Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble

Chapter 5

Never had I felt so out of place in my life. Thankfully, we hadn't had any introduction, we were allowed to slip in, we kept to ourselves, waiting for Nazera to come in. It was rather quiet for a party, a dull roar, the music playing in the background as dancers, danced dances I did not know. They were beautiful, full of grace. Servants came around every now and then with foods, we would take some, it depended on how obscure it appeared to be. 

"When do you think we can leave?" Connor whispered. 

"I am not sure," I responded with a sigh. "We better just wait for Nazera to get here, and then she can help us out." The others agreed with me, so we kept waiting. 

Trumpets sounded, drawing everyone's attention to the doors. 

"Presenting, Princess Nazera Calsadina Novea, heir to the throne of Gem." The doors opened, and Nazera gracefully came forward. My mouth fell open slightly. She looked more beautiful than normal, she fit in perfectly but still managed to stand out. 

"She looks radiant," M'gann commented. She went through the crowd, greeting people with a smile. I had always sort of doubted that she was royalty, but now I had no doubt. She kept looking around, and I had a feeling she was looking for us. Someone was talking to her when she spotted us, her eyes lighting up. She said something to the woman, probably excusing herself before she walked straight towards us. Tons of eyes followed her, settling on us. Curious expressions could be seen all around. 

"You all look lovely." Nazera said, clasping her hands together. "How are you enjoying the evening?" 

"It's been nice enough," Artemis answered Nazera gave a smile. 

"I'm sorry I took so long, Grandmother insisted on finding me some new jewelry to wear. It took a while to find, but I'm glad she did. My jewelry mostly consisted of diamonds and I was beginning to get bored with it." 

"What?" Wally exclaimed, causing her to look over at him with a slight frown. "You got bored with one of the rarest jewels?" Nazera smirked, rolling her eyes. 

"I apologize, I forget when I say things like that I sound terribly conceited, but it's what I'm used to. It doesn't help that my father is rich too, I get basically anything I could possibly want." She paused for a moment. "That money can buy at least."  

"Well, you do look beautiful," M'gann commented. 

"As do you, Miss Martian. My grandmother did an excellent job, I hope that they aren't too uncomfortable." 

"Oh, no, I could easily wrestle someone in this dress," Artemis said. "It's so light and easy to move in." Nazera smiled. 

"I'm glad, although I suggest you refrain from such things. It will create quite a spectacle and Grandmother would be terribly cross with me." Nazera said. I frowned at how she was talking, her accent was coming back stronger too.

"Princess." A woman sweetly said, and we all turned our attention to an older woman that was draped in jewelry. Despite how lavish Nazera was clothed, it was simple at the same time, especially compared to everyone else. "Who are these..." The woman was struggling to look for a word. 

Nazera quickly stepped in. "These are my guests. They are going to be staying with me for a few days, they are from another world." Nazera explained. 

"Really? Would you care to introduce me to them?" The woman asked, looking at us in a way I didn't like very much. Nazera glanced back at us, she quickly introduced us. 

"This is Duchess Haven." We bowed to her, keeping our greetings short and sweet. 

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you." She gave us a forced smile. "It would be interesting to know more about them, princess."