Julianna had handed over her servants to Tyaethe for use, had at least gone out for the initial trip but then had quickly proceeded to her chambers to prepare for the ball.  The royal courts were a battle field one had to prepare for, almost religiously as every action one made would reflect upon the person, their family, and their faction.  So obviously the first major step was to be properly dressed for the occasion.

While her servants dolled her up with cosmetics, perfumes, styling, and all manner of cosmetic improvements they also selected dresses for the event.  As befitted the daughter of a quickly rising household there was quite a variety to choose from, custom tailored and expensive of course.  It was an absolute waste of money to be sure but in order to effectively play the game, one had to look the part and her parents had made sure that was always the case.

From all the different manner of dress Julianna quickly narrowed down to two.  First there was a pearled [url=http://safebooru.org//images/1576/194a4e1d8bc85b877f3c804c053e4fc06eb4eb80.png?1651168]white gown[/url], a simple but elegant gown that would no doubt suite the taste of many in attendance.  The white dress would match marvelously with her moonlight hair and the bare shoulders would help give emphasis to her lovely dark skin.  The white also symbolized purity and would give her the impression of being humble as well as match her family name as a Silvern.  

The other option was a much more extravagant [url=http://safebooru.org//images/1203/0e789af1c86172ed656a47941807c6b6d5714fca.jpg?1253896]yellow dress[/url] adored with a few yellow gemstones such as Topaz and Beryl.  A mixture of white lace and frills with the golden color made for quite an impact and would be a testament to her family's rise to power.  Admittedly it was certainly a much more fun dress to wear though perhaps she might come off as a bit too proud.  This dress would certainly not emphasis her skin as much but would still complement her hair quite well.

Julianna allowed herself a sigh in the presence of her family maids, sometimes it would be nice to be able to just pick whatever she wanted to wear without having to think about the message she would be giving to other people.

"My lady, you must decide soon if we are to be fully prepared in time."  Came a gentle, but firm reminder that a decision needed to be made.

"Of course, I suppose I will go with..."

[hr]

In the end, Julianna had decided to go with the yellow dress.  While perhaps a bold move, it was time to start flaunting that growing political power a little.  Nobles tended to like those who shone confidently, giving the impression that they would be great leaders.  While there were also those that preferred the more refined and reserved look that could also give the impression you were a follower rather than a leader.  There were those who could use the pure look and still have a commanding and powerful presence but Julianna had to admit she was not quite there yet, so she would have to make it up cosmetically.

Julianna walked gracefully alongside Fanilly and the rest of the Iron Rose Knights who had a wide variety of 'formal' standards.  Julianna observed everything around her while appearing to be the perfect lady.  As the Herald announced each of the knights arrival, Julianna paid particular attention to the crowd's reaction.  Some of the knights were treated with respectful gazes, lower born were, for the most part, given mock praise or even openly turned their noses up at them, Julianna herself was treated mostly to outright praise and admiration, especially from the replacement faction though there were also stern gazes and judging looks from the traditional faction who no doubt thought of her as a mere puppet of the change faction.

Fanilly was a interesting case to be certain, needless to say at first glance it was pretty much the opposite reaction to her own heralding, basically the opposite reactions from the two factions.  Now, the thing was there were quite a few on the fence nobles and dignitaries that were still unsure of the little captain so it was most interesting to see their reactions.  Most of them were very cordial and even seemed joyous at seeing the captain up close but it seemed that the word of what happened during the battle had spread throughout the entire court already, there were plenty of faces that seemed to be hiding their discomfort at the small captain's latest performance; while certainly a great victory the fact that so many dangerous situations had occurred precisely because of Fanilly's inexperience had made people think quite a bit about if she could be molded into a great captain.

It was a start to the seeds of distrust among the neutral camps but it was of course too early in the game to really persuade them one way or the other.

Julianna was about to start her family duty of mingling with the crowd when she was greeted to a most amusing sight.  Not a minute into the hall and Fanilly had already been greeted in a most embarrassing fashion.  Of course in dwarvin culture it was just a highly friendly greeting, totally acceptable but even so, in the royal court no less!  Julianna had to turn her face away quickly to avoid the possibility that her court face might crack into even the slightest smile.  Thankfully she managed to succeed but she had a good laugh on the inside anyway.