As we entered, Raphael said, "Could you close those curtains? I'll be one moment."

  He ran out while some of the servants and I drew the curtains to darken the room. Ariella settled in one of the armchairs and watched, her mouth pursed to one side.

  It was only a minute before Raphael came back carrying a wooden case and followed by several more curious staff members - a kitchen boy, two maids, and one of the gardeners. I pretended not to notice their interest. It wasn't often we had foreign contraptions demonstrated in the palace.

  "What is that?" I asked Raphael as he assembled a brass and wooden device. It had a box-like compartment, a lens at the front, and what looked like a small chimney on top.

  "It's called a projector, Your Majesty. It displays images on a wall or screen much larger than they actually are." He set the device on a small table facing the only bare wall in the room.

  "It's quite simple, really." Raphael inserted a small card into a slot at the back of the machine. "A photograph is mounted here, and these lamps inside shine directly on it. The light reflects through this lens and projects the image forward, much larger. Aside from the lamps, it doesn't even use any runic parts."

  "Fascinating; they don't even need magic?" I said. "What wonderful things we think of!"

  Raphael smiled. "Ready to see Sekr's Stardust Festival?"

  I nodded eagerly and stepped back, finding a spot next to Ariella's chair. Her hand brushed mine briefly, and I gave hers a little squeeze.

  Raphael flipped the switch, and after a moment of warming, a beam of light shot from the lens. A spotlight illuminated the wall. He fiddled with the lens, and an image came into focus. It showed a long, balloon-like contraption floating above a city. The balloon was covered in wooden scales, crafted to resemble a dragon. Below it spread a cityscape - like our capital but distinctly foreign with narrower streets and taller buildings clustered along a wide river.

  "This is Sekr during last year's new year." Raphael explained. "These dragon balloons are constructed throughout the year by competing guilds. They're filled with heated air and rise above the city. If you're lucky enough to get a ticket, some of them have platforms on top of them for viewing the night's starfall."

  Raphael changed the card, and a new image appeared - streets crowded with people, colorful streamers hanging between buildings, their reflections showing in puddles below.

  "The entire city participates." he continued. "Every street is filled with stalls and festivities."

  Another image replaced it - a magnificent palace set on an island in the middle of a river connected to the mainland by a cable-suspended bridge. Unlike our compound with its sprawling gardens and separate buildings, this palace was a single massive structure built out to near the edge of the island.

  "The royal palace." Raphael said. "Built over five hundred years ago when the first king united the seven districts of Sekr."

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  The next image showed a tall, metallic building under construction, surrounded by scaffolding and workers.

  "This is one of Sekr's most ambitious projects - a telephone exchange building. When completed, it will connect buildings across the entire island through telephone wires, allowing people to speak to each other instantly across great distances."

  "We have telephones here," Ariella interjected, "but only within the palace compound."

  "This will connect the entire island." Raphael replied. "It was near completion when I was there - projected for opening this year; it may even be operational by now."

  The images continued - crowded market squares, performers in elaborate costumes, children with painted faces. Then came the night shots, and I couldn't contain a gasp of wonder.

  The sky above Sekr glittered with thousands of tiny, luminous particles. They drifted down like snow, but each mote glowed with its own inner light. The central mountain behind the city was outlined in these falling lights, creating a magical backdrop to the palace.

  "The stardust." Raphael said.

  "Is it actually from the stars?" I asked.

  "No one knows for certain, but the locals think so. It is said that it only occurs one night a year, and only on the island."

  I was about to ask another question when the door burst open, flooding the darkened room with light from the corridor. Lady Marigold stood in the doorway.

  "What is going on here?!" she demanded, her eyes sweeping over the gathered staff, who immediately began to scatter. "Why are palace servants abandoning their duties to sit in a darkened room?"

  She marched to the windows and yanked open the curtains, flooding the room with daylight. The projected image faded away against the brightness.

  "Lady Marigold," I began, "Ambassador Bellamy was simply showing us photographs of-"

  "I can see that!" she interrupted, her tone clipped. "But you all have responsibilities that cannot be neglected for entertainment, no matter how... educational. Back to your posts, immediately!"

  They fled in all directions.

  "Lady Marigold, I know what we should do for the ball!" I exclaimed. "We'll theme it after the Stardust Festival! We could hang streamers from the ceiling, use luminous paint for decorations, and perhaps even create our own version of stardust using crushed charge crystals!"

  Lady Marigold's expression shifted from disapproval to outright horror. "Ridiculous! Theme our royal celebration after another kingdom's tradition? It would be obscene! Have you no national pride, Your Majesty? Why don't we theme it after your magnolia trees?"

  "But we've had Venetine and Roosen themed parties before!" I argued, unable to keep the pout from my voice. "And there was that time Lord Cassius held that confusing party where we all had to dress as savages!"

  "Those were private affairs, not royal functions." Marigold countered.

  Ariella rose to stand beside me and said, "If that is what Her Majesty desires, then our job is to make it happen. The Queen has made her decision."

  Lady Marigold's lips thinned to a tight line. She looked from Ariella to me, then to Raphael, who was standing silently beside his projector and attempting to become invisible.

  "Very well." she relented. "I will inform the council of Your Majesty's... creative choice."

  "Wonderful!" I clapped my hands together. "We could use Ambassador Bellamy's photographs as references for the decorations. Would that be possible?" I turned to Raphael.

  "It would be my honor, Your Majesty." he said.

  Lady Marigold let out a barely audible sigh before turning to leave. "Now if you would kindly finish selecting the new fabrics for the renovations, I shall begin the arrangements immediately."

  As the door closed behind her, I turned to Raphael, excitement bubbling in my chest. "Could we see more images? I want to understand everything about the festival."

  "Of course." he said, moving to close the curtains once more. "I have plenty of stories! The boardwalk was especially busy with carnival games."

  "Oh, is that where the clowns come from?! I've never seen a clown before!"

  Ariella retook her seat, her expression returning to her earlier pouting. "Your Majesty, if I could make one request, let's leave the clowns out of this festival."

  "Very well - we have next year's theme lined up then."