Chapter Eight; Familiar
I woke up the next morning with a text from Andrew. He told me that he and his family were coming over for dinner, per my father’s wishes. Then we would depart in his carriage for the ball. I also had a text from Olivia that told me that Prince Ethan and HIS family were also attending dinner. To make it even worse, Liam’s date and HER family were coming. Talk about a full table.
I had a soccer game on Monday, so I made sure to set my uniform by the door to be washed. I opened my door to see a note on the floor. It just had a small phantom symbol on it. I sighed. Is my mother taunting me now?
I crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the garbage can. I didn’t have time to worry about that right now. I had woken up at ten, and was already behind on my schedule for the day. I was to meet in the seamstress room at nine, and I was already an hour behind. I ran to the room, still in my nightgown from last night. Hopefully I wouldn’t be in trouble for being an hour late.
***
When I arrived, maids were already holding up my lavender gown. Normally, I would’ve shuttered in disgust at the idea of wearing a gown, but they’ve grown on me. You can get some pretty comfortable materials, and even wear pants underneath long dresses. It has advantages.
“Princess!” One of the maids called, waving her hand over to the stand. I quickly hopped onto it, looking at myself through three large mirrors.
“What a lovely gown!” Another one of the maids gushed, slipping the dress onto me. They did a few quick changes to some of the decorations at the front of the dress, as well as tied the back of the dress up.
Olivia had told me it’s custom to wear very fancy gowns to these events, and that I was actually “underdressed” when she came into the room shortly after the dress was put on me.
“It’s lovely!” She finished, touching the fabric. I stood there silently, looking at myself through the mirror. I couldn’t shake off the feeling of impending doom that was settling over me about this event. I knew my mother would attack at any chance she could get, but did she really know where I went to school? Was she able to track me?
“Is everything alright, Princess?” One of the maids asked. I nodded, rubbing my eyes. I hadn’t slept much since Olivia went missing. I checked my phone after the fitting was finished, to see that it was already noon. I made my way to the dining room, getting stopped by Liam.
“Hey! Are you excited for the dance?” He asked. I shrugged.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. I sighed.
“I’m worried about my mother.” I said bluntly, turning the corner to the dining hall.
“I’m sure everything will be okay. Try not to worry about it. That’s why there’s guards and the Alphas there anyways.” Liam assured me. Easier said than done.
“I guess.” I said quietly, feeling inside my pocket.
“What is that?” He asked. I pulled it out to reveal my Destroyer Bracelet. Xavier wants me to turn it into Liza, but I can’t do that. I need it. It’s my only way of protecting others without revealing who I am.
“I thought you were supposed to give that to Liza.” He frowned. I shook my head.
“I can’t do that. I just can’t.” I explained. He nodded.
“Your secret is safe with me.” He said, holding the door to the dining room open for me. I was starving!
***
“How are you holding up?” Xavier asked after lunch, leaning against my door frame. I was sitting on my bed. Time was speeding by, and the dance would be happening before I knew it. I wasn’t ready. I shrugged. He came over and sat next to me on my bed.
“I promise everything is going to be okay.” He told me. I shook my head.
“How can you be sure? You can’t predict the future.” I told him.
“No, I can’t. But I know that the Alphas are going to be on patrol. I know guards from every kingdom will be on patrol. And if worst comes to worst, I know that you’re there.” I lit up.
“You’ll let me help?” I asked.
“Only if the worst comes to worst. We can’t let your secret get out. I can’t even imagine how the kingdoms would react.” Xavier shook his head.
“I can imagine it now. I’d be called a freak.” I said quietly.
“They just don’t understand, Mariah.” Xavier explained. I shrugged.
“They’re not wrong though.”
“Of course they are. You are growing to be a beautiful, mannered lady, and will make a fine queen.” Xaver told me.
“And when they find out that their queen isn’t who she said she is?” I asked.
“Then they’ll learn just like we did that not every phantom is bad.” He told me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I smiled.
“Thank you.” I said. He nodded.
“Anytime. Now you’ve got two hours until our guests are arriving, so I’ll send in the maids to start to get you ready. You’ll be wearing your gown for the event for dinner.” Xavier informed me. I nodded.
“Thanks, dad.” I said, a warm feeling in my heart as I said so.
***
“Absolutely gorgeous!” The maids gushed as they put the finishing touches of makeup on my face. As much as I rejected the makeup, it didn’t look half that bad. I saw Aura in the corner of my room, her little eye watering in happiness. It had already taken an hour and a half to get everything on and ready, and my hair wasn’t even done yet.
“Princess Olivia is all ready.” One of the maids reported, walking into the room.
“And Prince Liam?” One of the maids working on my hair asked.
“He’s been ready for a half hour.” She responded. The maids nodded, braiding the sides of my hair into a braid that met in the center back of my head. She combined it all into a ponytail to create a beautiful hairstyle that I had never seen before. One of the maids got a beautiful tiara and placed it onto my head.
“Perfect! Well done Mary!” One of the maids smiled.
“I love it.” I said quietly, and all of the maids bowed. They packed up the stand, the mirrors, and the dress stand and quickly exited my room. Olivia came into my room with a pink dress with flowers on it.
“You look gorgeous.” We both said at the same time, causing us both to laugh. She gave me a hug, giving me a bit of whiplash from the sudden kindness. Ever since she came back, she has been very kind to me. I won’t complain. It’s better than before.
“Come with me! We’ve got guests to greet and another person to grab on the way.” Olivia giggled, referring to Liam. I followed. I was nervous, but excited to spend the night with a close friend and a new friend.
***
After trying to accept compliments from the entire castle, we stood in front of the large doors to greet our guests. My father was dressed in his royal attire, with Lucy in a beautiful, yellow gown next to him. Even Liam was dressed up in a royal blue suit.
“This is going to be so exciting!” He exclaimed, tightening his tie. I was mortified. I had never gone to such an event before at my school. Xavier didn’t make me go to the balls last year. Of course, he wasn’t making me go now. This was my fault for saying yes blindly to something to make a friend happy. Maybe I’ll enjoy myself. There was a trumpet sound, along with a large applause.
“What’s that?” I asked, looking at my father.
“You know how the public and the news broadcasters often film and record because we’re royalty?” He started, but I rolled my eyes.
“They’re going to be here?” I asked. He nodded.
“Why? It’s a school dance.” I explained.
“The world always wants to keep up with its’ royalty.” Olivia explained, waving at the crowd.
“Hey!” I heard a familiar voice call. I looked and saw Andrew walking towards the castle doors. He had a grey suit with a lavender tie on. He bowed, and I followed suit as my family did the same.
“You look beautiful.” Andrew said. I snorted.
“You get this for two hours. I’ll be generous.” I laughed. He laughed as well. Liam’s date, Princess Emily, came in moments later wearing a royal blue gown.
Prince Ethan, Olivia’s date, followed after her. Their families weren’t far behind in joining us. The crowd was large in the lobby of the castle, and I was getting quickly overwhelmed. I think Andrew sensed this, and he quietly escorted me to the outskirts of the congregation. Guards quickly closed the doors to the castle, news reporters running around trying to get photos of us. Weird.
After greetings and exchanges of compliments, everyone made their way to the dining hall. They had switched the table to the long, feast table for when we had guests over. The fine china was shining in the lights of the dining hall. Andrew quickly pulled out a chair next to me. I thanked him briefly before sitting down. A little girl, probably around six years old, sat next to him. She was in a little pink dress with lots of frills on it. She had a little tiara plopped on her head. She smiled at me. She sat next to Andrew’s father, whom I remembered from my coronation. Andrew leaned over to me.
“This is Leana. She’s my little sister.” He informed me. I looked at her watching as she played with the frills on her gown. I looked back at Andrew, who looked almost nervous. I wished I could reassure him that things would be alright, but I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t even reassure myself. My mother was unpredictable, and nobody knew when she would try to get her revenge. I knew that she was aware of this dance, and I knew it was a horrible idea for me to go in the first place. However, I couldn’t say no to Andrew. He’s my best friend.
“It’s such a pleasure to watch you on the soccer team, Princess Mariah.” Andrew’s father started the conversation, causing me to break free from my thoughts. I centered myself back to the table.
“Yeah it’s a lot of fun.” I said. He nodded.
“You know, I wasn’t expecting very much when you first took the field.” He continued. I snorted. He looked up at me.
“Excuse me?” I asked, looking at him. He cleared his throat.
“I didn’t mean it in a negative way, Princess Mariah. Just that a princess wasn’t thought of to be good at athletics.” He explained. I still gave a look before Andrew spoke.
“Mariah is an amazing player, and I’m glad she decided to play anyways.” He said, smiling at me.
“Yes, Andrew speaks a lot about you.” His father noted. I looked at Andrew.
“You do?” I laughed. His face started to turn red as his father continued.
“Always. He thinks very fondly of you.” His father smirked, looking at my dad. He returned the smirk. I looked at him in confusion. Andrew glared at his father, clearing his throat. Prince Ethan, who was also on the soccer team, chuckled slightly. Olivia joined him.
“I don’t get it.” I said, looking at Xavier. He looked at me and laughed. I continued to blankly stare at him.
“He likes you.” Olivia whispered quietly, holding onto Prince Ethan’s arm as she spoke. I looked at her.
“Well I mean of course he does. Why would he be my friend if he didn’t?” I asked. Liam face planted, laughing as he did so. I looked at my dad for help, and he quietly held up his hand. Liam immediately stopped laughing.
“Mariah, I know you never really had school dances before since you were homeschooled, but you ask someone to go as a date because you like them. Not just a friend.” Olivia explained, making sure to use the cover story for the people at the table who didn’t know of my origins. It took me a second to wrap my head around what Olivia had explained, but as soon as it clicked, I looked at Andrew with wide eyes.
“You mean like when the girl falls for the boy, but instead it’s the other way around?” I asked, looking directly at Andrew. His father was laughing at my analogy, to which my father laughed with him. Andrew’s face was red, and he ran his hands through his hair. He nodded slowly.
“Yes!” Liam exclaimed, jumping out of his chair. Lucy quickly corrected him, and he apologized for his manners.
“It’s about time you said something.” Prince Ethan laughed, shaking his head.
“Wait, you all knew and never told me?” I looked at Liam and Olivia. My eyes panned over to Lucy and Xavier, who also knew.
“You’re not supposed to.” Olivia explained, taking another bite of her salad. I groaned, putting my head on the table. Lucy gently cleared her throat, and I knew she was talking to me. I picked up my head and looked at Andrew.
“I guess I can say this was my bad for not being aware?” I said, laughing slightly to get rid of the awkwardness. He was still eyeing at his dad, who was laughing at the nervousness of his son. We quickly finished dinner, and before I knew it, we were back at the main doors of the lobby. There was a long carriage waiting outside for us, with cameras lined up across the castle stairs. I groaned. Olivia was attached onto Prince Ethan’s arm, and Liam held out his arm to Princess Emily, who happily accepted it. Andrew looked at me, clearing his throat.
“I promise I’ll explain everything in the carriage.” He whispered to me, holding out his arm. I looked at him.
“Is this a custom to do?” I asked, pointing at Olivia and Liam ahead of us. They were already walking down the stairs. Cameras were flashing and people were cheering. He shrugged.
“I guess so.” He said. I smiled. I touched the small pocket that was on the side of the dress, feeling the familiar outline of the bracelet that I had secretly kept with me all this time. It’s only for emergencies. This wouldn’t be so bad, would it?
But why is this so familiar?