Serali was left alone for a few hours after that to let her hair dry while Lady Valerie made her own preparations for the night. Curled up in her room, she finished reading "The Adventures of Jovan the Mage." It was a heroic tale, full of evil villains and great deeds. I wonder if I'll ever do things like that? she thought. Probably not. Great adventures are just in tales. I'm sure that in real life nothing like that ever happens. Than again, dragons are also out of tales, so maybe. . . She shook her head. Going to the ball is adventure enough for now. As for the rest, maybe someday I'll have a great adventure. For now, I'll just have fun.

It seemed like no time at all until Lady Valerie was back, with her maid in tow, and Serali was enveloped in a flurry of hairdressing and cosmetics. Her hair was taken out of its wrappings and brushed out. It was pinned up with the sapphire clip, the curls cascading down her back. Her hair was nearly to her waist, though curled and pinned as it was now it didn't fall quite that far.

Thankfully Lady Valerie had decided that along with a simpler sort of gown she also needed a simpler style of cosmetics, so there were only a few faint touches of color applied to her face. Serali had been worried that she'd be painted and powdered half to death, and then would forget herself and rub it during the night. She could just imagine how awful that would look.

But now, as she regarded herself in the mirror, she felt like she had never felt before. She still looked like herself, her face as the same, her hair was the same, her body was the same, but the tiny changes, the loose waves of her hair turned to tumbling curls, the subtle hints of color that brought out her eyes, and the way the dress flattered her figure... she suddenly felt beautiful, truly beautiful, for the first time in her life.

The sun was setting in the west as Serali descended the tower stairs to leave. Janus was waiting at the door. He was dressed elegantly in a dark blue that nearly matched her own dress. He had scorned the current fashions of doublet and hose to wear something that he said was all the rage in one of the countries he visited, an odd but handsome ensemble consisting of long slacks, a white shirt with a tailed jacket over it and a cravat, also white. He held out his arm and escorted Serali out to the courtyard where a coach, also in dark blue and pulled by a team of black horses awaited. It was marked with an odd sigil in gold. A coachman, wearing blue livery marked with the same sigil, held the reins. Janus handed Serali inside and sat down facing her. A second coach, the same one that had carried Lady Valerie away the first time that they had met, pulled up behind and the lady and her maid got in.

As they drove off, Serali asked Janus, "Where did the coach come from?"

"The coach is mine, the sigil on its side is my mage's mark. It's been in storage since I haven't needed it lately. As I do not keep horses here and don't employ a coachman, they have been borrowed for the occasion from a good friend of mine. You'll certainly meet him tonight, since it is his ball that we're attending."

"You know, after all this preparation I don't even know whose party this is!" exclaimed Serali, somewhat surprised at her realization.

"It is being hosted by the Duke of Tarna, Lord James Mortigen. He's very much a part of high society, and very fond of parties, but he is also a good man to have by you in a pinch."

"Well, I'm sure I'll like him then. You have good taste in friends it seems. Even lady Valerie isn't so bad once you get to know her."

Janus laughed. "No, she isn't. But look, we're almost there." He pointed out the window.