I stand in the middle of my room, Xenia's below me on her knees hemming my light blue dress. The sky outside is opaque blue, sun peaks behind the white clouds and the snow today falls harder than yesterday.
Since waking up I've been on edge, the ball is tomorrow, which is where everything will change. The King will decide if I deserve the cure for Alexander or not, if he relents, then I'll tell him who ratted us out and leave. Katana will hate me for it, with me telling on Moena, but it is what it is.
It's selfish, I know, but this is the only way I can get the cure, and it's the whole reason I came here.
Xenia is getting me ready for the arrival of The Luna and her son. They're both coming back from Batkai from visiting her family there. Turns out, the family and court all stand outside in the misty cold and wait until they show up. Not only the Luna and son but the King also.
I already hate the cold, now I have to stand in it. The dress I'm wearing is light blue with thick sleeves and two petticoats under it. The roaring fire crackles in the fireplace, heating me and Xenia. I look down at her, her fingers move quickly on the hem. All I see is the top of her blonde head, a flower crown sits on it. The dress was too long for me, so she has to shorten it so I don't trip and fall and embarrass myself in front of the Luna.
Speaking of Luna and her son, I wonder what they are like. "Xenia?"
"Yes, ma'am." Her voice comes out distracted.
"Tell me, what is the Luna like?" Her fingers freeze mid-sew. She rises from her knees and walks over to the vanity that sits the many threads and needles from her sewing kit.
She sighs, "She's. . .very beautiful."
"That's not what I asked for Xenia Primavera. What is her personality? Nice, mean, quiet. I need to know this, I'll be meeting her in less than 30 minutes."
She turns around, her skin is now translucent. I can see the blood rush from her neck to her cheeks. "Luna Accalia is very serious." Xenia is back on her knees, weaving a baby blue thread through the needle. She resumes back to hemming the rest of the dress.
I roll my shoulders back, trying to make myself look more regal. "Serious, that's it? I can deal with serious people; I deal with Katana."
Her head shakes, moving the flowers around, "No, ma'am. Her seriousness makes people uncomfortable. One of my friends, Emily, used to be her hairstylist. One day, she stuck a pin in her head too deep, and the Luna went wild on her. Emily ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face. She never came back here again. Another story is with one of the ladies from the court. She took the last scone, to which the Luna stared her down, the lady almost shit on herself." I chuckle into my hand.
"What's so funny?" She asked.
"I've never heard you curse before, it's weird to hear, that's all," I respond.
"I can get dirty with my words, ma'am." Her eyes widen once she hears the way it came out. "I didn't mean it like that, just- forget it. To sum up, what I was saying before, the Luna is like a stubborn floorboard, no matter how much you try to push it down, it springs right back up. You can glue it down, beat it with a hammer, but it won't go back into place. Everyone tries to stay clear of her, we do our job and go home. The only people she's nice to are her son and husband."
She sounds like someone I won't get along with. But, that's not why I'm here. I'll have to talk to her eventually, and I will do the best I can. "Where is Batkai, exactly? It's nowhere on the map." Trust me, I looked. Well, they don't have cell service here, so I had to use an actual map. Lamon, Alexander's cousin on his father's side, helped me locate a map of The United States. He looked a lot like his sister, Greta, whom I met at Germani Industries when I went on a field trip with my economics class.
"It's located in the northern part of Africa. Very beautiful place, from what I heard of at least. The people there are nice, and the women are drop-dead gorgeous. I'm talking about luscious skin and long, curly hair. Some have locks, which are amazingly long and have flowers in them. Out of all the 8 Kingdoms, they are the ones most people get along with. They don't start wars and are always nice to the staff here when they come. I don't know what the heck happened to Luna Accalia."
"What's her goddess's name." She tells me to turn, and I do. All she has to do is the back and she's done.
"Mia. The only one to call her that is the King. Queen Accalia grew up in a conservative family. They think that women should lose their virginity on their wedding night and obey their husbands and all that crap. That's why Prince Jai'lon isn't married yet, also because he's deflowered half of the court's ladies. She's decisive on who is perfect for her baby boy."
"I heard he was a man whore."
She nods, "Oh yes!" She says adamantly. Her hands flatten down the dress, pulling out the extra thread that hung. She stands behind me, with hands-on-hips. "When I first started working here, before Countess Knesia, I worked for her daughter, Milana. She asked me to bring her a basket full of cookies, when I walked into the room, she was naked in bed with Jai'lon."
"They were, she pauses, "mid-sexual act." I snort. "She was on top, riding him while her nipple was in his mouth. It was scarring for a 15-year-old virgin. I'd never- seen a man before, I mean REALLY seen a man. I couldn't sleep all night. And you what the crazy part was, they kept going." My eyes widen.
"No way!"
"Yeah, way." She walks over to the wardrobe, taking out a white faux coat with a matching faux hat that Russians wear in the winter. "I remember the sex smell in the air, the moan, and groans coming out of him. Whenever I see Milana, I run the other way." She laughs. "Hold your arms out."
I do what she says. I slide my arms into the opening sleeves, the coat engulfs me like a glove. She puts the hat on me, my tight curls peak out of the hat. I looked like a fat snowman some angry kids made.
"Are you sure I have to wear this?" I ask her.
"Why yes, it's 20 degrees outside. Unless you want to lose a finger, I suggest you wear this. Speaking of fingers, here are your gloves." She hands the white gloves with fur on the wrist to me, I slip them on. "You look beautiful, ma'am."
"So do you." I smile down at her.
"Oh, no. You're just saying that to be nice to me." She helps me off the stand I stood on so she could hem my dress.
"I'm not, you're very beautiful Xenia Primavera. And Varian thinks you are also, speaking of Varian, what's the history behind that?" I question.
I go to sit on the edge of my bed, hands sitting quietly in my lap. She grabs me some snow boots off the top shelf of the closet. In my drawer, she takes out long, black wool socks. "Nothing, ma'am. You know Varian can be a bit flirty, quite like his cousin."
"Oh, really now? That's the game you want to play, acting like he couldn't take his eyes off of you. The way he kissed your cheek and they lingered. He likes you, trust me I know."
"If he likes anyone, it's you." I slide on the wool socks, while Xenia waits patiently next to me with the boots.
I gasp, "Me!" I start to laugh, loudly. "He doesn't like me, he may think I'm pretty, but no. Also, he knows my heart belongs to Alexander, he wouldn't try anything with me, knowing how Alexander would act. Hey, I've got an idea." I start putting on the boots.
"What?" Her voice wavers.
"Come to the ball with me. It would be fun; I'd know more than four people there."
"Servants aren't allowed at the ball, ma'am. If I was found out, they would throw me out on my butt."
"No, they wouldn't. It's a masquerade ball, no one would see your face. Plus, I'm sure all the ladies here at court look the same. Many of them have blond hair, you'll be safe."
"No."
I whine, "Come on. If you're caught I'll blame myself, saying I forced you to come." She points towards the clock on the wall, letting me know it's time for us to go. I head to the door, but before I open it, I turn around to her. "Varian would love to see you there." The words come out soft.
"I could never. No nobleman would want me."
I don't believe that for one second.
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"How long is this going to take?" I whisper to Kai, who's currently flipping through a big book.
"Honestly, I don't know." His words come out distracted.
"It's a snowstorm out here, this has got to be illegal." The winds are howling furiously, snow surrounding us from all angles, suffocating me. We've all been out here for 30 minutes now, and no carriage has shown up.
Kai, Xenia, and I stand to the far-left side of the castle doors. I'm only inches from the door, where the warm fire in my room once was, how I wish I could huddle in front of it. The King and Katana are engaged in conversation by the stone pillars that hold so much history. Whatever they're talking about must be good because her brows are furrowed as the King's hands move around.
Long, tan steps loom down from us, then the steps lead to the walkaway that then leads to the gates out of the castle and into the town below. The only view we have is the massive Alaskan mountains littered in white snow, that's currently piling up.
Xenia leans into my ear, "It shouldn't be that long ma'am, the airport isn't that far from the castle. Also, the Queen's an impatient woman, they probably have the horses on full power." On top of her grey dress, she's huddled in a black faux coat, which I let her borrow. She was originally going to come out wearing a thin jacket. I know she's a werewolf, and she's warm-blooded and all, but with it being almost below 10 degrees, she was sure to freeze. I had to fight her on wearing it, at one point, I shoved the jacket around her dainty body.
"Poor horses," I whisper under my breath; white air clouds leave my mouth.
"I forgot to remind you; you have a final dress fitting today," Xenia said. It's been a few days since I've been to my dress fitting. The old woman, whom I never got her name, decided to take the dress that I liked from the village and make it into a ball gown. Xenia told me yesterday when she was helping me to bed, that the dress was completed, all the old woman needs to do now is sew up a few places and add quick designs and she'll be done.
I want to look stunning in front of these people, believe it or not. I know once those doors open, everyone is going to be judging me. The abomination that The First Power created, using powers Selene gave them. Turns out sharing wasn't on the list when they were given the powers.
"And to add on, you have a private audience with the Queen later on." My eyes widen at this. I have a what with who whom at what time?
"Private audience!" I streak.
Kai chimes in on the conversation, "Oh, I would hate to be you right now. I've never met her, but I heard she's scary, eyes like a snake and the hostility of a tiger." I throw darting looks at Kai, he tells me sorry and proceeds to look in his book.
"Yeah, you better look at that book, I won't hesitate to hit you in the head with it."
His head shakes, "Violence Quinn, you're already walking on thin ice around here, want to add that to the plate." He snickers.
I shove his shoulder, telling him to be quiet. He smiles, knowing that I'm joking.
In the distance, I hear the gallops of horse hooves beating against the cobblestone path up to us. "The Queen and Prince have arrived." One of the guards screams out.
I clutch my gloved hands against the white, faux coat. Kai pats my back, whispering in my ear that everything will be alright.
Two short men start to play those trumpets when royalty shows up. They're loud and echo all around us. Pulling up to the gate are two chestnut brown horses, latched onto them is a white and gold carriage. I can see two figures inside, a man and a woman.
Once the carriage stops, the coachmen hops down from his seat and open the carriage door. The man hops out first, who I now know is Price Jai'lon. I can see why he gets all the ladies, he's beautiful. Short straight hair, ominous eyes, dark glowing skin, and the body of a teenage boy (that wasn't meant to be pervy, just an observation). He's tall and slank, his belt with many weapons hangs off his waist. From what Xenia told me, he's a man whore who's shy of his 22nd birthday. For a prince, he's now considered old on the marriage market.
He runs up the cobblestones and grabs the first woman he sees. She's standing with a group of women, whom I assume are the court ladies. His mouth collides with hers, clutching her bum through the dress. Everyone gasps, even I. The King doesn't look fazed at all, just rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
"Can he just DO that?" I ask Xenia.
"He does it all the time, that's Countess Knesia's daughter, Milana Makarova. The one I found in bed with the prince." She's beautiful. Brown hair that's braided in a crown around her head and pale skin. On her body is a white, long-sleeved dress with a pastel pink shawl around her body. He lets go of her, all the way from here, I could tell she was flushed red.
"How I've missed you, Mille." He says to her, spinning "Millie" around in his arms. All she does is laugh and clutches his shoulders. It's like a scene out of The Notebook or something.
"Jai'lon!" I hear a woman scream. Queen Accalia walks out of the carriage, the coachmen held her hand. Once she's on the ground, she snatches her hand away from him, he bows and goes back to his seat. She looks menacing. Black, thick hair that's flurried all over her head. Light brown skin, button nose, and thin lips. Her grey eyes search over all of us until they land on me.
On instinct, I straighten my back and hold my chin up. Her gaze doesn't leave her mine, until Jai'lon runs over to her, helping her walk to her husband. The King pats Jai'lon on the back, then leans down and kisses Queen Accalia on the cheek.
Before he could lean back, she holds him by the shirt, whispering to him mysterious words. All the while she glances back at me.
"Xenia, what is she saying?"
"It's not appropriate for me to listen in on the King and Queen's conversation."
I snort, "Fine, just tell me the tone of the conversation, then."
She focuses on them, then tells me, "She sounds hesitant, I'm assuming it's towards you. He's reassuring her on something, now the Queen is biting at her words. OK, I'm done eavesdropping."
He grabs her hand, and they walk past us all, we bow before them. As I'm in mid-curtesy, I lift my eyes, they never leave me. All I want to do is run back to my room and bury myself under the covers. "This is going to be one interesting conversation," I say under my breath.
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