by Shelby Hild
“Of course you did,” Natalie said and looked back into the room. “And soon everyone will know what kind of cheater you are.” Natalie raised a hand towards Vivilyn showing a torn piece of paper with handwriting on it. “This… this jealous anklesucker is trying to scare me into quitting.”
“I told you it wasn’t me.”
Although Vivilyn couldn’t see who was in the room, she recognized the voice as the woman who was always right next to Brayleigh when they were grouped together, Serinta.
“Of course now that you’ve been caught you’re denying it,” Natalie yelled.
“I’ve been denying it the entire time!” Serinta hollered back. “I can beat you easily without the use of cheap tricks! I would not degrade myself or my family name by leaving a stupid note like that.”
As Serinta took a step closer, Natalie moved closer to Vivilyn and stuck the note too close to Vivilyn’s face for her to read it. She didn’t have to figure out what it said because Natalie spoke.
“This says, and I quote, ‘Leave now and your family will be safe. Stay and we make no guarantees.’ Like how stupid do you think I am?” she yelled loudly enough Vivilyn was sure the whole wing could hear. Natalie crumpled the note as she pulled it back towards her. She pushed past Vivilyn.
One of the guards had taken a few steps towards them. Natalie made her way straight for him.
“It wasn’t me!” Serinta said, trying to follow. “Move out of my way,” she said to Vivilyn before pushing by her as well.
“Why should I believe you?” Natalie said. She shoved the crushed letter into the guard’s hands. “You’ve been trying to get me to leave since the day you showed up and found out you didn’t arrive early enough to get your own room. You’ve talked down to me, belittled me, and now threatened my family.”
“I’m not going to defend myself to you,” Serinta said. “I didn’t do it.”
“Who else had access to our room?” Natalie said before turning back to the guards. “Did any of you see someone come in or leave while we were at breakfast?”
Vivilyn looked around and saw people peering through doors. The guard opened his mouth and then closed it.
“We just changed shifts, My Lady,” the other guard said. “So we couldn’t be sure.”
“See?” Serinta said. “Someone else could have come in and dropped that note off.”
“Why would anyone do that?”
Both women were silent for a few moments.
“Maybe it’s in connection with the other note found,” Vivilyn said in an attempt to stop them from yelling at each other. Both women turned to face Vivilyn and the guards stood up straighter.
“What are you talking about?” Natalie said.
“Like you would know anything about things going on here. This is beyond any of your understanding,” Serinta said, placing one hand on her hip.
“Well, at breakfast it was mentioned that someone left because of a note she found.” Vivilyn felt as though she was a mouse stuck in a trap surrounded by cats. “And after everything that happened at the Ceremony—”
“You think just because you got a little injured at the ceremony that you know what’s going on here? You are just a child who grew up in a small town. Your family doesn’t even have a house. If anyone should leave, it’s you. Why aren’t you getting these notes?” Serinta sneered.
“Maybe because you aren’t rooming with her.” Natalie stomped back towards her room and grabbed a small bag. She stuffed some clothing into the bag.
“Don’t you touch my stuff,” Serinta yelled as she saw what Natalie was doing.
Natalie threw the bag of clothes into Serinta’s arms.
“Go room with her.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Watch me.” Natalie slammed the door shut.
“She can’t do that.” Serinta yelled looking back at the guards. “I am not rooming with the peasant.”
Vivilyn looked between Serinta and the closed door unsure how everything just happened.
“I refuse to room with her.” Serinta’s eyes grew wider as she realized no one was listening to her. “Natalie can’t do this.”
Chapter 5
“I can’t believe they let Natalie do that,” Darissa whispered to Vivilyn. They both sat comfortably on the bed in Vivilyn’s room. Officials in black outfits switched out one of the couches near the wall for another, albeit much smaller bed, and one of the tables for another armoire. “I can’t believe you let them do this.”
Darissa cracked up laughing again as Vega, Serinta’s portly manager, directed everyone to where things went. Malcolm stood in the corner, tapping his foot. His face was redder than a freshly picked tomato. Andrea and Fiona fought to keep Vivilyn’s painting corner near the window untouched, and anytime someone even began to approach the corner, they’d make sure the person turned around.
“I’m still unsure how I wound up in this situation.” Vivilyn scratched at her ear lightly.
“Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you this,” Darissa reached into the front of her dress and pulled out an envelope that had flames painted all over it. “I got one of the single dates.”
Vivilyn squealed slightly in excitement for her friend. And Darissa squeezed Vivilyn’s hand.
“That’s so exciting! I got part of the group date to—”
“You what?” Malcolm evidently heard Vivilyn speaking from the other side of the room. “You got the date for today and are just now telling any of us?” He sprang into action, weaving between the people moving furniture and clothing. Andrea whispered something to Fiona before following Malcolm. “That gives us less than an hour to get you ready.” Malcolm shook his head as he moved.
“Less than an hour!” He repeated, more frantically.
Fiona stood firmly in front of Vivilyn’s easel.
“It’s a beach date,” Andrea said as Malcolm started rifling through a drawer. “High waisted for this time of year, both the bottom of the swimsuit and the shorts.”
“Do we have the brown high-necked top?” Malcolm said. “That would be perfect.”
Serinta strode into the room as Malcolm and Andrea rifled through the drawers trying to find a specific shirt. Nell and Tia followed her into the room, both scratching their heads. They hadn’t been around when it was declared that Serinta would room with Vivilyn. After she saw the bed in the corner and the bed Vivilyn and Darissa sat on, Serinta stormed over to the two women.
“Get off my bed,” she said.
“Excuse me?” Vivilyn responded. One eyebrow raised as she tried to determine if Serinta was being serious or not.
“I’m not sleeping on that rock,” Serinta said, “so this is my bed.”
“No, it’s not,” Darissa said. She laughed as though she heard the funniest joke. “This was Vivilyn’s room first.”
“And as her guest, I should get the better bed.”
“We can discuss this later,” Vivilyn said. She didn’t want to argue. Andrea straightened up, triumphantly raising a beige cloth that Vivilyn assumed was a shirt. “I have a date to get ready for.”
“Exactly,” Malcolm said. He looked around the room. “Everyone needs to leave. Now. Or I’ll report you for hindering our ability to get her ready for her date.”
It seemed like a mad rush to exit Vivilyn’s room. After a few moments, only Vivilyn and her team, Serinta, and Darissa remained in the room.
Serinta sat in one of the remaining chairs in the room with a huff and crossed her legs.
“Even me?” Darissa asked, her face changing into a half-puppy dog pout. It looked ridiculous because it was obvious she was trying to avoid smiling.
“Who else is going to figure out who got the single dates other than you?” Vivilyn asked, nudging Darissa lightly in the ribs.
Tia opened her mouth to say something, but Nell shushed her. Vivilyn wanted to ask what Tia was going to say, but Andrea gestured for her to get up as Darissa left the room.
It
didn’t take long for Vivilyn to get ready for the date. Pinning her hair up into a messy bun that would allegedly hold through an afternoon in sea, sand, and sun took the longest to do, but Tia was proud of how it turned out. Nell used waterproof makeup that also had sunscreen in it. She wasn’t as confident that it would make it through the day as Tia was about the hairstyle.
“I wish I could go,” Tia said. “I just love the beach. The feeling of burning sand between my toes and bonfires and seagulls yelling for food.” She sighed. “It’s such a wonderful idea for a first date.”
Serinta stood up from her chair as Vivilyn finished getting ready.
“I’m going to go to the library,” Serinta said. She looked Vivilyn up and down. “Are you sure you want to wear that?”
“What’s wrong with it?” Vivilyn asked as she pulled at the bottom of the shorts.
“It’s so… plain.” Serinta laughed slightly as she walked out the door.
“You look fine,” Malcolm said.
“You don’t want to look like you are ready to go to a masquerade when you have a beach date,” Nell said. “She’s just trying to get under your skin and in your head.”
What am I doing here? Vivilyn thought to herself again.
A knock sounded on the door just as Vivilyn slipped on a pair of gold sandals Malcolm handed her.
“Can we get a quick interview before we head out?” Maxwell said after Nell opened the door for him to enter.
“Of course, of course,” Malcolm said, ushering the cameraman in.
“Oh,” Maxwell said as he looked around. “Been doing some redecorating since the last time I was here?”
Vivilyn laughed uncomfortably before speaking. “Well, there was a bit of a disagreement between some of the women, so I wound up sharing my room.” She shrugged slightly. “I’m not entirely sure how I ended up with the roommate, but I have plenty of space, so I don’t mind.”
Malcolm led Vivilyn over to the same chair she’d sat in for the interview before the first Choosing Ceremony.
“Okay, well, how are you feeling?” Maxwell asked.
“About the new roommate?”
“In general,” Maxwell said. Vivilyn shifted in the chair. “We haven’t heard much from you recently. Not since, you know, the first ceremony.”
“Well,” Vivilyn said. She took a deep breath. “It’s been a rough few weeks. My back still bothers me a bit, and… and I’ve not been sleeping very well.”
“Why not?”
“Bad dreams. And… I don’t know, sometimes I feel like it’s just a matter of time before something else happens, so my brain goes into overdrive about the potential issues.”
“That makes sense after everything that’s occurred. How did you enjoy your brother’s visit?”
“It was so nice to see him again. My family is incredibly close and to have to be away from them for so long… I am definitely very appreciative to the King and Prince Aiden for letting Duncan come.”
“How are you feeling about being on the first date of the Trials?”
“I’m excited,” Vivilyn sat straighter at the change of subject. “I’ve never been to a beach before. Goodness, I’ve never stood on sand before. So to think I’m just an hour or so away from setting foot in the ocean… it’s exhilarating.”
“You’ve never been on a rail either, correct?”
“Correct,” Vivilyn tilted her head and lowered an eyebrow as she thought through what he said. “Are you saying we are going on a rail to get there?”
Maxwell smiled behind the camera and nodded.
“Really?” Vivilyn almost jumped up from the chair in excitement. “I thought those were only for long distance traveling?”
“It’s not far enough to warrant a carriage caravan like we will have when we start traveling to the different areas of Etilidus, and there isn’t a large enough carriage to get all of you there in one go, plus all the cameramen and producers. So you'll take a carriage to the station in Ettravil and then a rail to the one at the beach,” Maxwell said. “Alright, that’s enough. We seem to be out of time.”
Vivilyn didn’t talk much as she was ushered back through the Hall of Mirrors and into a carriage. She still didn’t know who else was going to be on the date with her, and her stomach twisted in knots thinking about meeting even more of these women. There were so many people. She still didn’t even know everyone in her team.
That was the main issue for having missed the ceremony while her brother was there. It wasn't like she could go find her team's Host, Prince Ethan, and ask.
Every time she thought about how many women there were still to get to know, she wondered if more of the ladies would be like Darissa or Brayleigh.
Malcolm spoke to her the entire drive to the station in Ettravil, but Vivilyn couldn’t remember a word he said. As the carriage pulled up to the station, she saw handfuls of people standing, waiting. A crowd gathered next to black tape that kept them at a distance from the station. They were yelling, trying to the attention of anyone who stepped out of the carriages.
Her mind turned hazy as she was thrown into a vision.
People crowded all around her, running around her in chaotic excitement. The heat in the air caused a light film of sweat to cover her skin. Bright colors hung everywhere she looked.
“Pull the lever!” Someone called. Vivilyn couldn’t see who yelled before her vision shifted again.
Another crowd similar to the one she’d seen outside the carriage stood somberly in front of her. It was a group of the ladies in the Trials. She recognized Jolene and Darissa near the center. They were all dressed in simple black dresses.
“This should never have happened,” Prince Aiden said. His mother held onto him tightly as he cried into her shoulder. “We should end the Trials before anyone else gets hurt.”
“It’s not the women’s fault that the people are restless,” Queen Boudica said as she rubbed her son’s back soothingly. “We know whose fault it is. We know who’s to blame for this.”
“That’s not true, Mother,” Prince Aiden said, pulling away from her. “We can’t do that.”
Vivilyn was pulled from that scene into another.
“We can’t do that,” Prince Aiden said, shaking his head. “That’s just asking for war.” His cheeks were covered with dirt. His clothing was torn and dirty.
“They’ve taken our cities,” Prince Ethan said. He was even dirtier than his brother. “We already have war!”
“This can’t be my legacy,” Prince Aiden said. “I can’t be the one who brought war back to Etilidus. Generations of peace destroyed.”
“You aren’t the one who brought the war,” a man with dark hair Vivilyn had never seen before said. “They brought the war. They are the ones attacking us.”
“We have only one option, now,” Prince Ethan said. “We show them why no one has messed with Etilidus for so long. The phoenix of Etilidus has reformed in their fires. Let’s go greet them with steel in our hands and our heart.”
Vivilyn felt something on her shoulder as she was pulled out of the visions.
“Go greet them,” Malcolm said, pushing her gently out of the carriage and toward the stairs. “Others are down there already.”
As Vivilyn moved down the stairs, she could see people carrying signs with contestant’s names. She didn't know if her inability to take in a full breath was because of the visions she'd just had or nerves of the crowd in front of her.
The cheering grew louder when she was close enough for the people to see who she was.
“Vi-Vi-Lyn! Vi-Vi-Lyn!” People chanted her name. Even though the knots in her stomach didn’t loosen at all, her heart began to flutter. There were some people out there who liked her. There were people beyond those in Treelyn rooting for her.
She looked up into the crowd and saw a handful of signs that had her name on it. “Vivilyn + Aiden”, “Princess Vivilyn”, “I choose Vivilyn”, and even “Our Future Queen, Vivilyn” with hearts drawn all over it
. No, there weren’t as many signs for her as there were for many of the other fourteen women on the date, including Trina Diane of Dragon’s Mount, Irene Merle of Rinston, and Amber Bree of Forkstin. The woman who had the most support, though, was Brayleigh.
As she made her way down the rest of the stairs, it was obvious when Brayleigh arrived. The light yelling that had preceded her arrival turned into deafening screams. Vivilyn couldn’t help but look up as Brayleigh stepped out of her carriage, already waving to her adoring fans. Vivilyn shook her head and focused on the smiling people in front of her, the people calling for her undivided attention.
As she shook hands and smiled and chatted with the people cheering for her, Vivilyn felt herself calming down.
These people are here for me. Not for Brayleigh, not for Darissa. For me. Vivilyn’s smile grew wider.
Chapter 6
Vivilyn knew when Prince Aiden arrived at the station without having to look. The crowd grew so loud with their excited screams and cheers that she couldn’t hear anything else. She didn’t even hear the rail approach.
Watching the prince interact with the people gathered made her smile. He seemed so comfortable going up to everyone, shaking their hands over the wooden fence or black tape that had been placed a small distance away from the station to keep the crowd from overwhelming those in the Trials.
The sun glistened off his hair, making it look more gold than copper as he knelt down to shake the small hand of a young girl underneath the barrier.
The child said something that made everyone around her laugh. The prince looked back to the women and caught Vivilyn staring. She felt her face warm and quickly turned to face the crowd in front of her again.
Although she tried to mimic how the prince was with the crowd, it felt so unnatural to her. Despite knowing that some of these people were there for her, she couldn’t help but worry. Part of her wondered if the people could tell how uncomfortable she was, how much she’d prefer to immediately turn around and run, hide within the carriages until she could move into the rail.
