ROSES FOR RACHEL: EPISODES 11-20
Episode 14
I jumped on the balls of my feet when there was a firm knock on my door and I sprinted over, yanking it open with a prayer in my heart that it might be Calvin.
“Don’t start with me.” Master Pedro shook his head when I sighed that it was him. He almost smiled as he pushed by to enter the room, tipping his head to Fern, a silent conversation going on between the two of them.
I turned around, leaning against the door. “Yes?” I asked.
He was already dressed for tonight. Blue suit, brown hair slicked back, and a gallon of cologne. “I was coming to make sure you’d be back tonight.” He said looking at me through narrowed eyes.
“I see you’ve recovered from your illness.” He winked, referring to the lie that he’d come up with to cover for why I hadn’t been in attendance the last few nights. “I also am here to tell you that there will be no makeup date, so tonight we move on to personal speeches.” He sighed heavily as he looked at me like I was a wounded animal.
“Speeches?” I repeated, a lump forming in my dry throat. Even Fern looked like she deflated a little at the news. No one has any faith in me pulling off a speech after the debacle I’d made out of the questions.
Pedro shook his head slowly, pitching the bridge of his thin nose between his fingers. “I do dread to find out what you intend to say.” He told me. “There goes my promotion.” He muttered and then walked over to the door, looking down on me to get out of the way, but I moved further in front of it.
“What are you talking about?” I inquired, giving him a smile.
He looked angry for a moment and then dismissed it. “I told you all, each of the advisers to the royal family picked a girl to bring here for the prince.” He reminded me. “Whoever picked the winning girl will be promoted to Hand of the king. However, I brought you, so I’m probably going to be fired.”
At first I was disgusted that they used us girls as little chess pieces to help advance them in this huge game, but then I had an idea. “You want to win?” I asked him, keeping a straight face.
He looked down on me strangely, a smile dancing at the corners of his pursed lips. “Do you?” He asked skeptically.
I thought for a moment on the answer, but ultimately decided that part wasn’t important. “Help me.” I told him. “How do I get the people to accept me and the prince to forgive me?”
A wicked smile crossed his face. “Are you serious?” He asked and I nodded. He took me by the shoulders and led me across the room to stand in front of my mirror. “Refuse to be ignored.” He whispered into my ear. “Vampires are fickle people. They like the girls who put themselves out there, the strong ones, the gorgeous ones, the fighters.” Then he spun me back to face him, his intense stare piercing through me. “Want to know why I chose you?” He questioned, going on before I answered. “I picked you from that line up because you were the only one not crying or losing your mind. You stood, in the middle of madness, unaffected, poised, and beautiful. It’s time to start being that girl again.” He smiled. “I’ll help you if you’re serious about this.” The moment I nodded he was practically dancing from the room, promising to be right back.
An hour later, I was sitting at my vanity, on a new bench, waiting for the girls to come in and get me ready. Fern let herself in, followed by two new girls I didn’t recognize, and Master Pedro.
“Alright, girls.” He clapped his hands at them. “I want her hair down, blow out the waves to be bigger. Her makeup needs to be a little sultrier, dark eyes, red lips.” He bossed them around, then came over to me holding out a clothing bag. “You’re wearing this.” He informed me, unzipping the bag.
My jaw hit the floor. “I am not.” I gasped.
“You are.”
“I’m not .”
He sighed, rolling his eyes. “You asked for my help.” He reminded me. “You want the people to forget you’re an idiot, give them something else to focus on. You want the prince to see that you’re trying, this is certainly one way to get his attention.” He said nodding to the dress, his devious smile in full wattage.
I was skeptical, but as we slid the dress up my body, I had to admit that the other girls definitely had something to be jealous of tonight. The dress was floor length, sheer nude color, with a scary low V neck, and strategically placed beading to keep me from actually being nude. The color was brilliant against my skin, and it clung to every one of my curves. My shoes were a masterpiece on their own. They were at least six inch stilettoes covered in pearls and rose gold rhinestones. I pulled my eyes away from myself and back to Master Pedro. “What’s the jacket for? Is it going to be cold in the ballroom tonight or something?” He had a long dark tan colored jacket slung over his arm.
He grinned from ear to ear. “Ah, this is part of your entrance.” He said patting it proudly. “The ballroom will be setup in reverse tonight. The grand staircase will lead right out onto the stage, and the seating will be spread out in front of it. The King and Prince will be in the first row. Each of you girls will be introduced and one at a time you’ll be escorted down onto the stage where you’ll address the people, live, and then you’ll exit, back to your rooms to get ready for the ball to follow. I pulled some strings, and you’ll be going last, so be ready to turn some heads.”
I laughed nervously as I slid my arms into the long and sleek jacket. I had to hold on to the hope that Pedro knows what he’s doing. The last thing I wanted to do was go out there and make an even bigger fool out of myself than the first time
“Good luck!” Fern called as Master Pedro led me out of my room.
He laughed heartily, spinning me out from him to give Fern one last good look. “Looking like this, she won’t need it!”
“I hope you’re right.” I whispered as we made our way to the elevator.
The butterflies in my stomach seemed to turn into dragons as I waited outside the doors of the grand ballroom. Master Pedro was standing off to the side, listening to Greer’s speech intently. On either side of me there were two young and handsome men wearing tuxes and bowties, waiting to escort me out. Neither one made eye contact with me and it only added to my fear. Even my escorts don’t want to be associated with me.
I heard the crowd clap and cheer politely and I knew it was my turn. “Here we go.” The guy on my right whispered, and I held my breath, looping my hands around his arm and then the guy’s on my left.
“Yup.” I mumbled as the doors were opened wide for us.
The claps from the audience were a little less than enthusiastic as I walked out to the top of the stairs, but then I dropped my hands from the arms of my escorts and they each grabbed one side of my jacket, pulling it away from my body and letting it drop to the ground behind me. The blinding lights reflected across the beading on my dress, making it even more stunning.
The room went silent, not the sound of a single breath reaching me, not even my own. I steadied myself, then forced my feet to take me forward. Head high, smiling brightly, I began my decent to the stage, my eyes scanning the shocked crowd all the way, only one set of eyes mattering to me in the slightest.
When I reached center stage, I could finally see out past the spot lights. Right in the front row where Pedro promised he’d be, I stared directly into Calvin’s wide eyes. The king to his right looked almost impresses, his hand cupping his chin as he watched me, but Calvin looked like he’d seen a ghost. His skin was pale, his forehead wrinkled around his high eyebrows, and the fact that his jaw was hanging open gave me the courage to move forward with the plan.
A small woman with red hair rushed over to me, handing me a microphone, before she rushed back off stage. I swallowed hard, but looking out only at Calvin, I used him to give me the strength I needed.
“Good evening everyone.” I addressed the crowd. “My name is Rachel, but you all already knew that. Although you probably remember me most for saying that I don’t want to be your princess, I’m here tonight to leave you with a different memory of me.” I paused dramatically and watched as the people began to shift in their chairs, seeming to lean in to pay me even more attention to me. “All of the other girls might be ok with coming up here and lying, or just saying what they think you want to hear, but I’m not like them. I’m the girl who will not ever bullshit you.” I looked directly into the camera in front of me as the room got impossibly quieter, my own voice reverberating off the walls and back to me.
“I was just a little girl when I was taken from my home. I was raised in a feeder school, and then I was brought here. Yes, this place is amazing, but it is also terrifying to me. I was asked why I thought I’d be a good princess for you all, and the honest answer is that I don’t think I would. I know nothing about this world or the people here, so how could I possibly have told you I thought I’d be fantastic at every single thing?” I paused again, watching closely as faces began to turn up in smiles as I talked. “I couldn’t. I was asked why I wanted to be the princess, and I gave you the true answer- I don’t. I’ve never wanted to be a royal, I’ve only ever wanted to just be me.
ROSES FOR RACHEL: EPISODES 11-20
A lot of you may not like me, but that’s fine. I don’t know you, so I don’t like you either.” I took a breath and looked directly at Calvin. “I do like your prince though.” I announced with a smile, many turning their gazes to him now as well. “I don’t know what will come of all of this, but I do know that I am here, and I am willing to give this everything I’ve got, for as long as the prince is willing to keep me, because the only thing I know for sure is that I am very interested in getting to know him better.” He had been avoiding looking at my eyes until now. “He’s pretty great.” I smiled. “Thank you all so much for your time, and I hope you all have a great evening.”
I turned to walk off stage to the sounds of earsplitting cheers and shaking applause.
The second my feet left the stage Pedro was there, looping my arm through his and grinning like I hadn’t seen him do before. “That was….I am not even sure what that was, but whatever it was, it worked.” He gushed. He squeezed my arm like he wanted to hug me but he was fighting the urge. “I will admit, I wasn’t sure about anything other than the fact that you look fantastic. I was pretty sure even the glare of a beautiful dress wouldn’t hide whatever it was you planned to get up there and say, but you surprised me.” Pedro ushered us through the corridors as they began to fill with people rushing out of the ballroom while the servants prepared it for the ball to follow. “I’ve never been proud of someone before.” Pedro muttered to himself and I smiled up at him.
“You’re proud of me?” I laughed, still feeling the high from the cheers.
He rolled his eyes. “If I was going to be proud of someone, I suppose it would be you.” I figured that was as close to a compliment as I was going to get with Pedro.
Fern met us in the hallway. “Oh, Miss!” She cheered when she saw me, stepping out of her usual professionalism to hug me quickly. “You were unbelievable! I count myself lucky to be the maiden assigned to you.” She pulled away only to come right back and hug me again. “So happy for you, Miss. I’ll see you tonight after the ball. I can’t wait to hear all about it.” She told me as she rushed away into the crowds.
ROSES FOR RACHEL: EPISODES 11-20
Click 5 below to continue reading
