An event so big that it's taking three parts to cover it! The royals made their arrival, and it's an honor to be here!
Oh... This could be awkward too.
Some of the princes and princesses were at another table. They looked happy and like this is second nature to them, but seeing her smiling and in in a ballgown like the other princesses seems bizarre. She proudly wears her military regalia in her public appearances, and has a *reputation*... She led the crackdowns against the Renegades including the battle in 1879 and oh-- it's for the best that she isn't at the same table as Eminence and I!
A few at a time, the royals arrived. The first to enter were the king and queen, and the room filled with applause with their arrival! They walked beside each other, dressed in their finest suit and gown. Their children walked immediately behind them, followed by royal couple's siblings, their nieces and nephews, cousins, and the queen's parents, and several other relatives who could be well over a century in age.
This could be a long montage, but most of the royals followed the standard procedures. They waved at the guests, who waved back and applauded before they took their seats at the table, but there was a bit of silliness with a that stood out!
Princess Aliverti was one of the king's and Mildred's sisters in-law. She was in her late twenties, and had purple eyes, and dark magenta hair. Her hair was tied in a bun with an orange ribbon, and had a red frilled decoration secured in it. Her red jeweled earrings and silver gem-encrusted tiara glistened in the light. She had a toned build from her past as a melee fighter, but mostly retired for the life of a princess she married into, and motherhood. Her gown was light yellow with orange and white trim. A wide orange piece of trim that lined with white lace draped across her shoulders. A white bow with a round gold and yellow brooch was in the middle, and orange gems surrounded the brooch. The gown showed off her arms and had several frills and multiple skirt layers, but instead of formal dress gloves, she wore a pair of gauntlets.
Her husband, Prince Carraway, walked next to her. Their two children, Nicholas and Rita walked them.
Carraway was dressed in a fine suit with a royal blue sash that bore his dynasty's insignia, and had slicked back bluish-green hair. Nicholas was a boy of about 4 years old, with short purple hair with blue eyes, and he wore a suit in a similar style to his father's. Rita was about 6 years old and had long wavy bluish-green hair with purple eyes. Her hair was decorated with a purple jeweled headband with a bow, and she wore a light pink ankle-length dress with puffed sleeves trimmed with white frills, a white bow around the collar, and a white sash.
Carraway and the children waved to the other guests. The guests applauded. Paige quickly joined in the applause as to not cause a diplomatic incident, and Eminence followed a few moments later.
"Thank you for your warm welcome!" Aliverti cheerfully said.
Mildred arrived next. Since Paige and Eminence last saw her, Mildred swapped out her military regalia for her tiara and a gown. She waved to the guests and gave a smile that was convincing to most. Her brother, niece, nephew and sister in-law were seated at the next table, and she would join them.
"That dress suits you!" Carraway cheerfully said to Mildred.
"Aunt Millie looks like a princess!" Nicholas said.
Mildred smiled and chuckled. "I'm still a princess when I'm not wearing a gown." She politely said.
"But you don't really act like one!" Rita blurted out. Mildred was stunned in silence for a moment.
"Princes and princesses are expected to behave a certain way, but it's not the behavior that makes you a princess." Mildred said with an annoyed smile.
"Aunt Millie is right. You'll still be princes and princesses when we begin your combat training and have combat uniforms." Aliverti cheerfully said to the children.
Rita's eyes lit up in excitement. "Will I get a uniform like Millie's or a fancy dress like yours?"
"We'll get to that later, but now let's focus on this." Aliverti said. She noticed that Nicholas was looking a bit sad since it'd be longer before he could start his training.
King Gareth and Queen Etheldreda glanced over at the chatter.
"We think Mildred is a natural for this!" Gareth loudly said with a hearty laugh. Mildred slightly recoiled in embarrassment.
"We most strongly agree!" Etheldreda added.
Eminence and Paige chuckled in agreement.
The king and queen to the rescue! It's still awkward seeing Mildred there putting on a friendly face, but the king's remark was humbling! I'm just a reporter, and I don't know how she feels about the king and queen wanting diplomacy with the Magical Renegades, but if she tried to start a fight, she'd be escorted out of the room, wouldn't she? We have to be confident that the guards will help Eminence, even though one of the generals is one of Mildred's in-laws!
The rest of the royals and their in-laws who were in attendance entered the room, and waved to the guests. They were applauded and greeted by the guests before they sat down to their assigned seats.
"Will Uncle Galvani be joining us?" Nicholas asked.
Galvani and the other guards on duty locked the doors to the hallway behind them and headed to their assigned seats.
"That's everyone!" Aliverti cheerfully said. "Everyone in the family and in attendance!"
The doors to the opposite side of the hallway opened; they were the doors to the kitchen, and an array of chefs walked in carrying trays of fancy appetizers! Everyone excitedly, but with restraint, took some appetizers to their plates! After a few minutes, the chandelier lights dimmed, except from the chandelier that was directly above the king's and queen's seats.
"We thank you all for attending, and we hope that you'll appreciate the food our wonderful chefs made for this banquet. They'll bring forth the entrees after our speech!" Gareth announced. He and Etheldreda walked to a nearby wooden podium that had baroque wooden carvings on the front side. A large microphone stood immediately in front of it; the microphone was on a long stand, and it looked like a brass horn.
"Merely two days ago, the fate of our country and all humans, mages and ghosts hung in the balance, for the Minions of Nemesis would've overthrown us and caused so much destruction had heroes not stepped in. Our guards did their part. Our guards fought valiantly against most of the Minions of Nemesis army, but many of their highest ranked members moved past our defenses to the gate and barricaded our guards away. Fortunately, there were zero casualties on our side, but they would've been the first beyond us to witness the fall of our country and would've had to live with that failure--" Gareth began the introduction.
"We'd rather not think about what could've happened next. These what-ifs would put a damper on this celebration and on the spirits of everyone in attendance!" He continued.
"The two heroes who were at the scene and turned the tides of our fates -all of our fates- are with the Magical Renegades--" Etheldreda boldly proclaimed, but a few loud gasps among the nobility interrupted. The audience was mostly restrained in their silence, but giving the Magical Renegades credit for heroism was too much for some classical mage nobles!
"One Renegade warned us of what would happen the day before. It was hard to believe, but believed... Something called to us, perhaps a memory of a few Renegades helping us before in another timeline? Most unfortunately one of them went missing and another who we saw couldn't make it to this banquet we threw to show our gratitude."
As her part of the speech continued, the nobles tried to keep their restraint. When the king or queen talked, and not just the current king or queen, the nobles deferred to them despite any disagreements. Rita and Nicholas looked concerned towards their aunt Mildred who knew some of these predecessors, but focused their attention back on the speech.
"I'll be fine." Mildred quietly said to her niece and nephew with a smile that was convincing enough.
Everyone remained quiet while Etheldreda finished the rest of the speech. The audience applauded. The king and queen smiled and thanked the audience before they returned to their seats.
The king and queen finished their opening speech to the celebratory banquet, and it was very moving. It was to me, but the atmosphere of the room felt *tense*, and that was distracting. An uneasy peace loomed over us. Most of the guests were the extended royal family, nobles, or celebrities like famous artists and musicians. I could sense the disagreement that some nobles had with the king and queen, and with other nobles. It's only through their belief that the king and queen's word shouldn't be openly challenged, and of their labrynthine rulesets of social etiquette and the shame that'd befall whoever breaks it that the room remained civil.
For guests like Eminence, the celebrities and I, it was the tremendous privilege of being invited, which came with the expectation that we'd be on our best behavior! How shameful it'd be to make a faux pas over radio for everyone tuned in to hear! However, it'd also be seen as shameful (and fodder for the next revolution?) for the nobles, the guards and royals to show a lack of hospitality towards us when we weren't instigating anything!
The Renegades saved them all from the Minions of Nemesis, but shouldn't the king and queen be wary of dissenters within the ranks of the guards and of their own family? What could happen when their backs are turned, and they're away from the reporters?
I could ponder that later, but not now. The chefs brought the first course to the table! Large silver platters took up much of the tables. Assortments of meats were carefully arranged on them, glistening and cooked to perfection! There were platters of local and imported cheeses, and numerous fruits and vegetables. The meats carried a delicious aroma that included some of the spices that were used to season them. This is the time to enjoy the moment!
While we were enjoying the course, Eminence brought out a small sketchbook and started sketching something. She sat next to Paige so she got a glimpse of it.
"What's that you're drawing?" Paige asked. The sketches were stylized flowers combined with hearts gears. A rose, a calla lily, a crown imperial. These were some of the flowers that Paige recognized.
"I'm designing the logo for an organization I want to make." Eminence cheerfully said. "I'm inspired by the beauty of this architecture."
