by Shelby Hild
A fraud. The word echoed through Vivilyn’s mind as Brayleigh’s voice was covered by the woman in the alley’s voice.
Brayleigh snarled slightly as she turned and walked away, back into the enclosed part of the porch where she sat and started talking to the others like nothing had happened.
“Vivilyn,” Marisol said, as she reached a hand out to touch her arm slightly.
The concern in her amber eyes caused Vivilyn to shift away from the other woman’s hand.
She believes it too, Vivilyn thought to herself. Why else would she look at me like that? Vivilyn looked around to everyone else. The ones that were staring at her, quickly looked away.
They all believe it. They all think I’m a fraud.
“It’s fine,” Vivilyn said, brushing at her hair and looking over at the forest in the distance. “She just says things like that. It’s part of how our relationship is. She says things like that and... and I respond with things like ‘Oh, man, you are just too qualified to be here.’ It’s our thing.”
The pity in everyone’s eyes around Vivilyn caused her to stop her fake laughter.
“Winter where I’m from can get pretty cold,” Marisol said, attempting to redirect the conversation back to what it had been before the interruption. “I haven’t ever seen snow though. So, I’m really excited for that.”
As conversation continued, Vivilyn looked over at the forest. The trees were not like the ones she was used to. They looked different, with smaller, thin leaves, but would they feel different? She could almost imagine herself climbing one of them.
Vivilyn shook her head and tried to focus on what was being discussed in front of her.
It didn’t work. Her mind kept falling back to what Brayleigh had said.
She’s right, Vivilyn thought. I don’t belong here. Why am I still here? No. I have to snap out of it. If I keep thinking like this, then she wins. But… but the woman said I wasn’t of the people either. So what am I?
Vivilyn had to look away again before tears began to fall. Everyone already thought she didn’t belong. If she let them see her upset at hearing the truth then they’d think her weak too.
When she finally got her emotions under control, she took a long look around. All of the women held themselves so high, so proudly. Vivilyn knew she didn’t. She was different from everyone else.
How could she change how she was perceived by everyone?
How could she show the others she wasn’t that different?
Chapter 5
“Serinta,” Vivilyn said later that day. It was after dinner with all of the women in a dining room large enough to rival the one they’d eaten in at the Ettravil Palace.
“Yeah?” Serinta replied, as she finished tweaking her long hair in a mirror outside of a sitting room.
“Can I talk to you?” Vivilyn asked, ducking her head slightly.
“You are already, aren’t you?” Serinta said. She lowered her arms and looked over at Vivilyn, “What’s wrong?”
“Would you mind helping me with something?”
“If it is going to cause any sort of explosion, I’m going to have to decline. I much prefer my skin intact and bones unbroken.”
“It’s… it’s not anything like that.” Vivilyn took a deep breath.
This woman had been her roommate for a few weeks and despite their initial differences, they had come to a sort of peace. If anyone would help with her plan, it was Serinta.
“I need to learn how to belong here,” she said.
“What are you—” Serinta tilted her head as realization became obvious on her face. “You’re upset about what Brayleigh said. Look, Viv, she’s jealous and concerned. More than half the women here are because—”
The words escaped Vivilyn’s mouth in a rush that she couldn’t control.
“Because I don’t belong. Because I’m not of Rank. But you can show me how to at least appear like I’m of Rank.”
“Why would you want to do that? Isn’t half of your draw because you’re ‘of the people’ or something? You aren’t of Rank and that’s good for your image, right?”
Vivilyn felt her face go warm as she opened her mouth to speak again.
“But I’m not ‘of the people.’ The trip here made that awfully clear. And if I’m not ‘of the people’ and…”
“And you’re not ‘above the people’,” Serinta nodded, understandingly. “That’s a difficult dilemma.”
“So… you’ll help me?” Vivilyn lifted her head and was unable to keep herself from nibbling at her lower lip as she waited for Serinta’s response.
“The first thing we need to do is give you a makeover,” Serinta said, turning to face her. “You need a haircut. You look as though your mother has always given you a haircut and she only knows one style.”
“My mother has always cut my hair. And she does only know one style.”
“You brought one of those goofy ladies who’re always creeping around, right?”
“Who? Oh, you mean Nell and Tia? They don’t creep, they explore. It’s a new experience for them as well so they want to know everything about where we are.” Serinta raised one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows. “Yes. Tia came with me.”
“Find her and meet me downstairs in the giant mirrored room in half an hour.”
Vivilyn nodded and ran off to find Tia.
She’d not seen the woman, or any of her team since she’d arrived. After she ran around for a few moments getting nowhere, she stopped. How could she find Tia if she didn’t know where the woman was?
No one else was around.
She closed her eyes and calmed her breathing. She had to focus.
If she were Tia, for the first time in a while without Nell, where would she be?
A close up of the fountain filled Vivilyn’s mind.
It looked the same as it had when the women had arrived except it was dusk rather than fully nighttime and the fountain was off. No longer flowing, no longer creating the soothing sound of water moving. The sound of someone smothering sniffles filled the air.
Was Tia upset? Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea for Vivilyn to split Nell and Tia, but it was only for a little bit of time.
It was the clearest a vision had ever filled her mind. And it was the first time one had come when beckoned. Would she really find Tia near the fountain?
She didn’t have any time to waste. She ran down the stairs and straight outside, without bothering to even put on a jacket. The wind was outright cold. No longer just a cool breeze.
She shivered.
The water in the fountain rushed loudly as she approached. In the distance she could see the sun just finishing her journey in the sky through the trees. No one was near the fountain. No people, no bugs, not even a bird.
It must be the cold, Vivilyn thought to herself. She could see gray clouds drifting in from the opposite direction the sun was setting in.
She rubbed her arms to try and warm them slightly as she drew closer to the fountain.
Right as she approached it, the fountain turned off. The water stopped moving, stopped pulsing out from it. The sudden silence startled Vivilyn into a stop.
“I didn’t do that,” she said to herself.
Something moved on the fountain and as she looked closer to it, she could almost see what appeared to be a handle between the feet of the man and woman. It wiggled slightly as she watched. She took a step towards it, trying to get a closer look.
“Miss Vivilyn?” a voice said from behind her.
“Fiona,” Vivilyn said, as she turned around from the fountain.
The smaller woman ran over to Vivilyn and curtseyed in front of her.
“What brings you out here tonight?” Vivilyn asked. A small cough sounded from where Fiona had run from. “Are you and Lance on a date?”
Fiona’s face reddened and it wasn’t from the sudden breeze.
“Neither of our duties start until tomorrow,” Fiona said. “So we thought it would be nice to go for a li
ttle walk. This place is nice. Not as overwhelming as the palace was. Thank you, again, for bringing me with you. We wouldn’t have gotten this chance if it weren’t for you.”
Vivilyn smiled. In the background, Lance waved towards them.
“It was nothing,” Vivilyn said. “Do you happen to know where Tia is?”
“Last I saw her she was in the kitchens trying to learn how to bake blueberry bread. She might still be in there, but she was driving the cooks a bit crazy with her questions. You know how she can be.”
“Of course,” Vivilyn said. “Thank you. I’ll leave you to your date then.”
She winked at Fiona before starting to walk in the direction of the kitchen. Part of her was still curious as to what the handle on the fountain was for, but she had more important things to worry about.
I’ll ask Darissa about it next time I see her.
She could smell the kitchens before she could see them. Since dinner was over, the activity around them was mostly cleaning up and doing prep work for tomorrow’s breakfast.
“Please, let us do our work,” a woman’s voice said, carrying loudly out the door.
“I just want to know why you have to let the bread set after—” Tia said. Her voice held a slight whine to it.
“Out. If you aren’t here to help, get out.”
Vivilyn practically caught Tia as the woman was pushed out of the kitchens.
“The people here have no manners,” Tia huffed as she regained her balance.
The bruising on her face was still dark with blacks and purples, but the edges had a hint of yellow and green as they healed. Vivilyn still had trouble figuring out how a door could have caused such severe bruising around her eye.
“They are trying to get everything prepared,” Vivilyn said, with a shrug. “I doubt they are used to feeding as many people as they’ll be needing to feed. Maybe they’re stressed.”
“Doesn’t mean they need to be rude about it,” Tia continued.
Vivilyn held back an eye roll as Tia continued to grumble about the kitchen staff. After a few moments of standing there, Tia looked up.
“Lady Vivilyn!” It was as though she just noticed Vivilyn standing there. “What a pleasant surprise!”
“Good evening, Tia,” Vivilyn said with a smile, as she stepped out of the way of someone exiting the kitchen with a large bowl of steaming liquid. “Do you have a few moments?”
“For you,” Tia said with a slight giggle, “I have all evening.”
“Good,” Vivilyn sighed. Then she added under her breath, “We might need that.”
“What?” Tia asked, as the two began to walk.
“Nothing,” Vivilyn added. “Thank you, though.”
“Anything for the future queen,” Tia said before beginning to hum a happy little tune.
Vivilyn felt her smile fade.
Whatever chance she’d had in the beginning of this, there was no way she’d get beyond the people’s votes. Not if she didn’t do something. Not being the fraud she was.
She looked at her hands and the dark shadows on them startled Vivilyn into shaking her hands away from her body as though she thought she’d seen an ant on them.
“What is it?” Tia asked.
“I just… I thought I saw something.”
They reached the mirrored room and Vivilyn opened the door.
“Do you need some, like, lady help?” Tia asked, her voice uncertain, “I don’t think I’m going to be much help with that. I mean, I am female but I’ve never been good with—”
“What are you talking about?” Vivilyn interrupted before Tia could continue. Then she laughed.
Before Tia could expand on what she meant, Serinta appeared next to a small spinning chair in front of one of the mirrors with Maxwell, the cameraman, in the corner.
“Lady Serinta,” Tia said, dropping into a curtsey. “I am sorry to interrupt, but…”
“No, no. I asked for Vivilyn to find you.” Serinta shifted to talking to Vivilyn. “Did you tell her what you asked me to help you with?”
Vivilyn looked down at her feet and nibbled her bottom lip nervously.
Across the counters, Serinta spread out scissors and bottles.
“Are we giving someone a makeover?” Tia asked, as she took stock of everything in the room. “I love helping with those!”
“You helped Natalie’s manager give her those highlights,” Serinta said. “And I asked around a bit. You’ve helped a good portion of the women shape their hair. Vivilyn and I were hoping you might help shape Vivilyn’s hair into something more… more.”
“I’m not sure Nell would approve of that,” Tia said. She lifted her right hand to her face and chewed slightly at her pinky nail. “Or Malcolm, or Andrea. I’m not really sure anyone would approve. Besides, your hair is so beautiful. Why would you want to change it?”
She looked over at Vivilyn, her eyes wide.
“I just…” Vivilyn suddenly felt foolish for asking Serinta to help her appear more like someone of Rank. She took a deep breath and tried again.
“I just think it’s time for a change, you know?” She shrugged and looked down, unable to look into Tia’s eyes.
Tia smiled widely.
“You came to the right place then,” she said with a smile. She ushered Vivilyn into the chair and started sorting through everything Serinta had collected and brought into the room.
Serinta smiled just as brightly as Tia did.
Vivilyn couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing the right thing.
But as soon as Tia snipped the first bit of hair, she knew there was no turning back.
Chapter 6
As she walked back to her room, Vivilyn couldn’t help but play with her newly cut hair. She couldn’t believe how different she looked after Tia had finished with it. Now it only came down to her shoulders rather than her mid-back. The layers that had been added gave it a volume she didn’t realize was possible.
And the color of it!
Tia had refused to do too much in the way of changing the shade, but she did lighten a few strands to give it a bit of dimension. It reminded Vivilyn of the summers where she and Duncan had been outside in the orchards or gardens longer than normal because Magnar or Suzetta had other, more important things to do.
She hadn’t exactly realized how easy it was to add the bit of color to her hair. None of the long, hot hours in the sun and heat!
I wonder how many of the Chosen have dyed their hair or if they all have their natural colors, she contemplated as she walked into the sitting area outside the room that she shared with Darissa.
She would have walked by all three of the people occupying it, completely lost in her thoughts if it hadn’t been for Prince Aiden.
“Lady Vivilyn?” he queried. His voice sounded so incredulous that for a moment it worried her.
“What did you do to your hair?” his little brother asked, as he stood up from one of the couches to get a closer look. “Is it real?”
“Is it that bad?” she asked, raising one hand up as though she were guarding her hair from their prying eyes.
“It looks wonderful,” Darissa said. She stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and smiled at Vivilyn.
“She’s right,” Prince Aiden said, pulling Vivilyn into a hug. “Your hair looks beautiful. Different, but just as beautiful.”
“What prompted it?” Darissa asked. Her seafoam green eyes shifted slightly as though she were suspicious.
“I guess I needed a change,” she responded.
“And everything that has happened with the Trials hasn’t been change enough for you?” Darissa prompted, as she raised one eyebrow.
“Well, now my hair matches everything else!”
A guard entered the room, with Maxwell trailing right in after him. Vivilyn noticed it was the guard she’d met who led her to Alyosia’s Gardens to talk with Prince Aiden one morning back at the palace in Ettravil.
“Your Majesties.” He bowed slightly to
the princes and then pointed to Maxwell behind him. “He’s got your jackets.” Then he lifted two small blue jackets as Maxwell scurried over to give Aiden and Ethan their navy-blue ones.
“Thank you, Maxwell,” Aiden said as he shrugged into the one he’d been given.
“I found these on my way here,” Ori said as he stepped toward Vivilyn and Darissa. “I figured you’d want the ladies to go with you since they’re both here.”
“My jackets are finished!” Darissa exclaimed, as she took one of them from Ori.
She held it up in front of her and examined it closely. Then she nodded at Ori to give the other one to Vivilyn.
“They match the walls,” Vivilyn couldn’t help but state when she lifted the garment.
“That’s because blue and silver are my favorite colors,” she responded. “I designed these and each of the women will get one. My hope was to keep them close enough to the surroundings that they’d never clash with the background for pictures. So everyone will at least always have good coloring while here, even if the cameras have weird angles sometimes.”
“You designed this?”
Vivilyn hadn’t known her friend knew how to design clothes. The jacket was a baby blue and the seams were lined with a silver that sparkled in the light. When she slid it on, she realized the thin material was much warmer than she anticipated it being.
“One of the big fashion designers in Etilidus traveled through a few years ago when I was home from court. Papa asked him to teach me a few things. The great Ziglo Tailor claimed I had more skill than his daughter. Although I can’t really draw my ideas, Nancy, one of the people who helps tend to the estate, has always been able to take what I’m describing and turn it into exactly what I picture.”
“Ziglo Tailor?” Vivilyn asked. “The one from Treelyn?”
“There is only one Ziglo Tailor in Etilidus. Although there are three worldwide, the other two don’t visit our kingdom so it’s unlikely that she means either of them,” Ori said.
He had moved to stand next to the door while Vivilyn had been looking at the jacket.