“Alright,” agrees James. “Are you going to need help getting back to your room?”
Nate shakes his head and holds up his walking stick, “I can make it that far on my own.” Getting up, he leans heavily upon his stick as he shuffles toward the door.
James holds it open for him as he passes through, “Thanks,” he says to him as he goes by. Once he’s out, James shuts the door and turns back to Miko, “Relax, you do look nice.”
“So do you,” he replies. “Sorry I laughed.”
Smiling, James says, “Don’t worry about it, I do look somewhat funny in these clothes. I just hope we’re not the only ones to be wearing something like this.”
“Me too,” admits Miko.
“Shall we go?” he asks Miko.
“May as well get this over with,” he tells him.
Holding the door open for him, he says, “After you, Torchy.”
Miko gives him an annoyed look and says, “Would you stop calling me that?”
“Okay, sorry,” he apologizes, not looking the least bit sorry.
They leave the room and head downstairs to the banquet hall where they find the servants still putting up the last bits of decoration. Banners and flowers are everywhere, giving the room a festive and cheerful feel. Over to one side, a dozen musicians are setting up on a stage where they will be performing during the banquet. James is intrigued by the different instruments they have. Shortly, he begins to hear the beginnings of them tuning their instruments, somewhat reminiscent of his own short stint in the school band. He’d played the trumpet.
They see their hostess, decked out in a flowing lavender dress and marshalling her servants like a general on the eve of battle. She continually barks out orders and her ‘soldiers’ snap to obey. Noticing them there in their new clothes, she gives them a nod of approval before returning to the business of getting the hall ready in time.
Miriam walks in through a door on the other side of the hall. A flowing blue dress with intricate embroidery about the chest and bodice, she makes a striking figure. She motions them to follow her as she makes her way to the main entrance. “My, don’t we look fine,” she says when they join her.
“You too, milady,” Miko says as he gives her a slight bow.
“Don’t ‘milady’ me,” she says, flashing him a smile. “This isn’t going to start for a while, why don’t we go outside for a bit? There’s someone that I’d like you to meet, James.”
“Oh?” he asks, intrigued.
“She’s a friend of mine and I’ve been telling her all about your exploits, the ones Jiron has been nice enough to share with me,” she tells him.
Tongue suddenly going dry, his stomach makes with the butterflies as he follows her in trepidation down the hallway to the door leading outside. Meeting new people, especially of the female persuasion, has never been easy for him.
When he passes through the door to the outside, he sees a girl standing off by herself under a nearby tree, watching them as they approach. She’s a year or two younger than he is and very lovely. Brown hair flowing past her shoulders and wearing a beautiful dress of blue with a stylish design stitched about the hem.
As they approach, Miriam whispers to him, “She’s the daughter of one of the shippers on the island, a family of high standing.” When they come close, she makes the introductions. “James,” she says, “this is Meliana. Meliana, this is James, and Miko.”
She gives him a curtsy and says, “Nice to meet you.”
When he stands there tongue-tied for a moment, Miko elbows him in the ribs which snaps him out of it. “Uh,” he says, his voice barely audible due to the dryness of his throat. He swallows and then says, “Pleasure to meet you too, Meliana.”
“Miriam has told me so much about you,” she tells him as she takes his arm. They begin to walk leisurely around the grounds as she continues talking, “You must be very brave.”
“Well…” he starts but then has to clear his throat to try to keep his voice clear. “Well, I suppose so. But at the time I didn’t feel very brave, you just do what you have to.”
“Ooh,” she says as she grips his arm tighter. “I’d love to hear about it.”
What can he tell her that wouldn’t involve telling her about the magic? They walk for a moment before he begins to describe the jail break back at Mountainside. While he is talking, she continues to ooh and aah at all the right times, making him feel very good. Nothing boosts a man’s ego more than a pretty girl hanging onto every word he has to say.
Miko walks along behind him, disgusted at the whole sight.
From atop the estate they hear a musical chime ringing out. Miriam says, “It’s time to go back to the hall, the banquet will be starting soon.”
As they return to the hall, Meliana continues to hold onto James’ arm. As they reach the front doors, a man steps from within the doorway and stops in front of them.
“Papa!” Meliana exclaims happily. “This is James, the one I’ve been telling you about.”
Her father gives a small smile as he reaches out a hand and says, “Nice to meet you young man.”
James takes the hand and says, “You too, sir.”
The father eyes James appraisingly and gives a barely perceptible nod. Turning to his daughter, he says, “It’s time for us to take our places at the table.”
“Nice to have met you, James,” he says as he holds his arm out for his daughter. She releases James’ arm, much to his dismay, and hooks her arm through her father’s. He turns and leads her into the banquet hall, a slight limp in his walk as if his leg is bothering him.
“I think he liked you,” Miriam tells him.
James just shrugs, “Doesn’t matter, we’re leaving in the morning anyway.” He gazes at Meliana as she and her father enter the hall.
Miko tugs his sleeve and asks, “Shouldn’t we go in too?”
Snapping out of his reverie, James says, “Yeah, sure.”
Following Miriam into the hall, they’re led up to the main table where the Ferdillons will sit. Nate is already there at the place of honor and he gestures for them to come and sit next to him.
Miko takes the seat immediately to his left while James sits next to Miko. Shortly, Jiron comes in and makes his way over to sit next to James. “Did you find your admirers?” James asks him as he sits down.
Giving him a big smile, he replies, “Yes, two actually.”
The musicians off to the side begin to play and their music gives the hall a gaiety it had lacked before. The musicians are quite skillful, though perhaps not in Perrilin’s league. James finds himself watching the musicians as they play the unfamiliar instruments, finding it all very intriguing.
From a table further down the hall from where he sits, James can see Meliana looking his way. When she notices him looking at her, she gives him a large smile and a brief, unobtrusive wave. He nods and smiles back to her before turning his attention to watch the other guests arrive.
Many are dressed in similar attire to what he and the others have on, no longer making him feel so conspicuous. From the number of other men wearing similar garb, it truly does seem to be the current fashion trend in the area.
When the tables have mostly filled up, the doors to the side of the hall open up and Nate’s parents walk in. The band strikes up a processional style tune as they enter and approach the head table where James and the others are sitting.
The mother takes her seat while the father continues standing. The band comes to a stop and the hall becomes very quiet. Gazing around at the assembled guests a moment, he then begins to talk.
“Welcome all, to a banquet in honor of the return of our son Nathanial, whom we never had thought to see again.” He gestures to his son who stands up amidst applause from those gathered at the tables, gives the crowd a short bow, and then retakes his seat.
“We are also here to honor and recognize those who helped bring this about. Miko, who befriended Nate in the mines, as well as James and Jiron who were instrumental in orchestrating his return. We give them our heartfelt thanks and wish them only the best.”
At this, the crowd breaks out into another thunderous applause. At Nate’s father’s direction, James, Miko, and Jiron stand up and give the crowd a bow before returning to their seats. James looks over and sees Meliana giving him a big smile and seems to be clapping harder than the rest of them.
