The eyes of all attending turned to the Imperial family entering the banquet, silence spreading like waves from dropping a stone in a pond. While it was a soiree thrown at a Grand Duke's residence, it was for a six year old girl (or two.) The arrival of the Emperor and Empress was far beyond the realms of expectation, particularly considering the relationship between the two families.
It was an open secret that the Crown Prince was born out of wedlock, and while the Empress was his mother, she had originally been betrothed to another. In fact she had still been the affianced of the current Grand Duke Rosales when she had become with child. Empress Alessia had then been married to the Emperor when he officially acknowledged her son as his as well- but the Grand Duke was already known as the Imperial cuckold by then.
Any of his children could have told, even when they truly had been six or ten, that their father never forgave an insult without being repaid. He gave some forgiveness to the royal family of the Abrua kingdom when they married their other daughter to him, the now Grand Duchess Sofia, but the placating title elevation from Duke to Grand Duke was insufficient to quell his dislike of the Emperor. Particularly as it came with no additional value or permissions, and was little more than added prestige (though the Grand Duke was very fond of prestige.)
Arianna suspected that part of the reason she had been betrothed to the Crown Prince lay in her father's need for repayment. She was the only child of the Grand Duke that was not cousin to Prince Alekai, and making an illegitimate child into the next Empress was a form of recompense that Arianna's father may have even been satisfied with.
A thought she chose to ignore, having no intention to be a pawn in her father's social ambitions. Arianna turned with the rest of the attendees of the party, and dipped into a curtsy as was appropriate for greeting the imperial family.
She was almost grateful for the weakness in her limbs, hoping that the sight of her visibly wobbling would give her an excuse to depart. Regrettably she had no such luck, being forced to remain in her curtsy as the Imperial family took their time moving through the party towards the hosts, allowing people to rise one by one.
The Emperor was also not fond of the Grand Duke, though it was clear which of them had erred and soured the relationship. Emperor Mikhail had not built an empire out of a love of sharing. Most were quite convinced that if he were able to run the empire alone, he would, if only so that he would be the only one people looked up to.
Lucia was giving Arianna a side glance every few beats, watching for the waver of her sister's limbs, and attempting to ascertain whether she needed help. Lucia was not alone in this. Most people who had seen Arianna's shaky but otherwise impeccable etiquette were watching as well as all other members of the Grand Duchy, save of course for their father who cared only about glaring at the unwelcome guests. Their fears were not unfounded, Arianna's curtsy seeming to slowly dip deeper.
Theo seemed to be considering breaking the bow he was holding in order to rescue his sister, but Arianna glared him down with the same look that her mother had used to reign them all in whenever one of them got too rowdy. She had never been one for sympathy and she would be damned if she gave the Emperor what he so obviously wanted- a member of the Rosales breaking discipline to escape the discomfort of the prolonged greeting.
Still, she was grateful that she was too young for more than a light dusting of powder on her skin to hide the most obvious signs of extended illness. It meant that the sweat starting to bead at her hairline and drip down her forehead was not drawing lines through her cosmetics, though it was not less obvious because of it.
Still, she kept her curtsy as best as she was able, waiting with impeccable etiquette and near absurd levels of willpower, as she counted the steps the Imperial family took. Fifteen. Twenty seven. Thirty three.
It only took about fifty steps to cross over to where the Rosales family stood, and yet it seemed that the Imperial family became exponentially slower as they came closer. It should have been a momentous occasion, the first time that the Rosales daughters would be presented to the Imperial family since their consecrations as infants in front of the Gods. Instead, Arianna could already read the gossip columns in the papers that would be printed the next morning. Her glorious entry into society would be overshadowed by the dissonance between the two families. They would read "Imperial family greets subjects while Rosales family fumes in impatience." Or "Rosales children fail their family, lacking in dignity." Or the papers would say nothing at all. They would never dare criticize the Imperial family, no matter how blatantly they were at fault.
Arianna never had been able to discover exactly how the Imperial family kept the papers in line, though the Crown Prince would eventually choose violence as his method.
Thirty eight. Fourty two. Fourty five. Fourty seven. Fourty eight. A beat of nothing. Fourty nine. Two beats of nothing. Fifty.
Finally, the Imperial family stood in front of the Rosales family, and stopped.
The tension laid across the room, blanketing them and dulling all sound until everyone in the room could hear the sound of the Emperor taking a deep breath as though going to speak... And letting it go. He repeated it several more times, tempting the children into believing that they would be allowed to stand again.
Arianna had the sinking feeling that if she and Lucia were not twenty years older in mind than in body, they would have immediately fallen for it, and been made a cruel joke. As it was, Theo was the only one even slightly unprepared, and he had already met the Emperor enough times to at the very least know not to exit his bow until his mother finished her curtsy.
Finally, the Emperor gave a great big smile as though he was just playing around with a friend and waved for them to stand. "Grand Duke Samuel, your home and family are as beautiful as always-" He started to say, before all attention was diverted from him.
By a six year old girl attempting to stand and her sister diving to catch her as she fell to the ground, eyes rolling back into her head.