Page 14 of A Yulean Sister’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped

Sage

My dress swished around me as I strode through the room. All eyes turned to me. None of them direct; if I looked they would avert quickly, but I could feel them still, glued to me. But it wasn’t new. It was normal in fact. Part of me felt… better with all eyes on me. It gave my mind something to anchor to. A reminder that I needed to be on my best behavior.

No freak outs allowed here.

“Wow, they really went all out,” Paige commented as she walked next to me. She’d chosen a deep navy gown that complemented her dark chestnut hair nicely. One thing that could always be said about Paige is she knew what she looked stunning in.

“I agree.” And I did. For a dinner the night before, you would think this was the actual party. The place was filled with everyone who was anyone it seemed. Large arrangements of long stemmed yaisys sat in the center of each table. They were clothed in gold with dark green accents for the plates and napkins. Waiters milled around with hors d’oeuvres people mostly ignored. Though the trays stacked with glasses of bubbly pink champagne couldn’t make it a single round of the room before they were empty.

“Have you seen Octavio?” she asked, like we hadn’t been together the whole time.

“Nope.” I thought about grabbing one of the crackers with thinly sliced cured meat on top, but suddenly felt nervous with all the eyes on me and let the tasty looking tray pass me by. Dinner couldn’t start fast enough. That cookie could only hold me over for so long.

“Princess,” Countess Nova said, approaching us, bowing as she reached me.

“Hello, it’s good to see you. How’s Clark?”

“The same as ever.” She smiled softly. Nova and Clark had been in court for a long time, always skirting around each other. It took far too long for them to realize they were a perfect match. When they finally did get together, it was all anyone talked about for weeks. They moved to the countryside not long ago.

We chatted for a while as she told me about the new garden she’s keeping on her property. It wasn’t often in a situation like this where I was able to talk about plants.

She was in the middle of telling me about her marigonias that had just gone in when an unusually quiet Paige chimed in.

“Oh, excuse us,” she said, before all but tearing me away.

“Of course.” Nova dipped her head. “I was monopolizing your time. I will see you later, yeah?”

“You were fine, but we’ll catch up later.” I followed Paige, who had hooked her arm into me like claws. “What was that?” I asked.

“Look.” I gazed forward to where Octavio was striding across the floor. He was in a green waistcoat that matched the tables, gold stitching all along the edges. His dark hair was gelled back in the style most men in Peradona kept, and his tan pants were sinfully tight.

“Why didn’t you go talk to him yourself?”

She looked at me like I said something crazy. “I figured… you’d want to greet the host.”

I licked my lips. I probably should, she did tend to keep me in line at times. “Okay.”

Paige took a moment to run her hand over her hair and down her dress before we started walking. It felt so awkward to approach him as he was talking to someone else, but as soon as he caught my eye he did a double take and wrapped up the conversation he was having quickly.

There was no denying he was attractive. An easy smile, a certain… carefree nature that was almost refreshing in a setting like this. “Princess Sage, and Lady Paige, so nice to see you.” He bowed towards me, and Paige bowed towards him. I stayed upright. No one here was above my standing in a way that required me to bow.

“Nice to see you,” Paige started, sounding overly excited. “This dinner is magnificent.”

“Thank you. It was all my mother. She’s truly the event planner.”

“She did an excellent job,” I said. “So I assume she made the plans for tomorrow as well?”

He laughed. “Some of them, but we have… different tastes in parties.”

His tone took on something flirty that I picked up quickly. And if Paige’s red face was an indication, she picked it up as well.

Unfortunately, it was clear it wasn’t directed at her.

“I’m sure it will be even better. Octavio,” she dallied. “Would you like to accompany me for a quick dance?”

For a moment I almost felt bad for them both. His disinterest was obvious, and her lack of knowledge on that made this all a bit awkward. “Uh… I wouldn’t want to leave Princess Sage alone.”

“Nonsense,” I said, my smile tonight for once genuine. “I have plenty to do. You guys should dance.”