Page 1 of Dragons & Dumplings

Chapter 1

Torches flicker from the sconces spaced throughout the banquet hall, giving it a warm glow without much heat seeping in to go with it. I know that's not going to last. By the time the banquet is underway, there'll be too many people in the room for it to be anything approaching cold.

I look around the room, hating how crowded it already is, especially when the musicians are playing louder than they have any real need to. It's making everyone shout over one another in order to have a conversation, rather than keeping it at a reasonable level so those of us who don't want to take part aren't overwhelmed by it all.

I shuffle in the ornate chair designated for me, trying not to be too bothered by it. On either side of me, my sisters seem clueless to any of my discomfort, and my younger brothers are the same. Maybe they're going through something similar to I am, knowing that our parents expect us to be here to welcome the delegation from Shengda, and that we have to act like the perfect royals in order to make a good impression.

Without meaning to, I pick at the collar of my dress. I hate the way the gold thread feels against my skin. It makes me want to tear off the whole thing and put it in the fire. I can't do that again, Mama wouldn't be pleased with me if she discovered I'd ruinedanotherdress like that, especially one that's been made especially for this banquet.

At least my siblings are equally dressed in what must be annoying fabric, and Kathyrn is even wearing a heavy-looking tiara thanks to her status as Crown Princess. Things could be worse for me. I don't think I'd like the tiara or the attention.

I run my fingers under the collar to try and get it away from the sensitive skin of my neck. It's going to be a long night if this continues.

"Stop it, Evie, you're being distracting," Veronica says from my left, barely turning her head to look at me. It doesn't mean anything, we've mastered this way of communicating over the years.

"I can't help it," I mutter under my breath in a very unprincesslike way.

"Just think about what you're going to do when you escape down to the kitchens," Arthur suggests from her other side.

"Hmm, that could work," I admit, my mind filling with all kinds of ideas for recipes and methods for making baked treats. I wonder what I'll be able to make tonight? Perhaps some bread, that's always comforting. Or a pastry of some kind with sugared almonds and fresh apples. Today is market day in the town surrounding the castle, so there are bound to be some.

"You can't," Veronica says, almost as ifshe'sthe Crown Princess, but Kathryn is just ignoring us, as usual. It makes sense, she's five years older than I am, whereas Veronica, Arthur, and I are all closer in age, with only two years between me at nineteen and Arthur at seventeen.

"I know."

"Our parents want us to be here to meet the delegation," she says needlessly. I've already accepted my lot.

"I'm not going anywhererightnow," I point out. "I know my duty as well as the rest of you." Though I'm not sure Ernest really understands much of it. He's only five and would much rather be playing with his wooden soldiers. At least I assume so from the way he's lined up all of the carrots on one side of his plate and the parsnips on the other. I'm sure there must be some commentary to the situation in Ernest's head, but he's not saying any of it out loud.

Veronica nods. I can't tell if she's relieved or not. I might know my sister well, but I find her hard to read sometimes. Kathryn shoots us a look from her position to my right, but if I can't read Veronica, it's even harder to understand what my older sister is thinking. Sometimes, I consider that might be because she's the Crown Princess of Falhaven and she has duties to attend to that I don't understand. Other times, I think it's just that we're different people.

I sigh and look down at my plate, using my knife to build a dam between the gravy on one side, and the white sauce on the other. It's going to be a long evening, especially when I can't just make excuses to head down to the kitchen until the entire banquet is done.

It's hard to drown out the sounds of knives scraping against plates and hundreds of voices talking at once. I clench my jaw and try to get control of my emotions. I can't demand that people just stop talking, especially when I know this is ameproblem, but I do have the urge to run out of the room and scream.

Maybe I should. Then I can come back and act like the perfect princess I'm supposed to be.

I push back my chair just as my father gestures for the servants to clear the tables in front of us.

It would seem that I've missed my chance for a moment alone before the next part of the festivities starts.

Once they're done, my father straightens his crown and stands, gesturing for us to do the same. I fold my hands in front of me, trying to ignore the scratching of my collar. Now we're standing, everyone's eyes are going to be on us, and there's no way I can sort it out.

I attempt to distract myself by watching the delegation from Shengda approach the front of the banquet hall. They're all dressed finely, though the fashions aren't the same as those we wear in Falhaven. A brief pang of jealousy travels through me at the sight of the fabric the members of the delegation are wearing. The clothes seem to be made of some kind of silk, with flowing sleeves and nothing that fits too tightly. Though there's a lot of embroidery. It's beautiful, but I can only imagine how itchy it would make my skin feel.

The man at the front steps forward and bows deeply to my father. "Your Majesty."

"Welcome to Falhaven Castle," my father responds.

"It is my honour to be here," the man responds, his accent not doing anything to obscure his words. "I am Ambassador Zixin. This is my wife, Lady An."

A lady in a beautiful pink dress with a purple waistband dips into what looks like it must be a curtsy, but isn't quite the same as how we would do it here. I've met enough foreign delegates to know that not all of the kingdoms use the same system of bowing. "You have a beautiful castle, Your Majesty."

"Thank you," my father says with a nod. "May I present my wife and our children?"

Ambassador Zixin bows his head in acknowledgement.

"This is my wife, Queen Cecilia," Father says. "And my children. My heir, Princess Kathryn, as well as Princess Evelyn, Princess Veronica, Prince Arthur, and Prince Ernest." Hegestures to each of us in turn, and I dip into a curtsy as he says my name. None of the delegation outranks me as far as I know, but it never hurts to be polite.

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