Successor

Chapter 3: Gail

Chapter Three: Gail

I laughed, watching as the noble's face flushed in response. She waved me off in embarrassment, shaking her head.

The party was quite lively, with people socializing and taking food from trays that servants held out as they weaved throughout the rather large crowd.

Despite our somewhat late arrival, everything had worked out perfectly fine, which I hadn't doubted in the first place, although Krys had put up a terribly annoyed act before we walked in.

We had arrived only minutes ago, but, just as expected, all three of us had already been pulled into different conversations of the sorts. I wouldn't doubt that some others were asking why we were late, and that Krys was answering in the most polite way possible that it was Dalek's fault.

I glanced around idly as the woman I spoke to chatted with the man next to her. Her husband, I supposed.

The room was nice, with plenty of room to move about despite the large amount of people. A light blue wall color set the lighthearted mood as people wandered through the open rooms of the house. I hadn't had the chance to make it into any other room besides the parlor before being thrown into a conversation.

The large, elaborate door that we had entered through was behind me, and couches and tables were set up about the room.

I could see Krys farther into the house through the open door that lead into a rather large ballroom, where he seemed to be getting into a terribly boring conversation with a rather large man.

Dalek was nowhere in sight, though off to my right there was a set of glass doors that lead out to the balcony, which was where I had suspected he had gone after some brief chitchat with the nobles.

"Oh, Prince Gail," the woman started, a look of fake sympathy in her eyes. "I'm so terribly sorry for your father's passing, you know."

I smiled at her, reminding myself of her name. "Ah, thank you Lady Kandace. We will miss him deeply."

The woman smiled and nodded, as if she felt the 'pain' we were supposedly going through.

At least, I felt no pain when thinking of our father's death. He was a rather arrogant and haughty man, though he listened to the people, for the most part. He always favored Krys, it seemed, considering the two shared almost every trait.

"Ah, he was a good king," she said, nodding her head sagely. "Always looked out for the kingdom."

I resisted the urge to laugh at the statement. He had been looking out for the rich, not the poor. And he had by no means been doing it for the kingdom.

Lady Kandace sighed and met my eyes, her charcoal-colored ones filled with remorse. I didn't doubt it was genuine sadness, but I doubted she cared much for its effects on us. "Prince Gail, you must try hard to not overwork yourself, what with the work that you now face."

My smile remained plastered on my face as she spoke. "Of c—"

A loud knock at the door cut me off as everyone's heads turned towards it. From the corner of my eye I watched as Krys smirked and quickly excused himself from the conversation he had been engaged in. He made his way past me and too the door, brushing a servant away and gesturing the owner of the house, Sir Chigam, to come over there.

The stout man was pulled into a conversation as they opened the door just a bit, allowing only them to see outside.

I flashed a polite smile at Lady Kandace; "Excuse me, madam, I must go and see what my brother is doing."