A Glimpse of Grandeur and Grit (Revised)
The great doors of the Grand Hall stood ajar, releasing a tide of sound—the joyous cacophony of a hundred conversations, the cheerful scrape of silver, and the distant, lilting music of a hidden string quartet. Light poured from a thousand candles held high in wrought-iron sconces and in massive, dripping chandeliers, banishing the shadows and glittering off the vaulted, oak-beamed ceiling. Beneath this brilliant canopy, the long, polished tables were a feast in themselves, laden with platters of roasted meats and candied fruits. A choreographed blur of maids and footmen weaved expertly through the crowd, their hands constantly moving to replenish the overflowing goblets with ruby and amber wine. Beyond the central dining area, the hall widened, dedicating alcoves and side tables to the true purpose of the night: a series of brightly lit, lively vendor and scientist stations, each a miniature world of bubbling retorts, curious clockwork, and scrolls unfurled, buzzing with the eager energy of discovery and commerce.
"Princess, we have acclimated to your unusual way of dressing. But are we sure about this garment?" Josephine, Daniela's maid, leaned in slightly, trying to be delicate in her phrasing and not wishing to hurt the princess's feelings. Trousers. All four of them were in trousers now. Was it not bad enough that Daniela dressed like she was practically nude? But now she had hoisted her stylistic choices onto Ida and poor Lola.
Daniela didn't want to look like a princess. While some of the other princesses had adopted her lack of a hoop skirt, some still wore their traditional styles. But Daniela knew in a kingdom without rulers or standard decorum, anybody could be anything they wanted to be. And she wanted to be someone they could speak to without feeling as if they needed to rely on formalities they didn't quite understand.
So she wore a corset of brown leather material, not unlike what any military man would wear. The Royal Tailor had only needed to make her some wide-legged, dark green trousers. The colors were muted and not well saturated, exactly how she wanted it to look. She had dressed her maids similarly. Instead of looking like servants, they looked like her, what she assumed a merchant should look like.
"Why must I be dressed like a boy?" Lola's voice trembled, and she wrung her hands. She felt as if she might cry. Never in her life had she felt so humiliated.
Daniela looked at Lola without any sympathy. They had a job to do. "I expect you to be prepared, no matter what you're wearing."
Daniela didn't immediately start speaking with any of the vendors. She opted to walk around and listen to the surrounding chatter, her gaze sweeping over the various booths. She held a pitcher of ale, chugging it without much care and making sure her actions seemed rougher than normal, uncaring if she sloshed some of the beverage on the ground.
"You must have a sophisticated palette!" A young man, no older than sixteen, approached her. His eyes sparkly and bright with cunning. Daniela knew any man raised in the Cinder Province was definitely a mad even before their eighteenth birthday, and a swindler before their tenth.
"My master is an expert Brewer. Please." He planted himself before her, blocking her path while gesturing towards a booth that had a large crystal decanter, filled to the brim with a liquid that looked suspiciously like champagne.
"Hello, princess—" Starch Demas paused, waiting for her to fill in the blank. Even though he already knew her name, every scientist and vendor were given a detailed list of the princesses and the princes they were most likely here to make purchases for. It gave them a leg up in negotiations, already knowing who would be most likely to be interested in their products.
"Call me Daniela. Your name." Her words were gruff and exacting, lacking the flourish and elegance of the other princesses he had already spoken to. He was confused how this princess ended up on the marriage market when she seemed to lack all sense of refinement. He had been working tirelessly all month to perfect his accent so it didn't sound too crass or rough, refining his elegant movements to show that he could fit into their upper society. And here was a girl who couldn't even bother to try with honorifics.
Her corset was already wet with ale. She seemed like any typical woman in the Cinder Province. She even wore trousers. He had been excited to see princesses in beautiful gowns adorned with jewels that might not make it all the way back to their rooms with them, but beautiful jewelry. She didn't have a single piece of adornment on her, and her maids were much the same. He assumed these were her maids from childhood, and not the ones provided by the palace.
"Call me Starch." He felt his shoulders slump in relaxation, his guard lowering ever so slightly with her casual approach.
"So, what are you selling?" Daniela's words were gruff and harsh, reminiscent of being at a bar back on Earth. The memory nearly made her laugh, but it wouldn't be right at this time.
"Divinity itself." He said like a coy whisperer, leaning in closer. "You know of the drackles, right?"
Daniela only raised her brow, but said nothing else.
"'Course you do, there's not a soul alive that still doesn't know about the drackles. You know they lived for thousands of years. I myself happened to be a man of history and geography—" It took everything in Daniela to keep her face schooled. She was certain he meant archeology. "I spent my life exploring every single inch of the Cinderlands, and I finally found an ancient drackle skull. Intact. It still emanated with raw power. The very touch of it would burn your skin." Daniela began to turn away, feigning a lack of belief in his story.
Starch huffed as if he was offended, pulling up the arm of his finest jacket and showing her the burns that covered the entirety of his right arm. "I don't lie!"
"Okay, so you found a skull that was still burning hot. Why am I interested?"
Grabbing a fine crystal glass provided to him by the kingdom, he opened the decanter and poured a small amount into the glass. He wafted the scent of the liquor towards her.
"I have made the taste of the gods. This is no ordinary liquor. I call it Fancy Yellow Ale, and it is proven to boost your power reserves. That's why it's called the drink of the gods."
Daniela snatched the glass out of his hand. Looking at the color, it was quite pretty. The name was ridiculous, but the smell was delicious, and the color was a very faint peachy tone.
"One sip and you'll know it's true." Starch knew when he had a customer hook, line, and sinker, and he could tell Daniela was on the hook. He needed to make a sale badly. He had tricked everybody in the Cinder Province by now. Everyone knew that he was peddling bullshit, so it was time to sell to the fancy people now.
Daniela took a sip, and her eyes widened just a fraction. His claims were most likely lies, but his wine was delicious. "Not too bad. I'll think about it, Starch."
Tossing back the rest of the liquor, she tossed him the cup and walked off to see what else was going on in the room.
She watched as Heather entertained another merchant, using her wind magic to entertain the vendors. Her compressed air, looking as if it was white, danced around them in swirling, decorative patterns. Daniela couldn't help shaking her head.
As Daniela crossed paths with Bella, Bella gave her a cold look. Bella had opted for a dress that didn't have a large hoop skirt, but still a significant amount of fabric so she wouldn't feel as if she was outside naked, but she did get the appeal. Her ease of movement felt immense.
Daniela spotted a woman surrounded by seeds and headed over to her. "What do you sell? How does it work? Is it easy to use? How much does it cost?" Bella stated her questions before the woman even opened her mouth, wanting to make it clear what she'd like to know.
Miranda gave her a soft, gentle smile. Her frizzy hair framed her face, making it look that much smaller. She wore thick-rimmed glasses, and her body was undersized.
"You are so direct, Princess," Miranda said, chuckling nervously as her fingers intertwined with each other. "So, so many, so many questions." She stuttered. "Well, I sell seeds. More specifically, spores. It is to help in kingdoms that have—" She chuckled again, trying to smooth down her frizzy hair, feeling quite assessed under Bella's tight scrutiny.
"This banquet isn't for the next ten years. Would you stop stumbling over every word and get to the point." Bella couldn't understand how a vendor could be so lacking in talent for sales.
"Ha, yes, uh. My spores, they increase harvest. Especially for those in barren lands. If nothing will grow, my spores will make any harvest bountiful." She smiled and nodded, feeling proud that she was able to say everything she wanted to say.
Bella had to think it over. She knew that Miguel's kingdom was known for its scarcities. Certain things they had in abundance, but land with the ability to grow harvestable crops was not something his kingdom was known for. They consistently imported a lot of goods. This would be something that could help her prospects with Miguel and his kingdom as a whole. And if she was going to be the queen, it only made sense to help the kingdom. This was good.
"Name your price, botanist."
"Oh, okay! It's—I am a botanist. I am a botanist." She laughed again. "But my name is Miranda. She noticed how Bella's expression didn't change for a moment, spurring her to just state her price. "Well, it only takes a single spore to give vitality to 100 square feet. So how many square feet of land are you trying to nourish? By the way, I would charge roughly per pouch of spores, which is 100 spores per pouch. 1,000 gold coins per pouch."
"I would need 200 pouches to start." Bella expressed. She was happy that no matter what, she would have a deal in place by the end of the banquet, one that would be beneficial.
"You have a deal, princess." She pulled out an order slip, filling it out before having the voracious girl sign her signature and the kingdom that would be accepting the delivery.
As Miranda extended her hand for a shake, Bella had already turned and was walking away to the next vendor.
Miranda straightened her posture as she watched the direct woman walk away. She lacked tact, and she was glad for it.
Daniela entered a gathering crowd that stood around a charismatic man, surrounded by paper in various colors and a variety of quills.
"What you see before you, princesses, is not any simple paper. This is binding contract paper. It is perfect in negotiations."
"It's been a long time since paper has been revolutionary," Heather stated, the first to walk away from this man's sales pitch. But a few others stuck around, along with Daniela.
"When negotiating, the biggest hassle is being tricked. This paper eliminates that. Let's call it truth serum, shall we? On this paper, you will write down the terms of a deal. If there is a loophole or any inconsistency in the language, the scroll will glow, and underneath the term, it will list the loopholes." Corvin wrote down a term for a pretend contract, and let the princesses watch as it listed all the loopholes left by his words. "And if that wasn't enough, the contract works not unlike an oath. Once two parties have signed it, it is binding. It cannot be broken, this paper cannot be burned or destroyed in any way, and it allows you to locate those who have signed when the deal is meant to be concluded. This is modern bargaining. It cannot be tricked, and it is fair for both parties," he said, concluding his speech and feeling as if he really got the hang of it this time.
His product was sound. It's just it would never sell in his home province. In a kingdom without rulers or any clear governance, what good was binding paper that didn't allow you to trick those you intended to make less than advantageous deals with?
"So with your paper, all deals would be honorable, upfront, and fair?"
Pointing at the woman who spoke, he smiled in joy. "Precisely, princess. There is no fear when signing a contract." Corvin said.
"What if you want to take advantage? You just can't. This is honesty paper." Guinevere said, feeling as if a product like this would not be well suited for anybody with strength. Terms were meant to be lopsided.
The few who had stuck around to the end of his pitch all started to disperse and walk away in various directions, leaving Daniela alone.
"May I have a few pieces of your paper?" Daniela asked.
Corvin had already begun to drop his head when he heard the delicate voice call behind him. Looking at her, he smiled before grabbing a couple of pieces of the paper and handing it to her. "Are you interested?"
"I am! Name your price."
Corvin felt as if he was at a bit of a disadvantage. She had been there in the crowd watching as this deal completely fell to pieces. And from the information he had, he knew she was for the demon kingdom. If there was something a demon didn't like, it was a fair deal.
"Let's say five gold coins per sheet?" He said, still trying to get the best deal. In his home province, he'd attempted to sell them for one silver coin, grossly undervalued, but he needed to make his money back somehow.
"No."
"You drive a hard bargain! I am an amenable man. We could settle on four gold coins per paper."
"No!" Daniela gave the papers he had given her to her maids behind her, then bridged the distance between her and the scribe. "Tell me, what is your name?"
"Corvin!"
"Corvin, you are exceptionally odd. In a room full of thieves and vagrants, you may be the only honest man in this room, from the least honest province. This paper is clever. But it is wasted in the Cinderlands. What crook wants honest paper?" She said to him, leaning into the obvious.
"One gold coin, but I won't go a shilling lower."
"No! I do not need to bargain with you. As I stated, you are from the least honest province. This invention is clever, and the next man who brings it to me will not have such a high price tag attached."
Corvin's eyes narrowed as he watched her, wondering what she meant by the next man who brings her this item? "Are you threatening me?"
Going over to the table, she picked up one of the gold-colored papers, assessing it. "Why would I need to threaten you? Your life is a threat. Look around this room. You think every one of these degenerates are truly scientists and not clever thieves, killing and stealing someone else's idea for the chance to sell it for riches?"
He felt his hands begin to shake as he tried to hide them behind his back. He nearly had gotten his throat cut on the way here, knowing that everyone who was selected to come to the vampire kingdom would soon become wealthy or just unlucky.
"I can't go any lower than a gold coin per paper."
"No! I'll make you an offer. We will sign one of your honest contracts, and what I will offer you is a home where you are not a scoundrel or fighting for scraps. A respected man of society. You will be able to enter a kingdom and help Council a King. Your paper will be used across this kingdom. You will be paid a salary, but your product will be free. Call it the price of safety."
"There's no way you can promise me all of that!"
"Your binding paper means that I will have to. Or do you not trust your own product? I will give you ten minutes to decide. After that, there is no deal. Brilliant invention, Corvin."
Daniela turned and walked away with her maids, uncaring of whether or not he truly made a deal with her. She had plans, and it would only be helpful to get his product in her hands.
"Princess, do you think you have promised a bit much?" Ida asked in a whispered tone only meant for their ears.
"Not at all."