“Do not slouch, dear,” Lady Danbury said, lightly digging her cane into Karlach’s back. Karlach immediately righted her posture, but she wasn’t sure how many more of these rules she could take. Lady Danbury had even told her that she wasn’t allowed to fidget - or, at least, that she wasn’t permitted to until she had completed her presentation to the Queen. She couldn’t really blame Lady Danbury - after all, Karlach was the only woman she was presenting this year, and she knew that Lady Danbury and the Queen had a close relationship and Karlach’s presentation might have some sort of effect on that.
That didn’t stop her from hating every minute of it, though.
Lady Danbury had been a right monster all day. Since the party got here, really, but the rest of the time, she had been focused on the intricacies of the ball that she was throwing tonight. Now, though, all the decorations had been set, all the servants had their orders, the kitchen crew had started prepping for the food, and all that was left for Lady Danbury to focus on was Karlach and her presentation.
It had started out innocently enough with a long bath. Karlach hadn’t quite gotten used to the feeling of water on her skin without feeling the bubbling as it started to boil, and she definitely wasn’t used to having a group of women help her in the bath. That’s not to say that she didn’t enjoy it, she had thought, eyeing the cleavage of the woman bent over to scrub her legs. It’s just that, if a woman was this close to her, Karlach was usually taking her to bed, not being scrubbed incessantly from head to toe. But the bath was still less of an annoyance than the stay that she was forced into.
If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine that it was armor instead. It would be some fucking useless armor, though - it might keep her from being disemboweled, but it would do nothing to protect her heart. But either way, it was still better than imagining the dress with way too many ruffles that the ladies in waiting had thrust upon her. And of course, it was red, like a poor mockery of her old skin.
“The Queen must have been delayed by something this morning,” Lady Danbury complained, tapping her cane lightly on the ground. “But no matter, it shan’t delay the ball by much. Unless she doesn’t come out soon, of course, in which case we shall have to reschedule. The first ball of the season can’t last for only one dance, after all.”
Karlach couldn’t keep herself from rolling her eyes, but she was thankfully saved by a servant scurrying into the large room in front of them. “Her Majesty, Queen Charlotte,” he panted.
“Finally,” Lady Danbury breathed. “Now, as I’m one of the Queen's ladies, your name shall surely be called soon. When it is, keep your back straight and your chin up. A light smile is perfect. Then you go up and curtsey, take whatever criticism she gives you to heart. Getting her approval will get you a husband faster than anything I can do.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
While Lady Danbury blathered on with additional instructions, her Majesty took her seat, and the caller next to her read out Shadowheart’s name. Shadowheart looked back at Karlach, gave a quick nod of support, and walked into the room. Karlach couldn’t help but notice with a slight tinge of jealousy that she didn’t need to be presented by anyone, but as a princess, she most likely needed no introduction. Her presentment was most likely more for the men around the room who were not staring at her with lustful eyes than it was for the Queen herself.
“Miss Karlach Danbury, presented by Lady Agatha Danbury,” the caller yelled. Lightly grabbing at her skirt with her hands for something to soothe her nerves, Karlach stepped forward, followed by Lady Dansbury. She was halfway to the Queen before she realized she had stepped too quickly, however. Even in her new human state, she still towered over half the men in the ballroom, and with her cane, there was no way for Lady Danbury to keep up with her long stride. Karlach stopped abruptly, feeling a slight heat to her face that reminded her every so slightly of Avernus. At least there, she thought ruefully, there had been a sort of belonging, even in the middle of the war. And there certainly hadn’t been any social decorum such as this.
After a few of the longest heartbeats in Karlach’s life, Lady Danbury finally caught up to her. “Keep walking, girl,” she hissed under her breath. “No one will fault you if you’re faster than me, but if they see you stalling, they may question your resolution.”
Karlach gave the tiniest of nods, although she was unsure about her resolution about all this as well. She had talked a big talk about getting on the marriage market, and ultimately, did it matter? It’s not like this was real life anyway, and at some point, they would figure out a way to open the portal back up and get back to Faerûn, and this would all be a funny memory as they went on to slay the Elder Brain. Hell, maybe this all was the Elder Brain, trying to trick them into living in this fantasy world so that it could rule as it pleased. It certainly wasn’t the worst world to escape into, after all. But as she looked around the room at the men all eyeing her, she felt a small lump in her throat that she tried hard to ignore. But she’d gotten used to ignoring that feeling throughout her life, and it wasn’t about to bug her now.
Finally, she managed to reach the Queen. Her Majesty’s deep brown eyes raked her up and down, trying to find even the slightest flaw. However, unlike her actual tiefling self, this body was pristine - no scars blotted across her skin, no broken horns (or horns at all) rose from her scalp, and, though she missed them, even her tattoos were missing. The Queen might not have liked the particular shape of Karlach’s face, or her lack of grace in these gods' damned heels, but physically, she was spotless.
Karlach curtsied as low as she could (which was not very low - she still wasn’t used to moving around in a dress. She wasn’t sure she’d worn a dress even as a tiefling since she was a small child), and the Queen’s only response was to utter a slight “Hmm.”
“Your Majesty,” Lady Danbury said behind her, then lightly poked Karlach in the back with her cane. Karlach stood up abruptly, nodded slightly at the Queen, then walked off to the side of the room where Shadowheart was waiting. She let out a long breath that she didn’t know she was holding.
She’d been nervous. Why had she been nervous? This wasn’t the world that she was bound to stay in, so she shouldn’t care what the Queen thought. And even if they ended up staying for a while, surely she would find someone to sleep with. After all, she may have been a lady in this world, but she wasn’t too concerned with her reputation, and several of the eyes from the gentlemen had been less than courteous.
As she passed Shadowheart, the princess’ hand whipped out quickly and slightly squeezed hers. “You did great!” she whispered.
“Thank you! You too!” Karlach said, a small smile pulling over her face. At least, she thought, that part was over. There was still much to learn about this noble society, but she’d made it one step. She could almost certainly make it one more. After all, it’s not like this place was literally the hells, so compared to that, she should be able to get through anything.