Before their argument can get too heated, I interrupt them while looking towards the door. "That was fast." My non-sequiter stops them in their tracks. "Sorry, but it looks like the decision has been taken out of our hands." I walk over and open the front door just as a page in rather fancy livery is about to knock.
He takes my unexpected action in stride though, and bows deeply before speaking. "Master Rumex. Her Royal Majesty, Queen Vivian Laren the Third requests that you, Mistress Rialta, and her parents join her for the evening meal." I can hear the capitalization in his speech.
"We'd be honored, though we do have a fifth with us." I gesture to the pixie peeking out of Amelia's hair. "She may be small, but she knows how to eat."
"A Fae?" This actually catches him out. "Of course, of course. The Fae are always welcome anywhere in Larendath."
"Good. I hope we have time to change. It won't take long, I swear."
"Of course, Sir. I'll be outside with the carriage when you're ready." He bows again before backing away and returning to the gilded monstrosity I sensed pulling up to the house a moment ago.
I close the door, and turn to Amelia. "Best break out the good stuff. Kaitlyn, Turner, hope you don't mind if I dress you, I'd rather not keep the queen waiting."
""What?"" They start to say. But, I'm already done dressing all three of them. Their old clothes neatly folded on the table next to them. And a floor length mirror conjured in front of us.
I gave Kaitlyn Amelia's second favorite dress. A long-sleeved, high-necked gown with an open back, and cinched waist that flows into a satiny train. The main fabric is seafoam green at the top and flows down into a forest green so dark it's almost black, with a floral pattern woven throughout.
Turner get's my dress suit, it's a fairly standard three-piece suit in deep forest green. But has a texture that is similar to Kaitlyn's dress. I hate ties though, so I gave the shirt a mandarin collar.
Amelia is wearing a sleeveless V-neck with a tight bodice made up of green vines clearly modeled after my tattoos, over a nearly black inner layer. The vines trail down her hips onto a gown made from several sheer layers that get darker as they go down. Each embroidered with part of a natural scene. So that the overall effect is like looking into a magical forest at night.
And, of course. Everything, on each of them, down to the last detail, is made from starweave.
"Apricot, you get changed too." I order. "Only get one chance to make a first impression after all. Speaking of..." I trail off and retrieve my remaining linen, some dyes, and my staff.
Closing my eyes, I take a full minute to re-create my suit, changing the pattern to match Amelia's dress. I have the vines circle the hems and cuffs, sending tendrils climbing up. I even change my staff slightly to have the same pattern on top.
Looking us over, I nod. "Hair, and shoes now."
Turner and I keep ours short, so we don't need anything besides a shave. But, for Amelia and her mom I go with loose mirrored updo's held in place by living flowers. I then fuse linen fibers, oil, and charcoal into a shiny fabric which I layer onto our shoes. It'll only last the night, but that's all we need.
"Apricot, you good?" She flies out in a dress similar to Amelia's, but with a shorter gown, and done up in green, and orange with an apricot theme. "Alright, let's go. Sorry about being so brusque, by the way. Mittens, guard the house." I tell the sleeping kitten, and open the door again before two minutes have passed.
Now this shocks the page. Knowing he's at the door before he knocks? Nothing. A pixie in a low magic country? That gets a rushed sentence. But five people dressed in suits and gowns in under two minutes? That completely throws him. The poor bastard just stands there with his mouth hanging open while we walk up.
"Sorry it took so long." I can't help but tease. "I only had the one suit, took me a minute to make a new one." I make a show of smoothing my lapel. He just closes his mouth and nods before silently guiding us into the coach.
"Showoff." Amelia breathes into my ear as we settle in for the ride. She then turns to her parents and says. "Sorry Mommy. Sorry, Daddy. He gets like that when he's nervous, knows how to make some good clothes though. This is all star weave too, even if it's so fine you can't tell. I can't believe we're going to meet the queen. You look so pretty in that dress Mom, and I'm so glad he gave you his suit, Dad. The pattern Matches the dress perfectly." Amelia gushes out to her stunned parents. "Oh, do the mirror so they can see themselves again." She orders me after talking nonstop for a good minute.
"Sorry, guys. Apparently this is how Amelia gets when she's nervous." My joke finally breaks through their stupor.
"What just happened?" - "Oh, this dress is amazing." They talk over each other.
"Our dinner plans got sorted." I joke. "And, thank you for the compliment. Sorry again for acting rashly, but I thought they'd give us at least one day to settle in. I'm hoping there's no problem, and that she just wants to get a feel for us while we're offguard."
"You think there could be a problem?" Turner asks.
"I hope I'm just being paranoid." I squeeze Amelia's knee. "I'm more worried about etiquette, this is my first time dealing with royalty." I'm not really worried about that, but they don't need to share my actual worries. Amelia's picked up on it, especially sensitive after my earlier episode. But, her hand covering mine lets me know that she trusts me to handle it.
"Oh, I know this." Kaitlyn speaks up. "Never thought we'd actually meet The Queen..." She trails off as the realization hits her. "Uh, yes." She comes back to herself after a moment. "There's not a lot of rules, but the big one is to follow her lead. Don't speak until she does, don't eat until she does, don't approach unless she gives permission, and no touching. Other than that, we will need to rise and give a bow or curtsey when she enters. Address her as 'Your Majesty' when greeting her and then as 'Ma'am' when addressing her during conversation."
"Wow, mom." Amelia looks impressed. "I know you guys have plans, but preparing to meet royalty?" She lifts a shapely eyebrow.
"Ha-ha. Our plans aren't quite so grand, at least they weren't..." A look comes over her for a second, before she shakes her head. "No, this is all stuff I picked up when I was younger. I went through a big phase where I was obsessed with royals and nobility back when I was a few years younger than you."
"Looking for some charming prince to sweep you off your feet, were you?" Turner teases his wife.
"In this dress, I might just find one." She teases right back.
"Looks like we're almost there." I say, sensing a wall coming up at the edge of my spell's range. A range which I may have let slip back out to the full kilometer circle and then some as soon as we got in the carriage.
Amelia peeks out the window for a second before giving me a pointed look. I can only shrug to her unspoken comment, because I really don't like that we were called in so quickly. I don't feel any bad vibes about tonight, but I'm not going to limit myself when going into a potentially hostile situation.
Speaking of. I can sense a handful of people react as they come into range. I can sense them drawing in magic until one of them raises his hand and says something to the others. This one then sends out a probe of air magic to track down the source. I can feel his eyes go wider, and wider as he has to reach out farther and farther to find me. Once he does, I just give him a curt nod.
"Everything alright?" Amelia asks. A bit of worry in her voice.
"Yes, everything's fine." I smile. "The court mages just sensed my Air net. Their sensitivity is quite high, everyone seemed to have noticed it. Though, only the air mage could tell what it was."
The Air mage is still keeping an eye on us, but it looks like he explained the situation and they've calmed down. This actually helps me calm down. If they were planning something, they wouldn't have their mages go back to lounging around.
"Really, I can only just barely tell when you use anything that isn't water. And, even then, you have to be doing something big."
"Hmm, it's probably a skill. I'll help you practice it later." I give her knee another squeeze before conjuring a mirror to give myself a quick once over as the carriage pulls to a stop in a large courtyard.
The outer walls of the castle are thick and functional. But, the central keep is rather elegant with high walls and higher towers, all made from a smooth, creamy white stone. The entire palace grounds are lit up like mid-day, even though the sun set on the ride over. The most interesting thing about it is that there are some areas that my magic won't enter. I feel like I could probably force my way through, but that would be rude.
The page has had enough time to recover from his earlier shock, and announces us as he opens the door to the coach. A butler takes over then and guides us to a small dining room, he informs us that dinner will start in twenty minutes before leaving us alone.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Looks like it's going to be somewhat informal." I state. "That's good. I don't think I'm ready for a full court dinner with all the nobility and what not."
"We're still meeting with The Queen, that's bad enough." Amelia seems to have picked up the stress that was infecting her parents earlier. While they've calmed down and are just walking around the room examining everything they can.
"Relax, she's just a person, like anyone else. I'm more interested in this building; there's magic everywhere, even a few spots I can't sense into. I'd love to poke around, but it's best to be polite." I say with a nod to our magical watcher.
"You and your puzzles, always trying to figure everything out." She smiles.
"Be glad I do, otherwise you wouldn't have that lovely starweave dress." I smile back, but mostly at the expression of our watcher as he tries to focus his magic in on the fabric.
"I know that smile." Amelia says accusingly. "You're showing off again. I take it they have someone watching us?"
"Wouldn't you?" I counter simply. "I'm just glad they didn't raise a fuss over my spell."
"I told you it would be fine." She smiles lovingly. "You can't be the first paranoid mage they've had to deal with."
"No, but I still need to work on that. Something that getting called in to meet The Queen on our first night in town isn't exactly helping with." I say pointedly for our listener.
"There, now they know better." She laughs.
I just hmpf before I sense some people come out of one of the blank spots. 'Oh, that's interesting.' I say to myself. Amelia raises an eyebrow at my change of expression, but I just smile. "Looks like our dinner companions are on the way." I warn everyone, and then mouth. "You'll see." to Amelia
"Thank goodness, I'm starving." Apricot pipes up from Amelia's hair. Startling our observer and getting a riotous laugh from me. "What? We haven't eaten since lunch."
"Not you." I explain. "It's just that you're hard to detect with Air magic when you're sitting still, and I don't think the page's memo about you got forwarded to our observer. He's freaking out trying to figure out where the extra voice came from."
"Hah, serves him right with those clumsy probes. I could fly right through those and he'd still never see me." She mocks the poor bastard stuck on spy duty.
"Mhm, you really could use some work on your Mana Manipulation, guy." I add some salt to his wounds. "But, never mind that, they're here." I turn to face the doorway.
The same butler who has been waiting just outside, opens the door and introduces The Queen and her small retinue. There's four people in total. The Queen, Vivian, a woman of about thirty, with thick curly hair worn loose. She's wearing a two piece dress in cream and red, the top looks almost like a men's kurta with the asymmetric hem. The bottom a loose flowing gown over red leather boots. Plenty of brocade and embroidery, elegant but not ostentatious.
Two men follow behind her. One of middle age, with short salt and pepper hair, wearing a fancier version of the local military outfit is introduced as General Sauer. The other, a much older man with long white hair in simple trousers and shirt with a long, thick, fur lined jacket is called Court Mage Long.
And, the most surprising addition. A young girl of around seven, wearing a simple white gown, who can only be the Queens daughter. She has the same hair and features as her mother, and will likely grow up to look much like her. She is named as Crown Princess Faye. Her eyes dart around the room until they lock onto Amelia, or rather, the tiny woman sitting on top of her head.
'Well, that explains why she's here.' I think to myself with a smile as I bow to the queen, my hands resting on my staff like a cane.
"Rise, Please" Her voice rings out. "No need for any formalities. I intend for this to be an informal meeting so that we might get to know each other. Larendath owes you a debt of gratitude for discovering and safe guarding the dungeon."
"Your Majesty... I feel like we over dressed." This gets a titter from Apricot that causes the Princess' eyes to sparkle.
"Ah, yes. We didn't expect you to have procured such finery quite yet. This was something of a last minute arrangement as it's the only day The Queen will be free for the next few days." The older man, a mage with more than one aspect, if I'm reading him right, explains as The Queen seats herself at the head of the table with her daughter by her side. "The page said you had to make a new suit?" His voice lilts up into a question as he sits to the Queen's left. The military man sitting to her right.
We mimic them, with Amelia and I at the foot, and her parents to our left and right. Apricot choosing to remain perched atop Amelia until the food arrives.
"Plantshaping is my highest skill." I state simply. "You know, we didn't have a chance to prepare a gift for her majesty. So, perhaps a demonstration? Maybe a doll for the princess?" I raise an eyebrow.
The princess is too well behaved to say anything, but her eyes still go wide, and I can see her tugging on her mother's dress under the table. The Queen gives her a gentle smile before nodding to me.
I retrieve my 'sewing kit' from the inventory. It's a large pouch filled with enough cotton and linen for a few outfits. Also some various buttons and beads, plus all the dyes I might need. Then, after a second's though I pull out a smaller, but much heavier bag.
I don't even have to try to make a show of it, it's just part of my nature now. So, I open the sewing kit to reveal its contents before sitting back. The cotton transforms into tens, then hundreds, then thousands of tiny white butterflies. While that's happening, I stealthily lift a few grains from the second bag and begin fashioning them into what I want.
The butterflies flutter around in a loose column before they begin to change color and coalesce. Slowly, in that it takes me nearly a minute because I'm focused on the extra parts, a doll forms. It's as realistic as I can make it, straight down to little cotton organs, muscles, and bones. The few remaining white butterflies then all rush it at once, crashing together to become a copy of the princess' dress. Upgraded to starweave, of course.
The doll drifts lightly down to the table before standing up and stretching it's back. This miniature princess looks around, and bows to me, before turning to spot her new owner. Then, with a great jump, she hurls herself straight up into the air, shimmering monarch butterfly wings unfurling from her back. The individual scales made from microscopic glass beads.
The now pixie princess buzzes past the actual pixie before landing in the middle of the table. There, she walks towards the head of the table nodding to the wizard and general. She gives The Queen a deep curtsey before smiling at the entranced little girl, and sitting down in front of her and going still once more.
"Your Majesty, may I present Her Highness' new doll." I smile and put my supplies away with a gesture.
"Momma, it looks just like me. Did you see her fly? Her wings are so pretty, I'm afraid to touch them." The child finally finds her voice and uses it to gush about her present.
"They only look fragile." I explain. "She should hold up to you playing with her, just don't get her wet, she is made from cotton after all." I made it so that It won't fall apart or anything, but it could stain or begin to smell.
"Marvelous." The wizard speaks up. "What a wonderful present for a child named after the Fae. May I examine her, Princess?" The Princess looks up at her mother, clearly not wanting to give up such a treasure, even for a moment.
"Let uncle Oliver take a look dear, he'll give her right back." The Queen smiles down at her daughter.
"Remarkable. It doesn't even feel like cloth." The Mage exclaims. "So heavy too. I swear I can feel bones, even individual muscle groups. And, the eyes. How did you make cotton transparent?" He turns it about in his hands excitedly, and is even about to lift its dress when The Queen clears her throat reproachfully.
"Ahh, yes." A slight smile tugs up the corner of his mouth. "This doll is a masterwork, young Coen wasn't exaggerating when he reported that Mage Rumex has unlocked the Mana Control Skill. I could barely follow along with him during the process, and only then because he split his attention to make glass for the wings. There are no hostile spells present. Honestly, I can hardly even sense the remnants of magic used it's creation. She's perfectly safe to play with." He Presents the doll to his liege.
"It does look just like her." She smiles lovingly down at her child. "You have our thanks for such a wonderful gift, Master Mage." She then hands it to the Princess. "Faye, thank mister Rumex for his present."
"Thank you mister Rumex, Sir. She's so wonderful." The girl curtseys in her seat. "Is it really okay to touch her wings?"
"As long as you don't try to pull them off or anything, they should be fine." I smile when I hear a shocked noise from Apricot.