You've never seen the feast hall so crowded. Every noble and wealthy magnate in Hondelet with an ounce of cachet fought tooth and nail to secure a space within this Hall to curry favor with a generously minded King and the most militarily powerful noble house in all of Brenton. The Gramercys alone included in the feast easily number threescore. Around and about them servants are flittering and gusting like leaves in a wind.
You feel a bit like a captain raising sails into a gale. Yo ho, you think to yourself, letting the image impel you forward.
You espy the King and Queen ensconced on their thrones across the room, tending to a gaggle of luminaries; but Prinxe Hail, surprising no one, has vacated their appointed throne and is mingling freely amid the crowd, not too far from where you join the throng.
The Heir catches sight of you mid-sentence with their companions and raises their glass a touch in silent greeting.
You pantomime taking Hail's glass from across the room, guzzling it down, and holding it back out for a refill.
To your great satisfaction, the Prinxe snorts with laughter right in the middle of their conversation, greatly startling their fellows. Let's call that a good omen, you think, turning away.
You nearly bump into the broad chest of Lord Bisqueath as you turn away.
"Aha, ho ho!" the merry Exchequer guffaws, clapping both your shoulders. "God save thee, toothsome fool!"
"God preserve thee as well, M'Lord," you say, sidestepping away from the lusty lord's wandering hands and turning the gesture into a flourishing bow. "At least, let him preserve the parts of thee that thy imbibing has not already pickled."
You banter back and forth with the burly nobleman, drawing some attention and laughter from those in earshot. After but a few moments, His Lordship bids you adieu and the eyes look elsewhere. He locks a meaningful stare on your face, and you give a jaunty little salute in reply, not letting your expression betray anything.
Your heart is racing. Do real spies feel thus all the time, living a secret life in public? You hadn't realized what a luxury it was to be able to have that separation between onstage and off….
Onward