Hardly a Lady

XX

The new King and Queen took longer to return to the palace than the rest of the court, since they took a longer route throughout the city in which their subjects could see them in all of their regal glory.

It was dark now, but for the light of the Onyx which shone down upon them, it's rays glittering in the thousands of jewels which Giselle and Will wore. Together they waved, basking in the radiance as their people flocked to the streets to wave them past. People cheered and waved banners bearing the Decristo crest proudly, the children and women flapping their hands frantically in attempts to attract the Queen's attention. As on the way to the Onyxa, Giselle soon grew tired, and yet she continued to wave like the Queen she was, her smile never faltering for a moment.

By the time the palace walls had come into view, Giselle was exhausted. As soon as the gates were shut behind them, she dropped her hands to her lap and sighed deeply; Will did the same.

"Well that was even bigger than I was expecting," Giselle commented as she straightened her cloak. Will nodded and smirked. "Yes, it was extravagant, but the people will not forget it for a hundred years. Besides, that was the easiest part."

Giselle frowned - how could a feast be worse than that?

Sensing her confusion, Will gently elaborated. "We may have won over the people, but they were never the issue. Now we must win over the nobles, to ensure that they are on our side and know how much we appreciate their friendship, but how we will not tolerate any disloyalty. I will not be like my father; constantly forgiving those who spoke against him, always seeing the best. They will know how they should rely on my favour, not the other way around!"

Giselle kept quiet, because she knew that if she were to speak, she would only anger Will, and that was not wise when he was in such a good mood. She silently hoped that Will would be a little more tactful than she expected when he let the nobles know who was in charge; inciting their anger would do nobody any good.

Before long they had reached the courtyard, which was already full of lively music drifting from the Hall of Kings. The footman jumped down and opened the door of the carriage, setting a stool down, but before she could climb down, Will suddenly leaned forward and gently clasped Giselle's face in his hands.

"I need you to be perfect for me, ok?" He whispered in a soft but conniving tone. "Talk politely, sit elegantly and dance as if you don't have a care in the world, and all of this will be over and we can go back to normal."

Normal, Giselle thought, what was normal?

She agreed with a smile, and took Will's arm as he helped her down from the carriage, and then steered her in the direction of the music. Ash trotted up on his great stallion and leapt down easily, staying close to Giselle and Will but not saying a word.

They moved through the palace, which had been transformed into a garden of magnificence in their absence; flowers and leaves hung from the high ceilings and golden ivy had been twisted around the pillars and stairs; golden rose petals decorated the floor and silver painted trees stretched up to the ceiling, their trunks twinkling in the light of the candles that rested on the ends of their branches. It had been transformed into a wonderland, and no matter where she looked, Giselle found herself in awe.

They reached the grand doors through which the Hall of Kings awaited, and one of Giselle's ladies appeared from nowhere to straighten out the King and Queen's cloaks. Giselle smiled gratefully at Allina over her shoulder, and then the royal couple adjusted their stature so they stood taller and proud, plastering regal smiles on their faces as the music within the hall stopped, a fanfare of trumpets sounded, and the doors opened.

"May I present their most regal majesties, King Wilson and Queen Giselle!"

Giselle and Will stepped forwards, crossing the threshold of the room to chants of "MAY THE ONYX SAVE THE KING! MAY THE ONYX SAVE THE QUEEN!" The trumpet fanfare continued as the new monarchs began to walk up the centre of the Hall of Kings, which - just like the hallways outside - had been decorated to look like a woodland wonderland. All of the hundreds of guests were dressed impeccably; they had adorned themselves in the finest fabrics they could fine, styled their hair in the most extravagant and fashionable styles and - in the case of many - covered themselves from head to toe in the grandest jewels Giselle had ever seen, besides her own of course. Never had she seen a congregation made up of more beautiful people, and it frightened her a little to see that all of their eyes were on her, watching her, judging her.