The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 43

At first glance, she appeared friendly enough, smiling peacefully. She curtsied to me and introduced herself.

Tm looking forward to serving you,” she said.

But I found it strange. Surely she had passed my other maid being taken away down the hall. What kind of person would be smiling so calmly after having witnessed such a thing?

icholas.

I

I

Today was the day for Nicholas’s solo date, and I was trying my very best not to think about it.

Ever since receiving Joseph’s threatening letter, I’d been hiding out in my room as much as I could to

avoid him and the mean–looking guards.

With the First Ball fast approaching, I used the extra time in my room to help my maids work on me and

Elva’s gowns.

The dress had to be perfect. The order of introductions for the girls at the ball was to be determined by

the princes‘ preferences of the dresses.

Once the gowns were finished, pictures were to be taken of them and given to the princes, who would

then select their favorites. Those favorites would be the first ones introduced at the ball, and therefore

given the most time with the princes.

And with the cameras.

A major component of the Luna Choosing Game, was earning the public’s favor. I had a small advantage

with the common people, being one myself. But people like Lena and Joseph existed in every class.

little reason to believe that even with my

mean

and I had split the design for my dress into

ready to combine the three

finished Elva’s matching

doing the final work, as she had the

Elva’s dress was not to be included in the shot, since that would ruin the

herself was looking at something outside the window,

I

I kept thinking about Nicholas’s solo date, but it shouldn’t be enough to

I were over long

I paced the length of the room, nervousness and trepidation waging war within

to me. “Mommy,

I joined her at the

toward the stables. “It’s

entrance of the stables as horses

hands.

stallion that greedily accepted a

was a brown and white

trying to sidestep whenever Lilliana came

to approach Lilliana. He offered

horse. Lilliana shook her head, refusing to

distance, I couldn’t hear the exact words spoken beyond some mumbled voices, but with the way Lilliana held up her pure white gloves, I assumed she refused to treat the

ing dirty.

getting dirty.

how she

I

himself. In his presence, the

approached then, and with Nicholas’s help, lifted herself up into the

her waist, keeping her

the times we had gone horseback riding together. He had helped

same way.

let myself remember, I could still feel

he’d said then. “Tell me

“What

I

sparkling brightly under the sun. “Then we should give up on horseback riding for today and return

properly

if he was saying much the same

Nicholas moved his hands away from her waist quickly and without

these two did not seem to like

had chosen her, out of all the candidates,

then and mounted his stallion. He waited for Lilliana to bring her mare alongside his horse, and then together they started to ride forwards at a slow pace – which brought them closer to

at the window.

realized, “He’s coming over

was going

She waved both arms.

both immediately looked up. Lilliana glowered, but Nicholas’s stern expression

lifted a hand