They obviously assumed she would be staying in the Palace and she could hardly turn them down without giving offense, even if staying onboard the Retribution was likely to be just as comfortable.
“Of course,” she said and the Admiral nodded as well. She hoped that being excluded from the tour wouldn’t insult the Admiral. For a grown man, he seemed to have somewhat tender feelings. The thought made her smile.
The carriage ride and tour of the Palace grounds was fun and relaxing. Cedric and Eliza seemed so comfortable with each other and their easy banter made Esther envious. Would she and Asserius ever achieve that level of familiarity and love in their relationship?
The two monarchs had heard about her adventures from their own sources, but they wanted to hear her tell it from her own perspective, so she launched into her narrative, glossing over the most unpleasant parts. They were such great hosts that it made conversation easy. By the time they pulled up to the Palace at last, Esther felt like she had known them her entire life. She was amazed at how quickly they were able to put her at ease. An attendant stepped up and opened the carriage door, then helped them step down from the carriage.
“Queen Esther,” said Cedric, “Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. We’ll let you get settled now, but will join you for dinner?”
Esther nodded. “I’d be delighted to.”
“Good. After dinner you are free to move about the Palace or retire to your rooms. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day with the parade. A Ball has also been arranged for tomorrow night. The crown prince and his family are flying in and will be there and we’d love to introduce them to you.”
“I look forward to it,” she replied.
Chapter 10
A Ball
Esther walked down the hall of the Ardmorran palace towards the ballroom. Marigold had dressed her in a beautiful blue gown with a matching dupatta draped over her head just behind her spangled crown. She hoped she would be able to enjoy this Ball more than the first one she had attended back in Al Farnaka, when she had been trying to discover how Asserius’ uncle was trying to assassinate him.
She looked up at the ceiling high overhead at the beautiful chandeliers spaced along its vast area. She had been mistaken when she thought that staying aboard the Retribution would be as comfortable as staying in the palace. In the time that she’d spent living aboard-ship, she had forgotten how luxurious living on the ground could be. Everything was so spacious. The quarters they had given her had more space than Retribution’s entire main deck. Last night after dinner, she had stepped into a gigantic bath tub filled with warm water and had to practically swim from one side to the other. After that, she had spread out on the massive feather bed. And the food….Esther’s mouth still watered when she thought about the feast they’d attended last night, and the deliciously rich breakfast she’d eaten this morning. Even the best, most fresh shipboard food couldn’t compare. It had been a long time since her last meal prepared groundside. She missed the rocking of the ship as it swayed in the wind, and the creaking sounds of the wood, however.
The parade this morning had been beautiful. She’d had to dress up and get painted again, of course—she missed not having to do that every morning. The presentation of the medals after the parade had been particularly touching. She hadn’t felt qualified to receive the Medal of Gallantry, but she had loved it when the commendation medals had been presented to the officers and crew of her escort ships and the first battle squadron which had accompanied them to Lancaster. The medals for the rest of the fleet had been put in a case and handed to Admiral Marsena to distribute later. Members of both Hadiq’s and Ardmorr’s navy would recognize those who defended Ardmorr yesterday.
The officers from the Retribution, her escort ships, and the First Battle Squadron were invited to attend the ball and as she entered the Great Hall flanked by Marigold and Oluchi, the area was flocked with white dress uniforms, sprinkled with the blue ones that her marines wore. Oluchi had donned a nice jacket and looked very handsome, even though Esther knew he felt out of place dressed up he was and attending an event like this. Her sudden change in status had required them all to adapt.
Blaring trumpets sounded and all talking and movement ceased as an announcer stepped forward. “Her Royal Majesty, Queen Esther of Hadiq!”
Esther stepped forward and curtsied, then the crowd resumed their conversations and movement. She could see Admiral Marsena with a group of people a few feet away. He noticed her looking his way and nodded to her. She dipped her head in acknowledgment, the spangles on her crown swaying about in the process.
The King and Queen had mentioned that they wanted to introduce her to the Crown Prince and his family, so she moved towards where they sat on a small dais at the rear of the Great Hall. There were quite a few people who came up to her, wanting to meet the young new Queen of Hadiq, and it took her quite a while to make her way over, but she broke through the crowd at last and stepped up onto the dais.
“Ah, Esther,” said Cedric, standing, “You look lovely, as always.”
“Thank you…Cedric,” she said, almost stumbling over his name. It seemed odd to call him only by name. She had grown up always calling him ‘King Cedric’. Esther turned to Eliza, “You look fantastic, Eliza. I don’t know how you do it, but you make elegance seem effortless.”
Eliza laughed, reaching out to take Esther’s hand, “Thank you, my dear, that’s very kind. You look absolutely splendid yourself. Come, have a seat. Hektor and his family arrived a little while ago and are just finishing dinner. They should be coming in soon.”
As Esther was about to sit, she spotted Geoffrey walking among the crowd. “Thank you, Eliza, but I just spotted someone whom I would like to talk to. I’ll return in a moment, if you’ll excuse me?”
“Of course, dear,” Eliza said, patting her hand.
Esther turned and made her way through the crowd towards Geoffrey. She had almost made it to him when someone suddenly stepped in front of her path.
“Good evening, Your Majesty,” said Mac, barring her way. He was dressed in his finest Ardmorran navy blue dress uniform with his fluffy white hair combed back. He looked very nice.
“Oh, hello Mac.”
“May I have the next dance, Your Majesty?”
Esther looked over his shoulder towards Geoffrey. She had been so caught up in the events of the day, that she had hardly seen him since they’d arrived, and she really wanted to talk with him, but….
“I, uh…sure,” she said finally. If Mac noticed her hesitation, he didn’t show it.
“I know I’m not in your league as a dancer,” he said, smiling, “but thank you for agreeing to dance with me. It will raise my standing in the eyes of many of the more mature ladies in attendance to see me, a simple navy rate, dancing with the Queen of all Hadiq.”
Esther laughed. “Well then, let’s make them really jealous.” She leaned in and gave him a great big kiss on the cheek. Mac smiled and they moved out onto the dance floor. The dance was a Waltz, and regardless of his comment, Mac really was a good dancer. It was fun to dance with him as he led her waltzing across the dance floor.
After what seemed like only a short time, the dance ended and Mac bowed graciously. Esther smiled and gave her most graceful curtsy in return. She was about to go in search of Geoffrey again when a young Ardmorran nobleman approached and asked her to dance. She agreed, of course, and as each dance ended, she was successively asked to dance by someone else. Although she would see Geoffrey occasionally—sometimes dancing with a young lady—she never was able to get to talk with him. Finally, a uniformed messenger tapped her on the shoulder and told her that the King was requesting her to come meet the crown prince as he and his family had just arrived at the Ball.
Relieved to have a break at last, but disappointed that she hadn’t been able to speak with Geoffrey, she turned and followed the messenger to the dais where Cedric and Eliza stood with a middle aged man—Crown Prince Hektor, Esther assumed—and
his family. Hektor’s wife was a tall, beautiful woman with long braided platinum hair and a pale blue gown. Next to her stood their three children, two boys and a girl. The oldest, a young man, looked to be a year or two older than Esther, and wore a naval uniform. The girl, with platinum locks just like her mothers, looked to be the same age. She wondered if they were twins. The youngest boy was more timid than the others, and she guessed that he was probably around thirteen or fourteen.
“Thank you for returning, Queen Esther,” said Cedric. “It seems you are the attention of the entire Ball tonight and it appears that everyone out there would like to dance with you.”
“Well my feet certainly feel that way,” she said, receiving a warm chuckle in response.
Queen Eliza patted her hand. “Well, you don’t have to accept every request to dance, my dear. You are a head of state and your time is very precious.”
Esther smiled. “Thank you for the advice, Eliza. I didn’t want to offend anyone, but I think I’m going to have to take that to heart, otherwise I’d never be able to leave.”
Cedric returned her smile and turned toward his son Hektor. “Queen Esther of Hadiq, I’d like for you to meet my son, Crown Prince Hektor, and his lovely wife Mary.”
“Pleased to meet you both.” She reached out and shook their hands.
“And these are their children, Frederick, Elsa, and Gregory,” continued Cedric, pointing to them each in turn. “Frederick recently joined the Navy and has just become betrothed to Adeline Ealdræd, the Duke of Manchester’s daughter.”
“That’s wonderful! Congratulations, Frederick. Love is sometimes a difficult thing to find. I’m glad that you found it early. Hang onto it and don’t let her go.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, I won’t,” Frederick replied. “And might I say what a fantastic job you did in your naval engagement against the Madrausan’s. The battle is already being analyzed at the War College. Your actions are truly inspirational and I would be honored if I could have the next dance.” Frederick put his hand to his cheek as if to share a secret. “I know it will be a few minutes, but I figured I’d better ask now before they start lining up again.”
Esther laughed. “It would be my pleasure.”
“Before Frederick’s antics cause him to start juggling, or some other court jesterly thing,” said Cedric with a smile, “I’d also like you to meet his sister Elsa, who was just accepted to study medicine at the University. She’ll begin attending in the spring.”
Esther shook the young woman’s hand. “That’s very exciting. I always wanted to attend the University here in Lancaster, but as a farmer’s daughter, I never thought I would be able to. Now I’m a Queen and I still don’t think I’ll be able to. I hope you take full advantage of this opportunity because you never know what may happen.”
It felt odd giving advice to someone older than her, even if it was just a few months, but Elsa took it well and appeared to be grateful for her words. Esther stepped over to the youngest boy.
“And this is Gregory. He just turned fourteen yesterday and will graduate the upper level schools this year.”
“Hello, Gregory. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too, Your Majesty,” the young man said. His hair was a bit messy and stood out in several places, and his jacket was a little unkempt, as if it had been rolled up into a ball and used as a cushion to sit on. He seemed a bit timid. No, thought Esther, timid wasn’t the right word. He just seemed…reserved.
“Well, we won’t keep you young people,” said Cedric, “I know that you have a commitment to dance with Frederick, and Elsa has been dying to get out there and dance with all of the eligible bachelors.”
A flush crept up into Elsa’s fair cheeks.
“If you will excuse us, my dear Queen Esther,” continued King Cedric, “I am going to sit my old bones down and catch up with my son.”
Esther favored the elderly King with a kind smile. “Of course,” she said with a respectful curtsy. She turned and stepped down from the dais, lifting her skirt slightly to avoid stepping on it. Frederick held out his hand and took it with a smile, accompanying him over to the dance floor. A song was just winding down. The music and the dancing in Lancaster was styled after the formalistic Northern Kingdom dances, and Esther had always found them to be quite boring. If she was going to be dancing with the Crown Prince of Ardmorr’s oldest son, she wanted it to be a bit livelier.
She turned to Frederick. “I’ll be right back.” He looked a bit nonplussed as she left him standing there and walked over to the musicians.
“Do you know the song ‘Autumn’s Fire’?” she asked them.
“Of course, Your Majesty,” said the lead musician, a man with a full beard and a welcome smile on his face.
“Could you play it in the southern Ardmorran style, but with a quicker beat?”
The lead musician looked at the others and they nodded. “I think so. It’ll be fun to try anyway.”
“Thank you,” Esther said with a smile. She turned and walked back over to Frederick. “How’s your dancing skills, Frederick?”
“I can hold my own, Your Majesty,” he said.
“Please, call me Esther. For some reason, it seems weird to have you call me ’Your Majesty’.”
The prince smiled. “Alright, Esther then.”
“Good. Now, just so you know, I’ve asked the musicians to change up the music for the next dance. They will be playing ‘Autumn’s Fire’, but in the southern Ardmorran style, and with a quicker rhythm. If you get confused, follow my lead.”
“I think I can handle it,” he said, taking her by the hand.
The music started and several couples tried to dance to it, but the tempo picked up quickly and people looked around at each other, a bit confused. Esther took a step toward Frederick and, with her hand in his and his other hand on her waist, they swung around, launching into a series of fast paced dance steps, her lehenga skirt twirling as they spun about the center of the dance floor.
Frederick was good, she decided, pushing herself a little harder. He didn’t let the unconventional beat cause him to falter in the least, which was impressive, since he hadn’t been prepared for it like Esther had.
Frederick brought her around in front and they stood facing each other, hand in hand. He raised her right hand to the sky and spun her around, performing increasingly difficult dance steps one after the other as they moved across the dance floor. Esther revised her judgement—Frederick was very good. She wondered where he had learned to dance.
As the song progressed, she felt herself relaxing and having more fun. The other couples on the dance floor had stopped to watch and they were the only couple dancing now. She didn’t let it bother her—she was used to having many eyes on her now and it had been a long time since she had danced with such energy.
He led her around the dance floor without forcing her along, but with a subtle strength that she was easily able to adapt her movements to. It felt fantastic, and for once, she truly felt at ease as ‘the follow’. Esther put her mass into her movements and savored the sensation and the music.
Too soon, she sensed that the music was coming to an end. Frederick must have sensed it too because he put her in a final twirl, bringing her around in front of him and slightly to the side, their hands interlocked with her back against the left side of his chest. His timing was perfect and when the final note played, she turned her head towards him and smiled as he smiled back at her.
Suddenly, the hall filled with thunderous applause. Esther laughed and stepped away.
“Frederick, I haven’t had that much fun dancing with anyone before. Thank you so much!”
“The pleasure was all mine,” he said, still wearing a broad grin of his own. “You are a most accomplished dancer, Your Majesty. Dance was a part of my studies at the University. I know you said you haven’t attended, but you are most skilled for being self-taught.”
“Thank you,” she replied, her chest still rising and falling
as she tried to catch her breath.
The applause died down and another, more conventional song started to play. Couples began to fill in the dance floor again and a ring of men, young and old, formed around her to ask her to dance. She needed a break, however. She was still trying to catch her breath from dancing with Frederick. She turned them down as graciously as possible before making her way towards the dais.
“I had no idea you were such a fine dancer,” Cedric said once she’d reached the dais.
Esther smiled. “You never asked,” she teased, sitting down in the throne they’d placed for her next to Queen Eliza.
The King chuckled.
“Your Majesty,” said Crown Prince Hektor, “I know that you just finished dancing and that you must be tired, but I was wondering if I could dance with you for a moment. I have a proposal that I’d like to discuss.”
“Of course,” she said, standing again. The gears in Esther’s mind began to turn. Was the Crown Prince going to offer up an alliance proposal already? Esther had figured that they would be sitting down to negotiate the terms of any arrangement with a much broader group of people over the next few days. Hektor held out his hand to help her down the dais again and she took it and walked back down onto the dance floor.
“Your Majesty,” said the Crown Prince, taking her hand in his as they began to dance. It was a simple waltz this time. “I have a bit of a problem and I believe that you are in the position to be of some help.”
“Oh?” she replied simply, not knowing what else to say.
“You’ve met my children and can see that my two oldest are doing quite well. Frederick will do well in the Navy, and Elsa will complete her studies and do equally as well as a physician. She has already received many suitors and I believe will choose one soon. Gregory, however, is really struggling to find himself, and I’m afraid that neither his mother nor I can seem to help him.”
Retribution Page 9
