"You look beautiful," Greta said.

I looked down at the delicate lavender dress I was wearing.  It was made of silk that just grazed the floor.  The bodice was a little fancier than I wanted, but I had to admit, it was beautiful.  

Greta had insisted in putting my hair into a loose French braid that went around my head.  She had carefully curled the strands that had fallen out.  

I had nicely, but firmly said no to any jewelry.  

"I feel silly," I admitted. "I'm not used to wearing anything like this."

"Don't worry, you look perfect," Greta assured me. "But we have to go quickly. We'll make it just in time."

I nodded and followed her down the maze of hallways to the dining room.

The doors opened to reveal a massive room with a large rectangular table in the center.  The ceiling seemed so far away, and the large, crystal chandelier almost made it seem further.  The table was set with gold candlesticks, silk napkins, and hand-painted plates.  

The king was sitting at the head of the table, his wife and son on either side of him.  There were earls, dukes, duchesses, counts, countesses and other nobles I didn't know.  They were all dressed in attire much fancier than mine.

I turned to ask Greta where I should sit, but she was gone.  I tried to leave through the doors, but they closed in front of me.  When I turned back, I saw many of them whispering among themselves.

No one told me there would be so many people here!

"Oh, my," a voice said loudly. "If it isn't Crossbow, the scared little 'hero' who was too terrified to reveal her true identity. Is that your first time in a dress?"

I turned to face Amber, not really in the mood to deal with her.  She was standing with a man and a woman.  The man had a greying beard and sharp facial features.  The woman looked like Amber, only older and skinnier.

I sighed and shook my head, walking over to James.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" I whispered to him. "This is my first time at a noble's dinner."

He laughed. "You can sit next to me," he whispered back. "It will make it easier for the king to announce you."

"Announce me?" I questioned.

"He wants to thank you officially for everything you've done," he replied.

"What? Why?"

"He is very thankful. You should be honored."

"I knew I shouldn't have come," I said.

"Well, you look beautiful."

I just sat in the empty seat beside him.  

"What is Amber doing here?" I asked James in a hushed tone.

"Her father is the king's royal adviser," James answered in a similar tone. "He's the skinny man next to her. His name is Matthias."

"What?" I exclaimed a little too loudly.  A few heads turned my way. "Sorry," I apologized. "But, why? Amber's so..."

"I know. But the royal adviser is quite smart, and my father trusts him."

"Just like the story."

"I hope you're wrong."

"Me too."

Everyone sat down.  Amber sat in front of me, right next to the queen.  They chatted as they waited for the first course.

When it came, I just stared down at it.  James nudged me and reminded me to eat it. 

I grabbed a spoon and was about to stick it into my food when James whispered.

"Not that one. That's the dessert spoon." He pointed to a spoon that looked exactly the same. "Use that one."

I nodded and dipped the correct spoon into the orange soup.  I took a small sip and immediately gagged.

What was in this soup?

If that's even what this was.

I put on a fake smile and set down my spoon.

I heard James put his spoon down too.  I looked over and saw that he had barely touched his soup.

"I see your not a big fan of Gamarelli Marini," he whispered to me.

"Gama-what?" I whispered back.

"Gamarelli Marini," he corrected. "It's shrimp with fennel seed."

I could hear Amber slurping across from me.  My stomach twisted in disgust.

"Shrimp?" I questioned. "Isn't that peasant's food?"

"Not anymore," James replied. "Now it's being called the noble's food."

I gagged.  

The noble's food?

Shrimps were bottom-feeders.

The next course wasn't much better.

"Roasted swan?" I exclaimed quietly.

"Stuffed with bread, ginger, and blood and seasoned with vinegar," James replied. "The king had to decide between roasted swan and roasted peacock."

"Okay, I'm not hungry anymore," I said, removing my napkin from my lap and putting it on the table.

"Yeah, me neither." He set down his napkin next to mine. "You know...the royal chief always keeps extra cream balls in the kitchen..."

"Lead the way," I told him quickly.

He laughed, but then suddenly disappeared.  I looked around, trying to see where he had went.  Then I felt a tug on my dress, and the table fell away.  Before I could yelp, a hand covered my mouth.

"Don't make any noises," James whispered into my ear. "This is the only way to get to the door undetected."

I nodded and he slowly removed his hand from my mouth.  He led me through the maze of fancy shoes, skirts, and pants until we finally reached the end of the table.

"Don't worry about the guards," James whispered to me. "They'll cover us."

"But how are we going to get to the door without being seen?" I asked.

"Like this." He reached out to a noble's foot.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"You'll see." he smirked and traced his fingers over a few noble's feet.  There was some muffled talking and then utter panic.  Legs began kicking and chairs started screeching across the wood floor. In all the chaos, James grabbed my hand and quickly pulled me to the door.

Once we were clear, I let out the breath I was holding.

"Why did they freak out so much?" I asked James as we walked.

"If you feel something tickle your feet, it's usually a rat," he answered. 

I laughed. "If I saw a rat, I would just pick it up and throw it out. It's no big deal."

"Not that kind of crowd," James replied with a laugh. "I wouldn't mind touching a rat, though."

"Oh, so you are a brave prince."

"The bravest."

"Sure," I said. "Then you wouldn't mind picking up that spider crawling near your feet."

He jumped.  When he saw there wasn't actually a spider he looked at me in shock.

I shrugged. "Not as brave as you thought, are you?"

"I am," he snapped playfully. "I fought The Jackal, didn't I?"

The mood dampened and James sensed it.

"I'm sorry," he said. "This is supposed to be--"

"No, it's fine," I interrupted. "We can't completely forget about him."

James nodded solemnly.

We walked the rest of the way to the kitchen in silence.  When we arrived, James opened the door and led me inside.

The kitchen was large, with stone floors and small rectangular tables scattered around.  Pots and pans hung from the walls and food stocked the shelves.

An unpleasant smell wafted through the air.  I crinkled my nose and said, "Please don't tell me the next course is frog legs."

"Not quite," James replied. "But something similar."

"So where are the cream balls?" I asked eagerly.

"Chief Luis usually keeps them on silver platers near the back of the kitchen."

We walked toward the back, and James picked up a platter of golden balls.

"Are you sure we can eat these?" I asked.

"I do it all the time," James replied casually.

"Alright then!" I exclaimed, grabbing the largest ball and stuffing it into my mouth.  The creamy goodness was almost too much too bare.

Almost.

James grabbed one, and I grabbed a second.

"Mm," I mumbled, my mouth full of cream. "This is so much better than shrimp."

"A thousand times better," James agreed.

We had a few more balls before slipping out of the kitchen and sneaking back to our seats.

"Where have you two been?" Amber asked.  

We both jumped.  I turned to look at the evil bully.

"None of your business," I snapped.

The conversation around us drowned out our voices.

"Unless you want me to tell the king, it is," she replied.

"Come on, Amber," James said. "We just got up to get edible food."

"Wait until the chief hears that," Amber replied with a smirk.

It took all my self-control to keep from punching that dumb smirk off her face.  Even that wasn't enough.  I had to grab the sides of my chair and dig my nails into the cushion.

"Wait until I tell everybody you slurp bottom-feeders," I said, returning her smirk.

Her jaw dropped, and I thought I saw a fly dive inside.  Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally said, "I'll keep my mouth closed."

"You better," I told her. "If not your next meal will be worse than a small fly."

She looked at me with more anger than The Jackal.

Okay, not quite.

But close.

She just scoffed and turned away from us.

A few minutes later the king picked up his wine glass and tapped the side with a spoon.

"I have an announcement," he said. "I would like officially thank Crossbow, whom we now know as Lily Rose Petronelladaughter, for her great deeds in our kingdom."

I could see Amber scowling out of the corner of my eye.

"From all of us nobles, to you, Lily," the king continued. "We are thankful."

Applause followed quickly after, to my great surprise.

They were applauding?

For me?

I didn't know what to do, so I just sat there with my hands in my lap.

"What am I supposed to do?" I whispered to James. "They won't stop."

He laughed. "Just smile," he said. "They'll stop when they stop."

The clapping finally ceased, and I let out my breath.  

"Very well," the king said. "A toast to our newly unmasked--or should I say unhooded--hero." With that, he lifted his glass of wine and everyone followed suit.  

After dinner, me and James talked for a little while before he walked me home.  

"I'll come to the palace early tomorrow so we can be prepared," I told him.

"Of course," he replied.  His face looked a little unconvincing though.  I wasn't sure what it was.  I couldn't quite read him.

"Okay," I said hesitantly. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

He nodded and turned to leave.  I opened the door to my cottage, but before I went inside, I turned around.  James was still walking away, not even a quick look in my direction.  I thought it was a bit odd, but didn't look too much into it.  He was probably just tired.

I fell asleep thinking about James' expression.

It looked like he was hiding something.

I just hoped it wouldn't affect fighting The Jackal tomorrow.