AO 4 Ch 34 (Patreon)

Chapter 34

I straightened my suit. “It’s fine. We’ll just hide it under your dress.” I glanced at Emlyn, whose face held zero humor.

“How the fuck am I supposed to hide this under my dress?” She lifted the battle axe while gesturing at her tight dress.

Zuri had certainly been on the cutting edge of fashion at the last event.

It seemed that the new fashion for ladies was no longer the poofy shoulders. It had moved to these dresses that hugged their chest and hips like a second set of skin. A slim vent up the leg actually allowed them to move.

At least, I assumed that was the purpose of the cut up the side.

If I wore that, I’d be waddling around everywhere. I put my hands to the side and mimed it lost in the thought for a second.

“Ard. Focus. What are we doing with the battle axe? It doesn’t exactly fit up here.” She waved the deadly weapon around her hips like it weighed nothing and she wasn’t afraid to cut herself.

“I mean really, what’s the point of a dress if you can’t use it to smuggle a battle axe into a ball?”

She threw her hands up in the air, nearly scaring the ceiling with the axe. “Sorry I’m not Maribelle who now anticipates all of your needs.”

Like she’d summoned her by using her name, Maribelle walked in wearing a poofy skirt dress.

Emlyn groaned and handed her the axe. “I assume you are joining him in operation smuggle the battle axe?”

“It's important to Sir that he surprises Aurelia.” Maribelle nodded somberly and made the axe disappear into all the material of her dress.

I stared at it, incredibly curious how she was going to walk with the dress, much less the axe. “See, she gets it.” She moved and you couldn’t even tell.

“What about surprising Maribelle?” Emlyn asked.

“I can’t surprise her, not anymore.” I shrugged helplessly. “You have to just let some things go.”

“Precisely.” Maribelle nodded.

“Ugh. You never let anything go.” Emlyn glanced in the mirror and performed a twirl in a pair of high heels that made my knees ache. “Thankfully, I look fantastic.”

“You do.” I agreed, loving seeing her in Aldis blue and white. Her dress was striped, each band distinct like they were a dozen cords trying to bind her up.

Each of the ladies coming with me had a similar dress, just different bands so they didn’t look like they were wearing the same dress.

Not wearing the same dress was a point that had been driven home several times even if I didn’t really understand. Half the men were wearing practically the same outfit. My poofy shoulders had been sharpened to slight points that stuck out over my shoulder parallel with the ground like a pauldron or something. The question was, would it fend off sharp words as well as a pauldron deflected a sharp sword?

“Let’s get going. Now that the axe is settled.” As for Maribelle’s collar, it was safely tucked away in my suit. Thankfully it was far less bulky than a battle axe. Then again, most things were.

The whole manor was a flurry of activity as everyone prepared for the ball. House Aldis was going to be the center of attention tonight and no one wanted to be an embarrassment.

I chuckled at performing the inappropriate maneuver of offering two courting gifts on the same night.

Screw everyone else though. I’d dance to my own beat.

Maribelle was overdue for her courting gift. I mean, the woman had fused her soul to mind. A courting gift felt a little behind in the order of things.

As for Aurelia, I just wanted to see her face when I gave her the axe. And it was getting harder to hide now that she knew I had her courting gift.

The woman was surprisingly excited to receive her gift and was starting to snoop around. Luckily, she could never out snoop Maribelle, who had moved the axe a number of times, knowing the surprise was important to me.

I stepped out of my room to find Sienna and Selina waiting. I stopped dead and purposefully let my jaw drop. “Wow. You two be careful, might give a few old men a heart attack.”

Sienna stepped up to me and kissed me on the cheek, her finger finding my hand and intertwining with mine. “You don’t look half bad yourself. So, where’s the axe?”

“Maribelle.” I hooked a thumb behind me.

Sienna turned and looked the anchor up and down. “I’m impressed. Also, is this skirt removable?”

“Yes Ma’am.” Maribelle dipped her head. “I’ll be back in fashion after it’s gone.”

Glancing at her again, I realized that the rest of her outfit was indeed one of those strip dresses. “You’ll look wonderful. Do me a favor and manage my dance card. Make sure to get yourself a spot.”

“You’re going to have your card full before you start if you dance with all of your anchors.” Sienna clicked her tongue, realizing that I was smiling.

“That’s the point! Besides, I’m a little disappointed that Eva and Vivi are stuck at home.” I frowned.

“Yes, well tonight is going to be intense enough. The ball after not just any Elder Trial, but one to decide the fate of The Enclave. You better expect every house to show in full force, no guests tonight. It’ll be filled to the brim with mages and their anchors. You should open your dance card to Strathmoore and Thorne if possible.”

I groaned at the idea of dancing with Claire. “If Claire gets a spot, I’ll let her know to run so it’ll be more fun for you Maribelle.”

“That would be nice.” The anchor’s tone made my blood run cold. “Maybe she can sign your card in blood. Oh! If I kill her, can you heal her body and put me in it? I could take it for a spin.”

I held my hand up on that one. “No. I don’t even want to know what ‘take it for a spin’ entails.”

“Killing royals in her body.” Maribelle deadpanned.

“Oh. That’s actually more acceptable than I imagined.” I blinked. My mind had gone a more sexual route, making her current suggestion actually fairly acceptable.

“And what were you imagining?” Sienna asked with a judgmental hum.

“Nothing. Nothing.” I hurriedly scratched the back of my head with my free hand. “Sometimes Maribelle has out of the box ideas.”

“Do you think the Royal Family will wear black tonight?” Sienna changed the topic.

“To mourn Carmilla?” I hadn’t thought about it. “Maybe, or is that a sign of weakness.”

“It would be a very awkward ball if half of the participants are in mourning, the other half celebrating. As much as it would be a statement, I think the Royal Family couldn’t bear to pull it off.” Emlyn threw in.

“I tend to agree. They’ll be moody tonight for sure, but there will be so many powerful mages in attendance they couldn’t possibly do anything.” Instead this was going to be an exercise in rubbing their face in our victory.

Which I certainly won’t enjoy. Ah, who am I kidding? This is the best part of winning. If there had been a chance I might have brought Carmilla back and killed her again for my own satisfaction.

I was pulled by my thoughts to see the rest of my group waiting in the lobby.

Aurelia had her hair done up in a messy bun that let red ringlets fall down around her face and a bright gem encrusted clip holding her hair at bay. She had a touch of makeup on her cheeks and around her eyes to make her blue eyes be the only thing I could stare at in the room.

She blushed under my gaze. “I hope this isn’t too much. But if you’re planning on giving me a courting gift, I want to look the part.”

Giving such a beautiful woman an axe almost seemed like a crime. Almost.

She still had her broader shoulders, and the dress showed them off before making a point to show that she had the second largest chest in the group, especially when she didn’t have it bound.

“Wow, she brought the girls out to play tonight.” Emlyn teased her and jumped around behind Aurelia to squeeze her breasts.

“Stop it. They’re going to pop out!” Aurelia struggled, but was clearly trying not to cause the problem herself.

“Sometimes you forget they are that big with how tight you wrap them.” Zuri glanced at the two struggling anchors.

“Well, she’s also got a much bigger frame than Mari.” Selina added. “It’s tough to find anything big after short stacks here.”

Maribelle just preened at her own specialty and brushed against my arm as she passed by.

All of the ladies were wearing figure hugging dresses and I took a long moment to appreciate the legs on display. “Where did you all get new high heels? Also what are we doing for weapons for the anchors?”

“No weapons in the royal palace.” Sienna reminded me. “Besides, they are each living weapons.”

“That they are.” I had to agree.

Maribelle flashed me a subtle smile. She was probably hiding a dagger or five. If she could smuggle a battle axe under that dress, what were a few daggers?

“Well, let’s get going. There is no rule that we have to wait for the rest of House Aldis.” I walked outside.

“Did you get the carriage ready?” Emlyn asked Maribelle behind me.

“No.” Maribelle was calm about the situation. “There was no need.”

I gave her a look as Cyam shot out from my shadow and started to prance about to find a spot he liked before a carriage of dark magic spooled out from behind him.

“Right.” Emlyn muttered. “Ard’s going to ride in style, isn’t he?”

“What’s the point of winning if you don’t revel in it while attending the losers' ball?” I smiled and hopped inside.

The carriage was larger than normal, big enough for my anchors as well as Sienna and Selina.

Heads turned our direction as more than a few people in House Aldis stared with open awe at Cyam. Their gazes had changed, rather than just naked dislike, they now hid it behind a lovely veil of fear.

Apparently popping two Elder Mages earned some credibility, even if it was the kind that made people step out of the way.

“Let’s go, Cyam.”

The best horse in the world trotted happily forward as his ears turned into little wings and he started to stride into the air with the carriage following behind him.

“Flying is always quite nice.” Sienna stared out over the city.

With the sun setting, the city was picturesque. The oranges and reds dyed the sides of the houses while casting the rest into deep shadows.

Of course, there was one more light source that tried to rival the setting sun.

The palace was lit up like a giant beacon with splashes of light jumping into the sky and exploding in a shower of colors.

“That’s cool magic.” I stared at the show.

“Not magic, fireworks.” Sienna corrected me. “Combustible items launched into the air via magic and exploded. Well, colorful combustibles.”

“Oh.” I leaned against the carriage to hear the explosions. “It seems a little dangerous. What if the city caught fire?”

“They are for celebrations. I think the Royal Family is going to go the complete opposite of mourning and put on a giant fake smile and launch fireworks.” Emlyn said, nodding as more exploded into the air.

Cyam steered clear of the show, landing down a block away and prancing with his head high the rest of the way.

Other carriages had the heads of mages poke out and stare at my horse and carriage.

Cyam, and totally not me, preened at the attention and hammed it up with high kicks of his legs as he went, the carriage shifting so he could squeeze past several carriages and cut in front of the line.

“Good boy.” I patted the carriage knowing he could feel the touch. “We’ll get out here.”

Cyam came to a sudden stop that wasn’t even jarring because I could smooth it out.

“Stand up.” I said and everyone inside followed my directions before the carriage melted into my shadow gently placing all of us on our feet.

The man designated to guide us stood nearby with his mouth hanging open.

“I know they are beautiful, but please don’t gawk so openly at my women.” I chided him.

He shook his head. “No, the carriage…” He read my face and realized I was smiling. “Right this way. You are…?”

“Arden Aldis, accompanied by Sienna Aldis.” I hooked her arm and pulled her to me for a kiss on the cheek.

“Nothing has been formalized.” She blushed.

I waved her comment away. Tonight was about showing off and what better way than showing the powerful and wonderful ladies that had chosen to join me for the rest of my life. “And our anchors.”

“Of course.” He glanced at the group. “You wouldn’t happen to be the same young Aldis that settled the conflict over the Enclave yesterday, would you?” The man asked, taking a noticeably deep swallow.

“The very same. Yes, I killed two Elder mages that sided with the Royal Family instead of The Enclave for which they govern. That they turned their backs on the very organization that helped them obtain the power they held was a disgrace.”

I put the elders in a poor light, but also made my stance well known.

“Of course.” He ducked his head and hurried to lead us through the halls.

The last time we were led into a Royal Palace, the herald had proceeded to tell us the horrid history of the kingdom before Avente and the glory of House Thyrendor. Funny enough, this time he completely ignored it all and led us into a massive ballroom to stand at the top of a double spiral staircase.

The space reminded me much of the opulence of the Brighthavens, only a touch less gold and more shining blue pieces of Bluesteel used as decorations.

That was a true show of wealth. The magically conductive metal was worth multiple times its weight in gold.

And that was why my axe was better than anybody else's.

“Announcing the great mage, hailing from House Aldis, Arden and his wife Sienna.” The herald spoke as someone thumped at the bottom of the steps to get everyone’s attention.

“Perfect.” I stepped forward and waved at everyone turning to view me. I did my best roguish smile, playing as a slightly villainous person was working out for me lately. “Maribelle, if you’d please.” I said over my shoulder.

My anchor was already there, ripping off the giant skirt on her dress as she pulled a battle axe out of nowhere.

The herald took a shaky step back as I took hold of the axe.

I gave him a funny look. “Please step aside. This isn’t for you.” Instead I locked eyes with Aurelia.

Her eyes were shining like two beautiful moons, though not at me, but at the axe. “That…”

“Aurelia Virel.” I let my voice carry over the crowd. “Would you do me the honor of allowing me to court you? This might not be a typical courting gift bu—“

She was in front of me in a flash and taking the axe out of my hands to inspect it under the gleaming light of the ballroom. “It’s beautiful.”

Not a seam caught in the light; It was clearly a single piece with only some texture for decoration along with a giant blue gem in the head and the pommel.

I coughed into my hand. “It’s not a usual courting gift, but I thought for a Virel, a weapon that would suit you best might be the best thing I could get you.”

She handed off the axe to Emlyn and threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling her lips to mine for a long kiss.

Her hair brushed my cheek as she shifted and continued to kiss me with her fingers finding purchase in my hair and happily holding my head still so she could keep going.

The herald coughed politely to the side.

I pulled back. “Well then. I’m going to take that as a yes.” I laughed loudly for the crowd below. “Join me for the ball?” I held out a hand for her to take.

Maribelle handed her back the axe with a strap attached so she could sling it over her shoulder and wear it.

“It goes wonderfully with your dress; really makes your eyes pop.” I said as we walked down the steps.

“I think so too.” She checked over her shoulder to make sure it was still there. I had a feeling that she wasn’t going to let that thing out of her sight tonight.

“Ma’am.” A guard met us at the bottom. “There are no weapons allowed in the palace.”

“I don’t see a weapon.” My smile was strained and I began to frown as I looked around. “Oh you mean the courting gift? It’s not a weapon.”

“Sir. That is clearly a weapon.” The guard pointed at the axe.

“This is not the axe you are looking for.” I waved my hand in front of him and tried to move forward.

Three more guards blocked us.

“I was sure that would work.” I glanced at Aurelia for help. “Any ideas?”

My anchor lightly shook her head, but didn’t even try to argue. Instead she held onto the axe with a grip that would crush skulls.

“Well,” I shrugged helplessly. “My anchor isn’t going to let go of her courting gift. That would be an extreme sign of disrespect and I hope you can understand that she doesn’t wish to do that. My apologies that it looks kind of like a weapon.”

Going into the ball, I had known that weapons weren’t allowed, which made this just even more fun because who was going to stop me from bringing one?

The guards cast nervous glances back and forth and then looked up the stairs for guidance, but the rest of the staff were pointedly looking away. They glanced at each other before backing away from Aurelia and I.

I had a giant smile on my face as I retook her hand daintily and moved into the ball.