"How is the dress, my Lady?"
Belladonna's smile broadened, remembering the seamstress was still there.
"It's perfect except but for a few things."
The amendment the seamstress had to make was a minor one, but she had still had to take the dress back and bring it later in the evening all fixed and ready to be worn.
Once the seamstress left, Lady Kestra spoke up again.
"It seems everything is in order." She said, clicking her nails against each other as she looked around. "Good. I shall see you in the evening."
Belladonna smiled, too happy to observe if anything was off about Lady Kestra's presence.
"Ah, yes." She snapped her fingers, the kind of snap that she always used to dismiss servants anytime she was done with their service, but there was none in the room. "I almost forgot."
Almost forgot?
Wow!
So Lady Kestra was capable of things like that.
Forgetting.
"I would have sworn forgetting wasn't something you were capable of." Belladonna slipped into her gown with ease, but before she could reach for her zip and struggle with it, Lady Kestra was already helping her.
"I might be a powerful witch but I am still very much human." She ended with a light chuckle. "I came here to tell you that your family has arrived."
Belladonna sucked in a deep breath.
So they were here.
Finally.
Although she had been waiting for this news and could have sworn that she had earlier heard Aniya's voice, it still felt different knowing that it was actually happening. It had been months since she saw them last and they hadn't exactly parted ways on the good terms even then.
"Hmmm. Thank you, La-- Kestra." She stepped away from her slightly, thinking it over and over in her head. She wondered if much had changed with them. If her mother was still the way she remembered, if her father still kept mute all the time and If Aniya was still allowing their mother to control her, playing her innocence card everytime to get away with the consequences of a bad advice.
What about her sister's family? Did she have any children now?
There was just so much to find out.
"I cannot wait to see them again." She said, sincerely.
Giving Belladonna's shoulders a little squeeze, Lady Kestra grinned. "I am certain they feel the same."
A moment of silence passed between them as they exchanged glances and at a point, they seemed to understand what each other had in mind.
Giggles escaped through their lips and their eyes shone with extreme delight and a little bit of mischief.
****
A whole day had gone by without seeing his Donna, Eli could swear by everything that was contained in Ignas, even by his dragon, that he had missed her.
Just one day and it felt like eternity.
The time dragged on so terribly slowly and waiting was starting to feel agonizing.
Despite the fact that he had been so busy to the point that he had barely had anything to eat, Eli had entertained the thought of sneaking off from the long emergency meeting and going to his Donna just so he could spend time with her.
After all, by her side, was where his peace was.
But responsibilities were responsibilities, and sometimes, there just wasn't any running from them.
He had so many things he wanted to show her, for example, his new robe, she would love the color. It was the color of her eyes, blue, taped with silver. Then there was his new pair of boots.
He pressed his lips together firmly underneath his mask, stopping himself from chuckling aloud at his childlike excitement.
He would look like a maniac if he just started laughing without any reason in front of his guards. Coupled with his mask? The sight would be an horrifying one, might probably haunt them forever. He preferred to have his guards in a stable mental state.
But his excitement felt boundless and the closer they got to the ballroom the more he thought about what to say when he would finally see her again.
Would she be there already? He hoped that she would be but if she wasn't, he would just go and get her, maybe even spend the rest of his time in her chambers.
With her.
But he wanted to introduce her to everyone and it would be strange to have the one the ceremony was about, absent from the ceremony. He hoped she would be in a good mood to enjoy the ball. But what if she got in such a good mood that she got drunk, and went full on bold and wild.
Wild.
The memory of the way she had acted some days ago from the effect of Kestra's spell, played in his mind. He felt hot all of a sudden and one of her funny remarks popped into his mind, especially the one where she had dramatically said she was dying because he had left to attend to the door. He couldn't contain the chuckle that slipped past his lips.
The sound of drawn swords around him snapped him right out of his thoughts and he frowned, looking at his guards who looked confused as they put their swords away by their belts, immediately they confirmed that the sound they heard was the King's chuckle and not that of a stranger who was trying to ambush them.
His chuckle was so foreign to them, their first instinct had gone straight to the line of defense.
Eli scoffed in his mind.
Well, they had better get used to it.
He would be laughing a lot from now on.
"Apologies, your Majesty."
With a dismissive nod, he acknowledged their apology.
They continued their work towards the ballroom and he got lost in thoughts again, right back to the question of 'what if she got drunk'.
Well, he could handle it.
He mindlessly leaned against the wall.
In fact there were a billion ways he could handle it. The thoughts ran through his head and he chuckled loudly until the reflection of a sharp blade leveled towards his mask, flashed in his eyes.
A sword raised to him by a shaky guard.
"Are you rasing a sword to your King?"
The guard's sword dropped to the floor with a clank as he gasped, just like the rest around him. They all immediately fell to their kneels, their faces facing the ground as they begged to be spared.
Eli frowned.
What was wrong with them?
Why had the guard thought that he was-- could it be that they thought he was possessed?
How long had he been leaning against the wall and laughing to himself.
He shuddered internally at the thought. Just thinking about it was embarrassing.
Without a word, he walked pass his guards, then stopped when he was a couple of steps ahead of them.
"Do not just kneel there. Follow me." He turned away immediately, the sounds of them scurrying up to their feet seeping into his ears but all he could think about was how he must have looked leaning against the wall and laughing loudly with his mask on.
By Ignas.
So embarrassing.
Well, at least they had not gotten a chance to see his face.
He had some dignity left.