Heavy is the Head that Wears the Solemn Crown

Thirty-Six - Crowns Bestowed on a Son's Brow

Wilbur

Wilbur stands on the rostrum in front of two thrones. He is wearing the rich blue color of his homeland. A white gemstone with an iridescent shine sits in a silver frame on the pocket of his knee-length coat. His hair is styled back, the wild curls temporarily tamed by the hard work of Niki spending a whole hour on them. A thin crowd made from spun gold sits on his head, fashioned with a teardrop shaped lapis lazuli. It had a height comparable to his index finger, and its worth was almost incalculable. The rest of Wilbur's outfit is just as refined and expensive. He truly looked like the king he was meant to be, presiding over a ballroom of nobles.

The second ball of the festival was in full swing. The ballroom of the main palace had been cleared away of ice and snow before the decorations were hurriedly prepared. The mages from Crystal Cliffs rushed over per the dowager queen's instructions. She ran their magic dry until the ballroom was up to her standards. While Wilbur pitied the mages, he was proud of their accomplishment. The glass ceiling reveals a luminous night sky and the parallel glass walls show off the far stretching emerald lands being devoured by now. Arcing curtains that started out as white before fading into a pertinent red are tied up to the mandela shaped metal spines keeping the ceiling from collapsing. The curtains came down to the ground, getting braided into thick coils looping around the columns. The ballroom floor used multi-colored stones in abstract shapes to depict the vague story of people dancing around a bonfire, only really seen by anyone standing on the rostrum. The guests of the party wore shades of purple, orange, and gray- not quite snowy white, smoke black, fiery red, or crystalline blue.

Wilbur is an exception as is the dowager queen, Samantha. She gracefully navigates the ballroom in her fine blue gown. The bodice is decorated with carefully arranged clear crystals and the hem is a stoney black. It looks like she has dawned the twilight sky as she reintroduces herself to the nobles of the kingdom. She wears a kind smile, and her attention flits to anyone who calls out for her respectfully. Samantha effortlessly captures their intrigue. She possesses the grace of the Fae, and she is a figure who has come back from a frozen death.

Wilbur is not sure how he feels about the situation. He despises parties, especially those with power-hungry nobles. He feels some sting of jealousy as he watches how easily his mother is able to take control of the crowd. He continues to worry about the war going on just beyond the glass walls and roof. The worry leads him to wondering what his friends are doing. He fears that Scott will suddenly lose control. He fears that someone else will catch wind of Shrub - Shubble? - status as an expelled student. He fears that Tubbo will accidently blow something up, and he is doubly afraid that Ranboo will be caught up in the explosion. Niki and Techno were meant to be hanging out with Phil, but that could go wrong for any number of reasons. Wilbur didn't know where Kristin and Tommy were or what they could be doing. The seraphim had recently been let into the main camp, and Wilbur was anxious about that. The soldiers could attack the soldiers unprompted. He had to hope that Captain Sparklez would be able to protect them.

"Greetings, your majesty, the Everlasting Song of L'Manberg," A voice called out from the ballroom floor. A man stands there with a firm smile on his face, bowed as low as necessary to show proper respect. He remains in that position until Wilbur waves his gloved hand up. The man straightens up. He does not look Wilbur directly in the eye, but he does look intently at Wilbur's face. He is wearing a dark purple-blue suit with a black shirt showing behind his lapels. His dark hair is covered by a black cap with a bright yellow plume sticking out from the back.

Marquess Quackity of Pato stands before him with the assurance of a man who has grown up thriving in a political setting. In the previous generation before Quackity and Wilbur were born, their fathers signed an alliance together to prevent Las Nevadas and L'Manberg from going to war again over the rights of the Mellohi river. Part of the treaty was the creation of Pato. It was a territory separated from Schlatt and given to the leader of Las Nevadas' first son, Quackity. In the time that Quackity has been a marquess, he has brought prosperity to the western coast of L'Manberg. His first few years of life were spent in his homeland, so he brought many traditions of Las Nevadas to Pato including a complex economic system.