Chapter 32 - Adventurers Assemble

Wherein Valentina dresses up Rose and shows both her friends how truly wealthy she is. 

There was pressure behind visiting Rhodum of Effyne, but Valentina had reconsidered leaving instantly. She went out to have a message sent to her father, so he would know to expect her. 

Even though tonight she would be attending the Gala her family hosted in their home, Valentina had insisted there would be no time to talk with her father, nor would she see much of her mother.

Rose didn’t quite get the how or why of that, until Valentina told her there would be more than a thousand people attending, and she herself would be there as a host and showpiece.

 The logistics involved with a gala on that scale went beyond Rose’s current capability of understanding.

Back in Pinnacle, she had sometimes been up all night with the birthing of a foal or calf, and been awoken after a few measly hours of sleep. The joy and gratitude of having delivered new life into the world was missing today.

Instead, she just felt miserable. Although hung-over was probably more accurate.

She yawned her way through meal-prep. Fixing the fuzzy state of her brain by making lunch in the form of fried ham with red-eye gravy on stale bread; Fairfields food, if there ever was any. Valentina was disgusted and refused to eat more than one bite. Bosra on the other hand, scarfed down two helpings with delight.

As she ate, Tina talked about a dress code. The details only landed when Rose was dragged to Tina's dressing room. Consecutively she found herself being hoisted into prim white stockings, a lacy shift, stays, a petticoat, and then finally a dress that made her look like a Fae-touched princess. 

Rose had no time to admire herself in the mirror. Valentina pushed her down on the vanity’s chair. With brush and comb and a daub of hair oil she worked the rat nests out until brown tresses fell smoothly down past Rose’s shoulders. The locks were promptly put up in a tight bun. Rose was given earrings and a matching necklace to put on, before Valentina added a touch of make-up that didn't look like there was any when she was done. 

"I look like you," Rose said, blinking at her reflection in the looking glass. 

Tina stood beside her. "Only a little," she admitted. "But your hair is darker than mine, and your face is rounder. Your nose is a little upturned, and you have freckles."

"You powdered them away."

"They are seen as impurities."

Rose frowned. "They're part of who I am. Why would I want to hide that? Aren't there any other ladies that have freckles? Or birthmarks?"

"Of course there are. We all powder them away. Save for Lady Thessalia, who puts her freckles on blatant display."

"Do you have freckles?"

"Only a few. Now. Go up and fetch your cleanest shoes. Let's hope nobody looks at them." 

"Uhm... Tina... My cleanest shoes are either those satin slippers I wore to the gala, or my mud boots."

Valentina closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Where were the servants when you needed them? 

"Give them a polish and they'll do." 

"Eh..." Rose looked down at her immaculate dress and the voluminous skirt. "Yeah... Maybe not." Polishing shoes was a dirty job.

Valentina took in all that was Rose and breathed: "No. Maybe not." 

Rose hugged her. "It's going to be alright. I don't mind looking like this. It's a bit odd, sure, but... I've done stranger things than dressing up as my best friend."

"B-best friend?" Valentina looked up with the sweetest, most sorrowful puppy-dog eyes Rose had ever beheld. 

"Best. Friend." 

Rose was enveloped in a tight hug. A spasm  went through the lithe body of the half-elven woman. She patted Valentina's back and let her cry.

Bosra did a double take. Both her housemates were standing by the front door, ready to go. Only one of them she recognised. The other looked like a long lost... cousin. 

She looked down at her own garb. "Did I miss something?"

"No," Tina sighed. She had gone overboard dressing Rose. She would just have to accept Bosra was underdressed. At least the Highlander’s outfit was clean and never mended. Shy of a ballgown, this was the best Bosra could do.

"This is fine. You're fine."  

"I show up armoured and armed, that do things for your pop?"

"You know what..." This was going to be a disaster anyway, Valentina thought. "Do that." At the very least, Bosra wouldn’t be taken for a servant anymore.

A handful of minutes later, Bosra descended the grand staircase once again, now dressed in battle leathers, with her massive longbow slung over her shoulder. It was, at the thickest part, as thick as Valentina's upper arm. Great feats of strength would be necessary to fire even a single arrow. A bundle of arrows sat in a quiver attached to her hip, each shaft measuring the length of the Highlander’s arm. Bosra’s hair was slicked back into a tight braid, putting her clan markings on full display. The golden tattoo was hidden under thick leather plates.

"This better?"

"Wow," Rose answered. "Yeah. Much better." Even during their journey to Splendor, she hadn't seen Bosra all put together like this. 

"Fair warning, I ain't going to war for the King."

"I don't think anyone will expect you to."

"You're wrong," Bosra simply stated, crossing the hall to wrench open the front door.

A carriage conveniently awaited them. However, it only took them as far as the Plebian Gate, which divided the high-ups from the lower class.

After a short conversation, it turned out their driver had no license to go beyond, on account of being caught for burgling and fraud in the past. 

"My father will make your trespasses go away," Valentina urged the man.

"Yeah. He’ll have me hanged. Then I’ll go my own way," the driver stated. "Either get out here, or I’m taking you back down with me."

Valentina discussed something with the gate-guards while Rose considered the path before them. It was going to be an arduous trek. Rose was happy she wore her mud boots. At least she could walk long distances in them.

Splendor was situated at the base of a mount. Mostly on the western side of it. High walls surrounded it, keeping out the tide of peasants or enemy troops. The Retaining Wall – and its Plebian Gate – ran around the very base of the mount. Within its gated circumference were the palaces of nobility, with at its very top the cathedral annex castle that inspired awe – or greed – with its amount of golden angels and copper roofs, crystal windows, and marble crenelations. In the history of Splendor, the castle had never been taken.  

The three women weren't going to visit the Seat of the Sovereign, but they were going to a palace quite close to it.

"What are we waiting for?" Bosra asked, as Valentina took up position next to the gatehouse.

"A carriage. I’ve had one sent for." Valentina had made use of the sending stones the guards here carried for emergencies. Herself having to walk several miles uphill was such an emergency.

Bosra blinked. "What?"

"I hate to break it to you, Miss Bosra, but as the heir apparent to my father’s fortune – his title will go to my brother – this is within the boundaries of the acceptable."

Several minutes later, a buggy, pulled by two dappled grey palfreys, arrived at the gatehouse. A stableboy sat astride the lead horse, leaving room for the ladies in the wheeled seat. 

Bosra chose to jog along. She didn’t mind the exercise, besides, there was no room for her in the dainty contraption. Valentina let herself be helped into the light wagon and waited for Rose to join her. Rose saw no other course of action but to be helped, as her skirts kept getting in the way of practical movement. Enjoying the offered experience, Rose plunked down on the cushioned seat, feeling like a queen.

Soon after, they arrived at the polished brass gates that offered entry to the Effyne estate. 

Rose did not believe her eyes when she beheld the sprawling mansion. 

This was not real. 

Valentina, her friend Tina, grew up here?  

Rose had known Valentina was wealthy, and that her father was a Duke. The Arch-Duke, even. It had never dawned on her how much of a princess she really was.

The palace they visited the night before was absolutely dwarfed by the structure before her very eyes. 

"How many rooms does it have..." Rose gasped. "A trillion?"

"Mere three-hundred-thirty-three; double that if we’re counting staff areas and walk-in closets," Valentina said, looking frail. 

Rose looked sideways at her friend. That was an odd number. "Uhm... that's a bit much isn't it."

Valentina shrugged. "I counted them myself once." 

The gate was opened by a footman. He saluted them kindly and greeted Valentina by name. He announced their presence to the porter at the palace through a thaumic speaking tube. Valentina explained that  it stood in direct connection to both the porter at the palace and the stables to the side of the property. 

~

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