“Are you adjusting here alright?” Garrett asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” I said quietly. “I haven’t been here that long, though.”
“It does take time,” Garrett allowed, and looked at Willa with affectionate concern. His easy smile returned quickly and he nodded at Finn.
“But you’ve got Finn there to help you. He’s an expert at helping the changelings acclimate. You really got a winner with that one.”
“I’m not an expert at anything,” Finn demurred politely. “I just do my job the best I can.”
“Have you had a designer to come over to make the dress yet?” Aurora asked conversationally, taking a polite sip of her wine. It had been a minute since she’d last spoken, so it was time for her take the conversation back over.
“That dress she has on is very lovely, but I can’t imagine that was made specifically for her.”
“No, it was not.” Elora gave her a plastic smile, and cast a very small but very distinct glare at me and my dress, which until just that second had felt like the most beautiful thing I had ever worn. “The tailor is set to come over tomorrow.”
“That is cutting it a bit short for Saturday, isn’t it?” Aurora questioned, and I could see Elora bristling just below the surface of her perfect smile.
“Not at all,” Elora explained with any overly soothing tone, almost as if she were talking to a small child or a Pomeranian. “I am using Fredrique Von Ellsin, the same one that designed the Willa’s gown. He works very quickly, and his gowns are always immaculate.”
“Yes, my gown was divine,” Willa interjected politely.
“Ah, yes,” Aurora allowed herself to look impressed. “We have him on reserve for when our daughter comes home next spring. He’s much harder to get in then, since that is the busy season for when the children return.” There was something vaguely condescending in her voice, if we had done something tacky by me arriving here when I did. “That is one major benefit at having the Princess come home in the fall. Everything will be so much easier to book.
When Tove came home last season, it was so difficult to get everything just right. I suppose you’ll have everything you want right on hand. That should make for a stunning ball.”
Several things were setting off alarms in my head. First, they were talking about me like I wasn’t even there, and even Tove to a lesser extent, but he didn’t seem to notice or care about anything going on around him. Secondly, they were talking about something going on Saturday that I apparently needed a specially designed dress for, and yet nobody had cared to mention this to me.
Then again, this shouldn’t surprise me. Nobody told me anything.
“I haven’t had the luxury of making provisions a year in advance the way most people do, since the Princess came home most unexpectedly.” Elora’s sweet smile was dripping with venom, and Aurora smiled back at her and pretended not to notice.
“I can certainly lend you a hand. I just did Tove’s, and as I said, I’m already preparing for our daughter’s,” Aurora offered helpfully.
“That would be delightful.” Elora took a long drink of her wine.
Dinner continued along that way. Elora and Aurora making polite conversation that tried to mask how much they detested each other. Noah didn’t say much, but at least he managed not to look awkward or bored. Willa and I ended up watching Tove quite a bit, because I was certain he was moving things without touching them.
Unlike the Strom’s, the Kroner’s didn’t linger around after dinner. I assumed that was because Elora actually liked Garrett and Willa. Elora, Finn, and I walked the Kroner’s to the door, with Finn being the one to actually open the door for them. When saying their goodbyes, Aurora and Noah bowed before Elora and me, making me feel quite ridiculous. There was absolutely no reason why anyone should bow to me.
To my astonishment, Tove gently took my hand in his, kissing it softly when he bowed. When he stood up, his eyes met mine, and very seriously he said, “I look forward to seeing you again, Princess.”
“And I, you.” That came right off the top of my head, and I was so pleased that I had said something that sounded completely perfect for the moment.
After they departed into the night, oxygen seemed to return to the house, and Elora let out an irritated sigh. Finn actually rested his forehead against the door for a moment before turning back around to face us. I felt much better knowing that everyone else had found the evening exhausting.
“Oh, that woman.” Elora rubbed her temples and shook her head, then pointed at me. “You. You do not bow to anyone, ever. Especially not that woman. I know you thrilled her endlessly, and she’s going to be telling everyone about the little dimwitted Princess who didn’t know enough not to bow before a Marksinna.” I looked at the floor, feeling any sense of pride at the way I made it through the night vanish. I had apparently embarrassed Elora wholly. “You don’t even bow before me, is that clear?”
“Yes,” I muttered.
“You are the Princess. Nobody is higher than you. Have you got that?”
Elora snapped, and I nodded. “Then you need to start acting like it. You sit there like a wallflower when you need to command the room! They came here to see you, to gauge your power, and you need to show them! You have got to blow everyone away! They need to have confidence that you will be able to lead them all when I am gone!” I kept my eyes locked on the floor, even though I knew that probably offended her, but I was afraid that I would cry if I looked at her yelling at me. “You sit there like some beautiful, useless jewel, and that’s exactly what she wants.” She sighed disgustedly again. “Oh, and the way you gaped at that boy…”
After her small tirade, she abruptly stopped. We immediately went to the sitting parlor, where Garrett and Willa were waiting for us, but the entire atmosphere had changed to one of a more relaxed tone. Finn even loosened his tie. Elora lounged on the chair next to Garrett, and he seemed to captivate a disproportionate amount of her attention.
A whole other side of Finn emerged. He sat next to me, his leg crossed over his knee, making charming small talk with them. He was still gracious and respectful and not all that talkative, but he always seemed to add something the conversation. I bit my tongue, afraid to say the wrong thing, but Garrett and Willa were definitely entertained by him, and even Elora looked pleased.
Garrett and Elora talked some kind of politics, which I didn’t really follow, and Finn added things when appropriate. Willa looked completely bored by the conversation, and I just concentrated on not saying anything else stupid.
Elora apparently had to appoint a new Chancellor in six months, but I didn’t even know what that was, and I thought asking would only make me look foolish.
As the night progressed, Elora had to excuse herself because of a migraine. Garrett and Finn offered their condolences and help, but neither of them seemed that surprised or concerned by this occurrence. They continued on with that whole Chancellor business again, and Willa couldn’t take it anymore. She said she needed fresh air and invited me to join her.
Down at the far end of the hall, there was a small alcove of a room with nearly invisible glass doors. It led out to a lovely balcony that ran from one corner of the house to the other. The balcony was lined with a thick black railing that went up to my chest. Willa went over to the corner farthest away from everyone and leaned on it.
From out here, the view was even more intimidating. The balcony was literally hanging over a hundred foot drop. Below us, there was nothing but the tree tops of maples, oaks, and evergreens. Farther down, I could see the tops of houses, and way down at the bottom of the bluff, the turbulent river pumped past us. A breeze blew over us, sending a cold chill down my bare arms, and Willa sighed.
“Oh knock it off!” Willa grumbled, and at first, I thought she was talking to me. She was more scantily clad than I was, and I didn’t understand how she wouldn’t be cold. She lifted her hand, waving her fingers lightly in the air, and almost instantly, her hair that had been blown back in the breeze settled on her shoulders. The wind had died away.
“Did you do that?” I asked, trying not to sound as awed as I felt.
“Yeah. That’s the only thing I can do. Lame, isn’t it?” Willa complained and wrinkled her nose.
“No, actually, I think it’s pretty cool,” I admitted. She controlled the wind! Wind was an unstoppable force, and she just wiggled her fingers, and it stopped. I thought it was magic.
“I kept hoping I’d get a real ability someday, but my mother only had command over the clouds, so at least I did better than that,” Willa shrugged.
“You’ll see when your abilities start coming in. Everybody hopes for telekinesis or at least some persuasion, but most of us are stuck with basic use of the elements, if we’re lucky. The abilities aren’t what they used to be, I guess.”
“Before you came here, did you know you were something?” I asked, looking back over my shoulder at her. She had her back on the railing, and she leaned back over it, letting her hair hang down towards the ground.
“Oh, yeah. I always knew I was better than everyone else.” Her eyes fluttered close and she wagged her fingers again, stirring up a light breeze to flow through her hair. “What about you?”
“Um… kind of.” Different, yes. Better, not at all.
“You’re younger than most of us are, though,” Willa commented.
“You’re still in school, aren’t you?”
“I was.” Nobody had made any mention of school since I got here, and I had no idea what their intentions were for the remainder of my education.
“School sucks anyway.” Willa stood up straight and looked at me solemnly. “So why did they get you early, anyway? Is it because of the Vittra?”
“What do you mean?” I asked nervously.
“I’ve just heard stories that the Vittra have been prowling around lately, trying to catch Trylle changelings,” Willa said casually. “I figured you’d be a top priority cause you’re a Princess, and that’s kind of a big deal here.” She looked thoughtfully at her bare toes and mused, “I wonder if I’d be top priority. My dad’s not a King or anything like that, but we are kind of royalty. What’s lower than a Queen? Is that a Duchess or something?”