The Luna Choosing Game

By the next morning, the drug had worked its way through my system and I felt like my old self again. I

went down to breakfast, where I was reunited with Elva, who had stayed with Susie the night before by

order of Nicholas.

I was grateful for his foresight. Mortified as I was by my actions and sounds, I was at least spared the

embarrassment of explaining any of this to Mark or the nanny myself. Or worse still, to Elva..

A thought so stomach–churning, I dared not even think of it.

So when I did finally greet her, it was with a tight hug and big smile, the same as always.

Susie and I didn’t always sit together, but we chose to that morning. There were still many empty chairs with the previous elimination, and I was feeling vulnerable from what had happened the night before. I needed my friends.

Around us the girls were chattering about the curiousness of the evening’s events. Terry was to be one of the main judges of the night, but he never came to ballroom.

Also as curious, both Nicholas and Julian disappeared sometime in the night, only to reappear this morning, one with a black eye and the other with an injured hand.

“You don’t suppose the princes got into a fight with each other?” one of the girls asked.

“No,” Lilliana said flatly. “He is too mature to take part in such childish antics.”

“Julian does love to tease,” said someone else.

“Not enough to tempt a prince away from his decorum,” Olivia added. “Prince Nicholas been around Prince Julian for years. He’s surely built up a tolerance.”

“Well, then what happened with Sir Terry?“”

“Maybe he started the fight,” someone said, and another laughed. A third shushed them.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap, but

heard

her concern. I felt hungover some, with a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise okay Except for my continued embarrassment

rising in my throat, and left my half of the breakfast uneaten on the plate

to pick at.

asked. It took great strength to

left at some point

a sense of relief and for the first time that day, I

least, I was

linger in my mind, even as we broke from eating to

for the day. I couldn’t help but feel Terry’s

breath.

Who was she?

now, somehow, because I would never be able to find the answers. Not since Nicholas had forbad Julian and me

kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could not see the

being manipulated into giving

by Terry, or by Nicholas. I had my own heart

Nicholas condemned, I wouldn’t let him stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to do the right

the care of her nanny and Mark, I set off on my own to find

most of the palace before I thought to check the empty ballroom. I found him

wasn’t like him to be so isolated or

of my heels on the tile

asked him. I had questions and demands, but he seemed almost… lost

faded. In its place was the same sort of

don’t mind company if

took a seat on

He had bome witness

the decency both to tell me it

Nicholas moved away.

have taken advantage. He wouldn’t have. But Julian’s being

circumstances of my desire much

I was still

wanted him to kiss me on the balcony. In time, I might have wanted to have him