The Banquet
Amie did her curtsy just like she practiced.
The room was silent, the air was still. Everybody was staring at her. She wondered what she did wrong.
Trying to hide her unease, she held her head high and walked slowly to her seat. Her gaze was fixated in front of her out of fear. 'Adeline' looked as though she walked with purpose and elegance. 'Amie' knew it was just a facade.
As nerve-racking as it was to walk through a room with hundreds of eyes staring at her, Amie found herself even more anxious as she was to sit beside Queen Zephine for the banquet. While everyone else's eyes appeared to be filled with shock, the Queen's eyes had a death glare in them fixated on Amie. She could not figure out what she did wrong even after she sat next to her adopted mother.
Now terrified of what the Queen will do to her, Amie was starting to wonder what would happen to her after the ceremony. Her thoughts were interupted with a loud crash coming from the balcony above the dining hall.
"MOTHHHER! You didn't telllll meee she was sooo pretty!" A drunken voice echoed throughout the hall. Amie was curious to see who had begun their festivities a little early, and also relieved a little that Queen Zephine's wrath may have shifted to another victim. Sliding down the stair banister and falling face-first at the bottom was the drunken Prince Jacques. Prince Jacques was the little brother of the heir to the throne, Prince Felix. He was a year older than Amie, but had already made a reputation for himself for constantly getting into mischief.
While the sight was cause for laughter, Amie could not laugh as she realized why the Queen was so angry. She entered the hall and sat before the Prince. Amie was so preoccupied with trying to present herself properly, she forgot to check to see if everyone was seated before entering the room. She was completely horrified to realize that she overlooked a prince.
Before she had time to process, Queen Zephine was speaking, "Guards! Take him to the dungeon for the night!" Some of the guests started to mutter amongst themselves as their own kingdoms would never send a prince to a dungeon for any reason. One of the many issues with the Kingdom of Lutetia that caused strife amongst its people was the Queen's wrath.
The King took over to try to steer the conversation back to the main event, "Everyone! Please forgive my son for that embarassing scene. Let's turn our focus to the reason we are here today. Adeline, could you please stand up?" He glanced over at Amie, who nervously began to stand. "This is my daughter, Adeline. Tonight, we celebrate her 16th birthday! Becoming a woman-" The King carried on with his speech about the duties of a woman in adulthood and reminisced on nonexistent memories with his 'daughter'.
Amie had already read the speech he was giving multiple times and practiced the lines she was supposed to say if anyone had questions. Instead of focusing on his words, her mind wondered back to the Prince's drunken statement. He might have just ruined everything. What if the other kingdoms find out she's not valued within the Royal Family? If they come to that realization, they would have no reason to take her. Her purpose would cease to exist and she could be confined to the South Tower in much worse conditions for the rest of her life. Or be executed. All the Royal Family has to do is tell the masses she died of 'illness.'
After the very eventful beginning of the banquet, the rest of the night was far more calm. Once they moved on from the banquet to dancing in the ballroom, Amie's nerves began to steady. The Queen made up an excuse to Prince Jacques' rambling. When asked, she would respond, "Please forgive my son. By the looks of it, he was rejected by a maid or some other commonfolk. He probably tried to hit on one of the poor maids I sent to clean his bedchambers. I must find a bride for him soon. Maybe a good woman will snap him out of such abhorant behavior he's been displaying as of late."
Feeling as though she was in the clear, Amie began to interract with the guests. She was the center of attention in the ballroom as she danced through the crowds of suitors. Gracefully stepping and switching partners on cue, there was a moment where Amie truely felt like a princess.
While she was enjoying her night, Prince Peter of Navarre approached her, "Good evening Your Highness."
Amie exchanged pleasantries with him, "Good evening, Prince Peter is it? It is a pleasure to meet you." Amie turned on all of her charm, knowing her interactions would determine her fate.
Prince Peter was a handsome enough Prince and their conversation went well. They talked for much longer than Amie anticipated. It seemed as though he was going to put in a bid for marriage.
Amie didn't know it at the time, but several of the suitors, including Prince Peter, had already put in bids for marriage the moment they saw her. The Princes were trying to charm her but she remained blissfully unaware. The entire time she thought it was the other way around.
Amie flirted with the handsome Prince of Navarre all night until it was time for the end ceremony. She turned to say goodbye to the Prince, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Prince Peter."
Prince Peter bowed, took Amie's hand, and gently kissed it, "I hope to see you again soon, Princess Adeline."
The night's festivities came to a close and it was time to announce the marriage proposals. Amie listened in shock as almost every suitor who attended was listed. She thought there must have been a mistake and they were just reading the names on the guest list. Queen Zephine was in charge of reading all the names and was struggling to hide her exhaustion as she continued to list everyone.
Once the names were listed, King Javert spoke, "Well, due to the highly unusual number of suitors who have requested my daughter's hand in marriage, I believe the traditional method of courtship will not be possible." The King added jokingly, "Unless all of you are willing to wait until you are a hundred, that is." The ballroom filled with half-hearted laughs to match the half-hearted joke. King Javert continued, "With that in mind, we will begin 2 months of quick courting starting tomorrow. Anyone who wishes to marry my daughter may schedule an appearance during this period."
Once the King made the announcement, the Royal Family began the final ceremony of the night before exiting the ballroom. As they left, Amie looked back to see a large number of princes rushing the butler who was in charge of scheduling.
Amie's astonishment abruptly turned to fear when she felt the sting of a slap across her face. Queen Zephine had not forgotten her failure earlier. "How DARE you enter my court before my son you FILTHY PEASANT!" She was preparing for another slap when King Javert stepped in.
"That's enough! She cannot have any marks on her, what on earth are you thinking?"
"But she entered-"
"What? She entered before your stupid drunken son?"
"YOUR stupid drunken son wouldn't have been that way if you hadn't cancelled his plans to marry Princess Annabelle!"
"They were poorly suited for eachother! Felix was a much better match for her! Our son has caused so much embarassment to this family thanks to YOUR upbringing!"
The King and Queen continued to bicker back and forth about their troubled son until Prince Felix interjected. "Mother, Father, it's getting late and Adeline needs her beauty sleep if she is going to be fit for tomorrow's events. What is the plan for narrowing down the results?"
They stopped argueing. Neither one of them had anticipated Amie to match a real princess in everything from grace to looks. As a matter of fact, they had specifically chosen Edith to raise Amie because they thought she didn't know what she was doing. They wanted Amie to be presentable but not to the point that her beauty could cause a war of it's own. Now they had to deal with the fallout of dozens of angry princes bitter that they weren't chosen.
"We'll have to deal with each one individually. Arrogance amonst weaker kingdoms is quite common nowadays. Let's examine the list for tomorrow and come up with a strategy."
After further discussions, the King and Queen had a plan in place to deal with the princes they felt were undesirable for a partnership with their kingdom. Due to the overwhelming number of princes offering a bid though, they would have to look each day at the list of suitors. They would either chose one from that day or none. As opposed to spending Amie's first year of courtship deciding among a few suitors, they would have to whittle down the list and postpone the normal process by a year.
They closed discussions for the night, Amie was sent to her bedchambers to rest, and all that was left was to wait for the next day's appointments.