The Inner Circle | A Midnight Quartet

Chapter 15 | Miles Perry

The bell at the clocktower in the village rings faintly through the air, signaling the 10 o'clock hour. Over a hundred people are gathered in the castle's flower garden, talking about the weather and avoiding bringing up talk of politics or war. Miles stands alongside the edges of the crowd, sticking towards the door to the castle. He's wearing a white button-up shirt, dark blue suspenders, and matching blue pants; again, courtesy of Alastair. His eyes scan the crowd and he wonders in amazement how many people still showed up to this party despite Irena dying just a few short days before. I guess that's just how royalty lives: they can throw parties whenever they want without having to deal with the repercussions of the cost.

The King and Queen stand slightly near to one another, neither one of them wanting to acknowledge the other. Odessa is wearing a white, tea-length dress with maroon dahlia emblems sewn into the skirt in remembrance of the princess. In fact, everyone at the party has some form of Irena's favorite flower represented in their clothing. Miles just did the same thing as every other gentleman did at the party by putting a fresh flower in the chest pocket on his shirt. Irving has on a dark blue suit paired with a slim black tie, along with a pocket square of the wine-colored dahlias on the fabric. Everyone else surrounding the royal couple wears variations of the Derowen flag colors--as per the dress code--and all of the servants rush around in a mix of the colors as well.

No one pays any mind to Miles and he is glad to keep it that way, at least until Aspen decides to show up. He refuses any of the drinks the servers are passing around but he does snatch up a spare dahlia in case Aspen doesn't have one on her. Turns out he was thinking in advance when she finally does show up--almost a full 8 minutes late--without one tucked away somewhere. "Hey, you're finally here!"

She smiles at him as she, too, scans the crowd around her. "I take it you missed me?"

"Always." Miles looks at her and isn't surprised to see that she looks beautiful. "Where'd you get the dress?"

Her smile falters a little bit. "Darcy and I might've visited Irena's closet."

"I'm sure she would be happy that there is still a use to everything in there." It's white like the Queen's dress, but it has a good structure to it, with a nice ribbed corset and a few boning pieces to the skirt. Black silhouettes of flowers cover the entirety of the garment and Aspen's medium length hair cascades backwards. Miles gently takes her shoulders and turns her around, placing the dark flower in one of the pins in her hair.

"Thank you." She says as she turns back around to face him again. "Do you know who I saw over at the refreshments table?"

"Who?"

"The King's sister that I mentioned last night." She points towards a big lady wearing an even bigger dress. Her black hair has tinges of gray at the roots, but it is pulled up proudly in a messy updo stuffed with dahlias. She has a chalice in her hand and is talking animatedly to a handsome young man along with a few others gathered around. Miles glances over at the King, wondering how such a joyful woman could be related to such a kill-joy. "I'm pretty sure her name is Evelynn."

"Do you think she was close with Irena?"

"That's definitely a possibility. I'm sure it would be worth a shot to try and talk to her. We should probably wait to talk to her when she doesn't have such a crowd around her, though."

"I agree. It's probably a good thing she is already a little drunk so she might be more willing to disclose information about her late niece." They look out around the grounds before Miles speaks the question on both their minds. "Where are Darcy and Carmen at?"

"Not sure. Hopefully they are finding good information and not just making out behind a rose bush or something." They laugh and Miles cocks an eyebrow mischievously at Aspen, as if daring her to take him up on that offer themselves. She laughs even harder and swats at his arm, but he doesn't miss the fact that they are both blushing at that idea.