Kili nervously smoothed out her dress again as she paced back and forth in front of the ornate mirror. Servants hovered around her, waiting for their opportunity to assault her with powders and blushes.
Relax. Just relax. He’s your father. Of course he’ll be pleased to see you.
She’d nearly missed the quadrennial Royal Debutante Ball, having only reached the sixth Harmonic the previous night, but her mother had pulled countless strings, calling in every favour to get her onto the presentation list. As a princess born in the Presidential Harem, gaining a favourable match would boost her mother’s position within it. The cunning woman had been in the Harem since she was a girl, clawing and scratching her way to the role of First Concubine.
The politicking, the scheming, the backstabbing and betrayal, it was all she knew. And now that a chance to become an official wife had revealed itself, she had held nothing back, pushing Kili hard to reach the sixth Harmonic and become eligible for courtship.
Most people of the Citizenry could only advance to the fifth Harmonic, but the royal family was favoured by the gods and had a higher ceiling. Which is why princesses were only eligible to be married off once they crossed that threshold and proven they had the potential in their blood to produce powerful heirs.
The pressure had frayed Kili’s nerves. A soft-spoken, agreeable girl, Kili was not a natural political animal like her mother. The swirls and eddies of intrigue within the Palace scared her. She’d seen concubines dragged away screaming, never to be heard from again after making one too many blunders, getting on the wrong side of too many other influential concubines, or worse, drawing the ire of one of the Ladies. Her mother had stressed repeatedly that the Havernum clan’s future rested on her dainty shoulders and that nothing could go wrong, lest she bring shame and ruin upon them all.
She was not coping with the stress. If not for advancing her Core last night, her nails would still be ragged, bleeding, and eaten down to the bed and her scalp would still have missing patches of hair. The show, however, was not over, as she still had to get through the most important part. The actual Ball.
She roved a critical eye over her dress again. A frilly blue and white lace number with a sweeping neckline, something she’d been assured was the latest fashion. Prepared by her mother of course. It made her look… scandalous. She hated it, hated dressing like this, hated having to offer herself up like a slab of meat to the rich and powerful men who cared about her name and her blood more than they did her person.
Kili steeled herself. She had a duty. She’d spent the last few years and especially these past frantic months working towards this moment. She would be damned if all that pain was in vain.
She waved a hand, and the servants descended upon her, rubbing ointments and pigments into her hair, in the red and black of Kiine, so all knew her religious affiliation, before coiffing it up into a sufficiently regal do that bared her neck. Her face was engulfed in a cloud of rouges and foundations, somehow all settling into a natural, youthful look, with a peach gloss added to her lips. Again, all on her mother’s instructions.
She felt like a common harlot, but the First Concubine was the one who knew what men wanted.
A knock came at her door. She nodded at a servant to let the person in.
“How is my little poppet doing?”
A smile beamed on her face at the smooth, paternal voice, causing a stir as one of the servants applying makeup missed a stroke and rushed off to find some water.
“Goldie! I didn’t think I’d see you before the Ball tonight!”
Greatfather Gold chuckled as the servant closed the door behind him. His elderly but vigorous form in those pompous Great robes was a welcome sight.
“And miss seeing my favourite princess on her first day of sixth Harmonic? Perish the thought! You look much better than when I last checked in on you.”
Kili swatted at him playfully, giggling.
“Boo, I’m only your favourite because none of the other princesses chose Kiine, your honeyed words don’t work here old man. And yes, I feel a lot better as well. I can really feel that I’m at the peak of the mid-Harmonics, you know, like if I take a step further I can bathe fully in Kiine’s Will.”
The Greatfather nodded sagely.
“Indeed, the latter half of the Divine Scale is unlike the first half. Every Harmonic from now will be an exponential, rather than linear increase in power. I must say, I strongly advised your mother against making you attune so hard, for so long, these past few months. The risk of detuning and burning your Core out… Well. I’m glad it paid off, no matter how the Ball goes. You can take a much-deserved break from Kiine for now.”
She gasped in mock horror.
“Greatfather! You’re Kiine’s representative on Pershefon, you can’t say things like that!”
The old man just winked and tapped the side of his nose.
“On the contrary, my dear Child Opal, I’m the only person who can say things like that. It’s only blasphemy for everyone else.”
She smiled, shaking her head at his shamelessness.
He’s never going to change.
The mischievous old man had been a constant presence in her life as far back as she could remember. Apparently, when they’d first met, he was still Grandfather Gold, but she was still just a toddler at the time. As far as she was concerned, he had been Greatfather since time began.
Ever since she’d slipped her nursemaids as a child and wandered into Kiine’s church lost, afraid, and hungry, the man had been her father figure. He definitely had more of a hand in raising her than her actual father, the President.
But the President is the man I need to impress, not Goldie. The President and the rest of the Delegates. I must have him secure me a powerful match with one of them, and show mother his favour.
The Greatfather noticed her change in expression. His face softened.
“You’re nervous?”
Kili gave a bitter smile, clasping and unclasping her hands.
“Everything rests on the next few hours, Goldie. My mother was very clear. In the Harem, you move up or out. She’s been First Concubine for six years now, longer than any before her. If she can’t secure that ring, secure her spot as Fifth Lady now, she likely never will. She hasn’t produced any sons and the next Ball is four years from now. She’s getting old. And we know what happens to old concubines.”
Greatfather Gold nodded seriously.
“I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, you always have a place at my church, Child Opal. The nunnery might be a bit… intense for your disposition, but I can put you in enforcement wherever you want.”
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She widened her eyes in alarm.
“I could never be an enforcer! That sounds so dangerous!”
He chuckled, waving down her protests.
“Don’t worry about it. In some towns, enforcement amounts to overseeing disputes between farmers over missing loxen. I’d never send you anywhere high-risk. You could go to the Havernum family lands. Or you could even stay here in the capital and file paperwork, give the odd sermon every now and again. This Ball is not the end, even if it does not go your way.”
Kili gave a sad smile.
“It may not be the end for me, but I have my mother to think about. She is not an avatar, she can’t escape into the church. Not to mention my clan, the Havernums. The rights to harvest divine beast Cores depend heavily on executive favour, and my mother and I are the only Havernums in the Presidential Palace. Without the two of us, our clan’s wealth, our livelihood, all of it could be taken away in a single breath.”
He placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, sympathy in his eyes. If she hadn’t had makeup all over her face, she would have hugged him, cried into his robes. But she had to be strong for a few more hours.
Just a few more hours.
----------------------------------------
The din of conversation and live music emanated from behind the door. Kili and a few of the other debuting princesses, her sisters, were making some final adjustments before they were to be announced.
Her heart pounding, Kili tried to dampen her nerves as much as possible. If she started sweating through her makeup, her mother would kill her.
She had caught a glimpse of the inside of the ballroom earlier and it was just as intimidating as she’d thought it would be. A raised plinth in the centre, under a direct spotlight, was the goal.
She would be announced, walk up to the spotlight, give a quaint little demonstration of her abilities, then shuffle off to the side while the dancing started, hoping to get picked as a partner by one of the Delegates. The most popular princesses would barely get the chance to sit down before the dinner.
The entire time, the President would be watching, judging. The Delegates could indicate their preferences of course, and no doubt some backroom politicking happened with the most influential Delegates, but the President was the one who decided their futures.
She had tried to speak with her mother before the event started, but the First Concubine and all the other Harem members were inside, networking, schmoozing, laughing at bad jokes, and making the powerful feel even more so. She hadn’t been left completely high and dry though. Her mother had sent a note with a servant, with a single sentence on it.
Do Not Fail Me.
Reassuring words from her mother.
Kili nervously smoothed her dress.
“Hey, relax.”
She turned to see Jhali, one of her older half-sisters, fussing with one of the bows on the back of her dress. The taller woman gave Kili a soft smile.
“You’re practically shaking out of your dress here. This is our debut, not our trial.”
Easy for you to say.
Jhali was ridiculously beautiful. Even if she wasn’t a sixth Harmonic princess, she would never have struggled to find a suitor with her elegant, glasslike features. Comparing herself to Jhali stung, because they looked quite similar, but Kili was clearly the inferior version. She was shorter, her hair a golden blonde rather than silvery platinum, her bosom not as generous, her manner not as assertive, she had one dimple instead of two, even her position as princess was not as stable. Jhali’s mother was the Third Lady, the President’s third official wife, her brother a decorated general with a good chance of becoming President after their father.
With effort, she quashed the envious thoughts. Her mother had taught her to see her sisters as competition, and while it was true to some extent, Jhali was just trying to be nice.
Kili sighed.
“You’re right, you’re right. It’s just… so much depends on what happens in there.”
Jhali nodded, the bells in her braids, dyed half black to represent Obani’s black and white, tinkled lightly.
“True. Fingers crossed our husbands aren’t old, bald and fat.”
The girls laughed together, though there was a note of bitterness in Kili’s laugh. Her main suitor being old and fat was the worst of Jhali’s worries, while Kili would welcome an old fat man with one tooth and a withered leg if need be to secure her family’s future.
Their moment didn’t last long, as the musicians inside switched to a slower, more operatic instrumental.
The announcements had commenced.
“Horenia ro’Tallin kh’Bova a Wasileas!”
One of her sisters was presented as the room burst into a final flurry of activity.
“Niamidi ro’Farilea kh’Bova a Wasileas!”
There were only seven princesses debuting tonight, and Kili’s mother had placed her to go fifth, an auspicious number if everything goes well.
“Thandeka ro’Gatja kh’Bova a Wasileas!”
Jhali stepped forward, an excited smile on her face. Kili stepped up behind her, desperately sucking in air.
“Jhaliana ro’Durr kh’Bova a Wasileas!”
Jhali strode forward like she was already a First Lady, heels of mother-of-pearl clicking confidently against the marble tiles. Kili had tried that same feat earlier in the week and couldn’t take three steps before falling. Through the crack in the door, she saw the bored Delegates sit up and take notice as her sister stepped fully into the ballroom, illuminated by the soft light of the intricate chandelier hanging above.
The older princess walked up into the harsh spotlight, where she stood for a pregnant second, gazing out over the seated crowd, before flicking her bellring. Even her natural frequency sounded feminine.
She tapped into her gifts, flickering while she released her duplicates as was the domain of Obani. Her other two bodies draped over her seductively, biting at her ear, running their fingers along her torso, kissing at her neck, while Jhali fluttered her eyes with a look that promised a fantasy for the lucky man who won her hand.
It comes so easily for her.
Kili noticed several Delegates whisper to their aides with a look of hunger in their eyes, sending them scurrying off.
She wraps men around her fingers like its nothing.
Kili wanted that power. The Ladies had it. Her mother had it.
She’d tried to learn, but the one time she’d tried charming a Delegate’s son, she blushed so hard she passed out. It was the one time she’d seen her mother laugh without a man present.
Jhali stored her bodies within herself once more as she stepped off the platform.
Kili’s heart started palpitating.
“Killina ro’Havernum kh’Bova a Wasileas!”
Her breath caught in her throat as she froze.
She hesitated for just a moment too long, and one of her sisters gave her a small shove to get her moving.
She managed to keep to her feet with minimal wobble, and as she shuffled forward, trying to keep her head high, she could feel the dozens of eyes on her, poking her with their awareness. She could feel her hands grow slick, and her neck start to prickle.
She stepped up to the plinth, the spotlight making sure she couldn’t see anything beyond a few feet before her. With shaky hands, she tried to flick her bellring, but her thumb, wet with nervous sweat, slipped off the trigger.
Someone in the crowd sniggered. Kili gulped, already imagining her mother’s disapproving face.
She flicked her ring again, this time closing her eyes in relief as her Core resonated with the sound, her gemsoul greedily sucking up all the divine energy Kiine granted her through her Core. Her eyes changed, losing their ocean-like hue, and shifting rapidly through the spectrum of colours, randomly and repeatedly as the harmonies reverberated within her, filling her with new strength.
Okay, keep it simple, nothing too complicated. This isn’t the most important part.
She could use her opal for longsight, scrying on faraway places from the comfort of her abode. She had planned on just showing a large window for everyone to see the Palace from above.
But women plan, and gods laugh.
As a raised screen of crystalline, iridescent opal formed behind her, the slow, measured draw of energy from her Core burst like a dam as the trickle became a torrent, a deluge, a relentless flood of raw unfiltered power. A hush came over the room as they all saw, or felt, that something profound was happening.
Kili’s eyes ignited with a radiant, coruscating kaleidoscope of colours as Kiine’s Will descended like a boulder into a tranquil lake. She was pulled out of her body, her ethereal self looking down on her physical self as it convulsed and spasmed on the ground, foaming at the mouth, losing control of her bladder.
Her dress ripped in several places and her hair was completely messed up before her body stiffened like a board then relaxed all at once. Her ethereal self looked on as if in a trance, completely unaffected by the rigor her body was going through.
A voice tore itself from Kili’s throat, deep and raspy, clearly not her own.
It spoke of death.
“HE COMES! He comes! Weep, men of earth and stone, for he comes! Borne of steel, quenched in flame, he comes, and death comes with him!
Weep, children of the deep! Fly from this cursed place, flee this doomed land, already tainted under his fell gaze. He brings the dark! He rides with sorrow as his steed! His name is destruction and he brings the end!
Weep, weep, for these are the final days! Smother your babes, drown your innocents, strangle your elderly! Spare them the horrors! He comes! The Avatar of Flesh and Iron! The Vile One! The Darksteel Nemesis! The Null God!
HE COMES!”
And like smoke in the wind, Kiine’s Will vanished from the room. The spiritual void in her body sucked her soul back in with an elastic snap, and she knew no more.