by Shelby Hild
“When I notice I’m starting to forget things, I try to come out here. If I’m here when those blossom, even if it is just for a couple of minutes, something in my mind settles and I can recall whatever it is I’m worried or angry about.”
“What brought you out here today?” she asked, sitting down next to him again.
“The explosions,” he replied. “The importance of them and the fear I felt when you were lying unconscious was fading from my mind.” He sighed heavily and shook his head. “It’s like if I stop thinking about something worrisome for just a brief moment, it starts evaporating. And if I don’t actively try to remember things, then they’re gone.”
“How many in your family have that issue?”
“Everyone.” He looked up at the sky again, then stood up. “Even Colin mentioned something about it recently. It’s like the closer people are to us, the more likely they are to forget as well.” His eyes were wide as he turned to Vivilyn again. “Sometimes I’ve even heard of just people of Rank having the issue. I just wish I knew what it was or how to fix it.”
She stood up again and set her hand on his shoulder. “We will.”
He smiled, whether because she’d said ‘we’ or because she said it would be figured out, Vivilyn didn’t know, but he lifted his hand to set on hers. They stood there for a moment, still as statues.
“We should go in,” the prince said. Vivilyn nodded.
“Of course.”
As they went to the door, Aiden grabbed a small cylindrical device from a table beside the door. She hadn’t noticed the table at all since it blended in with the foliage and the wall.
“What’s that?” Vivilyn asked.
“It’s just a torchlight,” he said. He lifted it up as they entered the palace again and clicked a button. A light flashed against the wall ahead of them where he pointed it. “We just received about thirty of them.” When he saw her look of confusion, he handed it to her. “You click this, and a light turns on and off.”
She looked at the button he indicated and then clicked it. The light immediately vanished. Carefully, she looked into the side the light came out of. It just had a white piece of glass. She clicked the button again and was momentarily blinded by the bright light that shined in her face.
“Don’t do that!” Aiden pulled the hand with the torchlight down so it pointed at the wall again.
“What is it? How does it work?” She knew her brother would be so excited to see any new technologies like it.
“They based the design off an object that would do the same thing, only with magical energy,” he said. “And according to one of our books, that magical device was actually based off of something one of the old queens of Dravonya used as a child.”
“What kind of book has that sort of information?”
Aiden smiled at her. They’d arrived at the main hallway. He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles before he continued, “One that recorded all of the old devices of magic and their histories. I’ll lend it to you if you like.”
Vivilyn felt her eyes go wide as he offered, but before she could accept the offer, the guard Ori came up beside them.
“Your Majesty,” he said with a bow.
“Ori?” The prince looked shocked. “Since when did you return? I thought you were staying in th—” The guard cleared his throat loudly and looked pointedly at Vivilyn.
“Your mother has sent half the guard looking for you because you’re late getting ready for today’s date.”
“Oh, of course.” The prince coughed lightly into his hand and then turned back to Vivilyn. “I must bid you farewell, Lady Vivilyn. Until next time.” The smile he gave her made her heart and stomach flutter.
As he walked next to Ori, he set a hand on the guard’s wrist and whispered something.
“Of course, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing his head.
The prince walked away without a backward glance, and Vivilyn noticed he sped up to a half-run as he turned a corner.
“His Majesty requested me return you to the Chosen’s Wing, with one quick stop along the way,” Ori said.
They walked mostly in silence.
Vivilyn continued examining the torchlight as they moved along. Ori stopped them outside a large door and asked her to wait. He was only in the room for a few moments before he returned with a thick book.
“I can help you with this to your room,” he said. “I’d rather not risk you dropping it.”
“I would never—” Vivilyn started, but he just shook his head. She was starting to recognize the hallways, so they couldn’t be far off from her room.
“I wasn’t meaning it as a slight to you. You could be the king and I’d still carry it.”
Her mouth opened to respond, but Ori rapidly changed the subject.
“He trusts you. The Prince.” He looked over at her, but she remained silent. “I’m not sure why he’s already so trusting of any of the Chosen, especially after what happened with a few of them when they were children. But he does. He’s talking with you.”
They arrived outside the hall to the Chosen’s Wing and Ori stopped and turned to her, his eyes narrowed. “Don’t break that trust.”
“Ori?” Lance’s voice came through the door. “Is that really you?” Lance stepped out of the wing and smiled. Fiona stood just behind him. “I thought you were on assignment for the entirety of the Trials?”
“They brought me back,” Ori said with a shrug. “Something about needing my expertise. Here.” He handed the book to Lance. “See that this makes it to Lady Vivilyn’s room without any harm or delay.” He turned quickly and walked away without a farewell.
Vivilyn was silent on her way to her room.
Still asleep, Serinta rolled over on her bed as the door opened. Lance carefully set the book on the table with Vivilyn’s spare papers near her bed and bowed before leaving.
She didn’t bother to change clothing again before slipping into bed and closing her eyes.
The prince trusts me. Vivilyn couldn’t help but wonder at that. Was it just because I pushed him away from the wall? She wasn’t sure. Then again, Ori hadn’t said it was just her the prince trusted. Perhaps he was telling everyone things like that. Or maybe they were things others already knew.
She fell heavily back to sleep realizing she hadn’t even paid much attention to the sunrise.
Chapter 10
The sun was more than halfway up the sky when she finally opened her eyes again. Her room was empty of other people. She stretched and blinked at the light filtering in from the window. Clothing had been set aside in her armoire for the day to come. As she breathed in deeply, contently, she realized it had been a bit since her last vision and wondered if maybe the Seer’s fruit she’d eaten had finally worn off.
Her mind was clear and calm as she slipped into the white shorts and flowy green blouse. There were silver sandals nearby that she slipped on. Since no one was in her room as she bustled about and no one arrived while she was dressing and preparing for the day, she didn’t put any makeup on before she left the room.
“I was supposed to have breakfast with Darissa,” Vivilyn muttered to herself. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she exited her room. She raised her hand to knock on Darissa’s door.
“She’s not in there,” Serinta’s voice startled Vivilyn.
As Vivilyn turned, she saw the woman walking down the hall with a cameraman by her side.
“Where is she?” Vivilyn asked, as Serinta waved her hand in a follow-me gesture. They began walking down the hall away from their room.
“Prince Aiden came and got her pretty early this morning,” Serinta said. “I think it’s time for their date. She did get one of the one-on-ones, lucky girl.”
If they hadn't discussed how much Serinta cared about Darissa and respected her, she would have thought Serinta was irritated about it.
“Oh,” Vivilyn said, lowering her hand. “I guess that explains why she didn’t wake me up.”
“Breakfas
t is served,” Serinta said, gesturing toward the study where the women ate when there wasn’t a set time to eat.
"I've already eaten," Serinta said, as she turned down the hall again. "I'll see you later."
Vivilyn thanked her for walking with her and entered, following the scent of food and the sound of women's laughter.
Vivilyn went and grabbed a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. On a plate, she set two hard boiled eggs, a piece of buttered toast, a muffin, and a bunch of grapes. She took a seat at a small table where Marisol, Jolene, and Louise all sat with empty plates in front of them. It was the only occupied table in the room. By the dirty, empty plates collected at one side of the room, she assumed most of the other women had already eaten.
“Vivilyn,” Jolene said as Vivilyn set her plate on the table. “I heard you were present when Lady Nehla was eliminated. Did she really scream her grief and curse the kingdom so loudly the gods made it rain?”
“No?” Vivilyn said. She was uncertain where Jolene might have heard something like that. As far as she knew, it hadn’t rained all week.
“Oh, darn.” Jolene dropped her knife on her empty plate with a clang. “That’s not nearly as entertaining.”
“Because everything is meant to happen so that your stories are entertaining,” Marisol retorted dryly as she flipped a page in the book she was reading, before she focused on it once more.
They were silent for a moment before Louise set her chin in her hand and sighed.
“My date isn’t until next week,” she said. “Do you think it will be half as cool as a beach date?”
Vivilyn shrugged as she took a bite of one of the hard-boiled eggs.
“I hear—” Jolene started. Marisol slammed her book shut, halting Jolene before she could even say what she heard.
“Can you stop it with the hearing things?” she said through clenched teeth. “I’m so tired of rumors and hearsay.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.
“I…” Jolene started, but she closed her mouth.
“I’m sorry,” Marisol said. She rubbed her forehead directly above her left eyebrow and shook her head. “I didn’t mean it like that. My head hurts and I slept horribly last night.”
Marisol rubbed her face again, this time with just her right hand, and reopened the book to find the page she'd been reading. After she slid a piece of teal ribbon to mark her spot, she closed the book again.
“Every time I started dozing off there was a rustling or something in my walls,” she explained. “With the whole Natalie thing going on, it has me a bit uneasy.”
“That has us all on edge a bit, but it’s probably just a rat or something,” Louise said. “They get in the walls back home pretty often, especially as it gets colder.”
“You’re right,” Marisol replied. The way her large brown eyes flickered all around made Vivilyn wonder if she actually believed it was rats.
“When one of us is queen,” Louise said with a small dreamy smile, “we can be sure to clear walls of unwanted rodents before the rest of us visit.”
“I’d better get a monthly invite to visit whichever royal residence you’re staying at,” Marisol said. She reached over to Vivilyn’s plate and pinched off a piece of blueberry muffin.
“What are you talking about?” Jolene asked. Apparently, the harshness of how Marisol spoke to her prior was already forgotten. “You have the same chance as any of us to win this thing.”
“I won’t win,” Marisol said with half a laugh. She stood up and grabbed her book off the table. “There’s no connection between Prince Aiden and myself. I can see us being great friends, but nothing more.”
“Then why are you still here?” Vivilyn asked quietly. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud. “That came out wrong,” she quickly added. “I mean, so many people are getting sent home or choosing to go home. If you don’t feel anything…” Vivilyn trailed off with a gesture of her right hand.
“I’m staying because my parents would be furious if I quit.” Marisol shook her head. “Plus things are happening here. Savrille is deadly dull. There, I’m just a pawn, a chance for my parents to raise their status. That’s all any of us are to them. Maybe here, I can make some sort of difference.”
She held her book to her chest and looked each of the women directly in the eyes. Her dark eyes were intense as she stared at Vivilyn. A small smile lit upon Marisol’s mouth before she continued.
“I plan to be remembered for something more than just who I marry.”
“That’s a nice dream,” Louise said. Marisol tilted her head and shrugged before saying she was going to see if there was anything interesting in the library. After she left, the rest were all quiet for a few moments.
The more Vivilyn interacted with the other women in the Trials, the more confused she became. Andrea had told her that everyone had their own struggles and she hadn’t entirely believed her. She was rapidly realizing that maybe not being of Rank was a blessing. The only thing her family had wanted her to do was work hard in the orchards, the garden, and the store so they could eventually afford to go from renters to landowners. Other than that, they wanted whatever she did as long as it made her happy and she was safe.
She knew her family loved her no matter what. They’d said as much basically every day of her life. No matter how far from home you go, darling, we are here for you. She heard her father’s voice echo in her mind.
It must be lonely being of Rank.
Outside, she heard a bird start singing through the window in the room.
“I think I’m going to go outside for a bit,” Louise said, standing up. After a brief moment, Jolene stood up as well.
When they said goodbye, Vivilyn was left alone to eat her breakfast. She finished the muffin Marisol had taken a pinch from first.
Although the muffin was good, she couldn’t help but compare it to her best friend’s. Maia’s muffins were moist and always made with berries so fresh they had generally been picked the day they were baked. The one she just ate was dry and there was a slight crunch to it which made her think it had been left in the oven too long, not long enough to burn, but still more than necessary.
Vivilyn’s mind twisted into a quick vision as she lifted a piece of toast from the plate.
Iza sat on the counter next to Maia in the Bakers’ kitchen with a bowl in her lap. Vivilyn couldn’t hear what Maia told the child, but they both laughed.
As the vision dissipated, she sighed heavily.
I miss them so much, she thought as she lifted a knife from her eating utensils.
A small cough near the entrance caught her attention as she spread a small amount of peach jam on her toast.
Malcolm stood leaning against the doorway, dark bags below his eyes as though he hadn’t slept for a few nights. He looked at her with a half-smile before taking a slow step into the room.
“Malcolm,” Vivilyn said as she stood up. He waved her back down to sit and continue eating.
“Lady Vivilyn,” Malcolm said, as he plopped into the seat across from her. “You sure are the talk the castle these days.”
“Why would I be the talk of the castle?” she asked as she broke the shell of the egg.
“Well,” Malcolm said, “first, you were already the talk because of you risking your life to save the prince the night of the first Ceremony. We already knew that. But…” Malcolm picked a grape off Vivilyn’s plate, “The first survey of the people came in last night.” He tilted his head towards Vivilyn, but when she didn’t respond at all to him, he continued, “You are in the top fifty. The people are really taking to you. At least for now.”
“What do you mean ‘for now’?” Vivilyn asked as she drank some of the orange juice. The sweet and tangy taste reminded her of home.
“The goal of this is for the people to get to know the Chosen in hopes that they will help Prince Aiden choose well for everyone. The placements will vary throughout the Trials, especially this early on, but it's a good sign to rank so high in the
standings already.” There was a small pause as he popped another grape into his mouth. “So, tell me everything about the date.”
Vivilyn did. She told Malcolm everything about the whole day, from being woke up all the way to falling asleep after her conversation with Serinta, leaving out only the visions.
“You had a busy day,” Malcolm said simply. Then, after a few moments of silence, “How did you know the thing on the platter was a carrot, though?” She sipped at her orange juice, giving herself a few moments to think.
“When you spend every day around things growing like I did,” Vivilyn replied as she set her glass down on the table, “then it’s easy to spot when something is a vegetable, I guess.”
“Whatever it is, you were right,” Malcolm said. “Now, there isn’t much planned until tonight after the prince and Lady Darissa return from their date, but once they do, dinner will be served for everyone in the dining room brunch was in yesterday.” Malcolm stood up to leave. “Until then, the day is yours.”
After he left, she finished her breakfast without anyone else stopping in and then meandered slowly back to her room. Serinta wasn’t there when she entered, so she sat at her easel and looked out the window. The sun shined down brightly, directly above the tree line in the distance.
“Vivilyn,” Tia shouted from outside the door. “Vivilyn, are you in there?”
She slowly stood up and walked over to the door as a knock sounded. As she opened the door, Nell held her hand up as though she was going to knock again, and Tia stood behind her.
“How can I help you?” Vivilyn asked as she opened the door to allow them inside.
“We just wanted to check on you,” Nell said. “You know, make sure you are alright after everything that has happened. We’ve not had much time to just chat.”