by Shelby Hild
“Really?” Marisol said, sounding slightly shocked. “Why do that? How can we tell if that’s occurring?”
“Well,” Darissa said, “the first clue is that you’ll have a different cameraman, or your normal cameraman is chattier than usual.”
Vivilyn’s eyes moved over to Ally, who was still in the room keeping an eye on her, or more accurately, a lens.
“Is what they say normally true?” Vivilyn asked. “Or do they say things just to get responses?”
“I’m not entirely sure on that,” Darissa said, her smile fading slightly. “But we have to remember that they’re trying to create a show along with helping find the future queen. Their roles are probably the most important of anyone’s in this process. Except for maybe Prince Aiden.”
Before Vivilyn could respond with another question, Queen Boudica and Princess Elissa returned to the room. The silence that followed them was almost as uncomfortable as the one that had encompassed the room when they’d left.
This one had a nervous tension underlying it which caused Vivilyn’s heart to thunder in her ears so loudly she was sure others nearby could hear it as well.
“Thank you for your patience with us,” the queen said, “and thank you for your time. Hopefully today you’ve been given a small taste of what being in the royal family would entail. It’s not all pretty dresses and parties. We have to be willing to think of all possible disruptions, handle things that most wouldn’t believe, and know when to step aside to let people trained for situations handle them.”
“We have discussed each and every response that you gave to us,” Princess Elissa said, “and with that have managed to come to a conclusion for which team will go on the next date.”
“Darissa’s team cheated,” Clara shouted suddenly.
“What are you talking about?” Jolene said, with a slight scoff. “Of course we didn’t cheat. There isn’t even a way to cheat in something like this.”
“They stopped holding hands after unknotting to rearrange their order,” Clara said, pointing at their table.
“We kept holding hands through the knot and through the chain to move the hoop through us,” Louise said. “There was never anything said about not holding hands between the two tasks. For one of our members to go grab a hoop, all of the groups had to stop holding hands at least temporarily. We did not cheat.”
“Besides,” Entra said, “we all ended the tasks about the same time, so it shouldn’t matter.”
“We were not told we could change order,” Clara insisted.
“We weren’t told we couldn’t,” Entra said, shrugging slightly.
“Stop this bickering,” Queen Boudica said firmly. The silence filled the room again. “We didn’t say that you couldn’t switch orders between the tasks, and nobody asked for clarification. There is no reason for it to be held against them because they thought to do so.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Clara said, the look of frustration on her face was aimed directly at Vivilyn.
“The winner of today’s competition will be going on a date in two days’ time to a park halfway between here and the city of Crysteal. You’ll be going through a fun little obstacle course and then staying in cabins along the river.”
“Are there enough of us per group to need cabins?” Amber asked, looking around at each of the tables. “I mean, there are only, what, seven per group?”
“Three groups are technically winning. One from our little competition, one in the library, and then one in the kitchen.”
“Oh.”
"Anyway,” Queen Boudica continued, “you all did very well for your first attempts at this, but sadly only one group can win.”
“Drumroll, please,” Princess Elissa said, as she started tapping on her leg.
The other women joined in the build-up. Queen Boudica waited a few moments, letting the suspense develop.
“It was a close call, but due to the creative solution for the problem given, Lady Darissa’s team will be going on the date.”
The only person who didn’t cheer in congratulations was Lady Clara. Instead, she glared heavily at Vivilyn.
Chapter 13
“I wonder what type of obstacle course it is going to be,” Darissa pondered aloud as she and Vivilyn sat on the bed in their room. Both Malcolm and Craig, Darissa’s manager, worked together to pack the women’s bags while Fiona and Tia worked to pack makeup and toiletries for Vivilyn.
Tia had tried explaining what each type of makeup did as they placed the items in the bag, but most of it went over Vivilyn’s head. One of Darissa’s team members sat in a chair near Tia and Fiona, throwing them a piece of advice here or there.
“Can I bring my new jacket?” Vivilyn asked, as Malcolm flipped through her clothes.
“It’s really getting too cold for that, especially at night,” Malcolm said. “But if you want to wear it, then I won’t stop you. It’s a good color on you and I guess it should help you stay warm enough through the day while the sun is up.”
“You really like the jacket?” Darissa asked. “You’re not just bringing it to make me feel nice, are you?”
“Of course not,” Vivilyn said. “It’s just… it’s the nicest one I’ve ever had. And it’s so soft and warm.” She shrugged. “What can I say, it’s my favorite jacket.”
“Did I mention that I designed them? Color, material, everything?” Darissa said, as she stood up to slide on her own jacket.
“It might have been mentioned before, but tell me about it again.”
“The jackets were entirely my design,” Darissa said, with a smile. “I even helped sew a couple of them.”
“They are incredible,” Vivilyn replied.
“All done,” Fiona said, zipping the bag in her hand and handing it to Malcolm. He placed the pouch into Vivilyn’s small suitcase and then hefted it off the ground.
“That’s the last of the packing,” he said. “We will go drop these off with those loading the carriages. But don’t go anywhere. We will be right back.”
When Malcom and Craig left to drop off the bags, everyone else followed them out, leaving Vivilyn and Darissa alone.
“Hey, Viv,” Darissa said, quietly. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah,” she responded. The way Darissa asked made her nervous.
“Are you okay?”
That was not what she’d expected her friend to ask, but then again, she’d not really had any idea what to expect.
“What do you mean? Of course I’m okay,” she responded.
Darissa took a deep breath. Her normal smile was much weaker than Vivilyn was accustomed to.
“It’s just…” Darissa started. Then she paused for a moment and looked over at the window briefly before focusing back on Vivilyn. “Ever since Brayleigh called you a… you know… you’ve been acting differently. And a few of us are worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” Vivilyn said. She pasted what she hoped appeared like a confident smile on her face. “There’s no need to worry.”
“If you need to talk, I’m here,” Darissa said.
She placed a hand on Vivilyn’s shoulder. The concern in her seafoam green eyes made Vivilyn want to open up and tell her everything. She’d never met anyone like Darissa. No one had ever made her want to let down her walls and tell all of her secrets like this woman did.
“Can I tell you something?” Darissa asked. “Something you won’t tell anyone that you know?”
Vivilyn nodded.
Darissa took another deep breath. It unnerved Vivilyn to see her friend so nervous about saying something.
“I know Brayleigh,” she said, shrugging one shoulder a bit. “She didn’t mean what she said. Of all the women here, she’s the one that needs to win this the most. My family will love me no matter what. Most of the other women, their families see just being a part of the Trials as a way to improve their standings.
“Brayleigh’s, though? Her father and brother have basically told her if she doesn’t win this
then there’s no reason for her to come home. That if she doesn’t come back as queen then she has failed them and their entire estate.”
“Why would anyone say that to their own daughter?”
“I’d have to be the Earl of Libros to be able to answer that. But to be honest, he didn’t used to be so bad. It was Theodoric who had the cruel streak. When Brayleigh’s mother died, it tore her father apart and then when they lost Mavric, it was almost like her father completely changed. All he could see any more were ways to use others for his gain. And Theodoric has made it worse somehow.
“Brayleigh’s terrified of failing her family. And when she’s scared, she lashes out. I think she sees you as a threat to that. We all see how Aiden looks at you. And we all see how much you care about everyone. That scares her. It would be one thing if she lost to Serinta or Jolene or even me. There would be potential for working her way back into her family’s good graces. But someone coming into this completely unknown?
“I’m not excusing how she’s treated you.” Darissa grabbed both of Vivilyn’s hands. “I guess I’m trying to say just take what she tells you with a grain of salt. She’s just worried you’re going to beat her. I know she can be hurtful, but don’t think too much about what she says. She’s wrong.”
Vivilyn looked away from Darissa and nodded, not trusting her voice to speak.
If it were just Brayleigh who called me a fraud, then maybe this would mean more. Vivilyn thought with a sigh. But it’s not just her. If the people think it of me too…
She shook her head and then smiled at Darissa.
“I said I was fine,” she said. She shifted her hands so she could squeeze Darissa’s and then stood up.
At that moment, Craig walked back into the room.
“We’re ready!” he called. Darissa looked over and smiled at her manager.
“By we,” Malcolm said as he stepped in the room as well, “he means you two are ready to go. It’s just you, the cameramen, Adontus, and Prince Aiden on this date.”
“Well, not just you, because there are all the other women that won their parts as well,” Craig said.
“We knew what you meant, Craig,” Darissa said kindly, her smile only growing wider as she spoke.
After quickly saying goodbye to their handlers, Vivilyn and Darissa walked outside into the cool air. It didn’t take them long to find the other women.
“I wonder if it has snowed anywhere yet,” Jolene said, wistfully from next to the fountain.
The rest of their team from teatime had preceded Vivilyn and Darissa outside, along with the sub-library team which included both Brayleigh and Freya. A few minutes behind them was the team from the challenge in the kitchen. Daisy and Serinta were the very last two to arrive.
“Rose and Daisy weren’t on the same team?” Marisol asked.
She voiced the same surprise that Vivilyn felt. The sisters were always together. It was helpful, since Rose was very vocal and outgoing, while Daisy barely said anything at all. In fact, she was more often found just nodding along with whatever story Rose told.
“Apparently King Warrick assigned teams and he split them up,” Louise said.
Over to the side, Macy and Clara were whispering intently.
Clara shouldn’t be here, Vivilyn thought. She wasn’t on our team.
The woman wiped her eyes as though she’d been crying and then caught Vivilyn staring at her. The glare she sent over to her could have curdled Vivilyn’s blood. Then, Clara stormed off.
No one else seemed to notice.
“Natalie,” Entra yelled. “Come stand with us!”
Vivilyn looked over Natalie as the clothing on her seemed to hang somewhat awkwardly. The woman walked over to them and attempted a smile. The bags under her eyes and the paleness to her skin worried Vivilyn.
“What’s wrong?” Darissa asked, lifting a hand up to Natalie’s cheek.
“N-nothing,” Natalie said, backing up a step. “I’m fine. I’m fine.” Darissa lifted an eyebrow. “I mean… it’s just a matter of time before I’m sent packing, so why worry?”
“What are you talking about?” Marisol asked. Natalie looked between Vivilyn and Darissa.
“I made a mistake and I’m just waiting for the fallout, I guess.” Natalie pushed her hair back out of her face.
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Darissa said. “But as long as we learn from them, we’re fine. Plus, sometimes the end results of mistakes actually are much more useful than if we hadn’t made the mistakes to begin with.”
Those that hadn’t been present the night Vivilyn and the others had explored the throne room looked around with very confused expressions on their faces.
“I think we can assume that made sense to you,” Jolene said. “And we will all assume Darissa’s cryptic advice is helpful, so loosen up and breathe. Everything will be fine.”
Vivilyn couldn’t help but wonder at the shadows that covered Natalie’s face. She’s that worried because of Aiden being mad at her?
Her mind repeated what the voice had told her in the old throne room, I already have some of the Chosen helping me.
Is Natalie actually a traitor to the crown? Is she helping the voice with whatever he’s trying to do here?
Carriages began to roll up to the fountain before she could think too much about it.
Prince Aiden and Adontus stepped down the stairs of the manor. Most of the women ran up and curtseyed to the prince as he approached them. He stopped a few seconds and spoke with each of them.
Neither Vivilyn nor Darissa ran after him. He looked over to them before too long and smiled. Vivilyn waved and he waved back before another lady grabbed his attention.
The ride was uneventful. Vivilyn napped most of the way to the cabins, so she wasn’t sure exactly how long it took to get there.
The cabins were small compared to the rest of the lodgings the women had been in so far. There were eight cabins with eight beds each. They were split into the teams they’d won in plus a cameraman per team. Prince Aiden and Adontus got a cabin to themselves and various producers, cameramen, and other helpers were given the remaining cabins.
“I get a top bunk,” Darissa called, laughing as they entered the cabin. “I’ve never slept on a top bunk before. I’m so excited!”
“That’s not necessarily something I’d be excited about,” Louise said. “But if that’s what floats your boat, I’ll leave you to it.”
“What are we supposed to wear for something like this?” Trina said, as she tore open her bags and spread them across her bed and half the floor nearby.
“I’m wearing activewear since if we’re going to be running and doing obstacles we shouldn’t have to worry about being too cold,” Entra said as she held up gray leggings with a hot pink line down the side and a matching hot pink sports bra. She then dug out a matching jacket made from the same material as the leggings.
“Good idea.”
Within just a few minutes, all of the women in the cabin had changed into athletic clothing and gone outside to face whatever obstacles were planned. They were met by the other women all wearing similar outfits.
Through her brown leggings and green shirt, Vivilyn felt the cold wind blow more intensely than she wished. It caused the hair on the back of her arms and neck to raise and made her shiver.
They met with Adontus and Prince Aiden on the side of the river.
The bank was muddier than anything Vivilyn had recently seen. Within the mud, different sets of rings, ropes, walls, and tunnels were set up.
Adontus stood in front of all the women and smiled.
“Welcome, welcome ladies,” he said. “What you see before you is our challenge for the day. The date. The day.” He waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter. In front of you, you will see our challenge.” The women all laughed politely. “As you can see, there are twelve different obstacles to get by. You’ll have to run through the mud to get to each of them. After you’ve finished the course, you’ll have to run through the r
iverbank back to the start in order to win.”
“What do we win?” one of the women asked.
“Well, quality time with our handsome prince,” Adontus said, gesturing to Aiden.
Within moments, all twenty-one of the women lined up at the beginning of the obstacle course.
Vivilyn was one of only five that removed her shoes before the start. She’d rather risk getting mud between her toes than losing one in the mud.
“On your mark,” Prince Aiden yelled. “Get set. Go!”
The women set off.
Vivilyn sped forward, not paying much attention to the other women. The mud was cold against her bare feet, but she wasn’t having to worry about losing her shoes to the mud like most of the others. She took a quick look around and saw Brayleigh attempting to peel off her socks. She had already tossed her shoes to the side.
The first obstacle was a balance beam over a more liquified area of mud. Vivilyn reached it after a handful of women and made it across on her first attempt. Behind her, she heard a slight squeal before a splash as someone slipped into the watery mud.
Don’t look back, she had to tell herself as she kept moving forward.
The second obstacle was a rope swing over another wet mud pit. This one had pretend alligators in it. Vivilyn nearly slipped on the rope but managed to hold on just long enough to be able to fight for her balance on the other side.
The third obstacle was a rock wall. It stumped many of the women as they tried to pull themselves over it.
Without pausing for a break, Vivilyn ran toward it. Pretending it was a tree she needed to climb, she soared over it easily. With a quick glance forward, she saw Freya and Brayleigh surging ahead. An equally rapid look back, though, revealed Darissa struggling to even reach the first section of the wall.
She didn’t stop to think about it. Instead she climbed up the back of the wall to help.
“Darissa,” she called down. The other woman looked up cautiously, trying to keep the mud in her hair from falling into her eyes. “Use the rope to your left and your legs to push yourself to the first hand hold.”
