Vankara (Book 1) (13 page)

“Good evening,
Miss Inara.  Will you be attending the party for the princess?”  MJ29 asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it
for the world,” Inara replied sincerely.

Inara sat the box
she held in her hands on the bed and opened it.  I watched her movements
through the mirror but couldn’t see what she was taking out of the box since
her back was to me.  When she turned around she held a crown made of gold
filigree, decorated with a multitude of small diamonds and amethysts just like
my hair.

MJ29 walked to
Inara and held out her hands. 

“Thank you for
bringing it, Miss Inara.”

“You’re welcome.” 
Inara handed the crown to the automaton and turned her back to me again
reaching inside the box for something else.  When she turned back around, I saw
it was a smaller version of my crown.

“Dena almost
ready?” Inara asked me.

“I’m not sure,” I
answered, watching MJ29 place the crown on my head.  The physical weight of it
was slight, but the weight of responsibility I felt from its presence was heavy
indeed.

“I’ll go take a
peak,” Inara strode to the connecting door leading to Dena’s room from mine. 
As soon as she opened the door I could hear Dena saying, “No Emi, no!”

I didn’t get a
chance to hear the rest of Dena’s protestation because Inara closed the door
behind her.  It seemed odd that the wall would block so much sound between our
rooms but it was the least of my worries.

I hadn’t thought
to ask Gabriel what would be expected of me at Dena’s birthday celebration. 
Would I have to give a speech?  If I did, what would I be expected to say? 
Surely matters of state wouldn’t intrude on what was supposed to be a fun
filled night of frivolity for the little princess.  I hoped my first night of
trying to pass myself off as a Queen wouldn’t be marred by my inability to
address a crowd properly.

While MJ29 was
fastening the row of buttons at the back of my dress, Inara opened the
connecting door looking as if she had just been mauled by a wild creature.  Her
top hat was tilted haphazardly on her head with strands of her once neatly
coiffed blonde hair sticking out in odd places, buttons were undone on the
front of her jacket and beads of sweat glistened across her brow.

“Something has to
be done about your daughter,” Inara declared, completely out of breath.

I tried to stifle
my laughter behind a hand but failed miserably.  Inara stuck her tongue out at
me and closed the door behind her blocking out the sounds of Dena yelling, “No
crown!”

Inara walked over
to the vanity and plopped down in the chair.  She took her hat off and pulled
out a handkerchief from an inside jacket pocket to wipe off the sheen of sweat
from her face.

“Thank God for
that spell you had cast between her room and yours.  It certainly comes in
handy when she’s having one of her fits.”

It hadn’t even
occurred to me the explanation behind why such a seemingly simply wall could
block out so much noise was because of a spell.  I knew having a spell cast on
personal property was extremely expensive.  Only the wealthy could afford to
have one of the mages from the Royal College come to their home and cast
whatever spell they wanted.  It wasn’t something the Harker family could have
ever dreamed of having done in their home, not even the Pews were rich enough.

From what my
father had told me, mages were born with a finite amount of magic.  Once it was
used up, they became as ordinary as everyone else. It was certainly a deterrent
to keep those with magic from preying on those without.  No mage wanted to
waste their magic so they charged an exorbitant amount of money to cast
requested spells.  It was their way of building up funds for when they no
longer had magic to barter with.  It made me wonder if the Queen had to pay for
their services or if she was exempt from such fees.  After all, she was the one
who personally paid all the expenses to keep the college free to all with magic
who wanted to study and live within its protected walls.

After MJ29
finished buttoning the back of my dress, she walked to the bedroom door leading
out to the drawing room and turned to me.

“Have a good
evening, your majesty.  I will return later to help you prepare for bed.”  She
curtseyed and promptly left the room.  Inara was smoothing down a few loose
strands of hair around her ears when I turned around to look at her reflection
in the mirror.

“You know, since
you’ve decided to stop mourning over Fredrick, maybe it would be a good idea to
put that spell to the use it was meant for.”

It took me a
moment to piece together her subtle innuendo.

“I’m not ready for
another relationship,” I replied, silently hoping I had guessed right.

Inara rolled her
eyes at me in the mirror.  “Why not?  It’s been ages since you had a man in
your bed, Em.  Besides, it’s not like you don’t have a willing partner at the
ready.”

“And who exactly
are you referring to?”

“Chromis, of
course,” Inara put her top hat back on and turned around in the chair to face
me.  “All you’d have to do is snap your fingers to have that man crawling on
willing hands and knees into your bed.”

“He’s not someone
I intend to trifle with, Inara.”

“Well,” Inara
tilted her head up in thought.  “I know.”  She looked back at me.  “How about Fallon? 
He was more than willing once upon a time.  I’m sure you could weave your spell
around him again.”

“Absolutely not,”
I said, a little too stridently.  I could see in Inara’s eyes she was taking my
response as something positive when in actuality it was meant just as said.

“Well then, your
options are a bit limited,” Inara said, standing from her chair.  “I suppose
there’s always Gabriel…”

“Oh, please, dear
Lord stop her,” I beseeched the heaven’s.  “Enough, Inara.  I can take care of
my own love life.”

“Just making
suggestions,” she shrugged, standing from the chair.

“A love affair is
the last thing on my mind,” I told her.  “I just want to get through this night
and make sure Dena has a good time.”

“Oh she will.” 
Inara’s face lit up with excitement.  “Have you seen the tent yet?”

I shook my head.

Inara’s smile
widened.  “Then you’re both in for a treat.”

Chapter 8

By the time Emily
brought Dena to my room, Fallon and Gabriel were waiting for us in the drawing
room when we walked out.  Fallon was dressed in a more resplendent version of
the Queen Marshall’s uniform which entailed a knee length leather burgundy
jacket with gold buttons embossed with the Vankaran seal down the front.  There
were a few pins of valor decorating the front of the jacket over Fallon’s heart
but I didn’t have the slightest inclination what they signified.

Gabriel’s
appearance was the most shocking for me.  For the first time since I had known
him, Gabriel seemed to have discovered the use of a brush.  His hair was neat
and fashionably slicked back.  He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a white
shirt and cravat.  Gabriel had always been handsome to me, even when I was a
child, but that night I felt like I was seeing him through a different set of
eyes.  The irony of my thought wasn’t lost on me.

When we ladies
walked into the room, the men stood to greet us.  Gabriel beamed with unabashed
pride.  I knew he was proud to see Dena willingly holding my hand as we walked
towards him as mother and child.  I took a chance and glanced to see Fallon’s
expression.  His brow was furrowed into deep lines as he stared at us.  I
couldn’t tell if he was confused about something or mad.  The man was a
complete enigma to me.

“Ladies,” Gabriel
bowed at the waist.  “You all look lovely this evening.  Is everyone ready to
join the party?”

“Party?” Dena
questioned, looking up at me.

I looked down into
her cornflower eyes.  “Yes, we’re having a birthday party for you.  Would you
like to go see it?”

“Okay,” she
answered before sticking her thumb in her mouth and keeping a tight hold of my
hand.

Fallon led the way
out of the Queen’s suite.  Standing outside the door were two Queen’s guards
dressed in black leather uniforms with silver buttons on the jacket forming a
V-shape and knee-high black leather boots.  I wanted to ask Gabriel why we
needed the extra protection but didn’t voice my inquiry since I was expected to
know the answer to my own question as Queen.

When we reached
the back gardens of the palace, we were met by a throng of people.  I noticed a
few automatons in the sea of humanity offering up drinks and h’orderves on
silver platters.  A band was playing somewhere but I couldn’t physically see
them.  As our little entourage passed through, the people divided into two
sections, clearing a path for us.  I heard a multitude of “good evening, your
majesty” and “happy birthday, princess” as we made our way to the large gold
and maroon striped tent set up for the evening’s entertainment. 

Near the entrance
of the tent were a group of acrobats, six on each side of the red carpeted path
leading into the tent, on tall wooden poles painted gold using long cuts of
sheer fabric in a rainbow of colors to twirl around the poles, twisting their
bodies into almost inhuman shapes.  They were all dressed in the same white
form fitting costumes with their faces painted in colorful mosaics transforming
them into pieces of abstract art.  I felt Dena’s hold on my hand tighten.  When
I looked down at her, her eyes were wide but not fearful.  She seemed more in
awe of the acrobats than anything else.

As we neared the
tent entrance, an acrobat perched at the top of the pole on our right had all
of his fabric wrapped around his waist.  He leapt from his platform with arms
splayed out in front of him like a diver and used the fabric around his waist
to tumble down through the air until he landed quite gracefully on the ground
in front of us.  It must have been a pre-planned demonstration because our
guards made room for the acrobat to land.  The entertainer walked towards Dena
with a single red rose in his hands and knelt in front of her on one knee,
presenting her with his small delicate offering.

Dena smiled at the
man and took his gift.

As the circus
performer stood back up, our eyes met briefly, causing me to feel a moment of
trepidation.  Within his brown pools, I saw pity. 

The acrobat
scampered off quickly to rejoin his compatriots within the tent.

As we made our way
inside the tent, the blare of trumpets marked our entrance.

“Ladies and
gentleman,” a man I could not see said over the noise of the crowd and
trumpets.  “May I present Queen Emma Vankar and the birthday girl we’re all
here for, Princess Dena.”

I had thought the
crowd outside the tent was large, but the mass of people awaiting us inside the
tent could have easily populated a large village.  We were quickly led to a
dais at the north end of the tent.  Three thrones of gold sat there, two large
with a smaller one directly in front of and between them, each covered with a
maroon velvet cushion and facing the center of the circus ring.

One of the thrones
was already occupied.

Aleksander Chromis
sat majestically on his throne as if he were already king of Vankara.  He was
dressed in a lavish black military style suit.  The jacket was trimmed with a
gold and red threaded brocade down the front dotted with a series of silver
buttons and had a high red silk collar embroidered with gold thread.  He wore a
half-red and half-gold silk sash around his waist cinched in by a thin black
leather belt with a large intricately carved gold buckle in the front.  Two
burly men I did not recognize stood to the left of his chair.

All three men came
to their feet as we neared the dais.

“You look
completely ravishing this evening,” Aleksander said holding out his hand to me.

I was hesitant to
give Aleksander my hand but thought it would seem impolite to refuse such a
socially innocent gesture, especially in front of so many onlookers.  I
stretched my arm out and placed my hand into his.  He leaned down and kissed it
with a feather light touch of his lips.

“Thank you for
your kind complement, Aleksander,” I replied, trying my best to act regal as he
stood back up captivating me with his smoldering ice blue eyes.

He held onto my
hand for a few seconds more than seemed appropriate before reaching down for
Dena, picking her up easily and gingerly perched her on his hip like he was
used to being around young children.

“Happy birthday,
my one and only niece.  Are you ready to watch the circus performers?”

Dena nodded
vigorously causing her head full of curly locks to bounce excitedly around her
shoulders.

Aleksander sat her
on the small throne between our own.  Four chairs had been set up to the left
of my throne.  Fallon took the one right beside mine while Gabriel, Inara and
Emily took up the remaining seats.  The guards who came with us positioned
themselves strategically along the dais presumably to block any unwanted
visitors.

Once we were
seated, the lights in the tent dimmed and a spotlight shone brightly in the
center ring where the master of ceremonies was standing.  He was dressed in an outlandish
costume of black and gold silk with puffy sleeves, pantaloons and curly toed
shoes.  He wore a floppy hat of the same pattern on his head and his face was
painted white with red and gold diamond shapes over either eye.  He spoke
through a gold horn.

“Queen, Princess
and honored guests,” he said bowing at the waist in our direction.  “Ladies and
gentleman, children of all ages,” he turned addressing the entire crowd
gathered underneath the tent.  “Tonight you will see things you only thought
possible in your imagination.  Tonight, the unreal will become real to
tantalize your minds and hearts with otherworldly possibilities.  Please, sit
back in your seats and enjoy the adventure of a lifetime!”