The ninth bell was just tolling as Celes stepped from the carriage onto the grounds of the royal palace.   She was glad that she'd paid the carriage driver before she left, because the small purse hidden in the folds of her dress was not easily accessable, though she'd made sure that she could draw her dagger easily enough if needed.  A surreptitious slit in one of the folds of her dress was just large enough for her slender hands to fit through.  It didn't escape her imagination that other uses could be made of such easy access to the interior of her dresses, but her purse was larger then the slit and took a little working to free from the silks.<br/><br/>The groomsman escorted Celes to the palace gates where a page greeted her.  Upon learning her name he bowed deeply and asked her to proceed to the palace Solarium and wait for her introduction.  The page then escorted her through the palace, richly appointed, to the south end of the grounds.  She'd never been to the palace itself before and was glad of the guide, but was doing her best to remember the layout, incase it became important later.  The page gestured for her to wait for a moment, then he entered the large glass walled and roofed room.<br/><br/>"Lords and Ladies, your royal majesty, I present Lady Celes d'Vynar."  The page announced in a loud, clear voice.  He then bowed at the waist and held the pose until after she passed into the solarium.  The room was huge, more than half the size of her house here in the city.  There were tasteful gardens planted around the outside of the room, and a huge multi teired fountain that was easily twelve feet in height in the center.  But the majority of the room was a large open cobblestone courtyard.  Benches and potted plants were scattered about for shade and decoration, including some trees and flowers that Celes couldn't recognize.<br/><br/>There weren't many here, two dozen people at the most.  Some small clusters of people speaking, but most clustered around one man.  Celes had no doubt of who that man was.  From the gold Lamé clothing, to the far too extravagant jewelery, to the golden crown atop his brow, which glinted in the sunlight that streamed through the glass windows.  Celes had no doubt that she was looking at the newly corinated King James.  "Pretender" her mind screamed, 'Thief who stole the crown.'  She could feel the dagger against her thigh, warm and inviting, but knew that a simple assassination would solve nothing save her own death and the destruction of her house and all that were associated with it.  That was even if she could get the knife into him before his guards, who seemed quite attentive in fact, put several quarrels into her breast.<br/><br/>Unfortunately for Celes, she knew no one in the room.  She could always wait and see who approached her of course.