Ageless

Chapter 34

As it turned out, banquet planning was an avenue that had not been significantly affected by Caollin's departure, and steamed forward like a well-oiled locomotive. It appeared to be the one area that the disastrously dysfunctional royal council remained competent, with Hendrik taking point.

Nobody could deny the bard's flair for showmanship, and his ability to turn a dinner on a small budget into an extravagant affair. His bright eyes lit up when he worked, piecing together the evening like an engineer drawing up a blueprint, delegating tasks amongst the group regardless of their title and status. The rest of the councilmen nodded and followed suit; perhaps they were as mesmerized by the normally apathetic man's fervor as me. After all, there were whispers around the palace about the bard's past record of parties, many referred as if they were nights of legend.

"In truth, Malstrom hates attending banquets and celebrations, especially after returning from a day of travel," Hendrik had explained, several days prior to the banquet. "He appreciates grand gestures held in his name though, so it's important that the banquet look grand and impressive, even if only at a surface level. The King never makes it before the third course, and leaves well before the last, so we'll spend most of our budget on an extravagant middle. The appetizers and desserts though...we'll skip those. And the hired singers will be rubbish. Not a chance he stays for any music and dancing afterward, and he hates any song with lyrics. I want a full orchestra in the pit tonight though, but seasoned professionals this time, and not those pimply-faced amateurs from the scholar's college again."

* * *

I entered the banquet hall that night, alone by my request, hobbling on a single make-shift crutch that Mia had crafted from spare pieces of cloth and wood with the help of a local blacksmith. Though I had taken my meals in that hall every day for the last three weeks, the room looked completely foreign that night.

Tall maroon banners hung from the rafters of the spacious room, extending all the way down to the floor. Long wooden tables were arranged to face the head table in the front, elevated on a dais, looking down over the rest of the room. Silver platters were heaped with stacks of food, a servant standing near each one holding a brightly colored carafe of wine. With some effort I heaved my stiff legs up onto the dais and found my seat of honor, at the front and center of the room.

An aide from the church was waiting at the ready behind my seat. He had been assigned to help me out at the request of the high priestess Margaret Velton, and was to navigate me through some of the more difficult political encounters I was to meet that night. "Just smile and nod dear," Margaret had instructed. "Your base-born upbringing is common knowledge at this point, so expectations will not be high, but it wouldn't kill you to act a lady as best you can."

During parties in college, I had never strayed far from my group of friends or Malcolm. My husband was noticeably absent from the celebration, and even in the event that Hendrik and myself were still talking to one another, he had been relegated to the back to sit with un-distinguished guests, leaving me to fend for myself without a familiar face for support. I had hoped, perhaps vainly, that I could slink back into the shadows and observe the banquet as a wallflower, but it appeared that I was a key attraction of tonight's festivities. As soon as the guests began filing into the hall, I was approached by a vast assortment of well dressed nobles. Scribes, wealthy merchants, ministers, clergy men, tax collectors, dukes, earls, barons-- all of them wishing to speak to their new queen.

To his credit, my aide performed his duties admirably, deflecting difficult questions and apologizing for my numerous failures to observe customary greetings, carrying the brunt of each conversation and lightening the mood. Some of my visitors looked sincere, others clearly doing it as a formality, but most faces were above all, curious. They all wanted to know about the Outside.