Magic and Gold

1: Frivolities

"All Hail, King Ector the Second of House Monrova, Ruler of Alacean and the White Sea." The crowd applauded as the King appeared on the balcony above. He paused, allowing the gathered peoples to acknowledge his regal stance and attire before he walked down the stairs. The ballroom was full of admirers eagerly waiting to use his attendance as clout among their absent friends. Three other balls had been held in the past fortnight alone, yet everybody was in attendance for Uesli's Day. It was sacrilegious, and even worse, bad luck to offend the god of the future. Much less importantly, it was a chance to swank about, boasting personal wealth: an opportunity never to be passed by.

As the crowd died down, the herald continued, "And his children: Crown Prince Tristain of House Monrova, heir to the Kingdom—" I looked over at my brother, who linked our arms. He was incredibly handsome, with shiny copper hair and a smile I had seen many swoon over. The only marring feature on his face was the jarring scar that ran from his lip to his chin, which looked almost gruesome on its worst days. Some days I found my eyes drawn to it, though. It reminded me that even my beautiful brother was not perfect. It was hard to remember that almost nothing here was real, and I took any reminder I could get that the Court of Nobles was a facade. No one was as perfect as they wanted to seem.

"And the Princess Guinevere of House Monrova." The herald left out was that I was heir to nothing except a loveless marriage to secure court alliances. Because of my status as a woman and a younger sibling, I had been cheated at birth. I was a princess with a million things in my possession, but they never belonged to me. My father owned it all, and one day everything I cared about would pass to my brother. Tristain would be a kind king, especially to me, but that didn't change the facts. The Court always left out harsh truths.

Eyes stared from every corner of the room as my family walked down the stairs. As the beloved Princess, I had to vigilantly work towards perfection in everything I did. I mentally chanted the same thing as always: Don't trip, don't trip, please don't fall down the stairs. I had a lot of practice walking in heels, but when stilettos were combined with layers upon layers of pink frill, a fall was possible for anyone at any time. I could already see the headlines: "Graceful Princess in Disgrace after Major Fall at Uesli's Ball," working title. I knew the topic of every conversation and every news article would be of my humiliation. I loved skirts, heels, and looking beautiful, but it was not the most practical ensemble.

I made it down the last stair and released my skirts with a clandestine sigh of relief. Tables were set up with more types of food than I could count: creamy soups in large ornate pots, salads garnishing the edges of the table, and a grand turkey centerpiece in the middle, dressed with a mix of sauces and herbs I could smell from across the room. I wasn't allowed to eat much, but my favorite part of Uesli's Day was looking at the gravity-defying desserts that got taller by the year. The bakers were always trying to outdo each other with rainbow cakes swirled with buttercream frosting, chocolate tarts, and stacks of truffles held up by mysterious magic.

Everything in the ballroom was embellished to perfection. No one dared disrespect one of our three Gods, arguably the most important and unpredictable of them all. The god of the future, often depicted adorned with colorful robes, a shadowy hood, and a wreath of laurels, was the only one who knew what the future held. Fate could deem our death tomorrow, and no one would know nor be able to stop it. No one had a say in when their time came, and so Uesli's Day served as a reminder that we had to do the best we could with the days we had. All we could do was pray and hope to make a difference in the world before it was too late.

I felt calmer in the presence of Uesli's soft colors that flooded the room with light and life. The ballroom had high ceilings painted with scenes and landscapes of Alacean. My favorite was a small painting in the corner of the White Ocean's waves lapping against the shore. The foam and crest of the waves looked so real I wanted to reach up and dip my fingers in. I did not see the ocean as much as a would like, but oftentimes at balls I would stare at this painting because I liked the ceiling better than the people around me.