After a day of poolside antics, feasting on summer favorites, and laughing with friends, everyone who was going cleaned up and dressed up for the Annual Caller’s Ball. Francine was excited to wear the Fairy Berry dress Ginny made. The dewy crystals glimmered in the soft gaslight.

When everyone was ready, Sam escorted Azure down the stairs to an extended round of applause from Gramma Arsenault in what was possibly the most simply divine dress Francine had ever seen. A sheer blue material covered in thousands of reflective shimmering crystals was cut on the bias with metal copper straps so the deep back and neckline cuts and long asymmetrical skirt clung to her body as she moved. The effect was such that it looked like Azure had been painted or dusted with glitter, eliciting several gasps of delight. It was the first time she had seen Azure wearing a dress, and she saw why. It was a power move, to be sure.

Tony walked through the group, gathering up to leave on his way to report to the Countess.

As a self-deprecating joke, Tony made a goofy crashing cymbal motion and marched up the stairs past them. He saw himself as a trained monkey marching to the countess’ tune. Francine waved her arm and feigned, throwing her bag at him so he would up the pace. Tony laughed and waved goodbye from the center landing of the sweeping marble staircase.

Ticket holders were expected to present themselves along with their entire party at the door of the Heavenly Blessings Gallery and Ballroom, so some of the friend groups were temporarily split. Francine walked in with Azure and her date. Matt entered with his family, and so on. They would also have to sit with their ticketed parties at dinner; otherwise, the night was set to be a magical evening of dinner and dancing.

Francine had attended once before with her family but was shocked at how well-received Azure was. The church officials and big-wigs from Old Sanctville were tripping over each other to kiss Azure’s hand and bend her ear about this event or that drive. They were even glad-handing Sam, which he took advantage of, telling every person he met some new tale more grand than the last about where he came from or what he was doing.

They all got drinks and mingled in the colorfully painted and tiled receiving area and cocktail gallery as guests were announced upon arrival. Francine prepared to depart Azure and Sam’s company when The

Were announced. Matt looked incredibly dashing in his dark turquoise waistcoat, so dark it was almost black, with a copper shirt and matching cravat. He saw them immediately, and the look on his face made Francine blush. His mouth even hung open a little. Adrian elbowed him on their way down the stairs. They practically raced over, meeting them before she could break away from Azure, Sam, and the crowd of stuffed robes gathering around them.

Matt spun her under his arm, and the berries flared out, making him laugh a little.

Matt kissed her, and she tried to ignore that it seemed he was pulling them closer and closer to Azure and Sam instead of farther and farther as she wanted. They had covered no ground by the time Viv and her mother arrived,

Francine was happy she was getting compliments on the dress, and she swished it around so Viv could get the full effect.

Francine felt people had been staring at Azure since they walked in. Matt had been trying not to look at her, but once Viv said something, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Ginny was wearing a gown made of thin iridescent gold leather, draped and folded, wrapped and molded to look like a single piece of material that had been wound around her body with loops and swoops that left patches of skin strategically bare. It was hard to even find a seam on it. Layers of fluttering length trailed behind her. The pale shimmering gold was barely discernable from her luminous skin. Her hair was more elaborate than usual, wrapped with golden wires and pearls pinned in. All of her was tastefully ornamented with pearls. Harlane was on her arm with a Gold silk shirt and a cravat of the same mysterious iridescent material her dress was made from. Amalie followed behind in a flowing white gown with a feathered capelet, searching for Tabulain, who hadn’t yet arrived.

Abbie and Richter pushed through the crowd, having arrived before them.

Richter straightened his collar and fixed his hair. He was dressed all in white, a striking look against his dark skin and black braided hair. Abbie was, as usual, dressed in fiery red. This gown was sculpturally elegant, with waves of red silk flowing across her, reaching a point a few inches above her head and trailing behind to the opposite side.

Richter held his open palm straight up for Harlane to slap, but he only looked at it, confused. Richter moved his hand toward Matt, but Abbie knocked his hand away before Matt could decide what to do.

He inhaled deeply through his nose as he concluded his thought.

Harlane tried his best to play the part of a courtier. Francine answered his question, though. She could feel the group around them growing. Usually, that would have been a good thing, filling her with contentment and relieving her anxiety.

Just as Francine reciprocated Richter’s Palm raise with a resounding ~SLAP~, the doors shook on their hinges, and several of the lamps near the front door were blown out, sending the stack of invitations fluttering off the tray held by an acolyte. Francine saw someone she thought must be Raina; they were engulfed in a shimmering cloud of silver, floating several feet lower than the flickering emanation of black smoke that she knew must be Neisha billowing near the ceiling. Someone handed an invitation out of the silver cloud.

The same hideously ugly man she had been inexplicably fawning over at Azure’s party was dangling off her arm. His unusually short stature and her strikingly statuesque physique only sharpened the contrast between them.

Abbie tried to turn them around so their faces weren’t visible to the door or Cinnamon’s hawk eyes while they gossiped about her, but that just meant they were watching the conga line of people walking up to drool all over Azure and tripping over each other as they struggled to pry their eyes away.

It seemed that guests had arrived, and many had begun moving out of the greeting area and towards the dining room in anticipation of dinner being announced when some of the most anticipated guests of the evening finally arrived.

He was in a glowing white-on-white rich celestial print suit. On his arm, to the shock of all in attendance, was Lady Fury in a slinky eye-drawing black gown that hugged her bulging green muscles and sucked in all the light that fell on it like the entropic void that powered her mystical abilities. They walked past everyone clamoring for Crisenth’s attention and straight for the Privacy screen in the back of the hall.

They all turned to watch. Murmurs and a subtle wave of motion swept through the crowd as Crissenth, the highly controversial but highly sought-after pianist who hadn’t played in public since the beginning of the Unpleasantness, wandered through their midst with the Lady Orc who had been banned from the Gladiatorial arena for killing too many opponents.

Matt slapped a hand over his mouth, looking around, worried Azure had heard him.

Francine chastised Matt for saying nearly the same thing she had said only a couple of months prior. As tongues and fingers wagged at the last entrance just as the last guests arrived,

Granta, who had been quietly shuffling around the outskirts of the group and trying to stay focused on whatever pointless conversation she had been shoehorned into at the moment, politely excused herself and left to greet Frankel. There was a short line forming, but he quickly extracted himself to the disappointment of a few. He was somehow less in demand than Chaucer or even Tristan.

Once the final invitation had been collected, the front doors were shut, and the grand dining hall was opened so all in attendance could be seated for dinner. Acolytes from the Caller’s Temple marched in, censors of incense swinging as they chanted and prayed to kick off dinner with the summons of a winged heavenly horn. The conductor of the feast used the horn to signal the transition of each course and each round of dance.

There were four long banquet tables. Each had a highly placed church official on one end and an unofficial guest of honor on the other. Azure, Neisha, Ginny, and Cinnamon were at the head of each table. Chaucer was seated in the middle of Azure’s table, and Frankel in the middle of Neisha’s. That left the notable Crissenth Killian seated with Ginny, the first chaotic element destabilizing her table. The Duke and Duchess Zillain were set next to Lady Styles. It was more than a fair match, at least socially, since even Abbie could manage against Cinnamon, at least in public.

~The brassy blast of the trumpet went out~

    stuffed with a summer vegetable medley

There was a menu sitting at each place. When Francine got to her spot and looked around, Matt was not at their table. His family had also been seated at Ginny’s table. Theirs was a sea of glazed male eyes gazing at Azure as she rattled on about defense, strength, and the state of the Empire. Sam just smirked back at them, completely disinterested. Francine had been seated next to Sam. She wasn’t sure how forthcoming he would be, but this would be her chance to talk with him.

Francine was surprised he knew anything about her or what was happening, but it made sense that if Azure was doing things for her, she might mention it to her friends.

Sam burst out into a deep, melodious bout of laughter. Frannie was surprised at first but then smiled. She supposed it was funny from an outside perspective — the picture of her riding around with a troupe of military students.

Francine gave it a little bit of thought.

Sam happily clapped Frannie on the back, and she almost flew forward into the plate of oysters that had just been set before her, sputtering out the air idling in her lungs. Sam let out another hearty laugh.

Sam leaned over and grabbed her chair by the legs, swiftly picking it up with her in it. When he hoisted her upward, laughing, the horn buzzed her head on its way past with a ~brrrr brrrr brrrr.~ Frannie grabbed the sides for stability and tried not to squeal. She was suddenly brought back to that first day when she met Azure, sitting atop her suitcases as they left for Shadowmirre. This finally got some of the gentlemen’s attention, who had been lavishing it on Azure until then, as they gasped and mumbled about Sam’s behavior. Azure and even Matt at the adjacent table turned to look.

Francine’s head had come perilously close to the Heavenly Horn whizzing by. Sam carefully let the chair slide through his clenched fingers and back onto the ground with a soft ~clunk~ and a sigh of relief from Francine. Matt ran over to Francine and got between her and Sam.

She was startled but perfectly fine. She burst out laughing once her eyes focused back in on Matt. Which, for some strange reason, did not make him feel better.

Matt stood up and looked down at her with Cold eyes, causing her smile to fade.

An angry shot of hot air streamed out of Matthew's nose as he struggled to keep his temper under wraps.

CH21~ The 77th Annual Caller's Ball

An Imperial Education

After a day of poolside antics, feasting on summer favorites, and laughing with friends, everyone who was going cleaned up and dressed up for the Annual Caller’s Ball. Francine was excited to wear the Fairy Berry dress Ginny made. The dewy crystals glimmered in the soft gaslight.



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CH21~ The 77th Annual Caller's Ball

An Imperial Education

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K.B. Silver

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CH21~ The 77th Annual Caller's Ball

An Imperial Education

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About the Creator

K.B. Silver V+

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K.B. Silver