Fighting For What?

A Festive Nightmare

The grand, mahogany dining table is covered with silver platters piled high with food. The platters closer to me are filled with fruits and vegetables and a single platter has a roasted quail on it. Remaining silver has roasted birds surrounding the large boar. All the silver platters are seated upon a ruby tablecloth running the length of the tale. Red lined with gold thread to protect the mahogany wood. The entire dinning room is decorated with crimson banners lined with golden thread and embroidered with the Lustrio royal crest. A lion striding forward from a shield. The lion looks as though it were approaching you when looking directly at the royal symbol. It is, after all, a regal feast for my brother and sister and their long awaited arrival. 

Originally, I had pleaded with King Charles to wait for my oldest brother to arrive with his fiancée, but the king insisted that two feasts would not be a problem. Especially for his new daughter's family. There was no use in disputing the matter further with the king. 

His majesty is seated at the head of the table with Queen Lilliana at his right side. They look the part of royals, as they should. Queen Lilliana with her blonde hair braided nicely into a bun underneath her jeweled circlet. Tall and lean in her crimson gown, her wisdom glows through her blue eyes. Her timeless smile keeps the eyes of the king enchanted. He seems to fall deeper in love with her at every glance he steals. His bushy eyebrows nearly conceal his brown eyes. His jet black beard streaks with silver from years of experiences and tales. The king is also rather tall, but he has broad shoulders and is built entirely from muscle. His crown sits neatly upon his head covered in inky curls. Princess Adelia, shares the trait of jet black curls with her father, but she is lanky like her mother. I haven't gotten to know her very well in the past few weeks in the Piccan palace, and she is only a year younger than I. Adelia is dressed in a rosy dress with a black sash across her torso. She is sitting across from Terra who is to my left. Cedar is seated between the two regal women and opposite from me. Preston is at the King's left hand, but my right side. The remainder of the table is filled with lords and ladies from the king's court, most of whom I have not met. 

The clamor in the air numbs my trained alertness. Noticing I've barely touched my meal, Preston reaches his hand for mine in my lap. I flinch at his surprising touch, causing Cedar to take quick notice. 

"Ivy," he says with a firm voice. His plate is nearly empty after a full second helping from the boar and potatoes. "Are you alright?" 

"Quite alright," I reassure him as I grasp Preston's hand. "I ate a rather large lunch today." 

Queen Lilliana glances across the table. "Be sure to eat something, dear," she advises. "It's not healthy to dance on an empty stomach." 

"I will, Your Grace." 

Content, she directs her attention to my brother as he feasts on another quail. I attempt to focus on Preston in hopes to regain my composure, but the chatter whizzing through the air continues to numb my senses. I readjust the hilt of the hidden blade strapped to my thigh with my knee. Such simple yet meaningless precautions to an evening of boring events. 

I gaze to my left and see Terra munching on a grapefruit. Her adolescent innocence of the event around her causes me to giggle. She glares at me as she swallows the remaining fruit in her mouth. Setting the grapefruit down on her plate, she stares at me with a large, white-toothed grin spread across her lips. 

"What's so funny?" She inquires. Regaining my composure, I grin at my sister. Her face glowing in her innocent youth and completely unaware of the occurrences surrounding her. I've spent a large portion of my life watching over her and protecting her. Cedar and I have kept Terra out of Circle affairs for years, in addition to concealing the secret from our oldest brother.