Chapter 31 – Nevaeh de Montignac

Nevaeh knew this week was going to be packed with events. From Monday to Sunday, it would be non-stop. She would definitely need a few days' holidays, and why not do back to France for a week or something? Hadn't she told her aunt to take a few days after the Ball? Yeah. She should, too… But would she? Probably not.

The girls only had four more days before the party, but from what she had seen, everything was going rather smoothly. And as far as she was concerned, the girls didn't need her that morning: they all had specific things to do. The Queen and Silas were in their weekly meeting, Nathan was sleeping in, and Valerian was setting up the study group room with the help of some footmen.

So she was really free to do whatever she wanted, just now, just for a few hours. And she wanted to be alone. That would be a nice change, right?

A soft swish of a gown and small tap-tapping on the marble floor made her look down the hall she was about to walk by.

"Marmee?" she asked, seeing her grandmother walking slowly and seemingly without any goal. "Is everything alright?"

"Nevaeh," the old woman said, smiling. "I don't– I was going back from the dining room to my apartments, but I…" she trailed off, looking around.

Nevaeh frowned. "Marmee, this is the West Wing…" She looped her arm in her grandmother's and started walking toward the center of the Palace. "Would you like to take a small walk with me, outside? Then I'll escort you back to your room."

"That would be lovely, dear!" she said. They walked in silence and Nevaeh matched her steps with the older lady, guiding her to the gardens. Once they were outside, Beatrice Schreave sighed, content, and closed her eyes. "I just love feeling the sun on my face."

Nevaeh smiled. "Yes, it's a nice feeling." She paused, not knowing how to broach the subject that's been bothering her for a few minutes. "Marmee, how many times have you found yourself in a place you didn't remember?"

Beatrice looked at her, confused. "Pardon me?"

Okay, so Marmee didn't even notice she was lost and confused. Was this the first time, though? She would have to ask her maid: maybe she had noticed some things no one else noticed.

"Never mind," she said. "Do you already have an outfit for the Ball?"

"The Ball? What Ball, dear? No one told me there was a ball…" Beatrice's face was a mix of emotions Nevaeh was not used to see on her: confusion, surprise, hurt. Her grandmother was always such a poised woman, and this morning she was not herself. She just hoped it was only temporary.

"National Day Ball, Marmee," Nevaeh said. "I decided to wear a mix of the boys' colors, so I'm wearing mauve! I think I saw your dress passing through. Isn't it gold or something?"

"Oh, that one? Yes. It's magnificent." She paused. "Though I can't remember who designed it. Oh well, that's not important."

Nevaeh guided her grandmother around the path that went back towards the Palace and they went back inside, up the stairs, and towards her apartment. "I'll see if I can find your lady's maid, okay?" she said, planting a kiss on the soft wrinkle-less cheek.

"Okay," she replied. "I'm going to take a short nap."

Nevaeh left her grandmother and went to search for the lady's maid in question. It took three maids to finally find the oldest lady's maid in the palace. She had been working for her grandmother ever since she got married. She was six years her junior, and she knew everyone around.

"Ms. Coleman?" Nevaeh said, walking into the servant's hall, downstairs. All the staff who were there jumped to their feet when they heard her.

"Yes, Your Grace?" the old woman said, curtsying slightly.

"May I have a word with you?" Nevaeh said. "In private."

"Of course." The woman invited Nevaeh to follow her down the dim-lit hall and into a small office. "The walls are thick in this room," she said.

"Thank you." She saw a chair in the corner, but she didn't want to sit. The woman was already taller than her, she wasn't going to have her looking even more down on her as it already was. "I would like to talk to you about my Grandmother," she said. "The Queen Mother."

"Yes, I know exactly who your grandmother is, your Grace." The Lady's Maid looked at Nevaeh with the best poker face she had ever seen. Even her voice didn't betray an ounce of sarcasm whatsoever.

"Has she been acting a little bit… off, lately?"

The woman looked at Nevaeh. "I'm afraid I cannot tell you anything about her health unless you are her doctor."

Nevaeh wanted to punch her in the face, but instead, she smiled. "I understand. Thank you for your time." She made to leave but then stopped with her hand on the door handle. "Just so you know, she was wandering down the West Wing, seeming to be lost and with no recollection of how she got there." She paused. "You might want to keep an eye on her in the future." She opened the door and–

"Wait."

Nevaeh stopped and closed the door again, turning around to face the woman. She had kind, dark grey eyes with grey hair tied in a severe bun at the nape of her neck, with two white strands in the front. Her outfit didn't outright cast her as a staff member, but the light blue dress wasn't as glorious as the ladies of the Palace: she was the queen mother's closest friend in this place, but she was still a servant.

"She has been getting lost more and more," Victoria Coleman finally said. "I tried to hide that fact as long as I could, but I think it's time to let her doctor know."

Nevaeh snorted. "You think? How long has this been going on?"

"A few months."

"Right." She sighed. "Yes, please tell her doctor, but keep it just between you, him, and me. I don't want the Queen knowing just yet."

"It's her mother."

"I know. But with the Selection going on, I don't want her to get too upset about it."

"What about you?" Ms. Coleman said. "You're in charge of the Selection."

"It's my job to know everything, Ms. Coleman." Nevaeh flashed her a well-practiced smile and was off. One more item on her list to take care of. It was growing bigger and bigger, and she would really need a break soon. It wasn't her fault if she was bossy and wanted to know everything and control everything. She was born that way. So she had to work with what she had.

She then went to see how Valerian was doing with his 'college-classroom'. Footmen were moving furniture around with Val who seemed to have a pretty clear idea of how he wanted it to be: a large table in the center of the room with five or six chairs around, and each student would have enough personal space to spread textbooks – most of which had already arrived through the post for Val and all the girls starting the semester at the Palace – but would still be close enough to chat and encourage each other.

"Hello, Valerian."

"Nevaeh!" the silver-hair prince said, turning at his name. "What are you doing here?"

"Doing my rounds," she replied. "How is this room coming up?"

"Pretty nicely, I can't wait to get the semester started."

"Really?" On one hand, she wasn't surprised because Val always loved school, but he was in the middle of a Selection.

"Yeah, I've kinda been going around in circles these past few weeks. I mean, dating is fun and all, but I'm happy I'm gonna get something done, you know?"

"I see." She chuckled lightly. "Are you ready for the ball?"

"I have to, it seems," he replied, placing the chairs around the table. "It's all everyone can talk about, anyway." Val paused, spacing the chairs evenly. "I'll be happy when it's over, to be honest."

"Are you kidding? It's going to be the biggest party of the year! Of the decade, even!"

"That's the thing," he said. "My birthday ball was already pretty much the party to be at." He chuckled. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Silas' wedding is going to be the party of the century. I mean, who would've thought that the man would get married someday, right?"

Nevaeh smirked. "You'd be surprised. And frankly, I don't know you to put my money on, at the moment."

"Why, you're following the hashtag war?" the prince asked.

"No, I have eyes to see. And right now, the two front-runners for Silas are really close."

"I think it's pretty obvious, though," Val said. "One is fighting for his attention, the other isn't but still gets it."

Nevaeh raised an eyebrow and looked at her baby cousin. "You're very perceptive."

Valerian shrugged and offered her a smile. "Anyway. This room will be ready this afternoon for the college students!"

-o-0-o-

Two days before the Ball, the whole Palace was a frantic place. It wasn't chaos yet, but pretty close, still. The party was ready – at least what could be ready before was ready – and the girls were now looking at their outfits, deciding to add a color in it, just in case. Though the boys' lists were clear, Nevaeh was curious to see who the girls favored as well, and the outfits were going to reveal everything. Will there be girls wearing the colors of princes who didn't favor them in return?

At lunch, Silas was missing. Nevaeh leaned over to Valerian. "Do you know where your brother is?" she asked.

"No, but he's been gone since this morning, I think."

"Wait. Really? How did I miss that?"

"And one of the Selected was also missing…" he trailed off, giving her a look, which Nevaeh returned.

"Oh, my God, what day is it?"

"Uhm, Wednesday?"

"No, the date!"

"September 3rd, I think?"

"Uuuugh. I completely forgot it was today!" Nevaeh quickly took out her phone to go over her check-list.

"What was today?" Val asked, getting more and more confused by the second.

"Ximena's birthday! I can't believe I missed it. And since I didn't see all the girls for a morning lesson with the Ball coming up, I didn't realize she was gone as well." Nevaeh sighed.

-.-

That morning and as promised, Silas took the whole day off. He started with a shower and put on a casual and comfortable outfit with a pair of silly socks – white with little wine glasses on them – and went to the kitchen before everyone was up to get the basket he had ordered the previous evening. With that in hand, he texted Ximena.

Silas: Happy Birthday, Ximena! As promised, I'm making it up to you, today. Can you please meet me as soon as you're ready with a bag ready for a day at the lake? That would be awesome. I'll see you later? [7:16]

Xi [heart emoji]: omg yes. [7:17]

Xi [heart emoji]: i've been up for hours. [7:17]

Xi [heart emoji]: i'll be down quickly [kissing_heart emoji] [7:17]

Silas: Alright :) [7:18]

Silas waited on the terrace overviewing the gardens, the food basket and his bag at his feet, and his sunglasses on his face. Doug was still catching up on some sleep, by his feet.

Xi [heart emoji]: OMG. [7:28]

Xi [heart emoji]: THE BOUQUET IS SO BEAUTIFUL [heart_eyes emoji] [7:28]

Xi [heart emoji]: THANK YOU SO MUCH [red_heart emoji] [7:28]

Silas: You're welcome :) [7:29]

Yes, Silas had asked a maid to put a giant red rose bouquet in front of her door for when she got out. And yes, he had thought of it on his own. And he was pretty proud of himself for that if he was being honest.

He heard her steps resonating down the marble steps and stood to welcome her when she came out. He didn't even have time to see her that she had already wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Silas' mind went off like fireworks for a second but then he kissed her back.

When they finally pulled away to breathe, she was grinning so widely at him.

"You're wearing one of the roses," he stated, seeing her chignon with the flower tucked in. "I like it."

Ximena slipped her hand in his and beamed. "Good. I hoped you would notice."

"Shall we?" Silas shouldered his backpack and grabbed the food basket with his free hand.

"Yes, please. A day off on my birthday with the crown prince is all I want today." They started walking together in silence, enjoying each other's presence. Well, Silas was replaying that last kiss in his mind over and over again and realized that the list of kisses he could play over and relive was growing longer and longer.

Neither one of them talked about his date with Leigh. Or of Leigh's parting kiss. Would he ever be able to tell her about it? Maybe not. But he didn't want to think about it. He couldn't think about it. Not with Ximena so close to him.

She took a deep breath, breathing in the relatively fresh morning air. "How long do we have?"

"All day, if you want. I think we both need a day off. The end of the week is going to be chaotic."

"True. Hey," she asked, "what are you wearing for the Ball?"

"Navy blue."

"Obviously," she said, laughing. "I can't wait to see how the party turns out. I mean, Val's birthday was amazing in itself, but this? I think it's going to be amazing. Don't you think?"

"I do." He paused. "I'm not very fond of balls and parties, but I have to admit that I'm getting used to them and I'm starting to like them more."

"Especially when you can dance with me, right?" she said, teasing.

Silas chuckled. "We'll see about that."

Both laughed and soon they passed the little hill hiding the Lake. "It's such a beautiful day!"

"Yes, I ordered the sun for the say, so it should last."

"What…?"

"I'm joking," he explained. "I'm not, uh, very good at joking, actually."

Ximena laughed softly and squeezed his hand. "That was a good joke." Then she let go of his hand and took off her shoes to go try the water. "It's so warm!" she said. "Please tell me you took your bathing suit?"

"Of course, I did," he said. "But first, breakfast.

He took out the white blanket from the basket and spread it on the ground. Then he took out some breakfast foods – coffee in thermos cups, waffles, fruit salads – and they ate and drank, talking and laughing. Oh, how he loved her smile. And her laugh. And her teasing. Seriously. He could spend every second of the day with her, he'd be happy.

When they were done, he took his bag on his lap. "I have something for you," he said. "For your birthday."

"But you already gave me a ginormous bouquet…"

"That was just the beginning."

"Oh."

He gave her a little package that seemed to have been wrapped by a six-year-old child, but Ximena didn't comment on it. If he had wrapped that up himself, she found that absolutely adorable. She opened it and–

"Ha! Socks! I can't believe you give me silly socks with glasses of wine on them for my birthday!" she said, laughing, but clearly delighted.

"Now we have matching socks," he said showing off his own feet, which made her laugh even more. She leaned towards him and kissed him again. "What do you say we go for a swim?"

"Hell, yes." She nodded.

She took off her t-shirt and shorts, revealing a very nice black one-piece swimsuit with a sexy crisscross over the top of her chest, leaving Silas a little frozen in place. But when he took off his shirt and his shorts to show off a very neutral navy-blue pair of swim trunks, Ximena just stared at him: it was the first time she saw him like that, only in his bathing suit.

"Are you photoshopped?" she asked.

"Uhm, no?" he said. "What does that mean?"

"Yeah, no. okay, you're not photoshopped." She stepped closer. "May I?" she said, her finger a couple of inches from his taut abs.

"…yes?" he said, becoming a little pink in the ears.

Then her finger touched his stomach and she gasped. "Damn, they're real…"

"Should I put my t-shirt back on, or…?"

"No! I'm sorry, I just– I've never seen you like that," she said, stumbling a little on her words and turning pinker by the second. "But I like it– I definitely like it." She nodded, still staring at him. It took some effort for her to look back at his face only to notice that he was smirking. Without thinking, he took a step towards her and kissed her. They were skin to skin, and he could actually feel her heart beating against his. He loved to be this close to her and for a minute, he completely forgot where or who he was. This woman was making him feel all kinds of feels, and he was a little scared yet he wanted more.

Ximena was the first one to break off and looked at his warm chocolate brown eyes. "Let's go in the water," she whispered. She took his hand and they walked into the Lake, the warm water lapping at their legs as they walked in. But Silas just stood there, watching her go in. He hadn't gone swimming in years, and it brought up all kinds of memories – childhood memories with Yuna, with his late grandfather, and so on.

"Are you coming or not?" she asked. The water was up to her waist now and Silas mentally shook the memories away, ready to make new ones. He joined her in the water and they swam a little, splashed each other, and just had fun. She tried to put him under the water, but he was much too tall and strong for that so she quickly abandoned that idea.

Silas and Ximena spent the day in and out of the water, talking, laughing, teasing, eating, but mostly drinking wine and getting a good tan. Silas had also ordered sandwiches for lunch, and no one bothered them at all. Not even a drone flew above them – at least they didn't see one – and it was just the two of them, out of time, out of the real world.

But of course, all good things have an end, and they headed back to the Palace in time to change for dinner – both with their hair still wet from their last swim – and celebrated with everyone in the evening with a fancy cake Nevaeh had asked in a hurry the cooks to make.


Halloooo! I hope you enjoyed this short chapter! lots of fluff and fun heh^^

Anyway, check the IG account this week, there will two new posts, and the Boys' lists have been updated in the stories, as well. Next week is going to be a longer chapter, with the Ball, and some other surprises! :eyes: thanks to everyone who sent me a Ball outfit!

But before that, on Saturday, there will also be one of Jesse's articles, so stay tuned for that!

Have a nice week and see you soon!