Ling and the Lord's Love

“What do you mean we are not having the ball?”

“I am not saying that at all, my Lord. I am saying that if you do not have the ball then it will be like you are trying to hide something.”

Helmut let out an exasperated groan, dropping himself into his chair before gesturing to his servant to continue. “We can’t just ignore our honored guest, Helga. We invited him here after all.”

Her eyes bulged with excitement as she stood rigid and straight in front of the large wooden desk. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly as she continued in a low voice, “No we did not, my Lord. You simply asked your sister to invite a few people for dinner and that is it. You never said anything about a ball or any other kind of event until I told you that there was a nobleman from Valorian staying at the inn. He is a merchant and he is best friends with the Duke of Marston, which means he could be an excellent business partner for us. As long as you keep him happy, he could make us rich!”

Helmut chuckled quietly and rose from his desk, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. “You are too clever for me sometimes, Helga. And you are right; we should host this man and show him what a wonderful manor we live in!”

Helga smiled broadly and gave him a quick curtsy before walking towards the door but stopped suddenly when Helmut didn't move from his place by the desk. “My Lord? Are we not leaving? Do you need something?”

He looked down at her with a perplexed expression on his face then shook his head quickly, gesturing for her to leave. “Of course not! Why would I go outside when it is so warm here in my office? You go ahead and get everything ready for our guest's arrival tomorrow afternoon, I will see you later tonight after dinner with my family.”

Helga nodded again before turning around and practically skipping away from the room, smiling as she went down the stairs towards the kitchen where she was sure that the cooks were preparing dinner already. She couldn't wait for their guest to arrive tomorrow; she had been planning this occasion for months without telling anyone about it and now was finally the day! Everything was perfect; she had even managed to convince Helmut to hold their first ball of the season outside instead of inside because it was such a beautiful day today!

She walked into the kitchen and was greeted immediately by two maids who bowed their heads as they cooked some more meat over the large fire pit in front of them while another woman stood near them stirring some soup with a large wooden spoon while keeping an eye on it so that it wouldn't boil too much or taste burnt.

"Is dinner almost ready?" Helga asked cheerfully as she made her way through the kitchen towards the staircase leading up to her private quarters above in one corner of the room while glancing at all of the pots filled with delicious food covering every corner of their enormous kitchen countertop.

The cook who had been stirring her soup looked up from her task but didn't stop cooking simply responded in a tired voice, "Yes, miss Helga." Before going back down to re-stir her meal again, though if one paid attention closely enough they would have noticed that she had smiled softly as well when she answered Helga's question.

Helga climbed up to her room where she changed into a very elegant dress made out of red satin with white lace trimming along its edges making it appear more extravagant than normal dresses but also giving off an air of gracefulness which suited Helga perfectly since she had always thought herself quite graceful ... much like those dancers back home who even remembered to smile while they danced across stage entertaining thousands at once! She loved dancing; it made her feel alive and powerful but most importantly she felt free when dancing; free from everything else around her because nothing else mattered except for what was in front of her! It was also how she got close to people; if there was music playing then she would begin dancing and people would begin watching her dance which meant that someone would end up talking to her which meant that eventually they would become friends or even fall in love with each other! At least that's what happened when she returned home after Helga's grandmother passed away many years ago... everyone needed someone to talk to after all!

She left her quarters soon afterwards dressed in her finest clothes ready for dinner with everyone else before heading out into their gardens where their special guest would arrive tomorrow afternoon together with his entourage including his bodyguard Nefarius who is apparently very skilled with his sword even though no one has ever seen him use one before ... though Helga wasn't surprised by this since he seemed like such an interesting person based on how tantalizingly mysterious he sounded whenever he spoke! She couldn't wait until tomorrow when he arrived so that she could finally meet him in person! It only took another minute before Helga found herself standing under one large tree among countless others looking at the magnificent sun setting over their estate waiting impatiently for dinner time so that she could eat something because today had been so busy indeed ... perhaps too busy?