I own nothing

"Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be happy with myself. I worry that if I can't be happy with myself, then nobody will ever be happy with me, and that just makes me even more paranoid. It's a cycle, insecurity, unconfidence, and diffidence, it's all a cycle and it's destroying me." - unknown

I loved summer. I'm the goddess of seasons so of course I love all the seasons. But I'm allowed to have my favorites.

I loved the warm nights eating strawberries fresh from the picking and honey with our bare fingers, or making crowns of fragrant wildflowers and pretend like we were marrying princes.

Its sickening how different reality tends to be when your childhood fantasies actually take place.

My hand fluttered up to nervously play with my hair and were promptly smacked away. I was more nervous than I expected to be, the clock chimed makeing me jump almost knocking all the hairpins off the counter.

The servant didn't say anything, maybe she was used to this type of behavior but It was more likely that she was afraid I would punish her or something crazy like that. I sat there fidgeting for another minute or two before the lady stepped away and out of the room, off to attend to another spoiled lady of the court I presume.

I smoothed my hands on my dress, the thin fabric doing nothing to dry my sweaty palms. I stared myself down in the mirror, nice full lips barely lined with pink gloss and a straight plain nose nothing to ghastly. Natural dirty blond hair that dried in ringlets naturally were pinned up in a messy French braided bun. I had decided to go understated and barely there for the entire thing.

It was my debut in court and I wanted to fly under the radar, my parents obviously weren't going to let that happen. My dress was gorgeous and eye catching, it was made from a very thin floaty fabric dyed so that at the top it was a pale periwinkle that almost perfectly matched my eyes and at the bottom a piercing aqua .

There were a wide variety of jewels arranged to look like rivulets of water that flowed down from were the fabric brought in tight at my waist. The top was short sleeve, very tight, and almost completely sheer was splattered with jewels too, the whole effect was very waterfall like.

If it were up to me I wouldn't be going at all, but I had a responsibility to my family to marry well. Especially after my older sister ran off with the palace baker's assistant. Of course I also had to marry so that my two younger sisters Tereya and Fiyoura could come to court as well.

Anyway this dress looks like it cost as much as the estate so I should probably put it to use.

"My lady"

I jumped at the voice that rang out directly behind me,

"This came for you in the post" The messenger boy held out a small cream envelope with the family crest. A red fox with a olive branch. Joy.

I flipped him a few coins before abandoning all manners and ripping the envelope open.

My darling daughter,

I first want to let you know I am going against your fathers direct orders when I even vaguely hint about what I am about to write.

There was been an engagement already made by your father and the father of your fiancée that will be announced as a surprise tonight.

Let me warn you that the man you will be engaged to knows nothing of this and I will not be able to tell you who as I do not know myself.'

I simply wrote this to prepare you and to wish you the best of luck

Your Loving Mother,

Wrenya

The piece of paper dropped limp from my fingertips.

I'm going to marry someone.

Soon.

My father already made arrangements.

Not even my mother knows who.

well,

shit.

I was almost in a daze as my fathers friend Sir Jeffery helped me down the carriage steps. It was him and his family I was living with while at court seeing as there estate was within riding distance from the palace grounds.

Sir Jeffery was a older man with a amazing capacity of patience and a twinkle in his eye. His wife Lady Theria was much the same with a beauty of the flesh that rivaled the beauty of her heart. They had five children, four boys - Henry the scholar who was just a little older than me, Isaac the diplomat with his fathers patience about my age, Terio a young handsome wallflower with a passion for archery, and Winston the mischievous youngster. They also had a daughter named Keeleigh who was my best childhood friend though she was quite a bit younger than me.

I grew up quite a bit in their care, I learned archery from Terio, how to keep a straight face and charm a noble from Issac, how to sew a wound and find my way home using only the stars from Henry, how to make silly faces across a ballroom from Keeleigh, and how to ride a horse and steal food from the kitchens from Winston.

I loved them all so much.

"It'll be alright Ever"

Sir Jeffery's warm, calm voice cut through my foggy panicked brain

I smiled at him trying to remember what Isaac taught me

"Just put your emotions in a tiny box Ev, they don't matter anymore what matters is how the other persons see's and thinks you feel like."

I took a deep breath, we had already reached the ballroom door.

They loomed before me huge and glided, radiating warmth and majestic power.

The Herald looked at me for conformation.

I nodded.

His voice was so loud it rang in my eyedrums.

"Lady Ever of the House Mervyn"

and then the din of clapping.

sooooo what do you guys think. Continue or scrap?

Ever's dress is posted on my profile page :)