Crown of Smoke

Chapter 10

            Having never been to a ball, Gwen did not realise that it was not socially acceptable to be early for the event. She stood alone in the empty ballroom, the white walls and the black marble floor engulfing her. The smell of the freshly cut flowers was like walking through a meadow, immediately waking her up and making her want to bury her face in the blossoms. The band, a string quartet, stood at the back corner of the room on a small platform lazily playing a tune to warm themselves up. Gwen felt herself wandering over to the food table, sneaking a bite of the multi-coloured macarons which were stacked neatly in a pyramid.

            She smiled to herself, indulging for the moment in the strawberry sweetness. The taste transported her home to the bakery for a moment as she closed her eyes, only to have the illusion ruined the moment she opened her eyes again to see Hayden standing a little too close to her in a golden suit.

            “It’s a good job you didn’t wear that last night; we would have been matching.” She told him, stifling a giggle and finishing her macaron before he could snatch it from her. “You look very nice, though.”

            “Thank you. Has Harry briefed you on who’s coming tonight?” he replied curtly, but a small smile crept upon his lips as Gwen’s eyes raked the golden suit.

            “There’s Dorothy Walkman, who owns the bakery, butchers and bookshop in the village and therefore has a lot of people loyal to her. There’s also Sir Milo Ventury and although he’s not powerful, he’s discreet and can aid the cause through the use of word of mouth and will give a verdict to my usefulness to Baroness Briar Hardy.” Gwen recited perfectly, her tone calm despite the fact that it had taken her a very stressful afternoon memorising facts about these people. There were, of course, many other villagers coming to the ball, but these two were the ones with the most influence according to Harrison. Hayden nodded along as she spoke.

            “I’m not much of a fan of Ventury, so don’t mind if I’m not by your side for that one at least. Actually, you might be better off with Harry introducing you to the people here…” He looked off into the entryway where Harry was chatting with Potter and his other servants, giving them instructions for the evening. “I don’t know anyone and he’s more personable than I.”

            “I wouldn’t say that.” Gwen lied, but Hayden rolled his eyes at her as though to prove her right, making her chuckle.

He may not have been personable, but at least he knew what he was getting into. Gwen had studied these people, but she only really knew Hayden and Harry, and those two she had only known for a few days. Hayden knew more people than she did; he may not be fond of them, but he knew them all the same.

As though Hayden could read her mind, he handed her a second macaron.

“Just don’t look so anxious all night, alright?” He sighed. “It sort of defeats the purpose of you being the rightful leader of the kingdom.”

“Duly noted,” Gwen replied.

“People are starting to arrive, are you two alright?” Harry came bounding over. He was a smiling ball of energy, although it might have been to do with the already empty champagne flute in his hand. “Gwen, you’ll accompany me in the first dance of the evening, I hope? It’s traditional for the host to be the first on the dance floor, and it would be my honour.”        Gwen glanced at Hayden who nodded his approval.

“I’d love to.” She smiled, craning her head to see a group of people beginning to flurry into the ballroom. Some were in a simple dress, others in things that looked more expensive and lavish in a rainbow of colours. Harrison took her hand and placed it on his arm, pulling Gwen forward towards the crowd and leaving Hayden, now with a drink in his hand, at the table.

She smiled politely and curtseyed to those villagers who she was quickly introduced to. An short, plump older lady pinched her cheeks and told her what a vision she was as Harrison beamed before she was dragged along to a group of teenagers who barely gave her a second glace. There were a few families who were all pleasant enough and greeted her with smiles, but it wasn’t until Dorothy Walkman came through the doors that Gwen began to really pay attention.

She was a tall woman with a sturdy build. Although Harrison had told Gwen that she was wealthy, she was dressed in a simple gown the same colour as pine tree leaves. Harrison nudged her and gave her a meaningful look. Gwen pulled her shoulders back and put on her bravest face, following Harrison’s lead as he strode over to greet her.

“Mr Astere, you do know how to throw a good party.” She smiled, embracing Harry in her arms like a mother would her child. Harry kissed her on the cheek affectionately.

“Well, whenever I hear you’re coming I tell my staff to pull out all the stops.” He winked. He pulled Gwen in closer to him. “Might I introduce you to Guinevere…Cavenair.” He whispered the last part, keeping his own face straight. Dorothy’s eyes widened but she held her composure, curtseying to Gwen. Gwen returned the gesture.

“Miss Walkman, it wonderful to meet you. Mr Astere has told me so much.” Gwen told her, but despite her pleasant manner, Dorothy looked at her with suspicion. Gwen smoothed her skirts and pushed her shoulders back a little but the woman’s expression remained the same.

“Would you accompany me on a walk in the garden later this evening, your highness?” Dorothy asked. “Without the company of Mr Astere, perhaps.”

“Yes, of course.” Gwen nodded, perhaps over eagerly, as the older woman turned away to go and greet some others. Gwen hunched over in defeat. Hayden gave her a questioning look from across the room where he had been cornered by a group of three very pretty sisters with matching hairstyles and the same dress in different colours. Gwen shrugged at him but he didn’t respond. It was quite funny to see him surrounded by a gaggle of girls, not that he was unattractive. It just wasn’t very like him to care for the attention of female company.

 His eyes looked past her to where a man around the same age as she was entered. He had hair that was a blinding white blonde and his eyes were grey to match his suit. Hayden’s eyes narrowed as Harrison once again nudged Gwen, telling her that this could only be Sir Milo Ventury.

            “Harry! It’s been too long.” He said, his voice very deep. “I dare say you only want me at these things when you want me to talk about them.”

            “Certainly not, I just don’t host them as much as my parents once did I’m afraid,” Harry replied, taking Milo’s hand and shaking it firmly.

            “I must assume that this is our girl,” Milo said, gesturing to Gwen, taking the moment to look her up and down. She felt her skin prickle, the sensation creeping up her just as his eyes did.

            “Guinevere Cavenair, my lord.” Gwen curtseyed and Milo bowed to her. His eyes looked at her up and down, the way Hayden had when they had first met, trying to decide if she was up for it, as though a pretty dress was all that would tell them that.

            “You’ll have to save a dance for me, your majesty.” He smiled at her, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Is Hayden here?”

            “Indeed, he’s milling about somewhere,” Harry replied half-heartedly, pulling Gwen closer to him once again. “If you don’t mind I’m afraid I simply must start the dancing now or it’ll never get started. We’ll catch up later on.”

            Milo opened his mouth to answer but Harrison had already turned away with Gwen in tow to the middle of the dance floor. He made a signal to the band and they began to play a waltz. Harrison’s form was much less stiff than Hayden’s had been, taking Gwen in his arms naturally spinning her around the floor whilst still counting under his breath for her. She could feel the sections of her dress rising and falling with her, and enjoyed the sensation on what felt like a thousand skirts propelling her around to Harry’s rhythm.  

            She did wish that there had not been so much pressure on her. If she had told herself a month ago that she would be being spun around in the centre of the dancefloor in a beautiful dress by a handsome, rich man who was very kind to her, then she would have delighted. If she were not in the position she was in, then she would be able to enjoy the way that Harrison’s hand rested on her waist and the way he stopped counting up to four and began to hum along with the music, occasionally pausing his humming to tell her that she was very light on her feet. Instead, her mind was occupied by the fact that neither of the two people she was meant to impress seemed to care very much.

            Having people dis-like her was not an alien feeling to Gwen. It was a fact of life that not everyone would like everyone. She’d had people at school who disliked her, and there were people she had disliked herself… but it had never been important before. Harrison had been easy to win over but there was the advantage of him already being friends with Hayden, even if it was a slightly strange friendship in the eyes of Gwen. Harry could give her a good word with these people, but the grounds of it still felt shaky.

            “May I cut in?” The grey figure of Milo asked, his hand outstretched in a way that told Gwen that no was not actually an option. She looked apologetically to Harry but he took her hand and placed it into Milo’s as the music began to change.

            “How are you finding the party Lord Ventury?” Gwen asked politely, her mouth speaking the words whilst her head tried to find the beat of the music and follow the lead Milo was setting with only some success, annoyed at the way that her shoes were beginning to pinch at her feet.

            “I always enjoy parties thrown by Harry.” He replied. “He always ends up in a bush with someone which makes for excellent gossip.” His lips turned upwards into a sly smile. “Although, with your appearance, I have a feeling my news will have a much more interesting topic than the most recent lord or lady Harry has managed to seduce.”

            “I suppose that would depend on how political one is.”

            “And how political are you, your highness?”

            Gwen paused.

            “Until recently, I chose to remain neutral on most matters.” Gwen bit her lip a little. She wasn’t sure what exactly Milo wanted her to say, so all she could give him was the truth. “But then I found out my identity and not even a day later the call for boys to fight in a war was sent to my doorstep. Politics suddenly became rather important.”

            “Smart girl.” Milo smiled. “But there’s still a lot you’re not aware of.” He paused, spinning her and pulling her back in. Gwen was sure it was meant o be graceful, but she wasn’t used to Milo, unsure of what his movements were supposed to be, so she was fairly certain she looked more like a purple sack of potatoes being slung. She heard him sigh before he continued to speak. “You know, people have always wondered if you were still alive if the king and the queen were still alive. No one ever saw bodies, you see, only ashes. You look like your father though.”

            “I do?”

            “I visited the palace once as a child and I saw your parents.” His expression suddenly became very wistful, his tone softer. “You remind me of your father a lot. I’m not sure what people will make of that, but it hasn’t put me off.” He paused again. “Yet.”

            Gwen let herself breathe once again. Milo was not going to go against her any time soon, but it still meant she had to be careful. She made eyes with Hayden and gave him a discreet nod over Milo’s shoulder. He nodded back approvingly, making his way past people and towards Harrison on the other side of the room who gave her a much less discreet thumbs up and raised another glass of champagne to her.

She was also interested to hear more about her father. He had not been in the books which Hayden had shown her, in fact, she had hardly heard anything about her father’s side of the family other than he had married into the royal line of Colvine. She liked the fact that Milo had compared her to him, it made a change from being constantly told she looked nothing like her mother by Hayden. She thought of her father in Eldun suddenly and the way he had told her that she did not know everything yet, although she wasn’t sure why.

Hayden strode over to her as the music slowed down.

“I’m awfully sorry Milo, but I do believe it’s my turn with our future queen now.” Hayden flashed him a grin but Milo looked vaguely annoyed, looking between the two of them.

“Good luck, your majesty,” Milo muttered as Hayden pulled Gwen in closer to him.

The music was slow enough that Hayden could pull her into him, swaying and moving with the music as couples flooded the floor. This wasn’t like the waltz they had practised before where her back was pulled away from him. Now their chests were almost touching and Hayden’s head was bent so that he could whisper to her. His mouth was close to her ear, wanting to make sure he was quiet enough not to be heard, but his breath was hot against her hairline and made her shiver a little. They weren’t stiff like when they were waltzing, no one was thanks to the alcohol buzzing through their systems and making them all relax. There were some men in the corner singing along to the tune, led by Harry, in slurred words that meant Gwen couldn’t really understand what they were saying, but the spirit was there and they made her laugh behind the cover of Hayden’s shoulder.

There were a few other couples on the floor, some kids sliding across in their socks after they had discarded their shoes, much to the annoyance of their parents who were awkwardly running between couples dancing, trying to round them up. It reminded Gwen of the weddings in the town square when she was younger. She had always loved those, with the huge wedding cake that her mother would prepare for the bride and groom. She smiled to herself as she thought of her mother and father. Every time he told her that this was the best cake he had ever tasted and her laughing him off by covering the tip of his nose with whatever colour icing the happy couple had chosen. Gwen would spend all night in the corner awkwardly smiling at the boys of the village with her friends whilst snacking on all of the sweets, basking in the smells of the flowers which would surround the entire reception. She had never been much of a dancer.

Here the people were a little more dressed up than they were at home, but it still felt like a community, one that would be taken apart just as her own would be as soon as the boys started to be sent off for this ridiculous war that the king had started. She looked around, searching for faces of boys Blaine’s age, catching them holding girls on the dancefloor or playing with their siblings at one of the tables. She wondered what Milo had thought of the war, and she kicked herself that she had not asked him.

“How did you find your first lordly interaction?” Hayden whispered into her ear.

“What do you mean? I’ve been hanging out with you and Harry.”

“We’re not lords, Guinevere, not officially.” Hayden sighed. “Our families established a business so we have the money a lord might have but we do not have the title.”

Gwen hadn’t realised that there was that much of a distance, and then she remembered how Harry had told her that Hayden and he had been off in other rooms getting drunk at most of the balls they had attended. They had been outcasts in that world. No wonder Hayden and Milo had been so icy.

“I never really thought there was a difference. To me, money was always just…money.” She whispered to him, noting Milo’s raised brows as Hayden spun her out and back in again, making her giggle. He rolled his eyes but he couldn’t seem to suppress the grin on his face, the largest one Gwen had witnessed in the week she had known him.

“I’ll have to teach you on the journey tomorrow.” He said, pulling her in close once more. He moved both of his hands to reach around her hips, tapping along on the small of her back to the slow beat. She rested her hands on his shoulders, continuing to follow his lead. Harrison was at the door, giddily saying goodbye to some of his guests as the night began to wear on. “Have you managed to speak with Dorothy Walkman yet?”

“No, I actually haven’t seen her.” Gwen furrowed her brows, scanning the room for the older woman. The door to the gardens was open, letting in the night air, and Gwen was able to see the back of the Dorothy’s dress. She remembered what Dorothy had said to her earlier and took a deep breath. “Excuse me, won’t you? I have very important queenly things to do.” She winked to Hayden who was hardly listening anymore as Harry tripped over his own shoes saying goodbye to an old gentleman.

The night was cold but clear, the storms from the nights before having cleared the sky for a tapestry of stars. Gwen loved the stars, not that she knew all that much about them. She had tried to find information on astrology in the school library but there had only been one book and it was in language too complicated for her to understand when she was only eleven. She should have picked it up as she got older, but it always passed her by.

Dorothy was looking up at the sky, her brows a little furrowed. It was peaceful outside, without the music and the chatter of people. Her arms were wrapped around herself, protection from the chill in the air. Gwen felt a new wave of nerves hit her right in her stomach, breathing in deeply to try and avoid the feeling.

“Your highness, there’s no need to be anxious around me,” Dorothy said and Gwen felt her shoulders relax at the smile could hear in her voice. “If you’re to be the queen of Colvine, one should not be scared of simple store owners.”

“I hear that you’re far more than that,” Gwen replied, moving so that she was level with the older woman. Dorothy was a head taller than Gwen, closer to Hayden’s height than to hers. It didn’t help with the fact that she was already intimidating.

“I think Harrison overestimates me.” She said, but she was still smiling. “He speaks very highly of you too.”

“He’s too kind.” Gwen blushed.

“I don’t deny it. But, Guinevere I must ask you, why do you believe that you would be a good queen?” Dorothy asked, turning to look down on Gwen as she shivered, not sure if it was from the cold seeping under her skin or the fear having the same effect.

“I don’t know if I will be,” Gwen replied, her chin turning upwards, “but I think I could be better than what we have now, and I’d like to think that counts for something.”

Dorothy looked down on her.

“You believe that you can do a better job than a trained adult?” She tutted. “The king is not perfect, my dear, but he has aided this country at times.”

“I’m sorry?” Gwen asked, her mind suddenly blanking on everything Hayden had told her.

“The king’s government was the one who gave me the money to start this business. Those of us who have come into money in his reign are weary, Guinevere. They may not take too easily to the old blood rising again.” She turned to look at Gwen, her eyes unreadable as she looked down at her. “He is not perfect, and this war may not be the perfect solution, but you will have to excuse me for having my reservations about you.”

Gwen nodded as the older woman stalked past her back into the ballroom, leaving Gwen feeling deflated.