"How would you like your hair to be, Miss Ares?"
Miss Ares. Julia had forgotten, after that date yesterday, that she was only Lady Ares for so long.
"Same as always," Julia replied. "Bun. I don't want to do anything flashy at someone's funeral. That's just disrespectful."
Winter nodded, brushing her dark brown hair and tying it up so it formed a neat little bun on top of her head.
"You're ready, Miss Ares," Winter curtsied, walking to her door and opening it.
Julia waltzed out of the room and into the main room, but not before pausing at the doorway. "Winter?"
"Yes, Miss Ares?"
"Thank you."
A small smile emerged on Winter's face. She laughed. "I, like you, have a job, Miss Ares."
"I know." Julia swept a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'd like to be thanked by my boss sometimes, too."
Winter only responded with a sad smile.
Julia strolled further into the large room, where several other Selected were already milling about.
"Did you hear that Giavanna kissed the Prince not once, not twice, but a total of FIFTY-TWO times yesterday?" one of the Selected whispered.
Julia rolled her eyes. She had counted?
"No way!" another girl cried. "I wonder how many times Eva and Julia kissed him! I feel so jealous!"
"It's weird, though," said a third girl. "He's already been on dates with Eva and Julia before. Why invite them again?"
"Does he favor them?" the first girl asked.
"Didn't he call Eva an idiot in front of the scribes, though?" said yet another Selected. "I don't think it's because of attraction…"
"It is," said the first girl. "It's an attraction to bloodline."
The girls went silent, then noticed Julia was watching them, and pretended that they weren't just talking about her.
Then someone tackled her from behind and Julia yelped, instinctively reaching for her sword before she realized she wasn't armed. Much to her relief, though, it was only Mary.
"Julia!" she cried, engulfing her in a hug. Julia gasped.
"I… Can't… Breathe…"
Mary laughed, setting her down. "Are you ready?"
Julia looked at everyone's identical black dresses. "It's going to be a very somber birthday. Why would they have the funeral on His Highness's day?"
"Good question," Mary said, nodding, before Lady Domanshee slammed the door open, glowering at Julia.
"... You're still here," she said smoothly.
Julia raised her chin. "I am."
Lady Domanshee merely raised an eyebrow and said, "it's time. None of you are to embarrass me in front of the scribes today. I assume you remember the lessons I have taught you about proper etiquette?"
There was silence in the room, and Lady Domanshee sighed.
"... I will not hesitate to eliminate all twenty-nine of you if I have to. But, alas, we have no time. HURRY UP, YOU PLEBEIANS! WE HAVEN'T GOT ALL DAY!"
Immediately, about ten girls burst from their rooms, muttering apologies.
"I'm sorry, Lady Domanshee! I was doing my hair!"
"My servant got fruit all over the floor!"
"Lady Domanshee, I swear I didn't mean to-"
"QUIET!" Lady Domanshee put up a hand and the girls shut up. "I don't care about your petty excuses. Get in line. We will travel to the ballroom."
They got in line, like little kindergarteners traveling to another classroom. They moved like kindergarteners, too, as the hallways were full of useless chatter the entire way to the first floor, where the grand ballroom was.
Lady Domanshee stopped at the door, then turned around, examining each girl with her usual brooding stare.
"Have fun," she finally said, a cold smile on her face. "It may be the last time you ever will."
Then she kicked the door open with her heel and walked away, leaving the girls to pile in the room, a bit shaken from what she had just said.
"What do you think she meant?" Thalia whispered to her. Julia shrugged.
"Nothing good. Lady Domanshee is never good, anyway," she whispered back. This did nothing to calm Thalia's nerves and her teeth began to chatter.
"We're going to die…" she shivered. "We're all going to die…"
Oh, where was Mary when she needed her? Julia didn't know how to comfort a crying girl!
"Stop crying!" Julia hissed as they walked in. The entire ballroom was filled with black and white, and most wore black for the funeral, though there were some outliers. It was already piled with people, and they turned their heads to look at them when they walked in.
But it was too late, and Thalia was already bawling in front of literally hundreds of people. Oops.
Julia scurried off, getting the heck away from her. No, she wasn't associated with her at all...
"These are the girls in the running to be our Queen?" she heard a noble say.
"How pathetic."
She made her way throughout the tables, trying to find her table number, when a familiar voice sounded in the front of the room.
"Welcome, people of Ethica, and our guests, the royal families of Thelonia and Gysterf!" King Eadger said. It was amazing how much his voice could project over the huge ballroom. "Today we celebrate the birth of my son and heir, Prince Alexander!"
There was a polite applause.
"Eat! Drink! Dance! Make tonight a night to remember!" The King's voice boomed over the room and they cheered, clapping again.
"Thank you."
After the King's speech, musicians began playing a quiet song, their violins and cellos sending waves of comfort in Julia's ear as she finally found her table and sat down.
"First course," said a butler, placing a fresh, presumably expensive salad before her.
"Would you like a drink?" a maid said, suddenly popping up out of nowhere. "I have cider, ale, wine…"
"I'd like some wine, please," a man sitting opposite of Julia said. The maid nodded and went to pour him a bottle.
"Can I have some ale for my son?" a woman sitting a few seats across from her asked. The maid poured some golden liquid into the five-year-old's cup.
Seriously? A five-year-old? That kid probably couldn't even drink milk by himself.
Julia finished the courses rather quickly—the salad, a warm beet soup, another salad, some seafood 'exclusive' thing, and a lovely mousse cake. She looked up to see that most of the other people in her table were only up to the third course. Ah. She had to eat quickly her entire life to save time… she'd forgotten that she didn't need to do that now that her duties were temporarily relieved while she was in the Selection.
She stood up as a butler gathered up her plate and walked around the ballroom, where couples were already dancing. Probably planning to dance first and then eat, which was honestly smarter than eating and then dancing.
"Julia!"
It was Sandra, again. She waved at her. "The Prince is dancing with us! How romantic!"
"What? Let me see." Julia rushed over to where Sandra was and, true to her word, Prince Alexander was waltzing with Natasha, who looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Do you think I should go and ask him for a dance?" she said, sighing as she looked at him. That's when Julia realized that she was deeply in love with someone who had never even talked to her.
"Of course," Julia said, giving her a literal push towards him. After all, maybe she'd actually marry him. Who knows?
"What?!" Sandra's blue eyes widened. "The song isn't even over, yet!"
"You want to get your chance at the Prince, you've got to take it." Julia winked.
Sandra nodded and walked confidently towards the Prince… before a dancing couple smacked her in the face as they passed.
"HEY!" said the lady, who was wearing a ridiculously huge hat. "Watch where you're going!"
"Sorry!" Sandra cried. She broke into a run for Alexander, and Julia rolled her eyes.
Why would anyone ever fall in love with that man?
"Eva!"
Eva turned around to see her parents running towards her. Funny—they were wearing tan, not black, as everyone else had for the funeral.
Alexandra had warned her, but Eva was far from ready… no, she was actively dreading their arrival, and here they were.
"Mom! Dad!" she croaked as her parents engulfed her in a hug.
"Oh, darling, I've missed you!" her father cried. "How've you been?"
"Stop it with the small talk, honey," her mother chastised, breaking away from the hug. Her father soon followed. "How is the Prince?" she asked immediately. "Have you caught his attention yet?"
Eva felt a slight bit of shame. "Have you seen the newspapers?"
Her father opened his mouth, then closed it, glancing at his wife.
"Yes, yes, he called you an idiot—that's no reason to give up!" her mother said, patting her shoulder quite violently. "Have you kissed him?"
"Honey, that's barely an appropriate question!" her father said, aghast.
"Oh, but it's a necessary one," her mother said, looking straight into Eva's blue eyes. "All good relationships start with a good kiss. I know that from experience." She looked at her husband.
"Uh…" Her father blinked. "Right. Yes. Listen to your mother."
"There is no good man who is not a good kisser!" Her mother wagged her finger. "I actually met your father through-"
"Let's spare her the details, shall we?" Her father's ears had gone bright pink. "Eva, answer the question."
"Uh…" She searched her mind for anything, anything, that could please her parents. "He's… offered to kiss me before."
Her mother raised her eyebrows. "And?"
"And… Well, I refused."
"What?" Her mother looked like she had just witnessed a mouse trying to chase a dog.
Eva's mind raced. "I was playing hard to get," she lied.
Her mother's eyebrows raced up. "Oh! Smart one, Eva! We'll have the crown in no time!"
She smiled. "Yeah. I know."
"We believe in you, darling," her father added, a big smile on his face. "Just don't mess things up, alright?"
"Of course, I won't!" Eva hadn't tried this hard to force a smile on her face before. "I'm Eva Paula Schmidt."
"Good girl." Her mother patted her head and then strutted off, immediately catching a conversation with a noble lady, her father struggling to keep up.
Eva waved, keeping the smile on her face until her parents were well out of sight, and she sighed, her hand falling limply on her side.
The music behind her changed and couples laughed, dancing along to the lively music, so much that the floor shook beneath them with every clap of their hands and the cheers of the audience.
She stared into the crowd, watching as Alexander pushed one of the other Selected to the side and quite literally stole Giavanna from another man. She looked shocked for a moment before smiling, staring lovingly at the Prince as they danced.
"HEY, YOU-" The man who had been dancing with Giavanna stopped when he saw the crown on Alexander's head and he turned away, shaking his head.
Eva made her way through the crowd, trying to get closer to Alexander.
"Do you want to dance?"
She yelped at the sudden voice and Alexandra laughed as Eva turned around.
"It was that easy to make you scream, huh?"
"You scared me!" Eva exclaimed. Alexandra shrugged.
"Come on. Let's dance. I'll push you into Alexander when the time is right, and he'll have no choice but accept you." Alexandra offered her a pale hand. Eva smiled, taking it.
The dance was complicated, unlike anything that Lady Domanshee had taught, but Alexandra led on expertly.
"How long have you known this dance?" Eva said, following her complex foot movements. Right left jump right back jump…
"Since we were toddlers," Alexandra said cooly. "Alexander used to hate this dance because he could never get it right. I had to teach him. You can figure out how that turned out."
Eva glanced at Alexander, who was still dancing with a very giddy Giavanna.
"He's doing very well," Eva said.
"No, he's cheating," Alexandra didn't even have to look at her brother. "He's moving diagonally to limit the amount of movements he has to make, because he could never memorize it."
Eva stared at him, and realized that Alexandra was right. Instead of moving right and then back, he just went right and back at the same time. It was so subtle that no one would notice unless they were really paying attention.
"You know him well," was all that Eva could muster.
Alexandra shrugged as the music stopped. "We've known eachother since the moment we were conceived. Ah, it's your turn now. Meet me at the servants quarters later."
Eva nodded and the Princess pushed her into Alexander's arms. She yelped and looked up at the Prince. "Eva."
She scrambled to her feet. "Hello, Your Highness."
"You're ready to get a taste of me?" he laughed. Eva forced a smile on her face.
"I'd love to." The music started up again, this time with a slower, dreamier tone. Perfect.
Eva could feel her parents staring at her. She had to kiss him. Now.
"You're a good dancer," she said as they waltzed. Lady Domanshee had drilled this dance into them, so Eva knew each step by heart.
"I know," he said brightly. "I'm the best in the room."
Eva looked around. The room was fairly big.
"I… Yes. You are."
"Glad that you acknowledged it." Eva had no idea whether or not the Prince was serious. He probably was. "That Natasha girl just stomped off in the middle of our dance. Apparently she thought I couldn't dance."
Conveniently, he stepped on her foot at that moment, and he glared at her. "Watch your step."
"Sorry," Eva said, looking at her feet. She knew this dance well, especially after dancing with Alexandra—there was no way that she had made a mistake.
She decided to throw more half-hearted compliments his way and hope that he thought it was flirty. "You're fairly handsome."
"I know," was all he said this time.
"You… are good-looking?"
"Doesn't that mean the same thing?" He threw his head back to laugh, his pearly white teeth shining in the torchlight. "Why, you really are an idiot."
She ignored the insult and continued. "You're quite eloquent, too."
"Thank you."
Wow, he finally said thank you.
They waltzed, Eva trying her best to flatter him, to no avail. Apparently, it took a lot to satisfy him.
Then the music stopped, and Eva panicked. She was supposed to kiss him! She grabbed his shirt and leaned in, her heart pounding against her chest, though she was sure it was more from fear than 'love'.
But he tore away from her grasp, gave her a weird look, and went on to the next girl, Thalia, who squealed when he grabbed her waist for the next dance.
Eva stumbled back into the crowd to avoid being trampled by the dancers, sighing. She looked straight into the Prince's brown eyes, shimmering with some unexplained magic in the light. How was it that someone so handsome visually could be so—excuse her language—disgusting personally?
She glanced at her parents, who were whispering to each other, drinking some wine. She deliberately avoided their gazes, pushing into the crowd, hoping that they'd soon give up on watching her every move in the middle of a hundred people.
"Ohhh! That's Eva, isn't it?"
She stopped at a table, where a brown-haired girl waved at her excitedly. Mary and Natasha sat next to her.
"Yes, it is! Your Highness, this is Eva Paula Schmidt—Eva, this is Princess Annalisa, Alexander's younger sister," Mary said with a bright smile. Natasha looked less than thrilled.
"Oh. Your Highness." Eva curtsied, and Annalisa laughed.
"Hi, Eva! I've heard a lot about you!" she cried.
Mary motioned for her to take a seat with them, and she obliged. "Oh, really?"
"Mhm! You're the big-strong-woman everyone keeps talking about!"
Eva glanced at Mary, who shrugged. "By everyone, who?"
"Everyone means everyone, silly!" Annalisa giggled, then waved a butler over. "More tomato juice, please!"
"Tomato juice," Eva heard Mary whisper, shaking her head. "Out of all of the beverages that she has access to, she chooses tomato juice."
"What's wrong with tomato juice?" Eva whispered back.
Mary shrugged.
"How's the Selection going?" Annalisa asked. Mary grimaced while Natasha simply dug into her spaghetti… wait, there was spaghetti?
"It's been going well," Mary said. "It's unfortunate for that girl who died. So suddenly. And so young, too."
Annalisa waved her off. "Yes, it's silly! Things like this happen every day!"
Mary blinked. "Wait, what?"
"They always faint over him. She's the first one who hit her head and died, though. She must have been very frail. It's really up to luck, you see."
Natahsa looked like she was going to vomit.
"Excuse me," Natasha said, standing up. "I'm gonna go…"
"Oh, why?" Annalisa's face fell, her round eyes looking innocently up at the older girl. "Is the spaghetti I ordered just for you not to your liking?"
Natasha grimaced, as if the entire conversation was causing her pain. "Well… uh, no. It's not. It's really great spaghetti, some of the best I've ever eaten, thank you very much Your Hi-"
"Well, then finish it!" Annalisa cried, grabbing her arm. Natasha's eyes widened, her teeth clenching. "If you like it, I won't force you to run away!"
"Uh…" Natasha stammered. "I mean, I'm not running away, I just need to-"
"Stay!" Annalisa flashed her a sparkling smile, and, seeing as she had just been ordered by a Princess, Natasha sat down, forcing a smile on her face.
Ah, yes. Torture by spaghetti. What fun.
"Anyway, have you gotten a chance to talk to Alex yet?" Annalisa asked, turning to Mary.
Mary shook her head. "No. But I'm sure there'll be more chances."
"Of course there will!" Annalisa said. "I'll make sure you don't get eliminated. Pinky promise!"
Mary laughed and their pinkies connected, nodding like little girls. Natasha simply stared at them.
"I miss Katya." Mary sighed, leaning her elbows on the table.
"I can invite her over as a guest if you want!" Annalisa said.
"Oh-" Mary's eyes widened. "Oh, no-"
"She'd rather not." Natasha leaned on her chair.
"Yeah-"
"Oh, it's alright, then!" Annalisa leaned towards Mary. "So, what's it like?"
"What's what like?"
"Being… y'know, poor." Eva visibly cringed as Mary tried not to laugh.
"Oh, well… It's not that bad…"
Natasha tried to pretend that Annalisa didn't exist.
"I've read a lot of books!" Annlisa cried. She paused. "By 'a lot' I mean one. But one is enough! Is it true that you're orphans?"
"What?!" both Natasha and Mary said at the same time, the possibility of their parents having suddenly died crossing their minds but leaving them as soon as they realized that if they were, they'd probably-maybe-ish know by now instead of having a Princess tell them.
"Well, Garry Dotter lived in an attic under the basement and his aunt and uncle had to take care of him because his parents were killed by Lady Soldermort!"
They stared.
"I just wanted to know, like, is that real?!" Annalisa looked, to Eva's dismay, very curious and intrigued, waiting excitedly for Mary's answer.
"Oh. Uh… Yes, kids do have to live with relatives if their parents die before they come of age," Mary said. She looked a bit shocked for a moment before her happy smile came right back. "Tell me more about Lady Soldermort!"
"Oh, she's commonly referred to as she-who-must-not-be-sold. She's actually a magical lamp that was sold to Garry Dotter's parents and…"
So the Princess rambled about her children's book, which was apparently the only book she had bothered to read. Natasha looked like she wanted to die, Mary looked on intently, and Eva… honestly, Eva zoned out as soon as she started talking.
"So Garry Dotter defeated Lady Soldemort. The end!"
"Thank god," Natasha said a little too loudly. Annalisa looked at her.
"Sorry?" Even though she was annoying, Eva felt a bit bad. Her voice cracked in the middle, hurt etched in every syllable… which was two syllables, but it was weird that it happened twice.
Natasha sighed. "Nothing."
"Are you sure?" Annalisa's eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm sure."
"Okay!" she clapped her hands. "I still can't believe there are so many people in the palace now! Although it's getting a bit more cramped…"
"Like having a room ten times as big as our house is cramped…" Natasha muttered under her breath. Annalisa looked to her again.
"Natalie-"
"It's Natasha."
"Oh! Sorry, Natasha, what did you just say? Sorry, I didn't hear properly."
"I didn't say anything, you freak," Natasha snapped. Her eyes widened as soon as she said it and she stood up, staring into Annalisa's brown eyes.
The Princess opened and closed her mouth, finally letting it dangle into an O shape. "W-what?"
Natasha looked like she was calculating some complex math equation in her head before nodding curtly. "You want to know what I just said? Since you can't hear properly?"
Eva decided not to look her in the eye. She stared down at her lap.
Annalisa blinked once. Then twice. She closed her mouth.
Natasha loomed over her, her eyes fierce with… not exactly hatred, really, but of irritation. And irritation was enough for her to look scary. Very scary.
"I said you were a freak," she snapped. Annalisa flinched as Natasha poked her chest with her index finger. "I said that you had no right to say that you felt cramped in a palace that could fit hundreds of people. I said that I was glad that your story was over because my goodness that was awful." Mary stood up, trying to push her stepsister gently back into her seat, but Natasha shoved her away, sending Mary stumbling into the table next to them. Some people from nearby tables turned to watch the commotion. "You can hear me now, right?"
Annalisa's eyes began to water as Natasha doubled in on her, until they were both inches from each other's face. "Y-yes…"
"I suggest you get out of my sight right now, Princess." Mary looked absolutely dismayed at her sister's words and sighed, turning away from the table and running into the dance area.
Yes. Good idea. Eva should do that too before-
"B-but I…" A tear ran down the Princess' cheek. Eva could hear her terrified heartbeat even from a few feet away.
"Go. The hell. Away," Natasha sneered with her teeth clenched.
Annalisa scooted back, biting her lip and wiping her face. "O-okay…" she whispered.
The ends of Natasha's lips curved into a small, smug smile. "I don't waste my time with spoiled brats, anyway."
Then she sat down on where Annalisa had just been sitting, grabbed a fork, and started digging into some untouched salad that probably would have been thrown out.
Eva glanced at the Princess, who stood frozen for a moment before bolting away, tearing through guests as she ran, sobbing. She felt a certain pit in her stomach.
"Good riddance," Natasha muttered, chewing on a leaf of lettuce. Eva stared at the direction Annalisa had gone.
"Was that rea-"
"Shut up," Natasha said, giving her a cold stare. Eva bit her lip and pushed her words back into her throat. "You know, someone at her age, especially of her standing, should really know better."
"She's a Princess, Natasha," Eva said. Natasha frowned.
"Exactly."