Imperial Orders

♕The Coronation Ball♕

I've been brushing up on my old English literature to get a sense of the Hominan court dialect... hope I got it somewhat accurate. 

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Hugo's coronation ceremony was surprisingly short and private. The Prime Minister had probably arranged this to minimize the consequences of any technical errors he made, but she'd underestimated his preparation. He recited the long oath with a grave formality that led every state official in attendance to watch in stony, reverent silence. Tuofah could imagine that Remy pulled a lot of strings to get her a seat in the front row, and she was beginning to regret her request. 

For starters, her seat had put her in the center of the aristocratic eye. That hadn't been much of an issue during the coronation itself, but it was during the ball that followed that things began to get complicated.

As extravagant as the coronation was simple, the ball took up the entire first floor of the Tyllanie Palace, leaving it filled with elaborate ice sculptures, bedecked chandeliers, live musicians, and long tables bearing drinks and appetizers. Tuofah heard the whispers of the couples around her as she walked through the huge ballroom, quickly enough to deter any attempts to speak to her and slowly enough not to attract attention. 

"Who is she?" 

"Her dress extraordinarily expensive." 

"Could she be a foreign princess?" 

"Nah, I'm well acquainted with every royal family on this side of the galaxy." 

Elongating her neck and turning her head toward the ceiling like she saw so many of the nobles around her doing, Tuofah pretended not to hear, silently searching with her eyes for someone- anyone- she knew. The Peenutz had been confined to the top floor of the Palace to prevent them from making a ruckus, and Aikoro, who seemed to be in a rather sour mood, had elected to watch over them instead of attending the ball. That left only Hugo and Ben, and she certainly knew which one of them was easier to find. 

"Indeed! I had quite the adventure on Khaas. Took a little bit of my Tyllanie ingenuity to outsmart Nexetra Serpis and return to the homeland, but I won't deny the role of a stroke of good luck." Hugo's hearty laughter rang through the air. Tuofah turned around to see him talking to none other than the Speiss's. Though his wife seemed genuinely enthralled, the Minister listened with a calculated interest that was entirely opposed to Hugo's jolly, upbeat, and rather verbose storytelling. He was probably searching carefully for holes in Hugo's story, but if Hugo noticed this, he didn't seem concerned by it. Tuofah decided it would be wise to intervene before Hugo said anything he shouldn't. 

"Minister Speiss, Lady Carlotta, Arafien," Tuofah bobbed her head in polite greeting as the pair walked by. "How splendid it is to see you again." Her fake accent, though more deliberate than her usual manner of speech, was not half as sophisticated as Hugo's. She could only hope that the people of the court would attribute this to Violet's relatively isolated country upbringing. 

Hugo smiled, quickly approaching Tuofah, while Speiss gave a curt nod. "It's good to see you, too. I was just talking about my experiences on Khaas before I met you. It's a story I'll certainly tell you someday." 

"Well, I am looking forward to hearing it," Tuofah smiled, her mind racing for a way to change the subject. "The Imperial medal... forgive my ignorance of royal custom, but is it the one your father wore? It looks quite similar but much newer." 

"Ah, this one?" Hugo looked down at his copiously decorated jacket, taking a moment to find the specific medal Tuofah was referring to. His expression was now much more somber- clearly, he wasn't particularly thrilled that she had interrupted his exaggeratedly heroic storytelling. "Yes, it is the same one. Prime Minister Remy was so thorough in her preparation for today as to have it polished- can you believe it?"

"The Prime Minister has spared no expense to make this the grandest coronation the Empire has ever seen. I believe she is rather fond of Your Majesty. When Your Majesty was younger- though I was a girl myself- I remember how carefully she looked after you, just as she looked after her own son. As one would expect, she was devastated when both of you disappeared in such close succession. She became a different leader, a different pers-" 

"That's enough, Carlotta," Minister Speiss said firmly. "I'm sure the Emperor is already more than tired of stories of his childhood." 

As soon as Carlotta's attention was forcibly removed from Hugo, it shifted to Tuofah. She drew her gloved hands to her lips, gasping softly. "Oh, my! Lady Violet, that dress is simply gorgeous. Is it imported? I haven't seen anything like it in any of the Reloriose boutiques! Oh, Henry, it is stunning. I shall simply have to have one like it. Do tell me where you got it." 

This moment was Tuofah's first major trial as Violet Hayworth. The Prime Minister had given her the dress, and if she was to be completely honest, she had absolutely no idea where it was from. She didn't even have a general idea of where ballgowns came from, and thus had no material from which to construct a feasible lie. Lucky for her, Hugo was an expert in the subtle art of falsehood. 

"I bought it for her," he smiled. "To celebrate our safe return home." 

"How awfully sweet," a wide smile crept across Carlotta's face. 

At that moment, some of Minister Speiss's reserve seemed to fracture as he said something he looked like he'd been wanting to say for a while. "Are the two of you... involved? Forgive me for the presumptuous question, Your Majesty, but as your Public Relations Minister, I believe I must know in order to properly deal with the media." 

Hugo and Tuofah gave each other a long look. The Prime Minister had taught them exactly how to answer the typical questions they might encounter at the ball, but this was definitely not one of them. 

"Very much so," Hugo finally replied, grinning and crossing his arms with a what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it-huh? kind of flair.  

Tuofah wanted to fall through the floor.