August 12, 2010

• Part II- The Challenge

  

  Grey, clothed from neck to foot in fine attire like unto the trim and color of some distant land’s noble line, peered out through his mask at the large ballroom where hundreds of couples swirled about as water lilies caught in a gentle current. Should any one of them recognize him, he would surely be exiled to the desert. He had intentionally arriven toward the end of the evening’s events, that he might not have to defend his disguise too often against too many, all that he might offer the second part of the day’s previous gift to Princess Larayna.

  Walking casually along the wall of the ballroom, he made his way to the tables laden nearly to breaking with fruits, meats and pastries; a diverse cornucopia representing the culinary traditions of the Twelve Kingdoms. There was also a large, marble fountain fashioned as a bouquet of twelve flowers, each blossom pouring out wine into a large basin within which a guest could dip their chalice and drink their fill.

  The room itself was cavernous, the ceiling undulating with the colorful banners of all the noble houses of the world, some of them square and heavy, some of them light and serpentine, all of them colorful and rich with hidden meaning buried in heraldry. The windows along the wall opposite the entrance were dark with the midnight hour, all things being lit by chandeliers of candlesticks, candelabras, and a roaring fire before which sat the King Wayrmyrd and Queen Thelaylia and their guardsmen. Afar off on the opposite end in a loft was a grand chamber orchestra of strings and winds and some cymbals, drums and other things that carried the feet of all present upon lovely tunes from the different realms, that they might dance according to the style of their folk. The current song was a dirge from the Kingdom of Gravehill, as those who dwell among the tombs of kings long dead are wont to enjoy, though most other dancers would prefer something, quite literally, of a livelier sort.

  It was just before this number, as Grey was walking in, that an announcement was made: following the dirge would be the last dance. His timing was perfect, but now he had the near impossible mission of finding the only partner he desired…and lo! he spotted her, a rose among weeds. As a sunrise above a green forest frosted silver in the early autumn was the long, flowing hair of Princess Larayna, her maskless face feigning a smile as another noble no doubt bored her with tales of his exploits. Having no time, no patience and no regard for self-inflated men who merely tell the tales of the things they order their soldiers to do, claiming such deeds as their own, Grey did one thing disguised as a prince he could not do as Grey the serving man: he interrupted.

  “So you see, My Lady, when one is surrounded on all sides by servants of evil, one must not rely upon his sword alone, but by two swords! Thus it was that I…”

  “Pardon me, Sir, but the night is casting an even longer shadow than your nose,” Grey said, completely dismayed that such a statement came from his own mouth. An expression of sheer delight played across the Larayna’s face as the nobleman sputtered, groping at his nose unconsciously as he sidled off, not knowing quite how to respond.

  “You, Sir,” she said, seeking to restrain what would surely have been a beautiful laugh, “are quite bold. You are, however, most welcome here for the moment, though Your Lady will be dancing once this dreadful elegy has ended.”

  “It is of dancing, My Lady,” the forced usage of the common phrase was like bile on his tongue, but he could not risk Larayna discovering his identity, “that I wish to treat. May I have the honor of her last dance this evening?”

  The princess looked upon the bowing man in disbelief. Bold indeed!

  “You may not!” she responded in nearly a gasp, “Prince Malagyrn arranged for that pleasure months ago by correspondence and would be most cross were she to grant such a favor to you on a whim. Be off, and dance with another.”

  Knowing that his first asking would likely fail, Grey searched himself for a deeper courage, found it, and embraced it, “Then I would like to make a wager for her last dance, since it is known to me that My Lady is both clever and a lover of guessing games.”

  “You are well informed, Sir…”

  “My name shall be your prize, should you win.”

  A thrill of curiosity shot through her, and before she could process his request rationally Larayna found herself accepting the wager and eagerly awaiting the details. He took her gently by the hand and led her to a wall upon which hung a large mirror. From their place near to the corner of the room they could see the whole of the crowd.

  “Would My Lady,” he said, close to her ear, “say that, from where we stand, she can see only the same people that I can?”

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “In all my time this evening I have seen one woman who is in my eye the most beautiful of all present. My challenge to My Lady is that, by the end of the current song, she must seek this woman out and bring her to me, that I may have the dancing partner I desire, if I cannot have the Princess Larayna.”

  She laughed. “What a fascinating challenge! And tell Your Lady, Mysterious Sir, what she shall win, besides the satisfaction of knowing your name? For if she fails you win not only her last dance, but too the ire of a powerful prince.”

  “You will win nothing more than my name for were My Lady to know it, she would find it worth her every effort.”

  Eyebrows raised as a falcon’s upheld for imminent flight, she looked into the eyes behind the mask, seeking deceit should it be there and, upon finding none whatsoever Latayna smiled and vanished into the dancing crowd in a green-gold swirl that robbed Grey of his very breath. Heart pounding, forehead sweating beneath the leather of his mask, he uttered a prayer and hoped with his very life that this gamble would succeed, for he stood to lose far more than this evening’s anonymity; he could lose his very way of life.

   

  Yes indeed; you may have caught another invented word, albeit a more subtle one- arriven! I just think it sounds better than “arrived,” don’t you? Return in a few more days for the conclusion!

   

  • 11:14 pm
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