Chapter 7
"Lady Mallory, wake up," I hear from above me. I open my eyes and see Celine standing above me.
"But why? Can't I have five more minutes?" I whine. She throws the covers off of me.
"No! The Prince has requested to see all of the Selected!" she insists. I immediately jump up at the mention of Ahren. After last night, I'm kind of confused. He seemed pretty straightforward, but I don't even know him yet. I need to do that first.
I hop out of bed and my maids proceed to cleanse me. And I'm not going to lie, it's kind of awkward having your maids give you a bath. But, they say that I'll just get used to it. They quickly pull my wet hair into a towel and place it on top of my head to dry. I'm slipped into a bright red dress that feels like silk against my skin. They remove my hair from the towel and quickly blow dry it, sending warm chills down my back. They straighten my thick wavy hair, causing it to run down almost to my elbows. "Okay, that's all we have time for because we let you sleep in. Go!"
"Where am I supposed to go?" I ask.
"The Women's Room. Hurry!" Patricia orders. I scurry out of the room and run to the Women's Room.
Everyone is already there, but no Prince Ahren. Thank goodness, I think to myself. I slide in next to Rebekah and by then I'm out of breath. "You're late," she says not even looking at me.
"What's wrong with you?" I ask. She looks at me with a cold stare.
"Why were you with him last night?" she asks. I feel my body tense up.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't act stupid, Mallory. You really think I couldn't hear you two? I'm right next door!"
"But nothing happened, I swear!" She folds her arms across her chest and I'm instantly reminded of Jolee. "He just wanted to go on a walk," I say trying to recover.
"For four hours?" I slightly gasp.
"Were you spying on me and him?" I ask her hoping it's not true. She twists her thumbs, realizing that she's said too much. "You know what? I don't need a friend who doesn't believe me when I say that nothing happened." I face the other direction, finding Kadessa by me. "Hello," I say holding out my hand. She looks at me and flicks her hair behind her shoulder.
"And you are?"
"Mallory Britain from Angeles," I say. It was as if I could see the flames ignite in her eyes.
"So you're the girl who was seen with Prince Ahren last night," she says with a grimace. Ouch, that hurt. Did everyone know about Ahren and me. It was just a walk! I clear my throat and smooth out my dress, trying not to show defeat.
"I'm sorry if you think I've offended you in some way, but..."
"Offended? Try, humiliated. The Prince goes on his first date with a musician when he could have a rising politician?" She fluffs her icy blonde hair and a perfect row of white teeth emerge.
"I wouldn't call it a date. More like a walk."
"I don't care what it was. It was supposed to be mine. So don't ever take it again. Because, as far as everyone knows, I'm a sweet girl from a powerful family. But truly, I will do anything to get what I want. And, as of right now, Prince Ahren is at the top of my list." She flips her head away from me and begins talking to Amber Keaton. Minutes later, a knock on the door ends all conversations.
"May I come in?" a voice shouts from outside.
"Yes!" we all answer at once. Ahren steps in wearing a purple tie. Once again, he looks really good in that color. He walks over to an ottoman and places his hands in his lap, examining everyone.
"Ladies, I have a very special announcement. Today, we are having a photoshoot for the Illea Weekly. The people want to see what you would look like with me." Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Kadessa smirk and flip her hair. She tends to do that a lot. "So, you will eat breakfast and then be called down to take some pictures. Okay?" he asks us.
"Okay," we all shout.
"Perfect. Well then, breakfast awaits you in the dining hall." He walks through the wooden door of the Women's Room and everyone instantly gets up, leaving to eat. I get a grimace from Kadessa and Rebekah tries to walk up to me, but I quickly turn around and begin talking to the first girl I see.
I'm standing in front of Ambrosia Duncan from Columbia. Her chestnut-colored hair helps her bright green eyes pop. Freckles run all across the bridge of her nose, complimenting her olive complexion. "Hi," I say holding out my hand. She grabs my hand and lightly shakes it.
"You're Mallory Britain from Angeles, right?" she asks warmly.
"Yeah."
"Oh, cool," she says staring at her heels.
"Is something wrong?" I ask her.
"Weren't you the girl with the Prince last night?" I place my hand on my forehead and sigh.
"It was just a walk. Please, don't hate me because I went on a walk with him." She looks at me and can clearly see the desperation in my eyes.
"Okay. I'll give you a chance," she says. I grin and she starts laughing. The dining room seems to be getting progressively smaller each day. I sit next to Ambrosia and a girl with red hair sits on the other side of her.
"What's her name?" I ask Ambrosia quietly.
"Tambry Kelson. She's from Zuni," Ambrosia says, cutting into her fruit salad.
"Can I meet her?" I ask. She looks at me with a mouthful of fruit and rolls her eyes dramatically.
"Fine," she says. She taps Tambry on the shoulder and points to me. Tambry waves and leans behind Ambrosia.
"Hi. I'm Mallory," I say in a whisper.
"I'm Tambry. Your average farm girl," she says with a thick country accent.
"Interesting. So Zuni is a farmer's land?"
"Well, not all of it. But most of it. I actually met Ambrosia on the way here," she says proudly. Ambrosia turns her head at the mention of her name and smiles.
"Yeah. Tambry and I were put on the same plane. We eventually began talking, and now we're friends," she says. I nod at the story and can see Rebekah gazing at me. They notice it too and Tambry waves. Rebekah quickly lowers her gaze and shoves a spoonful of blueberries into her mouth. "Why was she staring at you?" Ambrosia asks.
"We were friends, but then she became furious when she found out about Ah...," I almost say Ahren but remember I can't call him that in front of the other girls. "the Prince and me and I didn't want to deal with it."
"Well you should at least talk to her," Tambry suggests. "Maybe she was just having a bad morning."
"Maybe. But I don't wanna talk about it right now," I say. I cut into my fruit salad and pick up a few strawberries. The flavor explodes in my mouth, tasting very sweet. I've had strawberries before, but they've never been this good. I quickly finish off the salad and a short woman peers into the dining room archway.
"Mallory Britain," the woman calls. Everyone's eyes flash to me and I stand from my seat to follow her.
Ahren is standing in front of a white backdrop where a red velvet sofa lies. He is wearing a gray suit with a red tie. Now I can see why everyone wore red dresses. He's fixing his suits cuffs when I walk in, but when he looks at me, his eyes light up. I reach him and he takes ahold of my hand and kisses it. "My Lady," he says. "You look...astonishing." I blush and try to hide it, but I'm pretty positive he noticed it.
"Why thank you, Ahren," I say the last part in a whisper and he chuckles.
"Please, take a seat," the photographer calls to us. We sit on the sofa, Ahren wrapping an arm around my waist. "Lady Mallory, can you hold his hand?" the photographer asks. I nervously nod and Ahren grabs my hand before I can grab his. He laces his fingers through mine and I can feel my heart racing. "Perfect! Smile!" he says. I put the biggest grin on my face and the flashes begin. After a few shots, I'm beginning to see spots. "Okay, let's move the sofa. I need some standing shots!" I hop off of the sofa and notice that I'm still holding his hand. We both look at each other at the same time.
"This isn't awkward," I say. He smiles and unhinges his fingers from mine.
"Yes, that was awkward," he says causing me to laugh. Then, the sofa is moved and we're back to business.
"Do the same exact pose!" the photographer calls. Ahren loops his arm around my waist and grabs my hand.
"It's not as awkward now," I whisper. He smiles just as soon as the shots are fired, and after that, it was a breeze.
We eventually finish and the photographer leaves to develop the pictures. Ahren look over to me and gives me a half-smile. "What?" I ask him.
"Do you like me?" he asks unexpectedly. I run out of breath and smooth my dress.
"Of course. Why else would I be here?" I ask him. He walks up to me and places his hands on my shoulders to the point where our faces are almost touching.
"I just needed to know. Because...I feel different around you. Like I'm not the Prince of Illea. And it's been three days." I release a nervous laugh.
"And I feel different around you, too. Mostly nervous." He kisses my cheek and I think I may fall to the floor. "I should get back," I say.
"Of course." I walk away and want to skip down the hallway.
Four hours later, I'm laying on my bed reading a book when I hear sobs coming down the hallway. I go outside to see who's crying and find Rebekah in tears in front of her bedroom door. "What's wrong?" I ask her. She looks at me and all of her makeup has run down her face.
"I'm so sorry of how I accused you this morning. Maybe some things just aren't meant to be," she says.
"What do you mean?"
"After my photoshoot, the Prince pulled me and five other girls aside. He said it wasn't going to work out. That there was no spark." Another sob escapes her as she relives the event. "I have until tonight to get my bags and go." She walks over to me and hugs me. "I'm so sorry, Mallory," she says. I look at her and feel really sad.
"You're actually leaving? So soon?" I ask her. She nods and opens her door.
"You were a good friend. Until I blew it. But I know you can win this. You can do it, Mal." She walks into her room and shuts the door behind her.
By morning, Rebekah, Cate Phillips, Whitney Lollita, Hazel Blossoms, Delilah Smalls, and Alyssa Vineyard are gone. Wow, I think to myself, already down to twenty-nine.