Dawn -
When I get back to the room after my date with Austin, Violet is gone, and Lilac is back. I still haven't seen Iana today. When I tell Lilac about dinner with Princess Ginevra, she doesn't squeal with excitement like I expect her to. She just smiles widely and fetches a dress from my wardrobe.
"Please tell me I don't have to worry about staining it." I complain.
I swear Lilac hears me and ignores it because she comes back with a simple off-white dress with a queen Anne neckline and a simple skirt.
"Whyyyyyyyy?" I complain.
Lilac just laughs it off and gets a pair of gloves, as well as a perfume that smells like mint. I take one sniff and decide it's my favorite scent in the entire world.
"What time did the prince say you were supposed to meet Princess Ginevra?" Lilac asks conversationally.
"He didn't. He'll probably send someone to come and get me." I say.
She chews on her lips thoughtfully.
"We were out for two hours," I add helpfully.
Lilac checks the time. "
It's half past five." she says skeptically.
"Maybe a little longer than that." I amend.
Suddenly, Lilac squeals loudly. There she is.
"That's excellent news, Miss!" she says in a high-pitched voice.
I smile at her return. "I guess so."
Austin might be a nice guy, but I'm not in love with him.
"I'll probably be sent for around eight thirty. That's when Italians typically eat dinner." I say.
Lilac looks at me curiously.
"How do you know that?" she asks.
"My grandmama was Italian. She came to Illéa with my mother when she was very young. My grandmama herself was probably thirty-something." I answer.
"So, can you speak Italian?" Lilac asks.
I grin at her. "Of course. My grandmama made sure to teach Mom Italian and she taught us. Everyone in my family can speak it, except Dad. His mom was from France and his dad was from Germany."
Lilac looks interested. "Can you say something in Italian?" she begs.
"Sei la bambina più carina," I tell her.
"What does that mean?" she asks.
"It means you are a nosy little girl." I lie.
She laughs and I do too.
"What do you like to do in your free time?" I ask her.
"I like fashion a lot. It's even better because part of our jobs as maids is to make dresses for you."
"Will you show me some of your designs?" I ask.
"I thought you'd never ask!"
Then she's dragging me out of my room and down the hallway, and I'm tripping over my heels to keep up with her. When we finally reach the workroom, a couple maids look up. I don't recognize any. Lilac leads me one of many small cupboards. A quick count confirms it; there are thirty-five, but fourteen have locks on them. They must've been the wardrobes for the eliminated selected. "Look, Lady Dusk." Lilac says, opening a cupboard. Inside are a whole batch of designs.
"Did you make all of these?" I ask her.
She nods proudly.
"Lilac, you have real talent, you should become a big shot fashion designer. I can even try and talk to Austin about it!" I exclaim, getting a little excited.
Lilac looks excited too, and she hugs me before remembering Violet's chastising and letting go of me.
"It's okay, Lilac. You can hug me," I tell her.
She just smiles, and we go back to my room. Well, that was weird.
-o-
Lilac dresses me in the off-white dress and spritzes me with the mint-smelling perfume.
"Good luck," she whispers in my ear as she spreads a coat of plum gloss on my lips.
"I'll be myself." I say back, hoping I sound more confident than I feel.
I apply some white mascara and put on dangly teardrop shaped pearl earrings.
"You really like those earrings, don't you, Miss?" Lilac observes.
I giggle, realizing I've worn these earrings on multiple occasions.
"I suppose you're right, I hadn't noticed," I reply.
A knock comes at the door.
"That must be whoever came to get me." I say, going to open it.
Austin stands behind the door, wearing a rumpled white shirt. His normally perfectly combed hair is messy, and for some reason I like it better this way.
"Hey." I say.
He grins and holds out his arm.
"I didn't realize you'd be the one to come and get me," I say.
Austin chuckles. "I suppose you wouldn't expect a prince to fetch you. I just wanted to talk to you before your dinner. The Italians are very influential people." he says.
Oh. So he's here because he doesn't want me to mess anything up, not because he wanted to see me or anything. I don't know why that makes me a little sad, but I take it in stride.
"Don't worry, my maids have been over everything with me." I assure him.
He smiles and we walk upstairs to the third floor.
"I've never been up here," I say.
He raises a brow at me.
"I should hope not. It's a restricted area to the selected." he says pointedly.
I blush with embarrassment, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. Instead of doing anything complicated, Lilac just put it up in a glossy ponytail.
"Um, I knew that already, obviously." I say.
"Sure, sure." he replies.
I smack his arm as he leads me in the opposite direction of what I believe is where the royal family's chambers are located and across where the staircase opens onto the floor to the other side.
"Our rooms are on the other side, but our guest rooms are separate." Austin explains.
I nod along, not really paying attention until Austin knocks on a door and I let go of his arm, straightening my dress.
"You'll do fine." he says, smiling at me.
I nod, trying to believe his words, but somehow, I can't. A maid opens the door and smiles at me, ushering me in.
"Thank you for walking me here, Your Highness."
I thank Austin, then follow the maid. Princess Ginevra's room is more than twice the size of mine, though that's to be expected since I'm not royalty yet. And I never will be, I remind myself.
"Your Highness," I say, curtsying.
The princess laughs and covers her mouth with her hand.
"Please, I'll have none of that here. You saved my life. Call me Ginevra." I nod.
Ginevra it is, then. I look beyond her, to where a table with food has been set up. A pretty woman I recognize to be Queen Nicoletta of Italy, Ginevra's mother, sits there, observing our interaction.
"Non mi avevi detto che era così bella, Ginevra." the queen says, smiling.
Ginevra looks embarrassed, and I blush at the compliment.
"Parlo Italiano, Your Majesty," I say.
The queen just smiles.
"Good thing it was a compliment, then." she jokes, and I laugh with her.
I sit down with the table at her signal, and Ginevra sits next to me.
"Prince- Ginevra, why did you want to talk to me?" I ask.
"You saved my life, no? I wished to thank you." she tells me.
"I accept your thanks?" I say, unsure of how to respond.
She laughs again, and Queen Nicoletta joins in.
"I remember how on the Report, you promised to tell Gavril the story behind your name. Would you tell us, please?" Ginevra asks.
She pouts her lips for good measure, and I'm only too happy to oblige.
"Well, as I said on the Report, I have a twin sister, Dawn. She's older, so she was named Dawn while I was named Dusk." I explain.
It shocks me how easily the lie falls off of my lips.
"Are you identical?" Nicoletta asks.
"Yeah! When we were younger we would pretend to be each other. Only our brother could tell us apart."
I stop at the mention of Kyle; I didn't mean to bring him up.
"Really? Is he older or younger?" Ginevra asks.
I swallow. "He was five years older than us," I say.
Queen Nicoletta claps a hand over her mouth.
"Ci dispiace per la tua perdita, cara," she says, reaching out to touch my cheek.
It's strange, having a queen act like a mother to me.
"That's alright. It happened a year ago, and he died for his country." I say.
Neither of them reply. I guess they don't know how.
"How do you like Prince Austin?" Nicoletta finally asks.
I paste a smile onto my lips and put on a lovestruck expression.
"I think he's wonderful! He's so handsome and kind-"
"You don't actually know much about Austin, do you?" Ginevra asks, arching a brow.
I let my smile drop, and she grins at me, taking my hands.
"Austin can be... complicated, but I have a feeling he'd like someone like you a lot. Don't give up hope." she tells me.
"Thank you, Princess. I believe that love will run its course. If he's the one for me, we'll be together in the end." I nearly gag saying the words, and I think Ginevra can tell.
A group of maids arrives and serves us our food, and to my surprise, they're all foods I love.
"Is it a coincidence you've compiled all the foods I realized I love after coming here?" I ask Ginevra curiously.
She giggles into her hand. "No! We asked the kitchens if they noticed any patterns in your eating."
A little creepy, but I guess she just wanted to thank me. I take a bite of the puff pastry, immediately recognizing it as the same recipe Austin used. It doesn't taste quite the same, though.
"You were a Six before, no?" Nicoletta asks, leaning forward.
"Yes." I say shortly. She gives me a small smile.
"You know I never approved of the caste system? America and Maxon were working to remove it, and they had actually done it for a few months. The whiplash was so bad that they had to change it back. They're still trying, but it's difficult and now that the rebels have directly attacked the palace they're wondering if they should just stop."
I was not expecting that.
"Why are you telling me this?" I ask.
Nicoletta smiles. Goddamn it why does everyone smile so much?
"Do you want change, Dusk?" she asks.
I hesitate. "Yes, but-"
"Are you willing to do what it takes to make Illéa a better kingdom?"
"I-"
"Do you care?"
"Will you let me finish?" I scream.
A maid knocks on the door.
"Not right now!" Ginevra calls.
I can hear the shuffle of the maid's steps as she walks away. Nicoletta nods at me to speak.
"I will do whatever it takes! My brother was killed in a war that shouldn't exist anymore. Everyone thought that when the treaty with New Asia was formed, finally the drafts would be ended, but they weren't because the king couldn't stop the political unrest! I'd do anything to get him back, anything to make sure no one else has to go through what I did!" I shout.
Nicoletta is quiet. Then she puts her hand over mine on the table.
"Then you must do everything you can. This paper has my phone number on it. Do not tell anyone I gave it to you, not even if you would trust them with your life. You will receive a signal from Ginevra when I want you to call it. You'll know it when you see it. Can we trust you, Dawn?"
I swallow and nod, taking the piece of paper she's slidden across the table with her other hand. Nicoletta smiles mischievously, leaning backward.
"Please enjoy the rest of your dinner, Your Majesties," I say, standing up and curtsying.
I shove the note into my bra. Neither of them stops me from leaving.
"Do think about what we've discussed." Ginevra says.
She winks.