by Shelby Hild
Malcolm had grown more and more excited with each passing date that Vivilyn wasn’t on. Natalie received the only one-on-one date and when she returned, her nerves weren’t quite as frayed as they had been. It seemed she and Prince Aiden had come to some sort of solution to the tension that had been growing between them.
Twelve women had been sent home.
“Ladies, Ladies,” Adontus gathered everyone’s attention as lunch came to a close one afternoon. “I know many of you have heard rumors of what the final date will be, and I’m sure most of you have determined which six of you lovely ladies will be going on it. If those of you who’ve not had your second date while here at Crysteal Manor could please step forward.”
As they lined up, all their managers entered the rooms as well.
Adontus clapped his hands excitedly before speaking. “Tonight, you all will be traveling to Dream Lake and floating along the waters in the twilight.”
“Won’t it be cold?” Mayla asked.
“Only if you don’t dress appropriately,” Clara said.
“No,” Adontus said. “Dream Lake is actually in a group of caverns nearby and is technically a large grouping of hot springs rather than a lake. The whole area remains warm and sweat-inducing even in the coldest of times.”
“That doesn’t sound very comfortable,” Rose whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.
“It’ll be fine,” Adontus said. “Now off you go to get ready.”
Malcolm rushed Vivilyn to her room and Tia and Fiona hurried her into the bathroom to shower. After she was suitably cleaned and scented with rose and gardenia oils, Malcolm pulled out the black dress she’d tried on what felt like forever ago. The alterations Vivilyn asked for had been done.
It was the lowest cut, tightest dress she had ever worn. Around her waist and lining her neck and ears were rows of white crystals. Malcolm pulled out a pair of elbow length black gloves with stones along her wrists that matched the rest of the gems.
Malcolm left the room to check on the time right before Tia started doing her makeup.
As Vivilyn looked at herself in the mirror, the drama of the dress made her smile. She’d never worn anything like it. If Brayleigh saw her in it, there was no way the woman could doubt her legitimacy to being in the Trials. Freya too. In fact, Freya would see her. She was going to be on this date too.
Let them all be jealous, Vivilyn thought to herself. I’m no fraud. I am a Lady.
“Can my makeup be just as dramatic as the outfit?” She asked Tia.
Fiona finished rolling her hair into three tight buns side by side on the back of her head. How she managed to get all of the hair in them, with only two wavy strands escaping near the side of her face, was miraculous to Vivilyn.
“Ask and you shall receive,” Tia said and began to work her magic upon Vivilyn’s face.
“Wow,” Malcolm said as he returned to the room a few moments later. “We’re definitely making a statement tonight.” He sighed. “Are you sure you want to wear this? Have this much makeup? It doesn’t seem like you.”
Vivilyn was reminded her of all the times Malcolm had told her in the first few weeks not to let the competition change her. It was her turn to sigh.
“Who else would it be, if not me?” Vivilyn asked. “Have you seen what some of the other women have been wearing?”
She looked away from Malcolm, his greenish brown eyes seemed filled with a disappointment that Vivilyn couldn’t handle.
Why should he be disappointed in me? I’m doing everything he’s asked. If anything, I’m working more for what he’s asked of me. Am I just making it up in my head that he’s disappointed? Vivilyn closed her eyes at Tia’s instructions. I can’t handle disappointing anyone else. My whole town is going to be so upset when I get sent home. He’s supposed to be fine as long as I do whatever I have to do in order to make it to Shreville.
The thought froze her for a moment. She knew her town wouldn’t be disappointed, so why would she think that? It didn’t make any sense.
I need to snap out of whatever this is, she determined.
“Open your eyes,” Tia instructed. “I’m done.”
When Vivilyn opened her eyes, she was shocked at what the mirror showed her. Her eye makeup matched her dress perfectly. The lids were sparkling white with black creases meeting up with thick eyeliner. There was highlighting near the brow bone in a light gray. Her eyelashes seemed to have tripled in length and thickness. Lipstick brought color to her whole look with a brick red color that she enjoyed much more than she would have normally thought.
It was daring.
Everything about her look tonight stated boldness, and what was a Lady if not bold?
“It’s perfect,” Vivilyn said. “Thank you so much.”
“Alright,” Malcolm said as he handed her a pair of shimmering white shoes. “Let’s get going.”
As the last to arrive at the meeting point outside the fountain, Vivilyn stood next to, but slightly to the side of the other five women. They stood staring at the three scoots on stands near them.
They were the strangest scoots Vivilyn had ever seen. Not that she’d seen many. The three she’d seen in her life had two wheels with a solid bar to stand on connecting them. A handle for steering was at the top, attached just behind the front wheel. She had never actually seen one in use, so she wasn’t quite sure how it worked.
Duncan would have.
The ones they had here still had the single bar connecting the front and back wheels, but it also had two other wheels to the side under two platforms. With two sets of handles forking away from where the normal scoot’s handle would be gave the contraption a symmetrical look.
“Ladies, ladies,” Adontus said as he rushed out of the building. “You all look very lovely.”
Vivilyn didn’t see Adontus even look up at them; instead his focus was on the trees in the distance.
His voice didn’t have the normal bravado to it as he proceeded to speak. “I hope you are all very excited for tonight’s date at Dream Lake. All of these wonderful scoots have been pre-programmed with the directions to the cavern entrances, so just pair up and skedaddle! Have a wonderful time with our handsome prince.”
Serinta and Freya paired up quickly, carefully balanced on the mechanisms in front of them, and clicked a button. With their feet firmly on the platforms, their scoot blinked with light and an energy reminiscent of the doors in the palace they started the Trials in.
Rose and Mayla quickly followed suit.
“Great,” Clara said with a roll of her eyes as she looked at Vivilyn. “Let’s get this over with.”
Since the spider incident, Vivilyn had noticed Clara actively avoiding her. When they were in the same room, she’d constantly glare at Vivilyn until one of them left.
She hadn’t thought by not agreeing that the spider had been giant that the woman would become so cold to her. She had just been honest.
Vivilyn stepped up onto one of the platforms on the remaining scoot and looked over it to see what the others pressed in order to start it. She’d been able to hear the click, but couldn’t see whatever the button was.
After Clara stepped up, she held the handles on her side expertly and the scoot started making noises.
“What are you doing?” Clara asked through clenched teeth. “Grab the handles or we won’t go anywhere.” Vivilyn wished she knew how to make the woman not be angry with her anymore. “It’s like you’ve never seen a two-person scoot before.”
Vivilyn bit her bottom lip slightly before remembering her lipstick. She didn’t want to ruin it before even making it on the date.
“I haven’t,” Vivilyn said as she grabbed the handles. On the back of both handles were little tabs that when Vivilyn put pressure on them, the scoot started moving forward.
“Oh,” Clara said.
After that, there was silence between the two women. The only noises Vivilyn heard around were the wheels moving along the ground below them, crickets chir
ping in the grass around them, and the wind blowing through the trees before them.
Small lights hanging from the trees in the forest caused their path to glisten as they moved forward.
“I don’t understand,” Vivilyn whispered as they crossed into the forest.
She wasn’t sure if she’d spoken aloud or just thought she had. Clara didn’t react for a few minutes but after they hit a small rock and barely kept balance on the scoot, Clara looked over at her and raised an eyebrow toward her.
“What caused you to dislike me so much so suddenly?” Vivilyn asked.
She didn’t want to ask about it. She knew people didn’t like her, but Clara had been nice to her before and the shift in attitude bothered her. There had to be something more than the whole spider thing.
She knew that Brayleigh and Freya and most of the others of rank would ask. No. They would demand to know what happened.
“Why should I like you if you don’t like me?” Clara looked away from her. “If you feel like talking crap about me to people like Freya and Brayleigh, then make sure my friends aren’t nearby.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought we were friends,” Clara said as she shifted her weight. The scoot shifted slightly as Clara continued, “And I get not agreeing that the spider was huge, but that doesn’t mean you had any right to go talking about how much of a baby I was acting like. Spiders freak me out. They freak a lot of people out.”
“I have never said you acted like a baby.”
“Don’t even try,” Clara said, her voice beginning to raise. “Macy told me all about how Freya told her that you were laughing and making fun of me for acting like a baby.”
“I’ve not done any such thing. I would never say something like that about someone.”
“Why would Macy lie to me? Unlike you, she is nice.”
“I don’t know!” Vivilyn tried to think. “Maybe she wanted to cause conflict between us?”
“She wouldn’t do that.” Clara practically bared her teeth at Vivilyn.
“Maybe it wasn’t Macy. Maybe the person she heard it from is trying to cause conflict?”
“Why would Frey—” Clara grew silent for a moment, before quietly saying, “Oh.”
In front of them, Vivilyn saw the amount of lights in the area they were heading increased drastically. Despite it being dark, she vaguely thought the area they were in seemed familiar.
It took until they reached the tall stone wall before Vivilyn understood exactly why. Instead of turning left though like she had when she’d gone exploring with the cameraman Ally, they turned to the right.
“I didn’t understand why you would be so mean,” Clara said, looking back at Vivilyn. “But you’ve been acting so different recently…”
“I’ve not been acting differently,” Vivilyn said quickly, grasping the handle tight enough to cause her knuckles to begin to whiten.
“You have. Basically, since we’ve arrived here. I mean,” Clara lifted one hand and gestured to Vivilyn. The scoot began to slow down. “Look at yourself. You don’t look anything like the Vivilyn everyone has grown to care about. It’s like you’re trying to become a more… I don’t know how to describe it, but you’re not the person I thought you were anymore.”
“Lady Clara, Lady Vivilyn,” Prince Aiden said from in front of them. “I was beginning to grow worried.” His smile exuded excitement as they both stepped down from the scoot. “Everyone else is inside already, beginning to explore.”
Prince Aiden ushered Vivilyn and Clara into a cavern very similar to the one that Vivilyn had seen when she saw Nell and Tia. This one, though, was at least slightly lit up and she could easily see inside it right from the entrance.
Vivilyn had been ignoring how cold it was outside on the ride over, but the warmth that hit her once she took five steps into the cavern was almost as though she stepped into a wall of heat.
After walking through a minimally lit room, they entered a huge cavern, lit with lanterns hanging from the most unusual looking trees. They were of all colors and looked to be stone.
“They call them stalactrees,” Prince Aiden said as he saw Vivilyn staring at them. “No one knows how they form, but the different minerals in them seem to cause the different colors.” He pointed to a long column separating different parts of the room. “Those are stalactites and stalagmites, and they’re created by the actual water that drips throughout the caverns.”
The water had multiple large lily pads floating near the edge of the land. Movement caused lights to form in the water. It seemed magical to Vivilyn, as though the banishment of magic had missed this one cavern.
She could almost see fairies fluttering about, touching the water to cause it to light up.
As the three of them entered, all the other women and eighteen cameramen surrounded them.
“I will be at the island in the center,” Prince Aiden said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Each of you will make your way to the center and one at a time in the order you arrive, we will have some one-on-one time.” The women cheered slightly as he finished speaking. “I’ll see you there.”
He bowed and then walked over to the lilies, one of the cameramen following him.
It was the strangest lilypad. Although it looked like it was just a large leaf, if a bit extra thick, but it bounced slightly when the prince stepped on it in the way a boat would.
On top of the floating foliage platform, he picked up a long pole and began to push himself towards the center of the lake. Each time the pole moved in the water, the water lit up with greens, blues, and whites.
The women all looked after the prince as he paddled himself away. When they could no longer see him, most of the women ran towards other lilies.
A cameraman followed each woman.
Vivilyn, though, walked.
When she reached the lily pad, she slowly pushed herself after all the other women. As soon as she pushed the lily pad into an area about three lily pad lengths away from the edge of the water, Vivilyn set the tip of her pole below her but stopped moving it.
“What am I doing?” she whispered to herself as she watched the colorful tail follow her in the water. She looked over to where she knew the other women were frantically paddling towards the prince and then looked to where she thought the center of the lake would be.
She lifted the pole back onto her lily pad and sat down with it in her lap, not worrying about her dress getting wet.
“I don’t belong here,” she sighed and shook her head then looked up at the camera, her eyes blurring with tears.
She cried.
Tears flowed down her cheek almost together with the water below her. The cameraman, one who normally followed Brayleigh around, shifted and she could only assume he was uncomfortable watching her lose control.
Ladies don’t break down like this, she thought, causing her to cry even harder.
She wasn't sure how long she sat there sobbing before her lily pad found a completely still area in the warm water. Above her, a small hole in the ceiling revealed some moon and starlight. Carefully she moved the pole off her lap. She leaned forward and saw her own reflection in the water.
Her eye makeup caused her to look more like a wild animal than a lady. Her hair frizzed out in the warm, humid air.
“I don’t even recognize myself anymore.”
Vivilyn started crying even harder.
“I don’t belong here,” she said, as she tugged her knees to her chest without caring about how her dress wrinkled or looked. “I never did. I’ve just been fooling myself. I’m not doing anyone a favor by pretending to belong here.”
She just kept replaying all the different things everyone had told her about her being a fraud, about her not belonging with those of Rank.
She sat there for what could have been minutes or could have been hours. She didn’t even care.
Vivilyn was failing her family, her friends. She was holding back those who somehow decided to bef
riend her. People didn’t want to be assigned as her cameraman. She would never make it far when the people were voting.
“Vivilyn,” a voice echoed through the cavern. She didn’t even look up. A light splashing gave away Prince Aiden’s approach on his own lily pad.
“Thank the gods, I found you,” he said as his lily lightly hit the side of hers. Vivilyn felt him step onto her lily pad behind her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Vivilyn said, trying to turn away from the prince, but he sat next to her as she looked at her own reflection. “Everything. I don’t understand why I’m still here,” she said as she tried to breathe deeply. “I don’t belong. I shouldn’t be here.”
When Prince Aiden didn’t say anything, Vivilyn looked up at him. He just sat there, looking at her, as though waiting for her to continue.
“I’m a fraud,” she said, unable to handle the silence. “I’m not ‘of the people’ because my family hasn’t ever really suffered from many of the hardships the people normally do, but I’m not above the people either. I’m not of Rank.” Vivilyn gestured at her reflection. “No matter how I try,” she shook her head, “I’ll never be able to pretend I’m of Rank.”
“Why do you need to be either of those?” Prince Aiden said softly as he set his arm lightly behind her. She was glad he didn’t try to touch her. She didn’t want anyone to touch her when she was upset.
“What do you mean?” Vivilyn asked, sniffling and trying to wipe the tears away from her eyes. “If I’m not of the people or above the people, what good am I here? What even am I?”
“What’s wrong with being just Vivilyn?” He asked looking away from her for a brief moment before looking directly back into her eyes.
“Just Vivilyn?”
“Yeah,” Prince Aiden shifted slightly closer to her. “Just Vivilyn. I’m pretty fond of her and I think if you give her a chance, you might learn to appreciate her too.”
“How could you be fond of ‘Just Vivilyn?’ You’re looking for a queen. Your queen, the kingdom’s queen. You can’t end up with ‘Just Vivilyn’.”
