"Are you sure you're one of the girls? You seem like a spy to me. Are you spy, Arabella?" My name rolled of his tongue perfectly and I stood completely still as he took another step closer to me.
"You know, it's my job to eliminate spies."
"Eliminat...
"No, the other girls began to get ready hours ago. Come on, when you're queen you have to get ready for functions like this all the time." I chose to ignore the fact that she said when.
That, in my case, is just another reason not to win the competition.
I hate these stupid parties and events we have to attend and I've only been to one so far. That was more than enough for me, and then there's the makeup and the hair, which seems to take hours. The dresses are.. okay. Actually they're probably my favourite part of the whole getting ready process.
"Okay, so I was thinking about putting your hair up for tonight. It will draw attention to your beautiful neck." I snorted at her compliment.
"How can a neck be beautiful?" She rolled her eyes and then pulled me over to the desk. Her hands went to my shoulders and she forced me into the seat.
"Your neck is long and tanned and straight. So, it's beautiful. Now be quiet so I can do your makeup." I laughed as she huffed and started to apply some foundation onto my face.
I loved teasing Flo. It's just so easy to get her riled up. In some ways, I think of her as an older sister.
Family, something I've never had but hop to find in the future and maybe, this is the start.
She takes care of me, gets me ready, feeds me, hell she even dresses me. In fact, she actually acts like my mother but she's only a couple of years older than me so she likes the title of big sister better than mother.
Flo gets to work, curling the ends of my hair first, before pinning it all to my head into a low up-do, which is placed towards the right-hand side of my face, and is held together with small silver flower pins.
For tonight, Flo decided that purple would be the best way to go. My eyeshadow is lilac and sliver glitter is imbedded in the corner of my eyelid, whilst my lips are a dark magenta, definitely making them stand out. My dress is even better than the last one.
It's the same shade as my eyeshadow and flows down to the floor. It's made entirely out of tulle, so it feels soft against my skin, and sticking to the flower theme, there are white flowers all over the top half of the dress and then they gradually stop as they reach the skirt. There's a huge slit in the dress, exposing a good chunk of my legs, and a v-neck that exposes a bit too much of my chest than I would like. My favourite part of the whole thing though, has to be the sleeves. They're made of purple netting and are completely see through, except at the shoulders as they're flowers covering it.
All together, it's looks like a piece of art.
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"Well don't you look beautiful," Xander said with a smile as he slowly shut the door. He made his way over and started to do his usual inspection. I've noticed that he's always examining me.
Making sure my posture is right, my dress is perfect, my hair is neat. I tried to tell him that he's just a tad OCD, but he wouldn't hear it. Apparently his inspections were purely for my benefit and to make sure that I look perfect no matter what.
"Good job Flo. You can go to your to room and watch the television programme. I'll escort her to the ballroom." Flo nodded and began to gather up all her stuff.
"Good luck. I hope he picks you." She whispers to me on her way out. She gives me a final thumbs up, before shutting the door, and I take this as my opportunity to rest.
I fall back onto my bed and my head is about an inch away from my pillow, when Xander grabs both my arms and hoists me back up.
"No, no no. You are not going to damage your hair or makeup. Everything has to be perfect. It's your first time being introduced to the public and the Prince. First impressions count. Now, I'll allow you to sit on the bed whilst we wait but don't even think about attempting to lie down." I cross my arms over my chest and continue to sulk, whilst Xander reads through a stack of papers in his hands.
"Can you tell me what to expect? I mean, what exactly is going to happen tonight?" He sighs and sets his paper down on the bed, before taking a seat in-front of me.
"Well, you'll make your grand entrance. There will be cameras, paparazzi, new reporters and even some members of the public all waiting for you. You'll walk in, gracefully, and then take you seat. The Prince and King will both be sat on their thrones and cameras will be rolling the whole time, so remember not to screw up. Flicker will do her announcement, you'll watch a small teaser clip of the masked ball, and the whole thing will be televised later that night, and then Prince Hardin will choose his date. They'll leave together and if you're not chosen you'll simply head back to your room." That seemed simple enough.
Of course the grand entrance I have to make sounds completely nerve-wracking, but other than that I simply have to just sit there and smile. Maybe do the odd wave or two, but that's it.
"Wait, what if he chooses me?" The dreaded question that's been in my mind all day. It's scary to think that I could be potentially having my first date tonight with the Prince.
"Well if he chooses you, then that's amazing! You'll leave with him and he'll take you to the date he has planned. Then after that it's simple. Just don't embarrass the both of us." He said and I rolled my eyes at his little comment.
"Wait, he plans the dates?" I tried to hide my shock but failed.
"Of course, the King thought it would add something personal to the competition."
Who knew the cold-hearted Prince planned romantic dates for women he's never even met before?
"Okay so are we gonna get going? It's nearly seven." I mentioned, pointing at the clock. His eyes went wide and I noticed that panic started to set in. He quickly jumped up and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the door. I grabbed the bottom of my dress, so I didn't trip and followed him into the elevator.
We went down to the first floor and I followed him towards the huge doors, like last time. I'm starting to get a little more familiar with the palace, but I still get lost easily. It's literally got more than a hundred rooms.
There were more guards stationed outside this time, but I guess that's to be expected since more members of the public and the press are here.
A small-looking man wearing a funny looking outfit walked towards us. He didn't even bother to look up as he told us to wait a minute and then started shouting at one of the servants, who was placing orchids instead of lilies into a vase.
"That's Timothy. Very strict, thinks he's important. He's in charge of the aesthetics and making sure everything runs something and on time. He's annoying as hell." Xander's whispers into my ear, glancing back at Timothy, who screaming at the poor girl with a bright red face. I tried to stifle my giggle but it caught the attention of one of the guards, who gave blank look.
This minute was feeling longer by the second. I felt like I could hear a clock ticking loudly, counting the seconds down, until my grand entrance. My palms were sweaty so I wiped them on my dress as discreetly as I could.
One of guards nodded at Xander and he quickly turned to me. "Okay so it's time. I'm going to be sitting out in the crowd somewhere so if you feel scared just look over at me. Remember be brave, poised and smile." He gave me a small push on the back, before the doors opened wide. ________________________________
A/N: Who's ready time meet the Prince?
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