Clicking my tongue, I bent down and buckled the pair of heels that the seamstress had left for me, then gave Sebastian a nod of annoyance when finished. He tried to speak to me as I strode by him, but I held my hand up to silence him. I didn’t care to hear what he had to say.
Sebastian followed me from afar on our walk to the great hall. When we arrived safely, he strode off to meet with some of the other head soldiers, but still stayed within my sight.
The hall was much larger than I had expected. I spun in a tight circle to take in the entirety of it, every square inch of the space fascinating me.
The wooden walls had vines carved into them, beginning at the baseboard and climbing up to the ceiling. A crystal chandelier dangled over the center of the room, lit with jewel-toned candlesticks. White and gray marble made up the floor that was clustered with students, soldiers, and castle personnel. The room was simple in nature, but the array of taffeta and glittering jewels that swirled around the dance floor made it spectacular.
“Maeve!”
Pia stood in a corner of the room with a group of other first years. She ushered me over and began introducing me to everyone. I really did try to focus on their names, but I could feel Sebastian's eyes on me. My gaze wandered to where he stood with two other soldiers.
They were dressed the same as him, indicating their statusas head soldiers. One of them was a few inches shorter than Sebastian—six foot four, if I had a guess. The soldier's fair skin made his light brown hair stand out. The other, who was the shortest of the three, had caramel skin and green eyes so bright that I could see them from where I stood.
They all had qualities that made them nice to look at, but Sebastian was no doubt the most attractive of the group. Too bad he was turning out to be such a jerk, because based on looks alone, he had all the qualities a girl could want.
The three of them were deep in conversation, joking about something based on the expression of the taller man's face.
“Maeve?”
I jolted my head back towards Pia as she said my name.
“Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Hi, I'm Maeve. Nice to meet you,” I said to the man whose hand was outstretched in front of me, holding a drink. I accepted it, flashing him an insincere grin as a thank you, and then pressed my lips to the glass.
I said hello to a few more of the first years, none of which acknowledged the jewels lining my face. I knew that they saw them—the gems were an obvious eye catcher—they just knew better than to gawk.
Our group seemed to grow rapidly as the better portion of an hour passed, and I soon found myself feeling overwhelmed by all of the new faces. The bottom of my dress rippled over the marble as I stepped away from the crowd, needing a few moments of personal space.
I walked by where Sebastian had been stationed with his friends, but he was no longer there. I glanced around, sure that he would be within range of me, but he wasn't—at least not that I could see.
“He's getting into formation with the other head soldiers.” Pia’s voice startled me.
I flinched and spun around. Was it that obvious that I was looking for him?
“Oh. Yeah. Of course he is.” I twirled a strand of my hair nervously, trying to act nonchalant. “Um. Why?”
“My uncle always delivers a speech at the start of his galas. His head soldiers stand behind him. He should be starting any minute.”
Releasing my hair, I nodded softly in recognition and turned my head around the room. There were an endless number of eyes pointed at me. People whispered to each other while their gazes held steady on me. I brushed their stares off, fiddling with my fingers as I turned to Pia. “I need more wine,” I stated.
“That sounds like an excellent idea.” She dragged me to the nearest buffet, also providing a good view of the king when he was to begin his speech.
I drank from my glass. “So have you lived in the castle long?” I asked Pia after I swallowed.
“For about five years,” she responded mid-sip. “My mother died from an illness and I never knew my father, so Uncle Aldous took me in.”
She mostly seemed unfazed, but her answer made me frown. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have?—”
“No, no, it's fine! I’ve had years to process it.”
It wasn't fine, and she knew that as well as I did. It didn't matter how well you knew the person, or how much time had passed. The aching never ceased.
“I never knew my father, either. He died in the war before I was even a year old,” I informed her, hoping to give her something to relate to.
Pia chewed the inside of her cheek, then raised her glass in the air. “Well here's to being fatherless and drunk!” Sheclinkedher goblet against mine.
Her comment pulled a laugh free from my chest, and we both took a sip of the sweet wine. I felt very comfortable with her for some reason, so I didn't worry about offending her when I asked, “Whyis your cousin such an ass?”
She didn't answer right away. Her eyes widened, and I began to get nervous that I actuallyhadoffended her. But then her face turned red and she spat out a mouthful of wine in laughter.
