“That bee must have been quite a bother,” she replied. “I have been dealing with that issue my entire life. Luckily for you, Ican help.”
She let go of my face and silently walked to her corner of the dormitory. She picked up a few pots of paint and a brush out of her box of art supplies. My eyes darted to the other girls, who were still sound asleep, as Annalisa walked backto me.
Annalisa and I stared at each other in silence for a heartbeat. Annalisa and Derrick had identical blue eyes, but you could leisurely swim in Derrick’s and drownin Annalisa’s.
Her deadly eyes flicked down to her paints. She dipped her brush into a pot of pale green and patted the cold paint onto my neck. She blew on the thin layer of wet paint before mixing pink, yellow, and white on the back of her hand until she created a color that matched our skin. She brushed the flesh-colored paint on top of the green and then put herbrush down.
“Just try not to sweat too much and you should be fine,” Annalisa said quietly. She gently brushed my hair back over my neck and saidnothing more.
I half-expected the paint to burn my skin or force me to break out into arealrash, but the cover remained firm. Sheets stirred and the rest of the girls yawned and stretched out of their beds before I could wonder why cruel Annalisa had bothered tohelp me.
After preparing for the day, the five brides went downstairs wearing flowing linen dresses. We ate a hearty breakfast in the Great Hall, boarded a golden House of Hyton carriage, and headed tothe palace.
Annalisa stayed sullen and silent as we rode through the streets of Hyton while Dinah and Camille twittered with excitement. I kept out of their chatter and held Brietta’s hand as her face turned from white to green during the ride. Right as I feared Brietta would lose her breakfast, thecarriage stopped.
The sprawling Hyton Palace had multiple towers reaching to the sky like they competed with each other to be the tallest. The palace overlooked the Western Sea on the edge of a steep cliffside that separated it from the rest of the city. Banners of Hyton Blue streamed proudly down the stone walls, each bearing the House emblem of a rearing black bull with golden hornsand hooves.
A sea of servants in blue coats and dresses trickled out of the palace doors to greet us. We were whisked inside in a flash of blue fabric and smiling faces. Our footsteps clicked softly on the polished stone floors as the servants led us into the firstpreparation room.
Five maids, including Merri, waited to attend us in the small room with multiple doors and opulent portraits of maidens fromcenturies past.
“Merri!” Annalisa cried—her first sign of happiness in days. She ran to Merri and threw her armsaround her.
Merri smiled and patted Annalisa’s curls as she held her. “I’ve missed you,Lady Hyton.”
“I am so glad you are preparing me today,” Annalisa said with awide smile.
“Actually,” Merri replied in a strained, but still cheerful voice, “your father instructed me to prepare MissElvar today.”
“What?” Annalisasnapped. “Brietta?”
I gritted my teeth behind my lips. There was the AnnalisaI expected.
Merri let go of a bewildered Annalisa and walked to Brietta. Merri gently patted Brietta’s large hands. “Forget about yesterday. We took careof everything.”
Merri took Brietta through a door to tend to her. Meanwhile, Annalisa threw a small fit when she paired with a maid who wasnother favorite. I paired with a stout, older woman and she took me through a different door than the one Briettawent through.
In the tiny wood-paneled room filled with bouquets of white flowers was a porcelain tub filled with steaming water. I undressed and slipped in the tub, careful to not let the water touch my neck. Normally I was terrified of water, especially if I was in a tub big enough to feel the floating sensation, but I forced myself tonot panic.
The maid scrubbed me from my collarbone to my toes. She sprinkled red rose petals in the water that floated around in the swirling bath, gently caressing my collarbone and the tops of my breasts. I played with one of the petals and hung my head back over the edge of the tub as the maid washed and combed my hair in a separate bowlof water.
Wisps of fear fluttered around my chest as I tried to relax. Yes, Derrick had professed his love for me. Yes, he was choosing a bride first. Yes, he said he would choose me. No matter how many times I heard my imaginary Derrick say “yes” in my head, my pragmatic brain could not stop repeating that nothing was a guarantee onSelection Night.
I hugged my knees in the bathwater. I needed to stop being so cynical and have faith in my plan. I put in the work, I wrote the letters and told the lies, and it was all about topay off.
The maid worked an oil in my hair that smelled like wildflowers. As I stepped out of the tub, she applied the oil to the rest of my body. I smelled like I had stepped out of a faerie story. Once the maid finished fussing over my too-thin calves, I slipped my linen undergarments over my silken skin and entered the maindressing room.
The large dressing room had multiple dressing tables and plush pink and blue loungers. The furnishings were worn from use, a reminder of decades of brides before us. At first I thought the room was huge, but then I realized it was just an illusion from the wall of mirrors that stretched end-to-end on the other side ofthe room.
I looked at my own reflection in the wall of mirrors as I stood in the doorway. My face and chest were pleasantly flush from the hot water of the bath, my skin was luminous, and my dark hair had formed shining waves that fell down my back. I wasalmost beautiful.
I pried my eyes away from my reflection and searched for the most important garment of my life to complete the picture of beauty that Derrickwould see.
I scanned the room—finding dark blue, light blue, and pink dresses on mannequins—until my eyes stopped on the smallest dress that had tobe mine.
The velvet dress was the beautiful dark green of the House of Ravenwood with long sleeves and a train. Gold ribbon with pearls sewn in wrapped around the wrists and the tightly cinched waist. The neckline would slice across my shoulders and end at a point above my heart. The green skirt split down the middle, revealing an underskirt made of richblack satin.
Just when I thought the outfit could not get more luxurious, I looked down and found a pair of white gloves, a pair of matching green slippers with a high block heel, and—to my extreme relief—a thick black choker adorned withmore pearls.
