𝚂𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 ✔

Chapter Six

She squeezed my hand and then receded into the crowd, leaving me uncomfortably confused. Her voice was coaxing, and she spoke so elegantly that it reminded me of someone mother knew, someone that I myself had met, but I could not remember exactly who it could have been.

Of course, there were going to be girls who removed the buttons from their masks, but I had not thought any would have been bold enough to have actually spoken and risked the chance of getting caught.

"Now, if you will," The queens voice carried through the vast room, slightly echoing, "I would like you all to follow my lady in waiting to the ball room, where you will wait patiently until, one by one, each of you will be summoned to meet us."

It was silent, but I knew what everyone else was thinking because I too was thinking it myself. It was a very optimistic assumption that they were going to be able to get through all of us in one day. There were far too many girls to individually meet and simply not enough time in the day to do so.

"Yes, you all must be thinking, 'there is nearly two hundred of us, how will they get through so many in only a day? It had to be a two-day ordeal, at least.' Well, I assure you it will not take that long." I felt slightly uncomfortable with her accurate assumption. "There will be only twenty of you left in the next few hours. So, do your best to stand out the most. Even though it is clear that so far all but one of you are lacking the ability to do as much."

The air shifted and I knew if none of them had hated me prior to her words, they all had certainly started to, even if they did not know who I was. Though it was not my fault that they all had thought wearing those colors was in their best interests.

However, they, like myself, most likely had their outfit chosen by their mothers. So if anyone was to blame for them being placed into such a ridiculous, yet embarrassing, predicament it was their mothers, not me.

The Queen's lady in waiting appeared from one of the doors to our right, then climbed a few stairs so that all of us could see her before she spoke. "Please, follow me, there is much to be done."

This time the other girls did not hesitate, and instead charged ahead, subtly pushing one another out of the way in an attempt to make it to the front of the line. They had heard the queen loud and clear and were going to do anything they could to stand out.

We all followed the queen's lady in waiting down the long front east hall, then turned left at the very end and followed it about halfway until we came to a short pause. To the right of the very front of the group, the hall opened into a large glass walkway that was about eight people wide and two levels high. The floor below our feet too had been made of glass and under it flowed a large clear pond full of Koi and different kinds of smaller fish. At the end of it, stood two large glass doors that led into a massive ballroom, which, at first glance, held many gold and blue tufted chairs, couches and loveseats.

Like the entrance hall, the room was magnificently decorated with white and golden walls, painted ceilings and chandeliers. However, between the large windows stood more of the carved marble ladies, like the ones at the bottom of the stairs, holding large golden candelabras that illuminated the room.

It was quite a sight to behold.

Once everyone took their seats everything grew silent. The only sounds that could have been heard in the grand room were the echoes of girls shifting in their seats, the occasional tapping of shoes on the floors, and nervous breathing.

Though, after a few moments, like the queen had said before, one by one, girls had started to be picked at random. We all watched on as a new girl and her lady's maid were taken away in varying intervals of time. However, none of them returned and this had started to make everyone uneasy. Some began to pick at their dresses and gloves, continuously shifting in their seats, and even a few stood up to start pacing.