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

however. Something

to be afraid

that animals had

along the edge of the property,” Lilliana said. “I

soon belong

I noticed she talked of the property and

mention qualities of the prince himself, like his beautiful

of Nicholas’s qualities in how much

The power. The house

of me. Nicholas deserved someone who would notice

him as a person.

Hopefully he would realize that sooner rather

me, the other girls were sharing sharp looks toward each other, and open glares

room thickened as she continued

First Ball was

girls, it seemed as

but I too wanted

was

wasn’t worthy of Nicholas.

Chapter 0046

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

brown hair into a tight up do, with a few loose tendrils

was a near mirror figure of me, though

giggling

she looked like the physical

a quick hug. “You

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

me

1

I was relieved I knew there were traditions about gloves and their

she was further back in the

to thank

took her hand.

toothy

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

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

intended to dance. Though she moved with such ease, she must have been used

gown and I genely wasn’t sure

at the girls hushed themselves We waited with bated breath as

First, he said. “Divis