Ashley had no idea, and her ignorance made her uncomfortable. She never liked to be kept in the dark. Even when she was the one with all eyes on her, everyone acted like she could do no wrong. Ashley couldn’t help but be keenly aware that her place in this world, just like her place in just about every other world, happened to be precarious. One wrong move, one wrong word in the direction of her brother, and it was very likely that her life would be over. After all, Val had made clear that he had expectations she was to fulfill.
More than that, Val made clear that her future was in his hands, and he firmly reminded her of that as his eyes swooped up and down her body, taking in the sight of his younger sister. She was dressed in a silver ball gown, and the corner of his mouth lifted. He seemed to be satisfied with how the maids had done her hair and dressed her, thank goodness. Ashley couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been dolled up for the Diamond King. Was he the mate Val chose for her?
The moment that Ashley sat down, Val leaned towards her.
“The Diamond King has declined to join us. Apparently, something has come up,” her brother said, his tone pretty much dismissing the statement like it was par for the course. Still, she couldn’t help but note the way that he watched her, an obvious question lingering in the back of his gaze. “Did you enjoy your little trip outside of the castle walls, sister? You will have to fill me in on which member of staff felt fit to escort you to the labyrinth. And who gave you that maid’s dress you were wearing.”
They were the only ones seated. All of the servants and nobles stood around the corners of the room waiting for him to give a sign that they were allowed to sit down or go about their duties. She frowned at how archaic that was. The nobles wore brittle smiles as they sat down while every servant nervously looked at her brother. Again and again, Ashley saw that whatAlexander said about her brother was very likely true. It was an idea that made her shiver. The very last thing she wanted was for her brother not to be a good person, especially when it seemed he was the only family she had left. There was no denying that Val was an egomaniac.
The nobles sat stiffly in their seats, barely moving. Their motions were strangely robotic and something about that upset her. Probably the fact that he was so cruel these people were terrified of making a mistake.
Unfortunately, Ashley didn’t have anyone to talk to or get guidance from. At least not yet. She took advantage of the few moments of silence that fell over the dinner table to look over her options, noting which noblewomen seemed to be friendly. She needed to make a friend, whether she was here for days or longer. She’d find out much more about this world from then than she would her brother. He only wanted her to know a few details, preferring she remained ignorant, for his own gain, not to protect her.
After a few tense moments of silence, her brother finally decided to look at her again, his eyes demanding as he looked across the table at his sister, obviously surveying whether she could fulfill all his needs.
“In a week’s time, I expect to hold a ball to announce your return to the Opal Clan. This ball will be for the other Clans,” her brother informed her, much to the interest of each and every noble that was currently seated around the table. Ashley could tell just by looking at them that they were fighting the urge to murmur amongst themselves about what that entailed.
“This debut will serve as a precursor to the Dragon Games,” Val announced to the whole table, and suddenly a heavy silence fell across the room. Every single servant and noble went stiff.
What were the Dragon Games and why did it seem to heighten the anxiety in the room?
But before she could ask her brother anything, he decided to rise from the table, taking his plate with him. It was obvious that he thought it was beneath him to sit with Ashley and the other nobles, taking dinner like he was a common person.
“That is all,” her brother announced, and he swiftly exited, leaving the room, and leaving Ashley in a state of shock as she sat there amongst the others, wondering what the fuck a dragon game was, as well as what the fuck a dragon king was. And why the fuck her brother was pissed off. Was it because the Diamond King had made his excuses and not come to the party? And why the hell did the man think he could just marry her off without her trying to escape? It seemed like the longer she was there, the more questions she had. Too bad nobody seemed eager to give her any answers.
She had to find a way to escape and soon. She felt like danger was a shadow creeping closer, on the verge of suffocating her completely if she didn’t make a move to escape that fate. And that shadow? It was shaped like her brother.
Chapter
Eleven
Any child could tell you that it is not in any way easy to choose one’s friends. Especially when you’re a stranger and have no idea how the social hierarchy works. But Ashley knew that the clock was ticking, and if she wanted to have an upper hand and survive in this place, she needed to make friends quickly.
The only problem was Ashley had a bad habit of choosing the wrong people to be her friends. She always had this huge sense of justice that led her to make bad decisions. In this case, her bad decision was a small, trembling noblewoman that Ashley couldn’t help but notice sitting alone during the course of their meal. The young woman didn’t speak to anyone, unlike the other nobles who quietly whispered to each other amongst themselves and tried futilely to avoid Ashley’s gaze as they gossiped. If Ashley had to guess, they’d already spread the news of her arrival to everyone they knew. And the Dragon Games? Well, it was obvious that just about everyone everywhere would know about the Dragon Games in a matter of hours. Even if she still had no clue what they were.
And while it would have been good for her to choose a far more talkative friend, one who was connected with all thenobles, she couldn’t help but feel bad for the girl. Ashley decided she’d had enough of this nonsense and went to grab the young woman’s hand. Ashley pulled her along behind her as she left the room. She didn’t care about the whispers that followed her departure, or if the girl would have to answer to someone later. She wanted answers and she had no doubt the timid young woman would answer her questions.
Ashley knew her name was Emma because the nobles were forced to wear name tags during the feast. She also knew that she chose Emma because she didn’t seem to be talking to anyone else. The fact that she was alone and not reacting to anyone else was kind of a good sign to Ashley. It meant that she was excluded from everything, which meant that she would take just about any friend she could get, even if that friend was the Opal Clan princess.
Though agreeing to talk to Ashley, of all people, probably didn’t say much for her smarts. All the other nobles had avoided Ashley, making a point of trying not to catch the King’s younger sister’s gaze. It was clear that they wanted nothing to do with the royal family outside of keeping their place in society, which was good for Ashley. The closer people watched her, the less chance she would actually have to slip away.
But Emma didn’t watch her and she didn’t seem to watch anyone else.
Instead, she’d simply sat there during the course of their meal, sitting alone while she picked at her food and occasionally stared down at her plate. She’d very obviously pretended that she didn’t hear all the people talking around her and that she didn’t hear all the gossip that was going on. It was clear to Ashley from what she’d seen that whoever Emma was, she was an innocent soul.
The other thing that made her certain Emma was the friend she needed? Well, there was something about her bland brownhair and the way that it sat on her shoulder in a clean plait that was a little bit pleasing. There was also something about her dark brown eyes and her constantly trembling thin form that melted Ashley’s heart. It was very clear that she was afraid of the situation she had found herself in because she’d somehow ended up at the dragon king’s banquet. All of this was a good sign to Ashley.
“I’m sorry, Princess, did I do something wrong?” The young woman asked as Ashley swept her along, looking for a place to hide.
“No, my dear. In fact, you may have done everything right,” Ashley muttered, though she wasn’t certain Emma could hear her. It didn’t matter. Ashley was certain that Emma was one of those people that knew exactly what was happening because people didn’t notice they were there. She’d no doubt heard all the rumors going around the castle. Which meant that Ashley needed very much to be her friend.
Emma stepped quickly behind the princess and kept her head up, taking each step with a sort of confidence that indicated to Ashley that she knew her way around the castle. Ashley decided to take the young woman to her bedchamber, perhaps the only place in the whole castle where they could have some privacy.
Once there, Ashley turned to the woman and smiled widely at her, hoping to allay any fears with that smile. The young woman wouldn’t meet her eyes until Ashley sighed heavily and tilted the woman’s face up with her hand.
“Look at me, Emma,” Ashley said with satisfaction, unable to stop herself from laughing at the fact that she was there, talking to another girl who was supposedly beneath her.
And just like that, Emma’s eyes rose to meet Ashley’s, hesitation showing in her gaze as she looked up at the other woman. There was also something else in the back of her gaze, ahint of envy that Ashley couldn’t exactly blame her for. Not when Ashley herself was the Princess, and Emma was obviously a low-grade noblewoman of some kind.
