Lady Emerson Thalia Ingram
Dance is the hidden language of the soul. I lived for dancing, and being a backup dancer for amazing artists was everything to me. My dad travels a lot for a live theatre company he works for, and my mom, well, she didn't like that I chose to become a backup dancer over being a ballerina, but she accepted it.
When I was younger my mom, who was a ballerina and currently a dance instructor, taught me ballet, but when I started getting older I branched out into other types of dance. When I was fourteen I taught some kids dance, and one of them happened to be the daughter of a pop star. I ended up being a backup dancer for her, and then went on tours with other artists. When I was there I ended up dating one of the other backup dancers – Micah Barron – for six months. It was a whirlwind of a romance, and at the end of it he decided to break up with me because he lived too far away. To be honest, Matt kind of reminds me of Micah.
Matt's whole bad boy exterior is probably just a defense mechanism that guys use. I feel bad that he feels the need to act that way, and I want to get to know the real Matt. He seemed to be doing other stuff though because the only time we had really gotten to talk is when we are all in the ballroom, speaking of which I should get going. I don't want to be late for it.
The Selection was exciting for me; it's a great opportunity. What girl doesn't want to be a princess and fall in love at the same time?
I smoothed out my mint green, A-line dress and made my way to the ballroom as my heels made a clicking sound; I preferred wedges, but today I was wearing stilettos. My dark brown eyes glanced down at my simple, gold necklace and I entered the ballroom. I took in the familiar surroundings, and walked over to Matt. He was talking to Evelyn, and when she saw that I was going to talk to him she whispered something before leaving just as Matt looked over to me, and gave me a smile.
"Hey, Emmy," Matt spoke as I neared him, and gave him a smile as a response. In the corner of my eye, I saw the king and queen discussing something with someone who looked important, and I quickly diverted my attention back to Matt. The king and queen had always intimidated me; there is no one more powerful than them in all of Illéa.
"How do you like it here?" Matt inquired as I looked back up at him. I was taller than average, but he was still taller than me.
"I remember you asking me this at our last conversation," I answered.
He gave me a shrug, "I'm not good at small talk."
I opened my mouth to speak, but another voice interrupted me, "Matthew, Lady Emerson, could I talk to you for a moment?"
It was Queen Ashlynn. She was in a dark red gown that screamed elegance, and she looked at the two of us, mainly Matt who had an annoyed look on his face. He probably knew what she was going to ask.
"Mom, I'm talking to Emmy. Can't it wait?" Matt asked dryly, you could tell that he wanted to be anywhere else but here. The queen, on the other hand, didn't seemed affected by Matt's answer and she turned to me.
"Lady Emerson, would you do me a favour?" She asked ignoring Matt's obvious distain.
I nodded at her, "Of course, Your Majesty."
"I need you to teach Matthew how to dance," she stated before turning to a protesting Matt. She probably knew that I would accept, and I would have.
"I don't want to learn that dance - it looks stupid - and besides I'm busy right now. Why couldn't you have waited for another moment to ask me?"
The queen rolled her eyes, and gestured to the two of use while she spoke, "You both haven't gone on a date, so Lady Emerson can teach you how to waltz. The French and the Italians are coming over soon, and you don't want to look like an idiot, do you?" She seemed kind of harsh with the tone she was using, which lead to no room for any argument, but you could tell that she truly didn't want her son to be the odd one out.
After a nod from Matt she seemed to be satisfied, and left.
"Sorry, Emmy," Matt apologised. "It was sprung onto you, and I knew Mom would try and get one of the Selected to help me because she says that I would learning how to waltz – which I can't believe people still do – and that I would spend time with one of you."
I gave him a smile, "Don't worry; I love dancing and I get to go on a date with you."
I saw Matt crack a small smile, "You've been to Angeles before, right?"
"Yeah, on a-"
"Tour," Matt finished.
"Have you been stalking us, Matthew?" I questioned teasingly – us being the Selected.
Matt shook his head, "I assumed because on your form it said that you're a backup dancer. I don't know your backstories, but don't be surprised if James does."
"Prince James knows everything?"
Matt nodded, "Pretty much. He knows whether you've had boyfriends-"
This time it was me who cut him off, "Jealous, Matthew?"
He nodded, and gave me teasing look before wrapping his arm around my torso and pulling me to him, "I'd be a wreck without you," he spoke dramatically, and I giggled a little before he let me go.
He swiftly glanced at his watch, and then back at me, "I have to go, Emmy. I'll see you tomorrow for the dance lesson."
With a quick goodbye he headed out of the ballroom, and seemingly unnoticed, before I headed to where Issa was. I loved these small gatherings.
Kadeyn Coardi
I can't believe I have to go to this stupid thing. What's the whole point of it? It seems conceited from my perspective. Matt waltzes around with twenty girls here, and he only ends up talking to one of them. It's probably doing wonders for his ego.
Seeing that no one was even laying attention to me I exited the ballroom, and made my way to the king's office. They were a bunch of papers in there, and I needed one of them.
Swiftly making my way up the third floor, and ignoring any looks I got I entered his suite, which had his office connected to it.
My hand reached for the light switch, and the beams illumated the dark room. The vibrant walls were painted a dark grey, and his desk lay in the corner of the room. I hurriedly opened the the cupboard and rummaged through the different files until I found the one I wanted.
"12/03/3483 – Matthew's eighteenth birthday"
Turns out your dad knows your little secret, Devore, I thought.
Hearing a noise, I quickly put the file in my jacket before getting up. My head hit the cupboard though – real suave, I know – and I let out a curse.
Oh great, now someone is opening the door.
"Kadeyn?" Ambrosia asked.
I just stared at her in shock, "Ambrosia?" Ambrosia is my ex-girlfriend, by the way.
"What are you doing here Kadeyn?" Ambrosia questioned.
"What are you doing here, Ambrosia?" I tried to switch the conversation to her. What was she was doing here?
"I work here. I was cleaning the king's suite," she answered with an annoyed voice, "I told you I work here over a hundred times," always with the exaggeration, that girl.
"I'm staying here. If you work here you should know that."
"I meant here, Kadeyn, as in the king's office," she gestured to the office.
I looked around avoiding here question as her eyes landed on my jacket pocket with the file half sticking out.
"You stole from the king," she stated disbelieving.
"Oh, don't act so innocent, Ambrosia, your far from it," I hissed, so I have short temper, who cares? "And if you tell anybody about this I'll show them exactly how you're like."
She looked at me before turning and walking away.
We all have our own secrets in this twisted world.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! By the way, I originally posted this without Kadeyn's POV, but I thought the chapter needed more so I deleted it and then added more before re-posting, so I'm sorry if you clicked on and there wasn't a new chapter.