Hi lovelies! I'm so sorry for not posting yesterday but I was out all day. I just got home so I'm posting ASAP. Hope you enjoy the long chapter and yes, there will be another one tomorrow as usual!
Dawn -
The Report is in an hour, so Nadia sent us all to our rooms to get ready. After three hours of drilling useless facts into our minds that only one of us will ever need, my back hurts from posture lessons, my head throbs from so much memorization, and my heart aches to be back with the people I know and love the most in the world. I have almost no friends here in this unfamiliar place.
The girls get me ready in silence, and even Lilac, who's usually the chattiest of the bunch is quiet and wears a sullen expression.
"Why is it so quiet?" I demand.
Iana looks down.
"Speak up!" I order.
Violet looks shocked, and I realize I've never spoken to them this way before. I'm mortified, but I won't let them see that until they tell me what's going on.
"Lilac?" I glare at her.
She shrinks away, and this is where I'd think Violet would put a protective arm around her, but she doesn't make a move.
"If you three don't sort out whatever this is, I'm going to have to ask for new maids." I say.
Of course I wouldn't actually, but they don't have to know that. Lilac gasps, seeming to be on the verge of tears.
"You can't mean that, Miss!" She cries.
Still, Violet does not comfort her. "
You can stay, Lilac. You two will go." I point at Iana and Violet.
Violet throws me a look full of meanness. What is wrong with her?
"You. Will. Tell. Me. Now!" I shout the last word.
"Lady Dusk, your dress is missing." Iana pipes up.
I smile sweetly at her.
"See, that wasn't so hard." I say. "And why is this causing a rift between you three?"
"Because Lilac was supposed to fix the stitching on the hem and neither of us have seen it since she had it." Violet says venomously, pointing at Lilac.
"I don't see what the issue is." I say.
But I do. What a waste of a beautiful dress. Lilac looks like she's on the verge of tears.
"I promise, I put it back." She blubbers.
I pull her to me, hugging her the way I would Luna or Astra.
"I believe you, darling." I shush, stroking her hair.
Violet looks jealous.
"Iana, do you have anything to add?" I ask her.
She shakes her head mutely. Someone knocks on the door, and she goes to open it. A moment later, she comes back carrying a parcel.
"What is it?" Violet asks.
She looks more like herself now. I suppose all her spite has gone now. Iana carefully unwraps it. Inside is the dress, just as pristine as when I last saw it. "Who left it?" I ask, releasing Lilac. She glares pointedly at Violet, who looks guilty.
"I didn't see anyone, Miss." Iana says.
I don't care anymore. They dress me in silence, and Violet produces the silk gloves from before and helps me slide them on. I love them.
"I think I want to incorporate more gloves into my outfits." I tell Violet.
But I won't be staying here for that long. I think. But I know that's not true, because the prince won't let me leave. No, for some reason, he believes I should still be here, god knows why.
-o-
The set of the Report is bustling with activity. The king and queen sit side by side, getting last minute makeup checks done, and Austin and Apollo sit in the small lounge on the side. Princess Amber and Princess June talk animatedly, but Princess Amber looks slightly uncomfortable. I wonder why; she must've grown up doing things like this.
"We are live in five minutes, ladies!" Nadia shouts.
We scramble to get seats on the rows of chairs that level upward so we're all visible. Nina immediately plops down in the front row and pulls me down beside her. I grin at her. She really is something.
"Excited?" I ask her.
She just squeals in response, giving me all the answer I need.
"You look so gorgeous, Dusk." She says, after a moment.
I pause, looking at her.
"Thank you." I say.
She looks beautiful too. Her long, brown hair is pulled into two buns on either side of her head, showcasing her jawline, and golden eyeshadow accentuates the natural amber color of her eyes. Her dress is pastel yellow and sweeps elegantly when she walks. Amber studs in her ears match with the beads that keep her buns up.
"You look amazing too." I say.
She smiles. I consciously grab the strand of hair that falls over my shoulder. Out of thirty-five girls, only four have decided to wear their hair down, and I'm one of them. I'm now wondering if I should've put it up to be less recognizable, but I guess it wouldn't help because I'm the only contestant with silver hair.
"Going live in 3... 2... 1!" Nadia shouts.
The chatter ceases. The royal family takes their seats. A red light appears on the camera.
"Good evening, Illéa!" Gavril calls.
The king and queen smile at each other.
"As you all know, Prince Austin is holding his very own selection, just like our beloved sovereign, King Maxon! Tonight is all about meeting these fantastic young women! Bets will be placed, polls will be printed, but the next queen will win our prince's heart, just like our beautiful Queen America!"
The camera cuts to Queen America and King Maxon holding hands and smiling at each other.
"Prince Austin, anything to add?" Gavril winks.
"I can only say that these ladies are far more interesting than many of you may think." Austin says mysteriously.
I roll my eyes, then hope Nadia didn't see it.
"Thank you, Your Highness. Now, on to the girls! Let's start with the girl from Allens, Calypso Everest!" Gavril really has a way of making everything sound exciting.
Calypso stands from the second row and saunters onto the sofa across from Gavril, high heels clicking.
"Miss Calypso, you are a Two, correct?" Gavril asks.
Calypso nods, flicking a piece of blond hair over her shoulder.
"And what did you do before you were selected?"
"I was an actress." She says haughtily.
Gavril laughs good humoredly.
"Of course you were, with a face like that! And tell the people, what about our prince appeals to you?"
Calypso grins wolfishly, though I suppose to someone else it might be charming. "What's not appealing? He's handsome, nice and, well, he's a prince!"
Gavril chuckles, but I don't think she's joking. She does laugh along with him like it's a funny joke, though. But then again, she was an actress, so I'm not sure how much of it is fake. Wait. I don't actually care. It's not like I want to win this thing. I want to go home as soon as I can.
"Well, thank you very much, Miss Everest!" Gavril concludes.
Calypso stands, swinging her leg over, and clops back to her seat.
"Next up, we have the girl from our very own Angeles, Miss Margaret Higgins!" Gavril announces.
Margaret stands up shyly, hands going to the elaborate braid of smooth brown hair at the back of her head, as if to check it's still in place.
"Good luck." I whisper.
She frowns down at me, then gives me a small smile. When she sits down, Gavril smiles at her.
"Hello, Gavril." She says simply, then pastes on a smile.
Gavril speaks with her a bit, but her responses are dry and her introduction is shorter. The rest of them fly by, until Genevieve, another actress, stands up and walks back to her seat.
"Now we have an interesting one! Please welcome, Dusk Willow from Dakota!" Gavril says enthusiastically.
Nervously, I stand, trying to remember everything Nadia has taught us. I may not want to win, but I have Dusk's image to uphold. I somehow manage to make it to my seat, then put on a smile that hopefully doesn't look to fake. Gavril grins back, causing a little warmth to find its way back to me.
"Dearest Dusk Willow, what is the story behind your fascinating hair?" He asks. I laugh to humor him.
"Funny you should ask, Gavril. I actually have a twin sister at home, Dawn, and we're identical! The reason our hair is silver and our eyes are gray is because of a mutation that caused a melanin deficiency in our hair and eyes. If you look closely, you can see my eyelashes are silver too!" I exclaim, closing my eyes so they're visible.
"My, my, Lady Dusk! And tell us more about this Dawn, she does sound like an interesting character."
My heart pounds. He doesn't know he's telling me to talk about myself.
"Well, Gavril, there's no other way to say this; I adore her. She's who I want to be every day when I wake up, and she's always with me because I see her whenever I look in the mirror." I say.
It's how I would describe Dusk, if I were me in this place instead of her. Gavril puts a hand over his heart.
"That's a statement straight from the heart. I hope she's watching tonight. If you could say anything to her right now, what would you say?"
I don't hesitate to answer this question. "I love you, Starry. Take care of Astra, Luna and Winter for me." I say, using the nickname I call her by.
Gavril smiles at it, seeming genuinely happy.
"That's a lovely nickname, but I'm afraid you'll have to tell us about it another time. Thank you, Lady Dusk!" He calls, and I'm grateful to walk offstage.
Austin catches my eye and winks, and a blush spreads across my cheeks, only for me to stamp on it and bury it in the corners of my heart. He's playing a game, and I'm not falling for it.
America -
Every night when I go to sleep, I dream of my daughter. Every time, she's lying on a bed with her eyes staring up at the ceiling. Her skin is cold to the touch, and her heart does not beat. My child is dead. I wake up in a cold sweat, sobbing into my pillow. Mercifully, Maxon remains asleep, but my shoulders don't stop shaking. As a mother, I'd never want to see any of my kids in pain, and I can't imagine what Amber is going through. If any of this is my fault, I'll never forgive myself.
"Darling?" Maxon turns over, a frown creasing his brows.
I smooth back my hair, taking a deep breath.
"I'm fine, it was just another nightmare." I reply.
He puts his arm over me, and it helps me relax, but only a little.
"We'll find a solution." He says lamely.
"I know." I say.
But I don't. I don't know what will happen to my daughter.
June -
This is the worst time for us to find out Amber has a terminal illness. The selection is supposed to be a happy time for Austin to find his soulmate, not feel stressed with trying to find a wife and a donor to save our sister.
The sheaf of papers rests on my desk, and my stomach turns at the thought of what he has to do, the cost of saving Amber. Breaking someone's heart may be temporary, but if someone doesn't put it back together, it becomes permanent. As permanent as Amber's death, and I don't want to do that to someone. It's one of the most vile and selfish acts anyone could commit.
Every day, Dr. Greene's lab team searches for a match already in hospitals, but it's increasingly difficult when we can't tell anyone why we need the blood. Even the royal family isn't above the law, and we can't risk this information getting out the kingdom. Chaos would erupt; the rebels could become bolder.
-o-
Most of my time is spent either in the library or Amber's room, by her beside. I walk out of the library, stacks of medical books in my arms. Having learned my lesson from last time, I scan the carpet for any raised bits. There are none, so I keep walking.
Guards line the hallways, though at this point they seem more like a decoration than anything else because we haven't been attacked since Grandpa and Grandma Schreave were killed. I have to hand it to them; it's four am. The stack of books in my arms wobbles precariously, and I have to pause to set them right again. Once they're neatly in order, I resume walking, thinking of solutions to Amber's problem. We could use iron supplements, but it's not a permanent solution. She'd still be living on a clock.
The books wobble again, and then the topmost book slides off and hits the ground. I sigh loudly, leaning down to pick it up, but then the next book slides off, then the next. Soon, there is only one book left in my hand. As I crouch down to pick them up, someone joins me.
"Let me help you with that, princess." He says.
I look up into his eyes. It's the same officer that caught me the other day.
"Thank you." I say, taking the books he's picked up.
He grins at me, dimpling. I tuck a strand of red hair behind my ear, trying to stamp down on my blush. Why is he so cute?
"I apologize, Officer Brown, but could you tell me your first name?" I ask.
He chuckles. "No need to be sorry, Your Highness. It's Miles."
He smiles again, and his happiness is infectious. I stand and make a silly curtsy.
"Well, Miles, I'll see you around."
He bows in mockery as well, then salutes. As I walk away, I turn over my shoulder.
"And call me June!" I shout.
I'm unsure whether he hears me, but I hope he did.
See you tomorrow and tsym for 400 views!
- Silver