She nodded.
“Alessandro’s brush technique is very inventive. I’ve read about it.”
Brush technique? She looked at Lorenzo’s portrait and noticed brush technique? What was wrong with her?
Donna Senona put her hands on our shoulders and guided us towards the ballroom. Father handed our invitation to a footman standing at the top of the staircase. The man’s voice echoed through the room as he read our names.
“Announcing Don Arturo, Donna Senona, Donna Rosa, and Miss Alma.”
The room grew quiet as everyone stared at us. We were the new nobles at the ball. Well, the rest of my family was.
I held my head high. Maybe no one noticed that I hadn’t been announced as a donna. Maybe they would think the footman had made a mistake.
By the time we reached the bottom of the stairs, I was too overwhelmed to care what anyone thought. Every inch of the ballroom glittered. Crystal chandeliers hovered by the ceiling. Gem Guild masters stood in a corner and waved their arms to sustain the enchantment that kept them afloat. Light Guild masters worked beside them, lighting the crystals with tiny, twinkling stars. As I stared, the chandeliers changed shape. The crystals formed into ships and sailed around the room on rippling waves of light.
Donna Senona pushed me forward through the crowd. No one was dancing yet. Prince Lorenzo would open the ball with the first dance while everyone watched.
I couldn’t wait to see him dance.
I was so fascinated with the lights and thoughts of Lorenzo that I didn’t notice where we were going. The crystal ships turned into sea serpents playing in the waves.
Father cleared his throat. I looked up and swallowed a gasp. We stood in front of the Royal Dais, a raised wooden platform that held the royal family’s thrones. It smelled of pine.
People sat in the thrones. People I recognized from their portraits. King Benicio’s hooked nose wasn’t nearly as attractive in real life. It might have been comical if his face wasn’t so serious. It reminded me of an exotic bird’s beak, and it was, of course, attached to the rest of him. To his torso, decorated with medals and honors. To his hand, which wore a signet ring of solid gold with a ruby. To his-
The king!
I gathered my wandering thoughts and curtsied.
When I looked up, Queen Evetta caught my eye and smiled. She sat to the right of the king. Her large ears stuck out of her hair, which was piled on her head in a mass of curls that must have taken hours to create. She was plumper than her portrait. Her eyes still sparkled, but they were smaller in real life. She looked pleasant, but few would call her pretty.
And then I saw Prince Lorenzo.
He sat to the left of King Benicio. Princess Gianna and the other royal children old enough to attend the ball also sat on the dais, but once I noticed Lorenzo I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
He looked exactly like his portrait.
Exactly.
Every detail was perfect.
His bright eyes shimmered in the light. His curled hair gleamed. His lips curved upwards as if he were greeting a friend. His skin glowed.
And he smiled at me.
I winked at him.
Why? Why was that my first instinct? It must have been my nerves. Maybe he hadn’t noticed.
He looked surprised, then winked back.
“Welcome to court, Donna Senona,” Queen Evetta said. “It has been too long since you graced us with your presence, and we are charmed to meet your new husband and lovely daughters.”
I forced myself to look at the queen. Rosa and I curtsied to thank her for acknowledging us.
“Will you continue as a merchant even with your new title?” King Benicio asked Father.
Father nodded.
“For a time. I have responsibilities to the Merchant Guild that I can complete without using magic.”
“Tell me,” the king leaned forward. “Have you traded with Salaria, Don Arturo?”
Of course Father had traded with Salaria. He traded with countries around the world!
Father answered something along the same lines, and I lost interest in the conversation.
I turned my attention back to Prince Lorenzo. He wore a gold signet ring and a black tunic embroidered with tiny golden crowns. His ring had a golden jewel instead of a ruby like the king’s, and the gem glowed in the bright ballroom.
I risked another glimpse at his face. His perfect eyes watched me. He raised an eyebrow when he caught my gaze. I raised mine back at him. Then I wrinkled my nose.
He grinned and wrinkled his nose back at me.
“Don’t be so modest, Arturo,” Donna Senona said. “Remember the Salarian poem you recited for me the night we met?”
“Oh, how romantic,” Queen Evetta said. “I’ve heard that members of the Merchant Guild use their language magic to craft poetry. Will you recite something for us?”
“Don’t tempt the man, Evetta,” the king said. “He can’t use his magic now that he’s noble.”
“Arturo knows Salarian well enough to speak it without magic,” Donna Senona said. “I believe the poem had something to do with roses, didn’t it?”
Father’s cheeks were red. Was he blushing?
“The Salarians brought their own language charms, so they won’t need translators,” King Benicio said. “Still, I’d like to talk to you later, Don Arturo. About a business matter.”
Before Queen Evetta could inquire further about the poem, the king nodded, and we were dismissed.
I curtsied once more for good measure. Prince Lorenzo raised his fingers off the throne. Was he waving goodbye to me? I put my hand behind my back and waved as we walked away. I couldn’t know if he saw or not. We were already halfway across the ballroom, making our way to Martina and Rafael.
I watched the dons and donnas as we walked. They wore clothes of every color imaginable, draped in jewels and flowers and feathers. I might have blended in with them if my dress had slimmer sleeves. And if I had been allowed jewelry. Rosa looked like a country bumpkin with her plain gown and silver chain.
Each unmarried don had a Rosas Rojas tucked into his belt, ready to give to the donna he liked best. The magical roses glowed, and I caught whiffs of scent when the men walked by. Wine, sweat, food, parchment. Even the smells in the ballroom were overwhelming. I leaned closer to a bearded don who smelled like horses. Could he be Don Diego?
No, he didn’t have a rose. That was for the best. He was too old for me.
I definitely preferred Rosas Rojas to regular flowers. Maybe I would like Donna Senona’s farm better after the roses had been harvested. It took the souls of a hundred roses to make a single Rosas Rojas, which is why the regular rose bushes were worth growing at all.
The sparkling flowers would look lovely on my dress. It was a shame none of the dons were likely to choose me as their favorite.
“Your presentation to the king went well?” Martina said when we finally reached her. “What did he say of the Salarians?”
“It was an introduction,” Donna Senona said. “We didn’t discuss the treaty in detail, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“They’ve brought their own language charms,” Father said. “I wonder how they work?”
Martina scowled.
“So the Merchant Guild won’t be asked to translate?”
“Not if the charms work,” Father said.
“The Merchant Guild has translated international negotiations for centuries. It is tradition. It is our right. They can’t just-”
I spotted Mirella standing nearby and joined her. She looked lovely in her blue and silver gown, although the pale colors didn’t stand out in the crowd of well-dressed nobles. I still thought gold would have been a better choice.
She had chosen braids and gems for her hair. I shook my head and bounced my curls. If only this ball had happened two weeks later! I would have loved to wear my hair up.
Mirella took my hand and pulled me behind a pillar. Rosa followed us, seeming more interested
in hiding from the crowd than joining our conversation.
“Alma, your dress is gorgeous!”
“So is yours! The ruffles turned out well.”
She smoothed her skirt and smiled.
“I’ve already noticed a few dons watching me. I can’t believe you were presented to the king. Were you nervous? You kept making faces.”
“I was making them at Lorenzo.”
Rosa turned, suddenly interested in our conversation.
“You made faces at the prince?”
I didn’t know what to say. Thinking back, it seemed disrespectful.
“He was probably just teasing me for being a commoner,” I said. “Isn’t the castle gorgeous?”
“The prince is gorgeous,” Mirella said with a sigh. “You shouldn’t tease him, Alma. He has no use for commoners like us.”
I cleared my throat.
“Have you noticed the lights?”
I gestured to the ceiling. Rosa looked up, and her eyes grew wide. She watched the crystals dance across the ceiling. They were shaped like roses now. The light changed from white to pink as the flowers bloomed.
“Fine, I’ll let you change the subject from the prince,” Mirella whispered. “Did the king say anything about the Salarians? Their ship arrived this afternoon, but no one has seen them in the castle.”
“Perhaps they’re waiting to be announced specially?”
Mirella tossed her head. The sapphires nestled in her braids flashed blue in the light.
“Just like a Salarian.”
“I thought you didn’t know anything about Salaria.”
“I overheard Mother and Father talking. It would be difficult not to since they’ve been yelling all day. Apparently the Salarians are rude and impossible to trade with.”
“Really?”
I didn’t know much about Salaria, but I couldn’t let myself look ignorant.
“Do you know the story of the Fairy Snow?”
Mirella shook her head. I squinted, trying to remember the details.
“The Salarians caused a terrible disaster a long time ago. They call it the Fairy Snow. After it happened, the fairies moved to the mountains in Castana and wouldn’t have anything to do with humans. Father told me the story when I was a girl. Fairies used to give people gifts, but they stopped after the snow.”
Mirella’s eyes flashed.
“Of all the pompous, arrogant things to do! How badly would the Salarians have to behave to drive fairies from their homes? Alma, do you think we’ll have to dance with them?”
“We were invited to make them feel welcome since we supposedly understand their customs. I suppose they might ask us.”
“Do you think it’s safe? I heard they’ve taken over the island colonies. They’re calling them New Salaria.”
“Oh.”
That was bad, but the fairy incident seemed more personal. Wearing a corset I could breathe in, I felt the absence of fairy gifts in my life in a very real way. What else could fairies have given me? Shoes that didn’t pinch? A necklace that reshaped itself into the latest style?
“Idle gossip,” Rosa said, not taking her eyes from the lights. “We’ve never met the Salarians. We can’t judge their character.”
She waved her hands in small circles, imitating the Light Guild masters.
“It’s not gossip, it’s business,” Mirella said.
She gasped.
“I’m talking about business at a royal ball! This is all Carlo’s fault. Alma, quick, say something sensible! Tell me more about the prince!”
“Prince Lorenzo is-”
Trumpet fanfare covered my words. It seemed to be a signal, because nobles pressed to the sides of the ballroom, forming an enormous circle with us crushed at the back. A stout donna with plumes in her hair stood in front of us.
“We won’t be able to see the first dance with that fully bloomed rose in front of us!” Mirella hissed, gesturing to the donna. “We’re going to miss it!”
Rosa was tall enough to see over the crowd of people. Mirella leaned to the side, trying to see around the donna. Her figure was so fully bloomed that she trapped the three of us behind her. Her old-fashioned hoop skirt didn’t help matters.
I was stuck between Mirella and Rosa and far too short to see anything. Could I crawl through the crowd? I looked for an opening, but everyone was packed around us and Mother’s dress was too wide for me to squeeze through.
“What’s happening?” I asked Rosa.
She stood on her tiptoes for a moment, then leaned over to whisper in my ear.
“The Salarians are coming down the stairs. There’s an old man and a younger man at the front.”
“They’re all wearing uniforms,” Mirella said, craning her neck to see. “The boy is wearing a dark green cloak as well. Oh, he just realized he forgot to take it off. He gave it to a footman.”
“Announcing Admiral Benjamin, Chief Ambassador from Salaria. Announcing his grandson, Ensign Ethan.” a footman’s voice rang through the ballroom.
He went on, naming other people with noble titles who were doubtless important, but whose names ran together after a while.
So that’s why they announced people. In case you were short and stuck behind a fully bloomed donna with feathers in her hair. Ethan was the only Salarian without a noble title or obvious diplomatic role. Were we both only here because we were related to important people?
Mirella looked surprised.
“The Ambassador is an Admiral? What about his title? Isn’t he a noble?”
“A man of war knows the value of peace,” Rosa said.
“Shut up,” Mirella said.
“What do they look like?” I asked. “Tell me more.”
I jumped up and down. Small jumps, trying not to draw attention to myself. I still couldn’t see anything. The fully bloomed donna sneezed, and her plumes fell to the side. Mirella leaned further sideways, taking advantage of the new view.
“The Admiral is old,” Rosa said. “His hair is white, and he has a beard. The grandson’s hair is short and golden.”
“Golden? Really?”
Everyone in Castana had dark hair, but Father had told me that people in other countries had different colors. One trading partner who came to dinner had bright red curls, but I had always assumed it was a wig.
Rosa shrugged.
“It looks golden. Maybe he’s wearing a hat?”
“I’m not sure that’s better. What kind of ambassador wears a golden hat?”
“Who cares about his hair?” Mirella said. “Is it time for the prince’s dance yet?”
I eyed the marble pillar behind us. If I held on very tight, maybe I could climb it.
The fully bloomed donna adjusted her plumes and blocked Mirella’s view again. Mirella clenched her fists in frustration and turned to Rosa.
“The Salarians are greeting the king,” Rosa whispered.
“Are there guards?” Mirella said. “I don’t remember any guards around the dais. What if they attack?”
“Do they look like they’re going to attack?” I asked.
“No,” Rosa said.
She didn’t offer any more details.
Oh, why did I have to be so short?
The trumpets sounded another fanfare, and everyone fell silent. Footsteps echoed through the ballroom.
“What’s happening?” I whispered.
“Prince Lorenzo just stepped off the dais. He’s looking for a partner for the first dance.”
I bit my lip to keep from screaming in frustration. He would pick a beautiful donna, twirl around the room with her, and I wouldn’t see any of it.
Mirella reached forward and pushed the donna’s plumes to the side so she could see. The woman was too busy watching the prince to notice.
“He’s having trouble finding a dance partner,” Mirella giggled. “He’s looking through the crowd, and girls think he’s about to ask them, but he doesn’t.”
“He must want someone in particular,” Rosa
said. “It would be hard to find one person in this crowd. He’s walking around the whole room looking for her.”
“She must be something special,” Mirella said. “I wonder if he’s secretly engaged.”
A secret engagement, and I couldn’t see!
“He’s coming this way,” Rosa said. “I think he’s- oh. He’s looking at me!”
Mirella and I turned to her. So did everyone around us.
“He’s walking towards us!” the fully bloomed donna said.
She pulled a plume out of her hair and fanned her face.
“He’s going to ask you to dance,” Mirella said, staring at Rosa. “I don’t believe it. He’s been looking for you!”
Rosa looked for a way to escape, but there was nowhere to go. The nobles were packed too tightly around us.
“I don’t want to. I don’t like dancing.”
I stared at her in horror. Who didn’t like dancing?
One by one, the nobles in front of us stepped aside. Rosa breathed in short, quick gasps.
The fully bloomed donna curtsied and moved away, and I could see him. Lorenzo was even more dazzling up close.
“He looks even better than his portrait,” Mirella whispered.
Prince Lorenzo’s eyes darted from Rosa to me. And they stayed there.
He walked closer and winked at me.
I winked back.
We both raised an eyebrow and wrinkled our noses at the same time. It was like looking at a mirror.
An impossibly handsome, royal, princely mirror.
Prince Lorenzo looked away for a moment.
No, no, no! He had changed his mind!
He fumbled with something at his side, then pulled out a Rosas Rojas.
Everyone in the ballroom gasped.
Chapter 5
Lorenzo bowed and presented me with the enchanted rose. I stood, stunned, my hands at my sides. Mirella elbowed me, and I reached out to take it.
The Rosas Rojas was smooth as glass. The surface gleamed like crystal, but the leaves bent when I touched them. It glowed with magical energy, the souls of a hundred rose bushes. The red petals had dark streaks of purple in them.
“May I have this dance?”
His voice resonated through the room as I tried to process the words. I stared at him, overwhelmed with his request and dazzled by his perfect face. The prince’s smiled flickered. Did he actually think I might refuse him?
Lady Alma Page 4
