An Affinity For Fire

22. Calio

"Please tell me you're nearly done," Calio said as Kinden tugged at her copper hair.

"Just a little more to work in, your Majesty," he assured her, continuing to pull strands into the intricate braid he was working on.

She much preferred having her hair done by his sister, Kesy. She was more skilled and gentle, having long hair of her own to experiment and practice with. But Clover needed her hair doing too, and since the Ortusian girl's hair was both thicker and curlier than Calio's, it needed more careful attention.

Calio absently flicked her nails, watching sparks snap between her fingers. It was a bizarre habit shed picked up not long after her affinity had started to develop. An easy distraction from whatever was bothering her. And there was plenty to bother her tonight.

At had only been four days since the last royal party, and there were only five days to the next. She tried not to focus on the amount of money flooding into the excessive indulgences. That could be her mother's problem to solve. She could only hope that successfully holding the kingdom together for half a year, receiving endless demands but minimal assistance, would offer her some defence against the wrath of Romira Serassi.

Most of the Lords, Ladies, Princes and Princesses of the higher families had joined her parents on the battlefield after a disastrous setback. Aside from her brother, cousin, half-cousin and a few other members of the lower families, she had been left practically alone to keep Aestas in one piece. Less than a week, she told herself. Less than a week and it will all be out of your hands. She couldn't decide if she was relieved or terrified.

"All done, your Majesty," Kinden said, lifting a hand-mirror from the dressing table to hold behind her head.

She lifted her eyes to scrutinise his work in the oval dressing table mirror. Despite the looming dread rising within her, she couldn't help but smile. "You're getting better," she said, observing the tight pair of braids which came together seamlessly at the back of her head.

The young man did a terrible job of hiding his proud grin. "Kezy let me practice on her."

His sister snorted from across the room, finishing off Clover's hair in a similar style to Calio's. "He must have been a lot  more gentle with you - I thought he was trying to rip all my hair out."

The slight rush of heat that rose to Kinden's dark olive cheeks was enough to make Calio let out a soft laugh.

Most adult royals only had one privately employed servant each. But Kezy and Kinden had been serving her since she was twelve after their grandmother, her previous servant, had become too old to work. Since they were both close to her age, she'd enjoyed their company and decided to keep them both on. There was something about Kinden's indearing awkwardness and Kezy's unapolagetic confidence that she was so drawn to.

Perhaps it was the familiarity of that dynamic that made her so interested in two of the newest entries to her life.

One of those two was now twirling behind her, peering over her head at the mirror, testing the way her golden hair swished. Clover wore the same red dress she'd borrowed at the last party, and looked no less stunning in it. Calio had chosen a maroon gown of translucent silk, whose folds and slits left little to the imagination. Except for her wrists, ofcourse, which she'd covered with gold cuffs. She didn't want to know what people imagined about those.

Dismissing the thought with a final sparking flick of her nails, she stood.

"Right. ready to go?"

The party ran in a similar manner to the last, and the ones before that. Words of gratitude to the returned soldiers and nobles, followed with music, dancing and copious wine. She had made a point, however, of locking away the expensive rums this time.