We travelled quickly, escorted by the dwarven delegation that we still hadn’t been fully introduced to. In fact, Ambassador Kernel seemed to insist on keeping our camps separate, which most disappointed the dwarf with the messy brown hair and glasses, who seemed exceedingly eager to chat with us. Saph Anchor turned out to be the location of the Dwarven King’s palace, which was set at the base of the Seiling Mountains. There we arrived in the city of Kamruk, which was massive compared to the elven cities we had passed through. Almost every building was made of stone and shining metal, and adorned with stained glass, and everything looked so clean and well maintained. It was beautiful. The palace itself was also a masterwork, half built into the mountains themselves. The other half included towers that looked to be competing with the mountains they were built into for height.

Ambassador Kernel led us to the palace as we were to be guests of the Dwarven King. “In fact, there is going to be a ball this very evening in your honor. I do hope you’ve come prepared for that? If not, perhaps more suitable clothes could be arranged, though it is short notice…” I grimaced as he spoke. A dance? I already absolutely hated the idea.

“We have come mostly prepared, though we do have a few exceptions.” Raella glanced over at Lyre and Asterollan, a slight frown on her features. “We have two men that need to be fitted with something appropriate, and one woman that we have prepared a garment for, but may need to provide some alteration to.”

“Then we will send for the King’s personal tailors.”

With my height, I had been worried about whether I would be stooping a lot in buildings made for the much shorter dwarves. The palace was suitably massive though, and we all had plenty of room to move through as a group as we were shown to our rooms. Palace servants brought the trunks that had been hauled all the way from the University in the wagon. As we settled in, I was pleased to see that the beds and furniture were all made for people our size. “These are probably the rooms for visiting dignitaries from the human kingdoms,” Greyjon noted.

My room adjoined a large shared common room that included many cushiony chairs and a massive desk. There were three other rooms that also adjoined it – Cassandra and Lyre had taken one for themselves, and Peyton and Lexie had their own rooms. Raella had asked Asterollan to stay with me in my room. “There’s a chaise in the common area. I’ll just steal a blanket from you,” he told me with a shrug when we saw that there was only one bed.

Raella, Chase, Greyjon and Zolambi were given a similar rooming situation with their own shared common room. They were right down the hall from us. Raella had one of the trunks delivered to our common area and pulled it open, yanking out packages of fabric wrapped in paper, and a few smaller wooden boxes. “We have here some basic make up for anyone that wishes to use some, as well as hair and skin creams and some perfumes and oils of a very fine quality,” she said, practically slamming the wooden boxes down on the desk. Then she began to shove some of the packages of paper into our hands. “And these should be the garments prepared for you for the dance. You should all go wash up immediately and prepare yourselves, we only have a few hours before we are expected to attend. The dwarves will provide hairdressers within the hour. They will have recommendations on current dwarven styles. You are welcome to ignore them if it is not to your liking. You are representing yourselves, as the Chosen of the gods.”

“What if we don’t like the dresses?” Lexie asked.

“You are free to ask the King’s tailors for alterations. But you are also representing the Empire responsible for summoning you here. Elven fashion is much more sophisticated anyway.” I glanced at Peyton, who happened to look over at me at the same time – we both did our best to suppress our grins at Raella’s tone. “The rest of us will also have to go and prepare for this evening’s dance. Once we are ready, I will come to give you a briefing on what to expect and how to act. And then we will escort you to the dance itself.” There was a knock at the outer door. “That should be the tailors. They’ll help you two choose out appropriate clothes,” she said, nodding to Asterollan and Lyre.

Raella swept out as several individuals came bustling in, carrying already prepared suits for Asterollan and Lyre to try on. I retreated to my room with my packaged clothes and summoned warm water for the tub, a stone structure that was set into the wall behind a folding partition. As I settled in and began scrubbing, I realized there was a faucet. Curious, I twisted the knob.

Apparently the dwarves had plumbing.

I finished washing up quickly, and after some mild coaxing, got Peter into the tub so that I could rinse him off as well. He did not seem pleased, and I feared possibly hurting him with soap, so I kept it short and used only plain water. Once out of the tub, he shook himself vigorously and began rubbing his legs over his body and face, grooming himself.

After drying off, I pulled out the clothes that had been provided. The pants and jacket were a deep black, the material crisp and heavy. Intricate needlework in gold and red provided a pattern along the collar and front buttons and along the hems of the sleeves. I had worn suits before for special occasions, but nothing quite like this.

The undershirt was a silky cream color and was ruffled with extra material to hang out the front of the jacket. I wandered out to where a few tailors each were working with their charges in the common room. Cassandra was being fitted into a long teal dress with buttons down one side – it was slim through the waist but hung loose past that, the buttons pulling the fabric of the skirt away to reveal a second, deeper blue swath of fabric that matched the colors of the sleeves and collar. I managed to get the attention of one of the tailors working on her dress, and asked about removing the ruffles from my undershirt. It didn’t take them long at all, thankfully.

I pawed around in the wooden box for some cream to rub on my skin so I didn’t look like a dried-out fish, and dabbed a bit of a minty smelling oil under my clothes and jaw. Then I found something I could smooth my hair back with. Feeling as prepared as I could be, I perched on the arm of a chair and watched the other preparations. Peter came out into the common room and sat in the chair I was perched on. Many of the dwarves kept looking at him out of the corner of their eyes, some of them even seeming quite terrified, but they said nothing.

Lyre looked incredibly uncomfortable. They had also fitted him in something black, very similar to what I was already wearing if longer in the tail, but unadorned beyond a silver sword brooch that someone had pinned to the lapel. His undershirt was black with hints of silver tracing like pinstripes in vertical rows, but only seemed to glint when they hit the light just right. It looked like he had already had the chance to bathe as well. He stood off to the side, leaning against a wall and looking awkward at the bustle of activity.

Peyton and Lexie each had some mild modifications they wanted made to their dresses, and they each dug around in the wooden boxes, taking a few items with them back to their rooms. Asterollan’s clothes were golden with red scrolling and a white undershirt with the same ruffles that had been present on mine before. He went to go use my room to bathe when he saw that I was done.

As the tailors finished up, several women bustled in, bee lining for the rooms. I got the sense from the chatter I could overhear that they were helping with hair and makeup – they brought their own supplies as well, but did come out to dig around in the boxes on the desk on occasion.

Asterollan stepped out first, looking mildly annoyed. His hair had been pulled back into a simple ponytail, and he was attempting to swat away the attentions of the woman that was gushing over how she could really style it into something wonderful. He looked regal, like a storybook prince stepping out of a fable, the scar on his face making his frown austere.

Lexie popped out next – her hair was quite short still, but had apparently gotten long enough to be braided into a series of cornrows. I wasn’t sure if the dwarven women already knew the style or if she had to walk them through it, but they had created a delicate curving design and she seemed ecstatic with the result. Her dress was a shimmery white accented with yellow and orange, with slightly puffed sleeves. It flared just beneath the bust. Her makeup was very light, except for the orange eyeshadow that made her eyes pop. She grinned and twirled as she exited her room. I clapped. “Very cute,” I said.

“I feel like a fucking princess.”

“Now if only you sounded like one.” She stuck her tongue out at me and flopped down next to Peter, patting him gently behind the eyes.

“Peter needs like… a bow or something.”

“You are not putting a bow on my spider.” She pouted. Asterollan, who was just in my line of sight as I was speaking to Lexie, straightened suddenly, his face becoming carefully composed as he stared. I followed his gaze to watch Cassandra step out of her room. Her makeup was very light – her hair had been braided along the sides of her temple and pulled back into a loose ponytail, with teal ribbons tied through the braids. The color of the dress really suited her, but someone had also managed to find a series of delicate looking gold chains for her to wear. Lyre was smiling at her, absolutely enchanted, and she grinned shyly at him.

“You look beautiful,” Lyre said. She stepped over and took one of his hands in hers.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” she murmured to him, and he turned slightly pink.

I glanced back at Asterollan curiously, who was looking away now, a frown creasing his brow. “Aww, I didn’t get any jewelry,” Lexie said.

“They probably don’t trust you with it. You’re just a kid, you’d probably lose it.”

“I am NOT a kid.” Lexie puffed out her lower lip, her brow furrowing. Then the expression disappeared, melting into a delighted one. “Wow, you totally look like your movie-star self!” she said, staring past me.

I twisted around to see Peyton stepping out of her room.

She did indeed look ready for the red carpet. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, and her makeup was exquisitely done – her eyes looked larger and bluer somehow, and her lips were a bright crimson. She was wearing a deep red dress, the neckline swooping dangerously low. It looked modern in its design, fitted around the hips and flaring above the knees. It was sleeveless, though there was a sheer fabric that attached to the shoulder straps and covered her upper arms, and curled around behind her like a very short cape. The sheer cape glittered, and I realized it was covered in some kind of glittery amber-colored gemstones. I felt my breath hitch a moment, which caused me to have to clear my throat, and as I realized my eyes were dipping more toward where the neckline ended, I looked away.

And then almost instantly, I looked back. She was grinning at Lexie. “I feel like my movie star self,” she said. Her eyes shifted over to meet mine.

I looked away again. “Yes. You look very pretty,” I managed to say, after clearing my throat again.

“That’s an understatement,” Lexie said under her breath to Peter, tickling him under the mandibles.

The team of people that had been helping us get ready were gathering their supplies and trailing out of the room just as Raella swept back in with the others just behind her. Raella was dressed in a slim fitting golden dress with a high collar, that had a triangular opening at the bust. She had favored gold make up, which made her golden eyes stand out. Greyjon was wearing a suit very similar to Lyre’s and mine – deep black, though his undershirt was a pale grey and was laced up to his collar, with the strings of the laces hanging over the front of his jacket. He had medals and military insignia attached to his lapels and shoulders, though I wasn’t sure what they signified. Zolambi was dressed in deep blue wizard’s robes – they looked much like the jackets the rest of us were wearing, but went nearly to his shins. Where they draped down his chest from the shoulders, the fabric was velvety and had a floral pattern. Chase was dressed in an almost poofy velvety green dress with a grey inset along the front, and her long red curls had been pulled back into a half bun. Her makeup was also very lightly done. She must not have wanted her freckles to be covered up.

Raella nodded as she looked us all over. She raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m afraid your spider must stay here,” she said.

I patted Peter on his back. “Sorry buddy, stay in the room. I’ll bring you back a good snack,” I promised, speaking quietly to him. Peter trilled and jumped to the ceiling, carefully picking his way across from above and darting into my room obediently.

Raella watched him disappear before she began to speak. “This ball is less frivolity and more political occasion. We have only just recently established our relationship with the dwarves as equals. For the first time in many centuries, the Elven Empire has broached their isolationism. Our mission benefits the entire world, and the dwarves know that. But there is still some lingering animosity toward the Empire.” Raella paused. “As the Chosen of the gods, you are not officially representatives of the Empire, but I would appreciate if you did not do anything to embarrass us. We,” Raella made a brief sweeping gesture to show that she meant her fellow elves, “are your wards, and representatives of our people. Any embarrassment you cause will reflect poorly on us, and perhaps hurt our burgeoning relationship with the Dwarven countries. Please keep that in mind. Now as for matters of decorum…”

For the next 30’ish minutes, Raella launched into a lecture about ball etiquette. Since we were the guests of honor, we were to arrive by a certain door and descend some stairs, where we would be announced to the entire room full of the Dwarven upper crust who had managed to be invited. We were supposed to greet the King and his Queen first, to bow or curtsy as directed, and Raella would handle talking to them. Then Raella wanted us to follow her as she introduced us to some of the upper nobility from the other Dwarven Anchors. After that, we would be allowed to mingle or eat or participate in dances as we pleased – so long as we didn’t get raucous and drunk.

A dwarven man with smoothed back black hair and gray eyes appeared at the door, clearing his throat to interrupt Raella’s long list of things that would embarrass her. “Well,” she said. “It’s time for the ball.”