The next morning, I am woken up by a knock on the door. I get up from my bed and notice that I had slept upside down yesterday, with my legs resting on the pillows and my head at the foot of the bed. The corner of my mouth quirks up at that realization. Shaking my head, I walk over to and open the door. Behind it is Tassa, holding a little bundle in front of her and keeping her head lowered.
"Good morning Master Arell. The Mistress informed me to give this to you," she hands the bundle over to me, and with her head still lowered, continues, "She also told me to remind you that the meeting is today and that you should begin to get ready. Lastly, breakfast will be served soon."
The moment she's done she hurries away, looking as though she could not bear staying in my presence any longer than necessary. For a moment I consider calling her back and telling her that I don't mind her telling Vanessa about the incident yesterday; in the end, I decided that she will figure it out eventually and go back into the room.
Once the door is shut behind me, I take a look at the bundle Vanessa had sent. It is a set of new clothes. I scan the clothes appreciatively as I muse about how fast the tailor was. In the end, I drape it carefully on the bed and go to the bathroom. Once I am done bathing, I change into the clothes and take a look at myself in the small vanity mirror. My opinion: not bad. The clothes fit really well and are fancy enough for someone to mistake me for a noble if they do not know any better. With my preparations done, I leave the room.
When I get to the dining room, I notice a few maids clearing away some dishes. It seems Vanessa had not bothered to wait for me and ate breakfast on her own. Not wanting to slow her down, I quickly wolf down my breakfast and leave soon after.
I head to the sitting room to wait for her, and fortunately, I don't have to wait for too long before she arrives. The moment I see her, I can't help but appreciate the sight in front of me. Compared to what I have seen her wear the past few days, I can tell that she really made an effort to look good today. She is wearing a beautiful red and gold dress, with matching jewelry which produces the overall effect of making her look stunning.
Noticing the look on my face, she walks over to me with a coy smile. "So, how do how do I look?"
"Beautiful," I reply, honestly. "Are you ready? We should probably start leaving."
She nods and begins to walk toward the door. "You're right, we probably should leave. Come on, the carriage is outside."
Together, we leave the house and I spot the carriage she had spoken about. It is a fancy four-wheeled carriage, the kind I only see nobles and extremely rich merchants use, and one which is very different from the carriage we had used yesterday when she took me to the tailor.
"Is the carriage yours?" I can't help but ask. I had heard of people renting carriages before, and considering that this wasn't here yesterday, I can't help but be curious as to whether she rented this one specially for the occasion today.
"Yes, though I rarely use it. I consider it to be a bit of a waste if I'm being honest. Still, it proves itself useful from time to time."
"Where do you usually keep them? The carriages? I'm pretty sure there's nowhere in the mansion where they can be kept?" I ask as I open the door, before making way for her to enter first.
"They're kept somewhere not too far from here. I keep telling myself that I'll make room for them at the mansion but so far I've been too lazy to do so. Maybe I'll get around to it before the year is over."
"Before the year is over?" I say amused, "If you're willing to procrastinate that much you might as well have said you'll get to it before you die."
Once we're settled within, the driver starts moving. We spend the rest of the ride calmly discussing various topics, but mostly speculating about what the meeting today is being held for. Vanessa believes that the King is calling us over to prepare us for war with Bosinwa but I am not too sure about that, especially considering that yesterday, Willos had said the meeting was called because of him. I mention Willos's words to her, but it doesn't change her opinion.
"I've heard things from my partners lately, neither the King nor Bosinwa's Monarch will admit it, but they've been making various small moves which I believe are just the prelude to war. Willos is probably nothing more than a catalyst. Whatever it is he has discovered this time has probably just accelerated the time until the war is declared, but no matter what, there is no way this isn't the prelude to war."
When we get to the Palace, I am not surprised to see countless carriages similar to ours parked. We get down and as I look around, I notice a few other people also just arriving. I am an acquaintance of most of them, but that is the extent of my relationship with them. I greet them, and they greet me back, their faces breaking into wide smiles as they begin walking toward me.
My heart clenches as I have a premonition of the conversations about to happen. "Oh Arell, can you tell me more about how you were able to save Liadel," or, "…you know, I heard about what happened to you in Viola," or even, "If it isn't the Blue Fairy himself, I've heard a lot about your feats…"
Thankfully, the next moment, Vanessa appears by my side and takes hold of my arm before carting me off towards the Palace, making sure to give little polite greetings to those who had been trying to meet me. I smile apologetically at them as Vanessa leads me past them, but in my heart, I am more than grateful to Vanessa. The longer I can avoid conversations like those I expect, the better.
Just as we enter the Vestibule, we are met by a maid and instructed to go to the Great Hall, apparently, the Council Chamber is far too small for the large gathering he had called today. We are just about to leave when I hear someone enthusiastically call out my name.
"Arell! I knew I would find you here. It's been so long."
I turn around and see a very familiar face. Amelia Ordis. She had become Sadabi two years after me, but that didn't stop her from soon becoming one of the leading figures in House Ordis's younger generation.
Her eyes flash toward Vanessa, who is still holding on to my arm, and after a brief pause she lets out a very bright smile. "Miss Vanessa, how are you? I heard you still haven't gotten married. You should fix that, you aren't getting any younger after all."
Vanessa retorts, her voice cold, "Neither are you, Miss Amelia."
Amelia's smile becomes a notch brighter. "True, true, but unlike you, I still have a long life ahead of me. Make haste Vanessa, or soon you'll be too old for anything."
Even though she refuses to reply this time, I can feel Vanessa's rage. Knowing she probably wouldn't be able to control her tongue if she decides to reply, I nod toward Amelia and turn to leave, however, the next moment, I feel Amelia latch on to my other arm. Almost immediately I feel my heart drop. My mind begins running as it tries to figure out a way for me to extricate myself from this situation.
The King had invited everyone here for a serious discussion. If I were to burst into the Great Hall with a woman on each hand, it could cause a scandal. When it was just Vanessa, it was still acceptable to an extent, after all, everyone knows how close we were; but with the addition of Amelia, well, it turns into something else. Thankfully, at that moment, Vanessa lets go of my arm.
"So Arell," Amelia says as we resume walking toward the Great Hall, "I heard you beat up two of my uncles. And not just the normal ones, but Elders. That's pretty impressive." I make a random sound in reply and she turns to look at me. "Might I ask," she says, "What exactly caused the fight?"
For a few seconds, I remain silent. "We wanted the same thing, but only one person could have it, hence the fight."
A thoughtful look appears on her face. "Hmm, so you can defeat the flame incarnation. No wonder father was so worked up. That reminds me after I heard of your return yesterday, I decided to throw you a small party later this night. Will I have the honor of seeing you there?"
"I'm not sure I will be able to-"
"Come on, Arell," she interrupts, "You haven't been in the capital for over five years, and now that you're here you want to become a recluse? That isn't right."
"He'll probably be tired after the meeting today," Vanessa interjects, "so why would he decide to attend a party when he could be at home, resting."
Amelia shoots Vanessa a look before letting out a small sigh. "Fine, I guess I'll have to reschedule." After that, she predictably begins to ask me questions about my previous feats: like how I saved the residents of Liadel.
She makes no effort to hide her interest in me and only a blind man wouldn't notice, but I have no intention to reciprocate her feelings. I might be mistaken, but she first started showing her interest in me around the time House Ordis first took note of me. Some part of me noticed the coincidence and immediately started trying to rationalize it before coming to the following conclusions: first, I am overthinking things, or second, House Ordis is trying to use her to draw me into its ranks. When I first received the King's letter and realized what coming back to the capital would mean, some part of me had hoped that during the years I had spent away she would have transferred her affections to someone else. Obviously, I hoped wrong.
When we finally reached the entrance to the Great Hall, she leaves my arm alone -bringing relief to my troubled heart- and pushes open the door.