The second they entered the massive feast hall, Luna was completely blown away.
Even Lukas's manor... Well, she hadn't exactly taken any time to really look at it, but this was just too much. Everything, everywhere, was glowing or sparkling.
Gnome servants rushed about in sequined vests and long, flowing black sashes. Both genders wore the same uniform, and Luna couldn't tell which was which.
She actually wasn't entirely certain that gnomes had genders. Like most of the non-sentient races, they had been rescued from somewhere in the bitter North and brought down into the sentient races' territories to thrive. As usual, when this had happened, every race other than the humans had accepted them. Gnomes were one of the most sought-after races for servants, because of their short stature and human-like proportions, and the fact that you couldn't tell what gender one was by looking at it. They also had a near-perfect amount of sentience. Enough intelligence and independence to problem-solve, but not enough autonomy or will to betray their masters for any sum of money.
But of course, her father had been suspicious of them anyway. He didn't like the fact that they looked like humans, which Luna did understand, but he wouldn't let them into Alaxia at all. It would be more remarkable if he actually did let any other races in, but he didn't, so it had come to be just the way that Alaxia was.
The thing was, right under his nose, since the nobles couldn't have non-sentient servants, they chose to enslave other humans instead. And her father had done nothing about it. Every time she asked him, he responded the same way. When she asked him to address the slavery issue, he had responded by saying that everyone needed slaves, but when she asked why he wouldn't just let other non-sentient races like gnomes in, he would cut off the conversation by sternly reminding her that other races were always bad news.
One of the terrifying truths about Alaxia that Luna hadn't understood when she was younger was that the way that the human kings enforced the law against immigration from other races was by completely banning travel to and from the country through the use of a massive wall that ringed the entire border, even the seaside. To get out, you had to go through a checkpoint where they would record your personal information and appearance, and then you would likely get denied anyway and sent back. But for those that didn't, they were given a strict curfew that was almost never longer than a week in the Empire at large.
Then, to get back in, they underwent extensive testing at the same checkpoint, with the same guard. If he recognized them and the information they provided matched up with what they had given before, they would be allowed back in.
That meant that if any humans were to be smuggled out of the country somehow, then they would never be able to get back in. It was a brutal system, but it worked well enough. Of course, with the king's permission, anyone who they said could go could go back and forth with next to no hindrance.
The lights swirling around her made her stagger, so she fell into Lukas's side, taking a deep breath of him to calm herself. To her shock, it worked almost instantly.
Incredible. I'll have to remember this. Luna wasn't sure if it would be useful in the future, but at the very least, it would help her figure out exactly how she was connected to him.
There were flashing gems and swirling dresses full of color all around, along with the stolid dark- or light-colored clothing the men wore, though even that had edges, sometimes frills, but more often flaring scarves sewn into it at the wrists or strips that ran along the arms, trailing behind as they spun with their partners.
It was all too much. The scene seemed oversaturated, even to her, and it quickly overwhelmed her senses. But she would not be cowed.
Because Luna, the princess of Alaxia, was here to play a game of minds. And she intended to win.
So she took a deep breath and forced herself to stand up straight.
Soon, she would own this floor. Or be ground to dust trying.