Dreamer's Throne

Ryn, who had been looking at the table ever since they came in, nodded, and when Henrietta had finished welcoming everybody to the party, and begun to make her rounds, greeting the various high-ranked nobles who were there, Ryn hurried over to the food and began to pile two plates high.

While she was dressed like a noblewoman, she didn't carry herself like one, and with the half-face mask to lend her an air of mystery, she drew more than a few glances. Most people were too polite to stare, however, and it wasn't long before she returned to the table to put a plate with about a dozen different things on it in front of Garrett.

Raising his eyebrows, he looked up, only to see that Ryn was holding two more plates, whose piles of food were towering even higher, threatening to fall all over the ground at any moment. Smiling cheerfully, she put the plates down, sat next to Garrett, and rubbed her hands as she got ready to dig in.

"Use at least a little bit of elegance, please," Garrett said, but that just caused Ryn to grin even wider.

"I'm always elegant," she said, picking up some sort of stuffed pastry and shoving the whole thing in her mouth.

Amused, Garrett picked up one of the forks by her plate and handed it to her, before selecting a fork for himself and beginning to pick through the pile of food in front of him. Just then, some music started, and everyone began to pull back from the center of the floor. A few of the braver young men and women moved out to the dance floor and began to show their graceful steps.

Across the room, Garrett saw Henrietta looking around, no doubt for him, so he quickly put his head down and shoved a piece of cubed ham into his mouth. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, and Henrietta, who must have felt his gaze, started heading in their direction.

Feeling Ryn's elbow nudging him, Garrett sighed and put his fork down, picking up the napkin to wipe his lips. He sincerely hoped that Henrietta wasn't going to come over and ask him to dance, and judging from the half a dozen dashing young men who were following after her as quickly as they could while still maintaining a sense of decorum, Garrett's hopes were likely to be dashed. Indeed, Henrietta called out to him as soon as she got close.

"There you are. You slipped away and made me search all over the place to look for you, but it looks like you're enjoying the food, so that's good."

“The food is quite good,” Garrett said calmly. “Would you like to join us?”

A hint of gratification flickered through Henrietta's eyes, but before she could respond, one of the young noblemen behind her caught up.

“Lady Boren, I was hoping you'd do me the honor of this dance.”

Turning, Henrietta gave the young nobleman a sweet smile, but shook her head.

“It's kind of you to invite me, Lord Von Ketter, but I was just about to sit down with Mr. Klein.”

The young nobleman seemed to notice Garrett and Ryn for the first time, and his lips twitched into a quick frown. Quickly erasing his displeased expression, barely glanced at Garrett.

“Mr. Klein? I'm not sure we've been introduced.”

Henrietta clearly didn't want to make the introduction, but she also didn't want to be impolite, and so she turned back toward Garrett.

"'Mr. Klein, this is Davis Von Ketter, son of Earl Von Ketter.”

“A pleasure,” Garrett said softly, nodding to Davis.

The young nobleman had been expecting a bigger reaction, and it was clear from the way he looked down his nose at Garrett that he was displeased.

“Klein? Klein? I'm not sure that I've run across that name in the noble circles,” Davis said. “Tell me, how are you and Lady Boren acquainted?”

Garrett's gaze flickered to Henrietta's, catching the hopeful look in her eyes. If he had to guess, this was likely the young man Henrietta was trying to avoid. Though Garrett was familiar with the various nobility in the city, he had never run across Davis in particular. However, he knew that the Von Ketter family wielded considerable political influence in the city. They also happened to be one of the staunch supporters of the previous royal family, meaning that they were likely on the princess's side.

From the angry look that Davis was directing toward him, Garrett belatedly realized that he had just been pulled into a manufactured love triangle. He would have liked nothing more than to simply excuse himself and leave these noble children to their games. But he had already committed to playing the part, and so, with a soft smile, he nodded at Henrietta.

"My father is the regent's steward, and Henrietta and I will likely be engaged in the not-too-distant future."

Because his words were so calm and matter-of-fact, they didn't quite register with Davis Von Ketter until a dozen seconds after Garrett had fallen silent. When they did, fury flashed across the young nobleman's face before rapidly disappearing, as he smiled widely.

"My, this is the first that I'm hearing you're to be engaged, Lady Boren. And to the son of the regent's steward, no less."

Ignoring the hidden venom in Davis's words, Henrietta smiled widely and walked over to Garrett's side, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"It isn't common knowledge yet, so I'd appreciate it if you would keep it quiet until the official announcement is made."

Though she said that, Henrietta had spoken in a loud enough voice that all of the nobles nearby, who were listening with half an ear, heard her admit it. Immediately conversation picked up, and the nearby nobles began to scatter. Within the hour, the news would be spread around the entire party, and likely far beyond. After all, there was little that the nobles liked more than a bit of juicy gossip. Slowly restraining his fury, Davis executed a short bow to Henrietta, completely ignoring Garrett.

"Hopefully, I'll have the privilege of dancing with you another time," he said, before turning and stalking away.

After he left, Henrietta's expression showed her worry.

"I hope I haven't caused trouble for you," she said quietly, not daring to glance at Garrett. "Davis has a notoriously bad temper, and I'm afraid he might take out his anger on you."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Picking up his fork, Garrett speared a slice of sausage. Before biting down on it, he glanced at Henrietta.

"I have a policy," he said calmly, "to never stop someone who is digging their own grave."

Not explaining his cryptic comment, he began to eat, keeping his focus on his food. Seeing Henrietta looking a bit lost, Ryn pushed her second plate over in front of the young noblewoman.

"You look hungry," she said. "The food's delicious."

Ryn hadn't stopped eating as the others were having their conversation, and since she was almost done with the food on her plate, she got up to get more. Word had already spread about Garrett and Henrietta's upcoming engagement, and throughout the evening, a few other nobles stopped to congratulate them. After staying for as long as was appropriate, Henrietta left Garrett's side to do her duty as hostess, and after she was gone, Lt. Cobb came over.

"You're a braver man than I am," he said with a wry grin as he sat down across from Garrett. "Davis Von Ketter's got a nasty reputation, and connections with all sorts of dangerous types. He's even got connections with some gangs."

"Which gangs?" Ryn asked, her sharp tone causing the lieutenant to give her a long look.

"It's a gang called the Moonlight Council, but they're not the really dangerous ones. Apparently, the strongest mercenary group in the entire city works as their underlings. They're called Rackham's Blade, and their leader is actually an awakened of the Shaper stage."

Staring blankly at the young lieutenant for a moment, Ryn blinked and then seemed to lose interest.

"Oh," she remarked noncommittally before going back to her food. Taken aback by her less than excited response, Lt. Cobb turned his attention to Garrett.

"I'm not just saying that. This has all been confirmed."

"Thank you for your consideration, Lieutenant. I'm sure I'll be just fine."

Though he clearly didn't believe Garrett, the lieutenant didn't want to be a busybody. And after a few more minutes of small talk, he stood and left. Closing his eyes for a moment, Garrett suddenly smiled and pushed himself back from the table.

"Let's say our goodbyes to our hostess. It's time to go."

Looking up, Ryn's gaze flickered across the room, taking in all of the nobles who were present. She saw Henrietta was chatting with a few young noblewomen near the door, but she broke away when she saw Garrett and Ryn heading her direction.

"Thank you so much for your invitation to the party," Garrett said. "We had a really good time."

"Thank you so much for coming," Henrietta replied, "and I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I hope to see you again soon."

After making their way out of the ballroom and leaving the mansion, Garrett and Ryn got into the carriage and began heading back toward the northern district. As he closed his eyes, Garrett could clearly sense the dream flowers scattered throughout this district, causing his lips to twitch into a smile once more. Across from him, Ryn was lounged on the seat, all sense of decorum gone as she patted her full belly.

"You know, you've been smiling a lot more than normal lately. I'm not going to lie, it's a little bit creepy."

Erasing his smile, Garrett raised his eyebrow.

"You shouldn't have eaten so much," he said. "We've got company for you to entertain."

With a groan, Ryn sat up.

"You're right, that last plate was probably a mistake."

Just then, the carriage halted, the driver letting out a low shout as he pulled the horses to a sharp stop, jolting the whole carriage. There was a thud and Garrett heard the driver groan, and a moment later the door was wrenched open and a few burly thugs stuck their head into the carriage.

"Jump on out, our boss wants to talk to you."

Seeing that Garrett had remained completely calm, Ryn didn't immediately stab the man in the face, and instead, as Garrett gestured for her to get out, she sighed and held her skirt as she left the carriage.

"Both of you need to get out," the thug said, shooting a glare at Garrett when he saw that he hadn't moved.

"He can't walk, idiot," Ryn said. "You have to get his wheelchair down."

At first, the thug just stared at her blankly, not understanding what she had said. So she repeated herself, louder this time, and gestured towards the roof of the carriage where Garrett's wheelchair was strapped.

"The wheelchair, you have to get it down so he can get out."

Mumbling something under his breath, the thug climbed up onto the carriage and got the wheelchair down, though not without some difficulty, and then held it in place while Ryn helped Garrett down from the carriage. She took her time, arranging a blanket around Garrett's legs, and then straightening his suit. The thug stood behind them, and though he wanted to protest, there was something that kept the words from coming out. Faintly unnerved, he took the first opportunity to relinquish the wheelchair to Ryn.

As Ryn wheeled him forward, Garrett saw that the driver was lying on the ground, a gleaming crossbow bolt hovering near his chest. Standing in the middle of the road, in the most predictable manner possible, was Davis Von Ketter, with two other young noblemen behind him. Davis was fairly tall, around six foot two, and wore a different coat than the one Garrett had seen him in only a few hours prior. He had changed into something darker, and from the rakish angle of the hat that sat on his head, he clearly thought he looked quite dashing. With a nasty smile, he stepped forward, his eyes raking over Garrett and Ryn behind him.

"I bet you never imagined your night would end like this," he said.

"End like what?" Garrett replied, looking around. "You mean being stopped in the middle of the street and threatened?”

“Yes.”

“No, I definitely knew this was going to happen. As soon as I saw you, I could tell you were one of those small-minded people who imagine every circumstance that doesn't conform with their understanding of how the world should be as a personal slight. I've known a lot of people like you, and so it was easy to surmise the outcome of our encounter earlier this evening. What I am surprised about is that you managed to pull some of Rackham's Blade into this mess."

As Garrett finished speaking, his eyes flickered towards the side of the street, where three hardy-looking individuals loitered. He had spoken loudly enough for them to hear, and one of them, eyes narrowing, took a few steps forward.

"You got something to say about Rackham's Blade?" His voice was husky, and the scar that ran across the bridge of his nose and down one cheek made him look particularly savage.

"I've plenty to say about Rackham's Blade," Garrett replied. "But I don't know that I'd bother saying any of it to the likes of you."

Davis, annoyed that Garrett was ignoring him, started to speak, but before he could, one of the other members of the mercenary group took up the conversation.

"You're already in a dangerous situation, so why you feel the need to run your mouth and dig yourself deeper into a hole, I'm not quite sure. Unless you think the pretty lady with you is going to be sufficient to keep us from breaking your arms and leaving you face down in a gutter."

"Was that the plan?" Garrett asked, his eyebrows arching. "To break my arms and leave me face down in a gutter? I imagine my father wouldn't be particularly happy about that."

"Your father might be the steward to the regent," Davis said, eager to rejoin the conversation. "But his power is minuscule compared to the authority my family wields. Even if I killed you directly, there would be nothing he could do to me."

"I think you might be surprised," Garrett replied calmly. "Victor Klein is not someone who should be underestimated. Believe me, I grew up with the man, and I know him well."

Sneering, Davis was about to retort when the third member of Rackham's Blade, who had been silent up until this point, interrupted.

"Hold on, did you just say Klein? As in, the Klein family?"

"I did say Klein," Garrett admitted. "But the Klein family has nothing to do with Victor, at least for the moment."