"C'mon! You're slower than molasses in January."
Juliette bit her lip, picking up her pace to follow her red headed friend. "I'm just nervous, that's all."
Maisie stopped in her tracks, resting her hands on her hips. "Don't be! I've met all of the stable's horses and they're sweeter than honey. Besides, horseback riding is an essential Queeny skill."
"Maybe back when horses were still the main mode of transport." Juliette chided, sticking her arm in the space to lock elbows with her friend. Maisie took her arm excitedly, "As long as we go slow, I should be okay."
Maisie nodded, pulling the blonde along as she skipped to the stable. Juliette laughed at her, but the sound cut off when Maisie's face contorted in confusion. She slowed to a stop, pushing her finger to her lips to hush Juliette. "Do you hear that?"
Juliette listened closely. There was a thick pounding on the ground, the sandy rubble bouncing with each thud. The closer they got, the clearer the sound got.
"Someone's already here." Juliette said. Maisie unhooked her arm, leaning against the door. Juliette stood a step behind as the two peeked their heads around to see in the stables. As soon as they did, there was a crash. The person riding hit the ground hard, and the horse reared with a distressed whinny.
Maisie shot forward, holding her arms out to calm the horse as Juliette yanked the arms of the girl to get her out of reach of the hooves. One stomp from the giant creature could easily end a life. The horse settled down, and Maisie ran her hand along its nose to console it.
"Elise, are you okay?" Juliette kneeled next to the girl. Elise's blue eyes flashed angrily as she turned her face away. Juliette noticed the puffy redness immediately.
"I'm fine. I just fell."
Maisie approached the two, the reins in her hand. She narrowed her brows in confusion, "You're too good with them to have him knocking you around. Something's wrong."
"It's none of your business, chato." Elise spat the last word, her accent coming in strong with her emotions. Juliette didn't know the meaning of the word, but could already tell it wasn't something nice.
Maisie shook her head, "No need to get your knickers in a knot, we just helped you out."
"I didn't need your help." Elise responded, pushing herself up. She brushed the dirt off of her skirt, which now sported a large tear. Juliette frowned. "You guys must've scared him, so he bucked me off. Agradecido quedo."
"Okay, you're gonna have to put on your big girl boots and stop pitchin' a fit." Maisie said, popping her hip out. "Because you bein' upset is making him upset."
"I'm not upset." Elise retorted.
"Maybe we should get a nurse in here, she fell pretty hard." Juliette turned her attention to Maisie. They weren't getting anywhere with Elise.
"I'm fine, I told you- mierda!" Elise's leg crumpled under her almost as soon as she put any weight on it. Juliette reached to help her not fall back onto the ground, but Elise slapped the hand away. Tears brimmed in her eyes. "Can't you just leave me alone?"
"Elise, please." Juliette reached towards her again. "You need help."
"Let me put this guy up." Maisie muttered before leading the horse away.
"I swear, when I'm queen, I will have both of you rot." Elise smothered her face into her hands. Her threat didn't bother Juliette, though, who rested a hand on her back.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure. Let's get you back to the palace." Elise didn't budge. Instead, much to Juliette's surprise, she started to cry. Maisie returned to the two, blinking puzzled at Juliette. Juliette gave a bewildered shrug. "What? I didn't say anything."
Elise picked her head up, wiping her face with her dusty sleeve. "Estoy que echo chispas. My horse is gone. My dad got rid of her."
"What do you mean he got rid of her?" Maisie asked.
"He said if I didn't make it to the top five in the polls that he would sell Balada. She was my first show horse… and now she's gone."
"That's… harsh." Juliette said softly. Elise shook her head, sniffling daintily.
"I just… It's hard. She was my best friend."
"I can't imagine." Maisie plunked herself on the ground. "Losing a horse, it's like losing family."
"I did everything I could, you know?" Elise's voice cracked. "I smiled for the cameras and went on my dates. But it doesn't matter now."
"It's not too late… Maybe you can find her again. Now, come on - let's get you fixed up." Juliette offered, holding her hand out to Elise. Elise gave it a weary look before taking it, letting Juliette help heave her off of the ground. Her face scrunched up in pain.
"You okay?" Maisie asked. Elise took a deep breath, letting it out through her nose. Juliette didn't move, letting Elise have a moment to let any pains subside before they continued the trek.
"Estupendo." Elise replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice. She leaned heavily on Juliette as Maisie wrapped her arm around Elise to help distribute the weight. They hobbled as a trio, probably looking like some freakish creature from a distance.
They somehow made it all the way back to the palace, where a palace guard took over the duty of helping Elise stay standing. His brows furrowed with worry, "Is everything okay? What's going on?"
"Lady Elise fell off her high horse." Juliette jabbed Maisie in the side, who seemed unapologetic as she continued, "I think she hurt her leg."
"I just need to get to the medical bay." Elise snapped. "This stays between us."
Her eyes wavered on Maisie and Juliette for an extra moment. Juliette rolled her eyes, "That's one way to say thank you, I suppose."
The officer took Elise into the palace and Maisie took Juliette by the hand. "Well, c'mon. You still got a horse to ride."
"I was hoping you'd forgotten."
Maisie grinned widely, "Let's giddy up, cowgirl."
"We should put a couple tables here for food…" Juliette's pencil dragged lightly across the paper as she drew a few crude boxes. She brought it to the opposite side and drew another long box, "And here we could have a spot for gifts."
Elsa watched with her arms folded. She clearly still didn't like the idea of compromising on anything, and her irritation of Juliette trying to get their group back on track was obvious. She had refused to help at all with the planning of the layout for the room, but that was fine. Honestly, it was kind of nice not to have her opposing every other idea that was brought up. Juliette would've been less than patient with her.
"And we need somewhere for the musicians to play." Willow pointed to the corner of the paper, where there was still a large empty space.
"We'd need a lot of room for a piano to fit over there." Kiara said. "Those things are giant."
"As long as the middle of the room is open, the walls can be filled up. The middle is where most people will probably end up, especially once we bring out the party games…"
"Who's going to be the host for the party games?"
Juliette jumped in her seat at the sudden voice behind her. Eadlyn smiled sweetly at the group, but it felt plastic and wrong to Juliette.
"I will!" Elsa said brightly. Juliette frowned. Since she had been the glue keeping the group together, it was annoying that Elsa wanted to be the face of the group.
"Actually, we haven't decided yet." Juliette said. Elsa shot Juliette a glare. "There's still plenty of time for us to decide. And we haven't picked the games yet."
"It's not good to procrastinate, Lady Juliette." Eadlyn said, her warning gentle but the look in her eyes made it seem like she was disappointed. "You'll want your hostess to be someone who lights up a room, someone who can keep everyone on track with a smile."
"Yes, I totally agree." Elsa said. Juliette fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"I think that we could do it together. It's a group project." Juliette said. She tried to keep her voice pleasant, but there was an assertiveness that seemed to rub the Queen the wrong way.
"Only one girl will be the Queen, so I'd be careful depending too much on a group. I want to see girls that can hold their own."
The silence lingered for what felt like forever. Juliette kept her mouth shut. She was floundering, and she knew it. She hadn't thought about how pissing the queen off would affect her standing, but she was doing a pretty good job of testing whether or not the Queen would get rid of girls she didn't like.
"Thank you for the advice, your Majesty." Willow ended the silence, something Juliette was grateful for. The Queen nodded, still smiling.
"Of course, ladies. Your party is coming along well." With that said, she headed toward one of the other groups. Abigail let out a breath.
"That was awkward." Kiara muttered.
"You should've left it alone." Elsa hissed at Juliette, who shook her head in response.
"No, you shouldn't have said anything. There's no need for you to take credit when everyone is working hard." Juliette slapped her pencil on the table, causing Willow to wince.
"We don't need to fight." Willow whimpered.
"Both of you need to learn how to be more submissive." Abigail added. "It's not effective for you two to be butting heads in front of the Queen. It makes all of us look bad."
"Well, if Little Miss Kiss Ass didn't feel the need to answer for our entire group, maybe we wouldn't have to butt heads." Kiara said.
Elsa folded her arms in front of her chest. "As if any of you could be the hostess. Face it: I'm the only real option anyway."
"That's ridiculous." Juliette said. "Any of us could. We should do it as a group. It's only fair."
"Life's not fair. The palace isn't meant for people like you girls. You wouldn't understand."
"Take it back." Kiara growled. Her dark eyes burned.
"It's true." Elsa asserted. "It's true whether I say it or not and you know it."
"Elsa, she made it just as far as any of us have." Willow bit her lip to keep it from trembling. "We are all here together."
"Willow's right. We're equals here." Juliette agreed.
Kiara narrowed her eyes. "You all think we're equals? That's a joke. I worked my ass off to get here and you high and mighties haven't worked a day in your life. You think I don't understand, but it's all of you that don't understand."
"That's quite enough." Abigail put a hand on Kiara's arm. "We have a task to do and you are both keeping us from completing it. Let's get back to work."
"Fine. But I'm making my own layout and the Queen can decide which of us does it best." Elsa snatched her paper and pencils, standing to leave. "I'll see you ladies next class."
The group watched her leave. She went out of her way to tell the Queen goodbye, who seemed flattered by the gesture. Juliette's skin prickled.
"Bitch…" Kiara mumbled.
"What are we going to do..?" Willow scratched her head, distress radiating from her.
"We're going to continue our project and do better than her." Kiara said.
The Queen approached their group once more, her smile waning. "I see you've decided to split your group up?"
"Elsa just wants to be alone to get her ideas out, I think." Willow said, the vagueness clearly showing her inability to come up with a good excuse.
"Some people do better when they're alone. That's good for her to know her strengths."
Kiara pursed her lips but didn't say a word, which was probably for the best. Her tongue wasn't exactly her strength. Juliette was on that same page. It was obnoxious that the Queen seemed to think it was a good idea for someone who couldn't cooperate in a group was 'knowing her strengths'. She had never really thought of the Queen to be someone so stupid. Her ignorance grated at Juliette.
"Yes. It's wonderful. Her lack of cooperation is inspirational." Juliette said, almost before she could decide that it was a bad idea. Eadlyn was visibly surprised, and Abigail sucked in air loudly.
"It won't get your group far to be starting fights among each other." Eadlyn warned.
"Great. I'll pass that message on to Elsa," Juliette said curtly, grabbing her papers and tapping the stack on the table to line them neatly. "I'll see you next time, Your Highness."
The lull of a softly playing piano reeled Juliette into the music room that evening. She still hadn't really cooled off from the class a few hours before, so the gentle music promised an escape from her stresses. She pushed the door open, finding Eden playing, her long fingers effortlessly flying over the keys. Elsa sat in one of the lounge chairs near the piano, a glass of rose red wine in her hand as she listened.
"Juliette! I bet you could use some wine." Elsa offered the glass, her snarky smile making Juliette's skin prickle. She took a swig from the glass, the disdain clear on Elsa's face when the blonde handed it back to her. The offer clearly was just a jab, but it was true. Juliette could use something to take the edge off.
"You had a hard day?" Eden asked, her head turning to see Juliette while her hands continued to play the music as if it was second nature.
"You could say that." Juliette replied, taking the seat opposite to Elsa. "The Queen pretty much hates me."
"Accept both compliments and criticism. It takes both sun and rain for a flower to grow." Eden brought her hands from the piano, swinging her legs around the bench to face the other two girls.
"Queen Eadlyn seems to think I'm more of a weed than a flower." Juliette said, shaking her head.
"Can hardly blame her." Elsa added. Juliette shot her a cold look, earning a shrug. "No offense. It's your fault that her son had that blow up on the Report."
"It wasn't my fault."
"Not directly, perhaps. I do understand why she would take some time to forgive his outburst. I suppose you are just stuck in the crossfire." Eden said, her voice apologetic.
"Well that's not fair at all." Not like the monarchy cared about fairness, Juliette thought to herself bitterly. It was still a shock to her, though, how blatantly the Queen showed her favoritism to the Selected. For the life of her, Juliette couldn't figure out what she had done to earn Eadlyn's ire. The Report fiasco was Dion's fault, even though Juliette had her doubts that it was purely Dion's idea.
"Life's not fair," Elsa took a sip of her wine. "Especially not in this competition."
"It's not meant to be."
Juliette waited for any sort of an explanation to follow, but Eden provided none. She picked up her own wine glass from the ledge of the piano, taking a small drink from it before placing it back.
"Speaking of meant to be - have you heard the news?" Elsa leaned forward, her lips turning into a devilish grin.
"The news?" Eden asked.
"The prince locked lips with one of the Selected."
Juliette froze. Who knew about their kiss? The palace staff knowing was one thing, but the other girls knowing… That would be dangerous. Juliette didn't want to walk around with a target on her back. "Who told you that?"
"I have my sources." Elsa said with a flip of her hair. "I was a first hand witness."
Eden took another sip from her wine. "That's quite an introduction to let us know that you're getting intimate with the Prince."
Juliette blinked in confusion. He had kissed Elsa? Why? Her stomach twisted in discomfort. Had he done that before he kissed her? Or was Juliette just a trial kiss so he could start macking on the other girls? Elsa laughed. "Don't be jealous, it was romantic."
Eden smiled, rolling her eyes. "From the well of envy, only a fool drinks the water. I'm happy for you."
Juliette stood abruptly. "Oh, shoot. You know what? I actually have to go… Er, somewhere."
Elsa's eyes glittered venomously and she smirked as Juliette fumbled to step around the two girls. She didn't say a word, but the look on her face was enough to make Juliette sick to her stomach.
Juliette didn't care. She didn't want to be around Elsa a moment longer than she had to. Just when she started to think that the prince might truly have feelings for her, the rug was ripped out from under her once more. The conflicting stories coming from everywhere around her made her stressed and angry and upset. She needed a minute to collect herself.
Juliette let the door slam loudly behind her.
"26 inches on the waist… You want us to corset you? We could probably get you pretty close to 24…" Chantel pulled the end of the tape, and it snaked around Juliette's waist as Chantel curled it back up.
"No, no. I'm fine." Juliette answered, watching as the head maid set the measuring tape on the desk. Phoenix jotted down the numbers on a small notebook that they'd been using to record her sizes. Since all of the dresses were handmade specifically for the Selected, big event dresses needed to be made in the coming weeks of the event. For a lot of the girls, having access to the palace food could really take a swing at their sizes, so the maids were instructed to keep up with the measurements of each girl.
"What color are you thinking? Or style?" Phoenix asked, a pencil poised above a sketchpad sitting on her lap. "I kind of like the idea of a big ball gown. With maybe a more edgy bustier…"
She drew out the general shape, the skirt ballooning out from the waist of the skeleton she had already on the page. Juliette shrugged, "You guys would probably know better than me."
"We still want your opinion. The dresses you wear should be a reflection of you for the public." Chantel rested her hands on her hips, "You really need to let yourself enjoy your stay here. It's clear that you have strong feelings for the prince, and he obviously likes you back. But you just mope around here like you're a prisoner. Live a little."
"Life's not as easy as it looks for me." Juliette replied, sitting on her bed next to Lexie. "I wish it was that easy."
"Everybody has struggles. You gotta make the best of it!" Lexie said with an optimistic smile.
"I'm trying. I just have a lot on my plate, you know?"
There was a moment of silence between all of the girls. The sound of the pencil scratching against paper felt loud and unwelcome. Juliette sighed, defeated with the conversation. Of course they wouldn't understand. They probably thought that Juliette was simply struggling with the typical woes of a girl falling in love. She wished it was that easy. It'd be nice if the biggest worry for her in the castle was what color her next dress would be or which spoon to use at dinner.
"You know, I remember when I first got to the castle." Phoenix said, her eyes glazing slightly as she thought back. The break in the silence brought Juliette's green eyes up to look at her, taking in the sympathetic smile that tilted her lips. "It's hard to get used to. Especially growing up with nothing. You learn that sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the good things, you know? If you like him, then you're always going to have a lot on your plate to be with him."
Juliette nodded wordlessly. It would've been good advice in most other situations.
"I moved all the way from Lakedon to be here at the castle." Lexie added, agreeing with the sentiment. "It's hard not to see your family. Illea truly loves her people though. The royal family do a lot."
Chantel moved to pick up some of the things off of the vanity. "You know, Juliette, we've all had hard times too. We're here for you. You could talk to us."
Phoenix placed her hand on Juliette's wrist reassuringly. Juliette gave a half hearted smile, but shook her head, "I feel like all I do is talk about me. Why don't you tell me about you?"
Phoenix seemed surprised, her eyes widening momentarily. "Well, I spent my entire childhood in an orphanage, so there's not much to say. My mother was killed in a rebel attack when I was very young and dad wasn't really in the picture. Like… Ever. When I turned 17, I got the opportunity from the Prime Minister as a trial group of young adults to work in the castle. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me, so I'm forever indebted to him."
"I'm sorry." Juliette moved her eyes to the ground. The idea of not having her family at home seemed so far away. Even when her sister was getting on her nerves or her father was reprimanding her, she still couldn't imagine life without them.
"I love to paint and draw, too. I think that's what I would've done if I had the chance." Phoenix added, lightening the mood significantly.
Juliette offered her a smile, gesturing to the sketch pad. "Maybe you still can get that chance. You're very talented."
She blushed, and Lexie smiled broadly, "That's what I keep telling her! If I could draw like that, you'd better believe I'd be painting every moment."
"What do you like to do?" Juliette asked, turning her attention to Lexie.
"Me? Well… I guess i just like to help people. I thought about being a nurse or something for awhile, but the schooling was too expensive for my family. My mother always worked cleaning, so it was kind of a dream of hers to work in the palace. You could say I'm living her dream for her here. I like it at the palace. It's nice to never worry about your next meal."
Juliette nodded. She didn't often consider all of the people that the castle homed… It was one of the reasons that her father chose not to do massive attacks on the entire palace. Innocent lives being lost was the opposite of what they stood for.
Chantel watched the three with a softer look on her face, popping her hip out. "If we're all gonna have a big kumbaya, I'll bite. I've been working in the palace since my twenties to work off a family debt. Once it was paid off, I made too many friends to leave and was offered a permanent position."
"Sometimes it feels like I'm very alone." Juliette admitted. They wouldn't understand that it was because of the weight of the rebellion, but it still felt nice to just say it out loud.
Lexie nodded her head slowly, "I think we all feel like that sometimes. But you're never truly alone."
"We all come from different experiences, it's true. But we're more the same than you might think." Chantel added. Juliette couldn't help but start to smile.
"Tell me more about you guys… I need the distraction."
And so they did. Until the sky darkened, the girls laughed and talked and for a few hours, Juliette forgot the atrocities she was there to commit.