Free Portal (Nina Decker) by Vivi Anna

wheezed.
    “Fashion is a Catch 22,” Dani explained. “With our fae blood we have dress sizes and curves that would make most mortal women weep. But in Nightfall that’s just par for the course. And the elite must be better than average. Because otherwise they’re not the elite.”
    I sucked in my breath. Dani finished cinching me in then stepped back to admire her handiwork.
    “Now that is what a faerie princess should look like.”
    She pointed to a full length mirror near the wall. I saw myself for the first time.  The dress was like a blooming orchid. It made me look otherworldly, which I suppose I was.
    “Fantastic.”
    My hands slid down my waist which was laced up tight. “How am I supposed to eat?”
    Dani said, “The banquet is a social and political event. Eating is a secondary matter.”
    With that we strolled out of my chambers and back towards the great hall. The banquet was by then under way. Long tables had been brought in. One was along the dais and two more lined the hall. Dani and I went to the table on the dais. There were seated Lord and Lady Wolfstriker, Dashrael, my other two ladies in waiting. I didn’t see my mother.
    Lord Wolfstriker stood up and addressed the hall. “After many years my granddaughter has returned to Nightfall. I give you Princess N’Lina Wolfstriker of the House Wolfstriker.”
    The cry of “All Hail Princess Wolfstriker!”  echoed through the cavernous hall. I made a graceful bow to acknowledge them. The queen strode over to me and took my hands.
    “It does my heart great pleasure to see you,” she told me. But I felt no pleasure in her words. There was no warmth. And she squeezed my hands tight and wouldn’t let go until I winced.
    “Where is my mother,” I asked.
    “Princess A’Lona was taken ill and won’t be joining us,” said Lady Wolfstriker.
    I was seated at one end of the table with my ladies in waiting. The king and queen sat at the center well away from me. There was little chance I could strike up a conversation with them.  At the other end were Dashrael, J’Tara and a man I hadn’t met before. He was squat, bald and wore garish orange and yellow robes. He barely looked fae.
    “Who is that,” I asked.
    “Simeon, the court wizard,” Dani answered.
    I shook my head.  All we needed now were some hobbits to dash across the room and it would be a full on Lord of the Rings party.
    I was interested in J’Tara’s costume. Some of her guards were milling about out of their armor. The men wore typical late medieval dress, a short blue and white tunic with matching blue and white hose that ended in a cod piece. J’Tara and the female guards wore the same except their tunics were longer and terminated at mid-thigh, making a kind of miniskirt. It looked a lot more comfortable than my dress, though I wouldn’t have made nearly as big an entrance. When Lord Wolfstriker announced me every eye in the hall was on me. The guests were noticeably impressed. I didn’t see too many smiles but I didn’t see any glares this time. That is except from the queen who continued to stare daggers every time she looked my way. 
    I took the opportunity to study the guests. They were all fae but there was more variety of skin tone. These were obviously guests from the other realms, the fae who reflected the Africans, Arabs, Asians, Aztecs, Native Americans, Indians.
    Dani’s pinkie pointed towards the Asian table and said, “That’s where you’ll find the best food in the fae realms. But travel there is pretty hard.”
    “Why is that?” I asked.
    “Old wars. Old grudges. The fae tend to stay out of each other’s business and that might be for the best. “
    Servers came around with the food. A brownie carrying a roasted pig passed by me and I flagged him down. Despite my constricted tummy I was starving. The brownie served me a portion of soft roast. I noticed every set of eyes on me. The room was now deadly silent.
    “Is something wrong?”  I asked