“You are late. And so is your brother for that matter.” The king’s voice, as was to be expected, carried itself with great force. But nevertheless, it seemed to be pleasant to listen to. It reminded of all those audio books I loved to listen to as a kid.

“We were out sparring some hours ago. I have not seen him since,” Zenia responded. “Besides, as princess, don’t you think I deserve a great entrance?” I gulped heavily. If that snide remark had come out of any mouth other than hers, that person would be cut a head short.

“You really push where your place is supposed to be.” That statement of his almost sounded like a threat. “Though I have to admit, your entrance reminded me of your mother. And I am willing to bet I’m not the only one.” He gestured vaguely at the crowd. “Still, I wonder who your companion might be.”

And, just as I had calmed down, he had to direct his attention at me. I stood still, not moving.

“Oh, you need not be concerned with that. Just one of the guards, whom I noticed could carry himself with enough dignity to accompany me to the party.” I held my breath, awaiting the king’s response.

“I see. And here I thought you’d finally pursue the prospect of getting married ...” A sigh seemed to swing with his voice.

“With all due respect, dear father, I will not get married and bring children into this ... powder keg of a continent we happen to inhabit. I’d rather die trying to make this world better than have any more suffering.”

“I advise you to keep whatever else you were going to say to yourself.”

Zenia did not answer. Not because her father told her to be quiet, it seemed. It was an act of rebellion.

As the silence between them was about to become unbearable the guests‘ attention was once more drawn to the double-doors through which Zenia and I had entered the ballroom.

Sirius entered the large room, accompanied by a woman, who, even though Sirius could already be considered tall, was even taller than him. While my suit seemed to comfortably envelop my body, his seemed close to bursting. I could only imagine how his broad chest and thick arms looked beneath the clothes.

...

I may regret leaving this sentence standing as it is in a couple of years, but hopefully we’ll all have a good laugh over it.

His eyes were covered by a mask, similar to that of me or Zenia. His was a light silver, though it may well have been an icy blue. His pale face seemed to sparkle, and his blonde hair was cut short, as if to hide the fact that he possessed curls.

As he descended into the room and turned our direction, I also finally took a small glimpse at his female companion.

“Hiii, it’s me!”

A female voice suddenly assaulted my brain and had me shudder, alerting a nearby guard. I discreetly looked the other way and pretended to cough into my fist.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t consider that may be the first time you had a telepathic conversation,” the voice said.

“Jeanne, is that you?” I answered. “And is that you next to Sirius!?”

“Yup! I thought, why stay out of the fun, only because I haven’t been invited.”

“Wait, so how did you manage to take the place of Sirius escort?”

“Well, I decided to see what he was up to, and overheard him getting annoyed with his escort being late, so I stepped in.”

“Thanks, I did not need to know my brother was using the services of some prostitutes.”

“Oh, hi Zenia, you in here as well?” I asked.

“Yes, I am. This will certainly ease our coordination.”

“You should have seen her jabbing at her father,” I bragged to Jeanne.

“Oh, shut it! No jabbing, only...teasing?”

“Princess, I know how you behave with your father when you’re angry with him, so I also know when you lie.”

“In any case, you two are getting closer and closer to the throne, what’s our next move?” I asked, nearly tripping over my words. The closer Sirius got to us, the more I realized dreaded, that it was almost my time to shine.

“Before you do your whole magic show,” Zenia interjected, “I’d like to chew the two of them out.”

“You seem to be the person to do that, yes,” I answered, despite only having known her for a few hours. I was about to see whether she was just as headstrong as she was foolish, or not.

“Please, be my guest,” Jeanne agreed as well.

“Well then, please take a seat.”