Castle Sirene was not the most impressive architecture Katsumi had ever seen, but it had a quaint homey feel to it that reminded her a bit of her childhood. There was very little furniture by noble standards and very little displays of wealth that royals were usually all too eager to flaunt to the rest of the world. Katsumi Ishigaru was no stranger to the games of nobility, as her father often posed as one, so she found the simplistic functionality of the castle refreshing. She had been to Sirene only a handful of times before, and always on official business, so she never got to enjoy herself like she longed to do so, and she likely wouldn’t be able to for a very long time.
Today though, she was here for two reasons, and both required her to be at the princess’ party. There were strange rumors that had reached her family’s ear, and she needed to establish herself as a courtly figure here in Sirene if she hoped to continue to investigate unimpeded, all of which meant that she needed to make herself known to the royal family. Luckily, the fool of a prince, Varun, had given her the perfect excuse to approach them. The boy was so pretentious that it still made her groan to herself, even if he did mean well. Even the way he spoke of the princess made her nauseous; doting on her beauty, kindness, grace, wisdom, blah blah blah. If he liked this girl, she wasn’t likely to be any better than he was. So it was that Katsumi found herself entering the front doors of Castle Sirene heading into the grand ballroom where the princess, Bridget of Sirene, was celebrating her 18th birthday.
The guards at the gate didn’t stop her or even seem to notice her presence. Fools, don’t you know that any one of us could be an assassin or spy? Why are they so open and trusting here? After only a mild reprimand in her mind at these supposed guards, Katsumi passed through to the ballroom. There were 8 large 8-sided chandeliers arrayed with emeralds and sapphires and lit with many small candles. The room was exceptionally large by Sirene standards, circular with a raised dais for the dancers, and adorned with many green, white, red, and blues. The thrones of the royal family were arranged against the only windowed side of the room on a separate raised section; gifts were arranged to one side and the orchestra to the other. Large stone columns were also placed in a circular pattern, fitting between the chandeliers and leading to a rising ceiling that seemed to stretch all the way to the top spires. Ribbons hung from every chandelier and food tables were filled with a wide array of fine dining, mostly seafood she noted with only a slight amount of disdain.
I could actually enjoy myself here, but a spy's work is never convenient. Katsumi ran through her objectives in her mind: deliver a package from Prince Varun to the princess, observe and report on the new iron coated ships the Sirene navy was developing, and locate and eliminate the Durvinna spy that had infiltrated the royal guard. While hunting down the enemy spy was the most pressing of those tasks, she could not roam around the castle without having first established herself, and that meant meeting with the princess and delivering the letter she had stashed up her sleeve. She normally liked to keep one of her daggers up her sleeve, but she had expected much tighter security for a royal party and had strapped both pairs to her legs under her robe instead. She didn’t like having to do that, the robe was loose but had a large overlap that made getting to her weapons more difficult than she would like. Still, it was one of her favorite dress robes, a deep midnight blue embroidered with golden dragons and a scarlet lapel.
She had grown up without much of a desire or luxury to focus on fashion or beauty, but quickly found that appearances were very important for avoiding attention, or drawing it when desired. Tonight, she needed to be noticed and accepted as a social aristocrat, and had dressed the part. Her obsidian hair had been tied up in a high bun and adorned with gold hairpins; gold dangling earrings set with aquamarines contrasted well with her dress and gave her light blue eyes a cold fierceness that she could use to bully her way through any tough conversation. With luck, the princess would be far less stubborn than the prince that was infatuated with her and she could finish her business before the night was over. What I wouldn’t give for a nice plush bed and a long night’s rest.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Katsumi skirted her way through the mess of people that surrounded the dance floor and made her way towards the thrones. Princess Bridget was not a hard one to find, her seafoam green hair marked her and made her seem almost inhuman. Barely five and a half feet tall, and with a soft complexion and slender frame, she was clearly no threat to Katsumi physically, which was only slightly comforting to her. Few women could match her skills in hand to hand combat, and fewer still who could out shoot her. No, the true threats to Katsumi were those who were more cunning and had deeper pockets; the placid face hiding the venomous beast who made up in ambition what they lacked in morals.
Katsumi saw her opportunity and approached the princess. “Good evening, your highness,” she said with a deep bow.
Bridget seemed taken aback, and managed to stammer out “It’s just Bridget tonight.” Already flustered, either she thinks me a fool or this will be much easier than I thought. “What is your name?” Bridget said.
“I am Katsumi Ishigaru. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Katsumi.”
Now to push a little. “Now that you have finally come of age, how long will it be before we call you queen?”
“Oh!” Bridget’s face flashed red and the whites of her eyes showed. “I don’t think that will be for a while.” She took a small step back, hidden mostly by her dress, but Katsumi was watching carefully. So she really is this weak. I almost pity her. Bridget frantically glanced around the room, searching for something.
“I beg your pardon, Princess. I don’t mean to offend. Anyways, I have something I was to deliver to you.” Katsumi withdrew the letter from her sleeve and offered it to Bridget. “It is a message from Prince Varun for your eyes only.” Bridget stretched her hand out to take the letter while leaning slightly backwards. Evidently, Katsumi had made her more uncomfortable than she could have hoped for. But suddenly, Katsumi felt eyes on her; someone was watching her closely now. So she’s not so naive to not have someone guarding her. “I wish I could stay longer, but I have duties to fulfill. Good evening, Princess.” With another deep bow, and without sparing the princess another glance, Katsumi rose and turned to face the room.
The whole ballroom was larger than many city market squares, but she followed her instincts and searched for those eyes that knew who she was. She had made it back into the crowd and put her back to one of the large stone pillars and took another scan. There, in a crisp white suit, was a young man with deep brown eyes, watching her. They locked gazes and assessed each other. The boy was not terribly tall, though taller than Katsumi to be sure, but he had an air of confidence and poise, his hand sitting on the hilt of his sword. This was no aristocrat; his stance was firm and as tempered as the fine steel of his sword. Perhaps she will survive longer than I thought, she thought to herself.
She gave a small nod to the soldier who returned it in kind. Tearing herself away from his stare, Katsumi wound her way through the crowd and found a relatively unoccupied section against one of the outside walls. She settled back and began scanning the room for her target. Whatever Durvinna was up to, she was going to find out. You may be useless and naive, princess, but I will do what I can to keep you alive tonight.