I adjusted the collar of my dress uniform. I could never manage to make it sit right. Maybe this was why the Princess had assigned servants to try and dress me. For a fraction of a second, I regretted chasing them out. Then that fraction passed, and I remembered that I was no foppish noble, no matter what titles I get. I had dressed myself for my entire life, and I wasn't about to let that change just because I couldn't make my collar sit right. I heard the door open behind me, and without turning around, I focussed on the part of the door that I could see from the reflection in the mirror. The first thing I had done in this room, after chasing out the servants, was position the mirror so that it was not within any direct lines of sight from the door or windows, but still gave me a way to see the doors and windows without needing to turn. If an intruder were to come in, I would be able to see them no matter where they came from, but they would not know that I know they are there, giving me the advantage of surprise. The Princess was walking through the door, and seemed surprised to find the room empty of servants, and the mirror not where it had been left. However, she was able to immediately see where I had moved the mirror, and myself, despite the fact that I had moved it away from the line of sight of the door. Interesting.
"Where are your servants?" the Princess gasped, walking over to me.
"I sent them away," I said gruffly, still trying to fix my collar. I'm not usually this much of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to clothes. Most of my clothes end up in disarray, covered in mud and blood anyways, so I never put too much effort into making them perfect, just presentable. But I suppose that I was nervous. My hands were shaking slightly, which did not help with adjusting the collar. Tonight was the night that I was going to "debut" to both the nation and the international community. The Princess and Mourastor had impressed upon me the importance of this gala. I had to be the perfect demigod, to convince all the ambassadors and diplomats that I alone was enough of a deterrent to prevent them from trying to invade us and take my newly earned Magic Knight armor and sword. "Can you help me with this?" I sighed, gesturing to my collar.
The Princess stepped up to me, raising her hands to my collar, "This is why I had servants assigned to you. This uniform is intentionally difficult to put on, so that one needs servants to put on, it is a sign-"
"A sign of wealth to be able to wear one of these, and wealth means power and respect, I know," I sighed. So much of my new life seemed to be concerned with appearances, moreso than with fact. I have barely been living this life for a few weeks now, and I am already tired of it. This does not bode well for my future. The Princess smoothed my collar before giving and satisfied nod and stepping away, gesturing for me to look in the mirror. The damn thing finally sat right. I took a deep breath, and then turned to face the Princess, my arms spread to giver her a good look at me. "Anything missing?" I asked.
The Princess stood up, and paced in a circle around me, making a show of looking me up and down. She reached up and smoothed the shoulders of my uniform. "All we need now, is to make sure that you have your courage and your charisma with you," she said, "That is what you will need going in there."
I took a deep breath, "I always have my courage with me, and all the charisma I could ever need can come from you."
She smiled at me, "Your charisma does appear to be with you. Good. But flirting is a different matter than actual courtly manner."
My shock at being accused of flirting must have shown on my face, as the Princess' eyes boggled at me. "Did you not realize... never mind, it appears that I need to keep you within arms reach for this event."
I grunted in assent, "It will be soothing to know that I can rely on you."
The Princess nodded, "You will likely be out of your depth here. Everyone here will be watching you, trying to see all of your weaknesses and strengths, your loyalties and fears. If you were a more experienced politician, I would tell you to not let anything show, but you are still a political novice, so instead, simply try to emphasize two things. Emphasize your loyalty to the kingdom of Kours, and emphasize your skill as a warrior. The notion of a Son of Kharikhan worshipping Kholikhar is theoogically... contradictory, so do not bring it up. I know you will not lie about it on pain of death, but please, please, please find a way to not talk about it."
The idea of hiding my faith was ... uncomfortable for me. I could see the obvious necessity of it. My being a demigod is the best possible way to discourage further invasions. It was also unequivocally true that it was more important to protect the lives of all the innocents that would be lost in an invasion than it is to protect my own honour, and yet I cannot help but feel something greasy in my soul when I think about lying like this, even by omission.
The Princess finished making some other miniscule adjustments to my clothing, and then took me by the arm. She held tightly, I was not sure whether she was trying to calm herself, or trying to stop me from running away. Arm in arm, we marched to the Great Hall, where my debut ball was being held. Apparently, we were supposed to arrive last, giving everyone else at the ball the opportunity to see us arrive, and make what judgements they will. We arrived before the doors of the Great Hall, and the Princess signaled to the servants to announce us. For once, I was grateful for the ritual, as it gave me a moment to take a deep breath and center myself. The servant ran through the servant's entrance to announce us, and then returned, signaling to the other servants to open the door. As the doors opened, the Princess tightened her grip on me, nearly constricting my bloodflow. I placed my hand over hers, and nodded at her when her eyes met mine. I tried to say with my eyes that she didn't need to worry about me running away. I did have the sense that I was walking into a predator's open maw, but I would not let one of my few allies walk in alone. She seemed to understand, and loosened her grip without letting go. We walked into the Hall together, ready to face whatever enemies that we must face.