Slowly coming to, I noticed that I was standing in a shimmery metallic dress, the strangest and most stunningly beautiful dress I’d ever seen…or worn. Looking down, I stared at the flowing billowy yards of fabric swirling about my legs and almost lost myself in the thoughts of floating away. My sight was blurry and my mind was off balance, maybe disconnected was a better word. I swished the fabric a little as I smiled. This dress made me feel dazzling!
It was only then that I noticed the odd arc of my feet. It was almost as if I was standing on the tips of my toes, like those ballerinas that flit across the stage. Poking my foot out from under the fabric of my dress I saw my feet in these gorgeous-as-all-get-out gold stiletto shoes. My whole outfit was so out of character from my usual slip on sneakers, t-shirt and jeans.
It was while I was admiring the sparkle of my new ankle-breaker shoes that a horn blared. I felt it reverberate down my spine. It was so loud.
Jerking straight, I grabbed the thin ornate rail in front of me and finally noticed that I was not alone. Further, as I attempted to shake my thoughts clear I saw that I was standing on a small platform on the upper ring of an amphitheater or maybe coliseum would be a better word for it. Ok I take it back. The more I looked at the platform, it looked more and more like a pedestal with no way down.
Looking around, I could see that all the people there were cheering. I guess I should have noticed all the noise sooner but it was like I was coming out of a mental fog. Was I in the capital city? It looked like how I had imagined the capital would look. If so, how did I come to be here?
“Ladies and gentlemen! Rise as we welcome the royal family!” A deep-throated voice blasted through unseen speakers around the stadium. It was incredible to watch the waves of people standing up and cheering even louder.
The royal family appeared in a shaded pavilion off to my right. The King and Queen emerged first, heads held high and calm smiles on their faces. When Travis walked out next I nearly stumbled off of my tower pedestal prison thing. What was he doing with the royal family? Travis walked out, bold and confident, and easily caught my gaze. And while I was blatantly staring he gave me a jaunty nod. If I was close enough I would have slapped him, prince or not. Maybe that’s why I was stuck up here surrounded by thousands of people I didn’t know. Imprisoned for the safety of others.
The announcer’s voice sounded again. “King Drow, Queen Sheilah, and Prince Travon. It is a pleasure to have you here as we embark on this final testing ground to find our new princess.”
So unless I was still loopy from whatever had me waking up dressed in a fancy formal gown and mile high shoes, Travis wasn’t Travis but was actually Prince Travon. The only thing I’d heard about the prince was that he was getting married to some random princess. Accurate details of the goings on at the capital rarely reached us in Halla.
If only I could crawl back in bed and start the day over. Especially since I don’t remember the day starting at all.
“Let us meet our competing champions! ”
A massive screen rose up into the air, finally letting me see the face behind the voice. The brightly dressed announcer was gesturing off to his left at who I assume were the champions.
The announcer continued. “The people’s champion, Vestral Targon hailing from our capital city.” A hawkish woman with her shiny black hair pulled into a tight braid nodded to the crowd as the cheers for the crowd soared. Her tight black dress went to the floor but looked thick and unyielding, like a leathery type of armor. “Our King’s champion, Milini Grasta of the Tiran province.” The screen showed a wisp of a girl, golden curls woven artfully around her head and tumbling past her shoulders. She shot the announcer a bright cheery smile as she waved to the crowd. I fought the impulse to sit down on my pedestal platform thing and groan. Was I going to be stuck up here for the whole testing?
“Our Queen’s champion, Cerena Folta of the Grameeon province.” This woman looked menacing as she scowled at the camera. I shivered. Whatever the test was for these potential new princesses I was glad I wouldn’t have to be up against her in a physical contest. She looked strong.
“And our Prince’s champion, Karalee Walsham of the Halla province.” At the sound of my name I jerked. Had they mispronounced the woman’s name?
My gaze locked onto the massive screen and gaped in shock. There I was, standing on my pedestal, looking every bit an elegant warrior princess in my shimmery gown. Even my hair looked phenomenal in a top knot ponytail. Luckily I didn’t look like a caged animal ready to flee. However, my head was screaming at me to jump, run, and hide.
I looked back over to where I had seen Travis and fought not to glare at him. He stood there watching me, still smiling. With a slight shrug he blew me a kiss. Without thinking I smiled at him. There was the sweet guy who I had just started dating, the one who had walked me home from the orchard and brought me flowers and books whenever he could just to see me smile. I wanted to go back to that.
The announcer’s voice drew my attention back to him. “Tomorrow will be the second of 10 public tests of worthiness and suitability to determine the best choice of princess for our own beloved and ever popular Prince Travon. Get your seats early so you don’t miss out!”
Another horn blared and again the people packed in the stadium rose to their feet. “Of course tonight wasn’t just about meeting the competing champions but also to get to know them. Our first test begins now.”
My pedestal slowly began to lower to the ground where I found a long set of stairs.
I don’t remember agreeing to any of this. I had only said yes to being his girlfriend! Yet here I was in a gorgeous dress, making my way to one of many contests to see if I qualified to marry the guy. A little warning would have been nice and maybe a little more time of getting to know him before he basically shoved me into making life altering decisions about my life and our relationship on a hugely public scale.
Though, I guess I didn’t have to wonder if he really liked me anymore.
