The lady Fiarla had done nothing but stare at him ever since Yunho had invited her to sit down.  She had come to his sitting room, dressed in her finest silks (well, she always wore her finest silks so that might not have been a big deal), and demanded to speak to Kari and he.  He had offered her a seat and refreshments as per her lessons on proper etiquette for hosting a guest.  She accepted the seat and that strange coffee-like drink, tul-ah, that Yunho had grown rather addicted to, before lapsing into a silent stare.  It was extremely uncomfortable.  Even for him, used to being stared at as he was. 

After about twenty minutes of awkward silence (on his part only; the lady Fiarla seemed completely cool and collected the entire time), the doors to his sitting room flew open and Kari strode in.  She was wearing a long dress made of dark purple silk that swirled around her golden slippers as she walked.  The dress had a neckline so wide that it hung delicately around her shoulders.  She even had her mess of curly hair pulled partially back with a string of white pearls, revealing small pearl drops hanging from her ears.  For a moment, it was all Yunho could do to breathe.  He felt like he had had his breath knocked out of him.   He shook his head.  This was not the time to be thinking that.

The lady Fiarla (Yunho always thought of her like that) stood at Kari’s abrupt entrance, giving her a disapproving stare. 

“It is good to see you in better health, Majesty.”

“It’s good to be in better health, Lady Fiarla.  I was told you wanted to tell us something?”

“Yes, Majesty.   However, before I proceed to my main point, I wish to say that your manner of speaking is not appropriate.  I do believe I have instructed you in proper speech patterns.  Do please try to remember them.”  Yunho hid a smile at Kari’s sarcastic glare.  Did the lady Fiarla really think that Kari would change the way she spoke just because someone asked her to?  “Now, we have received word from our sister planet, Equatha, that are planning to introduce themselves to you and the king.  I have come to inform you that a state dinner has been set.  It will be in two days.”  She gave Kari another, almost sardonic, look.  “I believe the two of you are ready.  If you have any questions, do come to call on me.  I will be either in my apartments or the library.  Good day, Majesties.”  With a small curtsy to both of them, the lady Fiarla swept gracefully from the room, leaving Kari and Yunho standing in shocked silence.

Kari was the first to break the silence.  “So, when exactly were our teachers planning on teaching us about this other planet?”

It was midday on the day of their first state dinner, and Kari felt like she was going to vomit.  Nervous didn’t even begin to cover her state of mind.  From the moment she woke up, noting Yunho’s absence (he slept on a pallet on the floor, presumably to make sure that she didn’t stay up late studying), there had been a bustle of maids all around her.  Mair oversaw the others, making sure she ate, bathed, and her had make-up done to Mair’s satisfaction.  Over the past several weeks, she had apparently gotten used to Kari’s sarcasm and joking tendencies, and had even cracked a few jokes of her own.  They weren’t there yet, but Kari was sure they were well on their way to becoming good friends.  It was a huge relief. 

Sitting on a stool in the middle of her dressing chamber wearing nothing but a robe, Kari tried to calm her nervous stomach.  Nothing good was going to come of worrying about this dinner, so why should she stress herself out over it?  At least, that was what she kept telling herself.  She had always been a worrier, and no amount of logic could ever make her stop. 

“How about this one, Majesty?”

Mair pulled out a gorgeous golden gown with sapphires sewn into the bodice and skirt.  It was simply beautiful.  But, Kari knew her skin.  Pale and a lot of gold did not go together well.  At least, not on her.  She shook her head and Mair sighed.

“Majesty, that’s the fifth gown you’ve rejected.  Do you have a specific idea of what you want?  That would help me narrow down the choices.”

“Not really.  I just know that gold fabric and I don’t mix.”

“Alright.  I’ll keep looking, Majesty.”

The very next dress Mair brought out was perfect.  “That’s it.  That’s the dress I want!”  This time, Mair’s sigh was one of relief. 

“I like this one, too, Majesty.”

“Whatever, you like anyone as long as I choose it quickly, right?”

“That’s definitely not true, Majesty.  I think I would be offended if you chose one that was, say, dung colored for instance.”

“You have a dung colored gown?”

“It was just an expression, Majesty.  This might take a while to put on.  Shall we get started?”

When Mair said that it could take a while, Kari was expecting to be standing there for a good thirty minutes or more.  But, in no time flat, she was buttoned in so tightly she could barely breathe.  Seriously, the dress was tight.  She hadn’t worn a dress this tight since her wedding.  And there was going to be no getting out of it without help.  Again.  This had to have been by design.  She was beginning to think that every one of her servants wanted her to get pregnant as soon as possible.  They kept thinking of ways to get her and Yunho alone together in ‘compromising’ situations.  She had lost count of the number of times she had barely escaped being seen undressed or walking in on him undressed at the direction of servants hiding grins behind their bows.  It was all very frustrating at times.  But, looking into the mirror after she was fully dressed made it all worth it.  Sure, her hair hadn’t been fixed up yet and she didn’t have any jewelry on; but the dress was stunning.  She was really glad she had chosen this one.  Even if she couldn’t breathe in it.

“Majesty, you look amazing.  But, we need to finish your hair.”  Kari sighed in disappointment that she had to leave the mirror in order to get her hair fixed.  As soon as she was seated on her stool, her nerves came back.  She had forgotten them for a moment as she stared in awe at her reflection, but they came back with a vengeance.  She prayed silently that she wouldn’t throw up all over her beautiful dress.  Mair might actually kill her if she ruined all her hard work.  She concentrated on trying to remember the names of the ambassadors coming to the dinner to keep herself from thinking about vomiting.  This other planet, Equatha, had some strange names, even by her standards.  And she had heard some strange names.  For instance, the head ambassador’s name was Yeloc’ur (pronounce Yell-awk-er).  The poor thing must’ve been picked on something awful as a child.  She made a mental promise to herself to never, ever, pick an Equathan name for her child (should she ever have one). 

Over the last two days, she had tried to ask questions about the Equathans, like, what did they look like?  Did they speak the same language?  Were they under the treaty as well?  For the latter two, the answers she got were both yes.  But, for the first question, she was told she’d have to wait and see for herself.  Great, Kari was willing to bet that they looked pretty freakish and she was going to have to try and keep a straight face when she saw them in order to be polite.  This was going to be impossible.  She was going to end up making some sarcastic comment or giving the ambassador some weird look and piss them all off and start a war.  No, stop.  She was panicking again.  Nothing was going to happen if she just kept her tongue in check.  Easier said than done. 

“There.  All done, Majesty.”  Finally.  Mair was finished.  Now, she could continue freaking out in peace.  “His Majesty is waiting for you at your entrance to the ballroom.  You will be presented together in twenty minutes.  Would you like me to walk with you, Majesty?”  Wait, twenty minutes?  It had been that long already?  No, she wasn’t ready.  She wasn’t mentally prepared for all the freakishness, yet.  What if she really screwed up and started a war? 

“Majesty?”

“Okay.”  Mair gave her a concerned look.

“Are you feeling alright, Majesty?  Your voice sounds odd and you look a little paler than usual.”

No, I am not alright!  I’m about to cause an interplanetary incident all because of some weird alien people that my own people refuse to tell me about!  “I’m fine, Mair.  Let’s go.”  She managed to keep her rising panic level out of her voice.  Barely. Maybe Mair would attribute the unsteadiness in her voice to the tightness of the dress.  Surely she knew how hard it was to breathe in the thing. 

If Kari had thought she was about to vomit before, it was nothing compared to how she was feeling when she got to the entrance to the ballroom.  The hallway was spinning and she was beginning to feel like she was going to pass out.  Luckily, Yunho was there.  He saw her, took her by the shoulders, and walked her out of earshot of the servants.

“Kari, listen to me.”  She nodded and he continued.  “I’ve done this a lot.  Well, not this exact thing.  But, I know how you’re feeling right now.  I’ve felt that way before, too.  Just remember.  Breathe.  You can do this.  You are amazingly beautiful and smart and totally ready for anything they can throw at you.  You are going to walk into that ballroom and wow them all.  And, when you get in there, I’ll be right there by your side the entire time.  You can count on me.”

For some reason, his little speech made her feel a whole lot more confident.  The hallway stopped spinning and she felt like she could breathe again.  Mostly.  The butterflies in her stomach didn’t go away, but at least she didn’t feel in imminent danger of puking anymore. 

At Yunho’s instruction, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly three times.

“There.  Better?” 

She nodded.  “Thanks.”

“Anytime.  I have that issue a lot before I go on stage.  You never really get over the nervousness before you walk out there, but you can get used to it.  And, you can use it to make yourself a better performer.”

“I never knew.”

He cleared his throat a little awkwardly.  “Well, I think they’re ready for us.  Shall we?”  He offered her his arm.  She took it, glad her smile came easily.  Together, they walked back over to the servants.  “Go ahead.”

The doors swung open and their announcer stepped into the light of the ballroom in front of them.  His voice rang out across the ballroom.  “I give you, Yunho Jung and Kari Davis, Tesa Huunim acolytes, the Beloved of Sal’isna, and King and Queen of Filarin!”