Chapter 10
Planning the Ball
Sometimes life gave you the best and the worst all at the same time. That was Annie’s thoughts as she listened to her soon to be mother in law go on and about the ball that had to be planned and perfect in three months time. It wasn’t that Annie couldn’t plan with the best of them or even that she didn’t like balls, it was that she preferred to be in the background working and planning rather than the center of attention.
This ball would bring the attention of the whole paranormal world squarely on Ram and her. The questions would be unending and the answers vague and unavailable. She could say they met through work, not really a lie. What is he? The love of my life. Not a lie either, but who would be happy with that answer.
“Annie?” Cleo nudged her.
“Yes? I’m sorry I was gathering wool.”
“That means the same as lost in thought, yes?”
“It does. I don’t mind these events when they are centered on someone else.”
“I understand. I myself prefer smaller gatherings of family and friends. They are more meaningful.”
“Exactly! I won’t even know half the people my father invites. That’s just crazy.”
“It’s hard to be a political pawn, but try to remember it’s for the good of all kinds. We need to get everyone together so they are all aware of what’s going on. Ignorance breeds carelessness. If there’s enough of that, we could lose this war.”
“You’re right. Maybe thinking of it as a campaign will make it easier. These are the troops and we’re recruiting more.”
“That’s exactly what we will be doing. Ram and your father will be gathering any and all paranomals and trusted humans to fight this threat. It has already gotten a foothold and now it must be rooted out,” Cleo explained.
“You take an active role in the fighting?”
“I do. Sometimes I fight at my mate’s back, but other times I command my own team.”
“That must be rewarding. My father has never encouraged any of us girls to even learn self-defense. He says the men will protect us, but what if the men aren’t around? We don’t have guards, we never have had. There’s never been a reason to think we needed them until now.”
“Your father sounds old-fashioned. I’m surprised your mother allowed him to get by with that.”
“She didn’t. She took all of us to self-defense classes. If father ever knew, he pretended he didn’t. I would have gone on to learn more, but it never worked out once I started working.”
“It’s never too late to learn something new or add to your knowledge. I think learning to fight would be good for you. Ram could teach you some basics and then get you a trainer once we see where you are in your skills.”
“I’d love that. It would help me get in shape too.”
“It also helps burn off nervous energy. Now let’s get back to some planning. What are your favorite flowers?”
“I love purple lilies and orchids. I also love red roses. Maybe that’s because they represent love?”
“Come over here and look at this.” Cleo had pulled up a florist and put the flower selections into a program that immediately pulled up arrangements the florist had done in the past.
“I’m glad you went to that florist. That’s one of my cousins. My father has three brothers and a sister. Sophia has the same last name as mine. At least the same as mine for now. She runs the greenhouses that grow all the plants we use for our spells. Her magic is strong and heavily tied to the Earth.”
“Her arrangements are incredible,” Cleo admitted. “Your mother mentioned her, that’s why I looked at her website.”
“We like to keep it in the family as much as possible.”
“That’s a trait among paranormals. Who else can we trust completely?”
“If Sophia handles the flowers and decorations, what else is on your list?”
“Food is a huge item. We’ll have all different kinds and their preferences will be varied. We’ll need a seafood plate, a meat plate, a vegetarian plate, and a couple other variations. Where would we go for that kind of variety?”
“Go to Italiano’s catering. They have a broad selection in their restaurant, but even more so in their catering company.”
“I just ate and this site is making me hungry. Look at these smoked trout appetizers! Steak, lobster, lasagna, is there anything they don’t have?”
If there is and you want it, ask and it will be made available.”
“Another cousin?”
“Yes, the one I’m closest to, Daphne.”
“Why a restaurant?”
“She loves food, but you can’t tell it. Sure, she’s curvy, but the men all follow her around trying to catch her eye.”
“You know you’re beautiful, Annie. Don’t you?”
“I’m cute at best.”
“Not true. I’m sure Ram will convince you in time. It’s sad that we females let others convince us we lack in certain areas when we don’t.”
“I guess that’s true. Females are more susceptible to feelings of inadequacy than males are. Someday maybe we’ll be able to teach our daughters they have value and they all have their own personal beauty,” Annie concluded.
They moved on to talk about the plans they had for the ball. It was already so complicated and over the top, and it wasn’t even the wedding. Annie knew that to many in her world that she was considered a princess and had they known more about Ram, he would be considered a prince. Looked at that way, maybe it didn’t seem as crazy to plan such an elaborate function.
Annie’s father was all about formal political events and he would be in rare form rubbing elbows and making new connections with potential allies. It wasn’t Annie’s cup of tea, but as always, she did what had to be done for the good of her kind.
“Are you ready to search a cake site online?” Cleo asked.
“Why not? We usually get cakes from Sweet as Pie. It has anything to do with dessert. Daphne orders most of her desserts from there.”
“Not all of them?”
“No, sometimes clients get their own desserts from family members or a bakery they’ve always used.”
“So who owns this one?”
“My sister, Prudence. She divides her time between there and the family business.”
“Have you ever considered opening your own business?” Cleo asked.
“Many times, but my father relies on me.”
“What would it be?”
“Jewelry. I trained as a silversmith. I make all my own and I pitched a store to my father, but he decided there wasn’t enough money in it.”
“Are you good at it?”
Annie held up her hand which was adorned by several rings. Next, she pulled her hair back and showed where a silver dragon curled around the shell of her ear and dangled a jewel below it. “I like to think so. I sell items online once in a while.”
“That’s gorgeous. People would pay a good price for something that beautiful. You know he was influenced by the fact he didn’t want your attention divided, right?”
“I suspected as much,” Annie admitted.
“What does Gertie have?”
“She formulated a line of women’s beauty creams. They work well in both reducing wrinkles and making skin soft.”
“Sounds like everyone in your family is talented,” Cleo observed.
“It didn’t hurt that we all had money to get started with.”
“Money can help, but it can also hurt. Many who have it never try to do anything worthwhile with it.”
“I suppose that’s true too,” Annie acknowledged.
“You better believe it! Now, have you reserved the ball room yet?”
“No, let me check on that right now. Good, it’s open. Now it’s reserved. I reserved the whole building.”
“That’s probably best considering your father’s plans.”
“Yeah, he’s got that whole go big or go home thing going.”
“Any idea how many will be on the guest list?”
“The event hall can hold a total of ten thousand people. The ballroom can hold less than half that.”
“Surely, he doesn’t plan to hit those numbers?”
Annie shot Cleo a disbelieving look before she remembered she’d not even met her father yet. He planned this to be the event of the year until the wedding supplanted it. She and Ram would be the center of attention at both events which was something she didn’t care for. He’d do the same thing to Gertie and Pru when their time came.
Lucky Annie got to be the first experiment every time. At least that spared her sisters some of the pain. Even if he’d been disappointed in his negotiating for her bride price, he’d make it up elsewhere. Getting the most out of his assets was what her father did best. He knew his daughters were three assets he would only get value out of once.
She tried not to feel used. It wasn’t easy and she suspected Cleo sensed some of what was going on in her head. “He’s been waiting for this wedding since I was born. I wouldn’t be surprised if he began the list when I was born and reworked it every year since. What kind of list do you have for your mating ceremonies?”
“Many just invite family and close friends. Ram’s will be more public because of who he is to his people.”
“Does that mean we’ll have to do this twice?” Annie asked a hint of panic in her voice.
“Sweetheart, breathe. We’ll do something when you come home with us, but it won’t be anything as crazy as what your father is doing. We wouldn’t put you through that.”
“Thank you. I don’t know how I’ll make it through these two events as it is. He’s so excited about them too. You’d think he was getting married. My parents had a small wedding and a handful of small events with political allies before and after their wedding. I just don’t know where this mega event attitude came from.”
“Your father has political ambition and he’s decided this is the best way to achieve it. It sounds like the results he wants are a good thing, it’s the methods of getting there that could be better. We’ll get through all this together.”
“How did you meet your mate?” Annie wondered.
“We always knew each other. Our families were both active in politics and they always hoped we would prove to be fated ones. Maybe it was all the praying they did. Who knows? It was so long ago when we came here newly mated and expecting our first child. Our kind became hunted and we separated, families dividing for a better chance for their lines to continue. Earth was primitive then so our parents felt we had the best chance to burrow in somewhere and hide who and what we were. Aha made friends and allies with other kinds when they came here or developed through the indigenous people.”
“That was very forward thinking.”
“He’s always thought like that. Ram and his father are very close and too much alike at times. Ram and his sister are close too, or at least they were before she went to Europe a decade ago. Our people take positions abroad for twenty-five years or so. At that point, people begin to notice they still look young no matter how they change hairstyles, the way they dress, or anything else. Sometimes they’re forced to leave sooner. How does your kind handle it?”
“We don’t have a presence except among our own kind. If we’re around humans through work, we switch out those tasks often enough they never get used to any one of us. It’s a necessity because humans can get curious if you’re around them long enough for them to get attached.”
“It’s a burden all our kinds carry. It’s especially hard on those who mate humans,” Cleo admitted.
“You allow your kind to do that?”
“Only if they are fated. That’s the first law of our kind. Nothing is more important than a fated mate.”
“Many of the paranormal kind add a saying to that. Only if they are paranormal.”
“Didn’t your father also add more? That’s the danger we fall into when we interpret old laws according to our personal needs. That should never be done. I heard your sister Gertie is feeling pressure now.”
“Her fated mate is the one my father chose for me. That would have been messed up. That’s why I took an action I would have never taken otherwise.”
“To find your fated one? That was brave and strong.”
“My father wouldn’t think so if he knew.”
“What about your mom?” Cleo asked.
“She encouraged me to cast the spell for my fated mate. She and my father often disagree.”
“I’m glad she was there for you. I can’t imagine being mated to the wrong male for a long life.”
“The thought was terrifying. It was even worse that my father didn’t even cast a spell to see who my fated mate was and make sure his choice was better.”
“He could have done that?”
“Absolutely. There are so many things that can be done by an old well-trained witch.”
“How old is your father?”
“I know he isn’t as old as you are. He won’t discuss his age and I’m not even sure my mother knows it. She moved here with her parents several hundred years ago. They were fully grown when they met and my father was already the leader of the witches. Discovering he was her fated mate was a shock. I’ve always gotten the feeling she wasn’t political. At the time, he was considering mating a female from a prominent family. When she realized Maybelle was Royal’s fated one, she backed out. It wasn’t long after that Nicole found her own fated mate. My mom and Nicki are friends now. Weird how life works out.”
“Your mom seems very capable politically.”
“She had to learn, but she did it fast. Royal couldn’t stay away from her, although he tried.”
“Your father has some odd ideas. He seems happy enough with your mom now.”
“I don’t think he’s ever regretted claiming her. They’ve done well building a life together and she’s been his strongest supporter. Mom draws people to her naturally. They sense her goodness.”
“I liked your mom too. We had a nice talk and we agreed on almost everything.”
“What didn’t you agree on?”
“I wanted cherry filling and she wanted raspberry. We both like chocolate, but she thought you’d want something with butter crème.”
“She was right. I love butter crème, but I love chocolate too.”
“I’m sure we’ll work out a compromise. There’s no reason we can’t have it all!” Cleo encouraged.