Rebirth Of The Fallen Princess

Chapter 10

In the Kingdom of Etherea, there were four important days in a young noble girl's life. Three of them were prevalent even across borders in the empires of Démencia and Poblacht. The day of engagement, the wedding, and, of course, the birth of an heir. The fourth most important day was specialized to Etherea. And it was what made everything else possible: a girl's debut into noble society.

It was custom for a young girl's debut to initially take place when she was six years old. Traditionally, it would be at a tea party thrown by their mother. As such, the only attendees at these parties would be other noblewomen and their children. For nine years, this would continue until their debut into the nobility. I was an anomaly to this tradition. For reasons I couldn't begin to understand, my parents had forgone my debut as a child. While my mother only attended events that she was expected to be at - this one included - I never believed she would be one to ignore tradition like this.

"You must be so excited, Lady Rhosyn!" Farren chirped, her eyes sparkling. "It's not ev'ry day that the king throws a ball, and all for your birthday!"

I sat in front of the mirror while Camille dutifully worked on prepping my skin for the evening. A concoction of different lotions and tonics were splayed across the vanity before me. She had worked tirelessly to erase the calluses from my hands, to cover up my exhaustion from restless nights. Ever since we'd arrived in the capital hours ago, I'd been enduring these tedious tasks.

Time had passed far too fast. Already, my fifteenth birthday had arrived and with it, my debut. With all the trips I made between the capital and Raven's Wood, I hardly felt like I had any time to work through a plan to free myself from my engagement. In fact, I had no plan at all. Any hopes I had for changing the future rode on the fact that I had postponed our initial meeting. Yet, when Mother informed me that Prince Cade would be escorting me to the ball, I knew nothing changed.

Farren prattled on, a broad smile permanently on her face. "Miss Whina told me that debuting in Etherea is the most spectacular in all of Aeshivar. She said, 'even Hōroi seems primitive in comparison'. Do you know what Hōroi is, Lady Rhosyn?"

"It is a celebration in Ahiahi," Camille cut in. "If you follow the teachings of Atua, every year you make the pilgrimage to the capital city to give thanks for another year of life. Even the people that have since moved from Ahiahi make the journey. They celebrate it with a massive festival where everyone can participate, no matter their social class. Miss Whina has made it every year without fail since His Grace employed her. Were you unaware of where she is from?"

The sparkle faded from Farren’s eyes as she lowered her gaze to the ground. Of everyone, she was the only person who looked forward to this trip back to the capital. After Kai told her she would be in charge of guarding my room, she bounced about for days. Truth be told, her energy didn't quite match with the rest of us. Despite her previous situation, her optimism hadn't faded. Now, it blinded everyone in sight.

"Camille," I chastised quietly, "leave her be. She has only been at the estate for a few weeks. It cannot be helped if she does not know every fact about everyone."

The Démenci girl let out a near silent acknowledgement before raising her voice to address Farren once more, "That being said, many of the staff at the manor are from all over the continent. His Grace's reputation precedes him. I, myself, am from Démencia."

Farren bounced back immediately, peppering Camille with questions about the rest of the staff. I hummed in amusement. While it seemed to shave years off of Camille's life, having Farren around helped to calm my building nerves. Especially after we left Raven's Wood.

A knock interrupted Farren's chatter. My maid's shoulders slumped slightly in relief. The constant questions had drained her, and the interruption was welcomed. Though, I quite enjoyed it. Camille talked far more whenever Farren was around. It was good for her to speak to other girls around her age. Regardless of what she personally thought.

"Squire Farren, see who is at the door. With any luck, it is the delivery boy from Countess Keene's boutique. My lady's dress was supposed to be here an hour ago," Camille grumbled, rubbing yet another ointment into my skin. "If that boy could stop chasing skirts for one second, he would have been here on time."

The young squire obliged, stepping out of the room for just a second before coming back inside. She held a sizable deep blue box with silver embellishments in her hands: the signature detailing of Countess Keene's boutique. Just as Camille suspected, my dress had finally arrived. And with little time to spare. If she dressed me quickly, there was still enough time for the girl to fix up my hair and add just a touch of makeup. But we were running late. In just an hour, I was meant to meet Prince Cade.

"That was strange," she said, setting the box down nearby. "The delivery boy apologized for the delay. He said, 'the alterations my lady requested took much longer than expected'."

"Alterations? What alterations?" Camille demanded, abandoning my side to inspect the box.

The moment she lifted the lid, the young Démenci took in a sharp breath. Her movements became stiff as she reached into the box and pulled out the dress. Farren gasped. I turned to see what the fuss was about. My eyes widened at the sight.

When Mother put in this order two months ago, she included specific instructions on the appearance of my dress. Dark in color, simple style, no embellishments required. As per usual, even when I was trying to stand out, I would do so in the most cautious way. Besides, in the words of the commoners, 'House Rhosyn thrived in the dark, why should their clothes be any different'. This dress had no semblance to the order my mother made.

Camille pulled the dress out of the box and held it up. The purest white, decorated with clear gemstones, with silver embroidery, Countess Keene's dress was the complete opposite of everything I had ever worn. I stared in awe. The more I looked at it, the more details I noticed.

"There must be some kind of mistake!" Camille exclaimed, her eyes glued to the garment in her hands. "This dress, it is.. it is..."

"It's beautiful," Farren breathed, her eyes gleaming with the sparkling gems.

"This is not the dress Her Grace ordered! They must have mixed up the orders. Squire, fetch the delivery boy. Tell him-"

"Calm, Camille," I interjected, holding up one hand to silence her. "There is no more time. I will tell Mother what happened with the dress. This is in no way our fault, nor will she see it that way. Mother is fair. For now, help me put it on. I cannot keep His Highness waiting."

Hesitating, the maid finally nodded her head. She helped me out of my robes and into the dress, pulling the ribbons to tighten it. While she tied the ribbon into a perfect bow, Farren reached into the box and pulled out some more fabric. Camille let out a low curse and snatched it from her hands. In a flurry of motion, the girl slipped the near sheer fabric over my shoulders and fastened the brooch at my neck.

Taking a deep breath, Camille spun to face Farren and said, "Squire Farren, I am going to start on my lady's hair. It is imperative that you inform me when the sun dips beneath the tree line. Can you do that?"

Farren nodded quickly. With a curt nod of acknowledgement, Camille began working on my hair. And I sat, for what felt like an eternity, as she twirled and braided my hair. I lost count of how many strands she braided and how many she twirled, knowing that my thick hair wasn't helping the process. Yet, I didn't dare open my mouth. When Camille was this focused, any small thing could break that intense concentration. It was why she trained with only me and my mother. Neither one of us made a sound if we didn't want to.

Finally, just as Farren opened her mouth to inform Camille of the setting sun, she pinned the last braid into place and heaved a sigh of relief. She slumped onto a nearby chair and covered her face for a few seconds. A ghost of a smile played on my lips. I knew she could do it. She was my maid after all. Farren stared in awe at both my appearance and Camille. This was the first she'd seen of the maid's handiwork and truth be told, it certainly was awe-inspiring.

Somehow, she had managed to turn my waves into soft curls. Intricate braids wove around each other, adding texture to my hair. With the detailing, anyone would have guessed the style took several hours to achieve, not just one. I stood up and gazed at my reflection in the standing mirror. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I was staring at someone else. The little makeup she deigned to add was just enough color to my cheeks to make me look less like a specter. With this, I looked more like an angel.

"You look absolutely stunnin', Lady Rhosyn!" Farren exclaimed, her gaze still bouncing between me and Camille. "Camille, I had no idea you could do somethin' like this!"

"I thank you for your kind words, Farren. And Camille, once again you do not fail to exceed my expectations," I praised, turning to face the two girls. "Now, I must hurry along to meet His Highness. I will see you both later tonight."

Without waiting for a response, I stepped out of my room. Despite Camille's capabilities, preparations had taken much longer than anticipated. If I didn't hurry, I would be late. Thankfully, I didn't have far to go. To avoid any early inquiries about my identity, His Majesty allowed me to stay in the palace rather than the secondary estate House Rhosyn owned just outside the palace walls. This meant I only needed to meet Prince Cade outside the ballroom.

My heels clicked against the stairs as I descended to the first floor. A series of turns later, and I found myself exactly where I needed to be. Nobles were already milling around in the ballroom. The air was abuzz with their chattering. And there, standing exactly where I knew he would be was the boy I once knew. My fiancé, my husband, my murderer. Prince Cade Etherean.

His hair was much darker than I remembered, and he was just a bit shorter. If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't have thought it was him. Yet, when that cool gaze came to rest on me, I knew. I approached Prince Cade, lowering myself into a bow.

"Good evening, Your Highness," I greeted, my gaze fixed on the ground as I remained bent at the waist. "My name is Avyanna of House Rhosyn. I thank you for escorting me tonight."

"You are the lady of House Rhosyn?" he asked, sweeping his gaze over me as I straightened. "My father nearly sung praise of you, but you look like the slightest breeze could knock you over. What he sees in you is beyond my comprehension."

I fought to keep my expression neutral. My rapid heartbeat echoed in my ears, and my palms began to sweat. Seeing Prince Cade, standing this close to him, made the panic amplify in ways it hadn't before. I was losing control. Flashes of my death came to mind and my breath caught.

Get ahold of yourself, I chastised, taking a deep breath. Everything about tonight must go perfectly if I am to have any hopes of freeing myself from this fate.

"His Majesty is too generous," I replied, forcing my voice to remain even. "I am no different than any other noble girl."

Narrowing his eyes, Prince Cade studied me for a moment. I choked down the urge to turn and run. That would only make matters worse. All I could do was endure this night. If luck was on my side, this would be the end of my story with the prince. And if not, then I would need a clear mind to get through what was coming next.

"Come," Prince Cade ordered, holding out his hand, "the sooner this night begins, the sooner it will end."

I took his extended hand. Every inch of skin that touched him burned, like it had been set aflame. My entire being wanted to leave, to melt into the shadows and disappear. Biting down hard on the inside of my cheek, I focused instead on the pain. I came this far; I couldn't throw it all away now.

We strode towards the ballroom, pausing outside the open doors. The older gentleman who had announced my arrival the last time I visited the palace stood outside. He bowed as Prince Cade and I approached. As the man straightened, he caught my eye. A warning flashed through his eyes, quickly disappearing. I returned his gaze questioningly. Yet, I received no response. Instead, he quietly cleared his throat and announced our arrival.

"Presenting His Highness, Prince Cade of House Etherean and Lady Avyanna."