Serena had to admit she was tired of adventures just now. She wanted to go back home. At least Thomas got them through the Sea Gate and the Inner East Gate with no trouble.
People walked everywhere on the streets, some of them dancing and singing. Acrobats appeared near fountains.
New Year's Eve. She kept forgetting.
The third gate led into the palace grounds. There, they stopped and waited with a dozen other people. They were primarily merchants, she thought. Annoyed merchants at that.
"Meow!" Buffy shouted so loudly that everyone jumped. Serena looked at her in shock. "I want food!" the cat complained.
"Do I look like I have food for you? Or me? Or Thomas?"
"I want food!"
It worked. One of the guards gave her a piece of cheese. She acted insufferable afterward. Or maybe it wasn't an act. Buffy had always been a drama queen.
Buffy's act kept the notice of the others, which Serena appreciated. It allowed Serena to study the building with towers and arched windows beyond the gate. She had never seen anything so large. The guards patrolling the upper level hardly looked real. In fact, everything about the place struck Serena as wrong.
"Princess Serena?"
She looked at Thomas with a start, but he hid his mischievous smile behind a very proper bow of his head. "The king would like to see you now."
"And me!" Buffy shouted.
"And you, cat."
"I have a name!" Buffy growled and leaped at Thomas. Serena caught her in midair.
"Please come along. The King is not used to waiting."
"But I look awful"! Serena suddenly realized.
"You look remarkable for someone who survived a ship sinking," Thomas replied as they started away. She heard whispers behind them.
"And me, too! Buffy exclaimed.
"And you, too, Buffy," Thomas agreed with a slight smile.
"I wouldn't have bitten you," Buffy whispered. "Well, not too hard."
Thomas almost laughed, and it did lighten the mood. Serena considered a little magic to clean up but changed her mind. If this made her look like a helpless, overwhelmed young girl, all the better. She had to remember to be worried about her parents, though.
It was hard to remember anything once they stepped into the magnificent building. Light shined through colored glass leaving rainbows scattered around the room. Plush furniture lined the walls of the entry hall, obviously places to sit and rest. They were all filled with older men and women, none of whom smiled.
Then she saw the cluster of six young women arranged so artfully on a long sofa that Serena glanced around, looking for the artist painting the scene.
None. This was all for show.
"So pitiful," one of them said and didn't even try to lower her voice. The others giggled.
"Ladies," one of the royal guards said with a glance.
You would have thought he'd called them street scum from their reactions of shock and anger. One stood. The others followed. They stomped their way out of the room.
Thomas sighed. "That was some of your cousins."
"Oh," she said, although she had guessed as much already. The girls turned one way, but Serena went on straight. Good. "I should clean up, though."
"No time," the guard said and stepped back to walk beside her. He gave Buffy a wary glance. "The king is meeting with General Gellis right now, but he wants to see you immediately afterward."
"Does this mean I get to sit down soon?" Serena asked.
She did, and for a long time. The little room where the guards took her had no one else around. Thomas took the chair across from her, gave one slight nod, and fell asleep. Buffy climbed up in her lap and did the same.
Serena napped off and on, startled awake by any odd sound, especially any voice from the next room. Doors opened and closed from within there, too. More voices came, some of them loud. She was sure she had heard the rude Princess at least once. That annoyed Serena, who wanted her own meeting to take place and let her go clean up and rest. This meeting didn't have to be right now, did it?
She almost said something, changed her mind, and returned to sleep.
Everything went quiet.
Then, a woman came into the room. "Come along, come along. We'll get you ready for the New Year's Gala tonight."
Serena had forgotten the celebration.
"Mistress Tillie?" Thomas said, still blinking away the sleep. "The King --"
"Will see you at tonight's meal," she replied and helped Serena up as soon as Buffy jumped down.
She gave the cat a polite nod. Then she opened a hidden side door and signaled them inside. It took them a few steps and then out into another hall.
Thomas stepped up beside her. "I think the King just wanted to keep us out of sight," he said. She couldn't see if Tillie nodded in agreement.
"I am just not used to places like this," she admitted and feared she sounded too childish. "I suspect I'll be better after a few days."
"I imagine it has been a trying --"
"Down!" Serena shouted.
The others obeyed. Serena lifted her hands and faced the ball of fire that had appeared. It grew more extensive, and she could feel the heat. Serena shoved the ball of magic at the wall to the right, where it splattered, and the flames died.
The others had just gotten to their feet when a dozen guards arrived.
"Someone saw fire down the hall! The burn marks are still hot."
"One of the scones suddenly erupted, but it died down immediately," Serena said. "No one was hurt."
Areas near a scone did still glow. They believed her.
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