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Her eyes looked surprised at my question. She gave me a big smile in return.
“A very long time ago,” she admitted. “You said the same thing back then that you just said now.” Her eyes zoned out for a moment like she was remembering our earlier exchange.
Ophelia began applying my make-up. She told me how she and her husband had come here from the Kingdom of Cerithia many years ago. Her husband had been sick for a long time and ended up passing away a few years ago. They didn’t have any kids but had many family members here to help keep the loneliness away.
Before long she was done with my make-up. I glanced up at the mirror in front of me and hardly recognized myself. Ophelia didn’t overdo the amount of makeup, but she knew how to highlight my best features. My eyes were bright and vibrant green against the dark smokiness of the lid. My lips were a dark sultry red that made them look plumper and more feminine. I couldn’t believe how soft and scar-free my pale skin looked.
“You’ll take their breath away,” she said as she met my eyes in the mirror. “You better get your dress and run along for dinner before this rain starts up.
Standing, I felt an overwhelming sense of tenderness for this woman in front of me. Her frail arms hugged me back when I wrapped my arms around her tightly.
“It’s been quite some time since I’ve had one of your wonderful hugs.” I noticed the tears gathered in her eyes as she pulled back. “Let me get the dress packed up.”
She moved around me and neatly put the dress in a bag with the heels. I gave her one last thanks as I hurried towards the castle. Dinner would be starting soon, and I still had to figure out how to get this thing on. When I locked the door to my room, I turned to the dress sitting in the bag on my bed. I approached it as if it would attack me.
When I pulled it out, I was surprised at how soft the fabric was. It must be some sort of silk. I held it against me and glanced in the mirror. Sighing heavily, I started undressing. What if this looked absolutely horrific? This was meant for a lady, and I was not anything of the sort. Standing nearly naked I stared at the dress trying to determine how I could get in it.
Ophelia had made it so perfectly to hug me that I had to struggle to get it over my ample chest. I struggled so much to slip into it that I felt like I had run up a mountain once it was on. I pulled up the dress and jumped up and down to test if it would flash my breasts to everyone if I moved wrong. I was pleasantly surprised when they stayed put and not only that, but Ophelia also had to have worked some magic because they were tastefully out on display. I turned and admired the chain accent, but I didn’t realize how much of my back was exposed.
The green silk dress had been exposing, but this took it to another level. Slipping on silver heels I stood in front of the mirror and took in the whole look. My heart pounded in my chest. Would Cassius like this? Would he tell me how pretty I looked? I moved my right leg forward exposing the slit that ran up to my hip.
I felt pretty.
I grabbed my dagger and tied it to my upper thigh, sucking in one last deep breath to summon my courage, and headed out of my room. I could tell by the eerie silence that the other contestants were likely already there. My nerves were in full force as I thought of how much of me was exposed. When I heard the soft chatter from the king’s great room, I took a moment to catch my breath. My heart slammed violently in my chest and my stomach churned in anxious excitement at Cassius’s reaction. His was the only reaction I cared about.
The room had been decorated in the same over-the-top zealous details. It still took my breath away even though I had seen it all before.
“Thea, my dear, you look marvelous.” the king called from where he stood. No one was seated, they all stood as if waiting for me to arrive. They turned to me and stared with surprise. I gave the king a small smile as I moved towards Cassius so I could sit where I had last time. Cassius hardly spared me a glance. His eyes looked at me before instantly looking away. The excitement I felt for his reaction died slowly in my chest.
It was then replaced by irritation when I saw who he had turned to talk with. The stunning woman from the gardens was glaring at me as she talked to Cassius. I didn’t know she was back in Crimson.
“Let’s be seated,” the king said, gesturing to the seats.
The woman practically shoved me out of the way when I went to sit next to Cassius.
“Cassius wants me to sit next to him.” She batted her pretty blue eyes at me. He looked at me and then at the woman before pulling out the chair for her to sit.
I glanced around the table and saw an open seat next to the man who had been in the gardens with them that day. Walking around the table I sat in the seat directly across from Cassius, but I didn’t bother looking at him.
“You look absolutely stunning.” The man next to me smiled brightly and he seemed friendly. He shared similar features as the woman, and I wondered if they were siblings.
“You look good for a savage,” the woman across the table scoffed. My eyes glanced up at her and I could see Cassius staring at me and the man.
“I see they let you out in public without gagging you first.”
The king spit his wine back into his glass as he choked, and Haden chuckled from down the table.
“You may address me as Princess Flora.” She snipped out her title like I gave a shit who she was.
“I will do no such thing. You are not my Princess.”
Her eyes glanced at the man who sat next to me like he was supposed to stop me. He just shrugged his shoulders with a soft chuckle.
“You started it, Flora.”
My eyes glanced at Cassius who beheld me with an odd expression. His eyes shifted from me to the man next to me before he pressed his lips into a thin line of disapproval. I rolled my eyes so he could see. He let her take my seat next to him, so he couldn’t be irritated by this.
The king’s advisor, Lavtan, talked to the table about future events coming up at the castle and how everyone should be so excited. In all honesty, I tuned out most of what he said until Lavtan mentioned finding Cassius a wife and hoping Flora would be top of the list. As soon as he said the words my insides coiled in jealousy. He didn’t belong with a woman like that. He wanted a woman who could fight and hold her own. Didn’t he?
