The dress was gorgeous. A sky blue and silver bodice dove into ash colored and blue skirts. The sleeves covered her thin arms, and silver gloves covered her hands and wrists. The dress was also insanely uncomfortable. The bodice felt as if it was crushing her ribs and the bloomers beneath the skirts kept bunching up. The silver boots were tight and made her feet sweaty and the bonnet made her head itchy. Emma was, in a word, miserable.

“I’ll be here, my lady,” Lyriel bowed slightly before adjusting the sides of the bodice to better cover the top of the skirts.

“It’s still just Emma,” Emma muttered irritably as she pushed through the door she’d been led into.

The Arboretum reached high into the cloudy sky over her head, the expertly cut glass of the roof making it so the snow couldn’t gather but instead slid down the glass walls and onto the ground 30 feet below. Emma had no idea such a place even existed as she stepped further down the flagstone path flanked on either side by trees reaching skyward. Apple trees, peach trees, cherry trees, pear trees, all sat in lines along with oaks and birches and trees Emma had no hope of ever identifying. Flowers and bushes crowded close to the path; their reaching leaves precisely cut so as to not hinder progress along the smooth rock walkways.

Although the storm which had persisted for several days seemed to be finally breaking, snow still fell from the sky and the wind blew harsh and cold beyond the thick glass panes of the Arboretum. Within, however, the smells and sights of nature held absolute sway. Emma marveled as she walked that there were even birds and bees flitting amongst the multi-colored and in many cases exotic flowers spread like a rainbow carpet on the ground to either side of the path she walked along.

Finally she turned a corner on the path and found Constance sitting at a table next to a burbling fountain. The water would splash over the north side of the fountain by design, creating a small waterfall which deposited the water into a manmade stream. Constance was clad in an officer’s dress uniform the same colors as Emma’s dress, her breeches tucked into tall black leather boots which reached to her knees, ruffles on her sleeves and collar. She caught sight of Emma and waved, a smile spreading across her beautiful face. Emma smiled and waved back.

“You look stunning!” Constance said by way of greeting, kissing both of Emma’s cheeks warmly before helping her to the seat opposite her. “The dress really suits you!”

“Does it?” Emma asked, glancing down with a scowl.

“Of course! You could very easily be the guest of honor at any noble ball!” Constance enthused as she poured tea from the silver tea set sat between them.

“Ah ha ha…” Emma laughed with no conviction. “I-I don’t think I know how to dance.”

“Just a little secret between you and I,” Constance replied, leaning forward conspiratorially with a grin, “most of the ladies at the balls don’t know how to dance, either.” She whispered.

“Really?” Emma gasped, the concept never occurring to her.

“Truly,” Constance nodded, sitting back comfortably in her chair, and taking a sip of tea. “My sisters practiced for hours upon hours for the balls they attended. At the end of the day, let’s be honest, the dresses themselves made dancing a near impossibility, not to mention the shoes were terribly uncomfortable.”

“I can agree with that,” Emma grimaced, wiggling her toes to try to keep her blood circulating through her feet. “Did you ever go to a ball?”

“Once,” Constance nodded. “Shortly before I was accepted into the ISS, I attended a ball with my fiancé at the time.”

“Fiancé?” Emma cocked her head curiously. After what she’d witnessed back in Bastion, she had a difficult time imagining Constance engaging in any sort of activity with a man.

“Heh,” Constance shrugged. “It was expected of a lesser noble family like mine. Marry up in the world to maybe grab some more land as a dowry and possibly even a better title in the bargain. I had two older sisters who were sold off on the noble auction block like that. My parents were so proud! Another hundred acres and full shares of a pig farm and vineyard as well as a minor upgrade in their titles to Viscount and Viscountess of Ravensmarch for the low, low price of their daughters.

“Unfortunately my parents couldn’t manage to convince me to suck up my pride for the good of the family and after 12 failed attempts at marrying me off with my permission, they finally went behind my back and arranged a marriage with a lesser Earl’s son from Bromarsh for me,” Constance sighed with a scowl, taking another sip of her tea.

“I-I didn’t mean to bring up such painful memories!” Emma yelped apologetically.

“No, no!” Constance smiled, waving off Emma’s concern breezily. “There is no pain there. It is simply the way things are handled when the nobles’ circus pulls into town. Besides, if I’d never attended that ball, I’d never have met Kiley and would most likely not be where I am now! It all worked out precisely the way I’d never knew it could but hoped it might in secret.”

“Oh!” Emma smiled, taking a sip of the tea and marveling at how smooth and rich it was. The aroma was flowery and sweet with a fruity taste that seemed to tingle on her tongue. She eagerly downed the rest of the tea in her cup in a single gulp, ignoring the burn as the hot tea slipped down her throat. “W-Was Kiley a noble as well?”

“Kiley?” Constance giggled, reaching out and refilling Emma’s cup with a grin. “Could you imagine Kiley as a noble?”

“Ah…no,” Emma finally admitted, taking a smaller sip of the tea this time.

“Well, you would be absolutely correct. No, Kiley was a guard hired by the bland little Earlling’s father for the night. The little shit had gotten a bit too big for his breeches and gotten handsy with me so I excused myself and escaped to the balcony to cool off and prevent myself from catching his thinning blonde hair on fire when she found me.

“For some reason we hit it off amazingly well. I was never much attracted to gingers but Kiley…ah…she was different. She was so fiery and passionate about everything. Not to mention her accent was completely exotic. I was smitten and by the end of the night’s festivities, I had agreed to join her in Bastion at the end of that summer to apply to the ISS together.”

“Was it love at first sight?” Emma asked eagerly, leaning forward slightly.

“It was for me,” Constance nodded. “I’m not sure for her. She was younger than I was, but her life was wholly different. She was and still is, a person guided solely by their passions. It was most certainly lust at first sight for her. Or so she maintains.”

“O-Oh!” Emma gasped with a giggle. “How can you tell the difference?”

“I think the fact she had my skirts up over my head and her tongue between my thighs within an hour of meeting me while the country nobles danced teen feet away was my first clue,” Constance shrugged.

“Oh. Oh my,” Emma stared at her with a slack jaw and wide-open mouth.

“I kid!” Constance laughed, putting her hand over her mouth demurely. “I’m sorry, Emma! Kiley has rubbed off on me over the years.”

“Oh…” Emma replied, somehow rather disappointed. “I-I see! Ah ha ha.”

“A lady never tells those details anyway,” Constance chuckled. “So, if it had happened, which it most certainly may or may not have, I wouldn’t be at liberty to discuss such things.” Constance winked at her and sipped her tea. “You understand, of course.”

“Uh…yeah! Sure! Of course!” Emma smiled in reply, not understanding at all.