“I’m not sure whether to be flattered or offended,” Shadowheart said, once she’d completed reading the pamphlet that had been passed around the ton. The six of them were all in the hall of the Queen’s residence. Although the mansion was apparently not the Queen’s main residence, it was still one of the most ornately decorated buildings he had seen. Even the nobility of Baldur’s Gate couldn’t compare to this. Wyll could have sworn he even saw a flock of peacocks when he’d been escorted through the entrance this morning, but he didn’t risk stopping to look for fear that it would cause suspicion with the guard. “They guessed I was half my current age, and yet they’re still calling me old.”
Shadowheart was sitting in a very regal chair with the rest of them sitting in chairs surrounding her in a half circle. Sometime after they’d all be escorted from the Bridgerton house (with the exception of Gale, who was swept into his “sister’s” arms as the rest of them were leaving, looking vaguely uncomfortable as she talked about people and places they’d never heard of), members of their respective house staff had changed them all out of their fighting garb and into the traditional wear of this place. Shadowheart, Karlach, and Lae’zel were all in fine silk dresses, with the two latter looking incredibly upset about it, and Astarion, Wyll, and Gale were all in fine suits. Astarion was the only one who looked like he was right at home with the situation, although Wyll could admit that he’d worn these clothes a time or two before his father had banished him from Baldur’s Gate.
While he had hated it at the time, he supposed it did him some favors now - when he’d been escorted to what was apparently the Duke’s manor, he was greeted by a chagrined servant who had apologized relentlessly for the lack of serving staff in the house. Apparently, the Duke and the new Dutchess had chosen to extend their honeymoon and, as such, had allowed most of their serving staff to visit their families. The few that were left were the ones with nowhere to go. Wyll had reminded him several times that his visit was apparently a surprise, and that he was more than capable of dressing himself. He’d found some clothes that were close enough to fitting in a guest bedroom and, hoping that they weren’t clothes that were kept safe for a specific reason, he’d put together a presentable enough outfit. There was enough garb in there that he would have been able to put together another couple of outfits, perhaps. If they were to stay longer, though, he might need to visit the mercer to arrange a few new outfits. He sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t come to that, though.
“At least you’re supposed to be in your twenties!” Karlach joked. “I think I was still running around, causing trouble in the streets of Baldur’s Gate when I was 17!”
“Whoever this ‘Lady Whistledown’ is,” Lae’zel said, violence in her tone, “we need to find her and stop her before she convinces anyone else that we need to marry.” With a “chk,” she crumpled up the pamphlet and tossed it over her shoulder, where it was quickly picked up by one of Shadowheart’s servants who was actively pretending not to listen to their conversation.
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“For once, I agree with you,” Shadowheart said, and Gale nodded his head to concur.
Astarion scoffed. “Well, it doesn’t matter whether they want us to be on the marriage market or not unless we can find a way out of here. Until then, I suggest we lay low and just play along.”
Wyll nodded. “While I don’t relish the thought of having to attend a ball during a time like this, I don’t know if there’s a better way to get them to allow us to stay in town and try to search for a way out. I doubt they would take too kindly to the truth, considering the seeming lack of anything but humans here. I don’t even know if the gods can follow us here.”
Shadowheart rolled her eyes. “So we’re supposed to just stay here, going to balls and pretending that we’re planning on getting married, wasting our time away as the Elder Brain does gods know what?”
Wyll nodded. It wasn’t a great plan and he knew that, but he couldn’t think of any other way around it, either. If they tried to tell someone the truth, they could very well be locked up for insanity, but if they could remain free to roam, they might find some way to get home. Or, at least, he and Gale could try to find it - Astarion was limited by the sun, so he may be able to help at night, but as Wyll had returned to the Duke’s estate, he couldn’t help but notice that, while there were several men walking around by themselves, the women were never allowed to be without an escort. While Baldur’s Gate wasn’t like this, he’d visited similar places as he traveled with his father growing up - he’d warned them as soon as he could that the women should never be alone, and they should especially not be alone with a man. None of the women took kindly to that instruction, and he couldn’t blame them for that - that lack of freedom would do nothing but cause problems. However, if they could put up with it for a little while, it could remove some complications when they got a chance to leave.
Shadowheart and Lae’zel looked frustrated, but Wyll couldn’t help but notice a little bit of joy in Karlach’s eyes. When she finally made eye contact with her, he raised an eyebrow, silently asking her the question. “What?” Karlach said, a small smile crawling across her face. “I know it sucks, and I want to find a way out of here too, but do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been to a party? Much less one where this,” she beat her hand lightly against her chest, “wasn’t trying to overheat? I might actually be able to dance with somebody!”
Wyll couldn’t help but smile. Yes, they had a lot of work ahead of them, but at least someone else realized that this was far from the worst situation they could have been in. The parasites seemed to have vanished, nothing seemed like it was coming to kill them, and the worst thing is that they had to follow the societal norms of rich people. Still an annoyance, sure, but definitely something that would be manageable.
“Just so long as you don’t find yourself sold on the marriage market,” Astarion said, bringing her back down to reality. “From what I’ve overheard, this Lady Danbury that you’re connected to seems to be a matchmaker in her own right, so you might be married off before you know it.”
“Well, as long as she chooses someone that’s not too awful, I can manage that,” Karlach said with a shrug. “It’s not going to stop me from leaving, but gods, I’ve missed sex, and I’ve got a lot of years to make up for.”
Wyll chuckled lightly. “Well, if this society is anything like what I think it is, you’ll have to get married first if you want that.”
Karlach smirked back at him, a mischievous look in her eyes. “Well, then, bring on the marriage market, and we’ll see who can handle me in this town!”