“Eden, you don’t have a choice,” Talbott said exasperated. “He’s the Crown Prince; you have to do what he says.”
“You are kidding me,” this was ridiculous. I was almost too angry for words.
“No, I’m not. Please be ready by seven,” he walked passed me and opened the door.
“What is going to happen to Lilly?” I called after him, fuming.
“I don’t know,” he replied softly.
“Well, aren’t you going to do something?” I accused, tired of being told what to do.
“Lilly Mason lied to me, and she lied to the Crown Prince, she is on her own. I cannot help her…. no one can help her,” he nearly growled the words before closing the door behind him.
I stood in the foyer, flowers in hand, staring at the door. I was so angry I could spit.
“He’s right dear; you do have to do what Kiran asks,” I turned to see my aunt standing in the door-frame leading to the kitchen, arms folded, with a concerned look on her face.
“Ahhh!” I let out a small scream of frustration, threw the flowers on the floor and stormed up to my bedroom. If I was going to be treated like a child, then I was going to act like one.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I rummaged through my closet, throwing piece after piece of clothing into a pile on my bedroom floor. I couldn’t decide what to wear, against my will, to the dance. My nice clothes seemed too dressy and my casual clothes seemed too dumpy. I contemplated wearing the Kingsley uniform just to spite Talbott, but decided that he wouldn’t care and I would look like an idiot.
I’d never been to a dance before and I didn’t know what to expect. My high school experience had thus far been a disaster and the last thing I wanted to add to my long list of high school embarrassing moments was an opportunity to willfully show off what lack of dance moves I had. The only thing, in fact, that could get me to go to the dance was a royal decree, which was apparently what I was up against.
I was not sure if I even took the whole Monarchy thing seriously yet. It didn’t seem real and the truth was I had a hard time believing there was a King out there that actually had authority over me. It was even harder to believe that one day that King would be Kiran.
I rolled my eyes and began to rummage through another section of clothes. I paused on a black strapless dress I had worn to a funeral for one of Aunt Syl’s coworkers. The dress was tight-fitting, but had a ruffle that started mid-thigh and ended at the knee. To the funeral I wore a black, cardigan to cover up my shoulders, but I could go without one for the dance. I stomped my foot, frustrated, realizing that this date was the last thing I wanted to do tonight.
I found it hard to believe that Kiran was doing this with my best interest in mind. It seemed more like a way to torment me more than anything else. A date with Talbott, who completely lacked personality and didn’t like me anyway, all while watching Seraphina Van Curen throw herself at Kiran sounded more like torture than a high school rite of passage.
“How are you doing sweetie?” Aunt Syl peeked her head in the door and talked softly, soothingly. She had probably heard me stomping my foot and grumbling for the last couple of hours to know that I was just a little upset.
“I have nothing to wear,” I pulled my head out of the closet and glanced at the clock: 6:30. At least I had already showered.
“This came for you,” she said tentatively and stepped all the way into my room, pushing the door aside with a large white box, wrapped in a soft pink ribbon.
When I didn’t respond, she walked over to the bed and laid the box on top of my rumpled covers. I could see her watching me out of the corner of her eye, while she opened the box and revealed soft pink silk wrapped in silver tissue paper.
Since I didn’t move to examine the contents of the box, Aunt Syl did the honors by slowly unwrapping the tissue paper and pulling out the garment. She held it up, with a soft gasp. The dress was absolutely stunning; the material completely pink silk, with gold embroidery at the hem. The top cut into a deep v in the front and in the back with wide cap sleeves, while the bottom flowed out into an a-line skirt with detailed pleating. Left in the box I could see a pair of gold strappy stilettos.
“Who’s it from?” I asked, although I could probably assume.
“Oh here, this came with it,” she handed me a piece of ivory cardstock, embellished with an elaborate snake circling around to eat its own tail; surrounding the snake were dainty lilies and intertwining with the snake was an ornate golden crown. I realized I had seen a lot of snakes recently and pondered their meaning as I grudgingly read the hand written note.
I wanted to be the one to take you tonight.
Know that I’ll be thinking of only you.
“What a bunch of bull-sh—“
“Eden,” my aunt cut me off sharply. “It is a nice gesture, and a beautiful gown,” she held it closer and sighed softly. The dress was beautiful. I stepped closer to examine it and rubbed the soft silk between my fingers. I couldn’t find a label and wondered what designer was responsible for this magnificent creation.
“No. I am not going to play these games,” I said firmly, letting the material drop from my hands. I walked back over to my closet and ripped the black funeral dress from the hanger.
“Absolutely not,” my aunt shook her head. “Come with me if you’re going to be stubborn.”
Aunt Syl laid the pink dress very carefully onto my bed, laying it out perfectly. She touched it one more time and gave another soft sigh, before turning on her heel and beckoning me to follow. We walked down the hall into her bedroom.
The master bedroom was gigantic and looked like a page directly out of pottery barn. Her bed always perfectly made, was adorned with a lavish comforter and probably fifteen pillows. I imagined that it was also gathering dust since she was never here to sleep in it. We walked past her settee and 52” flat screen TV and entered her bathroom.
The bathroom itself looked like a spa, but the real treasure was in the back…. her walk-in closet. Aunt Syl’s only vice was clothing. She loved shopping and had a closet full of clothes to testify. Aunt Syl was really quite the bombshell. Her thin frame and trendy sense of style made it easy for us to share and swap, so I was excited to see what she had in mind.
She took in a big breath as if paying homage to the closet gods and let her fingers slide across the racks of clothes until she reached the back. I saw her slowly, and carefully, picking her way through the many formal dresses she had accumulated. Her fingers brushed softly, almost reverently over their various materials, moving them out of the way gently. Finally, she came to rest on one. She pulled the hanger down and turned around to face me.
I smiled. This was one of her favorite purchases. She picked it up in the middle of the summer and hadn’t had a chance to wear it yet. The emerald green dress was strapless and short, with a curving bodice. Small black and gold beading covered the front, giving it the look of a corset, while the waist was cinched even smaller with an oversized black belt. At least it would give me curves.
I took the dress from her and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. I turned to head back to my room, but not before I grabbed a pair of killer black heels. Once in my room I dressed in seconds, maneuvering my body in ways I didn’t think possible to get the zipper all the way up in the back. I slipped on the heels and pulled my black waves into an unruly bun at the base of my neck. It was messy, but it would have to do.
I headed to the bathroom, where my makeup awaited. I was in the middle of painting on a quick retouch of bright pink fingernail polish when I heard the doorbell ring. They were just going to have to wait. I smudged my black eyeliner on, while Aunt Syl answered the door. A little bit of mascara and some bright pink lip gloss and I was ready to go.