The Luna Choosing Game

My whole heart shattered. “No, no, that’s not true. Prince Nicholas likes you a lot.”

Elva pulled away to look up at me with large, watery eyes. “But she said Nick–lass is mad at me. She said

I was naughty.”

“We can’t listen to her, okay?”

Her cupped her face with my hands and wiped away her tears. New ones just kept falling. My anger for Lena renewed, and I half wanted to chase her down the hall to give her a piece of my mind.

No one makes my little girl cry like this!

“She’s just a mean lady who doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Nicholas likes you. He’s not mad. He waved at you, didn’t he?”

The words seemed to placate Elva somewhat. Her tears lessened, though her sniffling remained. Her brows furrowed like she was thinking it through.

“He did wave…

“Because he likes you.”

“…Okay.” Her voice was small. It didn’t seem like I had fully convinced her, but I doubted I could say anything that would.

She would have to hear it from Nicholas himself.

Maybe if I could talk to him alone, I could convince him to spend some time with Elva.

Lena would hate it, and so would the other girls. I’d have to make sure it happened at a time that didn’t conflict with any of his other obligations.

Surely he would meet with her though? If I told him she thought he didn’t like her?

Surely he hadn’t become totally heartless in the past three years?

No, I knew he hadn’t. I had seen the soft–hearted way he’d interacted with Elva before

He might hate me, but he liked her. He would be willing to do this, I was sure.

I just had to get him alone to ask.

The next morning at breakfast, Lilliana was the most popular girl in the room. Every other girl wanted to know every detail of her solo–date with Nicholas.

attention seemed to go straight to her head, and she calmly and smugly answered every question she

was asked, albeit with a haughty attitude.

I

“Prince Nicholas lifted me into the saddle like the princess I am soon to be,” she said. “The horse

tamer, however. Something

that poor horse had reason to be afraid of Lillianna when it had first met

that animals had a sixth sense

said. “I felt as if the prince was showing off

belong

of the property and the palace

qualities of the prince himself, like his beautiful golden

in how much it could

power.

of fury collected inside of me. Nicholas deserved someone

him as a person.

Hopefully he would realize

girls were sharing sharp looks toward

the room thickened as she continued to

Ball was quickly

as

harm her, but I too wanted to see her eliminated

was just pure

worthy of Nicholas.

Chapter 0046

looked in the mirror, barely recognizing myself. It was the night of the First Ball, and I was dressed in my beautiful, shimmering yellow gown it was

brown hair into a tight up do,

figure of me, though her

she couldn’t stop giggling as she spun in

looked like

into a quick hug. “You are a princess,

door, the strange maid stopped me. “Don’t forget your gloves.” She

me

1

and their length. It would have been a faux pas to show

maid as well, but she was further back in the room and not looking

to thank

at Elva, I took her hand. “Let’s go to

a toothy

in the parlor room, where we waited for the results for the dress contest. The princes‘ preferences for our dresses would soon

single dress was beautiful in its own way. They were a rainbow of colors and materials, but each more spectacular

she moved with such ease, she must have been used to it. Others were similar, carefully sidestepping their trains

seemed confident the own gown and I

arrived, at the girls hushed themselves We waited with bated breath as Nathan read the erder

First, he said. “Divis