As Riley walked through the halls and up the stairs, she thought about what her father had told her about the design of forts. Stairs should spiral counter-clockwise because most soldiers are right-handed. The palisades should be solid, with crenelation spaced six feet apart. The walls should have holes or slides available by entryways for pouring boiling oil. She saw none of those things. The most surprising issue was the lack of walls surrounding the castle, let alone a moat.
This isn’t a castle, it’s a cake, she thought.
“Dottie,” she asked the Prime Minister, as they made their way past another stained-glass window, “When was the last time this castle was attacked?”
The Prime Minister giggled, “No one would dare attack Terndowns!”
“A large army can certainly defend any fortress, but they will take casualties if they do not have fortifications,” Riley wondered aloud.
“Terndowns has the smallest standing army in the kingdom. Our engineers keep us safe, though we do hire mercenaries.” Dottie swept her arm expansively over the hall. “And here we are!”
The room before her was as large as the courtyard at home. Riley stared up at the ceiling, and saw a tangle of wires, connected to hooks which led her eye down to an elaborate wooden frame on wheels against the far wall.
There was an identical frame standing next to it, with a chandelier the size of a carriage suspended a few feet above the ornate rug. She was struck dumb by the movement of the workmen and women. There must have been at least sixty of them, all dressed the same in white leathers.
“Gently, my lovelies, ever so gently,” The voice that rang out was like a songbird sighing. “Oh, you’re all so wonderful.”
Riley searched the massive room for the source of the voice and her eyes landed on the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She remembered that Lady Maribelle had been pretty when she visited three years ago, but she had seen many beautiful women since then. She realized that none of them were a candle to the bonfire that was Lady Maribelle.
Lady Maribelle stood directly beneath the blue chandelier. It was still lit with flame, sliding down the cable. Her smile drew smiles from all that looked upon her. Her hair was like rubies spun into silk. Her cheeks blushed pink, and glowed against the emerald of her dress. The fabric clung to her body like dew on a leaf.
I’m so glad my mother doesn’t dress like that.
The chandelier on the frame, waiting to replace the blue one being removed, was exactly the same shade of green as Lady Maribelle’s dress.
“Belle!” Dottie proclaimed, “I have the most wonderful surprise for you!”
Riley took stock of herself and her company. Lissie was hiding in the hall, barely an eye visible from behind Alexander’s arm. Alexander himself seemed resigned as though walking to the gallows. Cora was trembling. Riley stepped into the room, and marveled against her will at the scale of things. The table in the center was bigger than the entire dining hall at home.
“Oh Dottie, please tell me you haven’t brought guests early, we’re not ready yet!” Maribelle was walking towards them now. Riley wondered how she made her hips move that way, walking backwards and staring up at the chandelier.
“The Duke Llanarth has sent an envoy from Ariland.” Riley turned and looked at the blonde Prime Minister who seemed poised to burst.
If she laughs, she is going to come out of that corset, Riley thought.
Lady Maribelle spun around on her stiletto heels, and squealed, “My baby! My sweet little baby!” She clip clopped towards them, her heels echoing in the cavernous space.
“Mother.” Cora’s words were too soft to be heard across the distance. “We have important news.” She took a few tremulous steps forward and looked to Riley for help.
Lady Maribelle closed the space, and swept Cora up into her arms. She kissed her all over her face. Little lipstick prints rose on Cora’s pale skin. She kept squealing, “My baby! My baby! Why did you not send word ahead!”
Cora extracted herself from her mother’s slender arms and said, “We had to come right away, there’s—well it’s better if Riley tells you. There’s trouble.”
“Oh you look a mess my dear! Such hard travelling on the roads. Mother will get you cleaned up and dressed. The heads of the guilds will be here today. The Clockmakers, the Watchmakers, the Jewelers and Glassblowers, of course the Artillers.” Lady Maribelle covered her mouth with the back of her hand as if to whisper, but did not lower her voice. “They’re a bit of a boring lot, brilliant though they are, we can sit away from them. And the Seamstresses! And the Joiners. Why, we’ll have all the furniture in your room redone.” All of her words seemed to come out in a single breath. All of Cora’s nerves made sense to Riley now.
“Mother, please, Riley needs to speak to you.” Cora gripped her mother’s shoulders as she spoke as though to force the words into her, but her voice was still a whisper.
“Oh you look so serious, baby. So unhappy, and who have you brought with you!?” Lady Maribelle turned to Riley next, and squealed again, “Rileya Llanarth, my god you’re a woman now, but of course you would be, Aveline is such a beauty. And how is your mother?”
“She’s closed the borders and attempted to take Cora prisoner,” Riley said between kisses, “Is there someplace we could talk?”
Alexander pushed Lissie forward, and was trying to hide behind her. The effort was in vain, as he was a foot taller. Lady Maribelle moved down the line and smothered Lissie in kisses, asking loudly who she was and accepting no responses. When she noticed Alexander, she nearly threw Lissie on the ground.
“Lexi! You came back to me, oh I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away!” She moved on him like a stoat on a rabbit, but it was not a smattering of kisses which she gave him.
Riley watched entranced as Lady Maribelle wrapped her hands around the back of his head, fingers entwining in his hair as she kissed him full and hard on the lips. Her mouth was open and searching, and her hands slid down his neck and arms, landing on his wrists. When she pulled his hand to the back of her gown, Riley turned and looked at Cora, whose face was buried in her hands and hair.
Riley was trying to think of what she could possibly say to her, when Cora flung her hair back so firmly Riley felt a breeze. There was death in her green eyes, but the softest smile on her lips. She slid across the marble floor like ice, and Riley noticed that her hips swayed with the same pendulum rhythm as her mother’s.
She commanded the workmen to let her through and clear the space. Riley spared a glance for Alexander and Maribelle, and was shocked to see her fingertips creeping under his beltline. She looked back to Cora, who glanced at the back of her outstretched hand before pulling a lever with a red label on it. The cables whirred freely through the air.
It only took a moment.
Riley felt the impact. Everyone was on the floor. Glass flew through the air like snow. Above it all, Cora’s voice, “Mother, we need to speak privately about a matter of some import.”