Chapter: 25: Dresses on Display

I’d been looking at the manuscript all day yesterday and today between sessions.

Evie had appointed a manners lady to teach us the basics of royal etiquette before the interviews tonight. It was hard for me to concentrate on both things at the same time.

Many of the suitors had been instructed in these basic rules of behavior since before they could command their element. I was surrounded by natural talents, and I hated it.

Yesterday’s lessons had been solely focused on the use of our voice—which words were appropriate to speak and which weren’t.

Today was about general behavior—how to walk properly and approach Arawn as the evening host.

They were two crucial skills to master before the interview and for our future in the Crown Trials.

I repeated the words from my manuscript each time I took another step, trying to multitask. My mind wasn’t trained for multitasking, so I ended up falling during all my rounds.

“Straighten your back, Miss Aldwyn!” the manners lady yelled for the fifth time as if I hadn’t heard her the first time around. “Raise your chin and look ahead instead of onto the ground.”

Then I fell again.

She sighed despondently and hid her face in her old palm.

Hatred was a strong emotion, but I was certain it accurately described how the elderly woman felt about me.

Evie made me stay behind hours longer than the others to push me through the lectures until I could repeat the expected performance to perfection.

The evening arrived way too fast. We were rushed to the train I’d arrived in, which brought us to the stadium venue where our stylists were waiting for us.

Adriel looked stressed and was impatiently tapping his fingers against the pocket of his pants as I approached him.

“You girls certainly like to make an entrance,” Adriel said, grabbing my shoulders to guide me toward an empty chair.

“I’m afraid we don’t have much time, so I’m sorry to confess that I can’t afford to be as gentle as usual.”

Adriel hadn’t been kidding about his warning.

It felt like chunks of hair were being ripped from my scalp as Adriel brushed through its tangled strands.

Lux and Amelia were examining my body for visible flaws and instantly pointed to the bruises on my knees.

“What have you been doing since this morning?” Adriel asked without putting the cursed brush down.

“We—we have been put through torture,” I explained through clenched teeth. “Evelyn wanted to be sure we could speak and behave like ladies.

“The others did great, but she forced me to stay behind because I kept failing to walk in those damned heels while maintaining a straight back.

“I have spent the past three hours walking back and forth—in heels.”

Adriel chuckled quietly. “You better get used to that. Heels are part of being royalty, and so is etiquette. I was pulled through that routine when I was young, so it comes naturally to me.”

I drilled my nails into the edge of my chair when Adriel pulled my hair into a tight ponytail.

“Sorry,” he said, stabbing the first of many pins into my hair. “I won’t have time to braid your hair today. But, Will—”

Adriel lowered his face level with mine so I could see his dark eyes in the mirror. “I’m sure you’ll be a pro lady in no time.”

I smiled, silently fighting the tears of pain to keep them from ruining the makeup.

It was nice of Adriel to say those encouraging words, but I couldn’t stop thinking how meaningless it was for me to learn these things.

I wasn’t here to become a lady. I was here to become an Iridis, yet my master hadn’t yet shown interest in meeting me.

“Done,” Adriel said, allowing me to sigh, relieved.

Then he pulled out the dress I was supposed to wear this evening.

It was pale blue like the one from yesterday. Only, it was longer and had a small train in the back.

Adriel helped me put it on and zipped the back to ensure everything stayed where it was supposed to.

I was already shivering from the cold, and my left shoulder cried out for fabric to cover it like on my right shoulder.

The off-the-shoulder dress was beautiful and hugged my few curves just right, but I could only imagine how cold I would be once I stood on top of the pillar with Arawn.

“Here,” Adriel said, placing a silver necklace around my neck to shield my naked chest from feeling so bare. “And you’re ready.”

The shoes on my feet were once again heels, but they felt slightly more manageable after my strenuous training today.

My ears weren’t pierced, so Adriel had covered them with two long strands of hair.

“It’s time, girls!” Evie shouted into our dressing room. “Remember that the prince will be watching! So exhibit only your best behavior! This will be his first impression of you.”

I groaned, displeased in silence. This woman really needed to learn the art of proper communication.

Evie had only informed us that our appearance today would feature a short interview where we had to describe our experience of the castle.

She’d never mentioned that the royal family would be here too. I wasn’t the only suitor surprised by this new piece of information.

Chatter spread like wildfire among us, and this night suddenly became more interesting than first anticipated.

Evie directed us through a door to the space inside the pillar and up a few stairs.

The room we stepped into was a large space with couches and screens in every corner. The screens were currently dark, but they would probably display a live recording of the ~Crown Show~ once it began.

“Ocean Realm! You’ll be the first realm on stage,” Evie said, looking at the papers in her hand. “Miss Kihone! You will be the first suitor on stage.”

An ash-blonde girl stepped forward.

She looked very nervous but seemed to remember our lessons from earlier. Her back was straight, and her nose tilted slightly upward.

“Ten minutes before the cameras start rolling!” a technician shouted.

Evie began rushing the Water Iridis into another room, separating them from us.

The group had been dressed in various shades of deep blue.

I couldn’t distinguish Piper from the others before they all disappeared behind the door, so I would have to wait until she appeared on the screen like everyone else.

I found a seat in the back of the room where I could find peace to repeat the lines from my manuscript.

“Are you nervous?”

I opened my eyes and saw Oakley towering above me, her hands clenched into two fierce fists.

“Very,” I admitted, patting the seat beside me. “I’ve never been interviewed before. I’ve never appeared on TV either, so I’m terrified. How about you?”

“A little,” she said, tittering as she sat down.

Her hands grabbed the fabric of her earthy dress, rubbing the texture between her fingers.

Undulating fabric twisted tightly around her torso in different directions. Her skirt was covered by tiny, black diamonds sparkling in the light.

It brought out her brown eyes, but I doubted that was what Oakley saw right now.

“You’ll do great, Oakley,” I said, grabbing her fidgeting hand. “You look beautiful, and I doubt Prince Atlas will be able to keep his eyes off of you.”

She smiled, and I felt her tense body relax.

“Thank you, Will,” she said just before the anthem of Heliac started playing.

The screens turned on, revealing the grand stadium and the cheering crowd.

“Good evening, Heliac!” Arawn shouted, spreading his arms as if he were trying to hug the entire stadium.

“Welcome to another episode of the ~Crown Show~, and welcome to the royal family who has been kind enough to join us on this exciting evening.”

The camera zoomed out, revealing a platform hovering in the middle of the air, likely caught in a magnetic field keeping it in place.

Prince Atlas was seated on his father’s right, and his two siblings on the king’s left.

His siblings had similar features to Atlas, but their hair was blond like their father’s and not brown like Atlas’s.

Their eyes also reflected a brighter blue, closer to the color of my blood than the sea.

“Prince Atlas,” Arawn said, stepping closer to the edge of the stage. “How does our future king feel about today? Excited to hear from your suitors for the first time?”

~Right.~

Aside from giving Heliac a quick preview of the Crown Trials suitors, it would also be Prince Atlas’s first direct encounter with us—allegedly.

Atlas smiled, calmly leaning closer to the microphone in front of him.

“It would be wrong of me to claim otherwise, Arawn,” he said, his voice precisely as I remembered it.

“I am looking forward to hearing directly from the suitors about their first impression of the castle and the Crown Trials so far.”

“Humble as always, Your Highness,” Arawn said, bowing in respect for his future king.

The girls in front of us giggled as Atlas looked into the camera. Even Oakley smiled like a teenage girl in love.

I snorted.

The Crown Trials were a competition designed for suitors to compete for the crown and title as protector of Heliac.

Yet, several of these girls appeared to be more interested in marrying Prince Atlas than in the throne.

“The viewers of Heliac thank you for your intriguing input, Prince Atlas,” Arawn said, turning his back to the royal family to approach the center of the platform.

“But now, directly from the royal palace, I present the first suitor vying for the golden crown…”

The same hatch Evie had ascended through during the first episode of the ~Crown Show~ opened, white smoke oozing from the void.

“Miss Kihone Everett from the Tide Academy.”

Numerous spotlights directed their light at Kihone as she gracefully ascended from the depths of the pillar’s secrets.

Arawn was by her side as soon as her entire body was visible. Her dress sparkled in the light as Arawn guided her closer to the royals, where Kihone curtsied.

“Welcome, Miss Kihone,” Arawn said, kissing the back of Kihone’s hand.

It was probably a gesture I had to get used to, although I found it rather disgusting.

A small square showing live footage of Prince Atlas from his seat appeared in the right corner of the screen.

I snorted quietly and leaned back.

Heliac would be able to follow every reaction the young prince had like that—good or bad.

Arawn started by complimenting Kihone’s outfit but quickly adjusted his questions to concern Kihone’s personal experiences with the Crown Trials based on the few days we’d spent at the castle.

The prince didn’t reveal many emotions but kept smiling and laughing when the rest of the audience did. Whether he was truly interested was difficult to determine.

Kihone acted like a professional. If the Crown Trials had been solely about tackling the media, she’d probably be one of the top contenders.

The next Water Iridis was slightly more unsure of herself and often tended to stumble over her words.

Piper was the last Water Iridis to be interviewed.

She looked absolutely stunning in her long dress, the texture and behavior of the fabric making it seem like she was floating across the floor instead of walking.

She turned around to greet Arawn, revealing a low back to the cameras.

I noticed Prince Atlas leaning forward, whispering something to his father, who nodded and smiled.

My heart fluttered lightly in my chest. Maybe Piper had a real shot at this.

“Wildcard!” someone shouted into our room. “You’re up next!”

“Good luck,” Oakley whispered, squeezing my hand before Evie came to guide me into the next room.

The room was dark, and the air thick. Only small lights from the emergency signs and a single lamp in the furthest corner ensured that I didn’t have to clumsily fumble through a pitch-black atmosphere.

“Watch your step, Miss Aldwyn,” a kind technician said, helping me onto the platform with raised edges.

“Once that timer reaches zero, this platform will raise you toward the stage,” he said, securing my dress within the platform’s boundaries.

“Keep your arms fixed along your sides and direct your gaze toward the ceiling until you reach the stage. This equipment is reliable but old, and we can’t have you losing any limbs yet.”

He winked at me as if what he said was meant to calm me.

“Stick to the script, Willow.”

Evie stepped out of the shadow like some old-world villain. “Do you remember your lines?”

Terrified, I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded.

She smiled and stepped back again. “Brilliant. Good luck up there.”

Then the platform started moving.