Chapter 138: Secret Fitting

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Secret Fitting

Two months later, Sebastian discovered that asking Christopher Altera for help in keeping something from Nero was apparently the fastest way to create a committee.

He had wanted one robe.

One.

A traditional Sahan ceremonial robe for part of the wedding, commissioned privately so Nero would not see it before the ceremony and immediately attach himself to every fitting with opinions about fabric, embroidery, collars, fastening systems, and whether Sebastian should wear something that exposed more of his throat.

Sebastian had asked Chris because Chris understood Sahan royal traditions better than anyone Sebastian trusted to keep his mouth shut.

That had been the plan.

Instead, Sebastian stood in one of the private fitting rooms inside the older wing of the royal palace and looked around at the people who had somehow accumulated there without his authorization.

Chris, at least, belonged.

He sat comfortably on a pale upholstered sofa near the windows, dressed in a soft charcoal suit with a cream shirt beneath it, dark hair neatly brushed away from his face as he reviewed several fabric samples the designer had brought.

Dax absolutely did not belong.

The King of Saha had installed himself beside Chris, wearing pale stone trousers and a deep burgundy shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms, looking much too entertained for a man Sebastian had specifically not invited.

Duncan stood near the door in his dark security uniform, arms folded behind his back and expression professionally blank.

Sebastian accepted him as unavoidable.

Then there was Lucas.

Sebastian stared at his father.

Lucas stared back from an armchair near the raised fitting platform, blond hair styled back and green eyes entirely unapologetic.

Beside him sat Ethan.

The Empress Consort of Palatine had apparently crossed national boundaries to participate in Sebastian’s wardrobe conspiracy.

His blond hair fell softly around his face, warmer than Lucas’s, while amber eyes moved with obvious amusement between Sebastian and the growing collection of silk, embroidered panels, belts and ceremonial clasps arranged across the room. Ethan wore a warm beige suit over a pale gold shirt, elegant enough to look imperial without appearing remotely interested in proving it.

Sebastian turned slowly toward Chris.

"I asked you."

Chris lifted his eyes from the fabric.

"I know."

"Then explain the population increase."

Dax smiled.

Sebastian pointed at him first.

"Especially that."

"I live here."

"This is not your fitting."

"I am King. Technically, most rooms are mine."

Chris glanced sideways at his mate. "That argument is why he was almost excluded."

"Almost?"

"I was persuasive."

"You threatened to tell Nero," Sebastian said.

Dax looked offended. "I would never."

"You absolutely would if it amused you."

"Only after the wedding."

Sebastian closed his eyes briefly.

A quiet laugh came from Ethan.

Lucas looked considerably less sympathetic. "You asked Christopher to hide something from his son inside the royal palace. This outcome was predictable."

"I expected discretion."

"You chose the wrong family."

Dax looked pleased by that assessment.

Sebastian turned toward the designer instead.

Madame Celestine Vareaux had been waiting beside the central table with the patience of someone who had dressed enough royal families to understand that actual tailoring rarely began on time.

She was elegant without being ostentatious, silver hair arranged into a smooth knot and a measuring ribbon hanging over one shoulder of her midnight-blue dress. Several assistants stood farther back among racks of white, purple, and silver textiles, carefully pretending not to listen.

"Please save me," Sebastian said.

Celestine smiled faintly. "That depends on whether Your Highness intends to let them vote."

"They do not get votes."

"Excellent. Then we may proceed."

Sebastian stepped onto the raised platform.

He had dressed simply for the appointment in fitted black trousers and a pale shirt, his slightly wavy black hair brushing his shoulders. The deep-green collar around his throat stood out immediately against the lighter fabric.

Dax noticed it again.

Of course he did.

His grin widened. "Still wearing it."

Lucas’s gaze moved toward the collar with considerably less enthusiasm.

"I have accepted its existence."

"That is practically an endorsement."

"It is not."

Sebastian looked between them through the mirror. "I am beginning to regret bringing either family into this."

"You didn’t bring me," Lucas reminded him.

"That is somehow worse."

Celestine stepped between them before Dax could make the situation deteriorate further.

"The ceremonial colors are straightforward," she said, selecting several samples. "Saha maintains separate household palettes. His Majesty’s line carries black and gold, while the Queen’s household uses ivory and bronze."

Chris lifted a bronze-edged fabric from the table.

"For the Crown Prince, deep purple and silver."

Celestine nodded. "And the consort variation traditionally shifts toward white, with purple and silver retained through the embroidery, lining, and formal insignia."

Sebastian studied the materials.

That interested him far more than simply wearing Nero’s colors.

White would distinguish his position without making him look like an imitation of the Crown Prince beside him.

Celestine draped a length of cool white silk over his shoulders, then added a dark purple inner panel that appeared almost black until it caught the light.

Ethan stood.

"Keep the purple inside."

Everyone looked at him.

He approached the platform and adjusted the edge with two fingers.

"If the outside remains mostly white, the purple appears when he moves. It will look less ceremonial on a hanger and much better while walking."

Celestine examined the fall.

"I agree."

Sebastian looked at Ethan through the mirror.

"You really did come here to be useful."

"I spent decades being dressed for people who cared more about symbolism than comfort. I learned something."

Chris rose next and brought over a silver embroidery sample.

"This should stay restrained."

Dax frowned. "Why restrained?"

"Because Sebastian is already wearing a collar, has shoulder-length black hair, and looks severe enough without dressing him like a palace ceiling."

Sebastian laughed.

Lucas’s mouth twitched.

Dax looked at Chris. "You are insulting Sahan design."

"I am married to Sahan design."

That ended the argument.

Celestine pinned the silver sample vertically along Sebastian’s chest, letting the pattern continue toward the shoulder rather than covering the entire white surface.

The effect changed immediately.

Sebastian turned slightly toward the mirror.

White outer robe.

Deep purple appearing beneath it.

Silver embroidery sharp enough to catch the light without overwhelming the silhouette.

The green collar remained visible above the neckline.

Lucas noticed that too.

His expression tightened just enough for Sebastian to see it.

"You still dislike it," Sebastian said.

"I dislike what collars traditionally implied in Palatine."

Dax opened his mouth.

Lucas raised one finger without looking at him.

"Do not."

Dax actually obeyed.

Lucas’s eyes returned to Sebastian. "But you chose this one, and Nero understands what you permit it to mean. I can live with that."

Sebastian smiled slightly.

Dax lasted perhaps three seconds.

"I think it looks excellent."

Lucas looked toward him.

"You would."

"The tradition is alive."

"The tradition is on probation."

Ethan laughed outright.

Even Duncan’s professional expression fractured.

Sebastian looked at himself again while Celestine adjusted the robe across his shoulders.

The design was still unfinished.

The inner structure needed work, the sleeves were only pinned, and the embroidery would require several revisions before it resembled anything final.

But the direction was there.

More importantly, Nero knew absolutely nothing about it.

Sebastian smiled at his reflection.

Celestine noticed.

"I take that as approval?"

"For the direction."

"Then next time we settle the final silhouette."

Sebastian glanced toward the room full of people who had somehow turned one secret fitting into an international family gathering.

"Next time there will be fewer spectators."

Dax looked delighted.

"No, there won’t."