Aery finally realized how hungry her guest was. She never got hungry herself, anymore, and ate less and less at every meal. "Oh, gods. Sorry, Celaena. Dinner will be starting in like five minutes... We should go take our places now." She felt her hair and cursed. But at once Lilly came up with the crown. "I did no realize you'd fergotten it, m'lady, not 'till you was already out th' door." She stretched up on tiptoe and settled the tiara into Aery's head, then giggled, blushed, and hurried out to her place among the servants.
Aery groaned as she realized it was time. She hated public appearances. She led the others out onto the dais at the head of the hall and assumed her seat to much clapping. "Oh, for the gods' sake." she thought to herself. "Won't everyone just shut up?"
[i]Not as long as they've got a thirteen-year-old queen.[/i] Ame thought into her head, quite smugly. The herald called out Celaena's pseudonym and a servant motioned her to the seat at Aery's right. Rowan to the seat on her left, and the other council members filed in around them. The first course was sent around just as soon as all the nobles were seated. Aery made sure to look hard at Celaena when their bowls were filled, for it was Celaena's favorite stew. Just as she'd planned, on the irrational hope that the ambassador shared Celaena's tastes.
Aery herself only took a little and barely ate any of it... She felt quite ill, like anything she ate might come up a second later. [i]Nothing to do with the baby, Aery. You're just having a bad day and it'll only be worse if you don't eat anything...[/i] She plastered a smile onto her face, ate a few spoonfuls of soup, winced and forced it back down when it threatened to come up. She prayed Ansel's potion could help her, because she couldn't rule a kingdom when dying of starvation.
Ame, sitting on Celaena's other side, was all too happy to start chattering about Kemiya. "Well, I'm not very good at it, because I feel so... dirty... after using it. But it's so useful, some of the time at least."