Preparations were so hectic that time seemed to fly by. First of all, they decided to host a ball and banquet. The plan was to begin with an open ball where all could mingle, and then Tianna and Jerath could handpick those who would sit near them at the banquet table.

Both of them had to choose attire that suited both situations, along with decorations, and other such hectic things. Thankfully, the Belleas Company was just as helpful and reliable as Densooth had told them. They helped with everything from the dress, to the lighting, to a summarized version of all of the nobles and royals that Densooth had given Tianna.

While it lacked in detail, Tianna found this summarized version a lot easier to take in. It included a picture, what side they were currently on, and a single paragraph of the most important information.

According to Belleas, the most notable person she had to win to her side was the Valen King, Xandus. He was famously known for being a crazy old man obsessed with chess, but his power of influence was not small. His connections would be valuable and his cunning would make him an asset for many situations. The perfect supporter for a Queen.

A valen… Tianna had never seen one, but they were a race with silver hair, purple eyes, and dark powers. Her job as Queen was to unite all of the races. Perhaps that is why Belleas recommended him rather than any of the many human or dragon royalties. The valen were the only minority with their own kingdom, but it was a kingdom most avoided like the plague.

Fairies had several kingdoms, but they were easily as common as dragons and humans. They just tended to keep to themselves. Even so, Tianna decided to invite the royalty from the various fairy kingdoms.

The dragons were a bit difficult to figure out as well. Many dragons despised taking human form, especially royalty, but Tianna could not accommodate them with the other guests in their original forms.

Once the hassle of invitations was over, the rest of the preparations seemed easy in comparison. Tianna’s dress was blue and gold to represent the colors of the current Queen’s human and dragon forms.

Tianna paused in her preparations as she thought of something. “Jerath, aren’t the human forms of dragons based on the color of their scales? If Shirisha’s scales are blue, why is her hair in human form blonde?”

“It works differently when other species are mixed in,” Jerath explained, “My hair and scales are the same color because I am a pureblood dragons, but when someone is half human and half dragon, for example, their human form will look like their human parent and their dragon form will look like their dragon parent.”

“That makes sense,” Tianna mused, “Then what would my dragon form look like? She said I took hers so I guess I would also be blue.”

“Hard to say for certain,” Jerath replied, “I’ve never even heard of a case like yours before.”

Tianna had told Jerath before about what Shirisha had done and how she became the Queen’s heir despite neither of her parents being royalty. He had been shocked, but promised to keep it a secret, both for Tianna’s sake and for the sake of anyone who might be foolish enough to attempt such forbidden magic again.

Jerath’s suit was made to match Tianna’s dress, but the blue was shown in lighter tones and the gold was substituted with bronze to represent himself.

The rest of the time was spent going over the plans and schedule for both the ball and banquet halves. Luckily Tianna only had to choose the seats on the table she would be sitting at during the event itself. The Belleas Company took care of most of that as well. The two halves would be in different rooms, as well. The palace ballroom, and banquet hall respectively.

On the day itself, getting ready took far longer than Tianna had expected. The Belleas Employees did her hair, makeup, dress, accessories, and even did a check on her posture.

Then there was the hassle of getting there without being noticed. Ruena took them through a series of secret passages known as the Underground Airways. Apparently, they had originally been created back when dragons lived in caves beneath the capital, but it was all abandoned now. The reason Ruena knew about them in the first place was because of her ability to communicate with cats.

Tianna did not get to see much of the Airways, since she was to stay inside the carriage with Jerath for safety purposes. They exited the tunnel just outside the palace gates on the side near the sea. The guards looked as if they had been waiting, so entering was effortless.

Once inside the palace, Tianna moved right to the venue and made some last minute changes to the decorations, and anything else that seemed out of place. She was relieved to be able to sit down at the royal platform after everything.

There were only two chairs on the royal platform. One for the Queen, and one for her heir. After Tianna sat in her seat, Jerath stood behind her.

“Are you sure you are fine standing?” Tianna asked, “I can ask them to retrieve another chair.”

“It's fine,” Jerath assured her, “If I have a chair it will only make the empty space next to the Queen stand out. It is amazing she is even attending an event after all this time.”

It was hard for Tianna to tell if Jerath was being considerate of the Queen or of political interests. Either way he seemed to know what he was doing so Tianna let it be. Now all they had to do was wait for the first guests to arrive.