Page 5 of I Ran Away to Evil #3
There’s Never a Wrong Time to Fall in Love
Julian
“Julian! My son!” Grand Duchess Calisto swept down the palace stairs to greet him.
Julian dismounted and accepted the welcome hug. “It’s good to see you, Mother.”
One of the attendants, an elf named Bensen, took charge of everyone’s horses as Calisto looked them over with an approving nod. “It is good to see all of you made it safely.”
His party members gave polite bows, though Tully started with a friendly wave before Visha elbowed him.
Calisto’s eyes found Julian’s again. “You came at the perfect time. We’re about to go over the ceremonial schedule with Their Royal Highness.”
“Do I not get to wash up first?” Julian raised an eyebrow.
“[Cleanse],” his mother replied, casting the spell on him to get rid of the dirt from the road. He could still use a proper bath, but it would have to do. She offered her arm. “No escaping.”
Julian accepted and escorted his mother inside; the rest of his party followed at a distance. Cowards. “Is Rowen officiating?”
“Yes. Rowen’s been marrying people left, right, and center this year, and I think they like it.”
“Married by a fox.” Julian shook his head. They entered through the main doors into the entrance hall, which shimmered like they were walking underwater as the sun shone on the coral motif of the walls. “They could’ve chosen someone more serious.”
His mother squeezed his arm. “Like who? I’ll make a note for when you get married.”
Julian stiffened. His mother’s well-timed comments always made him stumble, but now that his Dexterity was over twenty, it was easier for him to keep his balance around her.
He didn’t outright trip, though he needed a moment to figure out the perfect response.
“I’ll think of that when I find the right lady to marry. ”
“I have a list,” Calisto replied, succinct. “Some you saw at the Spring Ball, and some you will have the opportunity to meet at the Summer Masquerade.”
“Mother, I don’t think it’s the right time—”
“Nonsense.” Grand Duchess Calisto squeezed his arm again, reassuringly, even as she cut him off. “There’s never a wrong time to fall in love.”
Behind them, Tully coughed to hide a laugh. Julian glanced over his shoulder at the paladin.
Visha was glaring at Tully, while Jeffry just shook his head. Pram remained stoic, and John remained silent, the pair ignoring Tully’s outburst as they were wont to do.
“If there was ever a wrong time to fall in love,” Julian stated, “it would be when I need to leave for the Northern Ice Fields in three days.”
“ Four days ,” Calisto corrected.
“Three—”
“You are not sneaking out of the Masquerade like you did the Spring Ball,” his mother stated, her voice firm.
She led the pair of them into her newest contraption—an elevator—and left his party members behind.
They would have leave to settle in, while he was going to be dragged around for the rest of the day.
He resisted a sigh even as his mother said, “You’ve already missed the first few days of the celebration. You will stay until the closing ceremonies the morning after the ball, do I make myself clear?”
He hesitated, unconsciously pressing the locket he kept under his shirt. Inside was a picture of his family and a broken piece of staff that was all he had left from his father. He was itching to get back to the North … but it was true he hadn’t been there for his family as much as he should.
“Alright.” He even managed a polite nod. This was where the passive ability of his [Natural Poise] perk came in handy.
[ Natural Poise , passive effects: perfect posture and an air of confidence. Effects can be identified by anyone with an equal or higher Charisma. When activated, +1 Charisma for minutes equal to Charisma.]
The elevator was semitransparent, and the pair looked out over the city and the countryside as they flew higher and higher.
The elevator took them to the top of one of the outer towers.
It wasn’t the tallest, but it let them gaze out over North Sumbria as far as the eye could see.
Julian loved the pockets of forests and winding roads over rolling hills.
“I’m glad you’ve seen the error of your ways.” His mother smiled and pulled a piece of paper out of thin air. “Now, here’s a list of marriage candidates with their family history and features. Memorize it.”
It was so long that it trailed down to Julian’s knees. He took it with trepidation and started rolling it back up, but his mother wasn’t done, pulling out a second parchment scroll—this one longer than the last. “And here’s a list of duties you’re required to perform while you’re here.”
“But—”
“There is a family dinner after the meeting tonight. Tomorrow, you will be judging the finalists of the fighting tourney and announcing the winner. The day after morrow will be the wedding, and don’t forget the afternoon tea with all of the eligibles before the Summer Masquerade, and then the final day’s closing ceremonies. ”
Julian felt his heart sink with each list his mother handed him.
He tried to scan them all with his [Quick Read] perk before the elevator deposited them on the top floor, but there was so much more to do than the few things she’d chosen to actually mention.
He gave up and put everything in his storage ring so he could greet the five people sitting around a table waiting for them in the meeting hall.
“Good, you’re here. We were just going over the proceedings.
” Their Royal Highness Rowen of Peldeep nodded, greeting them from a seat at the other side of the round table.
The shifter had taken the appearance of a stately green-skinned elf gentleman wearing an arachne-silk black tunic and trousers.
King Keith and Commander General Rufus Triever of the Dark Enchanted Forest of Nilheim sat to the left of Rowen.
To the right sat his sister, Countess Julia von Slyke, and her intended, Necromancer Chloe Watercress.
His sister smiled at him warmly, and he tried to return it. He hadn’t been there for her as much as he would have liked, and now Julia was all grown up and starting a family of her own.
All of the letters they’d exchanged over the last twenty years far outnumbered the few times they’d sat down at the same table.
He took a seat beside his mother as Their Royal Highness continued. “The first to enter will be the commander general—Ah, my apologies, are you going by just Rufus now?”
Julian hadn’t heard that Rufus had been deposed of his title, and made a note to catch up on current affairs before the Masquerade.
“As you say, Your Highness.” Rufus brought his hands together on the table and leaned forward. “I’m using my class title Protector for now.”
“Good, good,” the fox approved. “We will have you escort Gladiator Hana Lanora from Julia’s adventuring party, and King Keith will follow next escorting Striker Wendy Lanora—”
“Shouldn’t Keith enter first?” Julian asked. “As a king ?”
Rowen grinned. “They’re Chloe ’s best men, so I assume the slight is on purpose?”
“Keep it the way it is,” Chloe ordered, looking smug.
“I told you that you should’ve made her your best man,” Rufus whispered to the Dark Lord, who merely crossed his arms and accepted his fate.
Julian sat and listened while Rowen laid out the wedding ceremony, the reception, and the proceedings leading up to the event. He only had a small part to play in each which came down to “stand here,” “escort Julia there,” and “exit over there.”
It took two hours.