Slowly, I sank down to the stool, watching the man beside me as he did too.

Had he really just been signing?

"I wanted to apologise," He spoke slowly, again his hands moved in time. His soft face held a sheepish, almost shy expression. "I didn't get to introduce myself the other day." The young man paused, making sure that I understood him. Then he held both his hands up, beginning to painstakingly fingerspell Andrey Rimmer. I watched as he did, enthralled by the way his fingers flowed from one sign into the next.

Extending my hand for him to shake, I opened my mouth, trying to remember my own name.

Evangeline Bence? He fingerspelled again, making me feel embarrassed at having such a long name and a mute voice.

A smile worked it's way onto my face and I nodded. "I prefer Evie though. How do you know sign language?"

Andrey shrugged nonchalantly, running a thumb over his closed fist. "A soldier in my regiment lost his hearing. Half of it we learned, half of it we made up."

"Which regiment?" I asked it so quickly that I nearly interrupted him, thrilled by the idea that he served in the army.

Andrey held up four fingers and shook them from side to side. My brain raced through all of the pages of signing I had read to remember that a number held still and upright meant the single digit, but if shaken it became a teen.

So that meant-

"You were the 14th regiment?" I could barely sit still as he nodded. "My brother was in that regiment! Nicholas Bence. Did you know him? Did you fight at Gringle field? I thought that 14th were wiped out there." The queen's eyes flicked up to me from across the room and I dropped my stance, trying to hush myself. Cowed, I tried to dissuade the other girls from looking at me, though the job was done when the rest of the men finished up their swordplay and came to sit.

When I finally mustered the courage to turn back to Andrey, I found him to be grinning. His smile faded eventually as he turned back to our conversation.

"-knew Nick." He nodded. His hands still moved in time with the words, only this time he seemed a little more subdued. "-d man."

Lipreading was getting harder. I don't know if it was because I was getting increasingly tired, or because images of Nick were floating up to flood my brain. Either way it made me unhappy. Andrey seemed to notice that, boldly taking my hand, connecting his eyes with mine when I looked up.

"I'm sorry - him," He spoke again.

Almost no sooner had he taken my hand than Gavrila popped up, a blond with an easy smile beside him. The prince said something to Andrey, then watched as the latter left with the blond. I followed them with my eyes as they took up swords on the marble floor. It seemed many of the Debutantes turned to watch too.

Gavrila waved over to Eric, who stopped his conversation with Amber Grieve to come over and scribe.

Meet me in the study tonight. 21:00.

My fingers pressed hard into the paper, unable to take my eyes off of it as I considered how to react. I was reminded in a second of why I agreed to force myself through this afternoon.

Gavrila should be meeting Henrietta in the study at 21:00. Not me.

Inhaling a steeling breath, I smiled and stood up, handing the card back to Eric. Pasting on a pleasant face, I nodded at Gavrila. He raised an eyebrow at me and I was afraid he'd see through the act.

"Shall we go and chat with the princess? The two of you must tell me about your wedding." The words tasted like cold metal as I grated them out, but I couldn't leave Gavrila any time to think before striding over to where Henrietta sat, watching the two of us apprehensively.

When neither the Prince nor princess had spoken, I rolled my eyes, trying to ensure my voice was at an appropriate volume. "Who was your best man Gavrila? Was it Fana? Or Tristan? I haven't seen them yet."

Upon realising that, I cast my eyes across the room. Men conversed with Debutantes or sparred across the large room, but neither of them seemed to be either of Gavrila's old friends. As my gaze roved back to the couple, my smile faded.

Henrietta watched Gavrila sadly.

Dead. She signed as he stared off into the distance.

"Both?" My voice dropped down to a whisper.

Gavrila snapped back into existence in a split second, saying something which I couldn't catch. His demeanor was pleasantly conversational though.

I frowned as I tried to figure out what he had said, stifling a yawn in the process. "I beg your pardon?" Eventually I was forced to ask for clarification.

Howard Kent. Best man. Henrietta signed. Gavrila rolled his eyes at me as she did.

Embarrassingly slowly, I tried to place that name. Then the recognition hit me like his blow to my stomach.

"He was your best man?" I hissed, leaning forward to pray that the other people wouldn't see my distress. "The man who -"

Once again I was cut off, this time by the devil himself.

The black haired beast settled down on the carpet with us, saying something airily. His sitting down caused me to spring up, unhappily catching the eye of Adrienne and the Debutantes who sat with her.

"Please excuse me." I begged leave of her majesty, my bruises aching horribly as my attacker sat at my feet.

The Queen offered the slightest of nods and I sprang off, my only backwards glance falling on a very confused Amber and Eric before the door shut me out.

The unladylike run back to my rooms was not far enough to put proper distance between me and that brute. Between me and the Prince's best man.

I burst back into the room, and promptly collapsed.