A Beast's Tale

Chapter 29

“Good morning, Prince Chevalier!” Ivetta called cheerfully at nine o’clock.

“No, it’s not,” I grumbled, unmoving. The foreign princes would be arriving later today, just before the ball, and I was dreading the whole affair, for more reasons than usual.

“Not with that attitude, it won’t be. I was thinking about putting together gift baskets for the foreign princes. Do you have any suggestions, your highness?”

“Hmph.” She always had to be so kind, so thoughtful. I rolled onto my back and rubbed my eyes as she opened the bureau drawers. “That isn’t necessary.”

“Well, no, it’s not, but I thought it would be nice. You and the other princes could sign cards for them, too. It’s just a way to start their visit off on friendly terms, don’t you think?” She set my clothes on the bench and met my eyes as I sat up. I made no effort to disguise my distaste for the idea, but her green eyes were dancing happily.

“I hope you’re not going to give them that face, Prince Chevalier,” she said, her smile unphased. “This is a goodwill gala, after all.”

“It’s not going to be a celebratory party like you think,” I muttered.

“Of course not, but I’ll leave the politics to you, your highness. Is it alright if I go now? Before the head maid misses me?”

I smirked. “You didn’t tell her.”

“I’m trying to establish friendly terms with her, too, Prince Chevalier. Although that may be more difficult than pleasing the foreign princes.”

I stood up, stretching. “Go. If I need anything, I’ll call you.”

“Yes, your highness.”

I couldn’t help but smile after she left. As much as I hated the idea of her waiting on the foreign princes, and as nervous as I knew she was about it, she was throwing herself into this role as enthusiastically as ever and making it her own. We’d never given gift baskets to foreign dignitaries before, at least not to my knowledge, and yet here she was, thinking up ways to make everybody happy.

I got dressed and ate my breakfast, and then I headed back to my office for my own last-minute preparations. Clavis, Nokto, and Luke were all present, without a trace of their usual light-hearted joking. Our business had just concluded when Ivetta’s familiar knock came to the door at lunchtime. She knew better than to come to my office without my permission, so I was less irritated than I was intrigued. Clavis answered the door for her.

“What brings you here, Ivetta?” he asked, smiling as he let her in. They all smiled. It was hard not to when her green eyes were shining like this.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m glad to find you all together. I’d like it if you could all sign these cards for the foreign princes.” She handed me the three envelopes in her hand, her excitement barely contained and palpable. “And I thought I should run my ideas for the gift baskets past you, Prince Chevalier, just in case I missed anything.”

“Gift baskets?” Nokto asked, chuckling as he followed her to the desk. “We don’t want them to be so comfortable that they stay, Ivetta.”

“You’re even cuter when you’re like this,” Luke said, patting her on top of the head.

She blushed. “Prince Luke…”

“Did you make these cards?” Clavis asked, taking one and looking it over. It was elegant but simple, with a prince’s name on the front and a message extending greetings and well wishes on the inside.

“Yes, your highness. Sariel gave me the paper. It’s a bit more plain than I would like, but it’s still better than regular parchment.”

“What were your ideas?” I asked coolly as I signed the cards, careful not to look at her bright smile. She had a beautiful cursive script.

“For Prince Silvio, I was thinking of a selection of local wares, like pastries, candies, and jewelry, all in shades of blue for Benitoite. Does he like to read, your highness?”

“I couldn’t say.” Signing my name could only take so long. I sat back in my chair and looked up at her as she continued.

“There’s a lovely book of poems about the sea that I could put in as well. And there should be roses, too - white roses. A few different blue flowers mixed in would also be a nice touch.”

Luke’s simple description of her was appropriate, but not entirely adequate. She wasn’t just cute - she was captivating. Even Clavis was silent as we all watched her.

“Prince Gilbert will be tricky, but maybe a writing set - the pen is mightier than the sword, and all that. And he should get a book, too. Something about swords and swordsmanship should be safe. Red and white roses, I think, with a lot of green to soften everything.”

She wasn’t even looking at me anymore. Her green eyes were unfocused as she envisioned her ideas.

“Jade is agricultural, so a sampling of local produce for Prince Keith and a book about horse breeds around the world. A colorful spring assortment of wildflowers would be good, with white roses.”

She focused on me again and glanced at the other three princes, all staring at her. A faint blush colored her cheeks. “Sorry, I got a little carried away. Does that all sound okay?”

“Yes,” I said simply. “Although I may add poison to Gilbert’s.”

“Prince Chevalier!” she exclaimed.

Clavis shrugged. “Too bad you can’t do that. What about a carefully worded note designed to lead him into a death trap?”

She frowned at us. “I think you’re missing the point of a goodwill gala.”

“You have the ‘goodwill’ part covered for us,” Nokto interjected. “I suddenly wish I were a foreign prince.”

“It all sounds great,” Luke concurred.

She let out a sigh of relief as she picked up the cards. “I’m glad. I’ve been thinking about this all morning. Do you know where the other princes are?”

“Leon’s office,” I said. It was just a guess, but at least one of them should be there.

She nodded. “Alright then. Sorry again for disturbing you.”

We all stared at the door in silence for a moment after she left, and then Clavis sighed. “Are you sure about this, Chev?”

“No. But it was her decision.”

“Well, just order her to stay away from them!” Luke exclaimed, his green eyes flashing as he turned back to me.

“I tried.”

Nokto gave me a sly grin. “You tried? Well, if anybody can tame our savage guests, it’ll be her. Nobody else could get away with disobeying an order from you, much less flaunt it in front of you.”

After lunch, I headed to Leon’s office. As the faction leaders, he and I would be taking the lead in all interactions with the foreign princes, besides all of our usual duties. A ball was never an idle celebration. It was a time for business, for sharing of ideas, for wheeling and dealing, for alliances to be formed and broken. The center of the ballroom was a dance floor. The periphery required no less adept footwork. Leon and I always ended up holding court for our factions on opposing sides of the room, while socialites like Nokto and Jin gathered intelligence from the unwitting ladies who thought they were merely dancing the night away with handsome, charming princes. And that was just a typical ball. This was the goodwill gala. Gilbert, Silvio, Keith, and their retinues would be in attendance, along with representatives from all the families among the Rhodolite nobility. A single misspoken word could ignite a war.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Yves exclaimed, bursting into Leon’s office with a frantic expression. He slammed his hands down on the desk between Leon and I. “This is too important to risk anything going wrong. You can’t seriously want me to be at the ball tonight.”

Leon chuckled. “Settle down, Yves. You’ve been to balls before, and you’ve dealt with rude remarks and cracks at your background often enough to handle this without any issue.”

“Representatives of foreign countries were never at those balls. Gilbert was never at those balls,” Yves said insistently.

“They’re all the same,” I interjected. “Regardless of origin, nobility and royalty are all the same pretentious twits the world over.”

“Ouch,” Leon said, grinning. “Is that what you think of us?”

I smirked and leaned back in my chair. “Not all the time.”

“Stop joking around! This isn’t funny!” Yves pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“We gotta joke now, Yves. There isn’t going to be any joking tonight,” Leon said, shrugging casually.

“Black and I will handle Gilbert. Noisy, Clown, and Jumbo all have assignments from me. I assume Black has given you, Number One, and the Mime assignments as well?”

Yves winced. “Please tell me you’re going to use our actual names in front of the foreign princes.”

“Give me a reason to do so, and I will,” I challenged him.

He drew himself up to his full height, his deep blue eyes flashing. “Oh, I’ll give you a reason, alright. You’re never calling me ‘the Show Off’ again. Perceptions don’t matter to me anymore. I am a prince of Rhodolite, and you will use my name when you speak of me and when you speak to me.”

He stormed out of the office in a huff. Leon burst out laughing as soon as the door closed.

“Good work. It’s not your average pep talk, but it did the trick.”

I shrugged dismissively. “What is his assignment?”

“He’s keeping an eye on Ivetta. I figure you and I will be busy enough, and it’s not like we’ll be able to leave the ballroom for most of the night, anyway.”

“No, we won’t,” I agreed, sighing heavily.

“Do you need a pep talk?” Leon asked, his grin fading as his amber eyes gazed at me sympathetically.

“Don’t be absurd,” I scoffed. “I may need to leave my sword in my room, but I don’t need a pep talk.”

Leon laughed. “Now you’re talking. Let’s not start any international incidents, okay? Your little dove wouldn’t look too kindly on that.”

“Don’t call her that,” I warned. The phrase sounded a bit too much to my liking.

He smirked. “Look, I know what you’re worried about, and I’ve gone through it all in my head a billion times, too. There are a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t pursue her, but there’s one very good reason why you should. So it would rock the kingdom. So what? If one little maid can threaten national stability, then none of us have done a very good job, have we?”

“This is not what I need to hear,” I snapped, standing up and heading for the door.

“I think it’s exactly what you need to hear. The worst that could happen would be Sariel flipping his lid. After this is all over, you really need to talk to her about it,” Leon continued.

I didn’t respond as I slammed the door behind me. This was not the time to make me think of her. Not when it was so vitally important for me to focus on the goodwill gala and the foreign princes.

She really would look good in a ballgown. Dark green, just a shade darker than her eyes. Straps over the shoulders set wide apart, almost off the shoulder, with short sleeves of a gauzy material the same shade as the main dress. Wide neckline, low cut but with several layers of the gauzy material arranged at the center of her bust, blossoming up over her chest like a rose, to provide the modesty she probably preferred. Full, floor-length skirt, composed of multiple layers of the main material, intermixed with the gauzy green.

It was no use. I was going to have to talk to her about it - after this was over. And, if all went well, I would then talk to Sariel, order a ring, and have that dress made for her.