She didn’t know how this was going to work. She felt like everything was out of her control. It was foolish of them to think that she could help them from the very start because this wasn’t what she was meant for in life. She wasn’t the person in the prophecy. She was just a footnote in someone else’s legacy. Just a helpful little tidbit to help them identify the true chosen one.
“Ashley,” Jack’s voice was gentle as he drew closer to her, as if he’d decided that he was going to comfort her, but she was done being comforted. She was done being pitied. She could feel it. All of them thought she was a poor girl, saddled downwith a responsibility that should never have been hers. She was someone who was forced into a life that she should never have been a part of. She was a fool for ever thinking otherwise.
“It’s fine,” Ashley said, shrugging off the thought as she stepped away from Jack, steeling herself against all of the awful things currently swirling in her brain and reminding herself that she was still Ashley at the end of the day. She was still a girl who was gifted an incredible chance at this moment, and she couldn’t let it pass.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Emma dressed Ashley in the dress Valys had chosen for her to wear to tonight’s dinner. Elliot and Jack looked away, giving her privacy, even when Emma did her hair. There were no words spoken, and Ashley was done asking questions. Nobody truly answered her anyway.
Ashley could still feel Jack’s eyes on her even as she left the room and wondered if he was concerned about her. She didn’t give a fuck. She was tired of all of them. They didn’t want to believe that she was just a normal woman. They expected her to be able to handle all of this, like a dragon shifter would, and to get on with what they asked of her. They didn’t care whether she was still in shock, or if she was dealing with the trauma of it all. They simply expected her to be their tool. And now, she was forced to pretend to be a princess, to act like she understood what was happening.
To act like she knew all the etiquette rules, how to hold herself, which fork was which at the dining table, and exactly what you were meant to say to people to avoid offending them.
The unfairness of it all made her shiver with every step she took down the grand staircase. Ashley’s whole body was alert as she knew she was being watched by someone, even if they werehiding behind a wall hanging or in an alcove. It didn’t matter. She would do as was expected of her and make the appearance demanded of her.
But what surprised her the most when she descended the staircase and saw a whole group of people, was the fact that when her brother looked at her, he didn’t look annoyed for once. In fact, he looked relieved. As if he’d expected her to refuse to come down.
Val’s steward was at the front of a large group, giving another one of his less-than-handy tours and guiding people that could be kings and queens. If she had to guess, it was the general nobility of the other Clans. The kings and queens who frequented the house often enough would be their rooms, probably to prepare for the festivities.
Ashley obediently slid into place at her brother’s side, only for him to lean over to her and whisper in her ear.
“We’re moving the debut ball up to tonight. The Diamond King has decided to make his appearance, finally,” Val said, and Ashley opened her mouth to ask exactly who the Diamond King was in the crowd.
She closed it when she realized that he had probably decided to hide away in his room for the time being. She would have to be clever if she wanted to catch sight of him. “You need to be upstairs in the tailors’ rooms immediately. Your dress hasn’t even begun to be created yet, and they’ll have to sew you into it.”
“Sew me into it?” Ashley questioned, furrowing her eyebrows at the very idea. She had never had a piece of clothing sewn on her. She was pretty sure that was a thing that only happened in TV shows. She opened her mouth to ask another question, like when she could expect to have her dinner, but her brother shook his head, signifying that she wasn’t allowed to ask anymore, and began to walk away, leading a whole crowd of people.
The moment that he had led the people away, Emma skidded to a stop beside her, her eyes apologetic as she caught Ashley’s arm. She was unaware of what was happening and had no other option but to let Emma lead the way.
“Where are you meant to go?”
“The tailors,” Ashley said, having just seen them that morning and met them in her room. But something about how her brother said it made her more than certain that this wasn’t the same tailor. “The ball is going to take place tonight.”
Emma’s eyes widened, her whole face going pale, and it was clear that she was shocked.
“The master tailor, then. Your brother likely wouldn’t send you to the other tailor. You need as many hands as possible, and that way, the apprentices will be able to help,” Emma said with a nod, immediately grabbing Ashley’s arms and beginning to guide her, moving somewhat relentlessly.
Despite that, Ashley looked back over her shoulder, taking in the various faces of nobles. She wondered for a moment which one of them could possibly conspire against her and her brother.
She had no idea, but what she did have now was that there was little to no chance of her escaping Emma. Not now that they had already decided that there would be a grand plan to stop the rigging of the Dragon Games.
“Fucking Jack.” Ashley could not stop herself from cursing, partially blaming Jack for the fact that he had roped her into all of this, and now she was part of a conspiracy.
If it wasn’t for Emma, she could have gotten the fuck out of dodge, but now, Ashley was forced up the stairs and to head towards a room to the corner of the third-floor landing, one that was just out of sight, but not far enough that one could forget about it.
“The King’s quarters are on this floor,” Emma informed Ashley as she shoved her inside the tailor’s office, her voice alow murmur, almost as if she were worried that the other maids would hear. At this point, Ashley was pretty sure that the other maids were more concerned with keeping the house clean than anything else. They had been forced into an impromptu ball at the last moment.
Still, Ashley had questions.
“Just my brother’s room, or the other kings as well?” Ashley said, still wishing more than anything that she could have a chance to catch sight of the Diamond King. Her eagerness did not go unnoticed.
“Your mate is supposedly on this floor as well, yes, but there’s no chance that you would be able to get into his room. They guard these rooms with their lives, especially when the kings are visiting from other Clans and the new countries,” Emma said.
There were new countries. That piqued Ashley’s interest.
Ashley tried her best to look normal as all the tailor’s apprentices began to surround her, but her mind was already swirling with new questions for Emma, questions that could hardly wait. Eventually, she decided that she didn’t care who heard. She just had to know.
