The first high feast came, and Sayana prepared herself for a long day. The new gowns were surprisingly lightweight, and the fur didn’t appreciably increase the amount of heat. Her dressmaker had done her work very well. 

Angharad was the last one ready, already looking sullen because she’d been notified that Rhys had been banned from the high feasts. “All right, ladies.” Arken came out of his office. He was dressed in an elegant outfit of green and gold. “I expect proper behavior from all of you today. The Imperial guards will be scanning your food and drink so do not eat or drink anything until they clear it. You know all the rules, so I expect you to follow them.” 

“Yes Lord Arken.” He left and a short while later the Imperial guards appeared. 

The courtesans followed their escort to the great hall. It was always quite a hike to the great hall, and most of the women were winded at the pace the guards set. Sayana was fine as she had spent several years walking everywhere and had built up her endurance. They were seated in their usual place and did their best to ignore the looks sent in their direction. 

Sayana looked at the Imperial princes. Ethian looked a little pale, but otherwise in good health. All the princes looked pale. “Do the boys look unwell to you?” Marin was concerned enough to break the rule about no talking. 

“They do look pale.” Sayana kept her lips as still as possible when she replied so as not to give away her words with a breath on her veil. 

“I wonder what’s happened.” Marin tried to keep her expression neutral, but her eyes revealed her worry. 

There were some whispers. The princes’ pallor had not gone unnoticed. Karis looked over at his sons, frowning. He leaned over and spoke to Fallon. Fallon said something to him, and Karis looked grim. He spoke to Fallon again, who nodded and leaned over to talk to his brothers. Some of the color came back to their faces and they seemed to all relax a little more. 

Servants brought the first course. The women waited for their wine and food to be scanned. It was cleared and they ate and drank in silence, listening to the courtiers talk and keeping a covert eye on their sons. Angharad kept her eyes fixed on her plate. 

The plates were cleared away and the first entertainment came through. When it was over, the second course was served. The guards scanned it and motioned for the women to go ahead and eat it. Sayana ate and drank a little more wine. She was not enjoying the high feast. Then again, she rarely ever did. The entertainments were interesting, but the feast itself just dragged on and on. 

The second entertainment came through and ended. A third course was served. This time the guards wouldn’t let the women eat. They took the plates away and sent some of their number into the kitchen. Sayana saw Arken and the emperor watching this with narrowed eyes. A short while later, the guards returned with plates of food that they presented to the women. They ate and drank and waited for the third entertainment. 

The third entertainment passed, and the final course was served. Again, the guards took the plates away and disappeared. They returned a short while later with different desserts than they’d gone down with. Angharad looked mutinous because the dessert they’d left with had been chocolate and the new dessert wasn’t, but she ate her dessert without complaint and waited patiently to be dismissed. 

Finally, the emperor let the courtesans go. They got back to the wing and Angharad exploded. “Why would they take the chocolate away? It was perfectly fine. Whatever that fruit thing was does not make up for the loss of chocolate.” 

“If they took it away, then there was something wrong with it.” Marin stared at the other woman incredulously. “It was most likely poisoned. That’s what they were there to prevent, after all. Did you really want to ingest a poison that could have killed you just to have some chocolate, Angharad?” 

“Of course not.” Angharad glared at her. “I don’t see why they couldn’t have brought us more chocolate though instead of bringing us something made from fruit.” 

“I’ll take fruit over poisoned chocolate,” Marin told her

“I can’t believe you’re all taking this so calmly.” Angharad stared at them all with some exasperation. 

“Why should we get so worked up about it?” Zarina was just as exasperated with her. “We weren’t poisoned. The guards did their jobs. We’re all safe and alive. I don’t see the reason to get upset.” 

“I don’t either.” Marin was calm and unruffled by the situation. “No one suffered any harm. The guards did their job perfectly.” 

Angharad stared at the two women. “We get chocolate very rarely. It’s a real treat. And you see nothing with not getting it tonight?”

“Chocolate is nice, but not dying is better.” Zarina gave the woman a look that spoke volumes about her perceived intelligence. 

“I agree.” Ji-Hye also looked at Angharad as if she were an idiot.

“What is Angharad complaining about now?” Arken had returned and could see the trouble brewing immediately. 

“The fact that we didn’t get the chocolate that was most likely poisoned.” Marin looked at the courtesan master. “Instead we got a fruit dessert.”

“It was chocolate.” Angharad said this with a heavy emphasis on the dessert’s name. “We don’t get chocolate all that often.” 

“You would have been dead before you took your third bite, Angharad.” Arken frowned at the woman. “The poison was a potent one. The servants are being questioned as we speak as to who could possibly have wanted you six dead. The emperor is not hopeful in catching them this time, but he is still trying.” 

“If we couldn’t have the original chocolate dessert, the least they could have done was bring us some other chocolate confection.” Angharad was back to whining again. Sayana hated to compare her to Lynet, but she was nearly as bad as the other woman had been. 

“There are a certain number of desserts made for the high feasts, Angharad,” Arken explained. “When those desserts are exhausted, backup desserts are served. You ladies got one of the backup desserts. The backup desserts are never as good as the main desserts.” 

“At least we’re not dead.” Zarina’s voice was firm, and she glared at Angharad. “I’d rather take a backup dessert and be alive than eat something that’s been poisoned and die.” 

“Sensible way of thinking, Zarina.” Arken nodded. “You ladies should go change and then relax for the rest of the day. The emperor is still mingling with the court, but I have left Tremere there to work on our behalf.” 

“Yes Lord Arken.” The women scattered to their rooms. 

Sayana’s servants helped her change into one of her day dresses and left when she dismissed them. She washed the makeup off her face before taking her pad out and sitting down to read. Her hair was loose down her back for a change. 

“You look so different when you have your hair down, Sayana.” Zarina stared at her. “You look younger.” 

“I don’t usually like wearing my hair down, but I have a little bit of a headache, and I didn’t want them pulling on my hair.” Sayana smiled. “I decided to leave it down for now. I can braid and coil it myself if I decide to put it up later.” 

“You can do your own hair?” Ji-Hye seemed startled by that fact. 

“I can braid it and twist it up in a coil.” Sayana ran her fingers through a few of the strands. “That’s the extent of my ability to do my own hair. I still need the servants to do something more elaborate.” 

“You had to do your own hair for fifteen years, didn’t you?” Marin looked at her curiously. 

“Yes, and for all the time at the academy before that.” Sayana pointed out something the other ladies were missing. “We didn’t have servants to help us there either.” 

“Neither did we.” Marin thought for a moment. “But one of the Matrons would help us do more elaborate hairstyles if we asked.” 

“I don’t know if that was the case at my academy.” Sayana shrugged. “I never asked though because I didn’t care about my hair. I just did a braid, or a braid and a coil, and called it good.” 

“I still can’t believe they didn’t make you cut your hair at the academy.” Angharad glowered at her. 

“They suggested I cut it, but when I said I wanted to keep it long, they made sure I knew how to braid it and left it at that.” Sayana smiled at the memory of her conversation with Hannelore, and the pathetic attempt she’d made that night of braiding her hair. “No one there seemed to care that my hair was longer than pretty much everyone else’s.” 

“I think it’s ugly.” Angharad sneered at her. “It makes you look like a freak.” 

“It does not.” Zarina glared at Angharad. “I think it’s lovely. Don’t mind her, Sayana. She’s just jealous she isn’t as pretty as you.” 

“I’m way prettier than she is,” Angharad protested. 

“No, you’re not.” Marin looked between the two women. “Sayana is definitely prettier than you.” 

“I agree.” Zarina nodded.

“Angharad is beautiful.” Renate was thoughtful as she spoke. “We all are. But I think Sayana has something about her that makes her more attractive than Angharad. I don’t know what it is.” 

“I agree.” Ji-Hye looked between the two women before adding her own agreement to the conversation.

“You’re all blind.” Angharad glared at them. “I’m far prettier than Sayana.” 

“Perhaps it is your abysmal personality that makes you less attractive.” Arken joined the women. “Sayana is pleasant to everyone, never complains, and generally tries to keep a positive outlook. You are always complaining, you are rude to everyone, and you are very negative. You always have a scowl on your face while Sayana usually has a smile. That could be why she is considered more attractive than you.” 

Angharad scowled and sulked in her chair. She got up and stalked off into her rooms. “That just proved your point, Lord Arken.” Zarina shook her head.

“It did.” Arken watched her go. “Angharad is nothing if not predictable.” 

“Is court still going on?” Ji-Hye asked. 

“It will be going on late into the night.” Arken turned back to the other women. “Tremere will stay until it breaks up. The princes left when you did, and the emperor will leave a few hours from now. I expect court to break up around two or three in the morning, as usual. These high feasts seem to foster a deep-seated need to talk endlessly until the power brokers head out for the night. Once they and the council leave, it is not worth staying because the important people are not there anymore.” 

“That sounds exhausting.” Renate looked horrified at the thought of having to stay that late. “I’m glad we don’t have to participate in that.” 

“I am glad you do not have to either.” Arken shook his head. “You ladies would be bored out of your minds if I required you to stay for court events. My predecessor was required to have his ladies stay for the full spread of court events. The women could only stand there and stare at people. They could not speak, they could not mingle, they could not leave. They could only stand in one place and watch. It was very boring for them. I decided, and the emperor agreed with me, that I would bring you back after the feasts ended.” 

“Thank you for that, Lord Arken.” Marin was obviously relieved by this change in policy. “I don’t want to think about how bored we’d be if we had to stay for the whole evening.” 

Arken smiled. “I may require a lot out of you ladies, but I try not to demand the impossible. Are you enjoying your books?” The women all indicated they were. “Good. I know that after the winter festival the emperor was planning on calling on you ladies again, so keep reading so you have something to discuss with him.” 

“We will.” Marin smiled. Arken left them to read and returned to his office. 

Arken came out again several hours later and chased all the women back to their rooms. Sayana went to bed and dreamed of Kallam and Eon. She woke once in the early hours of the morning, far too early for her to be up, crying because she missed her brothers. She fell back into an exhausted sleep and slept through until her usual wake up time. 

It was a few days until the next high feast, which went the same as the first one. This time there was no poison, so the ladies got to enjoy their full meal. Afterwards, the women returned to the wing and changed clothes. Most of the women played a game but Sayana attempted to read. She was very full, and it was hard to concentrate, but she managed to lose herself in her book finally. 

Time passed and it was the day before the final high feast that would end the winter festival. Some issues had arisen with the head cook being questioned so the schedule had to be rearranged, and the high feast had been hastily moved to the last day of the winter festival instead of its usual day. Arken came in after breakfast with a servant carrying several small boxes. “All right ladies, the emperor has sent you gifts again this year. Come forward when I call your name.” 

All the women looked up from what they were doing and waited. Arken took the small boxes one by one and called out the names written on them. He finally called Sayana. The women got their boxes and once everyone had their gifts, they opened them up. “A ring? He sent me a ring?” Angharad sounded excited.

“He sent us all a ring.” Marin made it clear Angharad was not special. 

“Oh.” Angharad was disappointed by that. 

Sayana looked at her ring and was blown away by what she was looking at. A round skyfall diamond that was at least three carats sparkled on a platinum band. It was surrounded by a halo of tiny ice diamonds and rainbow sapphires. She pulled it out of the box and slid it onto her finger. The light danced across the facets. 

She looked around at the other rings. Marin’s was a large cat’s-eye emerald surrounded by a halo of tiny moss diamonds set on a gold band. Zarina’s was a pair of rainbow sapphires interlaced with tiny ice diamonds on a platinum band. Ji-Hye’s was a black star ruby set on a gold band. Renate’s was a large fire-born alexandrite heart with four smaller ice diamonds set in a diamond pattern around it on a gold band. Angharad’s was a sunray diamond on a gold band. Sayana’s stone wasn’t the largest – Marin’s emerald was slightly larger – but the skyfall diamond was the rarest of the stones. 

“I love my ring.” Ji-Hye held up her hand so the ruby sparkled in the light.

“It’s very striking.” Marin admired it as well. “I think mine is a bit large, but I do like it.” 

“Look at Sayana’s.” Angharad noticed the stone. “She got a lab grown cerulite while the rest of us got real gemstones.” 

“That’s a skyfall diamond, Angharad.” Marin stared at Sayana’s ring. “I can tell that from here just by the way the stone has been cut.” 

“That’s not possible.” Angharad stared at Sayana’s hand in shock. “Skyfall diamonds are incredibly rare. Why would the emperor give her such a unique stone?” 

“Black star rubies are also very rare.” Ji-Hye looked at Angharad. “You aren’t asking why he gave me such a unique stone.” 

“Black star rubies are still more common than skyfall diamonds.” Angharad frowned. 

“The emperor knows I favor blue over most other colors.” Sayana stared at her own ring with some consternation. “He probably just found the stone he thought would suit me and didn’t bother thinking about the rarity. He is the emperor after all. He has the first rights to all gemstones, so he probably didn’t even have to pay for these.” 

“That’s true.” Marin agreed with her. “He can ask for whatever gems he wants from the miners, and they have to give them to him.” 

“He doesn’t do anything without thinking about it first.” Angharad sounded accusatory. “It just goes to show that Sayana is his favorite.” 

“I am not his favorite, Angharad.” Sayana needed to get that out of her head quickly. “I’m sure the stone was literally just a random idea he had. There’s nothing behind it.” 

Angharad watched her through narrowed eyes but said nothing more. The other women were willing to buy Sayana’s explanation. “Please pass on our gratitude to the emperor, Lord Arken.” Marin smiled at Arken.

“I will. I will tell him you all liked your rings.” Arken was watching Angharad. 

“I do love it.” Zarina peered at her hand with a grin on her face.

“I love mine, even if I think he went a little overboard by giving me a skyfall diamond. I’d have been happy with a midnight sapphire.” Sayana was worried about the others seeing this as a sign of favoritism. 

“I agree with you, Sayana.” Arken shook his head. “I doubt the emperor even noticed what stone it was when he picked it out. He probably just saw the ring, thought of you, and selected it without looking at the description. I noticed he was doing that a lot with the rings for you ladies. He did not even look to see what metal the bands were made of. He just went, ‘This one looks like Marin’s ring’ or ‘This one is perfect for Ji-Hye’ and never even glanced at the descriptions.” 

“He didn’t spend a great deal of time picking these out?” Angharad stared at Arken. 

“He skimmed through the jewelry catalogue and picked out six rings that jumped out at him.” Arken looked at Angharad. “I do not think he paid any attention to what they were made of. Just that he thought they would look good on each of you.” 

“It’s just by chance that Sayana got a skyfall diamond?” Angharad seemed obsessed by Sayana’s ring. 

“Completely by chance.” Arken was convinced of that fact. “She could just as easily have gotten a cerulite or a rainbow sapphire.” 

“I see.” Angharad didn’t sound convinced.

Sayana pulled up her book and resumed reading, trying to finish it before she was called to the emperor again. She couldn’t help but sneak peeks at her ring every now and then, pleased by how it flashed on her finger. She didn’t entirely believe the emperor hadn’t taken the time to pick out their rings either. At the very least, he took the time to pick hers out even if he just skimmed through and picked the others out as Lord Arken said. No, Karis had picked her ring out deliberately. She hoped it wouldn’t open her up to more assassination attempts. 

The final high feast came and went, and the only thing that the court could gossip about was the rings on the courtesans’ fingers. They knew they were gifts from the emperor, but they wondered if something else was behind the new adornments. “There’s some rumors that whichever one of you has the most valuable ring is his favorite, and the one who he plans on marrying.” Ardatha was full of gossip that night as she and her sisters helped her change.

“Were they able to identify which one of us had the most valuable ring?” Sayana was worried someone had identified her stone. 

“No, because no one could get a good enough look at the main stones in all your rings.” Ardatha was sure of her answer. “Some are saying it’s Ji-Hye because she has a black star ruby, but others are saying it’s not Ji-Hye because her ring could easily be lab grown instead of from a mine.”

“Even lab grown black star rubies are expensive.” Sayana knew enough about gemstones to know that much at least. 

“Yes, but sunray diamonds are more expensive, and no one thinks Angharad is his favorite because all the servants talk about how abysmal she is.” Faviola chimed in. “No one thinks your ring is a skyfall diamond, my lady. They all thought it was a cerulite, though there was some debate whether it was lab grown or the rarer mined stone.”

“I’m grateful for that.” Sayana sighed with relief. “I didn’t look forward to having a concentrated effort being made on my life.” 

“I don’t think it would occur to any of them that the emperor likes any of you that much to get you a ring with that rare a stone on it.” Ardatha shook her head. 

“Angharad doesn’t believe the emperor chose this at random like he did everyone else’s rings.” Sayana was concerned about Angharad’s supposition. “She thinks he chose my ring deliberately.” 

“I’m with Lord Arken.” Ardatha felt the same way as the other ladies did. “I think the emperor just randomly picked what he thought you’d all like without paying attention to what the ring was made of.” 

“And the emperor knows you like all shades of blue.” Faviola knew of her preference for blue, as did her sisters. “You wear that color more than any other.” 

“That’s true.” Sayana looked at the ring thoughtfully. “And I can see why he’d pick something like this for me. I could still wish he’d picked a cerulite instead of the skyfall diamond, though I do love my ring.” 

“I wouldn’t think too much about it, my lady.” Ardatha was as soothing as she could be under the circumstances. 

“I won’t.” Sayana tried to put the situation out of her mind. 

They got her ready for bed. She tucked the ring into her jewelry box. She went to bed, curling up under the covers. She fell into an uneasy sleep, waking several times to stare at her jewelry box in the darkness.