XVIII

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ᴛʜᴇ sᴏғᴛ ʟɪᴄᴋɪɴɢ on my cheek stirred me awake from a deep sleep. I spent the whole of yesterday panicking about my Coming Out Ball and the mess with Vincenzo, so much so I drifted into one of the deepest sleeps of my life.

I turned on my side but the licking continued with a soft, high-pitched growl.

"Five more minutes." I moaned and shoved a pillow over my head. Instead of licking this time, I was met with a tiny bite on my ankle, and I yelped awake. "Bailey!" I exclaimed as the innocent puppy sat by my feet, wagging his tail, happy I had awoken.

"Did you really have to do that?" I narrowed my eyes. Bailey tottered up to me and sat on my lap, licking my hand as if to say 'good morning'.

"Good morning to you too." I chuckled and fell back onto my bed, sighing dramatically with Bailey now flopped on my stomach. "There isn't a single thing about today I am looking forward to." I looked to my side to see the big ball of yellow hanging on the rack, and I cringed. Enrica said she'd fix it, but I didn't see or hear a word from her the entirety of yesterday, and I was starting to worry.

I sighed once more and looked down at Bailey. "You don't think I can fake a sickie, do you?" he looked up but didn't reply. "Yeah, you're right. I'm the 'star' of tonight. There's no way I'm not going."

Just as I said that the doors to my room flung open and Pevensie with the rest of the maids came in with trays of food and other things.

"Ah! You're awake, Miss!" she smiled contently. "All ready for tonight?"

"I think I'm going to throw up." I confessed.

"Nonsense." She brushed it away with a kind smile. "You'll do just fine." I raised her an eyebrow and looked back at the dress behind her. Pevensie didn't even have to look to know what I was referring too; she could feel its loud presence fine enough. "Minus the big ball of yellow." She also cringed.

Pevensie helped me put on my slip and robe and guided me over to the table where an array of food was already set up. I didn't both looking at the jug of blood by the side.

"Everything is already set up and the Queen has created a schedule of pampering for you today to make sure you look perfect." Great, I didn't even have time to try and find Enrica. God, this whole day was going to be a mess!

I grabbed an orange and began picking it apart. "What time is the ball?" I asked.

"It starts at 11:30, but you are supposed to make your grand entrance at midnight. It's a tradition to do so."

I nodded and popped an orange slice into my mouth. I knew that in that grand entrance, everyone would have their eyes on me, and it was fatal to make no mistakes. The thought of it made me feel nauseous. Once I was invisible, now I was the main attraction.

  How ironic is my life now I'm dead?

"Are people... excited to see me?" I couldn't help but ask.

Pevensie nodded her head hastily, "Oh, certainly! Especially after the rave reviews from the Kristas! You most definitely have a lot of people enthralled to meet you, in addition to you being the soulmate of the future king of course." Right. There was that. The last note Vincenzo and I left on — once again — was sour. I guess I didn't know how to approach a conversation with him knowing we both wanted two completely different things.

"Is it important that Vincenzo and I seem... united?" I could only imagine that people would like to see the future king in a stable relationship with his future queen. Saying that made me feel even more sick. Queen. I could be a queen.

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