The Luna Choosing Game

I forced myself to my feet. The tailor, after making sure I was upright and unharmed, immediately rushed from the room to retrieve a towel and a servant to clean the mess.

My soggy notes were beginning to fall apart in my hands, to wet to even maintain their paper shape.

“Linda,” I said, going to her.

She scrunched her nose as I came close, as if the very sight of me disgusted her. I was disheveled now, true, with my gown damp in some places and my hair a mess. But even so…

“Can I have those names again?” I asked. I knew she had written them down same as me.

She quickly hid her notepad from my sight. “If you lost those names, then this is on you, Piper. You need

to learn to take responsibility.” She narrowed her eyes. “We wouldn’t want anyone to think you had unfair

advantage.”

“It’s not like that,” I said.

She continued on, like I hadn’t said anything. “At least half of our table will look good, and the royal

tell who

against the spirit of the event,” I said. “We’re supposed to work together. Adversaries

like the Luna is supposed

You are a hindrance, not an

The other girls all shunned me, except for Susie, who gave

sympathetic wave.

fabrics left strewn at the place where we had been, but we’d tried on so many things,

exactly what we had decided upon. I tried

very least, I could guess about Linda’s preferences, after having heard them drilled

knowledge, maybe I could at least make a compatible

were maybe correct, I rushed down to the

there, pouring over the pages, when one

in audience with the king.”

wasn’t the servant’s fault that I was maybe about

I doubted I

face my inevitable end. I only hoped Nicholas could hear of it and intervene before I was hanged for treason, or some

the kitchen and around the winding hallways until we entered the King’s