STUCK IN 2 WORLDS: Cloak & Dagger

STUCK IN 2 WORLDS: Cloak & Dagger Chapter 4

     Ester leaned close and murmured in my ear, “It’s okay—they are just amazed by your beauty. You look lovely tonight.”

     As I looked into her big brown eyes, I felt a wave of calmness come over me. I was reminded of the feeling I’d experienced once when the dentist had given me a Valium to calm my anxiety about letting him fill my cavity.

     My nerves settled, and my brain was suddenly able to think clearly. I realized that it would be very hard for anyone to recognize me: My father had not allowed any outside photographers to photograph or videotape me. He’d told the entire kingdom that if he ever found out that someone had taken my picture or recorded a video of me and sold or given it to anyone outside of Inevia, he would hang them instantly. The only way anyone would know I was a princess of Inevia was if they knew what my ring symbolized. No one at this party would know that—plus, I wasn’t even wearing it. When I’d ask my father why he didn’t want people to have my picture, he would say that it was for my own safety. Once I learned the truth about my birth, I did not believe him at all. I knew his guardedness had to do with where I came from, because he did not have the same rule for my sisters.

     As I stood with Ester, the eyes of the party on me, I felt like I was back home. I would always enter royal parties in this way. First my sisters would process in, then my father’s wives, then me on my father’s arm. A few times I tried to tell him to walk with one of his wives, but he always said no, he wanted to enter the room with the future queen.

     The partygoers began turning back to their conversations and drinks. Ester led me into the crowd and then all the way to the fireplace, where William was still staring at me. His gaze was so powerful that I felt I was going to melt under it.

     “Doesn’t she look gorgeous?” Ester stared at William when she asked the question, though her voice pretended she was asking everyone standing there.

     I felt my face grow hot, blushing. I shouldn’t know what men outside of my family think of my looks! William said nothing and acted like he didn’t hear her, though Aaron and the rest of the people gathered near us agreed with her. My throat suddenly felt dry, and I started to feel like there was not enough air in that corner to breathe. I knew I was feeling like this because I was standing too close to William, whom I never knew what to expect from. Even though now I knew he was the one who had found me, it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t like his personality. I excused myself and headed toward the bar.

     “What can I get for you?” the bartender asked with a smile. He was young and cheerful, just like bartenders probably should be, I assumed, as I had never been to parties that had bartenders before.

     “Soda,” I said with a serious face.

     “Smiling once in a while won’t hurt, you know.” Naomi was suddenly beside me. I turned and greeted her. “Are you having fun yet?” she asked.

     “I don’t know,” I said.

     She tilted her head quizzically, but then smiled lightly. “Well, I’m going to dance!” she said and disappeared back into the crowd.

     The background music had swelled, without my noticing it, into a louder dance beat. Women and men mixed together, hugging and touching each other. Holding each other’s bodies close as they danced. The women’s clothes were more revealing and tighter than what I was used to, just like what I was wearing that night. Where I was from, men and women had to sit completely separate on most occasions, and even married couples would not kiss, hug, or touch each other in any other way outside of their bedrooms. We weren’t even allowed to make eye contact or smile at someone of the opposite sex. We could be killed if we did such things.