A soft, grey dress to match her steel grey eyes. A sturdy metal tiara shaped as if made with feathers. Rooms of white marble. Elegant black slippers that were easy to slip off, comfortable to dance in, and yet formal enough for any occasion. Loose, silky black locks neatly held back in an arrangement of braids decorated with white ribbons. And of course, her skin, a beautiful cape of white feathers tied onto her belt, ready to be wrapped around her shoulders when necessary. Nimue’s life was somehow made of its very lack of color. Not that she minded.
“This ball is being held in your honor, Nimue! You know mother and father are hoping you will find a husband you can respect and love during this celebration. Can you really say you’re not excited? Not even a little bit?” Her younger sister Isolte practically whined, flopping onto her armchair while Nimue read ledgers at her desk, trying to get just a little more done before she had to attend these “festivities.”
“They ought to have simply arranged the most suitable marriage.” Was all she coldly replied. Her family knew she held no stock in such things.
For a moment, there was blissful silence, but then Isolte gave a little giggle. “You say that now, Nim, but just watch, you’ll meet someone unlike all your expectations.” Nimue looked over to see her sister clasping her hands, looking up at the ceiling with a foolishly wistful expression. “He’ll be fun, and smart, with blue eyes and blonde hair. He won’t be a swan, he might not even be an alvitr. And of course you’re going to fall deeply, deeply in love.” She sighed, happily.
Nimue closed the ledgers and sighed a very different kind of sigh. “That sounds extremely unpleasant, but I will be sure to keep my eyes out for one such suitor for yourself.”
Isolte gave a long huff of breath. “It’s not as interesting if it’s for me. I can marry whoever I want whenever I want. I’m pretty, lively, and a princess who wants to have a little bit of fun. Finding someone interesting will be easy for me. But you’re a stick in the mud and the crown princess. It’s you that needs help finding a suitor.”
“I believe that is my business, dear sister.” The stick-in-the-mud crown princess said curtly, standing up and heading for the door. “I believe I will head to the feast early. When Neryss is ready, I suggest you fetch her and join me.”
Isolte stared after her for a second, as Nimue opened the door, then yelled after her, “If any of the servants are in tears by the time I get there, I’m making you dance with Uncle Cyggin!” But the door slammed behind Nimue before Isolte had any chance of knowing the response to her threat.