With the knowledge that there was someone out there who had similar ideals to hers, Oriana woke up the next day feeling refreshed.
From there, she would have gone back to her job in the Merchants Guild, but she felt that the disguise may have come to its expiry date.
With all the problems she caused and the number of Peacekeepers looking into the situation, which had increased from when she passed the Merchants Guild on the way back from the restaurant the night before, she figured it might not be long before they actually find something that links her to it in some way.
She had almost been caught by that one Peacekeeper, and while Simon had waved him away, there was always going to be that lingering doubt in the back of his mind. Something that may eventually lead him to prove she was the one causing the mess.
Her sudden leaving would probably be rather telling in terms of her guilt, but with an illusion covering her the whole time there, it wouldn't be possible for them to find Michelle, as she would be shedding that persona for the foreseeable future.
And so, Oriana continued about her day, looking forward to what would come next.
The Princesses' Debutant Ball.
---
A few days later, it was time.
Time for Oriana to head to the Upper District and become Lady Orifake.
She had her invitation in hand and headed towards the castle for the Princess's big day.
The only problem was the security.
Sure, there were Peacekeepers around, but there were also knights that protected the Royal Family.
If that wasn't enough, the mages at the door were the biggest problem for Oriana getting in.
As she walked towards the entrance, passing by the glorious fountain in the courtyard, she could see the mage casting magic against every attendant to the ball, whether they were nobility or a guard.
She didn't need to be a genius to realise that they were checking and dispelling any magic on the attendees.
Which was something she could not get past as Lady Orifake.
This meant she needed an alternative entrance, and that the invitation probably wouldn't help her gain entry.
---
Heading away from all the nobles entering through the front, she changed her appearance enough that she looked unassuming and low on the nobility scale.
She wanted to keep her Lady Orifake persona hidden for now, lest she get spotted skulking around the castle as the noble lady that was supposed to be attending the ball.
Moving around the castle, she kept her eye out for entrances, but it wasn't until she reached the far side of it that she may have found what she was looking for.
The servants' entrance.
It would seem that, like the main entrance, mages here screened the servants as they entered and exited; the only difference was the level of activity.
Servants were in and out nonstop. Goods were being brought in, empty boxes were being brought out, and rubbish was being taken away; it was a lot of activity. It was also likely due to the three wagons not far from the entrance, where many boxes and crates were being taken and brought into the castle.
She did wonder why the security was screening everyone, moving in and out. Surely, if they had seen them enter before, why did they need to do it again?
But then she realised. One of them could be compromised at some point. They could even turn to thievery. It was also possible that they might decide to poison the nobles?
…
What if she decided to poison the nobles?
Nothing fatal, of course. But maybe a little something that would cause some embarrassment amongst the guests.
Something like the bottle that she already had and knew was rather effective.
---
From there, Oriana headed towards the servants' entrance and took on the form of Kim Poster.
She was a sweet young girl, working as a temporary servant at the ball, having had some training in cleaning and serving food.
Looking rather plain and unassuming, while in servants' clothes, she headed towards the entrance, finding the number of wagons still being three, but it looked as if one had left and another turned up.
Heading over to the wagon, under her invisibility spell, she hid for the time being and waited.
She waited for just the right person to turn up.
A servant who looked like they needed help with one of the boxes.
And as soon as one came by and started to lift the box, struggling as she did, Oriana made her move.
"Need some help?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you."
With the good act of helping her fellow servant, the woman had no thoughts about whether she had seen her before. And now, holding one side of the crate, they headed over to the entrance.
She passed by the two guards at the entrance, likely there to keep anyone who did not look like a servant from entering, as well as to deal with any trouble that might occur.
They said nothing as they passed.
Now inside, she had to get past the mages. Her companion was up first, and the mage cast a spell on the woman, finding nothing of interest. Before he could do the same to Oriana, she made a root pop up by the entrance, casting her invisibility spell on it as well, just as another servant entered while holding one of the boxes.
The consequence of such a thing was immediate.
"Ahhh"
The woman fell, and the box in her hand hit the floor, smashed open, and dozens of potatoes flew out. A couple even smacked into Oriana's leg.
The mages, having seen and heard this, jumped and lost track of what they had been doing. Instead of returning to the screening, they decided to help by picking up the vegetables.
The other nearby servants also joined in to help with the potato-saving effort. Those who were not in the midst of carrying a heavy crate, that is.
Servants shouted at each other as another tripped over a potato. They passed the blame around. Vegetables were squished, and at one point, a lettuce rolled through. No one could figure out where it had come from.
The guards at the door even moved in to try to shut down the fuss. All the while, Oriana and the woman just stood there.
"What-what do we do?" her companion asked her.
Seeing this as her chance, she turned to the mage nearby.
"Errr, excuse me. Can we get this ridiculously heavy crate in? We don't want to add to the mess by dropping it."
"What? Oh, yeah, sure, go, go. Set it down where it needs to go, then get back here to help clean all this up."
At that point, it was as if the mage realised he shouldn't actually be scrabbling on the ground, cleaning up the mess, but he wasn't a horrible person, so he just continued.
With that, Oriana and the other servant quickly made their way into the kitchen store room and placed it down. Her companion then thanked her and quickly hurried off, likely expecting Oriana to have followed her.
But she chose another direction and moved further into the castle, namely, the kitchen proper.
"You done with the grilled Orc Belly?" one of what looked to be the Castle's permanent servants asked, given the heraldry symbols on his clothes.
"Not yet, just need to add some of the herbs to it. Just wait outside, please, you're ruining my concentration."
The servant just shook his head and sighed at the cook's response.
"Now, where are all my herbs. I left them right here. Hey, does any of you know where the herbs are?"
The cook shouted to the rest of the kitchen, then headed to another section. It would seem that the part Oriana had entered was the plating-and-finishing-touches section. It is likely that the other part of the kitchen was where the food was actually made.
Whatever the case, this was Oriana's opportunity.
Since it's the finishing-touches area, it's not very likely the cook was going to sample the food. Not that it mattered too much, but it might cause problems if he did, before it was served.
Heading in, Oriana gave a quick glance at the other dishes that were standing there, waiting to be picked up.
There looked to be a selection of sandwiches, along with some salad, which were the simple fares. Then you had meaty dishes, plated up with various garnishes on top to make it look nice. There was also what looked to be seafood, comprising several types of fish, as well as some crustaceans. She didn't know what they were called, but given the hard shell on them and the smell, she came to that conclusion.
And towards the end of the table…were the deserts.
Dozens of different types…all tiny portions, of course. But all very much eager for Oriana to sample them, she was sure of it.
Wiping away the drool from her mouth, she got back to what she was planning, which, annoyingly, was stymied by everything being plated and ready to go.
Because she only had one bottle.
If only she could have just poured the bottle into a big bowl of soup or stew or something.
Well, that wasn't happening here, so she did the next best thing.
She sprinkled it on as much as she could.
Holding her thumb over the end of the bottle, leaving a small hole for the liquid to pass through, she quickly shook and sprinkled the liquid over the food.
She moved between the plates, splashing each one with liquid, sending it all over the food, and emptying the bottle completely.
For obvious reasons, she steered well clear of the desert section.
And with that, before the cook could come back, Oriana headed out the door, in search of where the nobles were.
---
She had to be sneaky. Granted, Invisibility helped a lot here.
What it didn't help with, however, was someone hearing your footsteps because of how quiet it was in parts of the castle.
It also didn't help when you had a group of servants walking through a corridor, spanning the entire width of it, which meant they would easily bump into the invisible being trying to sneak about.
These had happened a couple of times as Oriana moved through the castle.
There was also a rather alarming moment when two knights were standing outside a room, and as she turned into the corridor, they heard her step, but upon turning could not see the person who made it.
One of the knights headed towards her, sword in hand.
Thinking quickly, she tiptoed towards the nearest door in the hall she was in and hid in the archway of the door. She didn't want to open it, lest it squeak as she did, causing the knight more alarm.
The knight turned the corner, looking down the hall that Oriana was in and saw nothing.
"Anything there?"
"No. It's an old castle. Could have been rats."
"Really, did you have to mention rats?"
At that, the knight turned back and put his sword away, returning to his post.
But that was not the end of the fun Oriana was subjected to, as right before she could head back into the hallway, the door in the doorway she had been standing in…opened.
Covering her mouth and pressing herself as best as she could against the side, she froze.
The person leaving the room was a young girl, all dressed up in finery, with beautiful golden locks of hair.
The girl popped her head out, looking left and right.
"Yes. I can't believe I climbed around the castle and made it. Now I get to go see what the ball looks like."
Before she walked through the doorway, the girl tilted her head and then turned towards where Oriana was pressed up against the side, showing an odd look of confusion on her face as she did.
The girl's eyes slowly changed from the amber that they were to a brighter purple hue. It almost felt like the girl was looking into her soul.
"Who-"
Before she could finish, two people just walked in front of the doorway, standing but a hair's breadth away from her, where they then proceeded to stare the girl down.
"Princess. Why are you not in your room?"
"Princess!" Oriana almost blurted out in her mind once she heard.
"Why am I being confined to my room. It is my sister's debutante ball. I should be there."
"You know why you are not able to join." The woman who accompanied the knight said.
"I am an adult. This is ridiculous."
"Not yet, you are not. And until you are, you cannot attend such gatherings. You will have to wait until tomorrow for the family gathering."
"But the Ball is so much more fun."
"You don't know that." Said the woman. "And besides, there is a special surprise for you and your sister tomorrow."
"Really?"
"Yes, now come on. Back to your room."
At that, the guard and the woman escorted the princess back to her room, the princess frowning all along the way.
She did, however, turn to look at where Oriana was before turning back to head towards her room.
---
After that alarming situation, Oriana took a few moments to calm herself before heading back into the hall.
Through some disorientation as she tried to navigate these winding halls, she managed to make it to the ballroom.
Looking around, she found where the guests were heading in and headed that way, still looking like a servant. Once she was close enough, she changed back to look like Lady Orifake, and joined the queue of people that had been checked by the mage already.
It took a little finesse, but through the use of illusions, she managed to get herself in without any question.
And now, the real party could start.