by Shelby Hild
She turned her head away from him.
“Why can’t I?” Prince Aiden turned her face back to look at him with the tips of his fingers on her chin. The warmth his fingers left on her skin seemed even hotter than the heat of the room.
“You don’t even know her, not really.” Vivilyn shook her head and looked away again, but the prince moved to face her once more.
“Is she the girl who didn’t make a scene when someone spilt a glass of wine down her back on the very first date? Is she the one who breaks rules solely to be outside? Is she the one who climbs trees without fear of messing up her clothing? Is she the one who participated in the biggest mud fight I’ve ever been in? Goodness, is she the one who had the audacity to start the mud fight? Is she the one who worries more about the safety of those around her than her own safety?”
He smiled and set his forehead against hers. “That’s the Vivilyn I want to see and get to know. That’s the Vivilyn I want.”
Vivilyn wasn’t sure who shifted positions first. It happened quickly, yet slower than she’d even known time could go.
One minute they were just looking at each other, closer than two people really should be. Prince Aiden’s eyes glistened brightly in the shifting light. Vivilyn could feel his breath upon her face.
The next moment, their lips touched. Lightning seemed to strike every part of her body when their lips met. His hand rested lightly on her cheek and she turned slightly and clasped her hands together behind his neck.
When they pulled apart, Prince Aiden licked his lips.
Vivilyn couldn’t tell if her cheeks were warm from the air or if she was blushing. She smiled slightly before her thoughts made her second guess everything again.
“But what if that’s not enough?” she whispered.
Prince Aiden leaned forward again.
“We can only be who we are,” he said, so close Vivilyn could feel his lips moving as he spoke against her own. “Nothing more, nothing less. I just want you to be you. No pretending, no acting, no lying about yourself. I want to know you for you not what you think I might want or the people might want.”
He pulled her into another kiss.
Never before had Vivilyn wanted to admit to her visions more than right then and there.
His kisses were warm, his arms were comforting. He didn’t want her to lie about herself, but would not disclosing her visions be considered a lie?
He wouldn’t have any choice but to turn me in, Vivilyn thought to herself. And if he didn't turn me in, I'd be admitting it to the whole nation with the cameraman there. If I tell him, I’m signing my own death warrant.
Chapter 17
After they returned to the manor, Vivilyn was exhausted, but she didn’t want to go back to bed. She’d managed to almost fix her makeup before leaving the cavern by wiping as much of it off as she could, but a black smudge seemed to be permanently stuck to her cheek.
Maxwell seemed to know she wasn’t going to bed immediately.
I guess when you’re forced to follow someone around, you start to learn when they’re not going to do as they’re told, she couldn’t help but think.
Prince Aiden seemed to notice as well. After most of the women had said their goodnights, he came up to Vivilyn.
“Can I show you something?” he asked, lightly setting his hand on her lower back. Again she felt lightning as it pierced through her.
“What is it?” she queried.
“It’s something I’m not really supposed to show anyone, but I think it would do some good,” he said.
When he took her arm, they quickly began walking down the hall with Maxwell directly behind them. They turned down a hall Vivilyn hadn’t paid any attention to before.
When they entered a room to the right, her mouth dropped.
She’d never seen so many screens in one town, much less in one room. Every wall was covered with them.
“This is the monitoring room,” he said, then pointed to one of the screens that showed them in the room. “Maxwell’s camera is this screen.”
“This isn’t creepy at all,” Vivilyn said, sarcastically. “Are people always keeping an eye on us like this?”
She knew the Enchanted Trials were somehow shown to the whole kingdom but actually seeing all the camera feeds made her want to run away screaming.
“Not always,” he replied. “But most of the time. If a cameraman is with you during the day, or there’s a large group together at night, then someone will be in here watching. But as you can see, no one is in here right now. Since all the women are asleep or about to be, there’s no need to keep an eye out for important moments.”
“Oh,” she said.
Prince Aiden led her over to a chair in front of a larger screen than the rest. As she sat down, he started clicking a bunch of buttons on a keyboard attached to it.
“This has to use so much energy.” She looked at all the wires and cords that connected everything to each other. “And I know that Darissa’s family is well off, but how can they afford this kind of set up?”
“The energy is collected through different means, like the sun and water. When there are big storms, then we are also able to collect it from the lightning. All around each place we will be going, there are hundreds of thousands of items to store the energy, so we won’t run out while filming. That happened once with my sister’s Trials and it was absolute chaos trying to fix.”
The screen in front of them flickered slightly before the prince continued.
“We brought all of these along,” he said. “So Darissa’s family didn’t need to afford them. We will bring them with us and set up a room like this in each of the places we stay.”
The screen flashed again, but this time a picture appeared.
“I think Vivilyn will be the greatest queen ever,” a small child’s voice exclaimed.
Vivilyn couldn’t help but smile when Iza appeared in front of a large crowd of people cheering. She recognized the area in front of the Administrations Office back home in Treelyn. The little girl seemed tanner than she had been when Vivilyn had left.
“She will be kind and beautiful and amazing! And she’ll let me visit the castle all the time!” Iza beamed. “She’s my big sister, you know.”
A tear fell from the corner of Vivilyn’s eye and she brushed it away quickly.
She missed her family so much. Even if she wasn’t biologically Iza’s big sister, she still felt like she and her brothers and her parents had become part of Vivilyn's own family, part of home.
Iza showed a picture to the camera, smiling proudly.
“See? I’ve already drawn her as queen!”
If Iza hadn’t explained what the picture was, Vivilyn was sure no one would have been able to tell what it was.
The screen flashed, similarly to how her visions sometimes flashed between different scenes.
It was another crowd, in front of another Administrations Office, but this time she didn’t recognize anyone.
“Lady Vivilyn is my favorite,” one woman said from the side of the crowd. The camera moved to look closer at the woman. “There’s so much to her and I can’t wait to watch how much she grows through this.”
It flipped to another image.
“My vote goes to Vivilyn,” an old man said. “She cares more for others than herself. That’s a refreshing new thing from those in the Trials. I mean, she’s already saved our future king once. That has to be a sign of something!”
Another switch in the scene.
“If the prince doesn’t end up with Vivilyn,” a young man about Duncan’s age said, “I’d happily court her. Kind, courageous, artistic? That’s my dream girl, right there!”
“Well,” a woman who looked about the same age as the man pushed her way forward, “I bet we will be seeing her for a long time. She’s got my vote!”
The screen continued to flip through different people all praising her. Although she’d assumed since the woman who attacked her in Crysteal City had ment
ioned her draw to the people was being ‘of the people,’ no one mentioned that.
It was just about how they loved her and how she had their votes. They talked about why they thought Vivilyn had the best chances of being queen. One even mentioned how well she and the prince looked together.
She started crying again, but this time not because she was upset. They were tears of relief. Everyone didn’t think she was a fraud.
“We aren’t supposed to show you anything that gets shown to the people yet,” Prince Aiden said, as he turned the screen off. “But after everything you said in the cave, I thought you needed to see this. The people will all have their own opinions.”
He lifted a hand to wipe away her tears. Then he sat next to her on the chair.
“No one will be liked by everyone,” he stated. “Not you, not Clara, not Natalie, not Brayleigh, not Freya, and not even Darissa. Goodness, there are people out there who want me to step down as soon as I ascend the throne because they think Ethan would be a better king than me.
“Nobody is liked by everyone. We must take the opinions that matter and let the ones that don’t slide off our shoulders. It’s hard. Gods know it’s one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to learn, but to be in a position where you are in front of the people like we are, then it’s something we have to learn to do.”
“But what if I can’t?” Vivilyn asked. Her voice was quiet.
“Does everyone like every single piece of art you create?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“When someone doesn’t like it, does that make you think the piece of work is horrible?”
“It would depend on who didn’t like it, I guess,” she admitted.
“Then use the same thought for people’s opinions of you here,” he said. “Only let the opinion of those you actually care about affect you like your family, your friends, or maybe even me.”
“Of course your opinion would matter,” Vivilyn said, smiling up to him.
He doesn’t think I’m a fraud. The people don’t all think I’m a fraud. Her heart seemed lighter than it had been since before they arrived at Crysteal Manor.
“I’m glad,” he said, before pulling her in to kiss her forehead and then her nose.
She tilted her head slightly and leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. They were soft and gentle kisses. There was no rush to them. Instead they were comforting. She felt safe as his arms wrapped around her.
Before she wanted to let go, he pulled away. His smile seemed sad as he released her from his embrace.
“It’s probably about time to go to bed,” he said, with a heavy sigh. “It is very late and we’ve both had a long and trying day.”
After one more kiss, they stood up and left the room.
“Unfortunately,” he said as they stepped into the hallway, “I have to go speak with my father and Adontus. But I will see you in the morning, Lady Vivilyn. And Maxwell will escort you back to your room.” He lifted her hand to his mouth as he bowed to her. “Until next time.”
“Until next time, my prince,” she replied, before dipping into a quick curtsey.
She stood there, just watching as Prince Aiden walked the opposite direction. He turned back and smiled at her three times before he had to turn a corner and was out of sight.
Then, with her cameraman by her side, Vivilyn started making her way to her bedroom. Hopefully, she’d be able to manage a few hours of sleep before Darissa demanded in as friendly a manner as possible to hear all about the date.
As they finished climbing up the last set of stairs before reaching the floor her room was on, she gave Maxwell a side glance. He seemed happy, if a bit tired, to be there. His camera was set to his side, with no red light blinking.
If she was going to ask him anything, now was the time.
“Maxwell?” she said, ending his name so it seemed like a question.
“Yes, Lady Vivilyn?”
“Can I ask you something?”
They finished climbing the stairs and turned toward the sitting room.
“Of course,” he said. “Your question quota is three, and you just used one.”
“What?” she responded, unsure entirely what he meant.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It was just a bad joke.” He used his free hand to push his hair behind his ear. “What can I help you with?”
“How are cameramen assigned to people each day?”
Even if the people did like her and even if it didn’t matter to Aiden if she was of Rank or not, if people were still avoiding her and if Maxwell continually drew the short straw as to having to follow her around all the time, then she still needed to do something about that. She didn’t want people to avoid her or feel like they were in danger around her.
“Initially, we were just assigned randomly,” he said.
They stopped outside the door to the sitting room. Sometimes voices carried through from there to Darissa’s room. Although the woman slept heavier than a full-grown dragon hibernating when she’d fully fallen asleep, it wouldn’t do to even potentially wake her up in case she wasn’t quite to that level yet.
“Now, we give a list of our top five Chosen who we would like to follow,” he said, leaning against the wall.
“What happens if one of us Chosen isn’t on anyone’s list?” she asked. “What if no one wants to be her cameraman?”
“I guess she would just be assigned one.” Maxwell shrugged. “That’s not been a problem yet, so I wouldn’t actually know for sure.”
“It’s not been a problem yet? But I thought—” she cut herself off. Then tried again with another type of question, “How often do you not get someone from your list?”
“If you are trying to ask if you are on my list,” he said, reading straight through her question, “then I’ll have you know, every single time I have been assigned one of you ladies, I’ve been assigned to my first choice. And the only time I haven’t been with you is when I’ve been training on our new type of camera.” He winked at her before cocking his head slightly as though telling her a secret. “We will be revealing those cameras at our next location, so be ready for that.”
“I’ve been your first choice this whole time?”
“Ever since you saved the prince way back at the first ceremony,” he said.
“But why?”
Maxwell was quiet for a moment as he thought about how to answer. When he did, it was by asking another question.
“You’ve mentioned,” he said, “that you’ve read many of your father’s history books, yes?”
Vivilyn nodded.
“Do you recall the bards of old?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “They would travel around and collect stories to turn into songs. In a way, that’s how much of our history used to be shared.”
“The bards would also follow around those that they felt would mold our history. The legendary characters throughout time in Etilidus all had their own bards. From King Michel all the way until Wizard Vic’s time. They all had bards.”
“Okay?” she said, slightly confused about what that had to do with any of her questions.
“I used to always want to be a bard. But between having no musical talent and the lack of any potential heroes to follow since magic left the kingdom, I came to the realization that I was born in the wrong time for that.
“Technology was the path to follow. It is where history is being made now.”
She remained quiet as he looked up toward the corner of the room. Then he gave her a half smile when he looked at her again.
“I learned to take stills first,” he continued. “It was a way I could solidify a moment in history for at least a little while. When I heard about the cameras and how they were being used in the princess’ Enchanted Trials, I knew I needed to learn to use one. I set off and talked my way into the classes, and I was good enough that they started training me for these Trials.”
“I’m still not sure I understand,” she admitted.
“Consider me your bard,” he said.
“But why?” She hoped he didn’t think her dense for not being able to understand.
“There’s something about you, Vivilyn,” he said. It was the first time she recalled him not adding “lady” to her name. “From the moment your still was shown on the screen at the original Choosing, I could see something about you. I could sense history in your soul. That’s something the bards used to say they could sense in those they chose to follow. All the books, all the tales say that.
“But when you were healing from the first attack? I could see something more in your eyes than just history. I could see a future brighter than anything I could have imagined, a future not haunted by darkness and fear.”
For a moment Vivilyn wanted to ask about how he could see things like that, but she didn’t. Most people usually meant it as a figure of speech. If she asked, it would potentially give away that she could see things.
“So I’m your first choice on your lists?” she asked instead.
“Definitely,” he said. “Besides, following the other women would be boring. I wouldn’t have ever wanted to be a bard if I didn’t want some adventure in my life. Following you gives me that.”
She couldn’t help but laugh.
“Now,” he concluded, “the sun will be rising soon. You need to get some sleep.”
Vivilyn nodded to him, agreeing that it was time to go to bed.
She bid him goodnight before going to her room. After taking a quick shower and washing all the remnants of makeup off her face, she put on her pajamas and slid into the thick and warm covers, careful not to wake Darissa.
As soon as she dozed off, her mind was flung into a dream-vision.
“He must touch it before you leave this place,” a voice said. “As the direct heir to the throne, he’s the only one who can positively achieve this.”
The area around her was dark. In the distance she could almost see a ring of light. Water dripped with a rhythmic drip, drop on either side of her.
“And find the Chosen with Sight. You are a vital asset within the Trials and your name will be revered in all the lands once we have completed our missions. But you have two specific tasks you must complete before leaving Crysteal Manor: Get the prince to touch the old throne and tell me who the one with Sight is. If you do that, you won’t need to continue with the Trials. Your destiny will be much greater than a silly ‘love’ story.”