Chapter 37 – Nevaeh de Montignac

"All right, ladies," Nevaeh said, clapping her hands three times at the end of the morning lesson. "Halloween is in three weeks, so you might want to start thinking about your costumes!"

"Oh, is there a theme?" Jenissa asked.

"Do we have to organize the party like last time?" Abigail added.

"Is it going to be a ball or just a private party?" Pallas piped in.

Nevaeh crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for the girls to quiet down. Some more questions arose, but Nevaeh hated to talk at the same time as others, so she simply waited. It took them a good three minutes to quiet down and realize she was waiting to speak.

"Are you done?" she asked when the room was somewhat quiet. "Good, so as I was saying, we will be having our annual Halloween party, but it will not be public. It will be just us, and your families will be invited as well."

"Yes!" Pallas said, pumping her fist into the air.

"However," Nevaeh continued, "lots of things can happen in three weeks, and some of you might already be gone by then. So I suggest you start thinking about your costumes but refrain from putting too much effort into them in case you're eliminated before then."

Abigail snorted. "That's comforting. Do we have to invite our families? Can we choose family members?"

"Yeah, can we choose?" Leigh said.

Nevaeh thought for a few seconds. "I guess you'll have to see with your princes– I mean, the one who has you on his list, because they wanted to meet your families, actually. Especially Valerian, since he's already doing his Elite. Nathan doesn't know it yet."

Some of the girls chuckled. "That's going to be a nice surprise for him if no one tells him," Jenissa said. "I'm not sure he's ready to meet the families."

"We'll see about that," Nevaeh said. "It's going to be a private party, as I said, but we will still be needing decorations, food ideas, and a theme. I will not force you to work on this project, but you're welcome to participate. Odessa? Valerian told me you'd be interested in making some floral decorations?"

"Yes!" she said. "We bought such pretty pumpkins, last weekend. Maybe for table decorations? Oh, and I have ideas for the rest of the decorations as well!"

"Excellent. You're in charge of the decorations." She wrote that down to remember it later. "Anyone would be interested in creating a group for brainstorming and planning?"

Several hands shot up. Nevaeh wasn't surprised: they were bored and they wanted something to do. Of course, Pallas and Eve still had their study group, so they excused themselves from the organization group.

"Okay, Gail, Ximena, Jenissa, and Mia." She wrote those four names down as well. "Whoever wants to participate in the organization of the party is welcome to come forward in the next days and weeks. You're dismissed for lunch."

The girls noisily filed out of the room, already chatting about the upcoming party, the costumes, and the families.

Nevaeh wondered if she should also invite her own family as well. She hadn't seen them in quite some time – three months, to be exact – so it could be nice. And her mother was the Queen's sister, so it could be a nice family gathering. Especially since Marmee wasn't getting any younger. She might want to see her other daughter as well.

Nevaeh picked up her phone and quickly did the math for the hour difference in France: 9 pm. Good, she could call quickly before joining the others for lunch. She searched for her mother's number, pressed the CALL button, and waited.

"Allô?" came her mother's voice, in French, of course. After living for more than 30 years in France, she had switched completely to that language.

"Maman? Coucou, comment tu vas?" she said, also switching to French. Their whole conversations were always in French.

"Hello, Darling!" Princess Sybil said. "It's so nice to hear from you! How is the Selection going?"

"Great," Nevaeh said. "I don't have much time before lunch, but I just wanted to ask you something."

"Of course! What is it?"

"There is going to be a Halloween party at the Palace – a private party, don't worry – and all the families of the girls still present at that time will be invited, and I was wondering if you'd also come. With dad, and Henri."

Sybil didn't answer right away, and Nevaeh knew any mention of her dad was a no-go, but she still wanted them both to be here. "You know what? Why not! I'll come and motivate Henri, too." She paused. "But I'll leave your father to you."

"Of course," Nevaeh said. "Thank you so much! Do you want me to send the jet to Paris?"

"No, I'll fly commercial, like always. You know me!" her mother chuckled.

"Okay, awesome!" Nevaeh said. "I have to go now, but I'll see you in three weeks?"

"Yes, and I may even stay for a bit," Sybil said. "I haven't seen my mother in so long…"

Nevaeh didn't comment on the Queen mother's state, just yet, because it wasn't really something one said over the phone. Instead, she bid her mother goodbye and hurried to the dining room. She slipped in her seat next to Ximena, who was sitting next to Silas. Who else?

-o-0-o-

The next morning, everyone piled into two limousines to go to the Report Studio. Again. Nevaeh felt like she was in the Never-Ending Story, where every single week, they went on the Report. It was getting repetitive, to be honest. But it was the price to pay to have the Selection going. Without ticket sales, there was no budget for the Selection. Without gossip and pictures, there were no magazines to sell. Oh, well. She just hoped Jesse was in a better place than last week. She hadn't really seen him much these past few days, but she hoped he was okay and that he had gone to see the doctor. She couldn't force him to do it, and she wouldn't bully him into doing it, either.

She let the girls go ahead, all dressed nicely, to the door that would take them backstage, while she and the queen, her uncle, and her grandmother, went through the front door, passing in front of everyone waiting in line to get in. Some snapped pictures of them, so Nevaeh kept a smile on her face and her posture perfect.

She went to her usual seat and saw an envelope with her name on it in blue ink. She sat and opened the envelope, taking out the small paper.

"Dear Nevaeh, thanks for your listening ear and your advice. I have seen the palace doc just yesterday, and he prescribed some time off (pfft. As if I could afford that now, can you imagine?) and some sleeping pills. Anyway. Sorry for snapping at you, I promise I won't do it again, it's not worth it. I don't want to mess up what little friendship we have mended already. Jesse."

Nevaeh smiled despite herself. She liked people who realized their faults and actually did something about it. She carefully folded the paper and slipped it into her small purse. Fifteen minutes later, the Report started.

"Goodeveningladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls!" Jesse said, coming out from the door on the side. "My name is Jesse Flynn, and we are once again in the presence of our favorite royals and girls!" He grinned at the cameras and audience. "It's been almost two months and a half, and only two handfuls of girls remain!" He paused to sit on his usual armchair. "But before we get into this week's eliminations, let's go over this week's events, shall we?" He checked his iPad for his notes. "Last weekend, just after the previous Report, Prince Valerian went on a date with Odessa."

Behind him, the screen lit up with pictures from their date: Valerian and Essie walking side by side with an empty wagon; Val and Essie filling the wagon; Val and Essie laughing about something; Val lifting a pumpkin over his head; Val trying to lift a ginormous one; and finally, some short footage of Odessa standing on her toes to kiss Val, breaking away, and Val kissing her back. The whole audience aw-ed and ah-ed and Valerian became beet red when Nathan grinned and punch his little brother in the arm. Or course, all that was also filmed, and Nevaeh was really glad not to be on that stage.

"Well, well, well," Jesse said. "Prince Valerian! Is that your first kiss of the Selection?"

"Yeah," he said, blushing even more. "I guess it is!"

"Congratulations!" Jesse said. "Does that mean you finally have a favorite?"

"Oh, gosh," Val said. "I hope not, at least not just yet!"

Jesse laughed.

"Oh, come on, Val," Nathan said. "This was your first kiss? Make your brother proud and kiss all your Elite!"

Valerian became even redder and Jesse laughed even louder. "Prince Nathan, that's your thing, not his."

"Fine," Nathan said, rolling his eyes.

"We'll be waiting for the next kiss, then, Valerian," Jesse said. But in the meantime, let's see what Nathan did this week, shall we?"

On the screen, pictures of Nathan and Pallas eating ice creams showed up, and Jesse asked him about all the chocolate flavors he had picked. "I didn't know there were so many different kinds!" he said. "Did you manage to finish it all?"

"No! My eyes were bigger than my belly…" he said, chuckling.

"I see," Jesse said. "But you also came back with a new activity idea, didn't you?"

"Yes! I'm glad you asked, Jesse!" Nathan sat at the edge of his seat and rubbed his hands. "Pallas helped me figure this out, but in short, I've been working on something with Sydney this past week, and I'll have more to show for and tell you about in the coming weeks."

"Oh, nice!" Jesse said. "Can you at least tease us on what it is about?"

"Modeling! Fashion! Clothes!" Nathan laughed. "But that's all I'm going to say, now."

"Okay, well, I'm curious to see how your idea turns out!" Jesse looked at his notes again. "I think it's time to announce the Eliminated girls, now. Prince Val, do you have anyone on your list that is going home, this week?"

"No, I want to spend some more time with the Elite before doing that."

"Okay, sounds fair," Jesse replied. "Nathan?"

"Yeah, I do," he said slowly. Clearly, he didn't know he'd be the only one sending a girl home that week. He took the black rose Jesse was handing to him and stood, walking towards the girls. "This week, I'm sad to say that I'm sending Brandy home." He looked up at the girl in question. "I hope you won't hate me for this…"

"Nah," she said. "I've actually been wondering how long you were going to keep me. besides, I think I've done my time, here, and I'm ready to go home." She paused. "As I said to Jesse the other day, I found again my passion for drawing, so, yeah." She chuckled nervously and came out from the group of girls. Nathan gave her the black rose and they hugged briefly.

"Take care of yourself," Nathan said. Brandy nodded, smiled, and walked out of the stage to wait for the others. Nathan went back to the couch.

"Well, there you have it!" Jesse said. "One more down, thirteen more to go! Isn't it exciting?" He laughed a little before continuing. "Ladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls, thank you for watching, have a great week, and take care! Don't forget to follow our Instagram account and to buy the new Illéa Weekly in your stores on Monday morning! Bye!"

-o-0-o-

After the Report, most of the girls went to do their own thing. With the temperature going lower and lower, the gardens were not that much used anymore. Some grouped in their rooms to watch movies, others gathered in the Women's Room for games or to chat, and Nevaeh found that they needed her to be around less and less. To be honest, the thirteen remaining girls were completely used to palace life, now. It was as if they'd never seen anything else.

Since the beginning of the Selection, Neveah hadn't taken any day off, but now she could actually take two days and a half every week – meaning Friday afternoon to Sunday evening – because the Selected didn't need to be watched at all times, anymore. From savages, they had turned into decent young ladies. And that was partly thanks to Nevaeh.

It was nice to just relax in her room with a book. When was even the last time she had sat down to read a book? Or watched a movie? Or done something for herself? A long time. But something in her field of vision caught her attention. She raised her eyes to follow the movement, outside her window.

From what she could see from her room, she recognized Leigh, walking by herself. She was wearing a warm sweater, a scarf, and low boots, and was just wandering the gravel path. Huh. Ever since Silas had proposed to Xi, Nevaeh had noticed Leigh was very much on her own. Even when Ximena tried to talk to her in 'class', Leigh didn't really pay attention to her. Nevaeh could understand. From her point of view, she had had her heartbroken. And her being on Nathan's list was just ridiculous since she didn't seem to be interested in him.

Nevaeh stood and stretched like a cat. How long had she been sitting on that couch? She really needed to move: this Selection was making her softer. She decided to go join Leigh, outside – she could also use the fresh air and the walk – so she put on a coat. But when she came out of her walk-in closet and looked outside, Leigh had already been joined by someone else… Oh, well. She'll go on another path.

-.-

Leigh knew she wouldn't last much longer in the Selection. Not that she minded, to be honest. Silas was already taken; Valerian was too young for her and she wasn't on his list anymore, anyway; and Nathan? Well, it was just a matter of time before he sent her home. She hadn't had any one-on-one dates with him, and from what she had seen of him, he wasn't her type anymore. Had he ever been? Maybe in the beginning.

She heard crunching gravel behind her and turned around. "Silas?" she asked, looking around, searching for his fiancée. "What are you doing here?"

"Xi's not here if that is who you are looking for," he replied, catching up with her in a few long strides. "May I walk with you?"

"Sure," she said, slipping her hands deep in her pockets. She kept a safe distance from him, as well.

"How are you?" he asked. "We haven't really talked since… you know…"

"Since our conversation in the library? Or since you proposed to Ximena?" she asked. Okay, she was a bit bitter about it, but how could she not? Even though she had helped him make his choice…

"Yes, that." Silas cleared his throat. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay, between us and–"

"I'm sorry but does Ximena know you're talking to me, right now?"

Silas chuckled lightly. "Yes. She was the one who suggested we should talk." He paused. "She's worried about you, Leigh."

"Oh." Leigh wasn't expecting that. "Really?"

"Yes." They walked for a full minute without a word. "She told me you were quite distant with her. And with everyone, actually. I thought you might need a friend to talk to?"

"A friend," Leigh repeated. She couldn't take out the note of bitterness from her voice, even if she tried. Granted, she had probably friend-zoned him first, in the library, but it didn't mean it hurt less.

"That's– I thought–"

"You're right, we're friends. I'm sorry." Leigh sighed. "I guess I just need some time to figure all this out. I don't even know what I want to do with my life, now. I mean, I am going to go back home soon. Nathan is not going to keep me forever. But I don't know if I want to go back to being a Lawyer." She paused. "That's all I've ever known, so I guess I'll have to do it. But it might take me longer than expected to get back on my feet after this." There, she had said it. All that was mulling inside her ever since that moment.

"I see," Silas said, walking with his hands behind his back. He made smaller strides so she didn't have to galop next to him in her heels. "I hope you'll take the time you need," he said. "But would you consider moving to Los Angeles?"

Leigh snorted. "Whatever for?"

"Well, I know for a fact that you don't necessarily like to be too close to your family, so I figured being on the other side of the country would interest you." He paused. "Also, I'm going to need to surround myself with trusted friends, when I step up. I'm not planning on keeping all of my mother's advisors." When Leigh's eyebrows shot up to her hairline in surprise, Silas continued his arguments: "And I also know Ximena would like to have you close by as well." He offered her a small smile.

"I'll, uhm, have to think about it," she said. She honestly had never even imagined such a thing. "Wouldn't it sound weird that an ex-Selected, one who was a front-runner for you no less, become a trusted friend of the King, and an advisor, I guess?"

Silas hadn't even thought of that. Would people talk? Probably. Did he care? Not in the least. "As long as we don't give people something to talk about, I think we are relatively safe."

Leigh chuckled softly and shook her head. "You've never been out there. People will always find something to talk about. And if there isn't, they'll twist the truth to make it something to talk about."

Silas shrugged. "Well, the offer still stands," he said, "if you decide, and when you feel back on your feet."

"Thank you," she said. "I'll think about it and let you know."

"Also, I think Ximena would be happy to talk with you, one of these days." Silas didn't know what girls could possibly be talking about, but Xi had mentioned it, so he relayed the message. He hoped they could mend their friendship if there was anything to mend.

They walked around the gardens a little bit longer, but as the afternoon went on and the sun went down, the temperature lowered as well, and they both headed inside.

"Ah! Just the Lady I was looking for," Nathan said as they entered the Palace, with an orange rose in his hand. "Silas, what are you doing? She's off-limits for you, bro."

"I was just talking–"

"Yeah, well, it's my turn, now." Nathan offered Leigh his arm. "You already have a fiancée. Now shoo!" He made shooing motions with his free hand. "Milady, if you will?" he said to Leigh. She rolled her eyes, chuckled, and took his arm. What else could she do? Refuse?

Silas watched them walk away and kind of felt bad for Leigh, since he was pretty sure she didn't have any feelings for Nathan. Had they even talked once, just the two of them? Not that he knew of. Then again, Silas didn't know everything that happened under this roof. And thank God for that.

"So," Nathan said as they walked away. "Trying to get back into Silas' good graces?" He snorted. "I'm just kidding! Okay, so I was thinking we could do something fun together. You seem a bit down, so something to cheer you up. What do you think?"

"Uuh, what did you have in mind?" she asked, a bit wary. "'Cause I'm not having sex with you."

"Why does everyone think that I am only good with that?" he said, sighing dramatically. "No, you are going to be my first model."

"Model? Nathan, what are you talking about?"

He clicked his tongue and led her to a room down the hall. It was a room on the same side of the music room, and Jen was playing the piano, there, stopping every few seconds. she was probably writing a piece at the moment. Leigh remembered her saying something about writing something in particular, during a Report.

Nathan pushed the door open. "Ta-daa!" he said, opening his free arm to encompass the whole room. "What do you think?"

Leigh let go of Nathan's arm and looked around. On one side of the room were several racks of clothes – dresses, pants, shirts, skirts, and more – and next to it, shelves with countless accessories: hats, shoes, jewelry, bags, and whatnot. On the other side was a fabric screen to change. In another corner, there was a makeup table with a mirror and loads of makeup and hair accessories. And finally, in the center of the room against the wall, was a big white background screen with spotlights and a camera on a tripod.

"That's your new idea Pallas helped you with?" she asked, remembering the morning Report.

"Yup! How do you like it?"

"You've put lots of thought into it, I see," she said. "But I still don't understand what I'm doing here…"

"Well, that, my dear, is totally up to you. I mean, I did have some things in mind, but I won't force you or anything." He paused. "And since we never had a one-on-one date before, I thought this could be fun to do, don't you think?"

"So you're just going to dress me up like a doll and take pictures of me? I'm not sure I–"

"Oh, yeah, no…" he trailed off. "I mean, you can also dress me up if you want– I mean, choose an outfit for me, and we can take pictures together." He grinned and watched her, waiting for her decision. But Leigh just crossed her arms over her chest. That was not what she had in mind when Nathan suggested a date with the orange rose. But why not? It was not like she had anything better to do at the moment. Talking with Ximena could wait.

"Alright," she said. "But unless I say so, these pictures stay just between you and me. I don't want to find them in the next Illéa Weekly, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted. "I wouldn't want to be sued by you!"

Both laughed at that and headed to the clothes rack. "You pick something for me, I'll pick something for you, right?" Leigh asked.

"Yup!"

"Do we do funny or serious?" she asked, looking through the suits but not finding anything to her liking.

"Let's start with funny," he said. It took them fifteen minutes to find each other's funny outfits complete with shoes and accessories. Leigh went behind the changing screen with the stuff Nathan had picked out, and Nathan hid behind the clothes rack. "I need to get a second changing screen in this room," he mumbled. When they were both ready, they stepped out from behind their hiding place and burst out laughing when they saw the other one.

"Oh, my God, Nathan," Leigh said. "Neon pink looks great on you."

"Yeah, I know, everything looks nice on me," he replied sarcastically. "You look… uhm… not like yourself?"

"You think?" Leigh snorted. Nathan had chosen a very peculiar outfit for her: a pink long sleeve shirt – which had probably been Val's at some point – with some mini-shorts the same color. Over the whole thing was a see-through gray tulle dress with big fabric roses sewn on it, a silver belt, and silver boots. Nathan then did her makeup – which turned out to be absolutely awful – "Hey, I've never had a sister to practice on." – and her hair was gathered at the top of her head like a palm tree.

"There, perfect," Nathan said, giving her a pair of pink heart-shaped sunglasses.

Leigh looked at Nathan, trying not to laugh. "Honestly, where did you find all these clothes and accessories?"

"Oh, uhm, that was all part of what the Selected left behind when they went home. There are also some things I found in the donation box, in the attic, and it turned out we never donated them: there were seven boxes filled with clothes."

"Huh."

"And Sydney helped to find more stuff too."

"Okay, well, now it's your turn," she said, looking him up and down. She had found neon pink pants that were too short for him, a white sequin shirt that had pink highlights when he moved, and black flip-flops. She did his makeup as well – eyeliner and mascara with neon pink lipstick – and styled his hair with gel, parting them in the middle. "There, you look as perfect as can be." She smirked as she looked at him. "You'd make an amazing magazine cover, to be honest."

"I'm sure you're right," he said. "So, ready for the big reveal?"

Leigh looked around. "I don't see a mirror?"

"Behind you," he said. Leigh turned around and saw there was, indeed, a large mirror against the wall, next to the door. He held on to the white sheet covering the mirror and stood next to Leigh. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Nathan pulled the sheet down and both burst out laughing when they saw themselves dressed as they were. Leigh got into a laughing fit, and she couldn't even stop laughing for quite some time. Nathan then suggested they take some pictures together and alone, and they spent the rest of the afternoon until dinner time choosing outfits for the other, taking pictures, and just genuinely having fun. It started as crazy outfits, but it continued into more and more serious, and by the end, they had some decent photos with decent outfits.

"Okay, fine, the last two photos are nice," Leigh conceded. "I authorize you to use those, but not the others."

"Yesss," he said, grinning. "Thanks!"

"What exactly are you going to do with them?"

He shrugged, looking through the pictures on the camera. "I'm not sure yet. But Sydney's wife is the Illéa Weekly Editor, so maybe there's something to do there. Who knows?"

"I see," she said. She then went behind the screen to change into her former clothes. While she was behind it, she spoke up. "Hey, Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"I had a great time, this afternoon," she started, "but honestly, I don't know if I really still have my place here, you know?"

Nathan didn't answer right away, busy pulling off the pants he was wearing to change as well. "I don't want to force you to stay," he said. "I mean, after what happened with Silas and all, I'd understand you'd want to get the hell out of here." He paused. "Did you love my brother?"

Leigh snorted. "That's private, Nathan, and I'm not going to answer that." She paused and came out from behind the screen, changed. "But yeah, I don't know if it's a good idea for me to stay much longer. I still have a few things to do though…"

"I see," Nathan said. "How much time do you need?"

"A week, maybe two? I don't know." She shrugged before fixing her hair.

"Okay, well, let me know before the next report, yeah?"

Leigh nodded. It was time for dinner, anyway.

-o-0-o-

Neveah usually didn't do anything on Sundays. But for Valerian, it was different. Now that he was studying during the week, he didn't have as much time as before to go on dates. So the weekends were usually full for him.

And that Sunday was no different. Nevaeh was just coming back from a soak in the jacuzzi all by herself – she doubted the girls even knew there was one or that they could use it – when she saw Valerian coming out of his room with a coat, a beanie hat, and a pink rose.

"Off on another date?" she asked, coming on the third-floor landing.

"Yeah!" he looked at her with her still damp hair. "Jacuzzi, huh?"

"Yes. It was nice. Who are you going with?"

"Mia," he said. "I haven't spent any time with her in a long time, so I thought it was time to do so."

"Another 'good deed' date? Volunteering somewhere?" Nevaeh tried not to let her sarcasm sound too loudly in her voice. She just thought the girl did too much. And she always posted on Social Media, as if to say 'Look! I'm rich, but I give to the poor! I'm a good person!' Pfft. Nevaeh couldn't stand people like that. If one wanted to do something good and give to the poor, do it privately.

"No, not this time," Val said. Either he didn't notice her tone, or he ignored it completely. "We're just going to have fun." He flashed her a grin. "I'll see you later, Nev!" With that, he walked down the stairs, his steps doing a nice rhythm.

Nevaeh went on her way for a nice movie and snuggle in a blanket. Alone. Blessedly alone. No date, no one to talk to. Just her. Those were honestly some of her favorite afternoons. Though she did miss her friends, back in France. Maybe she should reach out to them, just to see how they were doing?

After the movie, she thought.

-.-

"Hi, Mia! Would you like to go on–" Val said when the young woman opened her door. "Oh, am I interrupting something?" he asked, looking around the room. There were three other ladies – Ashia, Malia, and Dyani – and they were playing some kind of board game.

"We are just in the middle of a game," Mia said. She looked behind her shoulder at the girls sitting on the floor. "Unless they let me go."

"Of course!" Dyani said with a grin. "Go! The game can wait!"

"Sure," Ashia and Malia said at the same time, though with much less enthusiasm. None of them looked at Valerian, though, and busied themselves with the cards and the other pieces of the game.

Val knew it was a mistake to come like this, unannounced. But then again, how could he have known that there would be three other girls in her room, all of with had worn only white at the Ball? Minus Malia, but that was just because she probably still had a crush on Silas, though she wasn't on his list anymore. Did it count?

"Okay, then!" Mia said. "We're going outside?" she asked, looking at Val's outfit.

"Yeah, and you might want to put on some practical shoes as well." He paused. "I'll let you get ready and I'll wait for you downstairs, okay?"

"Okay." She took the rose and smiled at him.

The three other ladies left the room in a single file. Dyani offered Val a quick smile, and the other two did as well, but Valerian noticed the look of hurt in their eyes. The Elite was going on strong, and as much as the girls were hanging out and were friends, he wondered what being in the Elite would do to their friendship…

"Hey, where's Odessa?" he asked, surprised. She was the only one of his Elite not there.

"Either she's taking a nap, or she's working on something with flowers, I'm not sure," Dyani said before turning into her room, which was just down the hall.

"Oh, okay." Val shrugged. Good for her if she could nap or work with flowers. She went down the stairs and waited in the main hall, playing with his car keys and walking around in circles.

"Hey, Silas!" Val said, seeing his older brother come through the foyer with his fiancée. "Where are you two headed?" he asked.

Silas and Ximena, hand in hand, came over to Val. "We're going to take a walk outside," Xi said. "Where are you going?"

"On a date," he smirked. "Speaking of which, here she is!" He smiled at the tall girl coming down the stairs, wrapped into a ginormous scarf over a fluffy jacket, with jeans tucked into some low boots, and a beanie hat topping off her outfit.

"I'm ready!"

"Awesome! Come on!" Val said, starting outside, Mia on his heels. Silas and Ximena looked at each other and chuckled. He planted a kiss on her forehead and they also went outside, but through the other door, towards the gardens.

"So, have you met Clover Daisy, yet?" Val asked as they walked side by side to the huge garage.

"No, but I've heard about her." She paused. "Your car, right?"

"Yes!" Valerian laughed and he guided her to his little green car. Thankfully, it was not blocked behind some giant limo, which was sometimes the case. Mia said the car was cute, but wondered how someone as tall as Val – and she was taller than him – could get in it without bumping their head. They both climbed in and Valerian put the heating on.

"Where are we going?" Mia asked once Valerian had driven out of the golden Palace fence.

"I used to do this with my cousin, in Midston, when I was a kid," he said, "so maybe you've already done it, too." He paused and smirked. "You wanna take a guess?"

"Something from Midston? Hmm. Does it have anything to do with farms or animals?"

"Nope. Well," Val conceded. "Maybe farms, but not animals."

Mia thought for a moment. "You already went pumpkin picking, so it can't be that– Oh! Apple picking?"

"Yes!" Val laughed. "Am I that easy to read?" he asked. "It only took you two guesses."

"What else could we be doing, dressed like this, in October?" Mia asked. "And an activity from Midston. You gave lots of clues."

"True." They talked some more during the rest of the ride to the apple fields, some miles outside of Los Angeles. What Mia didn't know was that Valerian had two wooden crates in his trunk to fill with apples. The Chef was counting on them, and there would be lots of apple-based desserts and dishes in the coming weeks. Just as they had been eating pumpkin in various forms for the past week: in a soup, grilled, baked, stuffed, and so on. He was honestly getting tired of pumpkin, but hey, it was pumpkin spice season.

When they arrived, the chilly air met their faces head-on. "Oof! It's getting cold!" Mia said. "I didn't know it was cold like this in Angeles."

"Yeah, it wasn't like that, ten years ago. I don't know what's going on with the planet, these years." He shrugged and they walked towards the entrance of the farm.

"Aren't you studying just that?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean we understand what's going on. We can study it, but we don't necessarily understand it, and we can't always explain it. Some years we have warm winters, some years we have cold winters. Looks like this year will be a cold one."

They were welcomed by a little old lady who was practically bent in two, given a wagon and two burlap bags to put the apples in. No one had come with them, not even Jesse or Sydney, so it was their job to document the whole date and to take pictures. Valerian took his phone and filmed or took pictures as they picked apples from the low branches. And since they were both tall, they could reach higher than the average person, not even needing a ladder whatsoever. In any case, Val could climb a tree pretty well.

"Just, don't fall, please," Mia said, watching him climb higher and higher. "And look out for those smaller branches…"

"Yeah! don't worry, I know what I'm doing, Mia!" He grunted as he pulled himself up on a thick branch and sat against the trunk. "I always did that with my cousins." He paused. "Though I have to admit that I haven't done this in years. Oh, well. Are you ready?"

"What for?" she asked.

"I'm going to drop apples to you! So you better catch them!"

"Oh." Mia stood under the tree and readied herself for the coming apples. They filled a whole burlap bag like this, and then Valerian had to come down. It took way longer than he thought it would be and got stuck in more places than one. Mia tried to tell him which branches he could come down on, but it didn't really help. At some point, he jumped to the ground.

"Next time I want to climb in a tree, please stop me," he said, lying on the ground, looking at the sky through the yellow and orange leaves.

"Okay," she said, sitting on the wagon. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Thank God Jesse was not here, or I would never hear the end of this." Mia helped him stand by offering him her hand, and with two burlap bags almost bursting at the seams, they headed back to the farm. Valerian went to his car to get the crates, and the old lady emptied the bags into the crates, one apple at a time, counting them. It took a long time.

A very long time.

But after 187 apples, the counting was done, and he paid the old lady, thanked her, and the couple was on its way back to the Palace. They chatted on the way home as Mia looked over the pictures they had taken. Most of them were not sharable, but some were nice and Val would send them to Jesse later that evening.

The first thing they did when they arrived back home was to park the car in front of the kitchens and carry the two crates inside.

"Amazing!" the Chef said. "How many are there?"

"187," Valerian said. "I hope that's enough?"

"Yes! It's perfect." The Chef ordered two cooks to take in the crates. "Would you like something hot to drink? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate, maybe?"

Val and Mia looked at each other and nodded. "That would be great," the prince said. "Hot chocolate for me."

"For me as well, please," the duchess said. The Chef invited them to go find a place in the Palace to settle in, and a maid would bring them two hot beverages. Val and Mia decided to go to Mia's room, and they wrapped themselves in blankets on the couch, waiting for the hot chocolates. Their cheeks were pink from the cold, and they decided on the pictures to send to Jesse.

Valerian liked Mia, but it wasn't as much as the others. Sure, she would be a good princess, since she was already a royal and all. But he didn't feel a connection with her like he felt for a couple of others.

And he didn't really like to look up to look into her eyes: it was weird. Valerian wasn't really sure what to do with her if he had to be honest with himself…


hewwooo! I hope you all spent a marvelous Christmas and Holidays!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you thought (I hate to say this but i'm really not getting many reviews, though I'd like to thank Sloth and Rowe for the constant reviews on every single chapter! :D)

I'd also like to thank Adopted Orphan Smile for giving me Brandy! she was really fun to write, and I know she willfind happiness again, despite her brother's passing. Hey, she even started drawing again! ;)

I'll see you next wednesday for the next chapter! byeee!


Translation:

Maman? Coucou! comment tu vas? = Mom? Hi! How are you?