(The Main ballroom, Imperial palace, Three years ago)
An old woman, tall and dressed in black tapped her cane on the tiled floor. The sound echoed through the small preparation room filled with girls and boys all dressed in white, they were all sons and daughters of wealthy noble men who were officially of age. And the woman who was calling for attention was Madam Loise, head house keeper of the Imperial palace. She was standing by the door.
"Please get in line!" She said in her sharp voice. Madam Loise had spent the last two days teaching the fifteen of them how to enter the ballroom when the time for their announcement came.
Gabrielle was first in line, the boy next to her, her escort, was Sir Philip, a man her father had, at the time, picked for her to marry. Philip was a son of her fathers friend, a banker from the capital, and this was a part of his plan to secure a proposal from him, as well as a loan that he very much needed. Philip was two years older than her and was not very excited to be at the Imperial palace. He had an odd opposition for the monarchy and hated the Emperor. This annoyed Gabrielle very much, all she dreamed about since being a little girl was to live in a shiny palace like this one and live her life to the fullest as a princess or a queen.
She couldn't wait to get away from him as soon as she enters the ballroom and the dance finishes.
"When they announce your name, you will enter the ballroom!" Madam Loise yelled again.
Gabrielle was already a few steps ahead and in her head she was going over the steps of the waltz they will perform. She never danced at parties, every party she attended till now was in secret since her father did not allow her to attend the actual party, she would be there at the beginning greeting the guest with him and mother, but after that he would send her upstairs and instruct her nanny not to let her come down no matter what.
Fate oddly worked in her favor, Gabrielle's nanny was quite old and would fall asleep on the chair in her room soon after they would go up. So Gabrielle would sneak out and go watch the ball in secret, peaking through the servant door.
Excitement filled her body, her heart could jump out of her chest, her hands were sweating in the white gloves.
Finally the door opened and her name was called.
The light from the ballroom almost blinded her, it was the middle of the day and the sun was shining directly through the large windows of the ballroom. Soft music of the violin played in the background and people were clapping when she came out. Gabrielle curtsied to them, people attending the coming of age ceremony were parents and cousins or in rare occasions close family friends. The room was decorated in white, ribbons, flowers and even hanging tapestries of the empire's flowers. It was the same every year, but yet it was magical for anyone seeing it for the first time.
Gabrielle saw her parents the moment she stepped into the ballroom. Her mother was crying, holding a tight grip on her husband who was clapping and holding tears in his eyes.
Gabrielle and her escort made their way to the center of the ballroom where they separated and took their places for the waltz that will start as soon as all the girls make their entrance.
She didn't look at them as they entered one by one, Gabrielle didn't pay much attention to them even during the last two days they spent together in the palace. Instead she looked around, parents in tears or with serious looks on their old faces. Nobles of all kinds whispering with each other, pointing their fingers and noses while hiding behind fans or dance cards. It was a marriage market in its busiest hour.
Most parents, like her own, started early, they would find a suitable partner and then tried to court their daughter to them, they were usually a few years older like her own escort. Besides her five more girls had such partners, others were accompanied by their brothers and cousins, some older, some younger. And out of all of them Gabrielle predicted that at least three of the girls will be married by the end of fall to their escort. Including at least one accompanied by her cousin.
She could realize instantly, just by talking to them. No, by seeing them, Gabrielle had a very good eye for such things. She would engage in a conversation only when she would feel the need for confirmation.
The last two pairs were about to be announced and Gabrielle got tired from waiting and looking around, so naturally she looked up.
Not expecting to see much besides tapestries and decoration, she saw a whole row of balconies. That surprised her, she had not noticed them before, and to be fair they were very high and not really noticeable on the first glance.
There were people up there, two men.
They were talking to each other, both of them with their backs turned towards the ballroom. It looked like they were arguing about something. They were both tall, one had long blonde hair and was dressed in royal blue while the other one had black hair and was dressed in the same color.
She wasn't the only one who noticed them. Gabrielle heard other girls whispering beside her.
"Look there is the Emperor," they said and pointed slightly above them, "Do you think we will see the Empress?"
"Does she really attend these kinds of events?"
The dance had started but the talking didn't stop, Gabrielle could now only hear pieces of the conversation.
"When my sister had her ceremony," , "Really?" , "Yes, she was-" , "So it's true?", "I really want to see her now!"
All around her, the topics of conversation switched to the Empress. Girls were talking about her left and right. It was only normal they were excited, the chances that anybody had seen her in person in that whole ballroom were extremely low. And given the fact there is no existing portrait of the empress in the whole empire, her looks are only rumors spread by those who have seen her.
Gabrielle only saw that woman once, on the family portrait of the Imperial family at the main entrance of the palace when her father brought her here.
She was a beauty, that is true she won't deny it, and yes her skin and hair were white as porcelain and yes her face did look like it was crafted by the finest sculptor in the whole wide world. But besides that, what was so special about her?
Gabrielle often wondered that every time when her sisters brought the new edition of that week's Madam Touso, the most popular fashion paper in the empire, and spent hours reading and looking at the sketches of the dresses and jewelry her majesty wore at some event. It was not just that, there were countless paragraphs speaking about things she had or had not said, who she talked to, who she sat beside. When you were finished reading it, it was like you were at the event.
Gabrielle understood good gossip, in fact she thrived on it, but even for her that was too much.
However in the last few months Madam Touso sales must have dropped drastically, given that the Empress was not seen by the public eye in a long time. There are even rumors that the Emperor divorced her, or that she died by some terrible cause and the Imperial palace is trying to cover it up. It was crazy talk even for Gabrielle.
But on the more interesting side, if any of it is true that means that the young Emperor will be looking for a new wife.
The waltz ended with a loud applause from all the guests. Including their host still standing high above them looking down. Gabrielle could see him clearly now, his face was rough like the one of a soldier, his eyes were dark and fierce, their color simply dragged her towards them. Glimpses of a beard could be spotted on his chin and jawline because they were darker than the rest of his skin. His hair is a dark, very deep shade of black that not even the most skilled painter could not replicate. You could tell he hadn't cut it in a while, instead it was tied in the back.
He was the most beautiful man Gabrielle had ever seen.
Instead of him the other man spoke when the applause quieted down. He had glasses and a long face and held a scroll in his hands.
"The Imperial family would like to congratulate the following families for their daughters coming of age," he proceeded to read a long list of families and houses which the girls belonged to. "Congratulations, the Imperial family is honored to host such a wonderful event another year in a row and wishes you all success and fortune in life." He placed the scroll aside and announced the following. "Our Emperor would like to share a few words."
The Emperor cleared his throat while the people bowed to him. "Congratulations, please enjoy today's event."
The man beside him started to clap and others followed him, while silently commenting "Well we didn't expect more of him. "
Once they quieted down the Emperor raised his hand in the sign of greeting. His accomplice spoke again.
"Her Majesty the Holy Empress was not able to attend today's event, but she sends you all blessings as well as a small gift as an apology."
The grand door of the ballroom opened and a group of maids walked in, each of them carrying a red pillow with a small crystal object on it.
"Her Majesty gives you the flower of jasmine, symbol of grace and our empire."
Each girl was approached by a maid with a red pillow in her hands carrying a crystal hair pin in the shape of a jasmine flower.
Gabrielle took it in her hands, it was cold to touch and felt like it would break in her hands despite it being noticeably heavy.
She looked around her, most of the girls were already putting them in their hair excited that they received a gift from the Holy Empress. Gabrielle just kept it in her hands, it was just a hair pin. Nothing more and nothing less than a hair pin.
(Morning after the coronation, The Queen's place)
Gabrielle did not sleep that night, after she returned from the ball, empty handed and alone, she spent the whole night sitting on a chair and staring at the letter she started writing to Gurtha just a few days ago.
Maria tried to convince her to go to bed a few times, but she was unsuccessful.
She has been in the palace almost a full week, and there was nothing she could send to Gurtha, even at the ball she couldn't get a single thing out of the guest. She heard plenty of gossip, it was the biggest event of the season after all, but not a single mouth out there spoke a bad word about the empress. There was not a single complaint, about food, decoration, servants, not a single thing about the Imperial family and the event they were hosting.
It was like they were all under a spell, or a death threat. Could it really be that all of them respect the Empress so much that they can't say a single bad word about her?
To Gabrielle it seemed unlikely, perhaps it was just another rule of the palace she did not know about.
The sun was getting up when she decided to move from the table. The sun was slowly starting to fill the drawing room with sunlight. Today is the first day the Emperor's son will spend as the Crown prince. And the celebration of the occasion is not over yet, there is supposed to be a banquet today, to say goodbye to all the guests who came for the celebration. Luckily for Gabrielle, she managed to secure a few more days in the palace. She had to sacrifice her room in the Queen's palace for that, but now she can move freely, which gives her more opportunities in meeting the Emperor.
Gabrielle took out the hair comb that was holding her hair, she also took off the flower piece that was hanging on her chest by a pin. The jasmine flower had withered and gone from all its beauty.
She turned around to look at Maria who spent the night sleeping on a sofa, after failing to convince Gabrielle to go to bed she decided to sleep there.
The ray of sun was slowly approaching her, the shiny jewelry in her hair started to sparkle. It was a crystal hair pin in the shape of a jasmine flower. Same as the one Gabrielle got for her coming of age ceremony three years ago, to think she and all the girls that were at that ceremony got a unique gift from the Empress was silly. The next year, as well as every year after that, the empress gave out the jasmine pins to every girl that celebrated her coming of age ceremony at the palace. Gabrielle found that out after Maria turned eighteen and came back home with the gift wrapped in a same red box like the one sitting at the bottom of Gabrielle's closet, long forgotten and abandoned. When she showed it to her, it was clear to Gabrielle that the Empress was no different than any aristocratic woman. She gives lavish gifts to anyone just to secure her position in their hearts. Of course she succeeded, the jasmine pin has become the status symbol of those noble enough to have their celebration held in the palace. It was jewelry with the ability to make any girl cry from jealousy.
Such a ridiculous thing, even if she did use it as a secret weapon a few times to make others jealous, Gabrielle still thought it was ridiculous.
Maria wasn't the only one wearing it last night, many girls had it in their hair. A suitable fashion piece for the occasion, of course, wearing a symbol of the Empire was a good choice for the coronation of the Crown prince.
The sun was about to hit Maria's face, Gabrielle closed the curtains shut and went to her bedroom. She walked to her night stand and pulled out a book in leather covers with letters written in gold.
House of Romanets
It was written on the cover, it was a family tree of the imperial family her father had given her after the incident she had with the Empress. He got it for her so she could learn never to mistake another member of the Imperial family ever again and embarrassed him again, those were his words. She opened the book where the bookmark made of dried rose petals was marking the page. That page was the only reason she kept the book and carried it with her everywhere. Across the whole page was the portrait of the emperor, alone with the crown on his head. Gabrielle smiled and touched his face with the tips of her fingers. The paper was cold under her touch yet she could imagine the warmth of skin beneath her fingers like it was real.
"One day," she whispered in the sunrise, not moving her gaze from his dark eyes on paper. "We will be happy. You and I, together."
She took a deep breath and laid on the bed with the book open on her chest, she should get some sleep before the banquet.