The party wasn’t at all what Lina had expected. The night of the ball, she’d been nervous because she’d never been to an event of any kind, but after that night, she felt like she had some sort of handle on it.
But now… Well, that thought was the furthest thing from her mind.
The ball had been held in the town center, a floating wooden platform suspended in the trees, but Suriah’s party was being held at the palace. And somehow, it had escaped Lina’s notice that she still hadn’t been to the palace.
That was the first surprise.
Farita led her to a basket, big enough for half a dozen people, strung with vines. It lifted him high above the village into the very tops of the trees. There, a meandering network of bridges and pathways all led to one central bridge to the biggest, tallest tree.
Lina had never been all that afraid of heights considering how tiny she was and how even the tiniest bumps could seem like a massive hill to her, but this was above and beyond. Standing on that swinging rope bridge felt like walking a tight rope between skyscrapers. But Farita held her hand tight, and even Lina had to admit that the open-air bridge was a preferable choice to her apartment stuffed full of people.
If the way into the palace was intimidating, that was to say nothing of the place itself. The huge double doors were carved directly into the tree’s bark, manned by two guards in stiff uniforms with even stiffer expressions. Lina realized then that they were the first she’d seen of any kind of military or law enforcement in this place. Seemed like Mabnoa didn’t have too many internal problems to deal with.
The guards had welcomed them in after Farita stated their business, and the huge doors opened to the enormous palace.
The interior of the tree was mostly hollow, at least at this level, and through the window-knots, there was nothing but sea, sky, and treetops. The palace, it seemed, had the best views around.
For just a moment, her heart twanged at the thought of viewing all of Mabnoa. The thought instantly transported her back to that first night, sneaking out of bed, Bain leading her to the balcony where she could soak in the splendor of this place all at once.
And even though it hurt to think about that night and the promise her relationship with Bain had held — and since lost — it almost hurt more to realize that she was going to have to leave this place. When she went home — if she went home — she’d leave this beautiful, magical kingdom in the trees behind her. The fresh air, the moonlight, the freckles… all of it would be gone.
But before she could dwell on it too long, Farita was dragging her through the palace and Lina tried to slow her down enough that she could gawk at its beauty. The inside of the tree was covered with thick twisting sections growing up around the walls, entwining with one another. In some places, the walls sprouted new branches, with tiny budding leaves tickling her arms as she climbed the grand spiral staircase behind Farita.
Bright green moss grew on the wall in places and Lina trailed her hand over it, letting the softness slip through her fingers. Through the holes in the tree, she could see the moon shining bright, and from above, laughter tumbled down the stairs.
“I think they might be getting started without us,” Farita said, picking up the pace and dragging Lina behind her. Lina had to stop looking around lest she trip over her own feet.
But near the top of the entryway, where the lowest level gave way to the upper levels, there was a chandelier that nearly caused her to trip and fall right into Farita. It looked like an entire tree’s root system, suspended from the ceiling, with tiny balls of light peeking through the woven branches. Crystal shards dangled from the roots, too, and the effect was a warm glittering glow that illuminated the whole entry to the palace. She hadn’t noticed it at first — it was so high up, she wasn’t even sure she could see it from the ground — but at this level of the staircase, it was at eye-level and at least twice as big as her whole apartment.
“Come on, come on,” Farita rumbled. “There’ll be time enough later for a tour if you want it.”
Lina stumbled up another step, but finally forced herself to look away from the chandelier to watch where she was going. She definitely wanted that tour, but the only question that remained was who would give it to her. Of course she instantly thought about Bain giving her the tour and had to quash that thought. She needed to stop placing so many hopes onto the prince that seemed to want nothing to do with her.
The laughter grew louder as they reached the next landing and Farita turned to her beaming, another big door behind her. “Ready?”
“Not really,” Lina said, scuffing the toe of her embroidered slippers. “What even happens at a birthday party?”
“Oh, it’s not much different from the ball,” Farita had said. “There will be music and dancing and party games.”
But it wasn’t at all like the ball. The ball had people from all walks of life in Mabnoa, mingling and having a good time. The guests at Suriah’s party seemed to be at the very height of fashion. Every one of them a painted, primped peacock in shimmering colors and fluffy dresses.
Farita bustled right in, giving out hugs left and right, but Lina hung back by the door, frozen in panic. She didn’t know what to do, who to talk to, or what she should even say in a situation like this. Her hands grew clammy under the music box and her eyes darted around the room until they found Suriah at the far end, shining like a beacon in a bright white dress that sparkled like diamonds when she moved in to talk to someone.
Lina took a deep breath and swallowed before practically sprinting across the room to hand the gift to Suriah.
“Lina! You made it!” Surie grinned, holding her arms open for an embrace.
“Happy birthday,” Lina muttered, hoping that was safe enough to say.
“Thank you.”
“We got you a present. Well, Farita brought it to me and I fixed it for you…” She thrust the music box toward the princess like it was burning her hands.
Surie’s eyes went wide and she squealed with delight. “Ohmigosh! You guys! This thing hasn’t worked in a decade,” she said, turning the key, and leaning close, tears brimming in her eyes as the familiar melody played, hardly audible over the ambient music.
“Thank you so much!” she cried, sweeping Lina into a tight hug. “You being here was present enough, but this is wonderful. I have to find Farita to thank her, excuse me.”
And just like that, Suriah left Lina alone with the other people she’d just been speaking to. They all stood in awkward silence, none of them knowing what to say to the other. Lina didn’t recognize anyone and if they recognized her, they’d decided she wasn’t worth the conversation. So much for being the talk of the town. She was just an oddity.
Without a word, she broke away from the uncomfortable silence and wandered over to the refreshments where she picked up a drink, hoping it could steady her nerves. How long did these parties generally go on for? The ball had gone late into the night, but Bain had saved her from enduring the entire thing. She didn’t think she’d be so lucky this time. When was it acceptable for her to excuse herself and go home?
As she got a refill for her drink — the first one had done nothing to help her and her hands still shook as her heart raced — something prickled up the back of her neck. Like she was being watched. But when she turned around, she didn’t find anyone looking her way. It seemed like her presence wasn’t noticed at all.
“It’s time for a game, everyone,” Suriah called over the music as she gestured to the band to stop. She clapped her hands and waved everyone forward to the stage of the grand ballroom.
“Okay, so we all know how to marin race, right?”
Lina looked around and saw that everyone else was nodding and laughing amongst themselves. She swallowed thickly.
“Right now, you should be getting your belt and marins. Find a partner and come over to the starting line!”
Uniformed guards made their way through the crowd of pretty dresses and finely-dressed men. One approached her and handed her a length of rope with a loop on one end and a purple globe on the other end. He handed her another identical purple globe and when she squeezed it, she found that it was firm, but slightly squishy on the inside. And when she brought it up to her nose to sniff, the purple ball had a pleasant, sweet aroma, not unlike a banana.
She looked at the rope and the two fruits and then looked around the crowd. People all around were stepping into the loop of rope and tightening the belt around their waist, letting the purple fruit dangle toward the ground.
Lina frowned and handed her supplies off to someone who hadn’t yet gotten theirs, retreating to the perimeter of the room. Whatever kind of weird ritual this was, she didn’t understand it and didn’t want to make a fool of herself because of it.
Already, pairs were lining up beneath the princess, who still stood on stage. She watched everyone gleefully, her eyes bright and shining with unshed laughter. Everyone else was having a good time, too. So why wasn’t Lina?
She remembered what Farita had said and felt instantly guilty for still making this about herself, but she was nearly positive that Suriah wouldn’t notice her staying out of this game.
“Couldn’t find a partner?” A familiar voice in her ear made her jump and she turned to find the prince giving her an odd look.
“I don’t really know the purpose of the game,” she said carefully, not sure what, if anything, was safe between them.
“I didn’t expect you to be here,” he said, his voice going softer, deeper. She still couldn’t read his eyes.
“Well, you don’t have to sound so disappointed. I’m only here for Surie’s birthday, I won’t bother you.” Even if he did look incredible in his party outfit, every garment tailored to perfection.
He frowned then and stepped closer to her, blocking her view of the rest of the party. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She shook her head. “This isn’t the place to talk about it.”
“And… GO!” Surie shouted to the crowd. They all lurched forward as a unit, stumbling and falling over one another, laughing until they doubled over.
“That’s a disqualification, Hilla, no hands,” Suriah giggled merrily.
“Well, come with me, then,” Bain said, sending a quick look over his shoulder. “We can talk about it somewhere else.”
Lina sighed and shook her head again. “That’s not what I meant. This is Surie’s birthday party. We should be focused on her.”
Bain looked skeptical. “Believe me, she has enough people focused on her. Come on,” he said, gesturing for Lina to follow him as he left the ballroom.
Her heart fluttered at the thought of disappearing with Bain into the magnificent Mabnoan palace. But could she just leave Surie behind on her birthday? Would the princess even notice?
And should she even consider it? After all, Bain had ignored her this long, why should she jump at the first chance to do what he wanted?
But if she was honest with herself, it wasn’t that he wanted it that made her tempted. It was that she did. That and her curiosity. What could possibly be left to say between them?
At the door, Bain paused and looked back towards her, something in his eyes begging her to follow. She sighed again and turned her attention to the odd race happening on the other side of the ballroom. No one even looked her way. No one would see her slip out.
So, without thinking about it any longer, she scampered out after the prince, her heart in her throat and a million questions swirling in her brain.
“Come on, I wanted to show you something,” he said, waving her behind him.
“Wait just a minute,” she called, hands going to her hips. Bain paused and turned, one eyebrow quirked.
“You haven’t talked to me in over a week — for all I know, you’ve been actively avoiding me — and now what? I’m supposed to act like that never happened and just go along with whatever you want?”
He stepped forward, closing the gap between them, and suddenly the air was thick and sweet, like it had been right before he kissed her. Like it had been when they broke apart in the cavern, the last time she saw him this close. He reached out and took her hands in his, giving them a soft squeeze.
“Please, Lina. Come with me and I promise I’ll explain everything. But not here.” His eyes darted all around, but always came back to rest on her face. She sensed the tenseness in his shoulders and the stiff set of his spine and tried to follow his wandering eyes, but only saw the palace and its guards.
Still, her curiosity was like a magnet pulling her toward him, unrelenting and irresistible. “Okay. But I do want an explanation.”
“And you’ll have one,” he promised, hurrying up the stairs without releasing her hand.