The Contest

Chapter 21

My party was going to be small, something laid back but special. I was scampering around, setting out appetizers, checking decorations, and tasting things.
"Miss, which table cloth do you want?" A butler asked, showing me two blueish green table cloths.
"This one. Where are the yellow fairy lights?" I asked. A maid came running over with the many strands. "Put them up there." I said, pointing to above the table where the food was. "And around there." I said, pointing around the ballroom. She nodded and went to a few other maids, handing them strands of fairy lights. Someone cleared their throats from behind me. I turned to see the Queen.
"Your majesty." I said, curtsying.
"You're doing a fabulous job. Archer will be so pleased." She said, looking around the room.
"It's not done yet, but I think it's going to be great!" I replied.
"I'm so sorry about your room." She said. "Archer was going off on a tangent last night about it." She said. I smiled.
"He cares about all of us so much." I said. The Queen nodded.
"He's going to be an amazing King someday." She said. A butler tapped my shoulder.
"Which color for the cake, miss?" He asked. I looked at two frosting colors, one with maroon and blue, and one with yellow and blue.
"The maroon one." I answered. He nodded, and left.
"Great choice. He's always loved those colors. What's the theme for your party?" The Queen asked.
"I was thinking something simple. Maybe dances and a nice meal. He said he wanted something laid back." I answered.
"Yes, he's always been a simple boy." She said.
"Talking about me?" Archer asked, coming in. Queen Fawna turned and smiled at her oldest son.
"Why yes we were. Archer, dear, may I speak with you?" She asked. He nodded, and they left me in the ballroom. What seemed like an eternity later Archer came back in, his face solemn.
"It's looking amazing in here." He said, his face not reflecting his complement. He leaned down and kissed me, quickly but sweetly. I smiled up at him and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you, Love." I answered, looking at my list.
"What do you have left to do?" He asked, letting out a little sigh.
"Prepare dinner!" I said. He nodded, giving me a small smile, that was forced. "A? Are you okay?" I asked. He shook his head.
"But don't worry about it. You have enough on your plate right now." He said. I nodded. His kissed my forehead.
"I can't wait to see how this turns out." He said. I smiled.
"Me too! Do you want to get some tea later when I'm done?" I asked.
"I wish I could, but I'm really busy. I'll see you later thought okay?" He asked. I frowned, but nodded.
"Okay." I replied, and he left. What was going on? Did it have something to do with this morning, or even last night? Was someone leaving? Did someone die? I wanted to know so bad, but I wasn't going to pull it out of Archer. I went back to planning my party. I heard footsteps, and saw Rylan, a member of the Powders, leaning against the doorway.
"You're amazing, and I just don't understand." She said.
"What do you mean?" I asked, setting down two fabric swatches.
"Well, Archer adores you, you hold yourself with such an air of perfection, and you just seem to be able to do so much more than the rest of us. If anything like what happened to you had happened to me, I would have been gone. You're still here." She said. I smiled.
"Archer makes things ten times better. I'm not perfect by any means. I don't think anyone is. We may put on a brave face for the camera, but it's all an act. One I'm still trying to master. I called Archer, "Archer". Remember?" I asked. She smiled at me, her green eyes sparkling. "Archer doesn't adore me, but I'm just being myself. Our personalities work well together."
"I still don't understand fully, but I think I may." She said.
"Have you gone on a date with him yet?" I asked.
"Nope..." she said.
"Aw I'm sorry." I said. She shrugged.
"It's okay. At least I'm still here." She said, smiling. I nodded. "I'll let you get back to planning." She said, and left me. I sat in a chair. I never realized how good I had it here. I was one of two girls who had been kissed, the Prince was interested in me, and I was top of the group.
"This is awful." I said. Then I thought about Evander. He loved me. I should just leave Archer for another girl. Some of these girls want him so badly, and I had another boy who loved me so much. I stood and went to my room. The party would start in an hour. Amy and Teony were waiting for me, and held out a book for me.
"We found this book, and we didn't know who's it was." Teony said, handing it to me. I took it, and opened it. It was my mothers journal.
"I'm so glad you found this." I said, hugging to my chest.
"We also have your dress." Amy said, showing me a blueish green floor length dress. It was simply. It had one sleeve, and a silver trim around the waist. It faded ever so slightly lighter down the dress.
"It's beautiful! I love it!" I complemented.
"We were thinking about leaving your hair down and just curling it. What do you think?" Teony asked. I nodded, smiling.
"That sounds perfect." I answered. Teony smiled.
"Let's get to work then." She said.
~~~
I stood at the door greeting everyone, knowing that one of the girls I was greeting had destroyed my room. Every girl came in with a guard behind them. My cheeks hurt from smiling. The royal family, excluding Archer and Jaxon, entered with guards on every corner of the group. Isabel ran to me and smiled. She was wearing a purple dress tonight.
"You look lovely your highness." I said. She beamed at me.
"Thank you!" She said, curtsying. She ran off to go find her place at the dinner table. The Queen smiled at me, and the King gave me a small nod. They looked stressed, but still like Royalty. Then Archer walked in. He looked handsome as ever and was beaming.
"The place looks amazing!" He said, looking around at the balloons and streamers. The lights and decorations.
"Thank you!" I said, and he gave me a hug.
"Why don't we eat? I want to dance with you!" He said. I looked down at the floor, my silver heals reflecting the lights in the hall. Everyone else had left the room.
"Archer, I'm breaking up with you until further notice." I said.
"You're...what?" He asked, chuckling.
"I'm serious. You're too focused on me. Some of these girls haven't even had a date with you yet, and you're with me all the time. Why do you think my room was destroyed? Jealous girls. Girls who want your attention, and are mad at me because you're giving it all to me." I said.
"Where is this coming from?" Archer asked, looking at me shocked. I looked into his baby blue eyes, seeing the hurt coming from them.
"I've just been thinking a lot." I said. He gave a little laugh. It wasn't a good laugh, this laugh was mocking me.
"Since when, last night?" He asked rolling his eyes.
"Yes, Archer. I sat in Harmonia's room for hours yesterday, sobbing in the dark. I've been under constant attack since I got here, and that wasn't what I wanted to happen while I was here." I said.
"While you were here? So you're leaving?" He asked.
"Not now. I am when I find out what happened with my mom, but you already knew that." I said. He let out a breath.
"I was hoping you'd stay longer." He said.
"That depends on how this goes. Right now, you need to focus on the other girls. I don't want to be in the middle of an all-out war because you think you like me more-"
"I DO like you more, but clearly you don't agree. What's going on in your head Amberlyn? Who's gotten in there and screwed with the girl I know? The girl who I kissed, the girl I was willing to risk my life for?" He asked.
"W-when-"
"When the attack happened. I...ran out to save you." He said. "I can't believe I was so stupid." He said.
"So you should have just let me die?" I asked.
"That's not what I meant." He said.
"But that's what you said." I said, and went into the dining room. Where were they? I didn't have time to worry about that now. "Welcome everyone! Tonight we will start off with dinner, and go into the ballroom to dance! I hope everyone enjoys!" I said, sitting down. Archer, unfortunately, was sitting right across from me. I didn't look him in the eye. Dinner was brought out and everyone was talking. I didn't talk to anyone. Archer talked to Rylan, who was sitting next to him, and Charlotte, who was next to me, chimed in. I stayed quiet. When the meal was over, everyone went into the ballroom. A slow song started up and everyone went to the middle of the floor. I saw Archer dancing with Rylan, and she was laughing about something. I smiled in spite of myself. He would be great with any of the girls here, even if four of them were leaving tomorrow. Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned to see Joy Sandow.
"I wanted to apologize." She said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I'm a terrible person, and I deserve to be kicked out for what I did." She told me.
"Did you...?"
"I was part of the group." She said quietly.
"T-there's more?" I asked, my throat getting dry.
"Only two. I'm so sorry. I didn't really do anything...I threw a pillow on the floor, but that was it. I never wanted to do it. I have this." She said, handing me a book. It was the one Evander had given to me.
"Thank you." I said, taking it. Her brown eyes teared up.
"I'm so sorry, Amberlyn. I can tell you who the others are if you want." She offered.
"No. Let them stay. It just makes me stronger." I said. "It's okay Joy. I understand you're mad-"
"I'm not though. The other two made me do it. They told me they would ignore me the rest of the time here if I didn't do it, and well...I'm getting my punishment." She said, sadly. I looked around. A lot of the girls in The Powders were standing around, except Charlotte, who was dancing with Archer.
"Come with me." I said, and walked to the group.
"Hey guys, this is Joy. I think she should join the Powders." I said. Jessica smiled.
"Sure! As long as it's alright with everyone else." She said. Eve put her arm on Joy's shoulder. Eve was tall.
"Welcome to the Powders. A group that hates Evangeline as much as she hates flat shoes." She said, smiling off into the distance like she was on a commercial.
"You can say that again." Charlotte said, coming off the dance floor with a small limp. "She cut into my dance with Archer, and proceeded to step on my foot with her four inch heel." She said, sitting on a chair and rubbing her foot.
"She's got height on her already, does she need to be any taller?" Rylan asked.
"Apparently so." Ember said, her robotic tone making everyone cringe.
"Whatever, forget her. You've got us now!" Kelsey said, pushing me out of the way slightly to get to Joy.
"Built in friends!" Shaeleigh said. I giggled, and went to Tink.
"Where's Harmonia?" I asked. She shrugged.
"She walked out with the King and Queen a while ago, and never came back. Neither did their Majesties." She said. I looked around. The door to the ballroom opened, and dozens of knights flooded in. The King and Queen entered.
"Ladies, I'm sorry to end the party so suddenly. There is a recent event that has been brought to our attention, which needs to be resolved. We have only now been able to come up with a decision on what to do. Please return to your rooms for further instructions." The Queen instructed. All of the girls left the room quickly and quietly. I watched as Archer went to his parents and said something. Queen Fawna nodded, and came to me.
"I'm so sorry my dear. You've done a fantastic job on this party, and I'm so very sorry we had to interrupt it like this. You will understand soon enough." She said. She took my hand and squeezed it, smiling at me. She went back to the King and they left the room. I looked around at the empty ballroom, beginning to sing a little, picking up things.
"You must go back to your room miss. We will take care of this." A maid said. I nodded and set the stack of plates on a table. I went to my room. My maids were standing there looking solemn. Emma was holding a long black dress with a silver beaded top on the chest that went down through the center of the bodice, and around the waist.
"What's this for? Has someone died?" I asked. Amy shook her head.
"We aren't allowed to explain miss. Just here get you dressed." She said. I nodded, and we slipped off my blue dress and put on the black one. Teony touched up my make-up, and fixed the curls surrounding my face. Someone knocked on my door. Emma opened it.
"Ber?" Someone said. I would recognize that voice anywhere.
"Evander?" I said. I turned to see him in a black guard's uniform.
"I'm here to escort you." He said.
"To where?" I asked, getting annoyed.
"I'm not allowed to say. None of the Contestants know what's going on." He said. I bit my lip, and Evander held out his arm. I linked mine through it and he began to walk with me.
"I'm here. Okay?" He said.
"You're here for what? I don't know what's going on Evander. I'm scared." I said.
"Everything is going to be okay." He told me. I nodded, looking down. We walked out to the courtyard. I saw the stage where we filmed the News. There were two seats on the stage and many of the other girls were gathered on the ground. I spotted Tink a while away and went to her.
"Do you know what's going on?" I asked. She shook her head but didn't say a word. I could tell she was as confused as me. Everyone was in black. I looked around and say Archer on the side of the stage with his family. Except Jaxon. Suddenly I knew what was going on.
"Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. Last night, two people were caught in the middle of a passionate kiss. These two people are none other than your favorite Contestant, Harmonia Nuonce, and your Prince, Jaxon. Tonight they will be punished for their wrong doing, and their betrayal to this kingdom. Each will have fifteen lashes to their backs through their clothes." I gasped. They brought Harmonia and Jaxon out. She was still in her white dress, and him in his nice shirt and pants. Harmonia had been crying and I could tell Jaxon had been too. They stood in front of everyone. Two men came out with whips. The crowd was silent. The men pulled their whips back and hit Harmonia and Jaxon. A blood curdling scream came out of Harmonia and Jaxon whimpered.
"Stop!" I screamed, but no one heard me over the cheers and boos coming from the crowd. "STOP THIS!" I screamed again, pushing my way forward as another lash hit Harmonia and Jaxon. Harmonia's beautiful white dress was covered in blood, and Jaxon's shirt was torn open in the back.
"Harmonia, no!" Tink yelled at me, but I didn't listen. I pushed forward again, screaming and crying for them to stop. Harmonia's screams were something I could bear to listen to, and even worse, they were doing this on live television. They were publicly humiliating them in front of everyone.
"ARCHER STOP!" I screamed at him. He looked at me, his eyes teary.
"I'm sorry." He mouthed.
"Stop this." I mouthed back. He shook his head at me. I was sobbing, and I tried to push passed the guards, but they stopped me. "Let me go, let me go let me go!" I screamed, struggling trying to get to my best friend. She was sobbing too, and on all fours. Jaxon was on his knees, talking to her.
"You're going to be okay. You're going to heal." He said. She nodded, but continued to cry. As the seventh lash hit their backs, someone ran on the stage. It was Archer.
"Stop!" He shouted. The men turned and his Parents rushed onto the stage coming after him. "Haven't they suffered enough? They love each other, and shouldn't that be a happy thing?" He said. No one said a word. "Harmonia Nuonce will be leaving the Contest, but she will not be leaving the palace." He said. The audience clapped and cheered. Harmonia crawled to Jaxon and gave him a hug, and they collapsed together on the ground.