[43]

Elaine showed up at the safe house in a carriage big enough to carry all five of us. The size of the conveyance sent my mind tumbling back to the first time I had seen Elaine on that fateful day. A girl so wondrous, with just one look she stole my breath away, all alone in a carriage pulled by Ur-chal.

Today, she outdid that memory.

Stepping out of the horseless arcanowagon, Elaine turned to me with a shy smile. Adorned in a gold-black dress that was the perfect counterpoint to my black-gold suit, she stole my breath a second time, and this time, kept it. My heart sped into a gallop, staring into her sky-blue eyes. Nothing else existed in the world. All my problems fell away in her delectable presence, leaving only one dispute: why do I resist her? If I would give in, we could be happy, learning to build a life and share our goals. There was no chance a person more suitable existed for either of us. I felt it in my soul. Somehow, I knew she felt the same.

Vaguely, I saw the outline of her heart-shaped face and braided purple hair in the shape of a crown moving in my direction, and I finally remembered to just inhale. Like a man washed up from sea, my lungs struggled to do their imperative task.

Words came eventually.

“You… you look amazing,” I said, swallowing down a dry mouth.

Elaine’s face turned a fiery red, but I only caught it at a glimpse. Hiding it away from my stare, she leaned upward on her toes and kissed me on the cheek.

“I’m glad you like it,” she breathed.

I did not know what to say. The understatement was so profound; it left me speechless.

Raxx and Izzy joined us a second later, chatting affably, but I scarcely heard them. We boarded the carriage. I think. It took everything in my power to remove my gaze from Elaine. One moment there was nothing but her, the next she sat next to me in the gloomily lit interior of our transport.

Raxx made a joke, and a part of my mind made a token show of listening, giving the Harak seated across from me a smile. Internally, my focus was all on Elaine’s warm hand, resting on the seat next to mine. The casual nature of her closeness suppressed my usual instinct to pullback from touch. Her hand’s position was unintentional, and thus lacking purpose allowed me to enjoy her intimacy without fear. For once there were no questions about manipulation, it just was.

By the time we picked up Joy, I had returned to my senses enough to compliment Joy on her outfit. The wildling wore a dark red gown that offered a pleasing contrast to her green skin. She really did look lovely, and with my mind finally able to process other things, I idly wondered how she bought it. I knew from my trading experience that it was an expensive piece. And, as far as Joy had said, she came from very humble beginnings.

Raxx was a different story. I found out from the many tales he liked to tell that his pack was both strong and wealthy. His matron mother was a powerful warlord, commanding a flotilla of successful raiders. Raider was not the first word that came to my mind in describing their activities. However, Raxx insisted on it, citing that they rarely attacked ships, preferring to wreck the villages that pirates sold their wares at. In description, it was a bizarre ecosystem to my upbringing. Pirates raided non-Harak ships, selling the wares to any port that would take them. Then raider crews like Raxx’s family would ravage the cities for buying dishonorable goods, re-appropriating them then selling the loot back to non-Harak cities in recompense. As preposterous as it sounded, no one was willing to risk upsetting the balance lest the raiders and pirates join forces.

However, Raxx’s family obtained their wealth did not matter to me. The Harak had been nothing but a friend, and generous when I explained my problem to him, freely giving me what I needed. His family loved the acquisition of wealth, a disposition I could relate to. And for the meager service of agreeing to broker sales on his behalf, he gave me what I sought. A gift for Elaine, worthy of our courtship.

One that was from my heart, and appreciation for her, instead of a quest.

The first party we went to was at the Engleford villa. Lina Engleford was the first to invite me to a start year party, showing up at our lunch table with her two friends.

Lina wore a plum and black ensemble that matched well with her light purple wavy hair. The tall, svelte noble seemed jubilant upon spotting me, excusing herself from a conversation and stepping across her ballroom in a long-legged stride. Her eyes focused on me like a wolf stalking a deer. When she spotted Lady Highrow on my arm, the enthusiasm died like a hunter’s arrow to the heart of the very same wolf.

Lina’s delighted look, possibly inhibited by wine, turned into something pained and awkward. “I’m glad you could make it, dear!” Lina said, kissing me on the cheek politely. Then gave Elaine a stoic look and said, “Elaine.”

“Lina,” Elaine said with a guarded smile.

Following that, she greeted Joy and Raxx warmly, whispering something into Joy’s ear that made them both giggle.

“You know her?” I asked Joy after Lina left. Elaine and Raxx looked curious, too.

“Nope,” Joy said shrugging. “She just said my roots were showing. It was funny.” Joy motioned to her slicked back, leafy hair.

The quip made sense. Joy was the first Wildling I knew, but from what I could tell, either they or she had a self-deprecating style of humor.

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We stuck near each other for a time, drinking and eating food. Raxx ended up leaving us first, finding a nearby group of Ergentein nobles to discuss dueling with. Joy left to “water the plants”, but something told me she was going to snoop around the villa. Somehow she always knew the happenings around campus, and I suspected her interest was more than casual boredom. Not that I could criticize her or anything, with the princess of the RRS on my arm.

Freed from our companions, Elaine steered me to different circles of nobility. Son of count something, Daughter of Baron what’s-his-face, and so on, all became a blur of purple-haired niceties and barbs.

Occasionally, I caught Lina watching me with a wanton look that, under normal circumstances, would have been quite flattering. With Elaine on my arm, introducing us to everyone within earshot as a matched deal, it became concerning. I feared Lina’s continued intoxication would cause a scandal that I could not gracefully deal with. Especially considering that I knew the best was yet to come later in the evening, and I needed to have all my wits about me.

Elaine either picked up on my discontent or finished her mission before long and suggested that we travel to the next party.

Two other Ergentein noble parties later, I had a grasp of the politics of my country. Three different factions within the aristocracy each had their own parties, catering to the power structure of their respective families.

Lina Engleford’s party was for the future generation of what I thought of as the “infrastructure” faction. I gathered their wealth was from owning wealthier lands and promoting trade. They were a merchant class in all but name, and I enjoyed the peerage of that party the most.

We only appeared briefly at the Narbridge party. I never had time to discern their political leanings, but overall they seemed a scholarly lot.

The worst of the lot was the Ginter family party. They were a stodgy faction that primarily had interest in military matters and conquest. Unfortunately, they had the closest ties to Elaine’s own family. Seeing a commoner holding the arm of a future Duchess, no matter how good looking, was not something that they could easily swallow. Strained smiles, snubs, and rude comments got old fast, and I wondered why Blanche Ginter invited me at all. Did having Elaine with me really turn this crowd from friendly to hostile?

Raxx, who had been drinking all night and talking about dueling—a custom I learned the Harak did not have—almost challenged the Captain of the House Guard to a fight. Okay, well, he did challenge him to a fight, but Izzy smoothed things over and we left soon after.

My stomach was in knots by the time we arrived at the Churm estate. Raxx was two sheets to the wind, sleeping in the carriage. Joy, who was a natural introvert, looked so out of sorts she may as well have been drinking too. And Reynold was the last person I wanted to see behind Sabine. Only Elaine wanted to continue.

“It’s almost over,” she said, giving me a reassuring smile.

Against my better judgement, I shook Raxx awake. He asked us to, and even if he had not, if we got into a fight without him, it would upset him.

I looked to Izzy to ensure she was ready, and she gave me a nod.

“Presenting, Joy Koste, Raxx Ruzgym, Harald Horste, and Lady Elaine Highrow,” yelled an announcer. No one at the party looked in our direction until they said my name.

A sea of orange haired nobles turned to watch us enter. The Ankest nobles quieted as though waiting for something to happen, aiding my discomfort in its growth.

“So, so, glad you could make it!” said one of the Churm twins, gliding over toward us with a cup of wine. The smell of spite hit me before he made it within a few feet.

“Thank you,” I said, giving him my most gracious smile, and slapping him on the arm hard enough to spill his drink.

Fear was making me bold. I died just yesterday, after all.

“I was thinking neither of you would come,” the other twin said, materializing on his brother’s opposite side.

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world, Sayer,” Elaine said, laughing delightedly. Of course, she could tell them apart. She wanted them to know it, too. “Thank you so much for the invitation.”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “We had a bit of scheduling conflict, but my betrothed and I worked it out.” I said, reaching down to kiss Elaine’s cheek after finally spotting Reynold in the crowd.

The twins shared a smile.

“Well, whatever the reason, we are so glad to have you. Come, Come! I want to introduce you to someone.” Ostel, the other twin said, leading us through the outer courtyard.

The Ankest nobles parted before the twins, silently talking to one another in hushed voices. I was gladder than ever to have Raxx at my back, drunk as shit or not. From the snippets of conversation I caught, they seemed equally enthralled by the Sea Dog’s presence as ours.

We arrived at a pavilion in the center of the Churm lawn. Unlike the previous parties, the Ankest preferred theirs outdoors, surrounded by the apple trees their small country was famous for.

“Attention everyone, attention!” Ostel Churm said, tapping his wine cup with a spoon, as though the entire party was not already staring in our direction.

The last few nobles parted, revealing a boy as tall as I was with fiery red-orange hair and looks nearly as handsome as my own, sitting on a throne-like chair under the pavilion’s roof with a disdainful smirk on his face. Sitting in the chair next to him, hand in hand, was Sibilla. Her face a rictus of demented glee.

Elaine stiffened at my arm. I looked down to see worry written across her beautiful face.

Both twins bowed before the couple, then moved to either side of them on the pavilion.

Elaine bowed, then spoke. “Greetings, Crown Prince Handervost.” Then she turned and nodded at Reynold’s sister. “Sibilla.”

Prince Handervost, who I decided I already hated, sneered. “Come now, surely you can give a better greeting than to my wife,” he said in an arrogant tone.

“Your wife?” Elaine asked softly.

“Indeed. We wed over the break,” he confirmed.

Elaine said nothing, quietly calculating things in her head beyond me.

I watched Reynold move from around the crowd to join his sister on the dais, Tedric following faithfully behind. Reynold surprised me, showing no anger at the proceedings. Only intense concentration appeared on his face, and he did not direct it at me. Instead, he watched Elaine.

Sibilla stood up when her brother neared, still grinning like a lunatic. “We truly wanted you to be there for the wedding, Lady Highrow,” she said, placing one hand on the shoulder of the Crown Prince of Ankest, and the other on her brother’s shoulder.

“If things had gone differently, we would have been announcing your wedding today.” Sibilla continued.

“I see,” Elaine said, glancing at Reynold and back to his sister.

“But now, here you are, already engaged.” Sibilla said with faux sadness.

Elaine nodded.

“And for you, Mr. Horste,” Sibilla said, turning her attention to me. “I believe a congratulation is in order. You have outmaneuvered my brother, taking the woman he desired. I want to applaud you. Yet, doing so would be a kick to the broken heart of my baby brother.”

“It’s not a big deal,” I said, wondering where this was going.

Sibilla continued, as if I had not spoken. “A difficult situation, you must admit. But as fate would have it, I happen to have just the perfect solution. I will give you both the gift of clarity!” Sibilla ended triumphantly.

Elaine laughed carefree. "Is this going somewhere, or do you just enjoy being a drama queen?"