"The world is changing faster than I expect. It would seem there are disasters abound all across the realms. Rumors have even reached my ear that an undead wave rises in the eastern wastes. Stars above, I pray that we won't get sucked up in that. That damned Sophie has an awful habit of finding trouble to tackle. Not that I'm any better, I will partially admit. Though heading for the Frostwinds certainly isn't an idea I entirely relish participating in. Damn me and my stupid mouth."

- Lucinia Trax, Diary, "Pre-journey Entry"

"Now, now, everyone. No need to stare, for bard extraordinaire Elaria Kastiane is here." The bard in question stepped in before her name was called.

With a bow, a turn, and a swift spin to amuse the crowds, she extended her arms like two wings to enhance her silhouette.

"If you have heard of me then the rumors are undoubtedly true. On the frontiers I did perform, as did I for Sultans and Traxian princes. In the east the merchants paid their due in tips and in the south, well, I go to the Academy with my dearest sisters and thus, they are graced so very often." Elaria boisterously announced, before sneakily throwing a small wink at Lucinia and tilting her head.

Time for me to get moving, gah, I owe these people more and more. Lucinia tried to hide her own flustered expression from both the crowd and her companions.

"Now, alongside my compatriots, and my darling assistant Madam Raylani I search for my muse ever northwards, from here to even the lands of ice and snow. So forgive my boasts, jests, and mirthful requests, for I am here to entertain." Elaria quickly pulled Raylani along before hustling both of them past the startled castle steward, the man now left confused and at a loss for words.

No matter how much leeway she wanted to offer comrades and compatriots, even Lucinia saw this move as a drastic breach of both protocol and decorum. Yet the girl's quick thinking after the Traxian's unfortunate introduction had also spared her most of the humiliation she might've received from just being here. And in that respect, Lucinia could not condemn or question such an action either. It was to her benefit, after all.

Before anyone could yell or comment, Elaria and Raylani had already begun moving away from the doorway and into the ballroom. Still stunned, the court steward hastily tried to restore some form of normalcy. Beside him, royal guardsmen who had sensed no threat from Elaria beyond her ability to be a nuisance, simply continued holding the ballroom doors open, their helmeted faces hiding whatever reactions they might've had.

Lucinia breathed a small sigh of relief. She was no longer the focus of the court, the nobles easily intrigued by the quirky bard that had now sauntered into their midst. Her own attention was drawn by where Sophie and Eva were, the two and Aryana having settled near a table that seemed especially prepared for the arrival of the saints. Likely a result of the meeting they had yesterday and whatever prior warning Lady Rosengart had given the court.

She supposed that it was about all that she could ask for and then some. She was already going to stick out like a sore thumb by arriving as part of Sophie's contingent. Out of the relatively performatively dressed group she was also the only one aside from Aryana in a proper dress. Though she did like the elegant lines and petit frills on her sleeves, it still stood out from the uniforms. Finally, she was, thanks to the steward, now publicly labelled as a Traxian. Even if people had suspected that, now that she was known as a former royal, she was certain that opinions had soured even more. No helping it, I have to work with what I got. She sighed.

The gist of the situation now made clear to her, she finally turned her eyes to the ball. Dozens upon dozens of well dressed nobles and courtiers crowded around the outer edges of the ballroom and around the tables of snacks and refreshments. Beyond them, dotted in the eaves and recesses away from prying eyes were a veritable regiment of royal guardsmen standing in the shadows, keeping a close eye on everything.

Some of the even more elite amongst the elites were gathered closer to the front of the room, closer to where the king would be, if he was here. Even after looking around, Lucinia could find no sign of the king himself. In fact, aside from Grand Duchess Falkenwrath and Grand Duke Walden from the council yesterday, she couldn't see any of the council's participants at all. Not even the younger lords that were there. How curious.

She didn't dwell on it for too long. Her attention was then seized by a sudden tap on her shoulder.

"Saint damned hells." She cursed in alarm.

"Easy there, Lady Lucinia. It is me." The quiet but scowl filled voice of a certain inquisitor reached her ears.

"Lady Mila, stars. It is rude to sneak up on a lady without making eye contact or announcing thyself in some way." Lucinia babbled.

A half snort, half growl echoed from the blackhat.

"I'll endeavor to remember that." She remarked with little enthusiasm, "But come, the others are gathering over there. Lady Eva seems to have some more information that she would like to share with us." Mila continued.

"I fail to see why she couldn't fetch me herself if my presence was necessary, but very well." Lucinia grumbled as she tried to preserve what little composure she had remaining.

Mila looked her up and down before frowning. Something about her expression made Lucinia deeply annoyed.

"I thought you were a former noble, didn't expect you to be so… skittish today." The inquisitor stated rather bluntly.

Lucinia had to fight off her instinctual indignation at the girl's derisive words and calmed herself. With a frown of her own to match the blackhat's scowl, she let out a haughty sigh before replying.

"Perhaps, Lady Mila, it is because usually I am faced with a court of my peers or those whom I have some knowledge of. We… I am currently in a fairly hostile environment with little to no information beyond whatever it is that has been revealed by Lady Rosengart and Sophie. The latter of whom can be… noticeably sparse on key details on occasion."

Mila let out a soft huff of air, evidently more amused than concerned with her words.

"Decidedly quick to separate yourself from 'us' there, Lady Lucinia." Mila half smirked.

Sensing that the girl was now more poking fun than anything serious, Lucinia allowed her guard to drop a little.

"You're an inquisitor of the Church of Astralis. I suspect at least one person somewhere in that quagmire would've had enough wherewithal to at least do you the courtesy of informing you about the nation you might have to visit." She answered somewhat sarcastically.

"Heh." The inquisitor chuckled, but offered nothing more.

In a way, the coy response from the girl had confirmed her own suspicions that the church was after something more than just supporting Lady Rosengart's return. After all, a pronouncement, a letter, or even a small delegation would do instead of an escort of templars and two inquisitors alongside a squadron of saints. Based on how Inquisitor Janos had already vanished into the crowds, she was now even more confident in her own conjectures.

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The two of them arrived at the table with the others and found whatever conversation was being had already well underway.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Sophie sighed.

"Sorry, Soph. Freddie… err, Frederick's already done what he could. But it seems that they want the court to be right after the ball or even at the tail end of it, not afterwards." Eva apologetically responded.

Glancing around the table, Lucinia found that the others did not look any more enthused about whatever it was that had preceded this conversation. And while the saintesses and saint did not look flustered or upset, they certainly weren't exactly happy either. Only Sigrid appeared relatively cheerful, though the mermaid was busy enjoying her time by sampling the little snacks and canapes that the others had already acquired for her in their short time here.

"What seems to be the matter?" Lucinia quietly broached the subject since Mila wasn't speaking up nor looking particularly inclined to explain anything.

Hanabi looked ready to answer, the outlander having nothing to do now that her charge was too absorbed in the food to care. But the girl paused when the lead saintess, Suzuki, made a small hand gesture that the outlander nodded affirmatively to.

"Lucinia-san, right?" Suzuki queried.

"Right. That's me."

"They want us to make speeches at some point." The girl leaned in conspiratorially, "Like back in the Academy when giving presentations."

"Pardon me for asking, but isn't that normal at this point?"

"Of course." Suzuki frowned at her, the saintess's glare making Lucinia wince in both fright and annoyance in herself, "But have you seen the people here? Not exactly a friendly student crowd. It's a very… yabai, bad group. High stress like at an exam. Would even prefer a presentation to faculty instead of this." The girl wrinkled her nose in disgust, her brief hostile glare thrown around the room not lost on Lucinia.

"I suppose that's understandable." She murmured with tepid assent. After all, she wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the Carradorian nobility either. Not that she had anything against less sophisticated courts. But rather that they didn't seem to like her very much either.

"Suzuki, the dance." Hanabi chuckled from the side.

The saintess shot a stern look at the outlander who just shrugged in response.

"The dance?" Lucinia asked, her.

"They think the local people might want to invite us to the dance floor." One of the other saintess's answered her.

"And would that be bad?"

"I don't want to dance." The girl pouted.

"Then just say no?" Lucinia was unable to hide her frown at such a simple solution.

"And ruin this whole stupid thing for sensei?" The girl growled.

"Emi." Suzuki chided.

"What? It's easier said than done, isn't it? All of this is about perception anyways. How everyone else sees us. If we say no, won't they project that onto Eva sensei?"

"Emi, it's not that deep."

Lucinia massaged her cheeks in thought before nodding.

"No, no. She has a point. In theory it doesn't matter, but the court will see it as rude." Lucinia mumbled, "No two ways about that, if I'm honest.)

"See? Even she agrees, and she's the noble here." Emi stuck her tongue out at her comrade, "And besides, look around us, Suzu. So rich and fancy and in feudal society?" The girl hissed with a whisper, "You know the type. Imagine the scene they'd cause if someone said no to them."

"That…"

"Would be difficult to deal with." Lucinia finished for Suzuki.

A tense silence now brewed within the group, no one really knowing where to go from here.

"I wouldn't mind a dance." A more carefree saintess spoke up, breaking the tension in the air.

"Yumi?" Suzuki gawked. Though Lucinia did not know if she was perturbed by the sudden interruption or the comment at hand.

"Doesn't matter much to me, eh?" Ayumi sniggered, "Besides, we're allowed to ask each other too." She nudged the most quiet of the saintesses.

"Whuh-wha-what?" The girl quivered.

The quiet shrine maiden called Miyuki seemed to balk at such a suggestion. The girl's eyes widening as big as saucers as she stared in ashen faced horror at her friend. Beside them, the only saint of the group turned beet red and did not meet anyone else's glances. Seeing this bizarre sight, Lucinia sought out an expert on the matter and turned to Hanabi for assistance, only to find the girl simply enjoying watching everything play out.

Ayumi seemed absolutely delighted by the reaction and almost chortled out loud, the girl doing her best to suppress her laugh. Miyuki punched her friend in the arm. Their leader Suzuki just let out a heavy sigh.

Lucinia felt a knot tighten in her chest. She momentarily diverted her gaze, her eyes wandering up to the ballroom's ceilings. Past the chandeliers and fixtures were ancient Carradorian murals. Most well maintained but some religious in nature, depicting the Goddess and her pantheon as well as the once mortal saints of mankind. Seeing the saints in front of her, she couldn't help but finally come to terms with the growing discomfort within her about everything. Stars above, they're just kids. Like the rest of us. The ones in the past, in our textbooks… were they just like this too?

"Okay, fine. I get it. We all have our own hang ups or ideas about things. But then what do we do? I thought we were going to, I don't know, have a collective action plan or something." Emi's worry filled voice cut through her thoughts.

"It's not that simple Emi, there's a lot going on." Suzuki let out another sigh, deeper, more bothered. One resembling that of a tired leader of sorts.

Lucinia pursed her lips. Just people like the rest of us. People bearing more responsibilities and expectations than most others. Like Lady Rosengart, hells, even Sophie. She found the last comparison a little distasteful. But people.

"Well I can sit around, at least." Hanabi cheekily grinned.

"I wasn't including you, Hana." Suzuki rolled her eyes.

"Ouch, I'm hurt." Hanabi mockingly held her hands over her heart, like a wounded deer ever so dramatically dying.

"Tch, you know what I meant."

"Hah."

"But more importantly, I don't exactly disagree with Emi either. We should come up with something that we can all agree on at least. Even if it is that we can each do our own thing. We'll still need boundaries or limits considering this is an unfamiliar environment." Suzuki expertly regained control of the situation.

With her words, a more sobering mood settled across the saints as they calmed down and digested her message. Sensing a moment to interject herself, Lucinia tried to picture herself speaking to collaborators instead of saints.

"If you perceive having to make a potential rejection an issue, have no worry. I will be around to help you navigate that scenario, should it come to pass. I understand how delicate it might all feel considering we have to take into account Lady Rosengart's best interests as well." Lucinia spoke up.

The rest of them turned to look at her. Dammit, someone say something.

"Ahem. That is to say, since we have this little bit of time to ourselves, I can offer what assistance I can in helping you understand the court better. Though it is not mine nor one I am familiar with, certain protocols regarding etiquette should remain… relatively standardized." She added.

"Really? I mean, I'd appreciate it." Emi bobbed her head.

"A noble goal." Mila affirmed.

"Gah, fuck." Lucina unwittingly swore, jumping from the sudden voice beside her ear.

Mila nonchalantly glanced at her, her eyebrows raised with a hint of amusement behind them. A few of the saints even chuckled at her. She did her best to try and hide the fact that she was being teased by the saint candidates themselves. Don't panic, Lucinia, just people. Normal, Goddess touched and blessed people.

"Make yourself more present next time." She grumbled at the inquisitor.

"I didn't disappear or anything." Mila scowled.

"Well… say something next time."

"I just did."

"Gah. Why do I even bother?" Lucinia almost threw up her hands before realizing that she was in a ballroom.

"It's a good idea though."

Lucinia crossed her arms and pointedly looked away, though she did at least mutter a brief 'thanks' under her breath to acknowledge the compliment.

Upon noticing that a half dozen expectant eyes were now resting upon her, she ran her fingers through her hair and took a small breath.

"Right then, let's start somewhere simple. Just what exactly have they told you? They, meaning Lady Rosengart and the church. Because heavens know Sophie barely prepared us for anything on our end."

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