“Or whatever?” repeated Collette, laughing. “What’s with that?”

Anne blushed. “You didn’t warn me I’d have to announce myself!"

“Ah, well. Shows over folks, get back to mingling,” insisted Collette.

Sebastian was delighted. “The Saintess is here! So they were just late after all. You were right, Corvina! Corvina?”

Corvina was staring at Anne, lost in thought. Sebastian had never seen her look so unaware of the world around her before. Then, almost as soon as he’d noticed it, it was as if the spell was broken again.

Corvina smiled politely. “You’d better go say hello to her, then,” she said, before turning and walking off in the opposite direction.

“Interesting,” muttered Sebastian.

“Ah! Shitty human prince!”

Sebastian spun around again to see Agis, who had been next up the stairs after Anne. He, too, was wearing a new suit, although it was less fancy and he looked significantly less comfortable in it. He’d insisted on being allowed to keep the bow and arrows, although Collette had only allowed it as long as he pinky-promised not to actually shoot anyone.

“Ah! You!” shouted Sebastian. Then he noticed the ears. “Wait a second… Is that why you always call me human prince?”

“Shitty human prince,” insisted Agis.

“Come on, now,” said Collette, gently slapping Agis on the shoulder. “Play nice. At least while you’re in my house. As for you, Crown Prince…”

Collette folded her arms and glared. Sebastian, still several feet away, looked nervous. Then Collette smiled wide, threw her arms open, and said, “Come here and give the hostess a hug you big idiot!”

“Oh Lettie,” said Sebastian, rushing over for a hug. “It’s been far too long since I last saw you.”

“And whose fault is that, Sebby?” asked Collette, reaching up to pat his head as they hugged. “You’ve been so busy running around chasing after that Saintess. Not that I can blame you now that I’ve met her myself.”

Belle, who had been standing to one side this whole time, sighed. “Must the two of you make such spectacles of yourselves?”

“It’s not that we must,” said Collette.

“It’s just that we want to!” said Sebastian.

Belle rolled her eyes. “I don’t have the patience for this,” she said. “I’m going to go find Jay.”

“Who’s Jay?” asked Anne, as Belle walked away.

“Sir Jay Gladrovod,” explained Collette. “Her fiance.”

“Sir?” asked Anne. “Is he a knight then?”

“Technically,” said Collette.

“A knight!?” asked Agis, his hand going to his bow. “Is he much of a fighter? How does he feel about elves?”

“Woah! Down, boy!” said Collete. “Relax for a moment, will you? He was knighted as a reward for his outstanding service in the civil sector.”

“Meaning…?” said Anne.

“He’s an accountant,” said Collette. “Invented some new form of math or something, I don't know. And he's low-ranked enough that no one will bat an eyelash when he marries into her family rather than the other way around. That way Belle gets to inherit her own title and carry on the family name. Plus, since he’s not a hereditary aristocrat he doesn’t have the same bias against bastards—oh!”

“Ow!” said Sebastian, rubbing his arm where Collette had just hit him. “What was that for?”

“Sorry,” said Collette. “I just got excited. Come on, let’s go! We have to tell Nia the good news. She’s the only one who hasn’t heard yet. I assume Corvina knows, right?”

Collette looked at Anne, who took a second to catch up. Then she nodded.

“Of course she does,” said Collette.

“Wait, what’s the news?” said Sebastian.

“You’ll see, come on,” said Collette.

Collette took the lead through the party, bouncing from group to group saying her greetings, laughing at jokes, and sharing tidbits of gossip here and there. Anne, Agis, and Sebastian all followed along behind her like a bunch of royal ducklings.

Finally, the ineffable flow of the party brought them to Lady Nia Lowmal, who was leaning coolly against a wall while sipping from a flute of champagne. She wore a black sari with silver-embroidered accents, and as always she had her small round sunglasses perched on the end of her nose.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Seeing the outfit reminded Anne that Quellinia had been The Foundling’s Wings generic fantasy South-East Asia region, the same way that the Wyernwolf Empire was a generic fantasy Europe region.

Nia raised her glass to them in greeting.

“Nia, guess what?” said Collette.

“What?” asked Nia.

“The Saintess is a bastard!” said Collette. “We found out earlier.”

Nia smiled a wry smile and nodded at Anne. “Welcome to the club.”

“Wait, what?” said Sebastian. “I thought you were an orphan?”

Anne shrugged.

“We can’t tell you the details,” said Collette. “So you’ll just have to take our word for it.”

“What, why not?” said Sebastian.

“Can I ask you about the sunglasses?” Anne asked Nia, while Collette and Sebastian bickered. Anne had seen plenty of people wearing glasses since arriving in this world, but Nia’s were the first pair she’d seen with darkened lenses.

“Oh, these?” said Nia, tapping twice on the frames. “These are a rare magic item.”

“What do they do?”

“They occasionally allow me to see the truth behind hidden things.” She did not elaborate.

Anne nodded. “Cool and enigmatic,” said Anne. “I can dig it.”

The sound of instruments tuning cut through the general chatter of the ballroom as a string quartet in the corner began preparing to play.

“Oh!” said Collette when she noticed. “The dancing is about to start. If you’ll all excuse me.”

Collette strode purposefully towards the center of the room, cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting, “Grab a partner or clear the dance floor! We’re starting with a classic waltz. Don’t look at me like that George, I know you know how to waltz. Ethel, dance with George, will you?”

Anne watched her go, and when she turned back, Nia was holding out her hand.

“Would you care to dance, your eminence?” she asked.

“Hey, no fair!” said Sebastian. “I was gonna ask the Saintess to dance.”

“Looks like you missed your chance, your highness,” said Nia, not moving her proffered hand or turning her gaze away from Anne. “You’ll have to wait your turn now.”

“But… you know…” spluttered Sebastian. “She may be dressed like… like that, but she’s still a woman, after all. Wouldn’t it look better if a man was her partner? People might talk.”

Nia’s gaze still didn’t waver. “You’re paranoid,” she said to Sebastian. “This is one of Countess Collette Vostelmal’s parties. You know very well that the social laws are a bit more… lax, here in this room.”

“I’m not a very good dancer…” said Anne, hesitantly. “And I only know the following part.”

“Never fear,” said Nia, with a sly smile. “I’m an excellent leader.”

Anne finally took Nia’s hand.

“Well done, Saintess,” said Nia. “Here,” she handed her half-drunk flute of champagne to a stunned Agis before leading Anne away onto the dance floor.

Sebastian sighed and ran his fingers through his long, blonde hair. “We might as well give up now, my friend,” he said to Agis. “Because neither you nor I will ever manage to be that smooth at any moment in our lives. No one can compete with Lady Nia Lowmal on that front.”

“Hey, I can be smooth!” said Agis, who was currently looking around for somewhere he could set down the half-empty champagne flute.

Sebastian gave him a doubtful look.

“Also, who are you calling friend?” said Agis. “I’m not your friend! I—”

“Can I take that for you, sir?”

A waitress had come by with a tray. She was platinum blonde with brown eyes a sprinkling of freckles.

“Helen!” said Agis. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m working!” said Helen. “The Countess always hires extra help for her parties, and Lady Corvina is usually nice enough to let me have the night off from her employ so I can help out.”

“Why would you want a night off to work more?” asked Agis.

“The pay is excellent,” said Helen. “And the after party for the staff after the guests have gone home? Legendary.”

Now that Agis had found an actual friend to talk to, Sebastian was truly left alone to his own devices, at least for the duration of the song.

Ah, well, thought Sebastian.

Sebastian settled into a nearby chair to quietly watch the dance from a distance. Sebastian loved dancing, even just as a spectator. He loved how the lights, the music, and the twirling fabrics all melded together into a grand spectacle that was greater than any of its individual parts. There was something about this loss of individuality, this presence combined with anonymity, that Sebastian found strangely comforting.

It was in this moment of almost meditative contemplation that Sebastian suddenly realized he hadn’t seen Corvina since the Saintess had come in.

----------------------------------------

In many ways, Collette’s garden was the opposite of Corvina’s.

Where Corvina’s garden was large and open, Collette’s was small and crowded. Where Corvina’s garden had a lot of short-cut grass, Collette’s garden was full of hedges, trellises, climbing vines, and creeping moss. While Corvina’s garden smelled refreshing and clear, Collette’s garden was full of the overwhelming, heady scents of herbs and flowers.

Corvina’s garden had been built by design to be impossible to eavesdrop in, and therefore also impossible to hide in.

Collette’s garden was exceptionally easy to eavesdrop in. Which meant it was also easy to hide in.

Corvina sat on a stone bench in a little alcove, completely invisible even from the stone path that was on just the other side of a thin wall of climbing ivy.

She was surrounded by the sounds of couples, party-goers on their “secret” rendezvous, as they whispered and giggled, oblivious to how many others hid around them. How could it matter to them? Each pair lost in their own little worlds.

Corvina was alone in her alcove.

It had been a very long time since Corvina had hidden away from a party for this long.

Corvina had thought she would be fine. That she’d be able to casually chat with the Saintess as if nothing more serious were going on under the surface. That she’d be able to put on a smile and have a pleasant time. Ignoring the unspoken heaviness. That was Corvina’s specialty. It was what she was good at. There was no good reason for this time to be any different.

But this time was different. When the Saintess had walked into the room, suddenly Corvina couldn’t breathe any more. She had to get out of there.

Corvina still didn’t understand the Anne’s words about… doing what she wanted to do, not just what someone told her to. About not letting herself be used as a tool to further someone else’s goals.

It wasn’t that Corvina didn’t understand the concept of wanting things or acting for oneself, it was more that… it seemed impossible to apply the concept to herself.

If she wasn’t a tool for someone else to use, what good was she?

She was Corvina Wyernmal. She didn’t get to… she didn’t deserve to…

Her mind was a fog. She had to go back inside. She had to act normal. She couldn’t just hide out here in the garden all night.

But she also couldn’t make herself stand up or move from her spot.

She didn’t know what to do.