202: A Company of Fools: Red Wedding Anniversary I

"Chase, this has taken way too damn long!" Bo grumbled as he stood in the doorway to my room. I scowled at the pint-sized terror.

I was currently getting ready or rather had Sallia and Kopihil buzzing around me, finishing up last-minute details with my hair and outfit. Sallia frowned at Bo and stood up. She'd been checking the hem of my pants leg.

"This is art Master Kestrel. This takes time." Sallia said. Kopihil chuckled and stepped back.

"Well, at least my work does. Do you know how many times I had to wash this boy's hair before I was even able to start working with it." Kopihil said. I frowned and crossed my arms.

"Can we hurry up, please?" I groaned.

"Yes! The ball already started, and we haven't even left the room!" Bo exclaimed.

"Phssss!" Kopihil huffed then waved Bo off. "You two are just fashionably late. Nobody of importance ever arrives at a ball on time."

"Well, you know, except for the Pharaoh, the queen, the royal family, you know the very people who invited you to the palace." Sallia said, stepping back and looking me over, then nodded. "It's perfect."

"Yes! Absolutely perfect!" Kopihil agreed.

They both stepped closer and turned me, so I was facing the full-length mirror in the room.

I was dressed in the dashiki and sash that Sallia had tried on me earlier, only now Iris was perfectly tailored to my figure and even had a slight alteration to the design. Sallia added the Sho'lajah Artifact Company logo over my heart. Kopihil took a lot of liberties with my hair, and I wasn't mad at it.

Kopihil took my hair and gave me dread locks. Not long ones originally and not by himself. After Sallia finished sizing me for alterations, Kopihil whisked me off to his salon in the palace and had a whole team of stylists working on my hair. It took a lot of them five hours to get my hair done. Once he locked up my hair, he added extensions to each lock, so they went past my shoulders and then colored the tips of each extension of the same shape of rose pink as the design on my dashiki

"Shit…I look good!" I exclaimed, then reached up and ran my hand through my locks.

"Yeah, yeah. Be vain later. I walked with me now!" Bo grumbled.

I frowned and looked over at Bo. He was dressed in a Dashiki similar to mine, and he was white with a bright red tribal design with a silver outline. The dashiki had the Sho'lajah Artifact Company logo over his heart like mine did.

"Okay! Let's go!" I grumbled, then started towards him while looking over my shoulder at Sallia and Kopihil. "Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome! It was a pleasure." Sallia said.

"Remember, don't get your hair wet for the next couple of days!" Kopihil warned me.

"Got it!" I said. Bo grew impatient and grabbed me by my arm, and dragged me out of the room.

"Let's go already!" Bo snapped. I let hom drag me out of the room and to the door leading to the hallway where there cowered two guards waiting for us to lead Bo and I to the main ballroom where the ball was taking place.

"Jeez Bo, calm down. I'm the one who is supposed to be high strung and impatient." I said as I followed Bo and the guards as he stomped down through the hallways. Thankfully, now that the ball was underway, the hallway was a lot less crowded as most of the staff were running back and forth between the ballroom and the main kitchen.

"I'll calm down when we get to the ballroom, and I finally can have something to eat!" He snapped.

"So you're just a hangry little boy." I teased.

"Damn right, I'm hangry!" He snapped. I reared back and slapped the back of his head. "OW!"

"Just cause you're hungry doesn't mean you can go around cursing!" I griped. Bo growled and looked over his shoulder at me.

"Well, I wouldn't be hungry if someone didn't take longer than Iris to get ready!" Bo snapped. I gasped, then narrowed my eyes at him.

"You take that back! I got a full makeover from the ground up! She takes six hours to just decide what shirt to wear!" I snapped. Bo rolled his eyes and kept walking without saying anything, which honestly pissed me off even more.

The ballroom was in the northern part of the palace. In order to get it, we had to cross through the royal garden, which took a bit of time. The closer we got to the ballroom, the more guards I saw, and not just the palace guards. There were guards from multiple countries patrolling the area. When we finally reached the entrance to the ballroom, another thirty minutes had passed. Luckily for us, it was only eight thirty, not really late by many standards.

At least twenty guards stood in front of the ballroom doors. Only half of them were palace guards. A staff member dressed in an extravagant suit stood in front of the doors. Seeing us approach, he stood up straight and then bowed to Bo and I. The guards from other countries looked tense as Bo and I approached.

"Who may I be addressing?" The announcer asked.

"Chase Kingston of Sho'lajah Artifact Company and Bo Kestrel, student of Baset Paragon." I said. The man nodded curtly, and tjen turned on his heel. The palace guards closest to the door push them open, and he strode right inside.

As Bo and I had crossed the rather dark royal garden in order to get to the ballroom, our eyes had adjusted to the dark. So when the doors opened, our eyes were assaulted by a bright flash of light that blinded us for a few moments. However I could hear music playing, a cacophony of voices from conversations being held inside mingling together, the slight shuffle of feet, all of it came to a sudden halt as the announcer stepped into the ballroom.

"Presenting: Chase Kingston of Sho'lajah Artifact Company and Bo Kestrel, student of Baset Paragon!" The announcer bellowed to the room.

At this time, our eyes finally adjusted to the light. Bo and I stood straight and took the first few steps into the ballroom. The ballroom looked totally different from anywhere else we'd seen in the palace. The floor, the walls, and the ceiling it all looked modern. At least more modern than the in the rest of the palace. The floor was made of a black marble that had an interesting vein of white marble inside each slab of marble. The walls were a pure white stone that I couldn't quite identify, and the same black marble covered the ceiling.

There were more guests than I had originally thought, at least for a hundred eyes staring at Bo and I as we walked into the ballroom. At the far end of the ballroom was a grand staircase that at the top sat a set of thrones, eight in all. In the center, two sat Turak'Kahn and Viola, both dressed in royal garb. Turak'Kahn's crown sat neatly atop his head. In the remaining six seats sat three pairs of people, each pair dressed identically and wearing a blank mask that obscured their entire face.

"Everyone is looking at us…" Bo whispered to me as we crossed the threshold.

A quick glance around the room proved Bo correct. Everyone was staring at us. I saw many people looking at the two of us with interest and almost all of them sizing us up. Well, sizing me up. It seemed that Bo was mostly a afterthought to many of the attendees, which if their clothing and way they held themselves were any indication, almost all of them were nobles or even royals back in their home countries.

I couldn't let myself or Bo be intimidated. That announcer used the company name when introducing me to the ball attendees. How I acted and held myself was a reflection of the company and everyone back in Andromeda working their asses off.

I locked eyes with Turak Kahn and headed directly toward his throne. Ignoring everyone else and essentially pretending they all didn't exist. Seeing this, Turak'Kahn smirked and stood up from the throne, taking a few steps forward to stand at the top of the staircase leading up to the thrones.

"CHASE KINGSTON!" A grating and unfortunately familiar voice bellowed. The voice echoed through the crowded ballroom, and all eyes turned to the origin. The Morgan Paragon.

The older woman stood about twenty feet from me beside some noble looking Scottish types that were congregating by an ice sculpture of Viola that was about fifteen feet tall. I stopped for a brief second to look at her, and she took the opportunity to walk over and block my direct path to the Pharaoh. She placed her hands on her hips and looked at me with a hoity stare.

"Sorry, whoever you are, if you want an enchanted item made, you'll have to submit a request at the shop like everyone else." I said dismissively. The Morgan's eyes widened, and she clenched her teeth in rage.

"Whoever I am….?!" She snapped, getting ready to explode.

Before she could break into a full on rant I channeled float and gravity attribute mana throughout my body and levitated a few feet in the air then flew over The Morgan towards the grand staircase and Turak'Kahn. I landed on the staircase a few steps before the top and smiled politely at the Pharaoh.

"Your Pharoahness, congratulations on your and Her Majesty Viola's anniversary. I hope you two see many more." I said, making an elaborate bow. I could hear more than a few people down below whispering and jeered at me. More than a few comments were made about my brashness. Turak'Kahn laughed loudly. It echoed throughout the ballroom and silenced the voices that whispered across the ballroom.

"You can drop the formality Chase, I give you and Bo alone that honor. I how could I not, considering all the amusement you've provided the last few days, it's the least you've earned." Turak'Kahn said loudly. I heard a few people gasp and murmur upon hearing the Pharaoh's declaration.

"Chase! No fair! I wanted to congratulate Uncle Turry and Auntie Vivi's anniversary, too!" Bo exclaimed as he came barreling up the staircase. He stopped on the step next to me, then frowned at me and smiled up at Turak'Kahn.

"Nephew!" Turak'Kahn exclaimed, then reached down and patted Bo on the top of his head. Bo smiled up at Turak'Kahn and then over at Viola. Viola stood from her throne and rushed over to Bo, giving him a hug.

"Bo! Oh my gods, you look precious!" Viola exclaimed. Bo beamed and pointed at The Sho'lajah Artifact Company logo on his chest.

"Chase had Sallia add Sho'lajah's logo on my dashiki! I'm a walking advertisement for the company now!" Bo exclaimed happily.

"And a very handsome one as well!" Viola agreed. Bo beamed again, then glanced over at the others sitting at the six thrones.

"Auntie, what's up with them?" Bo whispered softly. The only reason I was able to hear him was the enchanced hearing from Alpa'nagia.

"It's a long-standing tradition in the Royal family. To protect everyone's identity, Jane, Aziza, and Leon are dressed the same as their Guardians and made to wear those masks. This way, they can be part of celebrations and important moments in the kingdom." Viola whispered back. Bo nodded and then snickered.

"Does that mean that Yurkid has fake boobs on to look like Aziza…?" Bo asked. Viola covered he mouth and winked at Bo instead of answering.

"You two will certainly be the talk of tonight." Turak'Kahn said, then glanced down at the ballroom below.

While everyone had seemingly gone back to their own individual conversations, I could see a lot of people glancing back up at the staircase and watching us discreetly. Looks of jealousy and outright hatred were apparent on the faces of more than a few people.

"It's normally not done for a guest to walk up to the Pharaoh unless verbally invited. Even more so for that guest to not be reprimanded or imprisoned." Turak'Kahn said. He leaned in close and whispered. "However, after the gift you made for my wife, you've more than earned a few exceptions."

I smiled at the Pharaoh, then glanced over at both his and Jurirai's children sitting in their thrones. It was pretty easy to pick out which ones were Jane and Iris. Having spent the last few months around them, I could spot the little differences between the two of them. Jane and Kris were sitting in the thrones at the very end of the row. Jane sat at the very last throne with Iris sitting next to her.

"So when's the big revel?" I whispered. Turak'Kahn smiled.

"In a little bit. First, Viola wants everyone to mingle a bit , a couple dances, a few toasts, then I give Viola her present, and she gives me hers. Then all of my children will give us their presents." Turak'Kahn replied. Viola scooted over to me, then glanced down at The Morgan, who was looking embarrassed and pissed at me.

"Is she going to be a problem?" Viola asked.

"Define problem?" I asked. Turak'Kahn chuckled and patted me on the shoulder.

"If you have to 'deal' with her, make it entertaining." Turak'Kahn said. I smiled deviously, and Turak'Kahn returned my smile.

"Enjoy the party you two."

"We will. Come on, Bo." I said, turning around and walking down the staircase. Bo smiled at Viola and Turak'Kahn then turned and followed after me.

"Did we just get permission to be chaotic?" Bo asked once we were halfway down the stairs. I smiled deviously and looked at him.

"Yes, we did. Let's have some fun…!"