The Ethersmith

Vivi decided to accept Helegar’s invitation.

She’d heard a lot about royal parties, both good and bad. She doubted she would enjoy the experience, considering a royal ball was full of, well, royals, but visiting a ball still interested her, if only to see what they were truly like. Helegar had also promised a reward.

There was some downtime before the ball, which Vivi used to practice vein-shaping with vine roots. With Grandpa gone, she was probably the best runesmith alive. Getting rusty at the profession would be stupid. Not to mention, vein-shaping was still awesome. When storm season was over, Vivi wanted to work on creating a four-runed sword of her own.

Late evening came, with the streets getting dark, and the ball opened. Lortel advised her to show up two hours in, when the party was already well underway to avoid the slow phase at the start with people coming in and greeting everyone they hadn’t met in ages. Lortel did her hair and make-up, this time putting in much more effort.

And Vivi put on her raincoat with some nice black stockings and boots, and started the walk to the party.

“Vivi, I’m fairly certain you’re not supposed to wear a raincoat to a ball,” Lucius said skeptically from her core. “At least wear your Swordmaiden’s dress. Many hunters show up to balls just in their fancier hunting gear.”

Have you ever been to a ball? she asked in her thoughts.

“Many with my old wielder,” Lucius said. “Mostly to just crash them though. But a few times, we had to kidnap a few of the richer nobles. I’ve been to enough balls that I know nobody ever shows up to one in a raincoat.”

This is my favourite outfit, Vivi thought. I like wearing it. I feel much more comfortable in this. Even though Lortel’s dresses are very nice.

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Lucius said. “You look fantastic, but ball-goers won’t care about what you think is comfortable. They’ll just be upset that you aren’t wearing what you’re supposed to.”

So royal balls are just pretentious? Vivi thought.

“Gowns are kind of just what you’re supposed to wear,” Lucius said.

She sighed. Yeah, I know, I’m just interested to see how people will react. I just saved the whole city. The palace could very well be rubble without me. So will people respect me and my decision to wear what I like, or will they suddenly forget it all just because I’m not acting the way they want me to?

“I don’t know…” Lucius said.

I think this is a good way to gain true allies, Vivi thought. If someone gets upset just because I didn’t want to wear a dress, that probably means I don’t want them as an ally.

“For political stuff, you’ll also have to gain the favor of people you don’t like,” Lucius said.

Vivi’s smile fell. That was probably true. And annoying…

Well, maybe today we can decide if we’ll leave back to Shivenar or stay here.

Approaching the palace, Vivi saw a noble carriage heading in the same direction. It stopped at the gates, and a man in a black suit gracefully helped a woman down. The sheer size of her ball gown made Vivi pause. The hem extended far in a circle around her, while her upper body was surprisingly open, with shoulders showing. Her blonde hair was tied in a bun. She had make-up, though Vivi would have argued that Lortel had done a better job.

The royal estate was far too large to fully cover with rain-canopies. It had two protected gardens on each side of the main path to the door, while the rest was decorated with stone carvings and other solid artwork that wouldn’t be ruined by rain. Everything was perfectly lit with ethereal lamps, as if sunlight was shining on the art and colored plants.

Vivi showed her invitation at the gates and received a stern eye from the butler at the doors due to her outfit. The man bowed regardless and said, “Welcome to the Roserain ball, Vivian Runeblessed. Enjoy your stay.”

The gates opened, and she was let into the estate. The blonde woman walked annoyingly slowly, while holding her servant’s hand. Vivi followed a short distance behind, alone.

She cleaned her boots before stepping inside, as was customary on the surface, though the noblewoman seemed to be wearing heels. Inside, they passed the foyer toward the left, where open double doors and calm violins welcomed them to the large hall.

And there she was. In a ballroom, looking in from the entrance. A real royal ball, bustling with shiny gowns, nobles and ether hunters.

Tell me I’m cursed, Vivi thought, expecting the party to pause as she entered. Tell me I don’t belong here. Tell me my raincoat is ugly.

Nothing happened, though, and the ball continued as normal.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

To her right was a giant buffet table with wine and a pastry aisle with even more colors than Senith’s cabinets. To the far left was a stage and a relaxed dance floor with a violinist playing a calm ambience. The instrument was slightly muffled by chatter, but partygoers spoke quietly enough that the song could be heard even here.

There was a second floor with an indoor balcony as well, where Vivi spotted men in suits leaning against the railing and eyeing the view below. Everything looked so calm and refined, and surprisingly quiet. Nobody seemed to be arguing or loudly gossiping like Vivi had imagined. Nobody seemed evil at first glance.

A woman on a nearby table of three glanced at her curiously, and Vivi realized she was standing at the doorway like an idiot.

The woman smiled and gave a quick wave with her fingers before turning back to her friends.

What? Vivi thought.

Was nobody going to insult or shun her, telling her to get out?

A few more nobles glanced at her, men and women. They didn’t even frown. Her outfit just drew a few curious looks.

Amongst the group was Alda Darkwind. She spotted Vivi and gave a quick hello nod before turning back to her conversation with a few men.

Something hot rose to Vivi’s head. She looked away and hurried to the buffet table, where she hastily picked a chocolate cake. Moving to the wine aisle, three different wines had already been poured into glasses. Red, a green-ish white, and orange.

Lucius, what do the colors mean? Vivi asked. My face isn’t red, is it?

“Your face is very much red, Vivi,” Lucius said. “The wines are different flavors? I don’t know, I can’t taste anything.”

So what should I pick? Vivi thought.

Lucius tilted his head, as if to shrug, while Vivi stared at the selection awkwardly, suddenly regretting she hadn’t studied anything at all about ethics.

I didn’t come here to play along… she told herself. There’s no reason to get nervous.

She chose red—that was normal, right?—and she picked a lone seat, only to realize she forgot a spoon, having to go back to grab one.

She finally sat and tried not to look dumb while she sat beside the shade of a thick column. Not quite the corner, but still a good distance from the larger groups.

What now? she asked. Are we acting oddly? What do people usually do next?

Lucius’s amused grin didn’t help at all. “I don’t know, taste your cake?”

She looked around. Nobody was watching her. She was just another participant here. A few spotted her, and they either smiled or looked away.

She took a deep breath to calm down and subtly hit herself in the cheek. It’s just a royal ball, she told herself as she tasted the chocolate cake.

The sweetness was perfect—at least as good as the cakes in Shivenar. Or maybe that was just because Vivi hadn’t tasted chocolate cake in so long that she’d forgotten how good it was. Everything had just been so busy lately.

Everything was still busy. She had a lot to do. Instead, she’d come here, alone, believing that she had a plan, as if she was some big girl that knew how to order others around.

Something about the royal ball just felt nerve wracking. Why are people smiling at me!? How am I supposed to hate people if they’re this calm?

Was she supposed to talk to people here? Approach them? Somehow, the thought of that felt daunting.

“It’s still a party. Most people are putting on faces. They might look nice, but they’re not.”

I should have brought Essi, Vivi thought. She has ethics training.

“Vivi, remember that Lortel did your makeup,” Lucius said with a sigh. “You look great. Nobody will attack you. You’re the most important person here.”

Sure doesn’t feel that way…

“Remember the plan. We are trying to see who is an ally. And we’re waiting to meet Helegar.”

The sub-sovereign was nowhere to be seen. A few guardsmen, clearly ether hunters, were stationed subtly in the corners, but other than that, everyone was just talking, dancing, eating, whatever one was supposed to do in balls. A few were reading books alone, and one older woman was even knitting.

Interestingly, the nobles wore much more extravagant outfits than the ether hunters. Noblemen had epaulets in their suits, and the women had huge ball gowns, hair covered in ornaments. In comparison, the ether hunters barely competed. They wore nice clothes, of course, dresses and suits, but the ornaments were mild. Was that on purpose as well?

She recognized a few people, including Veronica. She wore a beautiful black ball gown, standing out in the open. She seemed to be popular, with nobles constantly chatting with her.

Alda was still one of the most interesting. Unlike most women, she wore her baggy pants, though she’d changed her uniform for a tight sleeveless blouse tucked under her belt. Being a respected hunter must have given her leniency. She leaned against the wall, drinking wine and chatting to some man in a suit. Her smug smile still looked cool.

Vivi almostwanted to go say hi.

A few people, both nobles and hunters, were glancing in Vivi’s direction, noting her presence. Nobody looked appalled at the sight of her. Her choice of outfit didn’t seem to generate disgust. If anything, a few people looked nervous, as if they wanted to talk to her, though nobody did. Did she look unapproachable?

I don’t know, Lucius… Vivi thought. I don’t think I want to stay on the surface.

He blinked, surprised. “Did something happen?”

These are the people with influence, right? Vivi thought. The schemers and manipulators in charge of trade and businesses.

“Well, sure?” Lucius said.

I don’t belong here… Vivi thought. I’m a runesmith. Not some schemer.

The taste of chocolate reminded her of home. Or more specifically, she recalled the guest room in the Nemonns’ mansion, where Senith had enthusiastically introduced Vivi to pastries.

That was how pastries were truly supposed to be enjoyed. With a good friend and with happy memories. Not in this anxiety-inducing hall. Vivi just didn’t know what to do. She sat there for a bit, drinking her wine.

Eventually, someone named Ivanna Swordblessed did approach her to shake her hand, thanking Vivi for saving her and all of her hunters’ lives. Ivanna said she hoped to someday repay the favor.

Vivi didn’t really know how to respond. She just said “Of course, no problem,” and Ivanna moved on.

From there, Vivi kind of just waited for Helegar himself to show up, so she could hear his proposal. She finished her wine, and considered going looking for him, or to ask Veronica where the damned sub-sovereign was.

She had to gather some energy first. Something about the ballroom was just draining. The experience as a whole was telling her that she should just go home and abandon all of these dreams on the surface.

While she was spacing out, thinking about the future and probably looking rather gloomy, a man walked past her. He looked like a younger ether hunter. He paused, glancing at her. Specifically, at her raincoat. Vivi tilted her head at him.

He grinned. “Oh, wow, is that moonweaver’s silk?”