Chapter 3
1239 Words
-Valindra-
It was ugly and long. What my father had once seen as beautiful was now marred. The three long lines ran down the side of my face and neck, and I studied their appearance in the mirror. They had completely altered the way people perceived me.
Instead of looks of admiration, jealousy, or desire, I was now met with gazes of disdain. Yet, that was fine with me. At least now, I was finally left alone, and I didn’t mind it.
“Val?”
My younger sister poked her head into my bedroom. Following the incident, I had grown closer to my sisters. I was no longer seen as competition, and they no longer felt I stood in their way. Hella and I were only a year apart in age, but somehow, she had always been closer to Akina.
“Yeah?”
“I can’t decide what to wear,” she said, almost appearing a little embarrassed.
I chuckled and motioned for her to come inside. She smiled gratefully and walked in, holding two dresses. My sister had long, dark hair instead of blonde. She and Akina shared the same hair color, but one had green eyes, and the other had a very dark blue hue.
“What do you think?” she inquired, presenting a dark green dress adorned with golden leaves and another dark red one with silver lines running from the waist down.
“Uh, tough choice,” I said, walking over to her to inspect the options before choosing the red one. “This.”
“Really? I didn’t think you would like a dress that shows so much skin.”
“Skin?” I asked, puzzled.
The dress appeared to cover her from head to toe, but now that I was holding it up and the candlelight hit it, I could practically see through it.
“Hella!” I exclaimed, dropping my arms and looking at her, noticing her struggle to suppress a laugh.
“What?” she asked innocently.
“You can’t wear this!”
“Why not? Father has clearly told us to use every trick we know to make the king want to marry us,” she said, lifting her chin slightly.
I shook my head as we heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I insisted.
Akina entered, smiling as she saw us with the dresses. She closed the door behind her and walked over to us. She was the tallest of us, followed by me, then Hella. She was slim, but curvy in all the right places. Hella was more voluptuous, and I was just slender. We formed a spectrum of shapes.
“What are we doing?” Akina inquired.
“Choosing dresses, but I think we’ve already made our decision, considering she’s not opting for the red one,” I remarked, tossing it back onto the bed.
“Why not?” Akina inquired, picking it up and examining it closely.
“You can practically see everything!” I exclaimed.
“No, not everything,” Hella countered. “Just the most important parts are covered.”
“How delightful,” I replied sarcastically.
“You sound like Mom now!” Hella laughed, gently nudging me, causing me to inhale sharply and place a hand on my heart.
“How dare you?” I exclaimed.
That only elicited laughter from both of us, while Akina remained focused on studying the dress. She was the fashion expert among us, always looking impeccable, and she had even designed some of her own dresses. With a keen eye for such matters, she was deeply engrossed in her task, which brought a smile to my face as I watched her. Hella seemed eager to hear her opinion.
“This one is good,” Akina pronounced.
“What?” I interjected.
Hella appeared thrilled and snatched the dress, clearly making it her top choice as well.
“No!” I protested. “You’ll be showcasing... well, everything at that party!”
Hella simply chuckled, waving her hand as if it were inconsequential.
“Trust me, the red will attract attention, while the green will barely merit a glance,” Akina explained.
“That’s because you’ll be showing off your bare skin!”
“I’m wearing a dress. I’m not naked,” Hella retorted.
“I can’t call that a dress,” I insisted, pointing at the red garment in her hands.
Hella shook her head and rolled her eyes, while Akina mirrored the gesture, crossing her arms.
“This isn’t just any party,” Akina remarked. “This will be the first real one that King Rathilion is having, AND he will be choosing his queen AT that party. Rumors say so themselves!”
“You shouldn’t pay attention to rumors,” I replied.
“Father believes they are true,” Akina mentioned.
I sighed, shaking my head this time. Why did I fight this? My sisters wanted to be married. I was the one who didn’t, and if they caught the king’s eye, then I was happy for them.
“I know,” I acknowledged, looking away.
“You’re going, right?” Hella inquired, her eyes briefly flicking to my scar before meeting mine.
I gave her a small smile.
“I have to. I cannot be rude and stay away, but I don’t have anything to worry about. The king won’t look my way now."
“You are the only one thinking like that,” Akina remarked, lightly shaking her head. “Every other unmarried woman at that party will want to do anything they can to get his attention. Maybe even the married ones as well.”
“I know being queen is probably very tempting to everyone else. Not me.”
“It is not just being queen,” Hella added. “The king is very handsome.”
“Have you ever met him?” I questioned.
She shook her head. “No, but the rumors say so.”
“You two listen to too many rumors,” I told them, giving each of them a hard look. “And even if someone looks good, it doesn’t show who they are as a person. Don’t you want someone who is good and kind to you?”
The two of them looked almost as if I were speaking a different language, but why was that so surprising? Father and mother had these ideas of marriage drilled into them, but I was not about to be bound by any sort of marriage.
“Of course not,” I mumbled.
“There you are, girls. Hurry, we are leaving soon.”
Our mother poked her head inside the room, seeing us just standing there, probably thinking we were wasting time, before she closed the door again.
“We better hurry,” Hella said.
Akina nodded and walked to the door, waiting for Hella, who was picking up both dresses, before turning to me.
“Do you need any help choosing a dress?”
I shook my head and gave her a small smile.
“No, I have already chosen. You go ahead. I will meet you in the carriage.”
Hella smiled back at me before following Akina out, and when the door closed behind them, I let out a deep breath.
I just had to survive this one night. Just this one night, and I would be left alone.
- Writer
