Page 15 of Broken Princess

With that, he strode away, leaving me on the edge of the hall with at least a hundred pairs of eyes on me.

I trudged over to the serving station and made myself a small plate of toast with peanut butter. Then I headed out to the main floor, cheeks burning as I awkwardly searched for a seat. I felt like I was in middle school all over again.

“Would you like to eat with us?”

I turned my head at the sound of the soft, lilting voice. A blonde girl was pointing to an empty chair beside her. She couldn’t be any older than sixteen or seventeen.

“Sure. Thank you,” I murmured, sliding my plate onto the table.

“What’s your name?” the blonde girl asked as I sat down, eyes wide with curiosity.

“I’m Willow.”

“What a beautiful name. I’m Eva.”

The others at the table introduced themselves in turn. They were all polite and friendly, and strangely, none of them seemed to have a clue who I was beyond the first name I’d given them.

I knew it seemed arrogant and presumptuous of me to assume that people would automatically recognize me when they saw me, but the simple fact was… they usually did. Photos of me were splashed across newspapers, websites, and TV screens on a near-daily basis, thanks to my mother, so I was used to being recognized and gossiped about wherever I went. It was weirdly disconcerting for me to walk into a room where no one seemed to have seen me or heard of me before.

“Where did you come from, Willow?” one of the other girls asked.

“The city.”

“Which city?”

I mentally slapped my palm against my forehead. Given that I had no idea where this mansion was located, my initial answer was stupidly vague. “Sorry. I’m from D.C.”

She smiled. “I’ve never heard of that, but I’m sure it’s lovely.”

“I meant Washington, D.C.,” I said, arching one eyebrow.

“Oh. Should I have heard of that before?”

“Well… it’s the capital,” I said slowly, unsure if she was kidding or not.

“Capital?” She tilted her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

I went silent for a moment, trying to figure out if she was serious. Given the nature of her questions, it seemed like she was screwing with me, but her tone and expression were perfectly earnest. She was either a very good actress or completely ignorant of the world around her.

“I mean it’s our capital city,” I finally said. “Most of the government is there.”

“Government?” She still looked deeply confused.

“Yes. Our country’s government.”

She nodded and smiled hesitantly. “Ah. The country is so nice. We’re very lucky to live out here,” she said. Her expression turned dreamy. “I hope one of the masters will let me explore the woods one day.”

My forehead wrinkled. “I didn’t mean the countryside. I meant country as in nation.”

Her smile faded as her gaze filled with confusion again. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to understand, but I’m not sure what you mean.”

I turned and looked at everyone else at the table. They seemed similarly befuddled.

“Are you messing with me?” I asked.

Eva frowned. “Messing with you? What does that mean?”

“Like… trying to trick me.”