A Call to Arms: Book One of the Chronicles of Arden (32 page)

“Of course, my lady.” The seamstress clutched her satchel between her hands and offered a low curtsey. “I’ll return to Master Joran at once.”

“I’ll see you to the door,” Mrifa replied. She gave Gib a scandalous wink as she passed. “Try not to grow any more between now and Aithne. There isn’t enough time to make a second garment for you.”

The sentinel trainee couldn’t stop the crooked grin from spreading across his face. “I’ll do my best not to, m’lady.” Mrifa patted him on the shoulder as she departed, following at the heels of the young seamstress.

As soon as the two women left the room, Joel stepped down from his pedestal and swept to Gib’s side. “Well, I’m certainly glad
that
is out of the way.” The mage trainee took hold of Gib’s hand, weaving their fingers together. “Thank you for your kind words.”

Gib nodded as he stared at their interlaced fingers, lost in a trance. It was still hard to believe they were finally together. “Is your mother having fine garments made for
all
of your siblings?”

“I’m sure she is.” Joel let out a deep sigh. “We highborns tend to go above and beyond for these kinds of celebrations, especially ones where the royal family is promised to be in attendance. My family’s attire will be modest in comparison to some, no doubt. You’ll see what I mean.”

“I still can’t believe I’m allowed to attend,” Gib replied. “You’re sure they won’t take one look at me and bar me from the palace?”

Joel’s lips curled in a dashing smile. “You’ll blend in by the time you’re dressed in my uncle’s finery. Uncle Joran is the best tailor in the city. He can make a pauper look like royalty. Besides,” the mage trainee leaned down and rested his forehead against Gib’s. “You are my family’s guest—my guest—and no one would dare turn away the company of Seneschal Koal’s son.”

Gib chuckled lightly but couldn’t think of anything to say. It was nearly impossible to believe that he would be attending a grand ball. Of course, if someone had told him a year ago that he would join the Arden Sentinels, train with a prince, fall in love, and meet a
king
—all within the next six moonturns—Gib would have laughed until he’d turned blue in the face.
At this point, I shouldn’t have even been surprised when Joel asked me to go. Tay and Cal won’t believe me when I go home and tell them I’ve been to a grand ball at the palace. Or when I say my friend is a prince and I got to stand in the same room as the King of Arden!
He smiled to himself. It all sounded absurd, even to him.

Gib’s thoughts lingered on the royal family and for the first time in sennights, the sentinel trainee found his mind troubled.

“Joel,” he began. “Do you think it’s a good idea for the royal family to be present at the ball? I mean, I know there haven’t been any threats made on King Rishi since Midwinter, but—with so many people in the palace for the celebration and the royal family in attendance, don’t you think it would be the perfect time for the assassin to strike again?”

The mage trainee’s smile was grim. “It would be unwise to rule out the possibility of such a thing happening, I won’t deny it—but Gib, you’ve been to the palace enough times to know how well protected the royal family is.” Joel squeezed the younger boy’s shoulder. “How many royal guardsmen were with King Rishi the day you met him?”

“I know, but—” Gib tried to keep his voice level despite his churning stomach. “Why not just cancel the ball? Is the safety of our ruler really worth the risk for some petty highborns to gather and exchange gossip with one another?”

“They can’t just cancel everything. Life can’t come to a grinding halt just because some terrible person tried to murder the King three moonturns ago. It simply can’t be.” Joel sighed, his mouth set in a straight line. “Besides, if the Aithne ball is cancelled, people will question King Rishi’s strength as a ruler. Some might even go as far as to call him a coward.”

Gib made a horrified sound. “That seems unfair.”

“It is. King Rishi is no coward, of course, but you have to realize that danger is unavoidable for a king. The High Council would never allow the Aithne ball to be cancelled anyway. The patrons who keep all those old men’s purses filled would balk too much.” Joel’s voice grew lighter as he rubbed Gib’s tense shoulders. “Don’t worry yourself over all of this, Gib. I would have you enjoy the ball, if possible. I’ve never seen a student handed as much responsibility as you and not crack beneath the pressure. You deserve a night of frivolity.”

“Yeah,” the sentinel trainee replied. “I’ll try not to worry.” Despite Joel’s reassurance that things would be all right, Gib wasn’t entirely convinced he would be able to have a good time. The entire situation screamed of unnecessary peril—

And something else unrelated was weighing down on his mind as well.

Joel was giving him a measured look. “Is something else bothering you?”

Gib nodded slowly.
He knows me too well
. “Yes. It’s about—us. I need to know before I go with you to this ball.” He dared to meet the older boy’s gaze as the words began to pour out with no reserve. “What are we, Joel? What are we to each other? And to other people? Are we lovers in our dormitory room but only friends the moment we step outside? What about when I tell my brothers about the wonderful person I met in Silver? Am I to introduce you as a friend—or something more? Are you going to tell your family or is this whole thing supposed to be a secret? Or have I gotten the wrong impression about everything? Are we only
just
friends?”

Shock registered on the mage trainee’s face. Joel lifted delicate hands into the air, holding them in front of his body as though deflecting a physical blow. “Slow down, Gib.”

Gib winced, biting down on his lower lip until it hurt. “I’m sorry. I just—I need to know.”

Joel allowed a moment of silence to pass between them before he took hold of the younger boy’s hands once again. “No, you’re right. We haven’t had time to discuss such things.” Joel swallowed and a deep sigh escaped his lips. “You’re my best friend, my partner, the person I trust above anyone else. There is no other person I’d rather spend my time with. I—cherish you. But—” Joel paused there. His voice was a pitch lower when he next spoke. “—but you have to understand that—for now—we have to keep our relationship private. I can’t afford to cause another scandal within my family. I need time to figure this out.”

An uncomfortable knot sat in Gib’s stomach. “I understand.”

“It’s not only my family’s reputation I worry about. I want to protect you as long as possible. I can bear the gossip and cold words, but you don’t have the protection of being a highborn or the Seneschal of Arden’s son to fall back on. You stand to suffer from more than only words if people find out. So for now, tell only those close to your heart.” Joel slipped his arms around Gib, holding him close. “You don’t know how badly I wish to announce our love to the world.”

“Yes I do. I know because I feel the same way.”

They shared a tender kiss before leaving the room together.
 

“Try not to fidget. You’ll wrinkle your sleeves.”

Gib put his busy hands to rest at Joel’s gentle prompting. His soft voice was a testament to the mage trainee’s patience after having to issue so many reminders. Gib didn’t know how the highborns did it. He felt wedged into his woolen tunic and fine doublet. Everything fit well, like a second skin, but he was unaccustomed to such finery. At least when he’d taken the midwinter holiday at the Adelwijn estate he’d had reminders that he wasn’t from their world. Joel’s hand-me-down outfit had been lush and comfortable but too long in the sleeves and legs.

This outfit, tailored specifically for him, got under Gib’s skin and threatened to make him forget where he came from. These clothes made him blend in, and the highborn society would accept him at face value—but what would happen if he was called upon to speak? If anyone could mess up a simple response, Gib was sure he could.

His heart leapt into his throat as the carriage rolled to a stop.
Are we here already?
He’d never ridden in a carriage before and the distance to the palace had flown by. No more than a quarter of a mark could have passed since he’d stepped into the carriage with Joel’s family to start their journey from the Adelwijn estate to the palace gates. Gib’s stomach twisted into tight knots. He flinched when a gentle hand touched his arm.

Joel gave him a soft smile. “We’ve arrived.” The mage trainee looked handsome in his blue and silver mage robes.

“What if I trip? Or say something I shouldn’t? I don’t know if I—”

“Don’t be silly. You’ll be fine.” Heidi offered reassurance as she fussed with her flowing lace skirt.

Carmen nodded. “It’s mostly just boring old people talking. You’ll be all right. Just stay with Joel or one of us.”

“Carmen!
Manners
!” Lady Mrifa covered her laugh with one gloved hand. “Those ‘boring old’ people are the leaders of our country. They’re politicians and they help decide our laws.”

“It’s boring,” Carmen replied with a shrug. “I’ll go find Inez and Inan. That way I won’t be under foot.”

Seneschal Koal chuckled. “Under foot? Who would have told you that?” His eyes twinkled. The seneschal gave his daughter a quick hug before the carriage door swung open.

A wiry footman waited outside. “Seneschal Koal. I’m honored to serve your family.”

The seneschal stepped out of the carriage and stood aside as the footman proceeded to lend his arm to Lady Mrifa, Heidi, and Carmen. Joel touched Gib’s shoulder to let him know it was his turn, and the sentinel trainee breathed a sigh of relief when the footman stepped back to allow Gib to step down on his own. Likewise, Joel was offered no help.

“Is it because the women’s dresses get in the way when they dismount?” Gib asked before he could think to censor himself. His face instantly burst into a hot blush. He wished he could take the silly question back.

The footman smiled, turning to close the coach door. Joel pressed his lips together in a valiant attempt not to smile. Koal, however, chuckled as he took Mrifa’s arm. Voice low, the seneschal looked around to be sure they were alone. “Yes, but they also help put drunk men back into the coaches later.”

Mrifa giggled and cuffed her husband’s arm even as the footman coughed politely to cover his own laugh. Koal led the way down the stone path which cut through the palace courtyard, the trace of a smile gracing his lips the entire way to the door.

As the family passed through the grand archway that led inside the palace, a pair of door attendants stood waiting to take their cloaks. Gib lifted his hand to the clasp around his neck, meaning to unfasten it, but hesitated when he heard Joel clear his throat. The mage trainee gave a single head shake and Gib dropped his hand. Sure enough, when the attendant came within reach, the man unhooked Gib’s cloak and removed it.

“Thank you,” Gib muttered, face red. The attendant faltered for an instant before moving along as if nothing had been said. Gib swallowed. He kept forgetting he wasn’t supposed to thank the servants. When Joel made eye contact, Gib apologized. “I forgot. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s likely the only thanks he’ll get all night.”

Mouth set in a thin slant, Gib wandered forward with the Adelwijn family. How was he ever going to make it through the night? He couldn’t even get through the door without asking awkward questions and forgetting protocol. He wished he could ask Joel to leave before faltering even more. If Gib caused Joel’s parents embarrassment, he didn’t know how he’d be able to live with the shame.

“Gib.” Joel leaned closer to whisper when they reached another sprawling archway. “We’re going to be announced. When we come through the ballroom door, it’s important not to leave the belvedere until your name is called. That way the other guests will know who you are.”

“What? They’re going to call my name?”

Joel nodded. “Everything will be all right. Follow my lead.”

The panic rose in Gib’s throat like bile as the family moved through the entranceway.

The announcer rang a gong and called out Koal’s full name and title as well as Mrifa’s. Next were Heidi and Carmen, who were both given the title of lady. Joel was called a lord. Gib couldn’t breathe as he waited. Would the announcer even know to call his name? What if he got it wrong? If his name wasn’t called, would he have to stay outside? It might be more comfortable out there anyway—