"He deigned to descend to the miseries of men."
-The Prison, Alfred de Vigny
"Silence!" The man sat on the podium announced, and Eve looked around in shock, only to see that he was on her right hand side, on a pedestal for the world to worship.
A polished golden chaise adorned with red velvet was occupied by a man who appeared emotionally drained, and cold. On his dark head of hair nestled an equally melodramatic, bejewelled crown which shone and sparked at every angle his head moved. His eyes were a dark, deep brown, almost like coal, which suited his angular features. And he wore a draped red cloak, which lazily covered the rest of his expensive outfit.
His eyes swiveled down to fix first on Eve, and then onto Kieran as he leant forward in his chair, boring into him. In response, Kieran got onto one knee.
"I apologise sincerely for her lateness, Your Majesty." He sounded different, detached almost.
Eve could not see his face, as he had his back to her, but she could imagine it was as blank as a slate. It was interesting to know how much he intimidated even his vassals.
"Rise. I have no business with you today. Get out of my sight and do your duty." He dismissed Kieran as one would with a dog; a wave of his arm, and Kieran retreated, leaving Eve alone in the pack of wolves.
Once he'd left, the King reclined once more, all signs of tension gone. The perfect illusion to get them all to open up, after all.
"So. Who do we have here? I would like you to introduce yourselves formally to me. Beginning with you," he beckoned to Eve like she was a stray. "Come here."
Eve flushed a little as the other women next to her turned their eyes to her, and she began her short travel up the carpet to around where Kieran had knelt before. Then, she copied his position, kneeling down on the carpet and addressing him with respect.
"My King, I am Eve."
He chuckled, and she raised her head to meet his humored gaze. Behind her, she could hear similar noises erupting from the small group of Eves.
"Is something funny, my Lord?" She asked, completely confused; she thought she had done everything as required.
Instead of answering her question, he asked his own.
"So, you're the one from the lower classes, are you?" He casually surveyed her figure, her outfit. "My servant has done a good job of hiding your peasant background."
Eve could hear Evelynn haughtily giggling behind her fan, and a vein in her forehead almost popped. But then she remembered that she, unlike the other women competing to be chosen as Eve, did not care for the attention of the King. In fact, despite her visual show of loyalty, she was already tired of being presented like a replaceable object. So, in the face of his insults, Eve smiled at him.
"My King, you must be mistaken," she told him, "Thinking that my background will play any part in the upcoming events."
His moustache twitched in interest.
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Because this whole competition is something a peasant village would hold, just for fun. Thank you for your time."
She then rose, bowed slowly and walked back over to the other women leisurely, catching the King's expression of surprise out of the corner of her eye. It wasn't like she cared particularly for his reaction, but it was interesting to know that he did not abhor her background. The woman next to her, however, immediately began to move away from her, giving her suspicious looks. She rolled her eyes and stood as each of the women introduced themselves to the King. All of them really desired his favor, and were not shy to show it.
When Evelynn twirled down the aisle and curtsied, Eve realised her mistake earlier. Nobody had told her that she should curtsy to him, and that was probably why he'd figured out she was the 'peasant'.
"Oh, my Lord! My saviour!" Evelynn gushed to him. "How can I put into words the majesty of the palace, your gracious and humble attitude-"
Her compliments streamed on for a long time, with interval fan-flicks inbetween. The King seemed to enjoy them at first, but as she continued on her tirade his face grew uncomfortable - or rather - weary.
"Enough!" He told her. "You may go. Next!"
Once she had risen and turned her back on him, the smile on her face peeled away to reveal a furious frown, which she quickly hid with her fan.
The next woman was the one who'd backed away from her. She was called Evangeline, and had extremely long hair, with wide, doe-like eyes. She seemed extremely angelic, and everything about her was soft-looking. Even Eve didn't suspect that she'd last long with the other women around, but she kept her mouth shut. After all, an easily-intimidated lamb was none of her business.
"Hello, Your Majesty. I am Evangeline." Even her voice was mousey.
Once the King had heard her, he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
"Thank you, Evangeline." He appeared to be gentler with his dismissal: perhaps he, too, was secretly afraid she'd break in half if tested.
She curtsied and returned.
The third woman was more like a veteran warrior; her hair had been cut down the sides and was pulled back down the centre. She also wore some type of plate which Eve did not recognise, but found unnerving. As expected, she strolled right up to the King and gave the lowest kneel Eve had ever seen.
"My Liege. I am Evie." Her voice was like iron, cutting through the air aggressively.
"Are you from the tribe in the jungle of Eden?" The king asked.
"Yes, my Liege."
"How wonderful. It is nice to see Grace let go of some of her pupils for me. Send her my regards in a letter." The King instructed, with a smile on his face.
"Certainly," Evie responded, and was dismissed.
The last woman to appear in front of the King was a little older than the rest of them, but this didn't deter from her impeccable courtly mannerisms. Her eyes were slanted and catty, and her face was hard enough to give her the natural appearance of a thief. Yet, she tried her best to be a blooming flower. All of the other women saw her as someone who could sweet-talk anyone into doing as she liked; she just had that kind of voice.
She curtsied.
"Thank you for this opportunity, Your Majesty. I am called Eden," she glowed.
"You're welcome. What brought you to my courts?"
"My father has a trading business with the other merchants, and he requested I come. Of course, I was happy to," she assured him.
"Good. Very good."
She accepted a wave with a bow of her head and a strut back to the others. Already, Eve was deciding who was most likely to stab her in the back, and was deciding between Eden and Evelynn, when the King interrupted her thoughts.
"This small gathering between us has ended. I am glad we have spent time together, and hopefully at tonight's feast, you will get to know one another."
He got up from his seat, and everyone but Eve began curtsying. She quickly copied them, as he retreated behind a door near his throne. Once it had clicked shut, she was immediately assaulted by different voices of the women she was stood with.
"Heh!" Evie scoffed at her. "If this is my competition, I think I have a great chance of winning! By the way, who let the street urchin in?" She glared at Eve.
"Certainly not me, let me tell you," Evelynn said behind her fan, her eyes narrowing, "She's only been here for half a day, and already has flirted with the Prince!"
"Oh, my," Eden giggled. "You work fast. Was he attractive? Did he show you his...?" She wiggled her eyebrows.
Eve was a little bit unnerved by the gossiping going on around her, and didn't really want to participate. All she could see were snakes hissing at her. She swallowed before responding.
"No, I didn't flirt with the Prince. I haven't even met him!" She said in annoyance at Evelynn's blatant lie. "And besides, I didn't choose to be here; I was forced here using many guards."
"Um, so are you the one who took out half of the General's stationary force in that fire?" Evangeline spoke quietly, but nobody missed a beat.
"Well, yes, but-" Eve began.
"So you're the one that had the King all uptight the other day!" Evelynn laughed. "He must really hate you now, you know." She rolled her fan between her fingers, then snapped it open. "Why are you even here?"
Eve gritted her teeth in frustration at the rudeness with which she was receiving.
"Excuse me." She told them, and raced away, towards the double-doors leading out of the Great Hall.
"Run, little rat!" Evie called after her, and then they laughed.