Arc II, Chapter 46

It was a surprisingly warm day. I could feel sweat tickling the back of my neck from where the ☐☐☐☐☐☐ clasped shut, and I thanked every lucky star that Coralina had had the foresight to use thin fabric for my current attire. It would doubtlessly become chilly once the sun set, but for now, the sticky heat of an incoming spring was in the air.

"Four black grouse..."

I was also lucky to get who was seated on either side of me, namely Nate Granite and Clara Merryfellow. Neither of them made it onto Quatre's pre-approved list, but that was because Quatre was both excessively paranoid and more than a little scary. The tea party I'd hosted with his chosen victims had been too terrified to even veer off the topic of generic summer plans. It had felt like I was holding people hostage and forcing them to roleplay a tea party!

"Three brown hares..."

The chair wasn't too bad. They'd piled a couple of cushions atop it and a row of servants was lined up behind us, holding up large umbrellas that provided shade for us to hide under.

"Two red-tailed deer..."

...

"And one wild boar."

Is this the fucking 12 Days of Christmas?! Or did Heero just have some kind of strange vendetta against forest animals?!

There was a general murmur from the crowd as the announcer finally finished calling out all of Heero's caught game. It was vexing to see some of the sneering looks he was receiving, but knowing that was the result of their envy made something like vicious amusement well up in my gut. That's right, idiots! Heero could have won with his eyes blindfolded and bare-handed! They could never measure up to him.

Well, to be honest, no one could really measure up to Heero. The figure he cut as he emerged from the woods earlier had dried out my throat, and the look on his face when our eyes locked earlier as he waited for his turn to present his catch was damn near searing. Heero was naturally incredibly good-looking, so it stands to reason that he'd be even more attractive when he looks a little disheveled.

True to his character, he was hardly winded from his hours-long trek hunting, but there was no avoiding looking a little roughed up from the environment. His suit jacket had been discarded early on to allow freer movement, revealing sun-kissed skin peeking through in a tantalizing bit of collarbone. His otherwise loose shirt was tucked into tight-fitting trousers, accentuating his narrow hips and muscled thighs.

I wonder if it would be too much to ask Heero not to freshen up before he got in the carriage...

"I dedicate this catch to my husband, Duchess Duo Maxwell-Yuy," Heero said, making sure he was looking straight at me as he spoke.

I felt a little thrill go down my spine at the look in his eyes, and couldn't help the smile that grew on my lips in response. Heero's eyes only darkened further, to my rising glee.

"Alright..." Duke Lucrezia Noin said, glancing at me as well. She hesitated for only a moment, but when I didn't speak out to reject the dedication, nodded and allowed the servants to carry over Heero's numerous catches to me.

Lucrezia Noin was another character who I recognized from the book. She had not been as central a character as Heero and the others, but as the fiancee of the Crown Prince, she had served as a sort of older sister-figure to Relena. Endlessly supportive and one of the more chivalrous characters, she was an accomplished knight and empathetic leader. As Relena became heir to the throne, it was decided that the Prince would marry into Noin's family line instead; this had caused a minor political struggle, as Noin's position as Duke was thus downgraded to Duchess in order to give the Prince the title. It had been said that Noin was so in love with the man that she did not mind the loss in status, though they had yet to marry at the end of the book.

Given how she had interacted with Relena and, by extension, Heero, I hadn't thought she would be like those other shitty nobles who thought ill of him. At her heart, she was supposed to be a kind, virtuous person - so the fact that she'd called me up there to humiliate Heero by accepting Otto's dedication had caught me off guard.

And pissed me the hell off. Did everyone think I was some easy lay, just because Heero and I didn't get along?

The dead animals were deposited to pile at my feet, a large and conspicuous addition to Solo's and Otto's catches. I tried to look smug and imperious given that I was the clear winner of this little competition, but it was hard to maintain my nose in the air when I just had a bunch of dead things rotting beside me.

"You've definitely won this time, Your Grace," Nate murmured from beside me. He'd been given a pheasant and two hares by his own fiance, Count Victor Montague, and was looking more than a little smug about it. They'd been courting for years now and had just been given the go-ahead by Nate's parents to finally proceed to a proper engagement, so it was obvious why he was so happy this year. "Not that that's any surprise. I can't imagine anyone could compete with the gentleman who can defeat bears in passing."

That story I told about Heero defending me from a bear really took off, huh?

"It's good sportsmanship to at least let others attempt," I said dryly. Selena - Selena Deerfall, second-born child in the Deerfall line but firstborn daughter - let out another wheezing giggle. I know for a fact she was choking back laughter the entire time I was reading Otto to filth. Girl had a vicious streak a mile wide. "I don't even know what I should do with all these things. I know Lady Loretta had her's stuffed last year, but if I bothered to do something so quaint, I'd end up with a stuffed animal zoo."

My response was two-fold. On one hand, I did really want to know what people were supposed to do with their winnings. Technically, I guess I could eat all of them... I'd have to make sure Chef Morris got them all though, I didn't need the capital estate cook messing it all up with pickling again. On the other hand, it was a proper dig at Loretta Prescott - who I had quickly clued in was trying to usurp my position as overlord of the gentlefolk.

I had meant to stick to Quatre's plan of scaring the living daylights out of his pre-approved guest list, I really was! But after the twentieth stuttered "Y-Y-Yes, Y-Your G-G-Grace," I had to call it quits. At that point, I was doing it for those pitiful souls Quatre had roped in; the poor things needed to recover their mental health. And I also made note to talk to Quatre about what he is telling these people before they meet me... They couldn't even meet my eyes!

Nonetheless, I sent the little socialites off to recover and made myself available to the rest of the campgrounds. This had put me in, thankfully, Nate's direct path; I was whisked away to the tea party he was hosting, which turned out to be central headquarters for my devoted followers.

Frankly, it was a little creepy. As soon as I sat down, I was served my favorite tea and snacks, and then was given a rundown on everything I'd missed. It was like getting mission reports from different militias. At one point, Viola - Violaticia Merryweather, second-born daughter of Count Merryweather - pulled out a sheaf of documents outlining changes to every single noble family's lineage. She had done this entirely unprompted and clearly as a continuation of a Duchess-given assignment.

The fact that none of them seemed to expect me to explain the importance of everything they told me was another red flag. Not only was it clear that I was gathering information and having them do the dirty work to get it, but I also wasn't even explaining to them why I needed it. This was the first time I became so acutely aware of what it really meant to be from the Maxwell family.

And the fact that no one - be it Hilde, Heero, or Quatre - told me about this... Then it meant that they didn't even know.

What the fuck was I doing out in the Capital?

"Oh, are you going to have the bones bejeweled?" Selena, on Nate's other side, asked excitedly. "I really loved what you did with the deer skeleton at the last competition you won, Your Grace! I thought the emeralds and black pearls looked beautiful when embedded in the bone."

What the fuck was my hobby?! Bedazzling dead animals?!

...What a goth idea, I love it already.

Something about that must have shown in my expression, as the others around me bent forward to get a better look at my dedications. I could feel Meilan's incredulous silence behind me.

Surprisingly, she'd been holding up incredibly well during this whole escapade; unless addressed directly, she kept quiet and just glowered at anyone who maybe gawked at me a bit too long. I think a lot of that had to do with her general unease in dealing with Sanc's gentility, and also being surprised that I had been so well-received thus far. There wasn't a single stray comment or rude side-eye among my little cult following, and they seemed to think Meilan was acting as some sort of bodyguard with the way they appraised her muscles with their eyes.

"The boar would be a decent art piece, but what about the deer?" Selena mused.

"What's wrong with having three deer? I think it'd be cute!"

"Whittle down the bones of one to make it smaller. Then you have a deer family."

"Combine the bones of the two deer and make a mega-deer!"

"Combine the bones of all of them and make a dazzling monster!"

There was a general excited murmur at Casen's - Casen Willows, second-born son of Baron Willows - suggestion. I was mildly intrigued myself... What kind of creature could be made from so many different bones? They said I did emerald and black pearl for the last piece, but how should I redesign these bones? Where should I keep-

A hand touched down on my shoulder, Meilan leaning just over me to whisper in my ear. "I don't know where your last...deer... went, but you had it sent away when the Duke complimented it."

...

...Well, I really had to give it to me for consistency. And at least I had it sent away instead of destroyed; I guess that showed improvement. Somewhere.

The last participant was announced and their catch distributed. It was clear that I was the obvious winner, and was amused to note that not only was Lady Loretta - several chairs down and bitterly staring at her meager dedications - upset about this, but so too was Duke Noin. I'm glad that I could still get under her skin, even by just sitting here and looking pretty. It was a damn good confidence boost that I could be vexing in just a few short sentences.

Just as Noin looked ready to announce the winner, there was a sudden disruptive murmur from one corner of the grounds, followed by startled exclamations and scurrying servants. The reason why soon became clear: a two-horse cart was trodding closer, the large form of a bear lying still atop its frame.

The bear was one thing, but I found my attention arrested instead by the one leading the cart: a young woman in formal hunting attire, sword at her waist and crossbow on her back. Her sweeping mane of ice blond hair was pulled back into a sensible ponytail, giving clear view of a pretty, fox-like face with forked eyebrows.

She was also coated rather liberally in blood.

"...Lady Catalonia," Noin greeted, with a tone somehow more wary than the one used on my own creepy brother. "I'm afraid the competition has already ended."

Lady Catalonia seemed surprised for only a moment, before quickly stopping her tread towards the stage and giving up with a smile too sharp to be kind on her face. "Ah, I knew I wouldn't make it," she laughed lightly. "It was too heavy to drag back by myself, you see, so I had to come back and get the horses. It's my fault for being too ambitious for my own good."

Lady Noin shook her head, smile affixed firmly on her face as she replied with sympathetic non-statements. Servants moved forward to relieve Catalonia of her burden, though she wasn't invited on stage. If I didn't know any better, I'd think the nobles disliked her more than they disliked Heero.

And the thing is... I wasn't entirely sure. I'd never heard of this Lady Catalonia before, either from the novel or from my time here.

"Lady Catalonia?" I echoed quietly but pointedly.

As expected, Nate obediently leaned closer to me. "She's a guest of Her Majesty the Queen, Your Grace. Lady Dorothy Catalonia from Romefeller. Supposedly, she's the king's great-granddaughter or something along those lines."

If that was true, that would make her ranking similar to mine. Romefeller may be a little messy - having harems for both rulers tended to make the family line uselessly extensive - but if she was important enough to be a guest of royalty, then that meant this Dorothy Catalonia had been something special even among her numerous relatives.

This also explained why the Sanc nobility was acting so reticent with her. Nothing was more irritating to them than someone they considered inferior being more able than all of them put together.

"Am I still able to dedicate my catch to someone?" Catalonia asked, hip cocked in a way that seemed to imply she'd wait for an answer she liked.

Sensing a battle that she was better off not engaging in, Noin let out a little sigh as she nodded. "Yes, that's fine... You can even keep the catch for yourself, as it has no stakes in the competition."

Catalonia's smile was full of teeth and little mercy. "No, I'm here to learn and participate in Sanc's customs. It's my fault I could not make your little deadline-" Noin's eye tick came back, "--but I'd still like to make a dedication at least."

Noin gave a tired nod. I have never seen someone so done with an event.

Catalonia gifted her a slow smile, turning an evaluating gaze to the row of dandies and ladies. Many looked away from her penetrating gaze, either not wanting to get caught up in her ploy or simply dismissive of a foreigner; others straightened up, challenging and imperious. I gotta admit, I was just curious myself - between the dead bear and the eyebrows, Dorothy Catalonia was a striking woman.

I don't know if it was the fact that I probably looked the friendliest of the bunch or if my small hill of animal carcasses was enough of an attention-grabber, but Catalonia's eyes met mine and stayed there. The smile on her face shifted - maybe not quite in the direction of warmth or friendliness, but there was something like amusement in the twitch of her expression as she motioned in my direction.

"Him, then," she announced.

Damn, I was popular today.

Heero, waiting patiently among the throng of participants who had gone previously, turned a dark, glowering look on the woman. I glimpsed Quatre's hand snapping out to wrap around Heero's forearm, a silent indication that he should stay in place this time. I mentally thanked the blonde; Otto was one thing, but this Catalonia chick looked she had picked me as a matter of either convenience or entertainment.

"You wish to dedicate your catch to the Duchess of Yuy?" Noin clarified. She somehow looked even less thrilled, no doubt wondering if I was going to make a scene about this too.

Catalonia ignored her tone. "Yes. The Duchess has interesting eyes," she announced, slow and amused, as if indulging in her own private joke. I couldn't tell if I should be offended or not based solely on her tone. "I will dedicate my catch to him."

"The Duchess of Yuy is already married."

"That's fine, I have no intention of marrying him or fucking him," Catalonia laughed, tilting her head in a way that deliberately provoked scowls upon various members of her audience. "This is just a pretty pelt for a pretty person."

With a courteous bow in my direction, Catalonia stretched one blood-stained hand in the direction of her catch as she leveled a viper-like smile at me.

"And I so enjoy deadly things that look pretty."

- - - - -

I couldn't believe this. I was going to die.

"Heero," I prodded, sitting on the side of his bed as he meandered from one side of the room to the other, moving random trinkets and pouring two cups of wine that he left atop the table. "Come over here?"

"In a minute," Heero said, moving back over to his desk to rearrange the monster figurine for the third time.

This is too cute.

I felt the way the edges of my lips twitched up into a smile. "Heero," I crooned out. "Are you sulking?"

"No," Heero replied, sulkily. I'm gonna die from the cuteness!

I snagged his hand as he made to walk past, doubtlessly to rearrange the furniture back into their original position. True to Heero, he didn't shake off my hold, allowing me to pull him back to face me so that I could fit his totally-not-sulking body between my legs, wrapping my arms securely around his waist. I smiled up at him as he relaxed into my hold, leaning into his touch when he threaded his fingers through my hair.

"I can't believe the guy who got me the entire forest food chain isn't happy with it," I teased him. "You realize I'm not trying to start an animal cadaver collection?"

Heero bowed his head over mine, avoiding my eyes. "...Not the entire forest food chain."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "So what if that Catalonia lady got the bear? You think I want another reminder of my last run-in with that thing's cousin?"

Heero didn't reply.

"And you got me what I wanted anyway," I reminded him. "Now I get to gloat to all and sundry that I am the Hunting Queen."

"Winner of the Hunt," Heero corrected mildly.

"Yeah, yeah, same thing!"

Naturally, Heero was the proclaimed winner of the Capital Hunt. As his husband and also the one he dedicated his catch to, I was allowed to share in the accolades. While I hardly needed more money and fame, I couldn't help but want it for Heero; even if they didn't like him, the nobles were damn sure going to acknowledge Heero's superior skills.

As the victor of the competition, he would be celebrated at the Victor's Ball tomorrow - an event hosted by the imperial family for the winner of the Hunt. The following day would be the Annual Hunt Ball, the effective closing ceremony of the Capital Hunt and the party that set off the noble social season.

Heero and the others never stayed long during the social season, which meant we were free to leave during that time. I would have stayed in the Capital longer than them, but Quatre figured we could cite continued health concerns and flee back to the Yuy province - a move I whole-heartedly approved of.

In the meantime...

"As the glorious winner of the Capital Hunt," I proclaimed, unwrapping my arms from around Heero, but only to hold onto his waist with both hands. "It's time for your reward, for being such a good hunting partner and husband~!"

Heero stilled for a moment, before a smirk crossed his features. His fingers scraped slightly harder along my scalp, eliciting a shudder of pleasure down my spine. "You were staring pretty hard at me the entire ride home," he said, tone slightly coarser than normal. "I had wondered if my sweat bothered you. I suppose it did, just not in the way I initially thought."

"I knew you were flexing on purpose," I clicked my tongue at him, then ducked forward to place a kiss to his chest. "No wonder no one wanted to ride in the same carriage as us."

Heero shivered as I kissed over his abdomen. "And yet you're the one who hurried us up to my bedroom as soon as we got here."

"I didn't say it wasn't effective," I snickered, placing another kiss to just below his navel.

Heero's fingers dragged over my scalp, but he was too soft to do much more than scratch down my nape and then repeatedly pet over the back of my head. I smiled at the gentleness, more than eager to give him what he was too shy to urge me towards.

Honestly - too cute.

- - - - -

The Victor's Ball was, thankfully, not an all-day affair. It would start promptly in the early evening and carry on until long past sundown, though some families retired earlier if they were so inclined. Unlike the Annual Hunt Ball, which invited all noble families - including the elderly and the young - the Victor's Ball was a party meant for Sanc's most active and elite, catered specifically to the adult heads of each noble line.

This is also what made it so important for Heero to be declared the winner of the Hunt, as his victory allowed him to bring whoever he so wanted as his retinue to attend the celebration. While this would have hardly been something Trowa and others clamored to have, it was still better than letting Heero fend for himself in the shark-infested waters of the Sanc court. Given that I would have been more likely to bleed him for sport than help him at previous events, I was hardly someone that could be counted on to buffer Heero against the aristocrats - and now that I was in this condition, Quatre hardly trusted me to protect myself.

Which felt very unfair, because I only needed one afternoon to convince everyone Heero was some cross between Hercules and Adonis.

"The lack of trust is concerning," I told Quatre matter-of-factly. "I handled them just fine at the Hunt!"

Quatre's withering gaze met mine. "You started gossiping about the Duke's physique."

"He has a very nice physique!"

To be fair, I hadn't talked only about Heero's physical attractiveness the entire time - I'd spent quite a bit of time monologuing on his other wonderful qualities, such as his considerate mannerisms, romantic notions, and chivalrous attitude. There was a moment at the end there where my enraptured audience started to look a lot more like Asahi, but if nothing else, I had apparently been very good at instilling discipline in my followers.

"I don't want to hear about the Duke's physique again," Meilan groaned on the carriage seat across from me. I knew she was wishing she was riding horseback with Trowa or passenger with Wufei now. "If I have to hear about the breathtaking depth of his eyes, I'm strangling you."

I would have snipped back something about her treasonous words but I was too distracted by Heero, who was sitting stiffly next to me and - after a quick glance - was frozen in that way that meant his body was trying very hard not to blush.

"Everyone must know the truth: Heero is the best," I stated with grandiosity, leaning into Heero's side with maybe a little too dramatic flutter of my eyelashes. The way Heero wound his arm around my waist to tug me closer to him was well worth the theatrics, even if Meilan was mock-retching in response.

"...I'm nothing without you," Heero said quietly, smoothing a hand over my waist possessively.

Meilan threw open the (still moving) carriage's door. "I can't stand you people!"

We eventually managed to reach the imperial palace in one piece - Wufei having only had to shove Meilan back into the moving carriage after two more escape attempts - and after only a cursory glare from Heero, were able to skip the long procession line of other carriages as honored guests.

Ushered inside by harried attendants, I attached myself to Heero's side like a clingy barb and made a point of sending smug looks any time someone dared to look too long in our direction. Coralina and Tsubasa had made a point of putting us in another matching outfit, and I knew our close proximity only highlighted this fact - to Heero's quiet satisfaction.

The dress material of my outfit was almost gauzy, draping snugly over my form in a light shade of sapphire blue. The corset was of a slightly darker color, lace fashioned into small white flowers sewn along the bodice to serve as accents, miniature white rhinestones scattered here and there as flyaway petals, the ☐☐☐☐☐☐ cinched around my throat and nearly hiding the sc☐rs. The sleeves were shoulder-less, made of that same flowing gauzy material and lined with scattered rhinestones and smaller white lace flowers. The dress shirt tucked into the waist, leading into matching tunic pants that cuffed just above the diamond-laden heels on my feet.

Heero's outfit matched my own, though the tunic pants had been exchanged for more traditional trousers and the heels for knee-high boots. Tsubasa had taken to his hair with a vengeance, styling the usually-wild mane into a messy-but-on-purpose look that had made Heero's attendant look particularly smug. The possessed look that unsaid challenge brought out in Coralina's eyes nearly brought me to the brink of tears, though she was finally satisfied after she got to style my hair to her liking. Crystalline gems were fixed in the headpiece crossed over my forehead, a smaller black diamond hanging from the center as thin, golden chains draped over the sides of my face and tucked into the strands of my hair, most of which was pulled back into a thick mermaid braid dotted with matching crystals.

Our adornments were of course extravagant, but we perfectly matched the event and the location. The grandiose ballroom was the height of luxury: ornate chandeliers hung over the expansive, elaborately-painted ceiling; custom moldings lined the glossy hardwood flooring framed by intricately-designed marble; thick, dark blue velvet curtains draped over large windows; archway entries led off into smaller alcoves or curved exterior balconies; atop a small theater near the back of the room stood a small orchestra, happily playing as nobles mixed and mingled.

"HIS GRACE, THE DUKE OF YUY, AND HIS GRACE, THE DUCHESS OF YUY!"

Our arrival had to be announced, and given that he was the winner of the Capital Hunt, the room's attention snapped over to us just as we crossed the threshold to appear at the top of the grand staircase. Heero stiffened momentarily at the myriad of gazes on us, a natural reaction to the fleeting expressions of discontent that crossed so many faces as we began to descend the staircase. I didn't need to turn around to know that Quatre and the others had similarly closed off, either matching contemptuous look for contemptuous look or focusing on some distant point in the future to get them through this.

If things continued like this, we were going to spend the whole night feeling miserable. Thus, it was now my time to shine!

"Do you think Lady Aurora will kill us if we don't dance tonight?" I began conversationally, shooting Heero a teasing smile that had the desired effect of fully recapturing his attention. "Or will she kill us for dancing tonight since we're just that bad at it?"

"...So killing us is inevitable?" Heero returned, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"I was trying to be realistic."

My eyes skittered over the whispering clumps of nobles as we stepped down from the last stair, making sure to smile just a little too sweetly that had them quickly averting their eyes. Whatever the hell I was doing to these people before, I really appreciated it now; it's not every day I could make people regret existing just by looking at them.

"Heero, look over there," I said, nudging him in the side before flicking a hand in the direction of a woman in a maroon velvet dress several yards away. The amount of fine jewelry she had draped over herself would be enough to have the misers in the provincial town market salivating, a smirk pulling up her painted pink lips. "That's Loretta Prescott."

Heero followed my gaze and nodded minutely. "Yes..."

"We hate her," I told him matter-of-factly.

Heero paused, then nodded again in understanding.

"That bitch," Meilan chimed in from behind me supportively.

Quatre's eyebrows rose. "What did she do?"

Meilan shrugged.

"She implied red wasn't my color," I said with an air of gravitas, because the only way to truly distract them was to be as obnoxious as possible. "Which is frankly ridiculous, because I look great in every color, but especially red."

Heero nodded again, "Yes."

"Also, the fact that she had to gall to say that when she looks like an overdone muffin is insulting enough. She probably spent all day yesterday staring directly into the sun and it burned both her sight and her good taste right out of her."

Wufei shot me a disgruntled look. "Are you done?"

"No," I replied with a wide smile. "I hadn't even got to the point where I lamented her obvious lack of mental faculties or even the latest gossip about how her needlework looks worse than a drunk sailor's."

"So this is what you were talking about all day yesterday..." Trowa muttered.

I straightened up, turning a wounded look on the Commander. "I was doing this for us, " I told him magnanimously. "If she insults me, she insults you. She's also an unrepentant bitch and I won't stand for you to be insulted!"

"I think I would have remembered being insulted, Your Grace."

"How would you know? You're always elbow-deep in mountain cat placenta."

"Will you ever let that go-"

"What part of my personality looks like I let anything go?"

That drew Trowa up short, which had not actually been my intention but the words just slipped out. Instead of letting that odd statement hang in the air for any length of time, I tightened my hold on Heero's arm and dragged him in the direction of the refreshments.

This was my first official social event outside of the tea parties I'd engaged in both in the Yuy province and for that short time at the Capital Hunt. While I'd met a good share of ladies and dandies during the hunt yesterday, that number was still limited to the otherwise devoted circle that had followed around the Duchess of Yuy; for that reason, I had expected a much less warm welcome as I entered the den of wolves known as the Victor's Ball with Heero on my arm.

While this had more or less held true, the sheer lack of direct interaction - good and bad - was still surprising. People tended to quiet down as we passed them but never engaged with us, some even going so far as to avoid my eyes if I happened to look in their direction. While there was a certain level of disdain apparent for some, I couldn't help but notice the occasional flash of fear that crossed a face every so often as well.

...I guess either Heero's reputation had really taken off after my rumor-mongering yesterday, or I was a lot scarier than I had expected to these people.

Heero had picked up two glasses of wine for us as Wufei and Meilan idled over the other refreshments, murmuring to each other in their native tongue. Quatre and Trowa had disappeared, likely to canvas the area since Trowa seemed to have an unstated (and sometimes explicitly stated) hatred of crowds.

I took to sipping my proffered glass and sticking close to Heero's side, making sure to send the occasional wicked smile here and there if any of the other nobles dared to look over. I was rewarded with a nearly half-hour of blissful avoidance for my efforts, wineglass partially drained and Heero's hand making a welcome home on my lower back as he guided me this way and that.

Finally the trumpets sounded, blaring across the ballroom and cutting off the conversations to a dull mumble. Everyone's attention turned as the attendant at the top of the steps announced the entrance of tonight's host - and to a general sweep of surprise, it was once again Duke Noin. I felt a leaden ball of discomfort settle in my gut as she announced that both the Queen and Crown Prince would not be present tonight.

Another missed social event that the royal family had attended every time for generations. There was nothing like this in the book and I could not fathom the reasons behind their lack of attendance. Had my continued presence here somehow worsened the Queen's health? What could have caused both members of the royal family to miss something as socially important as the Capital Hunt and Victor's Ball?

The answer came to me with a flash of sharp worry: Relena.

I hadn't seen her while Heero and I were walking around but I hadn't thought much of it. She'd attended the Victor's Ball as Heero's partner, setting into motion her eventual reveal as the lost Princess after she catches the attention of Prince Milliardo. Now that I thought about it, she had not been present at the Capital Hunt either, as far as I could tell; to be honest, I had not really been looking since I was so busy with everything else that had transpired and knew there was no way for her to meet Heero while he was out actively participating.

Even then, I still was not sure how Relena could have been pulled in so early by the royal family. Prince Milliardo had only suspected Relena to have been his long-lost sister, something that is only confirmed by the Queen on her deathbed. But all the chances and opportunities Relena had been granted to catch the Crown Prince's attention had been because of her close relationship with Heero - without that, she had been too distant and unimportant to even be in close proximity to her brother.

So lost in thought, it was jarring to hear Duke Noin's voice, "Can the victor of this season's Capital Hunt and their chosen partner come up to receive their gifts from the royal family?"

Heero held out his arm to me once more, and together we made our way up the steps as Noin waited on the top landing. This was another custom of the Victor's Ball: the public awarding of the victor and the partner they brought. The gifts were decided by the royal family; a more extravagant gift signified that the royal family held the recipient in high esteem.

According to my groupies, at last year's hunt, Count Otto had been rewarded the rights to a small diamond mine within the imperial province, one of the most lucrative gifts ever given in recent history. Even my brother, a previous winner of the Capital Hunt, had at most been rewarded with special privileges to certain royal archives.

The winners were not the only ones rewarded during this event - their partners were granted their own rewards in turn, which is what made the ribbon-tying for the Hunt and partner choice during the ball so important. I was invariably tied to Heero through both, though had Solo somehow won the hunt yesterday, I could still be called up for a reward as it had been my (stolen) ribbon he'd had tied around his wrist.

We crested the landing where Noin waited, flanked by royal attendants present only to give the impression of a royal decree. We stopped several feet away from Noin, bowing courteously, which I thought she should really be happy about given that I know for a fact Solo had made a habit of mocking her with every facsimile of polite courtesy.

"For the winner of the Capital Hunt, Duke Heero Yuy, the royal family will bestow upon him the ownership of the Dunrea Iron Mines located in the westernmost area of the imperial province, along with your choice of artifact from the royal treasury."

I felt myself relax minutely. The iron mine was a decent choice, especially for the general of Sanc's armed forces, though it would have been seen as a lesser gift given that the Dunrea mines were smaller in comparison to the ones already present in the Yuy province. However, with the addition of an artifact from the royal treasury, it was clear the royal family still held the Duke of Yuy in high esteem no matter how the other nobles perceived him.

Heero bowed once again, "I gladly accept the gift and thank Her Majesty the Queen and His Highness the Crown Prince for their generosity."

There was a polite scattering of applause as a pregnant pause elapsed, but it would be considered garish to not applaud a gift from the royal family no matter who the recipient may be. I just hoped Meilan hadn't made any pointed threats while out amongst Sanc's nobility; Wufei was an even worse enabler than Heero.

Noin cleared her throat, this time turning to me. "For the victor's chosen partner, Duchess Duo Maxwell-Yuy, the royal family will bestow upon him the honor of one royal favor completely free of obligations, to be immediately granted under the authority of the Crown."

I immediately went cold.

Shocked murmurs erupted from the mass of nobles but Noin kept her eyes trained on me, her face set in careful neutrality. The response was obvious - the gift was unprecedented in its magnanimity, and to be awarded not to the proper victor of the Hunt but rather to his partner...

The sheer scope of the offer itself was even too much for this seasonal event, as I had essentially been offered a blank cheque that could be turned in for any amount of money or power I desired. I could ask for unlimited access to the treasury, I could ask for additional property to be paid by the royal family, I could ask for diamonds, I could ask for titles.

I could ask for a divorce.

The reasons behind such an offer were too numerous and, without my memories of my previous interactions with the royal family, I had no way of knowing what really prompted it. The unease at the proclamation was another thing to consider, an instinctive reaction from an unknown source.

The gift could be just another way to slight the man I loved. It could be an honest reward for a deed I had no recollection of. It could a subtle message about something I subconsciously refused to understand.

Of all the possible options it may be, the only thing I was sure of was my gut reaction to it. The knowledge of what may have prompted such a promise sat at the back of my mind, locked within a crumbling greenhouse full of ash and the dark, from which I'd now made a keeper of all the secrets I'd refused to learn.

I bowed low, and with cold confidence that I did not feel, spoke.

"I refuse the gift."