VOTE ON MY POLL FOR WHO YOU THINK SHOULD GET THE NEXT DATE!
No longer was the Women's Room infested with endless racks of dresses and shouting women in black dresses and air fuzzy with different overly-pleasant scents that only semi-clashed with each other. Old Hollywood-style vanities were replaced with expensive-looking mahogany armoires, and the platforms where we once were forced to stand and pose for "After" pictures on were gone, nothing but pale fawn couches with navy, fawn, and dark brown and white speckled throw pillows in their place. In the midst of chaos during the makeover, when my maids were whisking me around trying to make me look closer to acceptable, I missed the spectacular gold detailing on the otherwise white-blush walls, reminding me a little of a Faberge egg, like Lori sometimes liked to collect. Vintage paintings in teal were framed in gold and hung around the room. In the center of a ceiling maybe triple the size of myself, was a black and pink chandelier. The first one I had seen in my… day… at the palace that wasn't made of crystals. The grey-green taffeta curtains were drawn back, and sunlight streamed through the perfectly polished glass windowpanes.
Every bit of me itched to throw open the doors to the terrace and simply absorb the perfection of the Angeles fall. Fennley got as hot summers as here, since we're right on the water, but already the air in the morning could turn your cheeks pink. Not here. Angeles still felt and smelled every bit like summer. The heat wouldn't dip down even a little bit for another couple months. And even then, any ounce of coldness would be fleeting and barely even there.
I glanced around nervously for a place to sit. There were the fawn couches (which could probably fit a little more than half of us, but were filling up quickly with fast made friends) and brown leather one-person seats (already completely filled up), but my only other option seemed to be to lean against the wall. It felt reasonable to do, but my feet were killing me and no one else was doing it. I did another quick scan for an open seat, when my eyes connected with unknown warm brown ones. The girl had shinny brown hair falling down her back and tan skin, and she beckoned me forward. An offer to share her seat. I felt panic and relief all at the same time. True, I'd have somewhere to sit, but I had no clue who the girl was! I silently curse Lacey, who wouldn't leave the TV or computer alone, not caring in the slightest that I had to study the other Selected.
The girl offers me a warm smile, that I can't help but return.
"Are you sure?" I clarify, "It's going to be awfully cramped with the two of us on here."
She waves her hand dismissively. "Eh, I'll manage." I give her a grateful smile as I smooth out my skirt and sit down. "I'm Wendy, by the way."
"Penny."
Wendy looks like she's about to open her mouth again to say something, but our educator on "all things Selection" clears her throat and tells us all to quiet down.
She gives us a closed mouth smile. "Hello, Ladies, and congratulations. You've survived the first elimination." A few of the girls (who I obviously can't name, thanks a lot Lacey…) clap, and one whoops loudly, earning a look from the stern lady up front. "I'm Cordelia Thornley." The black haired woman introduces herself as.
Cordelia takes a second to pace around the room a bit, and her eyes move to each girl in the room, one by one. As her eyes land on mine, I get a momentary rush of uncomfort. It was like she was trying to figure me out in a glance. "Lady Ainsley, what's special about you?" Her gaze is affixed on a beautiful brunette with freckles on her nose and cheeks. She's easily one of the prettiest of us. Though she's trying to cover it with a steady tone, but I can see the panic on her face, and notice her start to wring her left wrist.
"Ah…. I can speak seven languages."
"A Hypo-Polygot. Fabulous." Cordelia's smile drops as she moves to the next girl. "You, Lady Aurelia, what makes you special?"
"I-uh-I work for Matthew Ipettie, one of the top music producers in Atlin."
"That's great," Her focus moves again. "What about you Lady Sonia?"
"Well, my family's from Pakistan…."
"Ties, connections, fantastic." She silences the girl with a wave of her hand, and one by one, hits every girl in an advanced game of "getting to know you", like you'd play in elementary school. I will have to say, though, that this was maybe the most effective method ever of learning people's names.
Waverly surfs competitively.
Kalissa's been dancing since she was two.
Riley is on deferred enrollment from college and is traveling Europe and Asia with her aunt and brother.
Suddenly, Cordelia turns to me. "Lady Penelope, what about you? What makes you… special?" Her tone is cold, flat, accusatory. I start to panic. I never panic. I feel twenty-eight sets of eyes, just about melting me into a puddle of "Raspberry Zinger" by Rekaelii Paris smelling goo on the carpet.
I gulp, my mind drawing to a complete blank. I should have had something ready… he said specifically that she wanted to get to know us, I should have prepared something to know! I close my eyes, and wrack my brain for something even a little bit interesting to say. Oh God….
Out of the blue, Wendy reaches out and squeezes my hand. It's such a small gesture, but it shocks me a bit and I open my eyes to find her giving me a reassuring smile.
I take a breath. You can think of something Penny, you're not that boring.
"I'm training to be a newspaper reporter. And through that, I'd like to be an investigative journalist."
"That's nice. Now Lady Eponine…" And that was it. The moment, over and done with.
"See?" Wendy whispers, so that Cordelia cant hear us. "That wasn't so bad."
"I…. guess so…." And yet its still another few minutes until my heart stops racing.
…
After our game is finished, Cordelia tells us we can "mull about" and do whatever we want-as long as we stay in the room. "And see if you can make a few friends, while you're at it. One less person to tattle when you mess up." Her comment seems backhanded, although it doesn't even make sense.
"Soooooo! Up for a little mingling then?" I ask Wendy, now sitting parallel to her on the edge of the couch. Her face pales.
"Oh nonononono…" There's something about the look on her face, and I decide to drop it.
"Fine. But you're going to have to meet them eventually!" She groans.
"How about no…."
"Hey, you heard Cordelia! One less tattletale for when you use a steak knife to cut your fish." She chuckles.
"If I ever mess up that bad, I don't think I even deserve to be here." I laugh. For someone so keen on not meeting people, Wendy seems incredibly extroverted. But maybe I'm wrong…
"Ehem…." A young maid breaks up our conversation to hold a silver tray between us. On it is a white doily, and on top of that, a folded piece of oak tag, just like our name cards. "It's for you, Lady Penelope."
"Oh." I don't know what else to say. After I take the slip of paper, the girl stands there, waiting. "Umm… Thanks." Still, she stays where she is. I decide to ignore her, not sure what else to do.
"What's that?" Wendy asks, excited. I open the card.
"It's from Carter…"
"No way!" She asked, a bit too loudly. Several heads snap to our direction and the conversation dies immediately. Wendy looks like how I felt earlier, like she could melt on the spot.
"Well? What is it?" A blonde girl-Blanca- practically shouts, obviously annoyed and incredibly frustrated. She surrounded by a clique of six girls: Celaena/Kalissa (but actually, I think both), Xia, Arielle, Cosette, and Avangeline. Arielle rolls her eyes and mutters something to Blanca, who silences her immediately.
I fold open the cream oak tag paper, well aware that I have the attention of every girl in the room.
"Dear Penny,
I was wondering if you'd accompany me on a walk around the palace grounds. It's a plenty hot day (almost as hot as me), and I'd love to have someone to share it with. Interested?
Please let the maid know your response. If the answer's yes, I'll be by your room to pick you up at around 1:00.
Until then,
Carter"
As I finish the note, I fold it back up and shout for anyone who might have a pen. Ainsley tosses me one and it lands on the couch beside me. I quickly scribble an "I'd love to, see you then" on the back and thank the maid as she strides away.
Everyone's eyes are still on me after she's gone. "Well," I say, addressing twenty-seven pairs of anticipating eyes. "I got the first date."
…
"Michelle, I need foundation, bronzer, nude eye shadow, eyeliner, lip gloss-you know, the Charlotte Tillbury I like for her? High Society? That one, get it! And get me nail glue while you're at it! Gina, Lady Penelope needs a dress. She's tan, it's summer, get her something bright. Move it ladies we've got a little over an hour lets go!" One thing I'd gathered about my head maid, Tanya, was that she was a little controlling. But me having the first date was throwing her completely over the edge. As Michelle struggled to lay out the cosmetics she had to apply (all waterproof, so I couldn't sweat it off), and Gina disappeared completely into my more-massive-than-necessary closet in search for the perfect ensemble, Tanya muttered to herself over and over again as she unplugged and replugged the curling iron. "Screw it." She finally said. "You're getting a braid."
And I braid is what I got. She started at the top of my head; French braiding until around my ear, where she connected the blonde strands from the back and rebraided it into a side fishtail. It looked surprisingly nice. She sprayed me with hairspray and whisked me off to Michelle, who –steadily as possible, with whatever time she had- applied my makeup (all while keeping a constant stream of gossip going. How she heard that former Queen America got the first date too, how Lady Chance's maids were bragging that she'd get the first date, the like). She was just putting the finishing touches on the eye shadow when Gina –panting- reemerged from my closet with my outfit.
"Quickly!" Tanya emphasizes. "We've got less than fifteen minutes!" Embarrassingly enough, I'm stripped in front of all three of my maids. But I guess the final product was worth it.
I stand completely still in front of the full-length mirror. My dress was made out of a breathable material that was comfortable and cool, and as I spun around I saw that it got a bit of lift. It was a bright strawberry colored mini dress, with two spaghetti straps that connected (an otherwise backless dress) in the back with a bow. It was… gorgeous. It offset my natural tan from spending so much time outside all summer nicely (as Gina claimed all bright colors did), and the makeup helped. Michelle used bronzer instead of blush, giving me more of a natural glow, and the lip-gloss was darker than the dress, so it offset nicely. Taking a break from the heels that I so loved, I wore black flat sandals with skinny straps up to the ankle. They gave me one gold ring with onyx on it as my jewelry. In a rush, they secured gold and bright strawberry colored nails, ombreing a bit.
And for the final touch. I had really loved the signature scent I chose. Raspberry Fizz: sweet raspberry and toasted coconut, with middle notes of buttercream frosting and bottom notes of freshly baked yellow sponge cake. Heavenly, if you asked me. They coated me with it as there was a light knock on the door.
Tanya wafted over, but Michelle raced to the door. After a second of bickering, my head maid was the one to reveal Prince Carter.
"Lady Penelope." He bows and kisses my hand. I assume the formality's only because I have maids around, but I can't be sure.
"Prince Carter." I curtsey.
"Shall we?"
I smile. "We shall." I loop my arm with his and he leads me away from my hectic maids, who I can still hear fighting from the other side of the door.
…
The day really was scorching. It had to be in the high nineties, and I began sweating in less than ten minutes. I could only pray he didn't notice.
We keep each other moderately entertained, with talk about his family and more about my own, but it's clear we're both miserable. In fact, the heat is borderline intolerable. Even with an occasional wispy breeze, I feel like collapsing. Still, I hold my ground. If Carter can do it, you can. It's no problem.
The walk is useful though, seeing as I get a general better feel for the grounds. He takes me through the courtyard and we pick flowers in the gardens. But all I can think is that this could be so much better if we weren't so hot…
And then, the miracle comes.
A mere 60-yards ahead of us is a giant fountain, slightly secluded and gushing with water. I exchange a look with Carter and use every bit of my energy to sprint there.
"Penny!" he calls.
"Come with me!" I shout back. As I near the fountain, I drop my bouquet and strip off my sandals, jumping right into the fountain.
It's freezing, like ice that you left out to thaw. The water sends chills through me, but I couldn't feel better. The fountain almost goes up to my knees, and I feel thankful that I'm wearing a mini dress.
Carter, who took his sweet time coming over to the fountain, watches me with a smirk.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing." I frown.
"Come on in!" He waves his hand dismissively. "Come on!"
"I don't think so." I study him for a second, then lean down and throw as much water I can at him. His mouth falls ajar and he stood there, unmoving. I start cracking up. "Oh God, Penelope Foster this isn't funny." Carter says, smirk slowly returning. He starts to strip off his socks, then his shoes.
"Bring it, Schreave." I mumble as he gets into the fountain.
I make the first move, hurling more water towards him. But he matches, and I suddenly feel glad I'm wearing waterproof makeup, because I'm completely drenched. I shriek, and kick more water at him. It soon becomes an all out water fight, leaving both of us sopping and out of breath from laughing so hard. After a while, though, the icy water chills me to the bone and I have to get out, shivering and my teeth chattering.
Carter calls over two maids to bring us towels. I wrap mine around myself tightly as we laugh about their ridiculous faces.
"My maids are going to kill me." I splutter through chattering teeth.
"Mine probably wont care. But my mother's going to be furious."
"Is she going to make you kick me out?" I wonder, surprisingly nervous. My stomach twists uncomfortably and a feeling of dread starts to pool.
"No, she can't make me do that." I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding and he chuckles. My sudden relief surprises me. I'm not…. I'm not even supposed to like him… I entered this competition because of Lacey, not because I wanted to. I thought it could get me some attention for my writing, make me a proper three, not have my low caste drag down my high caste family. There were reasons for why I signed up. Not one for him. But already I could see my attitude change. Suddenly, I wanted to be here. For Wendy, for Carter. And the thought scared me a little bit.
Carter and I walk the rest of the way up to my room in silence. Too soon, we're at my door.
"Thanks." I tell him. "I had a great time."
He laughs. "Do you enjoy splashing your future king with freezing cold water?"
"Why yes, Your Majesty!" I curtsey mockingly. He laughs and bows.
"Until next time."
"Till next time." I open the door slowly, aware that he's watching me as I disappear.
I sigh, feeling a million things at once. Only one thing could possibly break me out of my momentary trance-
"Lady Penelope! Why are you wet?!"
First date: done! I hope you guys enjoyed that!
Again, please vote on my poll! I'm choosing mainly who gets the dates, but every once in a while I'll be doing a "fan favorite" to get the date, so make sure you vote for your favorites!
Tell me what you thought in the comments! SPEAKING OF WHICH! Thanks soooo much guys! You got me to over 200 reviews! I believe our current count is 205! Thank you so so much, it means a lot to me when you review!
LOVE YOU GUYS
-Lily