With a mix of confusion and bitterness, I fixed my gaze on Tew as he clinked his glass with one of the fay court members. His clothes were clean, his unruly hair held back in a thick, tight braid, and he tilted his head slightly down and to the side as he conversed. From him, my eyes swept the room, taking in the changes. No doubt these people were considered high class. Royals, politicians, and successful merchants. They had all brought along their unmarried sons, even a couple of daughters. It was a transformation I hadn't noticed as we strolled through the gates and the bustling city center, but now, it was starkly apparent. The stark contrast between their polished appearances and calm demeanor and my own confused state only served to deepen my sense of discomfort and alienation. Could this all be some social norm I didn't know of? Hid your true self when meeting what could be seen as powerful fay men?
One positive is that, at least, no one is openly laughing at me. But I can see the looks, the hidden smiles, and giggles. Clearly, the story of my perceived stupidity is the evening's entertainment, if only for a short matter of time.
As we arrived, the guards and waiting people stepped aside and bowed as the king passed through. His head held high; his entitlement was palpable. This behavior was jarring to me. Why would a king not acknowledge his own people, staff, or closest men? I had never seen a king or queen act like this. It felt as if he was flaunting the human girl before us, as she had vanished since.
We walked up a long, steep staircase to reach the royal villa. We found ourselves in a vast open room when the massive double doors slammed shut behind us. The floors were white, polished stone, and the walls were white, covered with colorful paintings and candlelight. I felt like I stepped right into a ballroom, ready to host the most important event of the year. While the king walked away without a word, his well-dressed minion walked a couple of steps up the broad wooden stairs and called for our attention.
He talked to us all like he had never seen us before, and this was the same man kneeling on the ground laughing, so he gasped for air like a pained pig. Allowed us to clean up, carry our luggage up, and even suggested a change of clothes. There was never a question, but we were informed a formal dinner would be served in about an hour. A few young boys walked in as the minion walked away, leaving it to the kids to lead us to our rooms. I found this strange. These boys could not be older than ten years old, and still, their behavior resembled more of my old father's trusted butler. Perfectly fitted uniforms pressed and flawless. None of them ever met our gaze or spoke to us directly, barely answering our questions.
However strange and different this royal event is from what I'm used to, I recognized stereotypical males strutting their feathers, showing off their wealth, power, and success. I never understood this part, the need to be better than the next man, to have done better and feel better. But the laughter, giggles, and whispering conversations died when the dining room doors opened.
Confused, I looked around; I had expected the king or at least his minion to introduce the girl and her company as they arrived, but he did no such thing. The doors were closed, and the king didn't even look up but waved them toward the seats on his left side as they approached him. Shushed voices and whispers swished around the table like small leaves in the wind as everyone pretended to return to what they were doing - Eating, drinking, and talking. No gossiping.
"I heard he is the new lord of Lilifolia?"
"That is pure rumor; Betty would never allow that."
"Why is the human girl with him? "
"Don't she belong to the king?"
"No, she was promised to a chosen one by the queen herself!"
"I hear the queen hates her, so she gave her away to the bear clan!"
"The queen is jealous of her looks!"
There were so many different conversations flourishing around the table, so many different takes and rumors that I struggled to follow any of them. But I hear enough to understand she had, if she was the human girl the king told us about, had been her longer than we were first told.
"Excuse me, I am sorry, but who is the girl?"
"She's Lord Asher's new toy!"
The man next to me laughed while dabbing his sweaty forehead and temples with a white napkin. His double chin jiggled as he continued laughing at himself before I cleared his throat, seeing I didn't laugh with him.
"Gee... Tough audience."
He mumbled before sipping his red wine and coughed into the same napkin.
"She's the new human girl. The king thinks she's the answer to the land's curse of female birth. Lord Asher, over there, is one of his closest men; some even dared to call them friends. Together, they will lift our people into a more modern, productive, and functioning society. "
"And how could a small human girl have anything to do with that?"
"Ah, my good man, she has everything to do with it! She IS the change! She might be the new girl, the one and only; lost girl- the first trueborn female after our world was cursed. That alone was enough to make her valuable, but now, she is a sign of the change on her own! You see, Lord Asher is the new ruler of the Lilifoila caste! The human girl is his first subject, the first one to go through his program! "
Scrunching my eyebrows, I watched the man as he continued eating. How could a man say so much but still make so little sense? I knew of the Lilifolia caste and Lilifolia days, and I hated the practice. I understood the Fay's way of females having several mates, and I could see the benefits. For the most part, I knew the girls could pick the mate they wanted, but there were, of course, exceptions. But hearing Eir talk about her stay there, I wanted nothing more than to burn the place down! So maybe the sweaty, obese man was right to be excited, and perhaps I had misunderstood the Fay people in general. Maybe they hated the ordeal at Betty's castle as much as me and Eir. After all, some changes are reasonable and necessary!
"Now, with our new king, these changes are finally an option!"
"Didn't the old king approve?"
He scoffed, then coughed violently. He slammed his chest a couple of times with his fist before gulping down the rest of his wine, snapping his finger over his head and pointing at his glass before he continued, "No, he rejected Lord Asher's suggestions. He even rejected it when the queen pushed for it. But now, we will finally train the girls as they should have been all along! There is no use in a woman knowing how to separate one blue color from the other and bow correctly. Now they will finally learn how to kneel, spread their legs, and perform as they should!"