No one wore masks the next afternoon when I arrived at the garden party at the Silent Queen’s court. The crowd was smaller, and the servants and guards in purple. Leandra had picked my lavender gown and done my hair and makeup again. She trailed me closely, and I could feel her excitement at being in a place more suited to her than me. The bushes of the gardens were shaped into fantastical animals from Greek myths. Smartly dressed men and women holding champagne glasses spoke quietly in small groups around several of the bushes. Serving staff armed with trays of food and drink wove among the partygoers. I couldn’t look at anyone without thinking they wanted me torn to pieces and strung up. I ended up focusing on the rainbows of ribbons everywhere. The ribbons calmed me, fascinated me. “Is that all these people do?” I complained to Leandra. “Go to parties and drink?” “Yeah,” she sighed wistfully. “And wear amazing clothes.” I was in another traditional dress and wearing shoes that – according to Leandra – didn’t remotely match.
