Chapter 21 - Revelations - Part 1

                                    

                                          
Penelope's relief made her almost dizzy as they ran the length of the carpeted balcony, dashing past portraits and tapestries, and climbed a set of steps to the balcony above. Steph then guided her back around the other way, towards a door set directly above the one they had just fled.
Two armed Rangers wearing cowls and carved masks stood guarding the door.
"Prince Steph! There you are! The King was looking for you earlier this evening. Did he give you your instructions?" The guards noticed Penelope and bowed low with formal greetings.
Penelope curtsied and glanced at Steph in curiosity.
"Instructions? Oh, yes, my Father was... quite direct."
"Excellent!" The Ranger exhaled in evident relief and ushered the pair into the room.
"Instructions?" Penelope whispered as the door closed behind them with a snick.
Steph shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Oh, just the usual lecture. Don't pull faces on the podium, do everything your mother tells you, do everything I, your FATHER and KING tells you, no silly impressions, no fake accents, no stealing all the pastry plates and hiding in the alcoves... No fun, in short."
"Well, I didn't hear anything in there about the cheese platters, so I wouldn't rule it out entirely."
Steph beamed. "See! I knew we were destined."
Their smiles faltered as they stared at each other, the silence suddenly awkward and charged.
Steph cleared his throat, his voice tight. "Ahem, sorry. Anyway, I didn't expect there to be guards up here, I thought this balcony was to be empty..." Steph clasped Penelope's hand, his touch tentative, and lead her further into the room.
It was the exact shape of the lounge below, semi-circular with a long, solid wall behind them, and a large set of curtains forming the wall opposite.
Unlike the space below, which had been furnished with clusters of comfortable lounge seats, this room was empty but for an enormous crystal sphere of milky white mist. Its soft light illuminated the dark velvet walls and the thick iron chains from which the sphere was suspended.
As they approached, the orb flared brighter, and Penelope let out a breath of wonder. Steph halted, staring open-mouthed at the sphere. 
Something about the sphere seemed familiar to Penelope.
"Oh! I've seen this before!" she exclaimed. "When I was last in the Village, I visited Whistleweather's Emporium. He had a sphere just like this one in his workshop. Though it wasn't glowing at the time..."
Penelope stepped forward, captivated by the watery tides of light spilling from the sphere across the plush carpet.
She placed a hand against the quartz, jumping back when she felt the sphere pulse, almost like a giant heartbeat.
"It's warm," Steph murmured, as he too stepped towards the sphere.
"Is this why you brought me up here? You wanted to show me this?" Penelope asked.
Steph gave a little shake of his head. "No, I didn't know this was here. I have no idea what it's even for... No, this is what I wanted to show you."
Steph lead Penelope around the crystal towards the drapes. Peeping through, Penelope found herself looking at the landing of the uppermost ballroom balcony, a broad protruding crescent overlooking the hall below.
"Oh," Penelope breathed.
"I thought we could watch the ball from up here for a little while, until you're ready to go down. Or we could stay up here all evening if you wish."