From our high vantage, I could see a group of white-caped soldiers standing at attention as the dwarves passed into the fortress itself. In order to project the right image, we had appropriated a few of the Garrison soldiers and assigned them to positions in the fortress and Palace for the duration of the King’s stay with us. My entire Cabinet, Evans included, felt it would be best to at least have a token force in place in both locations to impress our guests. So, as the King’s escort made their way from the fortress grounds and into the Palace itself, they were greeted by not only the blue-caped Palace forces and Ministry guards, but also several emerald-clad guards from my own personal retinue.
I knew from our planning sessions that Broda and the chamberlain would greet the King when he arrived inside, but he vanished from my view as soon as he passed under the large archway below, and I was unable to observe their meeting. It was well enough that I ended my observations there—I still needed to get ready for the grand reception and also prepare myself for Tási’s ire when she saw the dress that I had Birt make for her. So, once the dwarven King disappeared inside, I rushed back to my quarters to get ready for the evening’s festivities.
“You did this!” Tási glared at me as she made her accusation the second I entered the room.
As she scolded me, she held the blue fabric of the dress Birt had made for her in her hands and shook the folds of it at me in anger.
“I can’t wear this,” she declared. “It’s… its.”
“Beautiful? Amazing? Incredible?” I offered when she couldn’t come up with the words she wanted.
“It will look wonderful on you,” Wenda added as she stood by.
“You really have no choice but to wear it,” I added.
“You didn’t warn me that you told Birt to change the design,” Tási complained as she sunk down to sit on the bed in defeat.
“She’s not the only one,” Rhia muttered from her guard post.
Tási shot the sergeant a glare, and I looked at Rhia in confusion until Wenda gave up the game.
“I’m not only here to deliver the gown,” Wenda explained. “Tási’s asked me to do your makeup, and Rhia will be putting your hair together.”
“What?” I objected. “I don’t want any makeup, and why does Rhia need to do anything with my hair?”
“I promise it will look fantastic,” Rhia chimed in again. “My mother was a hairdresser, and she taught me her craft when I was growing up.”
“And I’ve often done the faces of the ladies who bought dresses from my husband,” Wenda assured me. “You’ll look fabulous.”
“If you let them do their work, I’ll put on this dress you’ve cornered me into,” Tási relented. “If you refuse, I’m going to go to your little reception in my uniform instead.”
“You’ll both get what you want,” Wenda coaxed.
“She gets made up too,” I countered as I glared at Tási.
“Of course,” Wenda consented.
“Wait,” Tási objected. “I didn’t agree to that!”
“You didn’t think that I was going to neglect you once I fixed her up, did you?” Wenda turned on Tási.
“I can get started on her hair while you do Dreya Sintári’s make up,” Rhia said as she stepped away from her post and grabbed a small case off one of the tables. Tási realized that she had been completely caught in her own trap and offered no resistance as Rhia began arranging her locks and pinning up her hair.
While Rhia set to work on Tási’s hair, Wenda started applying her shades to my face. She had a full kit of powders and bottles of various colors and more tinted lipsticks that I could have ever imagined. But Wenda seemed to be completely in her element as she effortlessly chose from among the many different pigments and applied them to my face. She started with my eyes, and then brushed some powder on my cheeks. I honestly had no idea what she was doing, I had never used any of the products before and simply sat and watched her work on me. When she finally finished, I tried to glance in the mirror to see what she had done, but Rhia immediately jumped in front of me and started fussing with my hair.
As she pinned my tresses in place, I could hear Tási fussing with Wenda, but the woman was having none of it and refused to let her back out of the deal we had made. It seemed to take forever, but when Rhia finally finished arranging my hair to her satisfaction, I tried once more to catch a glimpse of myself but was thwarted yet again.
“I had Tana pull the mirror out of here while I was finishing you up,” Rhia explained when I looked for the glass only to discover that it was missing. “Wenda’s taken Tási in the other room to get her gown on. The two of you can see each other once you’re completely done.”
“Really?” I replied to her in annoyance when she revealed their scheme.
“Let yourself have this little moment,” Rhia responded with a surprising amount of empathy. “You both look positively stunning.”
I realized that this was no accident, Rhia and my guards had conspired with Wenda to set this all up for Tási and me. They had taken the time and effort to arrange a special moment for us, and I would be a fool not to both appreciate and enjoy it.
“I’m sorry, Rhia,” I offered her sincerely. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”
“Don’t thank me now,” she teased. “You haven’t seen what I did to your hair yet.”
“Am I going to want to send you on a few more errands when I do?” I taunted her back.
“No,” Rhia replied more seriously. “You look amazing.”
“Now let’s get you into that dress,” she said as she pulled me to my feet.
It took only a short while for me to shed Melía’s Armor and wriggle into the emerald green gown, and I stuffed the Amulet of Unity into one of the dress’s discreet pockets. The gown fit me just as well as I remembered, and the patterned silk of its skirt flowed with me as Rhia led me out of my room and into the office to be reunited with Tási. I left my chambers and entered the office just a few steps behind Rhia and I almost stumbled the second Tási came into view.
The blue gown Birt had made for her was exquisite. The slightly lighter shade brought out the deep blue of her eyes and made them almost sparkle with life. The shade of the fabric wasn’t the only thing that accentuated her features, as the tight bodice flowed along the curves of her body, revealing the woman that almost always hid herself beneath layers of heavy cloth. Like my own gown, Tási’s gorgeous dress left her shoulders bare, and displayed only a trace of her cleavage. And while it was a bit more than she was usually comfortable with, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Although the dress was simply magnificent on her, it was her face that had caused me to nearly lose my step.
Wenda had done an incredible job accenting Tási’s delicate features. Just the barest hint of shadow highlighted her eyes, and the lightest shade of red darkened her lips. Wenda’s subtle technique managed to accentuate Tási’s natural beauty, without it being apparent that anything at all had been done to her.
“If you cry, you’ll ruin all of Wenda’s hard work,” Rhia whispered in my ear as I stood there dumbstruck staring at the beautiful woman in front of me.
Her words broke me from my stupor, and I quickly blinked away the mistiness that had begun to blur my vision. Once I had my wits about me, I immediately rushed over to Tási and took her hands in mine.
“You look… amazing,” I managed to say before I heard my voice crack.
“You too,” Tási choked back to me.
“Stop it, both of you,” Wenda abruptly demanded. “Your entire personal guard is about to burst out in tears, and we simply cannot have that.”
Wenda’s words made me take a quick glance around the room, and as I did, I saw that what she said was true. Rhia had just swiped her hand across her eyes, and Tana and the other pair of guards were blinking away tears as well.
“Sorry about that,” I replied sheepishly as I tried to recover from the emotional moment.
“Well, now that you’ve seen each other
, come over here and have a look at yourselves,” Wenda said as she took each of us by the arm and brought us to where Tana had relocated the mirror. So, while Tási took in what I had already seen of her, I was finally able to look over what Rhia and Wenda had done to me for the first time.
Wenda had chosen to be a bit more obvious in her efforts with me, and the more heavily shaded dark shadows above my eyes, and the thin line of black she had traced around them made the brilliant green tint of my irises almost seem to glow in contrast. She had also chosen slightly darker shades to highlight my cheeks and darken my lips, but it all worked together to bring out the contours of my face.
Rhia’s work on my hair was nothing short of amazing—she had pinned most of it up in a carefully arranged bundle of loose curls, while allowing a few strands to dangle down strategically onto my bare shoulders. Combined with Wenda’s makeup, the hairstyle framed my face and complimented Birt’s beautifully designed gown perfectly. I was almost rendered speechless by what Wenda and Rhia had managed to accomplish for both of us.
“Thank you, all of you,” I whispered. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done for us.”
“You could stop sending me on all those useless errands,” Rhia shot back.
“Done,” I replied as I gave her hand a quick squeeze.
“If you are ready, Dreya Sintári, Commander,” Tana broke in and addressed us formally. “It is time for you to head downstairs.”
Karina was in charge of my escort detail as we made our way down to the reception. Since Tási had the night off, Ella took command of the guards and was already in the grand hall where the reception was being held, overseeing security there. We stopped short of actually joining in the festivities and waited in a small side room for the appropriate time to make our entrance.
Apparently, protocol required that I wait until after the King had arrived to make my first appearance. Once he had made his entrance, I would slip in and mingle for a short while before our formal introductions were properly made. It all seemed like so much theater to me, but Broda and the dwarven Ambassador had both insisted that we follow proper protocol. But while we waited, Venna stopped by with one final surprise for me.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed as she entered the room where we waited for our chance to enter the reception. “You two look incredible.”
“Thank you, Venna,” Tási smiled as she replied for the both of us. “You’re looking pretty good yourself.”
Tási’s description was perhaps a bit of an understatement. The gown that Birt had given her was a rich golden yellow that nearly matched the deep blond color of her hair. The cut of her dress complemented her leaner figure with a higher neckline and a more closely tailored skirt than either mine or Tási’s gowns had. It seemed like a perfect match for her, just as the others were for us.
“What brings you by, Venna?” I asked her curiously. “You should be enjoying the reception, and not be trapped in here with us.”
“Yes, I should,” Venna taunted playfully. “But Tási’s not the only one who had a surprise for you today.”
“You knew?” I asked in astonishment. “Why didn’t you warn me?”
“Do you really need me to answer that question?” Venna replied rhetorically.
When I shook my head in response, Venna smiled at me and produced a small box she had been hiding behind her back.
“This is a gift, not from me, but from your people, Dreya,” Venna told me solemnly. “I only have the honor of being the one to present it to you.”
She handed me the small wooden container that was almost a treasure itself, and I pried open the lid only to discover the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen inside.
Three large green stones made up the center of the necklace, each cut into exquisite ovals, and their facets reflected the flickering light brilliantly. Each stone was mounted in a setting of pure Khelduin, as were the elegant links of the chain that strung them all together. It was the perfect adornment for my bare neck, since the Amulet of Unity was secreted away.
“This is amazing,” I said as Venna plucked the necklace out of the box and draped it around my neck.
“It is,” Venna replied. “The stones and the raw metal, as you might have already guessed, came from the miners, while Renn was the one who actually worked the Khelduin. Ilvain’s carpenters crafted the box, and we’ve been keeping the jeweler, Siaol, hidden from you since he arrived so you wouldn’t discover what we had him working on.”
“You are so damn sneaky,” I responded. Venna, and who knows who else, had orchestrated an elaborate scheme to deceive me, managing to even keep the very existence of one of my citizens from me in the process. It was both heartwarming and somewhat disturbing at the same time
“Yes, well, be that as it may, it’s time for me to get back to the reception,” Venna taunted as she left us to rejoin the festivities.
The dwarven King had apparently made his entrance while we’d been talking with Venna, so I didn’t have long to wait after that before I was permitted to join the reception myself. Rhia opened the door for us, and I pulled Tási close and walked into the hall arm in arm with her by my side.
Once room for the necessary officials and security was accounted for, we had invited as many of my people as possible to the grand reception. I would have liked to have been able to invite all my citizens to attend, but our population had grown well beyond the limits of even the great hall to accommodate, so, we were forced to hold a lottery for the remaining seats.
Since I had some time before I was to be introduced to the King, I sought out everyone I could find who had taken part in crafting the beautiful necklace for me and thanked them personally for their exquisite gift. We had made sure to include members from all the important groups among the invited guests, so I was able to thank representatives from the miners and Renn and Ilvain themselves as well. Not only that, but I managed to meet the apparently elusive jeweler, Siaol himself as we searched the room for anyone who had played a role in crafting the gift my people had given me for the occasion. The bespectacled elf, Siaol, was the perfect image of an expert jeweler, right down to the neat outfit and tidy vest he wore. I didn’t get to learn much about him, however, because almost as soon as I finished thanking him, one of my guards came over to let me know that it was time to make the formal introductions.
We had been told what to do and expect, so as soon as it was time, Tási and I made our way to the location that had been chosen. It was in full view of all, so that our meeting could be observed, but not in the center of the room, so as to make it at least appear to be unplanned, despite the obviousness of how well-orchestrated everything was. It was an odd bit of political intrigue, but as long as it satisfied some requirement of etiquette, I didn’t voice my irritation with the blatant theatrical nature of it all.
Joining Tási and me on one side were Venna, Stel, Broda, Khorim, Ella, as head of security, and First Marshal Evans, who was accompanied by a lovely woman, Hollyn, who was quite a few years his junior. I raised an eyebrow as I noted the apparent couple, and he quickly looked away to escape my inquisitive gaze.
“Your Majesty,” Broda began. “I welcomed you to our lands earlier today, and now I have the pleasure of introducing you to our leaders.”
“You already know my husband Khorim, who has the honor of serving as our Minister of Information. Beside him is Captain Ella, who is in command of Palace security,” Broda continued, naming Ella as head of security during Tási’s brief departure from that role.
“Next to her is First Marshal Evans, supreme commander of our military forces, and his companion, Hollyn.”
Oh, companion, is it? Evans looked away again as I tried to catch his eye once more.
“Our Chief Minister Venna is also here with her husband Stel, who serves as our Minister of Finance,” Broda went on with the introduction before concluding with Tási and me.
“And now I have the honor of presenting to you our leader, Dreya Sint
ári, and her companion, Commander Tási,” Broda finally finished.
What was supposed to happen next was that the King would present me with a small gift, a token of friendship between our two Realms that signified his recognition of our existence but fell short of any formal support of our claim to be an equal Kingdom. But instead, as soon as Broda presented Tási and I as a couple, the King slowly tapped the little box he held in one hand against the palm of the other and contemplated what had just been revealed to him.
“Ambassador?” he said as he turned to his own representative. “Why was I not made aware of this unique relationship?”
“Your Majesty,” the dwarven Ambassador fumbled. “I have only discovered it myself just now. This did not come up during our discussions.”
This night was meant to be the first tentative step onto the world stage for my Realm, but it seemed that we had instigated a very heated discussion between the King and his Ambassador. What was truly distressing was that the cause of that conflict was the revelation of my relationship with Tási. I knew that such issues were not truly accepted in dwarven society, but I had decided to be open and honest with the King right from the start, rather than let it seem like I was trying to hide the truth from him when it was inevitably discovered at some time in the future. It seemed like that decision was about to backfire on me rather spectacularly, and as I squeezed Tási’s hand a little tighter I braced myself for the outrage that I was certain I was about to face.
“So, you make me stand here like a fool!” the King reprimanded his subordinate, but oddly, as he did so, he flashed me a quick wink.
“You let me come here, put me before two beautiful women with only a single gift to present to them?”
“I… I,” the Ambassador stuttered in obvious confusion.
“Relax,” the King finally said to him as he laughed at the man’s discomfort. “I was only having a bit of fun with you.”
“But it is truly a shame that between a pair of such beautiful women, I have only one gift to bestow,” he offered sincerely as he presented me with the small metal container.
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