Chosen

by Shelby Hild

  Well, Vivilyn thought to herself as she approached Shareen, this is it. Shareen nodded to her, looked at a piece of paper in her hand, then opened a door. Vivilyn followed her through it.

  Here goes nothing.

  Chapter 10

  “Now presenting The Lady Vivilyn Minette of Treelyn, daughter of Magnar and Suzetta of Treelyn,” Shareen said loudly before stepping aside and going back into the room they’d just left.

  Like all the other places Vivilyn had seen in the palace, the room was bright. Light poured down from the ceiling. Whether it was from the sun or stored energy, Vivilyn couldn’t say.

  Around the room were eight tables covered in white tablecloths. Each table had five golden chairs with matching placemats in front of them, with plates and bowls stacked. Gold-tinted mirrors were weighed down by stout candles at the center of each table. People were rushing around hanging silver banners across each chair.

  Vivilyn carefully stepped down the five steps that led to the floor of the room. She continued to gaze around, trying not to appear as out of place amongst all the fancy décor as she felt.

  Milling about the room were young women talking to each other or standing off to one side speaking in front of a camera. Cameras were everywhere. There had to be at least 80 people carrying cameras and just as many carrying other large equipment.

  For a moment, Vivilyn wondered if Etilidus' entire supply of cameras and cameramen currently stood in front of her. They had only been functioning in the kingdom for about six years now, and they hadn't made it to being common enough that Treelyn or any other city or town had any.

  Although the smell of food was even stronger in this room, Vivilyn didn’t see the slightest crumb of something edible. Except maybe some flowers on the outskirts of the room. Her stomach growled.

  She forced a smile at one of the cameramen and took a few steps further into the room. One of the other cameramen approached her, pointing his camera at her as she looked around trying to decide what she was supposed to do.

  “Now presenting,” Shareen said again, as she stepped out of the door again, “The Lady Darissa Elaine, Daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Crysteal.”

  Out stepped the short girl with a smile that seemed to take up her entire face as she took in everything around her.

  “Thank you, Shareen,” Lady Darissa said as Shareen turned to go back into the prep room. Many of the other girls in the room turned and waved at Darissa as she stepped down. Although Darissa waved back, her eyes only stopped on each of them for a few moments. She glanced all around the room as though she was looking for someone.

  Then she spotted Vivilyn and started walking over immediately.

  Multiple cameramen veered to Lady Darissa as she moved toward Vivilyn, weaving around people and tables, dodging chairs.

  “Hello,” she said excitedly as she approached Vivilyn. “I’ve not officially met you yet.” She pulled Vivilyn into a tight hug. Vivilyn stiffened up, but Darissa let go quickly. “I’m Rissa.”

  “I am Vivilyn,” she responded. Darissa gently linked arms with Vivilyn and continued talking. Something about this woman reminded Vivilyn of Maia.

  “You’re from Treelyn, right?” she asked. As they walked, she eyed each of the chairs as they passed them. “I’ve never stopped there. Generally, when I come to the palace with my father, we take the country route, so we miss all of the little towns on the way.” She looked closer at one of the banners on the chair. “Oh, here you are!”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your name is here,” Darissa said as she circled around the rest of the table. “Oh, no, you don’t want to sit with her. Not yet anyway. Not a good time to get to know her.”

  Darissa grabbed one of the banners off the chair and rapidly circled around the rest of the tables, leaving Vivilyn standing behind her chair. When Darissa saw the name she wanted, she switched it with the banner she’d taken from Vivilyn’s table, then ran back over.

  She then grabbed the banner closest to Vivilyn’s seat and switched it with the one bearing her own name. Vivilyn wasn’t sure if they were supposed to swap seats with others, but she didn’t mention anything.

  “There,” she said. “Now we are next to each other.” She smiled at Vivilyn again.

  “Now presenting,” Shareen walked out again, “The Lady Brayleigh Dawn, Daughter of the Earl and Countess of Libros.” The room fell silent. Vivilyn looked up as Lady Brayleigh stormed into the room. Her blonde hair was pulled tightly in a bun on the back of her head, blending in at the top of her head with the lightness of her face. Her outfit stood out in a vivid red.

  Vivilyn could almost feel a cold breeze as the other woman strode through the room, directly to a group of three other women. They all hugged and loudly greeted each other. Vivilyn couldn’t help but notice it seemed like they had all known each other for a long time.

  Sound slowly began to filter into the room again, helping to drown out the high voices of Lady Brayleigh’s group.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Vivilyn heard Darissa say beside her. “Her bark is much worse than her bite.”

  “She doesn’t like me,” Vivilyn said. “We’ve… interacted.” She wasn’t quite sure how else to word their earlier encounter.

  “She’s like a lemondrop candy,” Darissa said as she waved to the group Brayleigh stood in. Brayleigh rolled her eyes but smiled and waved with the rest of her group. “Hard and sour to begin with, but sweet after a while.”

  “And never good for your teeth?” Vivilyn suggested. Darissa laughed.

  “If you knew her parents, you’d understand why she is the way she is.”

  Vivilyn shrugged.

  “Alright, Ladies,” Adontus appeared in the corner of the room, seemingly out of nowhere. A few people set up a small table. Two cushioned chairs sat on either side of the table. “If you could all please find your seats. The banners on the back should have your names on them. Put those on as sashes so we can easily identify each other.”

  Vivilyn picked up the silver cloth that said across it “Vivilyn” in a clear red font. It was the fanciest thing Vivilyn had ever seen her name on. As she slid it on over her shoulder, Darissa had already sat down and was whispering to the girl on her other side.

  “I am starving,” Darissa said, as Vivilyn sat down and scooted her chair closer to the table. “I hope there are omelets.”

  Darissa licked her lips as she mentioned food, causing Vivilyn’s stomach to grumble in agreement. Vivilyn had never tried an omelet before, but she was hungry enough not to care exactly what it was.

  “I hear they have a new brandied toast,” a brunette girl on the other side of the table attempted to whisper, but she was excited enough that her voice carried to the next table.

  “They brought it all the way from the Praytha Islands,” a girl in deep green said at the other table. “You add powdered sugar and syrup. It practically melts in your mouth. My brother brought some back last season.”

  “I’d be happy with just some bacon,” another woman at Vivilyn’s table said. “I’ve been smelling it for what feels like hours. I hear it’s nice and crispy here.”

  “Settle, settle,” Adontus said, a smile firmly stuck on his face. Vivilyn wondered if he ever wasn’t smiling. It made goosebumps form on the back of her neck. “First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of you for being here today.” He took a moment to make eye contact with everyone in the room.

  “Although it might feel like just a few formalities,” he said, “today begins Prince Aiden’s Enchanted Trials. As the first 40 to have arrived, you have been given the honor of being on the initial team of our reigning champion host. As the host who picked Princess Elissa’s husband for his team during her Trials, he gets first choice in making his team for these Trials after Prince Aiden’s first Choosing Ceremony. He also will be granted an extra save during the People’s Vote.

  “Each of you will have the opportunity to speak with him today,” he said. “But
first, I’m sure you must all be hungry.”

  The whole room cheered.

  “Then let’s get some food out to you,” he continued. “Feel free to get acquainted with one another. The people you meet throughout the duration of this will be family and friends to you during the Trials.”

  People began filing out of two doors, one on each side of the room, with food-filled plates and pitchers of drinks.

  “I’m Rissa,” Darissa said to the whole table. Vivilyn swore the smile never faded from Darissa’s face, either. Except Darissa’s smile didn’t feel forced like Adontus’ did.

  “Louise,” the girl to Darissa’s left said.

  “Marisol.”

  “Jolene.”

  “Vivilyn.” They finished saying their names just as plates full of steaming food were set in front of them. The plates contained so many foods Vivilyn had never seen before, she didn’t know where to start.

  “Try the green stuff at the top,” Jolene said to everyone. “It’s Algais. Only grows on the northern borders near Ahtana at high summer and I hear it is great to help your immune system. In a crowded area like this, if any of us are sick then it’s likely to spread quickly. So we really should try to keep our systems as strong as possible.”

  Vivilyn held a small algais leaf to her nose. It smelled like a mix of mint and rosemary. Copying what the other women did, she pinched off the stem and set it in her mouth. It was sweet. After she saw Marisol eat the leaf, she tried it as well. The leaf was tangy.

  There was indeed bacon and ham. Apples were set at the side of each plate. They weren’t as fresh as Vivilyn was used to, which surprised her slightly, but they were still juicy and crisp. The brandied toast was too sweet for Vivilyn’s tastes, but the others all seemed to appreciate them.

  “Where is Treelyn?” Louise asked, nibbling delicately at a piece of bacon. “I’ve never heard of it before.”

  “It’s in the center of Etilidus,” Vivilyn said. She took a small bite of the cheesy deliciousness that was an omelet before she continued. “It’s not even a day’s carriage ride from here.”

  “I’ve heard they were one of the last towns to have a working energy tower,” Jolene said. “It only ran out of magical energy last generation.”

  “Where did you hear that?” Marisol laughed like she’d never heard anything so ridiculous. “All the towers ran out of energy eons ago.”

  “My great uncle said he was in Treelyn when it lost the last of its energy,” Jolene retorted, lifting her chin proudly. “He said a woman just stuck her hand on it and the energy exploded out of them both.”

  “That’s not quite what happened,” Vivilyn whispered. Everyone from her table and a few people from the closest ones looked at Vivilyn expectantly. “My grandparents were nearby when it happened. It was a few months after my mother was born.” Vivilyn shrugged and hoped they would drop the subject. She’d heard the stories of how her great grandmother destroyed the tower, just like every other child in Treelyn. It was a legend she did not want the whole nation to know.

  “I am from Crysteal to the east,” Darissa said, after she realized Vivilyn wasn’t going to say any more. "It’s currently the fifth largest estate in the kingdom. It takes a full day’s carriage ride at full speed to reach it. My mother fell in love with a traveling merchant when she and Grandpappy visited Port Shroe. They eloped and since she was Grandpappy’s only child, he had to relent.”

  “I am from Kleesta,” Louise said. “It’s the smallest big city in the country.” She went back to eating immediately after speaking.

  “Well,” Jolene said, setting her fork down and leaning back in her chair. “I am from Eta. It’s a fortress town to the north. My eight-times great grandfather won it in a bet with the king. It is said to be the first settlement in Etilidus and—”

  “I thought that was Adalay?” Marisol interrupted.

  “What?” Jolene scoffed. “Of course not. Eta is much older.” Jolene looked like she was going to continue, but Marisol lifted a disbelieving eyebrow. Instead, Jolene hmphed and looked down at her plate.

  “Savrille is to the west in the desert,” Marisol said. “It’s an oasis town, so it’s relatively small. If you don’t include my family, there are maybe twelve other groups and a temple of the Guardian Priests.”

  Vivilyn wondered how the table managed to gather someone from each section of Etilidus. If she knew more people at the surrounding tables, she would wonder if that was a theme at each of them.

  She shook her head. Darissa had switched up the people at their table.

  By the time they finished their food, they were so deep in conversation about the similarities and differences of their homes, none of them noticed Adontus arrive at the table.

  “Excuse me, ladies,” he said, causing Vivilyn to jump. “You are the last table.” He gestured over to the table with two chairs.

  An older gentleman in a deep blue suit sat looking distractedly into the corner covering a yawn with the back of his hand.

  “Lady Vivilyn,” Adontus said. “Please follow me.”

  Darissa grabbed Vivilyn’s wrist as she started to stand.

  “Bow to him,” Darissa said. “Don’t curtsey.”

  “What?” Vivilyn asked, confused. Why would Darissa say to bow rather than curtsey when the only rule of etiquette Vivilyn knew for sure was that she was supposed to curtsey to those above her. The king’s brother definitely fell under that category.

  “Come on,” Adontus said when he saw Vivilyn frozen, halfway to standing. “Let’s not leave the prince waiting.”

  “Of course,” Vivilyn replied, as she finished getting up.

  As she walked over to the prince, her mind continued to race. Why would Darissa say that? Was she trying to sabotage her chances? All Vivilyn knew about the woman, really, was that she smiled a lot and seemed to know everyone. What would bowing prove? Was proper etiquette technically rules? If she bowed would she get disqualified? Could she trust Darissa?

  Snakes can hide in the prettiest of peaches. Vivilyn replayed what her father had told her on the night of the Choosing. And they don’t care about who they bite.

  Could Darissa be trying to make Vivilyn embarrass herself?

  “Lady Vivilyn,” Adontus said, breaking into Vivilyn’s thoughts. “This is Prince Bryton.”

  Vivilyn saw the gentleman stand up as Adontus spoke. His short hair was silver, only a shade or two lighter than his gray eyes. He was tall.

  Vivilyn bowed.

  When she straightened, everything seemed to freeze. Vivilyn waited for a reaction, any reaction. Her heart pounded. One beat, two. Three beats and another. Vivilyn counted to 42 before she started trying to think of a way to rectify the situation.

  Prince Bryton’s wide face scrunched up as Vivilyn assumed he was trying to process what she was doing. Vivilyn wondered if she could act as though she had started to trip and that’s why she bowed. If she curtseyed now, maybe she could remedy the entire thing.

  Just as she shifted to curtsey, Prince Bryton’s face changed.

  He burst out laughing.

  Leaning forward, clutching the table so tightly his knuckles turned white, Prince Bryton laughed and laughed for so long, Vivilyn was worried he was having some sort of seizure

  Do people have seizures that make them laugh, Vivilyn wondered as she kept herself from glancing around.

  There was no sound other than the Prince’s laughter. Vivilyn could feel the cold intensity of everyone’s eyes on her. Perhaps it was even everyone’s eyes in the kingdom. All the cameras had to be pointed at her.

  Her heart hammered almost painfully in her chest. Has she accidentally sent the prince into a fit of some sort? What if he was somehow dying?

  If this were some sort of health emergency, people would be doing something. No one is even reacting. Is this sort of thing normal at court?

  It felt like three lifetimes before Prince Bryton stopped laughing. Eventually though, he did.

  “Sit, child
, sit.” He said. Vivilyn bristled slightly at being called a child, but did as she was told. “You are much too young to have seen my Trials. Who told you to bow?”

  Vivilyn bit her lower lip as her mind moved quickly.

  What did his trials have to do with anything? Should I tell him that Darissa told me to bow?

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m sure you have the same feistiness that my dear Lana has. She bowed when we first met too.” He looked Vivilyn up and down and smiled again. “You’ll do.”

  Vivilyn wasn’t sure if he wanted a reply or not, so she remained silent. Her heart hadn’t let up on the heavy beating. She was sure he could hear it from across the table.

  “I shouldn’t have laughed,” he continued. “It was rude. But now, for the reason you’re here.” He lifted his hand up and glasses of a wine so pale it was almost clear were set in front of them.

  Prince Bryton looked at Vivilyn expectantly. When she remained silent, he queried, “why are you here?”

  “Excuse me?” Vivilyn asked, quietly looking directly into his light gray eyes. One of Prince Bryton’s eyebrows raised. Vivilyn cleared her throat, “I was chosen to be here, sir.”

  “Of course,” he said. “But is that the only reason you’re here, though?” He picked up the glass and sniffed the wine as he swirled it lightly. “Everyone has his or her own reason for coming to this place, beyond simply being chosen.” He took a sip and looked at Vivilyn over the top of the glass. “My Lana wanted to escape her home, at least temporarily. Her father was going to marry her off to one of the High Lords of Keynta. My father was all for it the match. Keynta would make a strong alliance for Etilidus. Until I chose her of course.”

  Vivilyn picked up her glass and copied Prince Bryton, swirling the wine and sniffing it. She didn’t know what she smelled, but she didn’t like it. She sipped at the glass anyway to give her time to think.

  I’m here because I had no choice.