A Wicked Game [The Crown Saga II] (Under Editing)

Path of Stars

We had been instructed to sleep in this morning and conserve our energy for the evening. Nobody had explained why or described the event we could expect to attend, which only aroused my morbid curiosity, making it that much harder to fall asleep.

It may have been a few hours of tossing and turning before I finally found proper rest, so I did not feel prepared when the curtains shielding me from the dim sun pushing through the dreary clouds were suddenly drawn back.

It had been a while since anyone had done that, so I forced my heavy eyes open in bewilderment and saw a familiar shadow standing by the windows.

"Faye?" I muttered, lifting my head from the feathery pillow I was hugging.

My body despised me for moving out of the heat, but Faye and I hadn't talked ever since our ridiculous argument, and I couldn't afford to waste another chance.

She would generally bring me the mandatory meals, but she refused to say more words than what was absolutely necessary and was usually gone before I could reach her. I had even been forced to ask Adriel to help me dress in the complicated attire we were required to wear because Faye wasn't there.

"Brunch is served in an hour," Faye announced before walking toward the door.

I knew I didn't have much time, so I forced my eyes open, only to see her arm disappear out of the door.

"Faye!" I yelled after her, but she obliviously closed the door behind her without responding to my call.

I exhaled and fell back onto the delicate pillow. Too late again.

Would I ever get my friend back, or was she going to act like a mindless messenger for the rest of this miserable competition?

After a few minutes of staring at the draperies of my bed, I decided to force my fatigued body up.

I rubbed my eyes to rid them of sleep. However, just as I was about to invite the cold air to coil around my naked legs, I noticed a silver dress by the foot of my bed with a small note attached to it.

It seemed that Faye hadn't only been here to wake me up.

Without hesitating, I eagerly reached for the note to read the words written in the darkest black I had seen.

Wear this tonight.

I lowered the note to look at the dress again. It was awfully formal — more than anything I had yet to wear.

Tonight would be the longest night of the year, and I was sure the royals had something planned for us.

The Rising Sun was a festive evening, but I hadn't expected it to be formal. I'd heard friends and family meeting around small bonfires and dancing until the Sun would rise the next morning; I'd just never attended one of those bonfires myself.

Then again, this was the Golden Castle. So why not host an official ball in conjunction with the Festival of the Rising Sun?

I shivered at the thought. I wasn't ready to participate in a royal ball, but perhaps I misinterpreted the dress' intended meaning. Perhaps it was much simpler and less formal than I made it out to be. Piper and Calla would probably know.

We didn't have any classes today, so Adriel would, unfortunately, not be here to help me dress. So, I grabbed a simple but suitable dress in my closet and spent at least ten minutes trying to put on the cursed thing before I ventured outside.

"Is Faye still not talking to you?" a voice said when I closed the door behind me, still trying to force the back of the problematic shoe over my heel.

"How'd you guess?" I said, sighing as my heel finally slipped into place.