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…
Lissa tried to ignore the conversation around her in the Woman's Room, and concentrate on her book, but several of the girls were making it almost impossible.
"He asks Rory, instead of ME?" Mackenzie whined to the entire room as she paced back and forth. Rory and Prince Ethan had been noticeably absent at dinner, and now they were in the Woman's Room. None of the royals were there either, or Mackenzie wouldn't be yelling like a chicken with her head cut off.
"It's so unfair!" She continued. Lissa tried not to roll her eyes. She didn't hate Mackenzie like some of the others, but still, she wasn't the nicest person around. "He's gone out with you, and you're a Six!" She pointed at Meagan, who blushed. "And Dorianne and Michaela, both Fours! And you, a Five!" She yelled at Felicity. Felicity opened her mouth to speak, but Adele beat her to it.
"Maybe he just doesn't care about what caste you're in, Mackenzie." She spat. "Or maybe he just doesn't like you."
"He must not like you either, then." Mackenzie retorted. She spun around to face her only ally, Cordelia. "I still don't understand why he likes Taylor enough to take her on a date. She's a slutty Seven." Mackenzie smirked haughtily, but no one missed her comment, especially not Taylor, who sat in the corner by herself, drawing. She looked up, a hurt expression on her face, but she only glared. At that point, Tatiana stood up.
"Says the Two who can't even go to breakfast without showing off more than the rest of us need to see."
"Comparing you to Taylor, she looks pretty classy." Elvira added. If looks could kill, Mackenzie would have killed Elvira long ago. Sitting them next to each other had not been wise. Lissa looked at Mackenzie, dressed in a light sapphire evening gown with a sky high slit, and only a silver embellishment across her bust and one shoulder for a sleeve. Taylor, on the other hand, wore an a-line dress with a black lacy empire waist and a royal purple skirt.
"I have to agree with Elvira." Lissa interjected. She couldn't handle mean hypocrites. "Taylor looks respectable."
"Coming from a burlesque dancer, I suppose that's a complement." Mackenzie snapped at her, surveying Lissa's delicate light coral ball gown. "Don't try to hide it." She said snippily, sitting down on one of the sofas smugly. Lissa clenched her jaw. She hated that her past defined her. She snatched her book up, and stormed out of the room.
"Wow, Mackenzie, way to be rude." She heard Amber say as she closed the door. Her kitten heels echoed loudly as she scurried across the wide main hall, and to the stairs, and up to her room. No matter what she did, she was always going to be that Seven. Lissa pushed open her door, and stepped in, and threw herself face down on her bed, her gown splayed around her. A moment later, she heard a knock at her door.
"Come in." She said, assuming it was her maids.
Silence.
There was some awkward masculine throat clearing, and then Lissa realized it was most certainly not her maids. She quickly sat up, smoothing out her hair and gown, and looked to discover her intruder.
"Oh!" She stood, and curtsied quickly. "Your highness, I thought you were one of my maids." Lissa fumbled for the words, blushing deeply.
"It's okay." Prince Wesley laughed. Lissa wrinkled her brow. Had he come to deliver a message from his elder brother? She hadn't been on a date yet. He had taken Meagan and Sirena earlier yesterday, and Taylor last night after dinner to go stargazing. Dorianne had shyly admitted her had given her a horseback riding lesson that morning, and Michaela had been with him all afternoon, and he and Rory were missing at dinner.
"Are you sure? I'm so embarrassed." Lissa looked down at her shoes, feeling her face redden. Couldn't he just leave already?
"Yeah, it's fine." He said, grinning, running a hand through his light brownish hair. "You're probably wondering why I'm here." He plopped down on her desk chair, straddling it, instead of sitting in it properly.
Lissa nodded. She hadn't seen him other than at meals since bumping into him in the hallway.
"Well, you know our shared birthday is this Saturday. The girls sent me to talk to you about what you wanted."
"The girls?" Lissa hesitated.
"Michelle and Christine. And my mom." Wesley paused. "Anyway, they want us to figure out what we do for the party. They like, plan everything out, but they still want our opinions."
"Oh." Lissa suddenly was full of ideas. "We could do, like a masquerade!" She half squealed. "I've always wanted to do that!"
"Like a costume party? Because I've always wanted to dress up like a shoe."
"A shoe?" Lissa giggled. "No, not like that. It's like a ball, only everyone wears masks and no one knows who you are, and you sort of have a theme to what you wear."
"Oh. So no shoe."
"I mean, if you don't want to do that…."
"Hey, it's sounds better than like a tea party or something." He smirked. "Actually…the whole mask thing would be pretty cool. I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Lissa giggled again.
"So do you want to have it outside?" She asked hopefully. "In the evening?"
"That sounds cool. I think if we do, Andrew and his wife might disappear."
Lissa felt her cheeks heat up. "Well-"
"Not that I'm complaining, though. It just happened last time we had a party outside. But I still like your idea." Wesley stood up. "I'll tell them."
"Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Lissa stood up to, surprised how much she didn't want him to leave.
"Just our costumes, and mine's a secret." Wesley smirked.
"Oh, please don't dress up as a shoe. Since it's our birthday, we won't be able to stay secret forever."
"Oh, don't worry. I've got an even better idea. Well, I'd better let them know so they can get ready to announce it. It's sort of short notice, but they wanted your input." Wesley moved towards the door. "Goodnight, Lissa." His hand paused on the handle, and he turned, opening his mouth to speak. "Uh…sleep well." He said after a moment, obviously not what he had been planning to say.
"Goodnight, Prince Wesley." Lissa called after him. He turned around in the hall, and pointed at her.
"Wesley. Just Wesley. Or even Wes, if you like."
"Okay. Goodnight, Wesley." Lissa giggled.
He shot her a thumbs up sign. "'night, Lis." He drawled, before closing the door. Lissa jumped to her feet, and rang for her maids. She had to figure out what to wear—fast!
…
"I knew it! I knew it!" Mackenzie squealed, jumping up and down as she entered the room. "I got the next date! Pack your bags, girls, because after this, he won't even remember why the rest of you are here!"
Cora looked at Nat, and shrugged. "He told me he wasn't exactly looking forward to it on our date this morning."
"Did he say what you were doing?" Cordelia asked on the other side of the Woman's Room, where they were waiting for Sophia to arrive to begin their lessons for the day.
"The movie theatre. I plan to spend the whole time making out." Mackenzie said triumphantly, taking her seat in the front. The girls who still hadn't been on a date—Nat, Adele, Autumn, and Lissa—exchanged a look.
"Well, I'm not going to sing it from the rooftops." Lissa whispered. "But he invited me to dinner tonight, too."
"Hey, congrats!" Amber said quietly, squeezing her hand.
"After Cora this morning, I guess that only leaves the three of us." Autumn whispered to Nat and Adele. The three couldn't help but feel sad.
"Well, tomorrow's Thursday. He's got time." Nat attempted to brighten the mood, but she couldn't help feeling jealous and nervous. Their second Report was on Friday, and they had been told they would each be interviewed by Taren.
Nicole patted her elbow. "I'm sure he'll ask you guys tomorrow." She whispered. The conversation turned to other matters as they waited, namely the masquerade on Saturday for the sixteenth birthday of Lissa and Prince Wesley.
"Do you guys know what you're wearing?" Cora questioned.
Adele smirked, and lifted her chin high. "It's a surprise, as usual, but I'll give you a hint. Feathers. Lots of feathers."
"Are you going as a chicken then?" Rory sneered at her. Adele smiled sweetly. They had all grown used to Rory's insecurities after Mackenzie had dumped her out of the mean girl clique.
"No, nor any kind of bird. I just happen to like feathers." Adele countered. She nodded towards Mackenzie. "I'm sure she'll pull out all the stops and go complete slut."
"What else would you expect?" Tatiana interjected. "Mackenzie is typical. She wants power and money, and she's using her looks and her skills to get there."
"You're so right. I used to be just like that." Sirena said softly, smiling. Nat had noticed an unusual cheerfulness about her since her date with Prince Ethan, but she refused to spill the details. She had always been friendly, but after that, she was all but glowing with happiness. Sirena was fast becoming one of Nat's closest friends, aside from Nicole and Cora. Adele and Felicity were still fighting about the fact that Felicity had been on a date, and Adele hadn't, so Adele had also joined their group, along with Amber.
"I'm so excited about it! I already talked to maids about my costume." Gracie practically squealed. "But it's also a secret."
Gracie had gradually come to join their group, usually talking to Nat about horses when she wasn't with Nicole and Autumn.
"I can't believe how stressful this is going to be. I'm counting on a date tomorrow, and then the Report on Friday, and then the masquerade on Saturday! I was freaking out over my Report gown." Adele chimed in.
"I'm terrified about the interviews. They talked to me about our date last time, and I froze. I can't even remember what I said!" Amber said.
"I'm kind of excited." Nat admitted. "That is, if I actually go on a date first. If not, I'll just look like an idiot."
"Do you know what you're wearing?" Nicole asked her.
"Yeah. My maids are almost done with it. It's pretty awesome. I'll show you later."
The girls began talking of hairstyles and shoes, a usual topic for them. While a majority of the girls were friendly to each other, they all had their few closest friends. Mackenzie and Cordelia, although usually arguing, were practically a match made in heaven. Two Twos, rich, snobby, fashionista divas that got a long great—most of the time.
Michaela and Katherine had bonded too, both being bakers and all. Amelia sometimes joined them, but after her fiasco with Erin, she still had few friends, aside from Elvira, who also kept to herself a lot too. Erin continued to ignore everyone else, and got into a lot of arguments with Sophia about her choice of clothes.
Lissa often hung around with Gracie and Nicole or Dorianne or Taylor, even though Taylor avoided anything social. Amber, in addition to Nat and Sirena, talked often to fun Tatiana as well as Hana, since they were both designers. Rory was rude to everyone, but when she was with Nat and Sirena, she relaxed somewhat and became more vivacious instead of mean. Bryn and Meagan were closed off to the others, but always had the latest gossip.
There were also quite a lot of enemies within the group. No one really liked Mackenzie, least of all Elvira. Adele and Erin loathed each other, and Rory had a vendetta against Mackenzie and Cordelia. Taylor acted like she hated everyone, because she never talked to anyone. Tatiana and Cordelia squabbled almost constantly.
Currently, the whole Woman's Room buzzed with conversation as the girls waited for Sophia to arrive. She was late, which was unusual.
"The first thing I'm doing when I'm Queen is firing that woman." Mackenzie squawked. Just then, the door opened, and a very flustered Sophia entered the room. Her usual perfect hair was slightly frizzy, so the girls knew she was distressed.
"Lessons are canceled for today." Sophia practically yelled. Several of the girls looked worried, and glanced around at each other.
"What happened?" Meagan asked.
"Is something wrong?" said Gracie.
"No, not yet anyway. The mask is on Saturday, and today is Wednesday. I suggest you meet with your maids about your outfits. I'm helping the Queen and the Princesses with preparations, so we won't have lessons for the rest of the week. Now, go! The press will be all over this event, and we have less than a week to plan it."
She left the room in a huff, and the girls stood up excitedly, their chatter growing. Not only was this a chance to impress their potential husband, but like Sophia said, the press would be all over it. Mackenzie and Cordelia left first, talking in low tones and scoffing at the others. Lissa, Gracie, and Dorianne scurried out, giggling.
"Wait, guys." Michaela said, stopping Meagan and Bryn from leaving. She glanced at Lissa's disappearing form. "We need to talk."
The remaining girls stopped, and went silent. Gracie flashed them a thumbs up, before following Lissa and Dorianne.
"I talked to Gracie." Michaela told them. "And she has a request for us all. I think it's a really good idea."
"She's going to find out what Lissa is wearing to the masquerade." Katherine added.
"And I think none of us should copy her." Michaela finished. "This is her time."
"That's not fair. Why should she get to steal the spotlight?" Rory complained.
"Because it's her birthday." Nicole shushed her. "All eyes should be on her."
"Whatever. I'd never wear something she would, anyway." Rory stormed out.
"This is her time to shine. We need to let her." Michaela said. "Are you guys okay with that?"
"Of course!" Autumn said happily. "I think it's a wonderful idea."
"Me too." Elvira added.
"Whatever." Erin muttered, and sauntered out.
Adele rolled her eyes. "I'm sure whatever she wears will look terrible. It'll probably be pants or something. Ugh."
"We should try to find out what the Queen and the Princesses are wearing too." Sirena interjected. "So we don't copy them."
"Well, I don't want anyone to copy me." Meagan put in. "I'm going as a phoenix."
"And I'm doing something flower inspired." Bryn said quickly, as if daring someone to take her idea.
"I have no idea what I'm doing." Nat whispered to Nicole as they filed out of the room.
"Me neither. I'm sure my maids will help though."
"Yeah." Nat crossed her arms. Nicole immediately sensed her perceptions.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be next. He'd be a fool not to ask you out. Besides…he's not all… that great." Nicole hesitated on the last part.
"Still, it sucks to be one of the last. And you told me he was pretty handsome."
Nicole shrugged. "He's a prince. He's supposed to be."
…
Mackenzie threw the pad of paper down in disgust. "Is that too much to ask?" She demanded of Caitlin, her maid. "I'm sure Lissa will be wearing something much more fantastic."
Trembling, Caitlin picked up the paper. "No, Lady Mackenzie." She squeaked. "It's just a little….um…"
"You can't wear something short to a ball." Julia, the worst of her maids told her. "It's inappropriate."
"I don't care! I want to stand out!" Mackenzie squawked. She turned to Eliza, the only sensible maid of the three. "I'm the Selected. You do what I want."
"Lady Mackenzie, I have an idea." Eliza yanked the paper away from Caitlin, who cowered against the wall. She sketched a brief sketch. "Backless, skin tight, and a thigh high slit."
"Make it hot pink." Mackenzie snapped. "And I might be okay with it. Now I have to change."
She snatched up the dress she had chosen on the first day to wear on her first date. It was a darker, cranberry pink, strapless, with a short, but bouncy tulle skirt. Once she put it on, her maids touched up her hair and makeup. They gave her a coating of her lavender perfume, and left without a word into the closet when there was a knock at the door.
"Answer the door!" Mackenzie hissed. "It's your job!" Eliza hurried to open the door, while Mackenzie struck a supermodel pose, and smiled seductively, with one hand on her hip. Eliza curtsied wordlessly to Prince Ethan, while Mackenzie approached him. She ran her hand down his arm.
"It's about time you asked me out, you little devil." She said flirtatiously. "Where are we going?" She wrapped her arm around his, and casually tucked herself under his arm.
Ethan cleared his throat, and edged as far away from her as he could. "Um, I thought the movie theatre in the basement, but-"
"Sounds divine." Mackenzie giggled, pressing herself closer to him. His face flaming, Ethan led her down the hall, all but tripping over her as she hung on him. When they reached the theatre in the basement, they went to two seats in the middle, and sat down. Some of the staff brought them popcorn, candy and soda, and then the lights darkened. Mackenzie smiled to herself, ready to put her plan into motion. She coiled her arm around his, waiting for him to put his arm around her. When he didn't, she scooted closer, so their arms were touching. Ethan froze, his arm tensed. Mackenzie leaned her head on his shoulder, not liking that he tensed up even more. She focused on the movie for a few more minutes. Still no response. She picked her head up, let go of his hand and settled back into her seat, sighing loudly. Boys were so dense sometimes. She tried clearing her throat, heavy sighs, touching his hand, but he remained red-faced and motionless. Mackenzie crossed her legs, and tried to focus on the movie, but she had missed the whole plot line, and just got confused. She busied herself with how to get his attention, and finally came up with an ingenious plan.
Quickly, she whipped up some tears, and began sniffing, and wiping at her eyes. Ethan shifted slightly, and she sniffed louder. He didn't as much as glance at her. Mackenzie added a whimper, and covered her face with her hands, glad of her years of bribing her father with fake tears. She began to really enhance the crying noises, and saw Ethan glance at her out of the corner of her eye.
"Lady Mackenzie…um, are you alright?" He asked tentatively. Mackenzie's fake whimpering turned to sobbing, as she waited for him to hug her or something!
Suddenly, the movie stopped playing and she looked up, hoping her makeup wasn't a mess.
"Are you alright?" He asked again. Mackenzie had to think fast.
"Yes, I will be. It's just that this movie is so touching." She fake-cried. Apparently he believed her, just like her dad always did.
"Do you want to continue watching it?" He said gently. Mackenzie nodded, and he turned the movie back on, and went back to being boring. Mackenzie sighed, and eventually, her fake tears dried up.
When the movie was over, he escorted her back to her room. Mackenzie rattled on about how romantic and touching the movie had been, but Ethan only offered a few affirmative statements. All too soon, they were walking down the hall of the second floor to her room. Mackenzie was terribly embarrassed. Ethan was the second boy she'd ever met who was immune to her charms, and it infuriated her to no end.
Ahead of them, she noticed a maid mopping the floor quickly duck out of sight. The next thing she knew, she slipped on the still slick tile. Mentally cursing all the incompetence of the servants here, Mackenzie was suddenly spared from the humiliation of sprawling on the floor in her too short dress. Ethan caught her in his arms, his face inches from hers. Mackenzie smiled. All of her tactics had failed, but thanks to the maid's incompetence, this was her moment. She closed her eyes, waiting for him to kiss her.
But it never came.
"Are you alright?" It was basically the only thing he said to her. He righted her quickly, and Mackenzie straightened her skirt and hair.
"Yes. Thank you." She said coldly. How dense was he!? He opened the door to her room, and held it open for her. She stormed in, and closed it in his face without as much as a goodbye.
She began pacing back and forth across her room, her brow furrowed angrily. She had tried everything and nothing had worked! Still, she had her caste. He wouldn't eliminate another Two would he? Plus, she was high in the polls among Illea. She would stay, for the money, and the power. Just not for love. Now I just had to make up a story about how well my date went.
…
-Shades
-Shades!