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

had reason to be afraid

animals had a sixth sense about people

said. “I felt as if the prince

soon belong

she talked of the property and the palace and what she would

of the prince himself, like his beautiful

of Nicholas’s qualities in

power.

fury collected inside of me. Nicholas deserved someone who

him as a person.

he would realize that sooner

other girls were sharing sharp looks toward each other,

the room thickened as she continued

Ball

it seemed as

her, but I too wanted to see her

was

wasn’t worthy of Nicholas.

Chapter 0046

Ball, and I was dressed in my beautiful, shimmering yellow gown it was sleeveless, with

my maids had tied my brown hair into a tight up

though her dress came up to her neck. It

she couldn’t stop giggling as she spun in

looked like the physical

her into a quick hug. “You are

strange maid stopped

me

1

were traditions about gloves and their length. It would have been a faux pas to show up

to thank the quiet maid as well, but she was further back

to thank her later

at Elva, I took her hand. “Let’s go

toothy grin.

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

They were a rainbow of colors

was so putty, I wondered how 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

seemed confident the own gown and I genely wasn’t sure who would

the girls hushed themselves We waited with bated breath

First, he said. “Divis