Page 37

Ava

T he week had flown by. I’d spent it how I’d wanted to, exploring the streets of Lausanne and the countryside of Edoria, taking long walks through the garden and drives into the mountains. I hadn’t wasted a single minute of time attending etiquette lessons or at miserable, silent dinners with my father. In the evening I’d take a nice, long bath, talking with Hailey on the phone as she gave me the play-by-play of events at the food truck.

For the first time since arriving in Edoria, I was happy. At least, until I remembered that I was pregnant with the child of a man who I hadn’t spoken to since our fight. To my surprise, the idea of motherhood didn’t scare me. The more time I had to wrap my head around it, the more I found myself warming up to having a baby of my own, holding her and feeding her and taking care of her.

It was strange. Up to that point in my life, I’d been so wrapped up in my work. Motherhood, those rare times when I thought about it, was nothing more than some hazy idea in the distance. Hell, I wasn’t sure if I even wanted it. Now that it was real, that I was starting my second month of pregnancy, it became all that I could think about.

I needed to push all of those thoughts aside, however, because the night of the Harvest Ball had finally arrived.

It was late afternoon getting into early evening, the sun beginning to set. From my room in the palace, I could see that the landscape around the city was much in keeping with the fall theme of the night. The fall colors of the trees that lined the streets down below were brilliant oranges and reds—shades more intense than I’d seen anywhere before.

Car after car pulled in front of the palace, men and women in sharp tuxedos and gowns streaming out of luxury automobiles. Hundreds of guests were in the process of arriving—a procession that made my head swim, especially when I remembered that I was the freaking belle of the ball.

I hadn’t heard a word from either my father or Luc over the last couple of days. The king had been mostly in his office, and I’d only spotted Luc in passing. As determined as I was to see the ball through, I’d felt lonelier than ever before in the palace since arriving.

A soft knock sounded at the door, snapping me out of my trance.

“Yes?”

“It’s me!” Kinley’s chipper voice on the other side put a small smile on my face. She was the only friend I had there, after all.

“Come in.”

The door opened and Kinley strolled into the room with her now-familiar dress rack. The first thing I noticed was that she looked great. She had on a champagne-colored gown, her face done up with tasteful makeup and her brown hair long and flowing. One of the fun parts of the Harvest Ball was the tradition that palace staff were allowed to attend. For one night, the king hired outside help to take care of cooking and catering, giving the staff a chance to rub elbows with nobility and live like royals.

“You look amazing .”

“Thanks,” she said, giving a sassy little courtesy. The smile faded from her face, however, when she saw my hair.

“Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you have an appointment with a hairdresser today?”

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My shoulder-length hair had been straightened, the slight curl flattened out, my hair more flowing and silkier—I loved it. It was still purple, however.

“I did. And I got it cut and straightened, see?”

“But it’s still purple.”

“Yup, it’s still purple.”

She shook her head emphatically as she stepped over to the door to shut it.

“I think it looks cool. Just that the king’s going to have a heart attack when he sees it.”

“He’ll just have to deal. He wanted me at the ball, here I am. I took out my nose ring. That’s the one compromise I’m willing to make.”

She laughed. “That’s certainly something. Anyway, speaking of your father…” She reached into her purse, taking out a small envelope. “He was going to bring this here personally. But when I bumped into him in the hallway and he found out I was coming to drop off your dress, he asked me to deliver it.”

“Couldn’t do it himself?”

“Please don’t take it too personally, Ava. The king’s very busy with greeting the nobility coming in, preparing the guard for introductions and all of that. It’s a big night, as I’m sure you can tell by now.”

I took the envelope and opened it. Inside was an elegant piece of linen paper, with only a few sentences written. The first instructed me to remember what Oscar and Giselle had taught me about being elegant and graceful and princess-like. I couldn’t help but smirk—if only he knew what was in store for him.

As I read the other sentences, however, the smirk began to fade from my face. What he’d written was surprisingly sincere—they were words about how he knew that I was going to do great, how much he’d been looking forward to this night for years. When I was done reading, I folded the paper and set it on the nearby desk. Was my father simply saying what he felt he needed to in order to make sure I behaved? Or was the letter his way of reaching out to me, trying to mend fences?

“You alright?” Kinley asked.

I shook my head, coming back into the moment.

“Yeah. Fine.” Wanting to move away from the subject of the letter, I nodded toward the dress rack. “What’s going on here? How come there’s two bags?”

Kinley beamed, as if she’d been waiting for me to ask the question.

“It’s part of the surprise.” She stepped over to one of the dress bags, picking it up and laying it on the bed. “Open that.”

I did as she asked, slowly pulling the zipper along the side of the bag. Huge puffs of lace and tulle greeted me, followed by that familiar pink color.

“It’s my dress.”

“That’s right,” she said. “And it’s all ready to go. I’ve adjusted it to your latest measurements, with the, um…”

I laughed. “With the five or so pounds I’ve put on since getting pregnant. You can say it.”

“Yes, even with the little bit of extra weight, it’ll fit you like a dream. How the dress looks, well, that’s another story. Anyway, if you want to wear it, here it is.”

My eyes went to the other bag. “And what about that?”

She grinned. “ That’s the surprise.” Kinley stepped over to the bag, scooping it up and bringing it over to the bed. She zipped up the other dress bag and moved it from the bed, making room for the new one. “Look! I can’t wait for you to see what’s in there.”

With a touch of apprehension, I placed my hands on the bag and began to slowly unzip.

“Now, just a word in my defense,” Kinley said as I unzipped. “This was something of a custom, rush order. All the same, I think I did quite a good job, considering the time constraints.”

I was beginning to get excited. With eager hands, I opened the zipper the rest of the way, revealing what was inside.

“No. Way .”

I lifted the dress, the first thing hitting me being the gorgeous purple shade. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“This was made to the same measurements as the pink number. So, even though you haven’t had a chance to try it on, it should still fit.”

I wasted no time shucking off my clothes and getting down to my underwear to try on the dress. I put it on over my head, Kinley coming over and helping me the rest of the way.

“Let me just zip you up… there!”

I couldn’t help but grin. The dress felt great, and I quickly rushed over to the mirrors in the walk-in closet letting me know that it looked great, too.

“Well?” Kinley stepped to my side. “What do you think?”

I didn’t know what to say. So, instead of trying to figure out the right words, I let out a squeal as I threw my arms around her.

“It’s amazing! I swear, Kins, you’re a genius .”

She blushed. “Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

“I’m serious, you’ve got a gift.”

“You’re too kind. All the same, this dress… it’s going to cause quite a splash. I’m sure that I don’t need to tell you that the king has most certainly not approved it.”

“That’s fine with me. It’s going to make a splash, huh? Consider this girl ready to jump in.”