The Contest

Chapter 15

He told Jaxon to not talk to me. Jaxon didn't listen. The next few days he came to my room secretly to help me plan his birthday party. He didn't want me to be eliminated because of lack of knowledge. The last day of planning he had me meet him in the library.
"Harmonia!" He said, greeting me with a quick peck on my cheek. I blushed.
"I still haven't gotten used to that." I said.
"Well get used to it! I want to take you somewhere that no one knows about. Not even the guards." He said. I nodded, and he took my hand. He began to run, dragging me with him. I squealed and then giggled. We tore through the library, laughing the whole way. He slowed down when we reached a small door.
"Here we are." He said.
"I never noticed this before." I said.
"That's the point." He said, opening the door. We went in.
"Okay so, you have dances. That's easy. We can get a band or something. It's going to be a masquerade party right?" He asked.
"I was thinking we could do that so no one knows who they are dancing with. A Cinderella story kind of story." I said.
"Cinderella?" He asked.
"An old fairytale my mother used to tell to my sister and I. We can't afford new books really so my mom just reads the ones from her childhood." I said.
"I see. Maybe you could tell me the story sometime?" Jaxon asked, smiling.
"I could tell you it now. Most everything is planned out."
"What's the date for your party?" He asked.
"October 30th." I said.
"Archer gets our actual birthday..." He muttered.
"So Cinderella?" I said, changing the subject.
"I'm listening." He said, scooting closer to me on the couch. I laid my head on his shoulder.
"Cinderella was kind of like me. She lived with her step mother and two step sisters and was treated terribly. I'm unlike her in that way. Anyways, her father had died and left her with them, and they made her do all the chores and stuff. She had no friends, so she became friends with all the animals in the barn and in the attic she lived in. The horses, geese, birds, mice. So one day it was announced that the Prince was having a ball to meet all the eligible ladies in the town. Cinderella wanted to go, and the evil stepmother-"
"When did she become evil?" Jaxon asked.
"When her father died. Keep up!" I said giggling. He smiled.
"I think I get it. Please keep going."
"Thank you. So the Evil Stepmother told her if she did this huge list of chores, which any normal person would never be able to complete in one day, then she could go to the ball. Well Cinderella completed it in half a day!"
"I don't even do my own chores." Jaxon said.
"I know." I said, tapping his nose lightly. He smiled and kissed my forehead gently.
"So what happened next?" He asked.
"Well, the stepmother told her she couldn't go because she had nothing to wear. Cinderella took out her mothers old dress-"
"The stepmothers dress?" He asked.
"No her biological mothers dress." I replied.
"This is confusing."
"Just keep listening.  She took out her mothers old dress, and was about to start altering it to fit her and look a bit nicer, when the evil stepsisters-"
"They're evil now too?"
"It's not a story without an antagonist."
"I guess that's true. Continue."
"The evil stepsisters called Cinderella down to help get them ready. Well the animals took it upon themselves to fix Cinderella's dress for her."
"The animals?" He asked, sounding doubtful.
"That's why it's called a fairytale." I said.
"Oh! So the animals?"
"Mhm. The animals fixed Cinderella's dress and she found it when she came back and put it on. She told the Stepmother she was ready to come with them. Then the Stepsisters ripped apart her dress."
"Well why'd they do that?" Jaxon asked.
"They were jealous and knew the Prince would pick Cinderella over them. Well the stepfamily left, and all of a sudden Cinderella's Family godmother showed up. She fixed Cinderella's dress and made her a carriage out of a pumpkin and horses out of mice. It was magical."
"You sound like you were there." He said.
"The way my mother used to tell me the story it was kind of like I was. Anyways, so she went to the ball, but the Fairy Godmother warned her that everything would go back to normal at midnight. The Prince and her danced the night away, but then the clock struck midnight and she ran from the ball, leaving one glass slipper behind."
"But wouldn't the slipper turn back to normal too? Also glass? How is conventional?"
He asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, but it's a fairytale so just go with it." I said. He chuckled.
"Okay." He said, smiling.
"So the Prince found the slipper and searched the whole kingdom. He put the shoe on every maiden on the kingdom trying to find the perfect match."
"You mean to tell me that one, he didn't remember her face-"
"Magic."
"And two, Cinderella had a different shoe size than everyone else?"
"Fairytale."
"Stop that!" He said, swatting playfully at my arm. I giggled.
"So once he got to Cinderella's house the stepsisters tried on the show but it didn't fit either of them. Well Cinderella came down and she went to try on the shoe but it fell and broke."
"See, unconventional." Jaxon retorted.
"But Cinderella still had the other shoe, and so the Prince and Cinderella got married and Happily Ever After. The End." I said, finishing the story.
"There are so many things wrong with that story." Jaxon said.
"You're supposed to be able to look past that. It's called a story for a reason."
"I guess you're right. In a way that story is kind of like the Contest." He said.
"I never thought about it that way but you're right. The Prince finding a wife and searching through all the eligible ladies in the land."
"Thank you for telling me the story. It was wonderful. Maybe we can tell that to our children someday." He said.
"O-o-our children?" I asked, shocked.
"I mean like, the children we have. Not that we will have children together, but I do love you, so maybe someday-"
"You love me?" I asked.
"Y-yeah." He said, blushing a harder red.
"I love you too." I said. Jaxon smiled and kissed me gently. The door opened.
"Harmonia? Jaxon?" Amberlyn exclaimed.
"Amberlyn!" I said, jumping up.
"Harmonia...Archer said-"
"I don't care what he said, I love Jaxon."
"You're starting to sound "The Little Mermaid" like." I said.
"The Little Mermaid?" Jaxon asked.
"Another Fairytale. I'll tell you some other time." I said.
"Amberlyn how do you know about this room?" Jaxon asked.
"I found it one day. It's a random door in the Library, someone was bound to notice it." Amberlyn said.
"True." Jaxon said.
"Jaxon...Harmonia...what if someone else knew about this room. What if I wasn't the only one? What if I had brought Archer with me. I was going over his birthday party plans." Amberlyn said.
"Well that's what we were doing. Then I got side tracked and I told him about Cinderella-"
"You don't know Cinderella?" Amberlyn asked.
"Turns out a lot of upper sections don't." I said.
"Huh." Amberlyn said. "Still doesn't explain why I walked in on your two kissing." She retorted.
"It's a long story Amberlyn, please just don't tell Archer." I begged.
"Harmonia, you're my best friend. I won't tell him this time."
"This time?" Jaxon asked.
"Please you guys, think about this. Her life is in danger. Your reputation is in danger-"
"Screw my reputation." Jaxon said.
"You say that, but after what happened with Indiana, my reputation was terrible. People were whispering and mocking me behind my back, and in magazines and tabloids. It was terrible." Amberlyn said.
"Don't you think I've felt that before? I'm the younger twin. I'm never important. Archer gets his own Contest, and what do I get? Nothing." Jaxon said.
"Fine then think about Harmonia. Think about me, and her family, and her friends. What would we feel if she was gone? Think about you. What would you feel if you knew you were responsible for what happened to her?" Amberlyn asked.
"I-" Jaxon looked down at his feet.
"Jaxon?" I said. He took me into a hug, burying his face in my hair.
"Harmonia, I love you remember that."
"Jaxon? What are you doing?"
"I'll see you again, okay? I promise."
"Jaxon no...please don't leave!" I said, as he let me go.
"I have to. I will see you again. I promise you I won't be gone forever." He said, and left. I turned to Amberlyn. She looked at me, her eyes sorry.
"How could you!?" I screamed at her.
"Harmonia I was thinking about you." She said, her voice shaking.
"No you weren't! You were thinking about yourself and your stupid boyfriend. What if Archer found out about you and Evander huh?" I asked.
"Harmonia, you wouldn't." She said.
"No, because I'm a real friend. Gosh, I hate you!" I screamed, and ran out the door.