Chapter 21- Ainslin Serena Black

I sat in front of my vanity, carefully evaluating my appearance. My maids- I cursed myself for forgetting their names- had curled my hair into perfect waves and I loved it. It looked like my normal hair, only much neater, without the flyaway strands. I shook my head slightly as I thought of all the products they and I had used to get it to behave. I had great skin care products at home and the best ones available at the palace, so my skin practically glowed. And my eyes… the makeup was perfect. It brought out my long lashes and gray eyes, one of my most unique features.

"Yes, that's perfect, thank you. Now, I think we should pick out my dress," I told my maids. I didn't wait for them to do anything or even respond and went over to the closet myself. I went through the dresses the palace had provided me. There weren't that many, considering we had all made it two weeks in the Selection. The blue ombré strapless? No, too sexy. The pale-pink high-low dress? No, that was too garden-party and it didn't compliment my skin tone anyway. I made a mental note to have my maids take that one out of circulation. Then my eyes fell on a purple scoop-neck dress with cap sleeves and a cute A-line skirt that I could tell would fall right where I wanted it to. "This one," I pointed at it. Maybe it was a little on the safe side, but I knew I would look good in it. My head maid carefully took it off the hanger and I stepped into it, also stepping into the matching deep purple sandals. I felt a pang as she zipped up my dress. My older sister, Natasha, and I had always done that for each other whenever we dressed up.

"What's your name?" I asked the head maid suddenly. It didn't seem right that I didn't know the name of the girl zipping up my dress in my sister's place.

"Penny, my lady."

"Penny." I made a mental note, willing myself not to forget again. "And you two?"

"My name is Jenna, my lady."

"I'm Ashley, my lady."

"Penny, Jenna, and Ashley. I'm sorry, I'll try not to forget again. I can be kind of forgetful sometimes," I giggled.

"It's all right, my lady," Penny replied evenly. She even sounded a little bored. I decided not to comment on it.

"Good. Then I think I'm ready to go. How do I look?"

"Beautiful, my lady. Not a flaw to be seen," Ashley smiled. I looked at her, surprised. Her reaction seemed quite different to Penny's. I would have to get to the bottom of this later, or else I would be late.

"What's the quickest way-"

I was interrupted by a knock at my door. I smiled and shook my head. I had almost forgotten in the flurry of my preparations that I didn't need to know where I was going, because the prince would take me there.

I opened the door, being careful not to open it too slowly so it would look like I was scared, but also being careful not to whip it open.

Prince Theo stood there, clad in an impossibly smooth black suit with a blue-green tie. I exhaled and swallowed. He looked really good. Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I noticed a similar response in him to my appearance. I didn't have much time to think about it, though, because I didn't want there to be an awkward moment where we just stared at each other. Besides, I was about to go on the most extravagant date of my life! I had enjoyed gossiping with the other girls about their dates, and I was very pleased it was finally my turn.

He kissed my hand. "I hope you're having a pleasant evening, Lady Ainslin." I resisted the urge to wrinkle my nose when I heard my given first name. There was a reason I went by Ash with most people- I really didn't like the sound of Ainslin. Besides, no one knew how to pronounce it with the way it was spelled. I decided I'd deal with it for now and then ask to change it later if we got close. I couldn't bear it if he didn't choose me and I was stuck with the memory of him intimately calling me Ash.

"Yes, it was even fun getting ready! I love dressing up now and again," I replied.

"Well, you did an amazing job. You look beautiful, Lady Ainslin." I blushed. A compliment, so soon? In the back of my mind, I wondered how many other girls he had complimented.

"Thank you," I giggled. "You look nice, too." I took his arm and we left my hallway walking at a quicker pace than I expected. We didn't talk, which was a weird situation for me, though I felt like he kept stealing glances at me. Maybe he was just nervous. I guess even princes could get nervous. I noticed a few other girls' eyes peering through cracks in their doors at us. I sighed a little. It may be the most lavish date of my life, but there was no privacy and a lot of annoying intrusive thoughts.

"Here we are," he announced as we arrived at a balcony with a view of the palace gardens, gesturing at a clean-cut spread of food with an ornate tablecloth and two little chairs. The view was breathtaking. I unconsciously let my arm go slack around his, taking it all in. I was used to Angeles, but the sunset, the colors in the garden, were like nothing I'd ever seen. He gently disengaged my arm to pull out my chair for me. My heart fluttered a little as I sat down and he pushed in the chair for me. I didn't admit it to a lot of people, but I was a sucker for all the little things- a hopeless romantic, you could say. I smiled at him and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Is everything to your liking, Lady Ainslin?"

I smiled at him incredulously. How could it not be? The food was so high-quality and well-plated. Everything was so high-class, down to the last detail. "This is an amazing spread, Your Highness."

He gave me a satisfied smile and fixed me with his gaze. "Please, feel free to eat, Lady Ainslin." That was really starting to annoy me now, though he didn't know it. He was just following protocol. He sat down and in the process, his foot grazed mine. I felt a little rush of heat spreading up my leg from the spot and I blushed a little bit. We ate in silence for a little while, each sizing the other up. The food tasted just as exquisite as it looked. "So, what do you do for a living, Lady Ainslin?" he offered, breaking the tense silence we had held.

I paused in the middle of my bite of filet mignon, a little put out. This wasn't what I had been hoping to start our conversation with. But I obliged and responded anyway. "I actually haven't decided on my profession yet, since I'm only nineteen and my parents own a pretty well-known clothing company. It's Black, my last name. Have you heard of it?"

I saw a click of recognition in his eyes, then a flicker of what I thought might be annoyance- so small I must have imagined it. It was probably just the light reflecting strangely. "Yes, I know it well. Do you plan to take over it when your parents retire?"

"No, that's for my older sister. I haven't really decided what I'm doing yet. I haven't even really thought about possible career paths for me," I explained.

"Would… being a princess be a possibility on that list?" he asked, not breaking his gaze. It had gotten more intense than before. My heart started to flutter again. Was he like this with all the other girls? I wasn't the first girl he asked on a date. Maybe it was just because he was a literal prince. They had to have some kind of training for this for any prince.

I ducked my head, then looked up at him flirtatiously through my lashes. "I'm… open to the possibility," I said slowly. That was weird. Usually I talked pretty fast. This conversation was doing weird things to me. I stood up and went over to the balcony railing, a sturdy but elegant stone barrier, and rested my forearms on it, closing my eyes and inhaling the Angeles sunset air. Somehow, like everything else at the palace, it was perfect, without a flaw.

I felt a hand on my arm. "Are you quite all right, Lady Ainslin?"

"Yes, I'm fine," I assured him. "Just… this conversation with you made me think about how I'm going to make an impact on the world. I'm not just going to be some spoiled Two living off their parents' achievements. They worked their way up from being Sevens, and I'm not taking what I have for granted. I just don't know what it'll be yet…"

The prince's former concern now gone, he stood next to me, mirroring my pose of forearms resting on the stone rail. "I'm sure whatever you do, you'll make a difference," he said deliberately, reassuringly almost, turning to face me without moving from his position.

I faced him, too. "Thanks," I said, softly, sweetly. Was it my imagination, or had he inched a little closer? His fingers were so close, so close, then he closed the gap, taking my hand. The heart flutters were the strongest they'd ever been. I opened my mouth to say something, but then I caught his eyes, his blue-green eyes, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. I didn't even really register how close he was until he was right there and my eyes closed of their own accord. Then his lips were on mine, light as a whisper. It felt like he didn't want to scare me. Gradually, the kiss became more confident, more sure. I had never been kissed before, and I wondered if it would happen while I was at the palace. Sure enough, it did. And as far as I knew, I was the first girl to be kissed. The flutters were full-on poundings now. I stole a peek at him to see what his face looked like. His eyes were still closed, still kissing me, and he exhaled deeply in satisfaction. I closed them again and fell into it, enjoying the moment and feeling the heat I had felt in my foot earlier, not wanting it to end. Eventually it did, though, when he pulled back and looked me in the eyes, a smile on his face, but something deeper in his eyes. I breathed heavier than normal, trying to calm my heart. As I stared into his eyes, I made a decision.

"Call me Ash," I breathed.

"Ash," his voice wrapped around the name. I liked the way he said it, like it was precious. "If you'll call me Theo," he replied huskily.

"Theo," I let it roll off my lips. "Theo."

"I had a special time with you tonight, Lady Ains… Ash." It felt just like I thought it would, special and intimate. No one else could say it like that. "I should probably escort you back to your room. I wouldn't want you to get bitten by mosquitoes." I laughed, because it was true. I was a mosquito magnet.

"Okay," I agreed quietly. I was still basking in what had just happened. I took his arm without really thinking about it, then I felt the heat again. I could already feel the stupid grin starting to overwhelm me, and I hoped he wouldn't think I was too innocent. Somehow, the silence fell over us again, and the walk back to my room felt like no time at all. In fact, I couldn't believe it when we arrived at my door. He took the hand that was on his arm, kissed it, and said, "Good night… Ash," he said deliberately, still getting used to it. He gave me a last grin and turned to walk away. I watched him go, watched his black suit retreating into the distance until he turned a corner and I could no longer see him.

I stood at my door for a minute or two, needing to calm myself before I faced my maids. No matter how hard I tried, though, I couldn't get the stupid grin off my face. So I walked in, ready to face the music, except my maids weren't there. I just flopped on my bed and replayed it over and over in my head until God knows when, until I drifted into a peaceful sleep.