a breath and walked the situation through in her head.
Some noble has commented on somebody’s clothes. I want to show them I’m worth their time by saying an inoffensive comment that will create a bond. The riskier the joke, the more assumptions I’m making about my station. Lilian relaxed and said,
“Oh my, I didn’t realise King Leodin had such a small nose.” She threw in a fake gasp for good measure and looked at Mr Attorcop. He was sporting a weak smile.
“Yes that’s quite good. Nice touch on the small nose. That should get you a polite titter at the very least. But really, it’s probably best you wonder around trying to find somewhere quiet.” Lilian had actually quite liked her own joke and took some small solace that if all else fails, at least she could make herself laugh tonight.
“Now,” Mr Attorcop continued. “Just treat any conversation like a game where the aim is to be the cleverest, most humble, sweetest yet assertive person in the room.” Lilian did spit the water out this time.
“How am I supposed to do that?” Mr Attorcop smiled and Lilian sensed he was going to say something annoying.
“Practise.”
Lilian spent the rest of the day learning about the various nuances and verbal acrobatics one could use to different effects. There were apparently subtle ways one could determine if someone was of a higher social standing than you. This didn’t concern Lilian much at the time because everyone was of a higher social standing than her. But it was interesting. Just like learning about how questions can make people like you and how stories about yourself should always end in a joke at your expense. Lilian found herself fascinated by things she had taken for granted her whole life, but had never thought to use in such a way. It was like looking through magnifying lenses at the colours and detailing in a grain of sand. By the end of the afternoon her nerves had lessened and they made their way through the heat and crowds to Katherine’s place of work. It turned out that Katherine had been very busy. The children she governed were at a friend’s but the lady of the house was still there when they arrived. Lilian had almost bolted when she opened the door but Katherine assured her that the lady was kind and willing to help.
“Thank you, my lady.” Lilian bowed her head and did the customary curtsy to show appreciation.
“Dear Heart call me Lady Montidore. You are Lilian correct?” Lilian nodded. “And a Mr…?”
“Attorcop, My Lady.” Lady Montidore smiled,
“Well that’s quite enough formalities, shall we get ready for a ball?” She flashed perfectly pearl white teeth and bright blue eyes at Lilian. She was wearing a pink dress that was both elegant and functional as well as a small scarf wrapped and tied tightly around her neck.
“Come in, Come in, please mind the step. I’m afraid pets must stay in the boot room as I’ve just been cleaning and I’ve got people coming over tomorrow.” She led Fritha to a small room with a stone floor and an old pile of coats in the corner. It wasn’t much, but it did come with two bowls, one full of water and one full of chicken so Fritha didn’t seem to mind.
The next forty-five minutes were a whirlwind of dressing, walking and talking. The talking was mostly done by Lady Montidore who seemed as though, given the right incentive, could talk for several hours without stopping. Lilian had trouble focusing on all the details but apparently her husband worked in the banking district, she did a lot of charity work and Lilian didn’t have the right hair colour for brown. Whilst Katherine and the lady of the house debated which colour and dress style might work best, Lilian was instructed to bathe and brush her hair. Lilian was glad to escape the hubbub for a moment and gazed at the porcelain basin of steaming hot water. She brought out the small stick gifted to her by Mr Attorcop’s friend Katrina that she had remembered to bring with her. She crushed the end and watched an inch crumble into the water, dying it a vivid, sandy red. Lilian washed her hair in the now sweet smelling bath and after drying and brushing it, could swear that its colour had intensified somewhat.
Eventually the whirlwind outside the bathroom subsided and Lilian found herself walking up and down a large room with pink wallpaper in a dark green dress.
“Oh yes, I think that’s marvellous.” said Lady Montidore. Lilian looked at the dress in the large, floor length mirror. She barely recognised herself. The dress was many different shades of green, flowing down from light to dark. Small details in the stitching made the material look as though it was dotted with small leaves.
“It’s not quite this year’s fashion, more like about six years ago. But I think that works don’t you?” Katherine agreed.
“It’s classic but it matches the theme.” Lilian glanced over at a shelf high above her in. It contained an array of strange looking faces.
“Can I wear a mask?” she asked, pointing up.
“No.” Mr Attorcop was leaning on a chest of drawers in the corner. “Only boring people wear masks.” Lady Montidore nodded emphatically but still got up to go to the shelf.
“That’s true, however…” she paused for dramatic effect as she reached up and gently brought down a small and beautiful leather mask in the colours and shape of a rather fierce looking fox. Lilian’s face lit up. She watched as Katherine took it, cut it further down (with the Lady’s permission) and fashioned it into a headpiece with the help of some wispy green fabric and a few well placed pins. Lilian put it on and spun straight back to the mirror. The foxes ears framed her hair and the nose stuck out slightly above her eyes, effectively hiding her face. A mask, but not a mask. Lilian smiled at her reflection.
“I love it.”
With just one hour to spare Lilian was out of the door. The final adjustments had been made, the shoes had been chosen and Fritha had been bid a sleepy goodbye. Lilian was loath to leave her but she would not be allowed to enter the palace grounds. Lady Montidore and Katherine had waved her off and Mr Attorcop accompanied her to the palace gates. Lilian gripped the invitation tightly as she walked. Visions of Bried and nasty gossiping nobles were flashing through her mind with every step. Mr Attorcop began to run her through various scenarios.
“What do you do if you meet a Duke? How many women are on the council? Who is the Empress’s brother? How old is the palace?” Lilian was irritated at first, but once she started answering the questions, she felt her mind begin to calm. This was Mr Attorcop’s plan of course as he just noticed Lilian absent mindedly grinding her teeth. Something she did when she was nervous. He kept repeating to himself that she would be fine. There hadn’t been any real violence at one of these fancy parties in decades. The worst that can happen is that someone makes a social faux pas, and why should Lilian care about that? The questions ceased as the palace came into view. It was adorned with hundreds of coloured lanterns, green and pink and white mixed to make the castle feel like something out of a fairy tale. Lilian could not see beyond the wall but she could hear the sound of instruments coming from beyond. As they approached the gates, she saw the players welcoming the guests with music as they stepped beyond the threshold. The gate was heavily guarded but all guards were on their best behaviour. Lilian watched one guard bow as he took a woman’s invitation. She wondered if they would do the same for her.
“Very well. This is where I leave you. Best of luck.” Mr Attorcop stood to one side and awkwardly waited for Lilian to leave. She laughed and gave him a hug.
“I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Yes. Quite. Just, be careful won’t you?” He said, awkwardly hugging her back. Lilian released him and nodded. “And if you see any noble that looks like he believes his own drivel, why don’t you knock him down a peg?” Lilian smiled and agreed. She began walking over to the gate and began to feel nervous. She handed the invitation over to the guard who did not bow but instead looked closely at the invitation and then back at Lilian. Just when Lilian began to think something was off he smiled and handed it back.
“Have a pleasant evening My Lady.” Lilian bowed her head and thanked him. She then took a deep breath and walked through the palace gate.
The court was lined with houses, Lilian had seen them from the rooftop but they looked far more impressive from street level. They were also festooned with the Empress’s colours along with green vines and branches sticking out of balconies. The whole court was made to feel like a forest in fact. Four musicians dressed as nymphs greeted the guests as they walked through the gates. Lilian made her way past them and into a makeshift forest with real trees that must have been transported for miles to get there. The evening's light dimmed as she entered the trees. Fortunately small, colourful flames guided the way through the towering pines and birches. Lilian’s second thought after how impressed she felt, was Fritha would love this.
Lilian navigated the maze of lights and leaves and after a while she began to hear laughter. She followed the sound until she turned a corner and the palace steps came into view. A pink carpet cascaded down the steps and a group of young women were huddled around something at their base. Lilian approached slowly and craned her neck to see a man with an enormous bird on his arm. It’s feathers were long and twitched with each of its quick movements. Its colours of gold and deep blue shone so brightly that they would have made Fritha jealous. It flapped its wings and let out a loud trumpet to the delight of the small crowd. Cute, thought Lilian, a herald bird to announce the guests. Whoever had planned this night had thought of everything. Lilian made her way up the steps. She kept her eyes low, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to herself. She felt a pang of regret at not having anyone to share the experience with, but looked forward to telling the story later. The palace doors were at least fifteen feet high. They were made of thick oak with iron bracings. The palace doubled as a fortress when the city was under threat and it was these doors that would be the final barrier between an invading army and the Empress. Thankfully the doors were wide open and Lilian held her breath as she stepped into the palace.
She was immediately greeted by a smiling server dressed in a leafy green waistcoat, he held out a tray of tall glasses each containing a different colour liquid. She grabbed the closest one, which happened to be peachy pink, and thanked him. Next came a woman handing out little bite sized biscuits each with a small bit of cheese and dried meat on top. Lilian hadn’t eaten all day but she resisted the urge to grab a handful. She took one and made her way into the main hall. Many of the guests had already arrived and so the enchanted forest was already teeming with life. There must have been over three hundred guests and each of them was wearing their own interpretation of the theme. Lilian saw a man dressed as a badger and three women wearing matching fairy wings. Lilian looked up the columns that were made to look like trees, at the ceiling. For a split second she wondered if the roof had been taken off. Hundreds of tiny lights dotted the darkness of the rafters giving the impression you were looking up at the night’s sky. There was even a giant and glowing moon, made by a clever combination of paper and fire lights. Lilian gasped and almost choked on her biscuit.
Two men were striding high above the crowd on stilts, they were dressed as fawns and were dropping leafy garlands on to the heads of the guests. Lilian watched them walk past a band who were expertly mimicking the sounds of a magical forest. Soft, tinkling notes were playing over the calming sound of rain. Lilian was in awe. This decadence, this display of wealth and means was almost too much for her to bear. Only that morning she had seen a man begging for bread on the corner of her street, she had apologised and admitted to not having any bread, and yet here she was, surrounded by more food than she could eat and more money than her teenage mind could conceive of. She shook off the feeling of not belonging and resolved to enjoy herself as best she could. Poverty in Freedos did need to be tackled, but there was not much she could do about it in this moment. She looked across the crowd and spied two younger looking guests dressed in fine gowns and suits with antlers sticking out of their heads. They seemed nice enough and were being left alone by the larger crowds and so Lilian decided to befriend them. Everyone was still in the main reception hall, so if she left to find a quiet spot now she might be seen. She took a deep breath, steeled herself, quickly ran through the names of all the leader’s of Freedos of the past century and made her way towards the man and the woman with the antlers.
She had just worked out the perfect opening line to introduce herself by when she felt a hand fall on her shoulder. Her heart almost stopped, this was it, she thought, the invitation had been delivered to the wrong address and she had been found out. She turned to see who the hand belonged to and came face to face with a man in a tall hat, pink coat and white jodhpurs. He was taller than Lilian, and smelt like the perfume shop that Lilian liked to walk past in Bonneville. He seemed familiar despite Lilian not being able to see his face due to it being half covered by a pink and gold mask, it was like a theatrical villain’s mask only much more ornate. Lilian had spotted several of these masks about the hall. The wearers all seemed sullen and distant from the rest of the guests. Security? Thought Lilian.
“Excuse me, miss Lausanne?” Lilian was still too nervous to speak, so she nodded in reply.
“If you’ll come with me please.” His voice was thick and sweet like treacle and Lilian found herself following him before having a chance to question what she was doing. She assumed this man, whoever he was, was used to getting people to do things for him. He turned and began walking away from her, Lilian noticed that he walked with the aid of an elegant cane, although he didn’t seem to be putting much weight on it. She followed him through the crowd of excited revelers towards a small staircase at the back of the hall. Another man with a pink mask was standing in front of it, but moved when he saw them approach. Lilian looked back at the party one last time before the stairs curved away and she was left following this stranger alone. She grew nervous once again. She couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity she got from this man. The mask did not do a great job of covering his face so she knew that she would not recognise him without it. Perhaps it was just the perfume shop, she thought and went back to concentrating on the rapidly narrowing steps. Lilian was just recalling the quickest way to the exit when they emerged onto a sort of balcony space. They had been climbing for a short while so Lilian’s legs were a little heavy. The steps continued round and up but the man gestured for Lilian to follow him out at this level. Lilian couldn’t place where she was at first but when she glanced over the edge of the railing she could see the main hall and its many guests far below. She had completely missed it when looking up at the false stars and moon, but then she thought that was probably the point. The balcony blended into the curving walls and was lit only by a few candles so that anyone up here could see down below but those below remained oblivious to being watched. The perfumed man led Lilian towards the only set of chairs on the balcony, which spanned the entire width of the hall. The chairs were dark pink with white flowers embroidered into the material. The man gestured for Lilian to sit on the chair to the right. It was much more comfortable than it seemed. Lilian bounced a couple of times to get the measure of just how comfy it was and when she looked up, she realised that she had been left alone.
What in the seven heavens was going on? Thought Lilian. A few minutes passed and Lilian’s nerves subsided. Perhaps they just wanted her out of the main party? Had her fox hat ruffled some feathers? Was she younger than the palace allowed? Lilian thought all this and more whilst peering over the stone railing at the party below. She was trying to catch snippets of conversation, but from this height the sound all blended into one low drone. Seeing as she was alone she glanced about and then closed her eyes. Within a few seconds the noise was becoming louder and clearer as Lilian slipped into a deep state of focus. She dropped her attention over the edge of the balcony and had fun wandering through the different conversations. It was mostly just nobles catching up since their last party or gossiping about what certain people were wearing or saying. Lilian thought about using this time to explore beyond the palace and hopefully find the source of that strange sound when suddenly she heard the sound of steps on stone and she brought herself slowly out of focus. Lilian opened her eyes to see two women, one following the other, walking towards her from the stone steps. Unlike Lilian, they had reached the balcony from coming down the stairs instead of up. They were both beautifully dressed. The smaller woman who was two or three steps behind was looking at some small sheets of paper in her right hand, in her left she held a charcoal pencil and would occasionally use it to make a change to whatever was on the pages. She wore a black gown that had a small frog embroidered in silver at the base. The woman in front had silky brown hair that curled and cascaded down her left shoulder like a waterfall. Her lips were tinted red and her dress was a deep jade green. It shimmered with every step and Lilian was reminded of the Padda Stone ponds in moonlight. The dress was by far one of the simplest she had seen all evening, but it was without a doubt the most expensive. Even her jewelry was simple, just a small necklace and a ring on her left hand, but Lilian would have bet good money that the ring alone could easily be traded for four or five buildings in her part of the old town. The woman was smiling as she approached.
Lilian stood up as she neared and returned the smile, unsure as to what else to do. When they were within speaking distance Lilian curtsied as was custom. The woman did not return the curtsy but instead smiled and nodded her head in thanks. This told Lilian that whoever she was, she was important. In fact. There was only one person in the entire city who could informally nod at a stranger’s formal curtsy. The lady in green sat down and gestured for Lilian to do the same. The woman in black did not look up from her pages and remained standing a few feet away. Lilian had to lower herself very slowly onto the chair. She dared not look, but she knew her hands were shaking. A flush of heat was filling her cheeks and her head was spinning. What was happening? She thought. Why was she here? This whole thing had been a mistake. Should she run? Should she jump? No. Lilian could do nothing. She was frozen to her seat and could only wait for the woman in green to speak.
“Good evening,” she said, “I am Empress Sylvia. You must be Lilian Lausanne.”