The Ball

Music filled the gilded hall. Servants bustled about carrying trays, weaving through the nobility.  Dresses in silk and samite, accented by jewelry, glided across the dance floor.  The men, stiff in high-necked, long coats displaying their house colors, provided severe contrast to the willowy grace of the women.  The Shandra was an intricate dance, only known in Alandren, and then only by the blood.  It served, among other things, to establish status.  Anya entered, poorly dressed next to any but the servants, ready to prove her blood.  The steps came easily.  The difficulty was the prince, and his young heart.