2372 Rab 3, Velpa

The Feast of Reflection descended upon them like a bird of prey swiping its next meal.

Elred stood in front of a mirror in her room, her scarlet eyes glaring back at her. Servants flocke around her, adjusting her skirts, fluffing up her hair, and tightening her bodice. The shoes she bought from the Sandoxa estate sat in its box a few steps away. Despite her protests about the amount of jewels stuck in that thing, her mother wouldn't hear it. She should have gone shopping on her own. What luck.

Her own dress sparkled in the artificial light in her room. A little more shine and she would have felt like a walking light rod. The white of the fabric was blinding but it matched her pale skin properly and hugged her form in a tight but comfortable hold. Her hair was pinned up with at least a hundred glass pins and adorned to the brim with jewels, pearls, and finally, the Crown Princess' diadem. It wasn't a light crown, both figuratively and literally.

Elred fixed her crown herself, noting its tall walls looking more like bars to a cage more than a tiara. Small-cut gems dotted the expanse, each offering the brightest glint they could muster. In the center, sat a huge romerine ore. It was one of the rarest gemstones in the island and rightly so. With its almost clear surface, it's almost a wonder it had bits and pieces of color inside its crystalline structure.

Well, today's the day.

The servants stepped away in unison, leaving Elred the only person showing in the mirror. She nodded at them and they flitted out of the room like a band of spooked cleret. With a sigh, Elred hefted her skirts and walked to her shoes. The least she could do as a person was to put it on.

Once she was ready, Elred moved towards the door of her rooms and ducked out in a smooth fashion. Her skin prickled and shivered with the layers upon layers of glamours she threw upon it. Today's the day. Everything must be absolutely perfect. Elred had spent way too much time ensuring so that they would.

The walk down the hallways of the Vertinso mansion was the most heart-wrenching walks she had done. When she reached the expansive lobby, a dagrine-drawn carriage awaited her. Right on time, too. She climbed down the stairs. When she reached the coach, a hand snaked on her shoulders. She turned to come face to face with the Queen.

"I just want to wish you well," the Queen said, her eyes flitting to the separate carriage waiting for her and the King. "Today's the day. Your day."

Elred nodded but didn't speak. The Queen levelled her gaze at Elred, scarlet eyes narrowing. "Don't let me down," she whispered.

Before Elred could open her mouth to speak or do anything substantial, the Queen gave Elred's

shoulder one last pat and slinked to her designated carriage with a grace of a nimba in search for prey. Elred swallowed the bile clawing at the base of her throat. No time for feelings today. Everything must proceed according to plan.

She eyed the coach propped in front of the carriage and nodded. He gave a brief nod back. Elred climbed inside and the wheels rolled. It wouldn't be too long now.

Elred was the first to climb out of her carriage the first instance that it paused. In front of her, the Roserice Mansion stood in all its glory. The forsaga bouquets lined the patio in elaborate arrays, just like how she and the planners wanted it. The guards, from a mixture of the Garde and some from the Entobern families, stood at the ready at both sides of the tall doors thrown wide open. As Elred walked the small distance between the carriage and the door, her eyes speared towards the inside of the hall.

The whole event was held in Roserice mansion because it has the most expansive lobby among the four mansions in Abshire. Guests wouldn't need to climbs stairs, turn corridors, or ask people where the event was because it'd be accessible at first glance. The doors thrown wide open would to induce a welcoming feeling among the attendees, making them feel like they belong there.

Just as planned, the tables and food were around the congregation of nobles and all the other important people in Helinfirth. The smell of the crystalline flowers such as the Helinfirth's Queen was thick in the air, placing a calming ambience. She's got to thank the Sylwen clan for helping her balance her nerves.

Erlan Valkalin loitered by the entrance, at least four leashes connected to pelgaris on his hand. When he saw her, he leaned away from the post framing the steps leading to the mansion and shuffled past the guard hounds, passing the leashes to a flustered servant beside him. Elred plastered the fakest smile in her face. "Uncle," she greeted him with a high-pitched voice. "It's so nice out I believe the gods are smiling down on us."

A sneer curled in Erlan's face. "Hold on to straws while you can, lass," he said. "I'm going inside."

Without waiting for Elred to say anything, his uncle turned and vanished in the throng of people looking for a seat inside the hall. The servant Erlan left mumbled under his breath before dashing away and distributing the leashes to the Garde. Elred resisted rolling her eyes. Smile. It's the most important act of the day. Smile.

Besides, she couldn't erase the fact that Erlan had just threatened her in front of everyone. Could he be the red-cloaked fairy? Was that a warning that something would happen in the Feast, itself? Did he just say that to force Elred to be on defensive and be bogged down with worry until she makes a mistake?

There's so many possible things that could happen. She could use Cirasa's presence right now. Yeah. Where was he?

Elred scanned the crowd. Past her relatives, the envoys of the other clans from Xixora, Gingow, Loni, and Eryphos, and the trade families like the Sandoxais, the Iamaris, and the Atherais, she looked for the familiar mop of blond hair belonging to Cirasa but found nothing. She looked behind her to find her mother and fanther stepping out from their joint carriage. Her brother didn't appear from the carriage behind theirs or in the next one.

Was he alright? She cursed. She should've checked in on him first before leaving Vertinso.

"Enter the Royal Family of Abshire," a voice boomed throughout the hall, announcing their arrival. As per custom, the guests stood up in a rustle of fabric and a storm of heels crackling against the glass floor. Elred raised her head and waited for the King and Queen to go forward a few steps before following in their wake.

The whole procession felt like an eternity when, in reality, it wasn't even five minutes. Music blared from the emsemble they hired from one of the best talent companies in Lanteglos. From how the soft notes mingled with the strong ones, and how the composed score wafted around the room, whole and soulful, Elred would admit the planners were right when they suggested this ensemble.

They reached the dais and the first half of the Feast began. It involved Elred and the Queen officiating a mass for those who believe in the gods and their blessing. Elred fell into step behind her mother as the Queen took hold of the royal symbols of Helinfirth—a staff topped with a ring of glass and the legendary Throne, the Faceshaper.

"All rise for the Invocation of the Gods," a voice called out in the corner of the room. Elred felt her back straighten. The Queen heaved a deep breath, opened her mouth, and the territory-famous incantation sped out of her lips. Her voice filled in the whole room, almost thundering. Elred didn't bother masking the awe in her system. Could she...could she do that too?

"Hear our voices from Calaris, O great Crintine," the Queen chanted, the lines nearing the end. "Hear our voices and bless our land."

At those two lines, the entire congregation chanted as one, repeating after the Queen. "Hear our voices from Calaris, O great Crintine. Hear our voices and bless our land."

It was enough to send shivers up Elred's arms.

Then, it was Elred's turn. The Queen stepped aside to give Elred some space to do what she has to do. Elred gave her mother a brief nod and faced the crowd. She took a deep breath and raised her hands, calling her magic to the surface. Her heart pounded in her ears but she pushed that to the back of her mind. Instead, she watched the guards, the servants, and the people moving in the background for something suspiscious. So far, nothing stood out.

With her magic, she formed a huge glass ball and let it rise into the air. Then, she curled her fingers inward and the ball broke into a million shards. With all her might, she flung the shards into the gathered crowd. No one flinched. They simply bowed their heads and let the glass rain down on them.

The Shard Rain, as the religious fairies called this ritual. The glass shards were supposed to be blessings from Crintine herself and that the royal family were servants of the goddess and, therefore, the vessels for these kinds of things. That's why Abshire values the devout nobles. They're one of the backers of the ruling clan to the throne. From the corner of her eye, she saw Erlan, who was seated behind some familiar aunts and cousins, flick the shards off his sleeves with a scowl. Not up for this nonsense, apparently.

The rest of the afternoon passed with a droll of rituals and other chants she and the Queen had spent days memorizing. Well, the Queen probably could recite everything in her sleep but Elred was still scared she would mess up a word or something. There were a ton of gods in the pantheon, and even when they picked the ones which had the most believers, it was still a scattered list. With each god having a different chant and a different practice, it's no wonder the whole thing took at least a couple of hours.

Thank Crintine, though, the whole ceremony passed by without any hiccups.

Which sent all kinds of mixed signals in Elred's system. Was she wrong with the red cloak rebel striking in the festival? Why was everything going so smoothly? What in Rudik's name was going on?

By the time Elred and her parents went down the dais and the servants started shuffling the guests to the adjacent holding room to convert the lobby into a ballroom, Elred was beside herself. She asked the Garde countless times to keep an eye on her relatives and every time she came to check for a report, they have nothing to give her.

There were several instances of Savel seeing her from across the room. He would wink or wave at her and Elred would always turn to the nearest noble she could find and strike a quick conversation just to forget the heat coloring her cheeks.

After this quick reception, the real purpose of the Feast would begin: the State Dinner. This was where the Royal family would discuss with the heads of the different families the state of things in their own cities and they would make resolutions and other rulings reagrding such matters. This was also the time when the Royal family would express their wish to continue certain relations with other families and discuss trade, economy, and taxes. In short, it was the dinner which would define how Helinfirth would be run for the whole year until the next Feast.

While the guests stand outside in the lobby/ballroom, the heads of each family and the representatives of the livelihood clans would meet and talk through things during a long, formal meal. Sometimes, if there were no major problems, it could end early. But most of the time, like in the past five years, the dinner could last into the early hours of dawn.

Elred strode inside the elaborate dining room and a very long table sat in the middle, adorned with velvet-cushioned chairs and expensive cultery and wares ordered just for the sake of this dinner. Abshire spends huge coffers of versallis every year just for the Feast and Elred could see how and why.

The heads of the clans filtered past her, taking their places in the table as determined by Elred and her planners. It was taken into careful consideration since they didn't want to have two heads with obvious ilk against each other spend the whole dinner stuck together on the table. It was another headache Elred had to go through because she got to see and hear all the juicy rumors about each clan and their representatives.

The Queen, as usual, took one end of the table while the King took the other. Elred walked to the first seat to the Queen's right hand. Several other Valkalins walked inside the room and took up almost a third of the table's length. From a few seats across, Erlan smirked at her, his scarlet eyes glinting with a malice that scared even Elred. What was he planning to do in this meeting?

Raimon Valkalin, as well as Naire's mother, Meire, strode almost closely. Her relatives looked placid and unbothered by this important event. Then, the head of the Herkalyn clan, the Wesatra clan, and the Pyxal clan sat in their respective seats.

Elred clenched her fists atop the table. A foreboding threat hovering at the back of her neck, waiting to strike. She could feel it. Something was giong to happen in this dinner and she knew next to nothing about how to stop it. She didn't even know what would happen.

As soon as everyone was settled down, the Garde closed the doors. The locks clicked with a finality declaring the State Dinner open. The Queen looked at Elred and nodded. Elred pursed her lips and stood up, pushing her chair back with a gentle shove. She clasped her hands together and ducked her head at the guests. It was a speech she had practiced again and again. She should be fine. Everyone should know who their new Crown Princess was.

Elred opened her mouth to speak. That's when the doors burst open and a disheveled Cirasa stumbled through, followed by the panicked Garde. She was about to tell the Garde to escort her brother away gently when her eyes traveled to the glinting object in her brother's hand.

A dagger.

Fear clenched Elred's throat. "Cirasa—"

Her brother raised the dagger and pointed it at the Valkalins. "Raimon Valkalin," the hate in Cirasa's voice was enough to stun Elred into silence. "Is a criminal."