Thankfully, due to the lateness in setting the event up, there wasn’t much of a crowd, even though the public, as always had not been allowed onto the grounds. I watched as they filled up the space behind the barriers slowly.
I didn’t want to do this. Choosing Luca over Cynder had broken my heart into tiny pieces already. No good could come of putting myself through it again. I was quite frankly astounded that Cynder had agreed to come back. There was no reason for him to. At least I was doing it for a good cause.
Why, oh why, did Cynder say yes?
“Because he’s in love with you,” whispered a voice from behind me. I turned quickly to find Daniel standing there.
“I didn’t realize I said that out loud,” I replied, mortified. I looked back to see if any of the TV crew had picked up what I’d said. Apparently not. They were all still setting up. Thank goodness, I’d not been fitted with a microphone yet!
I stood and pulled Daniel to the side of the stage where no one would overhear us.
“I can’t do this, Daniel. I can’t choose again.”
“Because you don’t want to go through the public scrutiny, or because you don’t know if you’ll pick the same man?”
Daniel could read me like a book.
“I’m picking Luca!” I said with as much force as I could muster. “I have to pick Luca.” I looked down at the floor of the stage, scared to look into his eyes. He already knew more about me than I knew about myself. I couldn’t bear him knowing more truths.
“No one is going to force you to make any other choice. It’s up to you…” He put two fingers under my chin and slowly raised my head so that I had no choice but to look at him. I could feel tears pricking at the corner of my eyes. Xavi would kill me if I let them fall and ruin the perfect mascara. “If that’s what you really want.”
“Hey, not interrupting anything improper am I?” Luca quipped as he bounded over. “This is becoming quite a habit, me turning up and finding you two huddled together.”
“I think you know you’ve got nothing to fear,” said Daniel. “From me,” he added almost inaudibly.
If Luca picked up on it, he didn’t say so. If anything he seemed in high spirits as he bounded across the stage to shake hands with Marybelle.
I saw the flush on Marybelle’s face as he took her hand and turned on the charm. I don’t know what it was about him that could make women weak in the knees. Ok, his stunningly beautiful looks didn’t hurt. I reminded myself that it was good to feel jealous of him talking to other women. It meant I’d made the right decision in picking him. When Marybelle began to giggle, I moved towards them and took Luca’s hand. He kissed my cheek playfully, and we both sat on the sofa provided for us.
The crowd was already cheering at our presence, so I gave them a small wave. They were, after all, the reason we were all here.
Marybelle came over and gave us a brief rundown of the interview. She was going to introduce us (Like we needed any introduction – we’d been headlining the papers for the best part of a year now!) then she’d interview us as a couple. I wondered aloud if it might be better if I was interviewed alone as Cynder wasn’t here to tell his side of the story, but she assured me that we’d get more ratings her way. She looked at Luca as she said this. He gave her a wink, so I gripped his hand harder.
“Cynder will get the chance to tell his side of the story tomorrow,” said Marybelle, turning cherry red again. I bit my tongue so as not to tell her she could do with more powder on her face.
Someone called out ‘Places’ and Marybelle ran to the center of the stage. Patting her, now perfect hair she held the microphone up and fixed her smile in position. Someone ran over and quickly slipped a small microphone on Luca and another one on me. The words I’d been wanting to have with him would have to wait for another time.
I wasn’t nervous anymore. Over the past year, I’d become accustomed to standing on the stage and sharing my life with the world, but this was the first time I really didn’t want to be here. All I could think about was Cynder as Marybelle began her introductions. He would be here tonight or tomorrow morning. I was looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time.
The screams from the crowd made me jump, and, for a second, I thought maybe there had been another bomb scare or shooting, but it was just the excitement of the people as we were introduced. I plastered a fake smile on my face and waved at them. Luca stood and took a bow. The crowd went wild. They loved him.
He was enough for them. Why couldn’t they see that? But as I looked out over the hoards of screaming women (because they were mostly women with only a few men dotted around here and there) I noticed that none of them were Magi. Even though I’d abolished the rule of the Magi having to wear purple, I’d noticed that many of those that came back across the border still wore it. It surprised me at the time, but they were probably making a statement. The mark of the Magi had been one of repression, but now they were wearing it for a show of force.
Marybelle came over with her microphone and sat in the chair opposite us. Her blond curls bobbed up and down as she walked.
“So, Your Majesty. It seems that four men weren’t enough for you to choose from, and you’ve added another into the mix.”
I gritted my teeth. This girl must have taken lessons from Sadie on how to make the most of an interview.
“It’s not like that, Marybelle. I’ve already chosen the man I’m going to marry, and he’s sitting right here next to me…” Luca squeezed my hand tightly. I wasn’t playing the game. “…However, some people think it wasn’t a fair choice, so I’ve elected to open up the rounds again. I’ll date Luca and Cynder equally, and a month before the wedding I’ll pick the man who will become my husband.”
“How thrilling! Prince Luca. You must be devastated to know that the queen’s heart might belong to someone else.”
“Marybelle! I know Charmaine will pick me again. After all, if she picked me out of a hundred men, I feel confident that I can win out of the two of us.”
“What are your thoughts on Cynder. He’s a Mage.”
The crowd booed at his name making me squirm in my seat. This was not how I wanted things to go.
“I know he’s a Mage.” Luca’s voice rose above the crowd. “His magical abilities don’t worry me half as much as his ability to woo women.”
He grinned, and I sighed. This was quite possibly the most embarrassed I’d ever felt in my whole life. Luca was playing up to the crowd something dreadful, and they were lapping up every word. At least, they weren’t booing anymore.
Marybelle smiled widely back. She was lapping it up too.
It was my turn to squeeze Luca’s hand. He got the message.
“Actually, Marybelle, the fact he is a Mage is the reason we are doing this. I’m not worried that Queen Charmaine will choose anyone else. What we both are worried about is that the Magi feel underrepresented here in Silverwood. In the first round of selections last year, the Magi weren’t represented at all. This was not the fault of the queen. She had no choice in picking the hundred bachelors to attend the ball, but if she had, you can be confident that she would have made sure that there was a fair selection.”
I didn’t enlighten him that Daniel was a Mage. I hadn’t known myself when he came to the ball.
Luca continued. “I feel confident, though, that no matter who the queen would have chosen, the end result would have been the same, and it would still be me she ended up with. I know that at the end of this current contest, things will not have changed. I love the queen, and I know she loves me.”
The crowd broke out into the biggest cheer yet.
Marybelle stood and faced the camera.
“What more is there to say? Prince Luca and Queen Charmaine are inseparable. Can Cynder the Mage come between them? It seems unlikely…”
The camera panned back to us. We were both holding hands still.
“We’ll hear his side tomorrow, so tune in then. Same time, same place. Until then,
this is Marybelle Foster signing off.”
I stood up quickly and left the stage, my head full of anger and confusion. Luca quickly caught up with me.
“I thought that went pretty well, don’t you?” he said, not noticing how upset I was with the whole thing.
I didn’t answer. The crowds were behind us now, but we could still be seen. I waited until we were back in the palace before I told him what I thought.
“I don’t like this. I’m done with choosing people. Why can’t I just have a normal life? Meet someone and get to know them before they propose to me? This, what we are doing, is ridiculous. It’s demeaning for all of us.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t have the proposal of your dreams but think of the ratings. You saw the crowd. Quite a lot of people turned out even though it was so last minute. There’ll be more tomorrow.”
“They were booing the Magi! They were booing Cynder.”
“You think the Magi won’t be out in force tomorrow? It will be different then, just you wait and see.”
As usual, Luca didn’t understand what it was that was upsetting me. This was his chance to be in the spotlight, and he was going to make the most of it.
The Photo
My head buzzed as I returned to my room that night. Cynder still hadn’t arrived at the palace, and no one seemed to know where he was. That concerned me as the papers and TV stations seemed to know everything else about him.
I’d instructed the guards at the gates to come and wake me as soon as he arrived, but it didn’t stop me from lying awake for hours. By the next morning, he still hadn’t shown, and I wasn’t sure if I was glad or not. I didn’t want to go through the ridiculous charade again, and it would give me great pleasure to get up on the stage and announce that it was all over. On the other hand, I knew that if he didn’t come, I’d probably never see him ever again and I didn’t think I could bear it.
I wearily went down to breakfast the next morning with my insides warring with each other. I was exhausted and could hardly keep my eyes open, but at the same time, alert for any mention of Cynder.
Everyone was already there at the breakfast table including Jenny who had taken to eating with us, rather than helping serve us now. Not that anyone seemed to notice or mind. I sat next to her, and she heaped my plate with bacon and eggs. At least something was going well.
I desperately wanted to ask if Cynder had turned up in the night, but with Luca there, I didn’t want to come across as too eager. They would tell me if they knew.
One of the footmen walked over to me casually and whispered in my ear. Cynder was sleeping in one of the guesthouses outside. He’d turned up in the early hours and requested that I not be awakened.
Nodding my head slightly, I carried on eating as if nothing had happened. I couldn’t be seen to be rushing off midway through breakfast, but I wolfed down that bacon in double-quick time and made my excuses shortly thereafter.
Following a quick detour to the kitchen, where I had them quickly cook up some more bacon and put it in between two slices of bread, I hurried out of the palace and down to the guesthouse that had been reserved for Cynder—the one next door to Luca’s.
I knocked impatiently, knowing full well that the paparazzi could get a photo of me from this angle if they chose to climb the outer wall, which they had on a number of occasions.
When the door opened, I thrust the bacon sandwich at Cynder, and marched past him, shutting the door quickly behind me.
“This is a turnabout for the books,” he grinned, taking a bite of the sandwich.
He looked as exhausted as I felt, and he was dirty. His clothes were the same he’d been wearing the last time I saw him.
“What do you mean?” I asked, sitting on the nearest sofa. I needed to keep my distance from him, or I’d launch myself at him.
“It’s usually me who brings you bacon sandwiches.”
“I thought it was about time I repaid the favor,” I answered, waiting for him to sit down. I could already feel the electricity between us. Apparently, filthy clothes and a half-eaten bacon sandwich were not enough to quell my heart racing whenever he was near. Would anything ever be enough?
“I only got in an hour or so ago. I’m sorry I look like this. I’ll go take a shower.”
“Do you have any clean clothes at all?”
“No.” He looked ashamed as he said it, but he could hardly be blamed. He’d not been home in more than a week and hadn’t anticipated coming back here to the palace.
“I’d use my magic to change, but I’m too tired. It takes a lot of energy. I’m sorry.”
“Eat up. You are coming with me.”
His eyebrows shot up as I practically dragged him from the guesthouse. He was due to go on stage in a matter of hours, and I couldn’t let him do it in filthy clothes. In stark contrast to Luca’s finery, I’d never seen Cynder in anything more special than a palace uniform. I knew he had one in his bag. The uniform of the Castle in Thalia, but I didn’t want the public’s first glimpse of him to be anything less than Luca. He might not be a prince, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t dress like one.
“Are you going to tell me where we are going because people might begin to ask questions if they see me like this and you like that.”
I looked down. In my haste to see Cynder, I was still in my nightclothes. I’d not even noticed. At least, I was wearing a robe over the top, but he was right. This would not look good on the front cover of the papers. I led him straight to the huge dressing room in the hopes that Xavi would already be there.
She was poring over a wedding magazine as we entered. As she took in the sight of us, she frowned.
“I’m going to have to get the whole team in, aren’t I?” she asked in a resigned voice, wrinkling her nose at Cynder’s messy attire to really put the point across.
“I want Cynder to get the full works. He needs to look like a prince for the interview this afternoon.”
Xavi arched an eyebrow as she made her way over to us. Taking a lock of Cynder’s hair in between her fingers, she grimaced.
“At least, you are a good-looking chap. All hope is not lost.”
“Thanks, I guess,” replied Cynder, casting his eyes over to me. I shrugged. I should have warned him about Xavi. Between her and her team, she could make a prince or princess out of anyone. After all, she’d performed miracles on me, but she did it without grace. When she thought you looked a mess, she’d certainly make it known.
“And do you want us to dress you up today?” she enquired as though, dressing me would make her day infinitely harder.
“Just give me the same look the same as yesterday, please.” Let them work on Cynder. The public had seen enough of me already. I’d been dominating the front pages for the best part of a year, but this was the first time they were going to see Cynder, and I wanted them to take him seriously.
I wanted them to love him, I thought to myself. I didn’t need to add the ‘as much as I do.’
Xavi ushered him into the marble room for a thorough wash. Heaven knew he needed it.
Xavi clapped her hands, and like magic, her whole team came running into the room and lined up as they always did. I often wondered if Xavi was actually a Mage, the way she got her staff to just appear like that, but perhaps they were all waiting outside the door for her command.
I was given three of the twenty staff, while the rest worked on Cynder.
A plain, but smart, blue dress was handed to me. I used the third room at the end to get dressed in. Usually, I had no embarrassment in getting changed in the main dressing room in front of all the staff, but as Cynder could come back into the main room at any moment, I didn’t think it would be the best idea. My helpers lowered the dress over my head and let me twirl in front of the ornate gold-framed mirror. I looked very plain. Perfect. Cynder couldn’t shine if they decorated me in diamonds to stand beside him.
“What clothes do we have for men?” I asked, glancing down the rows and rows of fancy dresse
s, all hanging, waiting for the right occasion to be worn. On a shelving unit at the end, hundreds of pairs of shoes filled the walls, and next to that, was the jewelry. The most expensive jewelry was kept in the vault down in the basement, but there was plenty here to choose from. Rows and rows of tiaras featuring every color of jewel imaginable twinkled in the dim light as did the countless necklaces, bracelets, and pairs of earrings. I hated to think just how much money they all cost when there were people still struggling to feed their children outside the palace walls.
My eyes skipped over all the pretty dresses, to see if there were any mens’ clothes. I couldn’t see any at all.
“Your father kept his clothes in a wardrobe in his room, Your Majesty,” replied one of the dressing staff.
“What about clothes that didn’t belong to my father?” I asked. My father’s clothes wouldn’t have fit the slim body of Cynder in a million years. While my father had enjoyed substantial meals throughout his life and had a portly stomach to reflect this, Cynder had to forage where he could. As a result, he was skinnier than he should have been. If there was one thing that made me happy about Cynder being here in the palace, it was that he was going to be fed well.
The young dressing maid shrugged her shoulders.
After having the full Xavi treatment, I couldn’t let Cynder wear his filthy clothes for the interview. I thought of all the men in the castle who were a similar size to him. There were two I could choose from.
I thanked the dressers and ran out of the room, forgetting to choose a pair of shoes. As it was, my plain blue dress was currently matched with a pair of old, fluffy, pink slippers.
I found Luca still at breakfast, chatting with my mother. He was discussing the upcoming interview whereas she was talking about the wedding. Neither was actually listening to the other. The day’s newspapers were spread out on the table, but I ignored them. Whatever they had to say could wait. Dressing Cynder could not.
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