Serali's education now began in earnest. Long hours were spent with Janus discussing theory and learning how to apply it. Serali studied hard, but was often impatient as long lesson followed long lesson with only a few simple practice exercises. Still, she was enjoying herself and finding that the thick theory book she had been left was more interesting reading than she would have thought. Her other great frustration was with the morning chores. The tower had been scrubbed spotless but Janus insisted that Serali keep working. She complained that she was going to wear the tower stones down with all the scrubbing. Finally, Janus agreed that as of the next week, she would be freed from cleaning. He accompanied this respite with a mysterious pronouncement.
"If you're so eager to quit scrubbing, I'll let you move on, but you may wish that you were back washing the floors after you see what I have in mind."
"Right now I don't care if you plan on having me go out and wrestle trolls for you, nothing could be worse than scrub, scrub, scrub all the time."
"We'll see about that."
Serali was not surprised to find a stranger sitting in Janus' reception room when she came from breakfast a few days later. What surprised her was the nature of the visitor, for she was obviously a highborn lady. Dressed in a dress so covered in ruffles, frills, and lace that you could hardly see the material it was made from, she sat up primly in her chair, though it was doubtful if the dress would let her slouch. Her hair, which was dark brown, almost black, was curled in an elaborate style and piled up on her head. Her skin was very fair and touched with color on her cheeks and around her eyes. All in all, she looked like she was ready to go to a high ball. Janus was sitting behind the desk he kept there for formal occasions. He too was well dressed, wearing a fashionable outfit in dark green, though compared to the Lady, his ensemble was the epitome of simplicity. Serali blushed as the lady swept her up and down with a cool, assessing gaze. She was suddenly conscious of the rather ragged boy's clothes that she wore for everyday. Even in her best dress though, she would have looked incredibly scruffy next to the finery sported by the lady.
"So this is your protege? I must say I understand why my services are needed." She shook her head. "She looks like you just picked her up off the street."
"We tend to be somewhat informal here, Valerie, Serali is wearing her work clothes. You know that wizardry can be rather hard on clothing, so I prefer to avoid wear and tear on my better clothes. My apprentice does likewise."
"I suppose. But if she is going to be taking part in society, she definitely needs more polish than she has now. Quite a bit more, I suspect."
"Of course. That is why I've asked you here. I know that you, of all people, will know what is needed. Your skill is justly famed here in Barona."
Valerie tilted her head prettily to one side. "Why thank you Janus. I do confess that I have had some successes in the past."
She looked Serali over again. "And I must admit, the girl does have potential. Does she own any gowns at all?"
Janus looked quizzically at Serali
Serali shook her head. "I have a dress, but it's not like that," she said, gesturing to Valerie's gown.
"Well then, my dear, the first order of business seems to be a shopping trip. You must have a suitable wardrobe." Rising to her feet, Valerie gave Janus a little curtsy and a smile. "I shall return on the morrow, I trust that you will be ready at an early hour."
Janus too rose, going over to the door to hold it open for Valerie to depart. "Of course. I look forward to seeing you again, and to going to all your delightful social occasions."
Valerie inclined her head politely to him and swept regally out the door.
Searli watched her go in amazement. "This is what you want me to do? You're right, I almost would rather scrub."
"You wanted something else," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "And even if you had never complained, I would have invited Valerie over eventually. As a magician, you're going to have to deal with high society. Valerie will see that you know what you need to know. She has trained girls from all the important highborn families, so she knows what she's doing."
"I suppose so, but somehow I think that high society and I are not going to get along very well."
Janus laughed. "I don't know about that. I think you will do quite well."
She sobered and looked at him. "Seriously Janus, do you think I'll do all right? I don't want to make a fool of myself."
"Serali, you have the makings of a true lady, not to mention the sort of natural beauty that is often quite rare among the overly-painted, fashionable society girls."
Serali blushed. "You're just saying that. I'm not beautiful, I'm a big cow."
Janus shook his head. "You're too tall for all the boys back home, but that doesn't make you ugly. You are beautiful Serali, and I think that you may break hearts left and right before you're done. Now, we have work to do, so let's get going."
Rising bright and early the next morning, Serali looked at the shelves of her nearly bare wardrobe, and sighed. The choice of what to wear was easy. All her clothes were boy's clothes in varying degrees of disrepair, save for the one dress. She slipped it on, a very simple dress in dark blue cotton, and came down the stairs. Lady Valerie was already waiting for her.
"Ah, there you are. Good heavens, surely that is not you best dress?"
"Yes, it is," answered Serali, somewhat embarrassed. She didn't even want to hear what the lady would have to say if she said it was also her only dress.
"Well, all the more reason for us to be off then. You simply cannot be seen in good society dressed like that!" She paused then and added, in a softer tone. "Don't worry my dear. You really do have great potential. And you'll find that shopping is one of life's greatest pleasures. Your training will not be all work."
"I hope so."
"Ah, and the first little lesson for you, my dear, is that you should always address someone by their name or title. It's quite impolite not to. Now formally you should call me Lady Morena, that is my proper title. If we were close friends you might call me Valerie, but as our relationship as student and teacher falls somewhere between the two, please address me as 'Lady Valerie.'"
"Yes Lady Valerie," said Serali.
Lady Valerie smiled at her. "Very good. Now come along." She swept out of the room and into the tower's courtyard regally, Serali trailing behind.
What followed was a flurry of activity. Lady Valerie led that way as the pair visited dozens of shops all over the city. Traveling in a sleek black carriage, they went form one end of the city to the other. The first stop was at a large dressmaker's. Unlike most of those that they visited later, this shop had pre-made dresses ready to be worn. Lady Valerie picked out what she called a "simple afternoon frock" that had more lace on it than anything Serali had worn in her entire life, and she insisted that Serali wear it for the remainder of the day. At first, Serali was reluctant, but the dress proved to be surprisingly comfortable, and she had to admit that it looked better than her old one.
Then for the next several hours they visited shop after shop after shop. At the next shop, another dressmaker's, Lady Valerie had Serali try on a half dozen dresses that were much like her own, elaborate things with a great deal of ornamentation. "You'll be having your gown custom-made, of course, but first we need to find out what cut and style looks best on you." She frowned at the first one and shook her head. She frowned more and more at each of them and finally she said, "This simply will not do." Then she practically dragged Serali out the door, leaving the dressmaker looking a little bemused, with a pile of dresses scattered around the shop.
They went into a second place which was very different from the first. There were no actual dresses here, just bolts of cloth and rolls of trim displayed in an orderly fashion. A man, dressed in a bizarre ensemble that seemed to have dozens of different colors but somehow didn't clash one bit, was the only person in the shop. "Why Lady Valerie! Finally decided to break with current fashion and try something different?"
She laughed. "No Joanne, I quite prefer to stay within the bounds of acceptable fashion. It suits me. But this young lady here is far too tall, and far to strikingly colored to look acceptable in such things, I've decided. Can you do something for her?"
The man, though Serali wondered for a moment if he really was a man, wasn't Joanne a girl's name? circled around her and gave her an appraising look. "Oh my. Yes, that hair! Far too vivid. And you're right about the height. Why current fashion calls for raised heels, and she would simply tower. No, no, no, current fashion will merely make her look like a walking wedding cake! She must have something different."
For the next hour he measured every inch of her and draped dozens of different fabrics over her, comparing them to her skin tone and to her hair. He scribbled down pages of measurements and notes. At one point he asked her to remove her dragon bracelet, and tisked when she said it didn't come off. "We shall have to work with it then. But gold accents suit your coloring well in any case." When he was finally done he promised that he would have a truly stunning dress for her within two week's time. Lady Valerie thanked him, and then once again swept out the door with Serali in her wake. But that was only the beginning of dozens of other stops they made. They bought all sorts of things, though actually they mostly just ordered things to be made, including a half dozen more "simple frocks." At last they were done, only a little bit past noon, though Serali felt like they'd been shopping all day. She didn't think she agreed with Lady Valerie about shopping being one of life's pleasures. At least not shopping like this. She would rather sit down and haggle over some odd and interesting item at a street vendor's stall than get dragged around dress shops and hatters'. Still, she had to admit that Lady Valerie knew a lot about fashion, and though she still didn't feel particularly beautiful, there was something about being dressed up that was rather nice.
The next day proved that fashion wasn't all the Lady Valerie knew about. Directly after breakfast Lady Valerie showed up for the day's activities. That day was not spent in shopping, but rather in lessons, as were many days after it. The Baronian nobility lived by an elaborate code and lady Valerie seemed determined that Serali memorize every single bit of it. Serali didn't see the point. What use was it to know exactly how low a magess needed to bow when greeting a king? It wasn't very likely that she would ever have the chance to meet royalty of any kind.
Still, Lady Valerie insisted and Janus agreed with her, so Serali faithfully memorized every useless fact that the Lady could throw at her. As the weeks passed and Serali learned more magic, she chafed under Lady Valerie's tutelage. She felt like she was wasting so much time that could be spent in study. Why she almost never studied magic in the mornings at all! Still, she had to admit she was looking forward a little bit to going to the formal ball that Lady Valerie said would be her introduction to high society.
When two weeks had passed by a rather elaborately wrapped package was delivered to the tower. It proved to contain a truly stunning dress. Serali wasn't sure you could call it a gown. It was nothing at all like the gowns Lady Valerie wore, that was immediately obvious. There was not an inch of lace or a single ruffle on it anywhere. It was made from midnight blue velvet, but somehow it was flecked with little bits of metallic gold. She ran her fingers over them, but though they looked metallic, they felt soft, just like the rest of the velvet. They were thickly clustered at the ankle-length hem, the fabric was almost solid gold there, and then they gradually spread out and faded away, so that the fabric at her shoulders was pure deep blue. The sleeves were very short, scandalously so even, and trimmed in gold, as was the high collar. Serali looked at it, spread out on her bed, and nearly couldn't believe that she would be allowed to wear such a thing.
She thought, suddenly, about what it must have cost and wondered how and why Janus was paying for it.
"Are you going to try it on?" She looked up to see Janus standing in the open doorway of her bedroom. He smiled. "I'd like to see you in it. I'm sure you'd look beautiful, though really you look beautiful all the time."
She blushed. She would never get used to being complimented like that. "I suppose..." She remembered her earlier thought and asked, before he could leave, "How are you paying for all this for me? It has to be very expensive."
"I am fairly well off after all these years," he said, "so I can more than afford it."
"I just..." she considered. "It feels like I'm taking advantage of you or something. I mean, I know this was your idea, but all this stuff... and you're teaching me too, and a little floor scrubbing isn't enough to be worth all that. So why?"
He considered her for a long moment. "I don't know how to truly explain it to you. All I can say is that it's more than worth it to me."
She still felt vaguely uncomfortable about it. "I still feel like I should pay for some of this," she finally said.
He shook his head. "You don't have any money, so how could you?"
She laughed then. "I don't have any coins. But I have something worth more." She crossed to her desk and picked up the jewelry box there. It had several new things in it now, including a lovely sapphire hair clip, though she knew the stones were merely good fakes, that matched her new dress. But the secret compartment was still there, untouched since she'd come. She pressed and slid the little catch and pulled it open. She took out a small handful of the glistening golden scales, perhaps half of what the box held, and poured them into the startled mage's hands.
"Oh. You'd think that I could manage to remember about that," he said, regarding his handful of glittering gold with a certain amount of bemusement, "but shape-shifters are usually obvious and unnatural in their other forms, and I keep forgetting." He shook his head. "Well, though I don't really need this, if it makes you feel better I'll accept it. It certainly will pay for everything I've purchased for you thus far." He shook himself. "But I still would like to see you in that dress. I'll let you have some privacy, and then you'll have to come out and show it to me."
He shut the door, leaving her alone. She picked up the dress. She felt like her roughened hands would somehow ruin it, but velvet didn't snag like silk or satin would, so she had no trouble getting it on. She smoothed the flaring skirt down and looked at herself in the mirror. Janus had given it to her recently, explaining that not only was a mirror a necessary part of highborn life, it would also prove useful in a number of spells. The reflection that stared back at her was certainly still her reflection, but she felt somehow even more different from her usual self than she did in dragon form. She looked at herself for a long time. She had always believed she was ugly. Tall and gawky and washed out, someone that nobody would want. But her frame of reference seemed to shift as she looked at her reflection. She thought of the ladies she'd seen in the city, the highborn and the merchants and all the others. She'd yet to meet another as tall as she, but many were still tall. And many were fair-skinned and had light hair. Why should those things mean she was ugly? She wasn't sure she believed Janus when he said she was beautiful, but she was no longer sure she disbelieved him either.
"Are you changed yet?" asked Janus's voice from outside. She jumped.
"Yes. You can come in," she called out.
He swung the door open and looked at her. Then he smiled. "It's beautiful, and you make it even more so. Lady Valerie chose very well. I think high society will never quite be the same again."
Still more weeks passed and Serali prepared for the ball. Some of the other dresses that Lady Valerie had ordered began arriving and Serali spent hours trying them on. She might have spent only minutes, but Lady Valerie fussed over her almost unbearably.
"Lady Valerie, I can dress myself, really I can."
"A proper lady needs a maid. You ought to have someone else dress you all the time."
"Not me. I grew up without ever even seeing a maid, I know how to do up my own buttons. Please, maybe I can manage all this stuff you expect me to know, but I'm not going to get a maid. In the first place, I could never afford one, and in the second, I don't need one. I'm fine."
"Serali, with that attitude you will never become a proper lady."
"Well, maybe I don't want to be a proper lady. I'd rather go and work on my flame charming than dance. Why should I try to be something I'm not?"
"You can be a lady, Serali. You just have to make an effort. A magess is just as much of a lady as the daughter of a Duke. Why the Lady Anessa is one of the most graceful and stylish ladies that I have had the privilege of meeting."
"Yes, but I'm not the Lady Anessa, I'm Serali. I can't pretend to be someone else."
"Of course not dear, but that doesn't keep you from acting a little more ladylike."
"Lady Valerie, we'll never agree on this, can we just finish putting this dress on? If we wait 'til we agree, we'll be here 'til we both die of old age."
Lady Valerie sighed and finished tying the laces on the latest dress, an emerald frock replete with ruffles. Serali turned around, looking in the mirror. She had to admit that the dress looked stunning, the green color setting off her golden hair and complementing her eyes. She assumed a regal expression and took a few steps, then abandoned all decorum and spun giddily in a circle, laughing as the full skirt of the dress flared out around her.
Lady Valerie shook her head. Such behavior. . . the child is impossible. If Janus weren't such a good friend. . . but then, he's not always the perfect gentleman either. With another sigh she turned back to the task at hand, helping Serali out of that gown so that she could try on the next.
The days flew by, and at last the night was at hand. Lady Valerie had come over at a ridiculously early hour to help Serali begin her day by taking her down to the public baths. Serali had been there a time or two before, but she still felt uncomfortable with the idea of bathing where everyone could see. Even if "everyone" was restricted to other women, it still felt embarrassing and strange. Still, Lady Valerie could be quite insistent when she wanted to and she wanted Serali to be cleaned better than her usual brief wash in cold water back at the tower.
An hour later, she emerged, feeling very clean and also somewhat wrinkled. She spent the next hour holding still while Lady Valerie set her hair in rollers to curl it for that night.
"Ouch, not so hard!" complained Serali.
"Hold still dear, I'm almost done with this one." Lady Valerie tightened the knot on the strip of cloth that held a lock on hair into place around the roller. This was taking place down in the kitchen, and Janus was sitting on a stool, looking amused.
"Watching you ladies prepare makes me glad that men don't have to go through all that." He grinned mischievously at his student. "Don't you just wish that you could go as yourself, without all the primping?"
Serali shot him a glare. Then she laughed. "I think that if I went as my real self the ball might be a little more exciting than anyone had planned."
Janus looked puzzled for a moment, then he grinned broadly. "Yes, I'd say that the excitement would be more than most of the poor nobles could handle."
"And what are you two going on about?" asked Lady Valerie.
Janus gave Lady Valerie and amused glance. "Nothing at all, Valerie my dear. Nothing at all."
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.
Looming up before them was a huge house. Surrounded by a high wall that was pierced by a massive gate, the mansion looked big enough for Serali to fit in it in her dragon form several dozen times over. It was lighted by dozens of lamps, torches, and mage lights, and in and out of the gate streamed a parade of vehicles, all filled with nobles. Their own coach pulled up behind a line of other similar coaches going in. As they entered the grounds, Serali noticed the garden. The front of the house was mostly even grass with a few ornamental bushes, but she could see where around the sides and back there was an elaborate garden, planted with dozens of flowers, many of which were blooming, even after sunset. She inhaled, smelling sweet and unfamiliar scents on the cool evening breeze.
Their coach reached the front of he house, and Janus climbed down first, handing her down after him. Serali looked at the coach behind them but somewhere along the way, they had lost Lady Valerie.
Janus noticed the direction of her gaze. "Don't worry, she'll come. Now let's go in and impress all of these foppish city folk, shall we?"
Serali nodded and took his arm. They proceeded to the main door of the mansion. Serali felt out of place, conspicuous among the mass of ruffles and lace in her simple gown. The sense of being beautiful abruptly deserted her in the face of dozens of perfectly painted and coiffed ladies who were all surely far more beautiful and elegant than she could possibly be. She saw people staring at her and blushed.
Janus leaned over and whispered into her ear. "They watch you because you are the most beautiful one here, Serali. They're used to girls who have to paint their faces and stuff themselves into corsets to look half as good as you do."
Serali blushed again, not knowing what to say. She still wasn't completely certain she could believe it.
They continued into the house, moving through a long hallway hung with banners into a brightly lit room full of music and people dancing. Serali had studied the more common formal dances of course, as part of Lady Valerie's curriculum, but she felt suddenly intimidated by the thought of having to actually go out there in front of all these people and dance. But Janus didn't head out on the dance floor immediately. Instead, he made his way through the chattering throng that stood around the fringes of the room, gossiping and drinking wine out of long stemmed crystal glasses.
They moved through the crowd, Serali still drawing looks from those around her, until the reached a bearish man clad in bright green doublet and hose. At sighting Janus, he broke off what he was saying to a slender lady dressed in yellow and came over.
"Janus!" he roared, and slapped the much smaller man on the back.
"James! it's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Indeed. I thought that you would never come out of that tower of yours." Then he looked over at Serali. "And this must be the apprentice I've been hearing about. You told me she was talented, Janus, but you didn't warn me she was beautiful." He took Serali's hand and bowed over it. "James Mortigen at your service, m'lady."
Serali curtsied, hoping that she had gotten it right and said, "My lord is too kind."
"Nonsense. You, my dear, will cut a swath through the young noblemen tonight, and leave many a broken heart behind you, I'm sure."
"Yes she will," agreed Janus. "But as I'm her teacher, I think I've got first claim on her, so I'll have the first dance. Speaking of which, this one is nearly done, so shall we be off to the dance floor, my lady?" He bowed with a flourish and led Serali out towards where the dancers were indeed finishing the dance.
Serali's nervousness proved to be unfounded as she didn't step on Janus's feet once during the entire time. After the final note, Janus bowed to her and then, releasing her hand, he said, "I believe I will go and mingle now. From the look of that young man over there though, I think you will be dancing for some time, so I'll leave you to it." And with that, he walked off into the crowd.
Serali looked over and saw the young man that Janus had indicated walking toward her. Feeling her confidence vanish, she moved to the edge of the floor to meet him.
He came up to her and bowed. "Good eve, my lady. I'm Galen and I was hoping that I could have this dance."
Serali curtsied, feeling nervous but a little less awkward at least. "I'm Serali. I'd be honored."
Galen smiled and took her hand. They moved out onto the floor as the strains of the next song began. Serali felt that her knees would be knocking together if she wasn't so busy dancing. After a few moments though, she began to regain her confidence. Enough so that she could look at Galen. He was smiling at her, his eyes exactly on level with hers. Amazing, she thought. I've never been close to anyone who was my height. He has gray eyes, and he's smiling at me. Oh my. . .
When the dance ended, Serali felt like no time had passed at all. Galen bowed over her hand and then walked off into the crowd without a word. Serali moved to follow him, but was immediately accosted by another young man. For the rest of the evening she found herself scanning the crowd, looking for Galen, but she didn't see him again. And she wasn't given an opportunity to go look for him, for the instant one young man made his farewell, another would approach. Several were her height, and quite a few were very charming, but somehow none of them left the same kind of impression that Galen had. At last, Janus came out of the crowd and led her to the side, shooing off the hopefuls.
"What did I tell you, hmm? Every young man here tonight wants to dance with you. They can't all be merely currying favor with me, especially since most of the ones your age have no idea who I am."
"Yes, but my feet hurt. I think if I hear another 'may I have this dance' I'm going to scream."
"Here, sit down" Janus pulled out a chair that was sitting up against one wall. Then he picked up a glass off of the tray of a passing servant. "And take this."
Serali accepted the glass and sniffed at it curiously. "What is it?"
"Knowing how you feel about alcohol, It's merely a concoction of juices that James likes. He's none too fond of strong drink either, so he always serves this stuff, though in deference to his guests he provides a variety of spirits as well. I generally prefer a glass of wine, myself, but this isn't bad."
Serali drank gratefully, draining the glass in just a few swallows. "How much longer is this going to last?"
"The party can go most of the night, actually, but it's acceptable to leave anytime after midnight or so. Speaking of which, it's nearly that hour now. Would you like to leave?"
"Yes, I think I would. I've danced enough for one night."
Janus nodded. Taking her hand, he raised her out of her chair. Together they made their way toward the exit. As Janus passed James, who was talking to the same yellow gowned lady he had been speaking with before, he called out their farewells. Finally reaching the other side of the room, they went back down the banner hung hallway and out into the night. A liveried servant saw them and dashed off around the house. A few minutes later, their coach pulled up from wherever it had been while they were inside.
Janus handed Serali inside and they sat in silence as they drove back to the tower. When they arrived, Janus handed Serali down again and sent the coachman on his way. Then he turned to Serali and smiled.
"So how did you like your first ball?"
"I don't know. Some parts of it were not much fun, actually, but then…" she trailed off as she thought of Galen's clear gray eyes. "Yes, some of them were very enjoyable."
Janus smiled. He was not unaware of what Serali was feeling, indeed, there had been a time when he had felt much the same. He watched with a smile on his face as Serali went into the tower, humming a dance tune.