Silence in Sagas

13

When Willa and Allia came down into the hall, there was a jazzy music and the room was bright with flickering candles that aligned the walls. The room was nearly empty, or so it seemed, compared to what Willa remembered of last night. This time around, there were only the Queenlings, servats and the announcer Willa had seen at the dinner. Allia moved towards the crowd and Willa followed a little reluctantly. Not all Queenlings were there; Oliwa couldn't see the small girl who represented the realm of Kvepla, nor did she spot the Kestillz Queenling, which she wasn't complaining about.

The music quieted and the announcer stood up on a podium that hadn't been there before. "Take your seats everyone," he said, but didn't continue on. Willa walked with less grace than the other Queenlings until she and Allia sat on the well-maintained and perfectly aligned chairs, facing the podium. It wasn't until then that her nerves really settled in. When she looked around this time, she noticed the Queenlings murmuring in soft voices, many furrowed brows and laughter that pretended not to be nervous.

They were all meeting their parents for the first time. Willa was meeting Oliwa's parents for the first time. Would they recognise her as Oliwa? Could they...?

Willa also wondered where the parents were. She had seen none of them in the castle... Had they been among all the strangers that had been in the hall and around it? No... They would've approached their children... 

A while later, the two Queenlings returned. Willa looked twice at them; first came the Kestillz Queenling. Her hair was slicked back and tied into a tighter knot than usual. Behind her came Kvepla's Queenlig. She looked as small as ever... Her hair seemed thin and she had glossy eyes. 

The music died down.

"Good day." 

At a podium stood the announcer she had seen so many times. He spoke in a loud, booming voice that filled the hall and reverberated between the walls. "Your parents will join us shortly--"

Crash!

The doors opened. Koi walked in. Behind her followed them. The parents.

Willa rubbed her neck absentmindedly, looking at the other Queenlings. Everyone's attention at  the group that flocked in. Willa stood on her toes and tried to glance over the black-haired hair in front of her.

She couldn't see much, and she cursed being short, but in between the Queenlings tilting their heads, she could se middle-aged men and women, all dressed in fine clothing, and all mirroring the Queenlings' searching glances.

"Well," the announcer said and chuckled--A fake laughter. "It looks like they have joined us..." He cleared his throat and looked down from the podium. First at the parents, before moing his gaze over to the Queenlings. He then leared his throat again and looked down at his papers. He rearranged the stack, and Ytri forbid... cleared his throat yet again. It added to a thick layer of tension that already loomed thick in the air.

The announcer-guy finally had his papers in order and he turned out to the hall. "I will now call out the different realms. We want the parents and the Queenling of that realm to step forward. They you'll be escorted to another room where you can talk in privacy and catch up."

Catch up... Like they had just been away from their parents for a week. Not like this was the first time seeing them ever... Or at least in what the mind was capable of remembering.

The announcer started calling names. Willa got lost in them. She watched as the Kestillz Queenlig got up and with calm steps followed a servant out of the hall. The announcer called more names. More Queenlings got up, many with determination. They walked with determination in their steps; a show that displayed that they weren't excited, or nervous, or afraid in any way. It left Willa in kind of a turmoil, because she barely stood on her legs: They could give out at any time, and she took long, deep breaths to calm the small nauseated feeling that kept coming back at her throat.