Julian had to admit… he wasn't expecting Gerda to look so stunning in his colors.

And he wasn’t expecting to feel a slight twist in his stomach when she'd said spoken about taking someone else to ball.

And he was not expecting to feel a sense of accomplishment when his compliment left her speechless and flushed before he dragged her into the hall. Her light green skin darkened all the way down to her exposed collarbone, as were the tips of her long ears - and her white freckles were dyed pink.

"G-Greetings." Queen Henrietta was immediately on them as they walked into the hall, the Dark Lady almost slipping and using Gerda's name.

There was an enchantment on this room and the ballroom that helped obscure the guests to better assist in the fun of the masquerade… but no one was going to be fooled when Queen Henrietta was being her usual self and King Keith didn’t hide his single horn.

Many in the room had magically changed their hair, eyes, skin or fur color for the occasion. Some even shapeshifted.

King Keith held his wife around the shoulders. The Dark Lord looked over their outfits and his eyebrow twitched, but he simply nodded. "How was your afternoon?"

The question was innocent enough, but they both knew what he was actually asking. Julian smiled, "Informative."

"Good."

"I'm impressed you got matching outfits so quickly!" Queen Henrietta said, not one to hold back like her husband. Her eyes sparkled as she looked over Gerda. "You both look amazing."

“Thank you,” Gerda's voice choked a bit, but she recovered, “So do you.”

The royals wore matching dark blue, each outfit having a high neck and not a single embellishment on the fabric. They chose, instead, to adorn themselves in heavy gemstone belts, brooches and jewelry.

Probably all of them enchanted.

“I haven’t seen your hair down since the bridge battle.” Queen Henrietta complimented, admiring the waves of dark emerald green that fell past the troll's waist. It looked luscious, with enough volume to frame her figure without being too thick to run his fingers through…

Not that Julian was thinking about running his fingers through her hair.

“It’s a bit of a pain.” The troll sighed wistfully, playfully running with a section that fell over her exposed shoulder. “But I love it.”

"I can imagine. I wouldn't last through a single hair brush before giving up." The queen leaned in closer, smiling up at Gerda, “I know it's not the right time or place but-- I have a surprise for you!”

“What–?”

Henrietta pulled out a bag of cookies. Julian recognized them immediately.

“Stardust Skirts?” Julian's jaw dropped and then he instinctively reached out to cover the cookies and Gerda'shand, “Quick! Hide it before my mother sees!”

Gerda slipped them in her storage ring. “What are Stardust Skirts?”

“Only the most delicious baking I’ve ever had outside of your own!” The queen stuck both hands on her hips and nodded once. “They are made out of concentrated star mana, pixie dust, dried markleberry powder, nettle, minos cow butter, and the zest of a pink lime.”

Julian added, "They are baked specially for the married couple, and only for them."

“But… why did you give me these?” Gerda asked, confused.

“I wanted to thank you somehow… for everything.” The queen explained. “I helped bake the Stardust Skirts for Julia and Chloe, and those were my trial cookies.”

“You didn’t need to–”

“I really did.” Henrietta assured her.

“--but I will gladly accept your cookies.”

“Good.” Reassured that her gift was well received, Henrietta took her husband by the arm.

“It's time.” King Keith drew their attention to the other guests as everyone started to move. He recommended. "Let's continue this after we find our place in line."

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Since this was a masquerade, there was no official order of precedence and there were no official greetings. Instead of announcing names, the attendants were greeting everyone and offering them a dance card with the schedule on the back.

“One more thing before we go in!” The Dark Lady whispered hurriedly. “I wanted to ask if you were the one who sent me the Out of this World?”’

The troll stiffened in his arms. “Yes.”

King Keith frowned.

“I knew it!” Henrietta laughed, delighted. She shot Julian a look that didn’t bode well and then added, “Let’s talk tomorrow. I have so many questions!”

“She’ll be leaving with me tomorrow,” Julian said, the words coming out harsher than he’d expected so he added, “So you should plan something early. We will be setting out right after breakfast.”

“No.” A polite voice that cut harsher than Julian’s own spoke right behind him. “You will not.”

“Hello Mother,” He turned, ignoring the cold chill that ran down his spine.

“My dear.” Grand Duchess Calisto was standing arm in arm with a red-haired fox that was Their Royal Highness Rowen. The fox had on a long tight black dress, hoop earrings, and an ornate black tiara set with rubies.

“Your Grace,” King Keith and Henrietta said, Gerda a beat behind them.

“You do recall that you're speaking at tomorrow’s closing ceremonies.” The words were spoken through a smile, but he couldn’t miss the daggers in his mother’s sharp eyes as she stared him down.

“Of course, Mother.”

“Which means you will be leaving, at the earliest, right after lunch.” Grand Duchess Calisto let him know.

“Of course, Mother."

There was no way around it. Julian knew his mother would be there with knights in hand to drag him back if he tried to sneak away early.

“So I have you all tomorrow morning!” Henrietta clapped.

"You are both forgetting Council. Where we will all be discussing our guest and voting on what is to be done." Their Royal Highness spoke and Henrietta’s shoulders slumped. The fox shot her a wide grin. "But in the meantime, let us all enjoy tonight."

The fox pulled Calisto away, directly to the front, where they entered the hall first.

Julian cursed inside. It felt like he was drowning in tasks. There was a never ending amount of meetings when he was at home, and it didn't matter if it was the same amount of work he did in the north- the fact that someone else was dictating his schedule here somehow made it worse.

“I'm sure we'll find some time before I leave.” Gerda shot Julian an apologetic side eye that this conversation had foiled his plans.

Julian hurried to reassure her even as the line started moving. “With everything changed, you can take your time. We'll meet at the stables after you're done."

“What if I don’t have a horse?” She asked quietly, and before he could reply they were accepting their dance cards and entering the hall.

Julian immediately led her off to the side of the hall where they were out of the way. "There are more than enough horses. I'll have one prepared."

A palace knight carrying a tray approached.

“For the toast.” The knight said, presenting a variety of drinks. She was trying to not openly stare at Julian and his dance partner. The knight failed, her eyes betraying her interest. He hadn't put in extra effort to hide, and the palace staff knew him.

“Thank you, Sir Rumel.” He took a red cherry cider, and Gerda chose a dry pear. “Keep up the good work.”

“Have a good evening, Your Grace. Miss.” Sir Rumen bowed her head and then left to offer drinks to the rest of the guests. The knight was one of his mother’s personal guards, a level fifty three paladin with poison detection.

The duchess wasn’t leaving anything to chance.

Gerda immediately tapped the glass with a fingernail, noting the distinct crystal chime. Her dance card was hung off her wrist by a black braided thread, and it swayed delicately.

“May I?” Julian motioned to the card. When she lifted it, he used a bit of mana to activate the card and write out his name on the first line. Then, in a moment of possessiveness utterly unlike him... he added his name to the last spot as well.

“I’m not the best dancer.” She warned, seemingly unbothered by his claiming multiple spots on her card.

“Between your Dexterity and my expertise, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He said, but she had turned away to scan the crowd.

The room was filling up fast.

She was still distracted, and after the second pass he realized she was looking for someone in particular.

“If you are looking for our young lady in pink, she’s standing beside Tully over there.” Julian tilted his own glass towards the far side of the hall. Miss Penny Bracken was wearing a different outfit than the one she’d worn at tea… and this one managed to look even more pink than the last. The dress was an interesting design that reminded Julian of a pin cushion.

“No… I’m looking for someone else. Ah, there’s Erik.”

It was the giant who she’d been laughing with before the tea party. He stood next to a table that was elbow high for his companions but hip high for Erik. The giant had on red tights, a loose black tunic with a jeweled belt cinched at the waist, and a golden chain around his neck.

Julian let Gerda drag him over to the young group despite wanting more time with her alone.

“Erik! Shiro!” The troll smiled a greeting. “Have you seen Lady Amy? She disappeared after the tea party. We were supposed to talk but all I got was this note.”

A green leaf appeared in Gerda’s hand, unfurling to show shining golden scrawl clearly visible to all.

I’m sorry, something came up. I’ll see you at the ball.

The pair exchanged looks and separated from their friends; another fox, a human, and a catkin. The others tried not to appear like they were listening in, intrigued.

“No, we parted ways in the main hall.” Shiro said. He was a fox wearing a black robe with red peony print and spoke with a soft Peldeep accent.

Gerda sighed. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Julian didn’t need to hear more. He tapped his foot twice and drew Shadow John’s attention. He leaned down and spoke into her ear, even knowing everyone could hear him. “I’ll quietly send out a search. Just in case.”

She gave him a short nod, accepting the help. “Thank you.”

Julian’s shadow flickered. John got his message and was off.

"Next time--" Julian was about to tell the troll to come to him sooner, but he was cut off.

“Don’t you already know the future, or you could check?” Erik tapped the table beside his drink. “Or is that rude to ask.”

“That’s a bit much Erik.” Shiro chided softly.

Gerda flinched. “It’s… complicated.”