My maids put together the prettiest gown for the special occasion. It was a light green, floor length gown that had a small train in the back. The sleeves were made of a lighter lace, and they stopped at my elbows. The dress wasn't very poofy, but it was close to getting there. The actual back of the dress was mostly open except for the array of buttons in the center. They paired the dress with silver kitten heels, and gave me a simple silver necklace. They put on light makeup and curled my hair, pinning some of it back.
"You're ready, miss." Idris said with a soft smile, admiring her work in the mirror.
"The dress is beautiful, guys. Thank you." I murmured, placing a hand on my chest.
"You should get going, miss. Don't need you to be late!" Fathom replied, practically pushing me out the door. Once I was out and the door was closed, I heard the two start giggling. I rolled my eyes and started to head for the staircase. I hurried down the stairs, not paying attention to my surroundings, hoping I wasn't late already. I bumped into someone and fell, blushing a deep red at my clumsy abilities.
"Are you alright, miss?" A male voice spoke. I didn't know the voice, but it sounded vaguely familiar.
"Y-yes, I'm fine…" I looked up to see who it was and immediately straightened, "Prince Logan." I gave a short curtsy, then stayed there, knowing it was rude to leave his presence without permission.
"I hear you have a date with my brother tonight." His blue eyes shined. He had laugh lines covering his face even though he was barely sixteen.
"I do, Your Highness. Your brother is a lovely man, even though I have only had the honor of speaking to him twice." I replied honestly. Prince Lionel was actually nice, so I didn't have to lie to be polite.
"I must say," Logan began, "that you are the nicest of the thirty girls left, yet. I hope you stick around until the end. I like you." He gave a smile, bowed, and continued his way up the stairs.
Wow, I thought to myself, are they all this nice? I chuckled quietly and found my way to the gardens.
.~.~.~.
Once I got there, there was a lighted pathway that lead me to a small courtyard in the center where Lionel was setting up and straightening himself out. Immediately, I felt like I was too early. What if I was? That would be so embarrassing. I started to walk towards him, when he turned around, seeing me. A smile began to bloom on his face.
"Why, hello, Lady Analeyah. I wasn't expecting you for another five or so minutes, so, please do not mind the mess I've made." Prince Lionel greeted, giving me a bow. I laughed quietly. He had made a mess. Champagne was spilled on the table and floor, and it looked like he had accidentally knocked a plate off of the table while he was cleaning the champagne up.
"What did you do?" I asked in an amused tone. Lionel nervously brushed a stray dirty blonde strand of hair from his face.
"I was trying to be nice and already have the champagne poured for when you got here, but things didn't exactly work in my favor." He laughed, which made me laugh. It was refreshing to see him in a different atmosphere that didn't require him to be a picture-perfect prince. I could get used to seeing him like this. But then again, I didn't know too much about him, so I stopped that thinking process and moved on to another topic.
"That's wonderful. Need help cleaning it up? I can make it to where it looks like nothing happened." I gave a cheeky smile, and Lionel's facial expression changed from amused to pleading.
"Please, that would be great! I'd love if we could get this cleaned up before the press get here, at least." He sounded so serious that I couldn't help but to laugh.
"Of course. Just get me a few towels and I'll get right to work!" Lionel grinned and ran inside to grab the towels. While he did that, I started to pick up some shards of glass that came from the plate that he knocked off. There was already a small trash can in the garden, so I put the glass and food in there and leaned against a wall next to the doorway, waiting for Lionel to come out.
Lionel was taking his time finding the towels, so I decided to take a seat on one of the nearby benches and admire my remarkable surroundings. It was tremendous to see such an unblemished home—which was full of life—rather than my own dilapidated one. I could get stay like this forever and never get unhappy. I closed my eyes and began to think about home. How were my parents? Were my siblings doing alright? Just as I had started to worry, I heard Lionel open the door and walk over to where I was.
"Are you alright, Analeyah?" He asked concernedly and sat down next to me, resting his hands in his lap. I smiled brightly at him and nodded.
"Of course, Your Highness. Just missing home is all." I explained, tapping my foot against the stone floor. The prince nodded in understanding, and looked away from me. He looked like something was eating at him, and it was actually slightly concerning.
"Are you alright, Your Highness? You look a little green." I reached over and hesitantly placed my hand on his. He looked over at me and sighed.
"Oh, no, I'm fine. This is just my first date...there weren't many girls in the palace growing up, so I don't exactly know what to do or talk about." Lionel chuckled in embarrassment, ducking his head a bit. I smiled.
"Girls aren't that different from boys, honest. We'll talk about anything at all!" I assured him, squeezing his hand a little bit. This seemed to cheer him up quite a lot.
" Okay, then… what did you imagine your life would be like at this age when you were younger?" He asked, cocking his head slightly, showing interest.
"Well," I began, laughing at the thought of little me, "I definitely didn't think I would be getting into the Selection. It was always a hope, but it seemed extremely unlikely so I didn't let it influence my wishes. I used to think that by this age I'd be married to the kid next door to me, Kyle. He and I were best friends as kids and used to joke about marriage and stuff, but boy was I wrong." I paused, "What about you?" Lionel blinked in surprise.
"Uh...well, you know...I kind of already knew that I would be doing the Selection at this time, so I guess I never really thought about it." Oh. What a stupid question, Analeyah. I scolded myself.
"That's true." I responded as a maid walked out carrying a platter that held an array of different foods. My mouth instantly started watering at the sight of it.
"You look excited." Lionel observed with a small chuckle. He was right. I was excited. I didn't eat enough for lunch, so I had been hungry since a little after 2.
"I am." I blushed. Did I make it that obvious?
Once the maid sat our food down on the table, Lionel reached over and grabbed a plate. He slowly filled it with food, then looked to me, nodding his head toward the table. I, too, grabbed a plate and filled it with food.
The rest of the night was full of laughter and smiles, and I'm pretty sure I shed a few tears as well. We had apparently fallen asleep while watching the stars and a guard had to come wake us up to tell us we needed to go inside. We laughed at that, too. I don't think I'd be disappointed if the prince ended up marrying me.