The Luna Choosing Game by Jane Above Story

Chapter 43

At first glance, she appeared friendly enough, smiling peacefully. She curtsied to me and introduced herself.

Tm looking forward to serving you,” she said.

But I found it strange. Surely she had passed my other maid being taken away down the hall. What kind of person would be smiling so calmly after having witnessed such a thing?

icholas.

I

I

Today was the day for Nicholas’s solo date, and I was trying my very best not to think about it.

Ever since receiving Joseph’s threatening letter, I’d been hiding out in my room as much as I could to

avoid him and the mean–looking guards.

With the First Ball fast approaching, I used the extra time in my room to help my maids work on me and

Elva’s gowns.

The dress had to be perfect. The order of introductions for the girls at the ball was to be determined by

the princes‘ preferences of the dresses.

Once the gowns were finished, pictures were to be taken of them and given to the princes, who would

then select their favorites. Those favorites would be the first ones introduced at the ball, and therefore

given the most time with the princes.

And with the cameras.

A major component of the Luna Choosing Game, was earning the public’s favor. I had a small advantage

the common people, being one myself. But people like Lena and Joseph existed in every

to believe that even with my slight advantage, I would make it

mean

and I had split the design for my dress into three separate parts that we had

combine the three elements into

Elva’s matching dress

doing the final work,

arranging the mannequin for the dresses photo shoot. Elva’s dress was not to be

window, likely the horses again, with the

I

kept thinking about Nicholas’s solo

and I were

the room, nervousness and trepidation waging war within my chest. My

Elva called to me.

the distraction, I joined her at the

pointed down toward the stables. “It’s

the stables as horses were

hands.

stallion that greedily accepted

Lilliana was a brown and white mare that seemed nervous around her.

sidestep whenever Lilliana came

approach Lilliana. He offered her a sugar

horse. Lilliana shook her

exact words spoken beyond some mumbled voices, but with the way Lilliana held up her pure white gloves,

ing dirty.

getting dirty.

wondered how she would hold

I

the sugar cube to the horse himself. In his presence, the mare seemed

then, and with Nicholas’s help, lifted herself

her waist, keeping her

riding together. He had helped me then,

same way.

if I let myself remember, I could still feel the phantom touch of his

won’t let you fall,” he’d said then. “Tell me when you are okay, and I’ll

had given him a playful smile. “What if I want to stay

I

the sun. “Then we should give up on horseback riding for today and return to one of our rooms instead. If you want

properly

much the same thing to Lilliana,

much at all. Nicholas moved his hands away from her waist quickly and without

a distance, these two did not seem to like each other

had chosen her, out of all the

Lilliana to bring her mare alongside his horse, and then together

at the window.

gasped when she realized, “He’s coming over

I could figure out what she was going to do, she shouted from

She waved both arms.

glowered, but Nicholas’s

a hand