The Singing

Chapter 5: The Fly, The Flea and The Crows

As I thought these deep thoughts, Evara sidled up beside of me and asked me how my day was. "Boring," I replied. "Is there something bothering you?" she asked me. I sighed. She knew me so well.

"Well, there is this thing called the grand ball, Evara, and all the girls out wearing dresses and all, and I have never worn a dress or skirt in my entire life, and I don't know how, and I don't have a dress to wear, and I-"

"Whoa there," Evara said so gently that I paused in my tirade. "Let's take things one step at a time. Now. About the dress. Who said you've got nothing to wear? Your closets back in your room are filled to bursting with the most elegant, most exquisite, finely-tailored dresses and ball gowns of your size. And they are not uncomfortable or difficult to wear, not at all."

"But you said I can't wear one until I'm a lady," I said.

"I said you can't wear one till you've been taught to become a lady. You confuse my words, little one. You've certainly been taught, haven't you? By Priestess Martha?" Evara said.

"Just useless stuff," I grumbled, "About sewing, stitching and knitting."

Evara laughed freely, like a little girl. "That's not silly stuff! Those are life lessons right there. If you tore your dress running, who would sew it back up? It must be you."

"Now, why would I think of running in a dress?" I sighed. "You know what I mean, Evara. I am not a lady enough for this. For a dress."

"Nonsense. You are a lady. You just don't know it yet. Don't fuss much about it. I will take care of everything- when have I ever failed you?" Evara was so confident and cheerful that I had to believe her. "Don't worry about anything regarding the grand ball, okay? It's my forte."

I nodded, smiled, and decided to let it go. If Evara said not to worry, then I won't worry. And then I remembered my dream, and asked: "Is the kingdom of Avarasha invited in Prince Henry's birthday? I mean, is King Nephraim and his entire royal family and his retinues invited?"

Evara frowned. "I don't think so, milady. They had never been invited before to any of the prince's birthdays before, and I don't think they will do so."

This was a revelation to me. My question was one word long. "Why?"

"Well, you see, King Nephraim's fourth wife, Queen Selyse, was Queen Annia's older sister. When she died of so-called natural causes, Queen Annia cried foul and strongly believed it was cold-blooded murder. Personally, I believe her. Queen Selyse was in good health when she was shipped to Avarasha, and their marriage only lasted a month before her death. In any case, Queen Annia never forgave King Nephraim, even if he insisted it was a natural death of natural causes. Queen Annia, who is always in charge of events here, took it upon herself to never invite the Avarashan king and his family," Evara explained.

"But, what if King Nephraim and his family crashed the royal birthday?" I asked. "What would happen then?"

"I don't rightly know," said Evara. "But they wouldn't dare."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Well, Queen Annia has much sway over King William. If they crashed the party, Queen Annia would be rightly horrified and furious. This might cause a war between the two nations," Evara said.

I felt a chill ran up my spine. "Just because of that?" I was appalled.

"That's the worst case scenario. The mildest is that we just stop all trades with them, which would cripple them- Avarasha is a northern, wintry waste that experiences brief periods of summer, spring and fall but extremely long stretches of winter. Hence, they depend heavily on the mainland for a majority of exports." Evara explained. "Besides," she lightened up, "I don't see that happening. They would not trouble the King and Queen that way. Going into enemy territory with only your family and advisors, against our wishes? That's dangerous for them, too. We could easily capture them and imprison them here, which aren't that bad in retrospect of their frozen home, but they would be unable to go back to Avarasha and rule and everything. In the absence of a titular ruler, King William would eventually invade the northern waste and also make it sovereign soil."