If Alek's household was struggling to get by they sure had an odd way of showing it. Dinner was a five course meal including drinks and hors d'oeuvres. True, they weren't snacking on snails and lobster tail, but the kitchen didn't scrimp on presentation. Her main course was pasta with a garlic cream sauce and asparagus. They also gave her a colorful salad with something that looked like yellow cucumbers in it. It smelled amazing but Deryn barely touched her food.

"We haven't been able to purchase as much meat and fish as we used to." Alek pointed out. "However, I find the vegetable entrees to be quite exceptional."

Deryn nodded and was able to nibble a bit on a stalk of asparagus. Her tummy quivered a bit as she swallowed it. She put her fork down with a strong clank and picked up her champagne instead. It was far too sweet and she almost gagged on it. Alek was busy chattering away with one of the important looking dinner guests; a man wearing an awful necktie that was made out of multiple copper tiles and moved like a metal fish whenever he talked. He sat across from Alek while his daughter, whom Deryn believed was wearing the pinkest excuse for a dress she had ever seen, was sitting on Alek's right. The three of them were talking quickly in Clanker but she could get the gist of their conversation. It had something to do with machines.

There was a break in their words as the servant came by to refill their drinks.

"I could kill for a glass of whisky." She mentioned, perhaps a little louder than she should. "Miss Pinky Toes here may be able to handle this bubbly sweet stuff, but I'm more accustomed to real things." Alek gave her a surprised glance but thankfully the others didn't understand her English.

"I'll see what I can do about it." Alek mumbled. "Just try to look a bit more cheerful. The others are starting to wonder if something is wrong."

Deryn scoffed. "Nothing's wrong, your highness. Just enjoying my dinner."

She said it with dripping sarcasm but Alek didn't pick up on it. Instead he continued talking to the girl on his right. She couldn't be much older than sixteen with strawberry orange hair and two little beauty marks on her left cheek. Deryn may have hated the girl's dress but even she couldn't find insult for her pretty looks. It made her want to kick something. Preferably that something would be Alek's leg.

She couldn't though because on her other side sat the pink girl's mother. The lady looked just like her daughter but just a squick grayer. She didn't say a word to Deryn and only nibbled on her salad in silence. It was a dreadfully quiet dinner and Deryn thought she may cry from boredom when thankfully the servant came back with her glass of whisky. She thanked him and almost gulped half the thing down but stopped when she noticed the look Pinky's ma was giving her. The woman gasped like she had seen Deryn drinking poison instead of a glass of scotch.

"Be careful. I've heard your face can get stuck like that if you hold it too long." Deryn said sweetly. "However, it does improve your appearance greatly. At least now your skin slightly matches your outfit."

This time Alek almost knocked his chair over so he could turn to face her.

"Deryn!" He snapped at her in a loud whisper. "I don't know why you are being so rude, but you cannot say such things!"

She rolled her eyes. "Not that it matters. They can't understand me anyways."

"Yes, but I can!" He pushed his plate away and began to stand up.

"Where are you going, sire? Is the British girl bothering you?" The younger of the two women said. She smiled daintily in Deryn's direction before taking a small sip of her drink.

Alek blinked. "You can….."

"I learned English from my governess over seven years ago. Please sit back down."

Deryn swallowed the rest of her whisky while Alek fumbled with what to say next.

"I apologize for my friend's behavior. Deryn isn't usually this forward."

"Your friend?" The girl raised her eyebrows at Deryn. "I would have guessed she was your relative. Unless you often keep young girls at your house without a chaperone."

"Why you little….!" Deryn began to snap but Alek hushed her with an outstretched hand in her direction.

"Now, Deryn, Miss Kilsyka is asking a legitimate question. In many formal situations a young woman such as yourself would not be allowed to travel alone. Especially with a man she wasn't related to."

"So the two of you have been traveling together? Strange, I've never heard of that occurring unless the girl happened to be your mistress. Of course that wouldn't possibly be the case." Her pretty smile upturned even more and Alek began festering with his jacket and adjusting his silverware. The other guests were starting to notice something was the matter and a hush had settled over the table. Deryn wanted to run but she was practically nailed to her chair, perplexed as to what Alek would do.

He quickly regained his composure, smiled regally and raised his voice so everyone could hear him make a boastful speech in German. Most of it went over Deryn's head but within the speech he clearly introduced her to the table, softly touching Deryn's shoulder as he described her to the others. Afterwards, the richly dressed dinner guests applauded and nodded to Deryn with grateful expressions.

Confused, she glanced angrily at Alek.

"What did you tell them?!" She grumbled.

"Only that you are an old friend from the war and that you are assisting me in regaining the growth of our kingdom's economy."

"Blisters. How the hell am I doing that?"

He grinned. "By creating a new breed of stormwalker, of course!"

With another glass of scotch and a few angry curse words, Deryn was strapped into the observation seat of the Draufganger. Her feet dangled below her, one foot on each of Alek's shoulders. Before her was a 105 millimeter cannon equipped with 14 pound shells for her to manage. On her command, Alek would pull a lever to fire the shells into a gigantic concrete wall on the other side of the courtyard they were positioned in.

"So this is what Clankers consider good after dinner entertainment."

"It's nothing, Deryn. We'll just fire a few cannon balls and walk around the yard. All we need is to impress them, which shouldn't be difficult."

She sighed. "And you're certain this thing only fires blanks."

"Positive."

"But won't the sparks cause…."

"As I've told you before, the sparks are insignificant. Dr. Barlow made certain that this design is not flammable. You have nothing to be afraid of."

"And that makes me feel so much better." She grumbled. "Alright, you ninny, I'm preparing the gun."

Although it was something she had never imagined doing, Deryn loaded the gunpowder and the shell with ease. Alek positioned the lever and she instructed him where to aim.

"About ten feet higher, I mean, three meters. Aye, that's perfect! Fire!

The entire machine kicked back as the shell launched from the cannon into the air. Like a giant firework, the shot exploded into a burst of flame which made the entire yard appear lit with noonday sun.

There was a cry of joy from the crowd of dinner guests who were all lined up against a rail several yards back from the Draufganger. Alek cheered as well, swerved the walker around and began running it in circles around the field.

They had never made the clanker beastie run this fast before. Its mighty lungs were gasping, pumping oxygen through a set of giant nostrils above Deryn's head. She could feel the skin of the beast grow warmer beneath her seat and the gigantic paws that were the creature's feet scattered clouds of dust around them so thick that she couldn't see the ground before them.

Finally, Alek pulled the creature to a stop before the crowd. They were now silent as he and Deryn exited the walker and joined them on the railed balcony.

Alek called to them joyfully, but the dinner guests were no longer cheering in reply. Deryn didn't need to understand German in order to see their terrified and disgusted faces. Before them was a walker like no other; a Darwinist creature that breathed air and blew out fire balls from its mouth. It had fur covered paws and delicate tissues and glands. Yet it had no eyes, nor a brain, so it could be controlled like any pistons or engine could be. It was no wonder they were afraid of it.

When the first of the guests spoke, it was none other than the pink girl's father. The man didn't say anything cruel or even a bit upsetting. Instead, he patted Alek on the back and appeared to be congratulating him. It took a few moments, but the others began to follow. Their kind words didn't seem exactly sincere, since they continued to eye the walker with uneasy looks, but they seemed to honestly appreciate Alek's attempt. Deryn was flabbergasted.

"Didn't expect them to take to it so quickly, did we?" Someone mumbled to her. Count Volger had mysteriously appeared beside her. He frowned deeply at the crowd now surrounding Alek and shook his head.

"Ummm, are you really asking my opinion?" She managed to glare at him.

"I was skeptical of it too, but apparently I was wrong." Volger stated. "They seem interested in it. I suppose it has much to do with the guns. This crowd has a special love for explosives." Surprisingly he started pointing out some of the guests to her and explaining who they were, as if he was suddenly a friend introducing her to his old acquaintances. "The gentleman over there, with the atrocious excuse for a neck tie; that's Karl Kilsyka, the wealthiest man I have ever met. Do you know who he is, Miss Sharp?"

"How would I?"

"He's not a duke or a lord, not even a scholar. He's just a plain simple craftsman. A gunsmith, nonetheless. And would you believe that he happened to make a fortune during the last war. He was the first to come up with an automatic assault rifle. Made millions by causing the death of millions." Count Volger paused to take a sigh

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that it looks like our Aleksandar has found his way into weapon manufacturing. Seems that his plan is to regain the empire by building more death machines." He pointed to the Draufganger. "And it also seems that you are here to assist him in this manner."

"That's a load of clart if I ever smelled it! Alek would never….!"

"Oh, but it seems he already has." Count Volger gestured to where Alek was having a long conversation with the girl in pink. "He has his eye on the gunsmith's daughter. Now that would be quite clever to marry into the family business. That way he gets the weapons with less hassle, I would imagine. He may end up starting another war, perhaps another great war. Yet there is always money in wars. Plenty of jobs to go around. You would agree, Ms. Sharp." He smiled at her. "Heavens, you don't look well. I didn't say something to upset you, did I?"

Deryn didn't have the energy or the stomach to stay and chat with Volger. Before she started puking up her small dinner, she started back inside. On her way she passed the crowd who were still chattering away on the balcony.

"Deryn!" Alek called to her. "Deryn, where are you going? We've decided to have dessert outside. Won't you…"

She didn't hear the rest of what he said. She was too busy hearing her own sobs through her head as she dashed back into the palace.