Chapter 39

[Eveyln’s POV]

By the second day into my etiquette sessions with Wendy, I was already looking to give up.

And I never considered myself to be a quitter.

If there was something that I wasn’t naturally good at, I would give it numerous attempts and keep a steady practice until I gained a decent enough control over the skill.

However...what I was attempting to do felt so much more than merely learning a new skill. I felt as though I was forcing myself to become a whole other person.

Although I considered myself to be somewhat of a quick learner, there was a huge difference when it came from simply reading about a Luna’s proper etiquette and then actually doing it.

Wendy spent hours instructing me on the proper way one was meant to walk, sit, and remain composed during a conversation. My walking was wobbly, I kept forgetting to cross my ankles when I sat down each time, and I had a tendency to let my shoulders slouch after a while.

I was stiff and terribly uncomfortable. No matter how many tricks and pointers Wendy gave me, it never seemed to be enough to ease the problems.

Are women who learn this type of etiquette supposed to feel like they have a constant stick up their ass?

“It just doesn’t feel natural,” I told Wendy.

The woman had the patience of a literal saint. Whenever she would try and teach me something new, she was met with more questions.

I’ve lost count of the number of times she had stopped whatever lesson we were on to correct me on something I was doing wrong. Each time I failed, I felt myself sinking lower and lower into that dark recess of my mind.

Honestly, how hard was it to sit down in a damn chair?!

Well, apparently, it was impossible.

It had only been a few days and I was exhausted. My confidence and assurance wasn’t getting any stronger. In fact, it had the completely opposite effect. I was growing more and more frustrated and coming to the realization that I may be just a lost cause.

All I kept hearing was Fiona and Samantha’s cruel laughter that echoed off the walls of the event hall when I especially failed at curtsying in front of the Queen and Princess. But Wendy was there to assure me that this sort of wasn’t meant to come naturally.

“My dear, etiquette is an art. Many Lunas and Alphas are taught these things when they are very little because it takes years to accomplish,” she explained. “I do not expect you to succeed in these things off-hand on your first try.”

“I just feel like I’m not getting anywhere near the word ‘better’ and that I’ve just been wasting your time,” I said weakly.

“Nonsense. In fact, you should feel proud of your dedication for wanting to go through with this in the first place,” she claimed. “There are many Luna’s your age that could benefit from brushing up on a few extra lessons in etiquette.”

I tried to refrain from smiling, even though I had a pretty good idea whom she was referring to.

One corner of Wendy’s mouth started to pull upward into a knowing smirk. “Whether you know it or not, you already seem to possess one of the most critical skills one can possibly ever learn in this field.”

I couldn’t stop my brows from lifting into my hair. What could she possibly have been talking about? For God’s sake, I couldn’t even master walking correctly!

“And that would be?”

“You have the ability to keep your resolve when faced under harsh pressures and scrutiny,” she stated.

“I...What?”

“During that Luna gathering, while Fiona was trying to make a public spectacle out of herself at your expense, you managed to keep your calm. You didn’t once try to match her obnoxious energy. You didn’t even, so much as raise your voice back to her.”

Once more, I let out a long breath, letting my shoulder concave inward on myself.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly stop her from talking in general,” I muttered. “I should have done something to keep her from saying those terrible things about Alexander and me.”

Wendy shook her head in disagreement. “Trust me, it wouldn’t have mattered what you could have said at the moment. In Fiona’s case, it was actually better that you hadn’t spoken much. She’s someone who can twist another person’s words around and use them against them.”

I slowly shook my head in total bafflement. “I’m sorry. I just find it so hard to believe that someone who heals others for a living, would go out of their own way to purposely make others feel horrible. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Wendy waved her hand in the air as she spoke. “I’ve always seen Fiona as a bit of a walking contradiction. I think it may be perhaps that she’s always dealt with certain insecurities like everyone else. What I want you to take away from that moment is not how she acted but how you acted.”

I slowly nodded my head. “Okay.”

“You did your best to keep your head held high and you stood your ground,” she said. “You really want to know what most people recall from that moment?”

“What?” I dared to ask.

“All they can recall is how loud, obnoxious, and annoying Fiona was. Too much of the conversation was being spoken out of context so it wasn’t entirely clear what the whole conversation was about.”

Whether this was true or not, I felt a whole lot better after hearing it.

“Now, it’s been a long day,” Wendy assessed. “Why don’t you head to the dining room and tell Nina to have the staff serve an early dinner?”

...

After making a quick change of my clothes, I made it to the dining room where I sat down in front of a full, elegant dinner place setting. One of my first etiquette lessons involved being able to decipher which utensil was used during which course.

I hadn’t done very well during that lesson either.

There was so much information flying through my head that I couldn’t seem to focus on what was in front of me. But I wanted to prove that Wendy’s work on me wasn’t going to be wasted.

When the staff brought out the first course, I glanced down at my many pieces of silverware. My heartfelt lodged in my throat while my stomach churned in knots.

Right as I was about to reach for a certain utensil, a large hand reached out to stop me. I let out a sharp, fearful gasp only to find that Alexander was now at my side.

“You’re choosing the wrong one,” he said softly.

I waited for my heart rate to drop back down to its normal rhythm.

“What are you doing here?”

“I heard you were taking etiquette lessons from Wendy and I was curious as to how they were going,” he answered calmly.

I stifled back a snort. “As you can see they’re not going well.”

A light smile touched his lips.

“When you’re sitting at a dining table and there’s more than the normal standard amount of forks and knives, generally the utensils that are fanned out the furthest are the ones that correlate to the courses being served,” he explained.

“Meaning, the furthest fork outward is the one I’m supposed to use for the first course?”

“Correct,” he confirmed. “From there, you’re going to work your way inward with your silverware as the mean progresses.”

My God, it was like I just had a revelation. “I see.”

“Let me help you with your next few lessons,” he requested.

My eyes widened in disbelief.