Within the Walls of Court
A Winter Solstice Ball
Within the Walls of Court
Sonia walked into the halls of the ancient court.
She feared the carriage she rode in would not arrive in time, but like always no one seemed to notice when she arrived late.
The halls were painted in detailed designs and ornate fixtures hung next to windows larger than her quarters at home.
She feared the extravagance of the court would become something she fixated on – a beauty she would never be able to attain. After all, she was merely the court’s scribe who could only afford to adorn the pages of not the clothes and grandeur of the castle she wished to have.
Sonia carefully lifted the skirts of her dress and did everything she could not to trip on the hem. She hoped no one noticed the outfit was not tailored to her body, but instead, a piece she inherited from her great aunt Matilda. The blue and white pattern reminded her of the cold winters back home when spring flowers peeked through the melting snow.
Aspects of this new life at court excited Sonia and allowed her to leave her family’s overcrowded manor. Sonia loved meeting people from surrounding regions. However, deep down she knew these people were not her own. Could they be trusted?
Sonia’s family, especially her aunt Matilda, were genuine people who loved others. But they were quick to judge and even faster to blame the devil whenever someone abused their power.
Sonia was not tied to the traditions of the past, but she kept cleansing herbs on her wherever she went. The protection felt right since she was so far away from her worrying and paranoid family.
“The fabric of your skirts is so – curious? Is that from last year’s frost fair? The market had great fabrics that year.”
Sonia turned around to see Damien and Selly looking at her with smiles.
Her cheeks turned red immediately, and she waited to respond as she fixed her skirts.
“This dress is a family heirloom. It’s from the Western region, and the seamstresses use local flowers to hand dye the pattern.” She overexplained.
“Sonia, you always look fabulous. But what an interesting origin story!” Damien said in his high-pitched voice. His excitement was uncontained. Sometimes his compliments felt backhanded, but Sonia attributed that to his inheritance. He worked at the castle for building character, but lived on an estate Sonia only dreamed she could afford.
She couldn’t help but wonder where he got all his energy from.
“Sure, I would wear that too if they let me out of these wretched squire pants. You’d hope in this era, I could wear something with a little more dignity.”
Selly was always quick to bring the group back to reality. So much of their work at the castle was fitting a part. Selly looped arms with Damien and Sonia and the group walked to the back of the castle where they often worked.
Selly was the messenger/court herald and everything in between for the kingdom, and their outfit required them to ‘represent the rulers with the utmost professionalism’. This was a new word in their vocabulary since Selly used to work fighting matches and gather all the bets. However, they cleaned up quite nicely and their charming nature helped them get the job.
“I don’t see how they expect us to send out all of these winter ball invites by the next full moon. It’s absurd!” Damien shrieked.
He wasn’t used to working this time of year, and it was the first year his mother sent him away to ‘build character’. Damien was in his thirties, unmarried, and spent half his inheritance on dancing shoes. He served the court well as the courtier. He knew every person in the kingdom and beyond, and more importantly, their gossip.
It was a cruel joke he was stuck in the back of the castle putting stamps on paper and double-checking Sonia’s spelling. After all, he was the only one of their trio to receive these types of communications outside of their work.
Sonia laughed, took off her cloak, and assessed the writing room. She was ready to use her calligraphy skills to create the most decadent holiday ball invite. Now she just needed to figure out how she would attend in secret.
Selly peeked over towards me with a knowing gaze. “How long do you think it will take us to draft and send these 1000 invites?”
Sonia smiled. “Perhaps two to three bottles of my special mead.”
The trio cheered in delight and began their work for the day.
