Another One (Book 3 of selection fanfics)

Chapter 27

"Remind me again how hanging upside down off the side of your bed is supposed to help you?" Beth rolled her eyes as she stitched a dress in the corner of the room. Cora giggled from her spot at the vanity, where she was rearranging earrings and necklaces.

"It gets the blood to your head. Or something like that. I don't know, I read it in a book!" I attempted to throw my hands up in exasperation.

"I thought it was supposed to help with the hiccups?" Cora mused.

I groaned in frustration and rubbed my eyes. I moved my legs, attempting to gracefully land with my feet on the floor, but, of course, I landed in a heap of sprawling limbs.

"Ow," I squeaked and attempted to pull myself together. The sudden rush of blood away from my head made me dizzy and I slumped against the side of the bed in an attempt to pull myself together.

Both Beth and Cora shook their heads but neither made an attempt to help me up. I pouted my lips in fake annoyance and hauled myself up from the floor. It was almost the end of the week and I still hadn't come up with an idea for a charity. Of course, I'd thought of many, but in the end I could only choose one. I wanted it to be special, something meaningful, something that others, mainly Derek and his family, would care about. No pressure.

I had nothing and in two days I would have to present my idea formally to Celia. So he wouldn't have any bias, Derek wouldn't hear our presentations until the ball. As a precaution, we weren't allowed to approach any charity without a solid plan or permission from Celia, who would analyze them closely.

I'd pored through every single book she had recommended to us to jumpstart our research and nothing had stood out to me. My face flushed and I wrung my wrists nervously as I began to think of how utterly humiliating it would be to tell her I hadn't thought of anything in almost a week. It would be even more humiliating when she inevitably told Derek.

"Dearie, you look like you might faint," Beth's concerned voice drifted over to me as she paused her stitching. "Go take a walk. Distract yourself, get your mind off of this competition for a little bit."

"I can't take my mind off of it! I only have two more days to prepare my pitch for Celia," my voice wavered as I began to pace the room, probably annoying the two of them even more. "If I can't even handle this, how am I supposed to handle being a princess? How can I make any decision without agonizing over it?"

She clucked her tongue and set down the dress. "That boy has got you all worked up, worrying over picking a charity."

"Derek does not have me all worked up," I denied her but I couldn't control the flush that spread across my cheeks.

"Of course he does. I know he told you all that this will highly influence his opinion, or some nonsense like that," she held my shoulder at arms length and looked up at me. I forgot how small she was sometimes, just barely a few inches taller than my own mother. "And now you're scared that you'll mess this up somehow and he'll ask someone else to marry him. Scared that you came here just to have your heart broken again."

A lump formed in my throat and I blinked back tears. Beth was right, but I didn't want to admit it. Even Cora looked at me with pity but quickly turned away when she saw me looking.

Beth patted my cheek affectionately. "It's alright to be scared, Erika. But don't let that fear control you. I know you love Prince Derek, but he doesn't define who you are or what you choose to do."

"Okay," I nodded and wiped the tears that had formed in the corners of my eyes. "I-I think I'm gonna go take that walk now."

I dashed out of the room before she could make me cry even more. It hurt, how her words were true and how deep they had struck me. Of course I knew that he didn't define me; but the fact that he still might not pick me in the end terrified me more than I wanted to admit.