The Vampire & Her Witch Chapter 1821: Making Friends (Part One)

Adala knew, before she even entered the Great Hall, that tonight would be a night filled with surprises. Little, however, could have prepared her for Lady Ashlynn’s approach to diplomacy in a gathering that included people from so many different places and cultures.

"Sir Hugo," Adala asked when she and Charlotte reached the head of the line at the entrance of the makeshift bazaar. "Do you know where we’re sitting tonight? If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d like to spend some time with Lady, I mean, with Princess Jocelynn," Adala asked directly. "I haven’t really seen her since Midwinter’s night, and I was hoping..." she started, only to trail off as Hugo shook his head.

"I’m sorry, Lady Adala," Hugo said with a slight shake of his head. "Jocelynn is sitting with Ashlynn tonight, and the central table is reserved for a specific set of individuals," he said, gesturing to the banners hanging from the ceiling. "Your table will be close by, and I’ll join you there once I’ve had everyone else seated."

"That’s not right," Charlotte said, frowning at the young Hanrahan lord. "You’re Ashlynn’s Steward; you should be at the central table with her."

"No, not tonight," Hugo said, holding his hands up as if he wanted nothing to do with the table in the middle of the Great Hall. "If I’m at Lady Ashlynn’s table, then I’m working. Once everyone is seated, then I’m ’off’ for the evening, and I can relax and enjoy the feast."

"Besides," he said, pointing to a petite horned woman sitting between Jocelynn and the High Inquisitor, Ignatious. "Lady Heila is Ashlynn’s lady-in-waiting and the Willow Witch as well. If Ashlynn needs help tonight, there’s someone even more capable at her side."

"I see," Adala said, craning her neck slightly to look at the petite horned woman who was presently leaning against the High Inquisitor while Ignatious draped an arm affectionately around her shoulders. Adala had never met a priest who would be so... casual with a woman.

For a moment, Adala wondered if Lady Heila was being so affectionate with the High Inquisitor because she was avoiding Jocelynn. There was something about her posture and the way she never turned her head toward the other side of the table that left Adala wondering, but before she could watch long enough to know, Charlotte was pulling her excitedly toward a table filled with trinkets.

"Look, look," Charlotte said excitedly, holding up a scarf that had been dyed a yellow so warm that it seemed almost golden in the light. "Isn’t it pretty? And it’s so soft..."

"It is," Adala agreed with a light laugh as she joined Charlotte in inspecting the goods on the table. "You have a summer dress close to that color, don’t you?"

"I do," Charlotte agreed, setting the scarf down. "But I almost never wear it... What about these," she said, turning her attention to the strands of jewels from Airgead Mountain. Several had already been taken, but Charlotte selected a string of aquamarines that had a clearer, purer color than any she’d ever seen. "These would look lovely in your hair, wouldn’t they?"

"They would," Adala acknowledged before her eyes fell on a small selection of lacquered boxes. "What about one of these?" Adala suggested, selecting a box covered with intricate carvings of flowers she’d never seen before.

"You want a jewelry box?" Charlotte asked, slightly surprised at Adala’s selection.

"No," Adala said, offering the box to Charlotte. "I want a memory box. Something we can fill with tokens and mementos that are important to both of us," she said, blushing slightly as she explained her reasoning.

"Oh," Charlotte said, blushing in response as she took the box from Adala’s slender fingers. It was small enough to fit on her palm, but only barely, and it carried a pleasantly sweet, slightly woody scent that tickled her nose.

"I think we’ll need a bigger box," Charlotte said as she looked at the box in her hands. "But this is a good beginning," she said, throwing her arms around Adala and giving her an enthusiastic hug.

"I love it," she added, smiling broadly when she pulled back from Adala. "I love the way you think," Charlotte said. For a moment, she almost went further, but somehow, even though they’d both said the words in private, it felt too soon to add ’I love you’ in public.

Once they’d selected their gift, the two young ladies made their way to the seats Hugo had indicated for them, joining Lord Liam Dunn, Lord Reynold Aleese, and the two ladies from Dunn who had been attending Lady Ashlynn over the course of the past week.

"Lord Reynold," Adala said politely, pulling Charlotte slightly closer to her as they took their seats next to one of the men that, until recently, had been in talks with Charlotte’s parents as a potential suitor. "Lord Liam," Adala added, turning her attention to the man who had served as Lady Ashlynn’s herald. "Are you joining Sir Hugo in taking a ’night off’ from serving Lady Ashlynn?"

"No, I’m ’working’ tonight," Liam said with a warm chuckle. "I’ve spent just enough time in the Vale to know almost everyone at our table tonight, so Hugo asked me to play host," he said, briefly introducing Ladies Morwen and Eira, who had claimed a seat next to the heir of Dunn.

"I haven’t met everyone joining us tonight though," Liam said, standing to greet a pair of young women who approached the far end of the table. "You must be Dame Sybyll’s companions," Liam said warmly.

"Squire," Cossot said, extending a hand to Liam and grasping his forearm in an old-fashioned greeting between knights. "I’m Cossot, and I’m Dame Sybyll’s squire, and this is my best friend, Roseen," she said, gesturing to the dark-haired woman next to her. "She’s Dame Sybyll’s handmaiden," she said, offering a completely normal greeting before uttering a sentence that shocked Adala to the core.

"This summer, Dame Sybyll is taking us as her progeny," Cossot said excitedly. "So, soon, we’ll be vampires like she is..."