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Crown Princess Aliyah, soon-to-be Queen of Eldom, held her head up high as she gracefully entered the ballroom. Aliyah noticed that nobody else was wearing anything black like she was. She also noticed that they were all staring at her. Aliyah walked up onto the dais, she met her father’s gaze. She took his place at the front, knowing a speech would be needed from her.
“Greetings, my future subjects. I’m going to keep this short, so you can all party like you came here to do. I will not bore you with promises that you will hear during my coronation, but I will say that Prince Amir’s funeral is set to be held next week. Invitations will be sent to the entire kingdom, but attendance is not mandatory. Now, please enjoy yourselves,” Aliyah spoke, her voice emotionless.
She motioned for the orchestra to start playing their music before she turned away from the crowd. Aliyah went to the throne, meeting her father’s eyes as she curtsied in greeting. When she saw the motion to stand, she straightened her back and subtly glared at him.
“Dance with whoever you want to, but anything you drink or eat must be tasted first,” He told her, dismissing.
Aliyah felt anger bubbling up inside of her, he didn’t even apologize to her. Could he not have some decency? She bit her tongue, turned and promptly left the dais. There was already a line of nobles near the short staircase, waiting for her.
They all bowed and curtsied before jumping into conversation with her. Before she knew it she was whisked onto the dance floor and in the arms of a man she vaguely remembered from her time at the Academy. He was quite a bit older than her, having graduated when she was only 7.
When Aliyah finally got away from the dance floor, she beckoned for a royal taster to come to the food table with her. She felt bad for the person, knowing something could very well be poisoned. Aliyah pointed to what she wanted to eat and watched as the young man tasted her food and drink. She nodded in thanks as she began to eat the food, trying to be kind.
As she ate she began to scan the crowd, trying to find someone that seemed interesting enough to dance with. Her eyes fell upon a young woman with blonde hair, her appearance was ordinary but there was something about the way she carried herself that piqued Aliyah’s curiosity. Aliyah glanced up at her father, then back at the woman. She bit her lip before standing straighter and entering the dance floor.
Aliyah let herself be swept into a dance with a nobleman, who she knew was married. She kept herself from glaring at the man and offered him a kind smile.
“Mr. Parkinson, what a pleasure to see you. How is the missus? I heard she’s due to give you your second child, will this one join the Academy?” Aliyah asked as they danced, giving the man an innocent smile.
She didn’t miss the small falter in his step. He likely thought she had no idea about the court, and who was married or engaged.
“Martha is doing quite well, I’m sorry she couldn’t make it. The child will head off to the Academy, but we’ve also decided to send Lexi there for a few years,” Mr. Parkinson answered as he spun her.
“That’s lovely, I’m sure you know that the Academy offers the same classes as a finishing school. Lexi could stay there and watch over her younger sibling until she graduated,” Aliyah replied, about to leave as the song ended.
“Yes, that’s a conversation I need to have with the headmaster. I hope we have a boy, so he can watch over Lexi instead of it being the other way around,” He said, pulling Aliyah back into another dance.
Aliyah fought a grimace off of her face, doing her best to continue her sweet charade. She let herself be spun, rolling her eyes as she saw her father watching her.
“Women are extremely capable of caring for their siblings, I’ve done so with mine since I was 6 years old. I was practically a mother to Alexander and the twins,” Aliyah finally replied, doing her best to keep a snark out of her voice.
“I-I-I mean, of course, I know that. I was just trying to say it would be good for Lexi to have someone to take care of her when we aren’t there,” Mr. Parkinson stuttered, obviously trying to stay in the future queen’s good graces.
“Ah, that’s what the older years are for. Of course, I can’t say I was privy to their mentorship. Most of the older students choose a newcomer to raise, in my case, I was raised by the headmaster’s wife until her untimely death,” She replied, her tone emotionless but her eyes held some grief.
Aliyah was close to Mrs. Fredrick, but she never saw the woman as a mother. As far as she was concerned, she had no mother. Only a woman who birthed her and held the title of it.
“My condolences, I’m sure she was a wonderful woman,” He said as Aliyah began to feel his hands sweating.
“She was as good as she was able to be,” The Princess replied, curtsying as the song ended.
Aliyah backed away from him, recognizing the small break in the music. The orchestra was taking a 5-minute water break, the perfect amount of time for her to search for the blonde woman from earlier. She looked around, pretending to be searching for her next dance partner.
Aliyah smirked, triumphantly, as her gaze landed on the blonde woman. She slowly began to make her way over to where she was, keeping her father in her peripheral vision. Aliyah did want to dance with the woman, but she mostly wanted to piss off her dad. Plus, her type was brunette for both women and men.
Finally, Aliyah approached the woman. She nodded her head to the man who was talking to her, waiting for them to finish their conversation.
“Alright,” Aliyah said, turning to the blonde when they were finished speaking, “Miss, would you mind being my dancing partner for the next song?”
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