Before they could finish their discussion about the diary and the ancient queen, a servant came and fetched them to begin the ball.

Aleydis stood next to Mother on the dais while Alrik was on Father’s other side. Father kept his greeting brief and then they all sat while their subjects came forward and presented their gifts to Alrik. She was just glad that it wasn’t her birthday, as much as she enjoyed getting gifts it was tiring finding something unique to say to each of their vassals.

Since she wasn’t the center of attention, she got to admire the various gifts in between watching the crowds. She saw a couple of her friends towards the back of the ballroom and had to resist the urge to ask to be released so she could go play with them. If she were to ever persuade her family that she would be fit for diplomacy, she needed to pay attention during events, especially to the people involved.

Not only that but she was ten now. That came with certain expectations, as her tutors had been teaching her lately. Although her parents would probably disagree with some of it, she wanted to make them proud no matter what. So she sat and listened attentively during the many small speeches, making mental notes to help her remember who was who. It was a trick that Ellie had taught her a few years ago when there were a lot of new faces for a ball and she kept getting them confused.

Her parents had glanced at her a few times as if looking to release her from the task, but she'd simply smiled at them. Since she hadn't heard anything about going to an academy since that one day, they had either forgotten about it during whatever they were busy with or they had deemed her too young and immature to attend. However, she was determined to become a diplomatic envoy, so she would just have to change their minds.

Thankfully, the gift-giving finally came to an end, a small mountain of gifts stacked up at the foot of the dais. Since it was his birthday, Alrik would be the one to open the ball. She resisted the urge to bounce happily in her seat, curious who her brother would pick for his first partner. Although it meant nothing at this age, it might give her a clue about what type of girl her brother might be interested in.

To her surprise, he moved over and stood in front of her, holding out his hand. "Princess Aleydis, would you give me the honor of this dance?"

Standing carefully so she wouldn't stumble, Aleydis did the curtsy she had spent hours mastering. "It would be my honor, Your Highness."

Sliding her hand into his waiting one, they slowly made their way to the dance floor. Aleydis tried to ignore all of the stares fixed on them, telling herself firmly that they were watching Alrik and not her. After all, her brother was very handsome, with his golden hair and bright green eyes. He shone brightly and Aleydis couldn't be more proud to be his sister.

They reached the floor and took their position, waiting for the music to start. It only took a moment for the orchestra to start and then Alrik was carefully guiding her into a traditional waltz. He spoke softly so as to not be overheard, "You did very well, Aley. The nobles and visitors were very impressed by your poise, I could tell. However, the formalities are over for the most part, so you can go see your friends once this dance is done. However, stay close, cause Father has one more announcement to make in a little while."

She smiled up at him, "It's your birthday, of course I'm gonna be on my best behavior. What is Father announcing?"

He grinned, "It's a surprise, one I think you'll be happy about. So, which present did you like the best?"

Although curiosity was filling her at what the announcement could possibly be, she allowed Alrik to change the topic. "Well, while the silk from Bantaya was very pretty, I have to admit that I liked the books from Yeon better. But it's your birthday, which did you prefer?"

He looked thoughtful, as if mentally sorting through the gifts. "It's hard to say. Everyone clearly put a lot of thought into their gifts."

She smirked, he was avoiding picking an answer cause he was worried about offending someone, which meant that there was something that had caught his eye. She leaned close and whispered, "It's okay, I won't say anything. I'm just curious."

He carefully twirled her out as the dance called for, twirling her back in with a smile. "You're as curious as a kitten. Very well, but you can't say anything."

She nodded, "I promise."

He leaned a little closer and murmured, "I am very interested in the potions that the people of Aleria offered, their herbal mastery is supposed to be second to none, although hard to replicate because their herbs are grown with the sea breeze."

She pushed, "But..."

"But the daggers that Kadin got me fit my tastes better than the ornate weapons that some of the others offered."

She rolled her eyes, "Of course he knows you better, he's with you every day."

Alrik laughed. "Very true, Sparrow, very true."

She wrinkled her nose at the nickname her brother had started calling her a couple of years ago, saying that she hopped around and chirped cheerfully like the birds that liked to gather in their private courtyard. Before she could come up with something in return, the music finished up and he twirled her one final time before guiding her to a stop.

She could tell that he wanted to pull a face but stopped himself just in time. Instead, he offered her a bow and she curtsied in return, both of them tuning out the clapping they could hear.

He smiled at her, "All right, I have to go and mingle, why don't you go and see your friends? I think I saw them by the refreshment tables over by the balcony. Just don't leave the ballroom."

She nodded and took off, making a mental note to bring him something tasty that he could eat discreetly. Her family was rarely able to eat much at events like this, too many people needing to speak with them. In another couple of years, she would be in the same position as well, but many of the courtiers seemed to think that she was too young to have any say in things. Something that she shamelessly took advantage of.

She was just glad that her grandmother had started the tradition of having a meal set up in their private dining room for when the event ended. Although they could have their meal sent directly to their room if they were truly starving, having the meal set up and waiting in a single room made less work for their servants.

With a mission in mind, she made a beeline toward the refreshment tables, only to be stopped halfway there by someone calling her name. "Princess Aleydis."

Making sure not to show her irritation at being interrupted from her task, she turned to see who was calling for her. To her surprise, it was one of the Elders of the Council, Lord Belgrini. What could one of the Council members possibly want with her? They usually pretended like she didn't exist or treated her like a much younger child than she truly was.

She dipped a quick curtsy, "Yes, Lord Belgrini?"

The middle-aged man offered her a bow, "You look especially lovely today, Your Highness. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time."

A hint of uneasiness crawled down her spine at his question that wasn't really a question. She wasn't afraid of him, exactly, but it was odd that he sought her out when he could be talking to Alrik or their parents. After all, every time they had crossed paths before, he had ignored her beyond whatever minimum courtesies were required.

Still, if she was going to be a diplomat, she was going to undoubtedly have many situations in the future where she would have to deal with someone who approached her with hidden intentions. Taking a deep breath to settle herself, she smiled up at him. "Of course. But my friends are waiting for me and I don't want to be rude and make them wait too long."

She gave him another smile, this one practically dripping with innocent childishness. Although she tried not to use it too much, she wasn't above using how people saw her as a child to her advantage. After all, she was young but she was royalty as well. Both Ellie and her mother had sat her down once she was old enough to understand and had told her that because her family was special, people would pretend to be nice to her to try and get favors from her and her family.

Her mother had looked angry about this but Ellie had mostly looked sad during the conversation. Although she hadn't fully grasped it at the time, she'd only been five, she had known that they were trying to protect her. However, now she understood that most people put themselves first and tried to get as much as they could for themselves. Because of this, she didn't feel bad about using whatever tactics she had in her arsenal to thwart them.

She saw a flash of frustration in the Elder's eyes but his smile didn't falter, "Thank you, Princess. It won't take long."

Before he could say whatever was on his mind, the sound of a herald's trumpet rang out.

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Until the next chapter is available, these other Action Fantasy Tourney entries are sure to entertain you :) Links to each are in the description below.

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