Chapter 11

Phina and her silver carriage arrived at the farm right at sunset, shortly after Green had finally gotten home, taken a bath and put on the clothes for the ball. He looked dashing, Sera thought, with the raven mask and black clothes. Not at all like a stringy farmer, but like a mysterious prince from a faraway land. It helped that Sera had pushed and prodded and finished half of the chores herself so that her uncle wouldn’t have any excuses not to go.

Sera hopped on the back of the carriage as Green climbed in, not wanting to be make things crowded. No one said anything for the entire trip, too involved in their own thoughts to think of anything interesting to say. Thankfully Green never noticed that no one was actually driving the carriage. As they approached the palace Sera was nearly overwhelmed by the light and color on display. Every window sparkled and cast light on the bright banners hanging all around the palace. As they had hoped, the guards barely gave the three a second glance after examining the invitation that Phina produced.

Inside the castle was even more spectacular than the outside. Everyone seemed to be wearing different colors, and everything was accented by gold and silver and fine jewels. Even the servants standing silently by the walls wore fine red garments worth more than a year of food for a whole family. Phina glided around the room like she had been born to attend balls, and Green’s natural common sense made him steady and calm enough to stay in the background. It took all of Sera’s concentration not to gape and stare.

After a few dances for propriety’s sake, Phina left Green to search for Ruby on his own and pulled Sera to the edge of the dance floor to point out the royals in the room. Kennard wore black and blue with a bag-like hood that he must have borrowed from an executioner. No one dared to go near him, so he stood by himself in a corner. King Bertram was dressed all in gold and no mask, smiling benevolently at his guests and glaring balefully at his son. Ruby wore a purple gown with a plain white mask, and was currently getting her goblet filled with punch.

As Sera and Phina watched, Green and Ruby removed their masks, Green to search better, Ruby to drink her punch. It was obvious when they saw each other. They walked toward each other slowly and the faint smiles on their faces assured Sera that, despite their fight, all would be well. They began to talk quietly, and Green took her hand and kissed it. Judging by their gestures, they were talking about the kinds of flowers that decorated the walls.

Then, to Sera’s horror, the king called his son to him and, if the pointing and arm waving was any clue, ordered him to dance with Ruby. Even with the large black bag over his head Sera could tell that Kennard was frowning as he made his way toward Ruby by the way his hands kept clenching and unclenching. She exchanged a panicked glance with Phina, who had also noticed. Thinking frantically, Sera realized that Kennard would be passing awfully close to where they were standing. Without hesitation she shoved Phina into the prince’s path.

They collided quite spectacularly, and Phina slipped and fell onto the marble dance floor, her mask skittering under a side table. Kennard groaned and held his side where Phina’s hand had smacked into him. The entire crowd stilled for a moment, then resumed their noise. The mishap was nothing out of the ordinary for the prince.

“I’m so sorry, my lord, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Phina said breathlessly.

The prince stared at her dazedly for a moment. “No, don’t apologize. I’m the one who should have paid attention.” Kennard offered his hand.

Phina put her hand in his delicately, and he pulled her to her feet. They stared into each other’s eyes, and Sera noted that Kennard did not let go of Phina's hand. He pulled the bag off his head, leaving messy black hair and a crooked blue mask. The prince didn’t seem to realize how odd he looked.

Phina said quietly, “It’s a pleasure to see you, sire.”

“The pleasure is mine, my lady. May I have the honor of a dance?” Kennard asked, a look of stunned wonder on his face.

When Phina nodded Kennard led her carefully out to the floor, and they joined the dance. It was funny for Sera to watch; her stern teacher floating around the room with the cranky prince. When Green and Ruby swirled into sight, dancing merrily, it was all Sera could do not to laugh for joy. The situation couldn’t be any better if she had tried.

The two couples swirled around the floor a while, with no one seeming to notice them particularly. Snagging a meat pastry and a marzipan sailboat, Sera found a pillar to lean against as she watched the ball. No one noticed her, either, so she stayed out of the way and watched the dancers with interest. The king was talking grandly with a nobleman in a green coat and a horse mask, and didn’t seem to notice that his son was distracted.

The ball itself was something Sera would later have difficulty remembering. Swirls of color and light, smells of flowery perfume and savory meat, cheerful music, but the only thing Sera could remember clearly was Kennard and Phina dancing. Ruby and Green glided along well enough, but it was like magic to watch the prince and the fairy godmother. They swept around the room like their feet had wings, and a happy blush settled on Phina’s cheeks and made her practically glow. She and the prince talked softly the whole time they danced, but their feet never went out of time with the music.

Sera ate six pastries before she remembered King Bertram again. Uneasy, she looked for him, climbing on a chair to see better. The servants near her glared at her for her apparent lack of manners. Sera didn’t really care. Nearly knocking over a tall vase, she saw the king and her heart sank.

Sir Audley had a worried look on his face as he talked to another advisor in a low voice. King Bertram looked almost purple, glowering at Kennard and saving Ruby a special kind of frown. As happy as the four people dancing were, Sera knew that she had to get Green and Phina out quickly.

As the youngest and smallest person present, it was very difficult for Sera to get to the dancers. Eventually she resorted to crawling on her hands and knees, which caused a small commotion when she tripped up an earl. Scrambling and shoving her way to the middle of the room, she stood up and looked around again for her targets. Sera dove toward Phina the moment she spotted her, elbowing and shoving through the nobles.

“My lady,” she said, tugging on Phina’s elbow, “we have to go now.”

Phina looked at her with a dazed expression, still under the spell of the evening, but Sera kept pulling and added a few arm waves for good measure and soon Phina became more alert. With a quick curtsy she left Prince Kennard standing in a similar stupor. They reached Green just as Kennard realized what was happening.

In the confused state of the ball, Phina and Sera had Green out the door before he could protest, and past the guards before Sera could get nervous. As they left the ballroom, Sera could just see Ruby standing forlornly in the middle of the room and Kennard struggling against the crowd, trying to reach Phina. She discovered later that the prince spent the night in the dungeons for drugging the guards’ wine and trying to escape the castle.

Author's Note

How well can you visualize the ball and what happens? Is the plot smooth or clunky?