[b]Princess Adila of the Guides![/b]

The throne room looks a lot better than it did the last time you were here, fighting the irrepressible Morgina Fang. Now it's a true masterpiece of Iluminan architecture once more, no longer warped and corroded by contact with the void. The delicate glass benches are specially designed for the occasion, and it's with a confident air that you become a cat-sized, cheerful child once more, the perfect size for sitting between your girlfriends and not accidentally crushing anything. You, of course, have the seats up at the front, next to the Royal Family.

There's the King, soon to be the Royal Mother, looking deliberately understated and humble; if you didn't recognize Isolde from the time you took down Eupheria together, you might have mistaken her for one of the attendants. Being in the spotlight was never Isolde's way, after all. She's here not just to celebrate her daughter's ascension, but to support her wife. Queen Halcyon looks stronger today than she has for a long time, but her hair is still silver before its time, and there is an air of fragility to her that makes her seem... almost like shining glass, a pane that refuses to yield to the storm.

When she yields the crown, it will be a great weight off her shoulders.

There's also several members of the Cavalerian royal family: Kaja, here as Jessamine's special someone, and Ninian, whose hair salon will get even more recognition as a result of doing Queen Halcyon's braids, and Azora, over in the corner speaking with the Royal Witch. Nobody needs to fear Alina going mad with power, because in the very unlikely event that were ever to happen, Diana would be there to stop her.

You have a moment before everyone takes their seats; who do you greet?

***

[b]Princess Alina Cascade![/b]

"Of course you are, your majesty," the most special cat in all of Hyperborea says. You swirl around and see her standing there in her Askaian best, her troubadour's jacket slung over one shoulder, a sprig of lavender in her hair. Her tail swishes excitedly as she looks you over, unable to hide a fond smile as she meets your eyes.

She reaches out with one hand, waiting for you to take it. To take her, and to let her escort you to the stage. (Eupheria sighs the delighted sigh of someone who is looking forward to grandkittens.) "The ceremony's about to start, my heart. I love you." She slips it in like it escaped from her heart before she could catch it, and her cheeks redden, but she doesn't look away.

***

[b]Princess Kazelia Swiftlance![/b]

Of course. There's only one person you could end up sitting next to.

Ourania!!!

"It's wonderful to see you, my faithful apprentice," she says, seemingly oblivious to the way that Kyouko is already sizing her up. The battle for Hyperborea proved to her that she needed to have a closer relationship with the many kingdoms, or at the very least, needed to have a herald and protege. Your mentor is radiant today; her dress only looks white at a distance, but like the opals burning on her breast, breaks into glorious rainbows when you draw closer. She is being given a healthy distance by most of the other guests, who see her (not unreasonably) as too cool to talk to. What if they stuck their foot in their mouth in front of the [i]High Queen?[/i]

But you're glad that you were able to convince her to come. This is just another step in dispelling some of the grandeur that separates her from the subjects she adores from afar. What's your plan for helping her relax and break the ice in the afterparty (and, not coincidentally, get her to lower her defenses long enough for Kyouko to make her move)?