"I bear a message from Her Majesty, Queen Olivia Jacqueria St. Delainia of the Central Plains..."

"Umm-hmm..." I tried to cut off his tirade before he got too far into reciting my stepmother's endless titles, but it didn't seem to work.

"...Duchess of Eldenbry, most esteemed sister of the King of Lingwood..." He ignored my subtle hints, so I resorted to tuning him out until he finished his official dronings. With my mind wandering into the nethersphere, I imagine my eyes glazed over as Probably Joseph proceeded to shake my shoulder roughly, snapping my mind back into the disappointing present moment.

"Yes, yes, what's the message?" My voice was likely a little curt, an attempt to mask the not insignificant jump he had caused when he shook me out of my daydreams. There was still a faint chance that I would able to go back to reading after this (if I could find where he put my book), so it seemed letting him recite his message and go would be the most prudent path for all of us.

It seems I was too abrupt as Probably Joseph gave me a stern look, not to dissimilar from the one the queen favored. He held my gaze for several seconds before continuing with his message.

"The Queen orders your presence at the masked ball tonight, escorting the lady in waiting sent from the household of Baron Elkazar, acting in the stead of Quinley, the second daughter of the household, who has unfortunately caught a chill sometime within these past few days, leaving her bedridden for the time being."

I'm not at all surprised Quinley called in sick. Despite only meeting a few times, we had a well developed hatred of one another. She saw me as a country bufoon with no sense of propriety, and I thought of her as an ignorant social climber, too proud to use her brain and do something useful with her life instead of planning on carrying on the tradition of housewifery and hostessing that her mother had instilled in her since she could walk. As I was useless to her goals of some day marrying into power, she had a tendency to avoid me if at all possible.

We were often paired up for things as her father and mine were close; her older sister was engaged to one of my cousins, and her mother had hopes of marrying her into the direct royal line. Quinley didn't see me as a valid choice, so tried to avoid me in any situations where my brothers weren't around to impress. They wouldn't bother showing tonight, so neither would she.

This was the first time she had sent a lady in waiting in her stead, though. I never knew she had any. But with the close association, I had little hope for an intelligent conversation partner. Stepmother was getting desperate to make me settle down with someone, or even show a romantic interest for once. It's not like people were lining up to partner with an unimportant prince with no direct influence on the crown when other (more powerful) options were available, so I've managed to slip under everyone's notice with the notable exception of Her Majesty.

Probably Joseph cleared his throat to ensure my attention was back on him and continued. "Her Majesty requested me to inform you that you are required to dress up properly this time, treat your date with respect and courtesy, and not spend your night reading in the library while she is bored to tears." That was another reason Quinley refused to be paired with me anymore. No one has enough respect for books these days...

After adjusting his wire rimmed glasses, the steward continued. "In the event that you fail to complete these goals, Her Majesty wishes to inform you that your former ettiquite teacher is willing to return to teach you the manners you currently lack."

It had taken far too long to scare that hag nosed witch away from me in the first place. As the last time I saw her she was spewing venom and swearing to never teach me again, I imagine it took some bribery to get her to agree to come back here. She was far more comfortable at the main palace, teaching princes who were willing to pretend to be courteous and pay attention over trying to drill lessons into my vocally uninterested skull. I had a feeling she would be extra ruthless this time around if she got another chance to get her overgrown claws into me.

I heaved an exaggerated sigh, but nodded in acceptance of the message nonetheless. Probably Joseph bowed in a way that felt slightly sarcastic, turned with a flourish, and marched off, his shoes clicking rhythmically as he left the way he came in. Once he was sufficiently out of sight to no longer be able to report rude behavior to the queen, I dramatically rolled my eyes at his departing back before awkwardly clamoring to my feet.

Taking a moment to stretch, I thought on what he had said. I didn't catch it if he mentioned a time, but traditionally these things started about two hours before sunset and lasted almost to the midnight hour. I could probably get away with only staying for half of it, but that damned steward was probably going to report me to his master if I even considered being late. Better to get ready now than to risk another round of torture by posture perfectionists.

It was high time to return to my room, find a reasonably nice outfit to wear, and take some time to mentally prepare myself for the horror that was socialization with nobility. I spoke a quick prayer to whatever god was listening (and in charge of matters like these) and prepared to face my torment.