Chapter 63

Nicholas and I sat in a pair of chairs in front of a camera. Behind the camera, a producer stood ready to ask us questions. But first, we needed to finish our statement.

“Piper and I ended our relationship three years ago, when Piper dropped out from the academy. It was entirely coincidental that she was selected and brought here to participate in the Luna Choosing Game,” Nicholas said.

He glanced at me. It was my turn to pick up the pre-written speech.

“We have been careful not to allow our past to interfere with the selection whatsoever. In fact, most of our time here at the palace has been spent apart.”

I had originally mentioned about how I had gone on two dates with Julian, but Nicholas had made me cut it.

“But it would help sell our case,” I’d said. “If the world thinks I’m more into Julian…”

“Being into Julian would not earn anyone any favors,” he’d replied, stern, and had refused to speak more about it. “I won’t be swayed.”

He was always so touchy about Julian that I decided to let it drop. Hopefully the public could make that connection on their own, without needing to be reminded.

“We appreciate your continued support both for the competition and for Piper herself as a candidate,” Nicholas said now. “And hope that you will continue to look favorably upon the royal family, who strives only to bring peace and prosperity to our great kingdom.”

Nicholas nodded to the producer, who then began to ask us questions. They were mostly fluff. Things like, how we met again, and if there were any lingering feelings.

“No,” Nicholas said flatly. I knew he was lying. At the very least, we had agreed to be friends. But it still hurt to hear him answer so quickly and flatly.

“And you, Piper?” the producer asked.

Grabbing my hurt, I used it to help find my own quick answer of untruth. “No. I felt nothing. Our relationship ended a long time ago. We are both different people now.”

I felt the heavy weight of Nicholas’s gaze on me. I ignored it as best I could.

Eventually, the interview ended and the broadcast was done. The producer thanked us both for our time, and for our willingness to share such vital information with the public.

Still, I felt nervous the entire walk back to my room. However, once I was there, Charlotte greeted me with an odd sense of excitement. I knew she often watched the public’s reaction on television, but I didn’t dare hope her reaction was based solely on that.

“Is it true?” she asked.

I nodded. “It is.”

“I knew it! I knew you both had something.”

“It was a long time ago, Charlotte.”

“Okay, okay.” She calmed herself, though her smile remained. “Whatever you say.” She took a step toward me. “The public wonders…”

My stomach dropped. “Wonders what?”

“If you two are still a fling.”

I shook my head at once. “What about Julian…?”

“Oh, they like you and Julian too. I know you were nervous about this conference, you really had nothing to worry about. The public adores you. And now that they know, this regular girl dated not just one, but two princes? They are even more in your corner.”

My stomach slowly returned to my body. “They are…?”

“You are out here living the everyday woman’s dream, Piper. For a lot of viewers, the competition has become less about which girl the princes will choose, and more about which prince you will choose.”

“That’s outrageous,” I said. “I don’t have any kind of power like that. I’ll never make it to the finals.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Charlotte said, but didn’t press, especially after I threw my hands up and walked away.

Charlotte had to be mistaken. There was no way that many people were rooting for me. I knew they were on my side, but… like this? I couldn’t dare to hope. It would hurt too much to learn it wasn’t true.

Later, I had to attend another meeting with Linda, this time to coordinate our outfit choices with the tailor.

Linda was so furious, she was practically on fire. Her entire face was a bright red. Her lips were twisted into a snarl. Her brow was lowered.

Nicholas and I had taken away all of her power with our press conference today, and she knew it.

The tailor politely cleared his throat. “Would you like some cold water, miss?”

Linda sharp gaze shifted onto him and he winced.

“It’s just that… well… your color is all wrong. It will be hard to match fabrics when you are not at your usual tones.”

“Well, make it work anyway!” Linda snapped.

Inside, I felt victorious. I had silenced Linda, stopped her blackmail, and so far, the King has left me alone.

Yet my good feelings shriveled, when I looked around the room at the other pairs of girls, most of whom were casting me sour looks.

“First, Prince Julian. Now, Prince Nicholas?” someone whispered. I looked in the direction of the voice, but I couldn’t tell who had said it.

“Slut,” I heard someone else say.

“Whore.”

“Next to go.”

So many whispers, one after the next. But I could never catch anyone actually saying them.

“I will take a drink of water, if you must,” Linda grumbled, recovering her composure.

“Very good, miss.” The tailor scurried away from us toward the door.

“You think you’ve won something,” Linda said to me, once he had gone. “But I can tell you, all you have done is speed up your own demise. I was willing to work with you. Do you honestly believe that they…” She motioned around the room to where the other girls were watching. “…will respect you now?”

They’d only just barely tolerated me before. I could see their looks of hatred now. Their plotting. Their scheming.

Maybe having more wolfy protection wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. Mark had promised we’d have an answer from them today. I truly hoped they agreed. I could already feel the knives at my back.

The tailor returned with water, which Linda drank down. Eventually, her complexion returned to normal and we could continue. The tailor made many suggestions, and I scribbled them down on the same pad of paper I had used to take note of Linda’s favorite appetizers for our table.

He gave me the specific names to write down, not just the basic shades. The names were complicated things, with a long sequence of numbers at the end.

“If you are to match exactly, you will need to order the fabric by name, not mere color,” the tailor said. “A shade, even a half step apart will be instantly noticeable in the sunlight.”

By the end of our hour-long consultation, I was tired from trying on fabrics and listening to Linda’s complaints. I was eager to go back to my room and rest.

So I wasn’t paying the best attention to the foot that had suddenly come into my path. Nor the tray of waters that the tailor had left sitting on a chair.

I tripped, falling into the chair, and spilling the water – and myself – all over the floor. My notes sunk into the worst of the mess.

The ink smeared into unreadable splotches.

I scrambled toward it, slipping on the tile, but by the time I reached it, the entire thing was soaked through and ruined.

All of the fabric and color names I had written down were lost.

The girl who had tripped me smirked down at where I knelt in the water and glass and misery.

“Oops.”