Today is the one-year anniversary of my posting my first chapter! I'm posting an anniversary special today and tomorrow I'll post a normal chapter. This chapter is in Bella's POV when she just arrives at the palace after being drawn for the Selection. This chapter is quite a bit longer because this is a one-time post.
Enjoy!
-CL
I walk into the palace in awe. Is this really where I'm going to be staying? I think. I look around and see the other girls looking around the palace.
"Hello, ladies," Silvia says. I turn to look at her, giving her my full attention. "You will be getting a makeover before tonight when you will be meeting Prince Maxon-" the girls cut her off, squealing. I smile but don't make a sound. Silvia continues once the noise dies down, "-and you will be introducing yourselves to him. Until then, you may not even try to look for him. He asked for all of you to introduce yourselves at the same time. Ok, let's see…Bella Starr…" she continues with names of girls. "...you will all come with me. You will be the first ones to get a makeover. Leave your luggage here and follow me." I do as she said and start walking behind her.
We are all quiet on the way to our makeovers, probably admiring the palace. I silently take it all in, trying not to draw attention to myself. "Ok, ladies, we are here. This is the Women's Room, which is used for several different things. Please follow me and follow instructions."
We walk into the room and wait until our names are called. "Bella Starr, right this way," a lady with blonde hair says, a serene smile on her face. I instantly feel at ease with her. She's about my height and has brown eyes. "I'm Marlee and I'll be helping you with your makeover." She leads me over to a chair. She gestures for me to sit in the chair, and while I do, she grabs items from a shelf. "What would you like me to do with your hair?"
"Ummm…well, I don't know, but please don't dye it or cut it. I want to keep the length and natural highlights," I say shyly. "Otherwise you may do whatever you think fits it, but please keep it simple."
"Let's see…" Marlee starts playing with my hair and grabs tools. I try to remember everything she does because I expect I'll have to do it myself after this, but I soon lose track.
Two other girls come over and start applying lotion all over me, and then they work on my manicure, and then they move on to my pedicure. "Please keep it simple," I say, "and don't work yourselves too hard. I don't want to exhaust you."
The two girls smile but don't say anything. "Ok, I think we are done with your hair," Marlee says. She spins me so I'm facing the mirror. "And…voila!"
I gasp. Marlee took my curly hair and made it even better. She curled my hair loosely and threaded strands of diamonds throughout it. "Oh my gosh, Marlee, it's so beautiful!" I say quietly. "I love it!" I stand up and hug her. I step back, realizing what I did. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Marlee. I got ahead of myself." I hang my head in embarrassment.
"Oh, Bella, it's fine. I promise you. If anything, that was appreciated; nobody ever thanks me. I'm glad you like it. Now, let's do your makeup." I look up to see Marlee smiling gently.
"Alright," I say sitting in the chair, "but please keep it natural."
"Yes, I know," Marlee says, laughing. She takes out a bunch of different makeup, in all types of shades. She compares a bunch of different foundations and concealers to match my face. She finds my shade and gets to work. I glance at my nails and see that they are a deep blue with white accents. I start to daydream about meeting Maxon and what he'll think of me… "-Bella?"
I snap out of my daydream and glance at Marlee. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" I say sheepishly.
"I said I was finished. You can look now," Marlee says, turning my chair so I can look in the mirror.
My jaw drops. Marlee gave me a natural smoky eye with blue undertones. The rest of my makeup has pink undertones. She used black eyeliner to accent my wide eyes and my lips are a soft shade of pink. "Am-Am I even the same person?" I ask.
"Of course you are," Marlee says with a giggle. "I just enhanced your natural features."
"Thank you so much," I say, standing up and walking over to give her another hug. "Do I just wear this?" I ask, inwardly cringing. I glance in the mirror, now seeing my clothes. I have my nicest pair of pants on, but the black looks worn. My white shirt is a little too form-fitting, showing how small it is. My two-inch heels are a pale pink, and even though I rarely wear them, they have little scuff marks.
"Oh goodness no. You will be measured over there and you will pick out a dress to wear tonight and-" I glance over to the fitting area and realize there are cameras all over the place.
"Um…Marlee…why are there cameras?" I ask, my breath quickening. DO NOT have a panic attack right now, I tell myself. You are FINE. You knew this was coming.
"Oh, they are going around and showing the before and after pictures of your makeovers. Your picture for the before portion was already taken. Don't you remember?"
"Oh, yes," I say, vaguely remembering a camera being pointed at me and telling me to smile. I think I was having an anxiety attack then, between the people and everything happening at once. I don't want Marlee to know that, though. "Yes, now I remember."
"Ok, well, now you have to go over there and change into a dress and then they'll take an after picture and interview you. Good luck, Bella. I hope to see you around." Marlee says, hugging me.
"Thank you so much for everything, Marlee. I'll be on the lookout," I say with a wink. I lean in to whisper, "Good luck with the other girls. Some of them are real divas." I give her a tight smile.
"Thanks for the heads up, Bella. Now, go get dressed!" We both smile and wave and then I'm being ushered over to a woman with a rack of dresses that has my name on it.
"Hello…" the woman glances at a sheet of paper, "...Bella?"
"Yes, I'm Bella Starr. And you are?" I ask politely, not sure how I should really speak.
She looks a little taken aback by me asking her name. "I'm Vicki. I'll be making sure your dresses fit, making sure the previous measurements still work. Now, I'm thinking a deep blue might work for you…" She looks through the rack and finds what she's looking for. She pulls out a deep blue dress with a sweetheart neckline. The dress has off-the-shoulder lace long sleeves and is floor length. The dress has jewels sewn into a pattern. There's a sideways ruffle that works with the dress, and the dress is wavy at the bottom. "Put this on over there," she says, gesturing to a place with a privacy screen. I quickly change out of my normal clothes, but I can't put the gown on by myself.
I stick my head out, only in my underwear and bra. "Ummm…Vicki, can I get help with my dress? I can't get it on by myself…"
"Oh, yes, I forgot. Nevaeh, can you please help Bella over there?"
A maid with a long black braid steps into view. "Of course." Nevaeh turns around and I look at her flawless tan skin. "Are you Bella?"
"Oh…umm…y-yes," I stutter. "Can you please help me with my dress?"
"Yes, of course, Lady Bella." She gestures for me to turn around. "Ok, let me see…Ah, I see…ok, let's do this…oh yes, of course…ok, I think you're all set."
I turn to glance in the mirror and once again I'm speechless. I admire the way the dress hugs all of my good curves and hides the others. I spin around, watching the dress flare out. "Oh my gosh, it's perfect." I smile. "Thank you, Nevaeh. Do I wear the shoes I already wear?"
"Oh, no, not at all, Lady Bella. Let's go ask Vicki," she says, leading me over to Vicki. "Is this ok, Miss Vicki?"
"It fits her perfectly like I knew it would. Thank you, Nevaeh. Bella, here are your heels. You are dismissed, Nevaeh." Nevaeh smiles and walks away. I take the heels from Vicki and put them on. They are four-inch heels that are the same color as my dress. They have little jewels sewn into the pattern on my dress near the toe. They are simple stilettos with a strap around my ankle. I stand up and walk around, realizing how comfortable they are.
"Is this good?" I ask, walking over the Vicki, and pulling my dress up so she can see the heels.
"Yes, they are perfect with this dress. Now for the finishing touch…" Vicki says, grabbing a silver name tag that has my name on it in shimmering letters. She pins it to my dress and shoos me over to the cameras.
"Thank you!" I say, loud enough for her to hear. She glances at me and smiles at me. I turn to face the cameras, trying to calm myself down. I'm very camera shy and today has already been tolling between the send-off and all of the people who have congratulated me and such.
"Ok, Bella, please stand here," a photographer says, directing me to an X on the ground. I stand there and turn to face the camera. "Ok, this is your after shot…3…2…1." The camera flashes and the photographer quickly looks at the photo and then ushers me to the interview area. My anxiety starts up and I'm soon sweating and nervously shaking.
"Ok, Lady Bella, please sit here and face the camera," the interviewer says. I do as I'm told and try to calm myself. It's not that bad. You're just talking to a person. Get ahold of yourself. "Are you ready?"
I nod, scared to say a word. The red recording dot appears. "So, Lady Bella, it seems like you are in a blue ensemble today. Is blue your favorite color?"
"Well, um, no. I prefer light pink. But from what I could hear, I was dressed in blue because it compliments my blue eyes and red-brown hair," I say, trying to keep a small smile on my face.
"They were right. It looks lovely on you."
"Thank you," I say graciously.
"Now, it seems that you have a more natural and simple look than the others. Is this on purpose? Maybe to stick out?"
"Oh, not at all. I haven't even seen any other girls since I entered this room. I wanted a natural look because I don't want to stray from who I am. I don't want to put on a mask every day, being completely different than what I truly am. I want to be true to myself," I answer sincerely. "I don't want to stick out at all if I'm being honest. I'm nervous to be here, but I'll try my best."
"Alright, cut," the interviewer says. The red recording dot disappears. "Great job, Lady Bella. Good luck."
I stand up and realize I'm shaking. Get ahold of yourself, damn it. "Thank you," I say, walking out of the Women's Room. I realize I'm having an anxiety attack and I walk away from the Women's Room as fast as possible. I try to calm myself, not wanting to sweat off my makeup or pass out from hyperventilating. I feel really weak and I'm trembling so much that I stumble walking up the stairs. I have no idea where I'm going, but I know that I have to get away from everybody before I embarrass myself. I see a split and decide to go right. I'm leaning against the wall, trying not to pass out. Calm down, Bella. You're fine. I push off against the wall and the world starts to spin. "Shit," I whisper. I lean against the wall again. What the fuck am I supposed to do? I ask myself.
I hear someone clear their throat and I whip around to face them. That was a bad decision, though, because my legs almost give out from the sudden movement. I duck my head, not wanting whoever is standing next to me to see how hard I'm concentrating. "Miss, are you ok?" I haven't seen the person yet, but I know he is a male, which makes me even more nervous.
"I'm fine…umm…" I say, not sure of his name. I look up and see that this person who I have been so casually talking with is the fucking prince. "Oh my gosh, Prince Maxon, I'm so sorry," I say, pushing myself off of the wall, trying to curtsy. What happens instead is my legs give out and I start falling toward the ground…but Prince Maxon catches me by my arms. I blush furiously, realizing what I just did. "I'm so so sorry, Your Highness. I can stand by myself. Please, don't trouble yourself with me." I realize I'm still hyperventilating and it's getting worse. Shit, you're going to pass out in the fucking prince's arms. Get ahold of yourself, BELLA STARR. The world starts to spin and I try to catch my breath.
"Just breathe, Lady Bella. Breathe," Prince Maxon says, lowering us to the ground. "It's ok, my dear. Just breathe. Catch your breath. I won't go anywhere until you're ok."
I take a deep breath and slowly normalize my breathing. I become aware enough of my surroundings to realize that I'm sitting on Prince Maxon's lap. My head is on his shoulder and I turn to face him. His chocolate-brown eyes are full of worry.
"Are you ok, my dear? Are you better now?" he, the fucking prince of Illéa, is asking me, a poor Five, if I'm ok with concern.
"Yes, I think so," I say, slowly trying to get out of Prince Maxon's lap. He helps me up and I can't help but notice how muscular his arms are. "I think I can stand on my own," I say, trying to walk out of Prince Maxon's arms.
He gently tightens his grip on me "I want to walk with you and then I'll allow you to walk on your own, only after I think you're strong enough after recovering from that anxiety attack."
"Wait, you know what that was?" I ask, panicked. Nobody knows about my mental health problems, but here we are with the fucking prince figuring it out before my whole fucking family figures it out.
"Yes, my dear. I've witnessed them enough. I don't have them personally, but I've seen them in the servants. Now, do you think you can walk with my support?" he answers with a kind smile.
"Yes, of course, Your Highness," I say.
"Are you really ready? I don't want you to think that that was a command. Are you actually ready to walk or do you want to wait a few more minutes?"
I take time to think and assess my body. I realize that my attack is already easing. "Yes, I'm sure." I look at him, and was it just me, or did I just see a flash of disappointment in his eyes?
"Ok, my dear, then hold my arm, and away we go." I grab onto the prince of Illéa's arm and we walk slowly down the hallway.
"Nobody will see us, will they? I know I'm not supposed to meet you until tonight and I don't know how much trouble this will get me in," I ask, looking over my shoulders nervously.
Prince Maxon laughs kindly. "Nobody will see us. And even if they did, I would make sure you wouldn't get in trouble. I promise."
"I'm sorry for burdening you with this. Please don't tell anybody about my attack. Please. You are now the only one who knows that my mental health isn't perfect. I didn't mean for you to find out unless we got closer." I hang my head in shame. "It's all my fault. I'm so sorry."
"Lady Bella, don't tell yourself that. It wasn't your fault. I understand that it's stressful being in the palace, let alone being in the Selection. I promise I'll keep your secret. Now, are you ready to walk on your own?"
I realize that I don't want to let go of his muscular arm. I want to stay with Prince Maxon forever. He makes me comfortable in a place where my anxiety is through the roof. But I say, "Sure."
I hesitantly let go of his arm and start to walk slowly away from Prince Maxon. "Now, walk back towards me," Prince Maxon says, holding out his arms, ready to catch me if I fall. Damn, even my parents didn't do this for me. I successfully walk over to Prince Maxon and even walk at my normal pace.
"I think I'm ok now," I say turning to look at Prince Maxon. He's looking at me in awe and I realize that he's probably taking me in.
"Ah, um, ok, good, my dear," he says. Did I just make Prince Maxon of Illéa flustered? "I'll see you tonight, then." Prince Maxon walks away hurriedly.
I realize there's an aching in my chest. I think…I think I'm attracted to Prince Maxon. Yeah, so? 34 other girls want him to. If you want him, you better step up your game, Bella Starr. I realize that yes, I will be competing. But I also realize that the prince loved me for being honest with him, being my true self. He now knows a weakness of mine. Hopefully, he doesn't use it against me.
"Well, well," I whisper to myself. "Did I just find a chance at love?"
