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

me could have been tamer, however. Something I will rectify

reason to be

had been said that animals had a sixth sense

property,” Lilliana said. “I felt as if the prince was showing off

belong

she spoke, I noticed she talked of the property and the palace and what she would fix as Luna.

the prince himself, like his beautiful golden eyes or

qualities in how much it could bring

power. The house and

bit of fury collected inside of me.

him as a person.

him. Hopefully he would

looks toward each other, and open glares at Lilliana.

thickened as

Ball

the girls, it seemed as if Lilliana was enemy number

too wanted to see her eliminated from the

wasn’t jealous. It was just pure

worthy of Nicholas.

Chapter 0046

in the mirror, barely recognizing myself. It was the night of the First Ball, and I was dressed in my

a tight up do, with a

mirror figure of me, though her dress came up to her neck. It

stop giggling

she looked like the

quick hug. “You

the door, the strange maid stopped

me

1

were traditions about gloves and their

she was further back in the

thank her

took her hand.

toothy

for the results for the dress contest. The princes‘ preferences for our dresses

dress was beautiful in its own way. They were a rainbow

she intended to dance. Though she moved with such ease, she must have been used to it. Others were similar, carefully sidestepping their trains or lifting their long detoad

the own gown and I genely wasn’t

waited with bated

First, he said. “Divis