The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

LARA

It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t scared to knock on the door of the Lady of the South after the things I found out about her from the other maids. Gianna Vensal was considered the beauty of her lands. Even though there were numerous other beautiful maidens in the South, her family was the most prominent and she was even considered as a bride for the crown prince for the Akyrian Crown Prince. All that was before she received the dark mark – a sign that appeared on the chest when a girl was chosen by the dark lords of The Gerdian Empire as one of the candidates for the Dark Selection. Only women who could accept dark magic into their bodies received those. And it was considered a sign of great luck. Since, apparently, marriage to a gerdian lord seemed everybody’s dream here.

As far as I managed to find out from Ramina, this was considered competition for higher titles and sometimes the contestants were ready to harm each other to succeed. It was cutthroat.

And Gianna did not come here to lose. She was a winner and very demanding to everyone who surrounded her. The first maid who worked with her, run away from the castle in tears. The second was humiliated in front of everyone for her lack of skills and… thrown out of the castle.

So, I didn’t hold my breath to stay there for long. And when I heard imperious, “Come in!”, I knew I had to follow the order.

“My lady,” I entered quietly and saw a girl with long silky dark hair in an armchair, pretending to read a book. She did not look at me even once and I still curtsied before her and stayed down, knowing that she’d have to be the one to dismiss me.

Minute after minute, we stayed like this. She turned page after page in the book she was not reading. Because it was upside down. I knew that she was looking at me and did not dare to lift up my eyes.

Back at the White Archipelago, I always tried to treat my maids nicely. But my friend Bria… had a different character. She loved to test her servants since she considered it was a big honour for them to serve her.

“Raise!” Gianna commanded and I did as I was told. I knew what a lady like her would expect from a maid and I intended to give her just that. Because Sean Sarn was right about one thing, I would be safe here. Hidden and never found. Due to some events in the past, the castle was under the protective barrier and no one would be able to sense me from the outside. Not even Demir.

The southerner was looking at me with interest now and threw away her book, standing up. She walked around me in circles, frowning slightly. But then she touched my hair and I flinched.

“What is your name?” she asked.

“Kara,” I answered softly.

“What happened to your hair, Kara,” she smirked. I could tell that she actually liked the fact that it was this short.

“It’s more comfortable for my work this way, my lady,” I lied, “And work comes first.”

“Does it?” the lady raised her perfectly trimmed dark brow at me, “Don’t you want to get married and have a family of your own? You are so young!”

“No, my lady,” I shook my head, “The family I come from wasn’t a happy one and I don’t want to repeat that. I found happiness in what I do and this is it for me.”

“Clever girl,” she smirked, rubbing her lips with her index finger and clearly contemplating something, “So, Kara. The thing is that we are at war here. And this war I need to win.”

She looked at me expectantly.

“I am at your service, my lady,” I nodded.

“If I win and stay happy with your work, I am going to ask my future husband to take you with us. Just imagine! You could be a maid at the Gerdian Empire!”

It was hard to hold back the laugh that tried to escape me. Little did Gianna knew that I just refused to be the Empress of the Empire. And she was offering me to be her maid as if it was the best offer in the world.

But I just smiled and said, “Thank you, my lady. I’ll do my best.”

“Of that, I’ll make sure personally,” she sneered, “Let’s not waste any time, Kara! Tonight we have the Introduction Dinner and I need to look my best. I already have the perfect dress and accessorize, so you don’t have to work too much with that. But I do need you to do my hair and makeup. Do you think you can handle an event this important?”

“Yes, my lady,” I smiled brightly. Luckily, back at the White Archipelago Bria and I was doing each other’s hair all the time. So, I could handle that more or less easily. It was worse with the makeup as I never used too much of it. But then again, Gianna was a true beauty and didn’t need much paint on her face. I was sure I could do it.

She was watching my every move, clearly still not trusting me. But with each intricate braid, her expression was becoming more and more relaxed. And when I was done with her hair, she approved it with a simple nod. But I bet it was worth a lot in her case. I just added some paint to her lips and curled her eyelashes. Then put some blush on her cheeks and this was about it.

“Is that it?” she crossed her hands on her chest, “Do you think this kind of look is enough to meet with the gerdians?!”

“With your natural beauty, my lady, nothing more is required,” I tried to smile confidently, “If I use more paint, I’d only be covering it and not enhancing.”

Gianna looked at her reflection in the mirror again and smirked. Flattery was working perfectly on her.

“Good,” she stood up, “Now, help me with the dress! We are late for the dinner as it is!”

“We, my lady?” I chuckled lightly as I helped her inside of a huge green dress that looked magnificent but was probably more suitable for a ball.

“This dress has a train,” she rolled her eyes, “I need someone to take care of it at all times.”

“I see, my lady,” I started panicking. What if one of the gerdians would be able to recognize me? At the one and only official event I was wearing a mask, of course, but other than that I was walking in the palace gardens and passages freely… But what would happen if one of the potential grooms recognizes me?

This was the only thing I was thinking about the whole time we walked to the Dining Hall. Many other pretty girls were there with their dark marks on display on their chests. Some of them were friendly with each other, some were eyeing the competition and making plans… Gianna just ignored everyone and walked inside. She took her place at the central table and ordered me to stay with her as I had to help her when it would be time to go on the stage in the center and introduce herself. Some of the other maids were there as well, helping their ladies with one thing or another.

I noticed Ramina on the other side of the room and she showed me a big thumb up. Probably for still being here.

However, all that I was worried about, was the fact that soon the gerdians would arrive. And here I was, standing alone in the very center.

But just then as if by magic, the lights were dimmed in such a way that all the girls’ tables were succumbed by darkness. In the meantime, the higher part of the dining room was still well lit.

Clouds of dark smoke started to appear at the tables as the gerdians took their places without even introducing themselves first. Girls gasped and some even screamed with excitement at seeing them and I was just checking their faces. Luckily, now they couldn’t see us as all the light was on them. And as far as I understood, next, the light will be on the stage. All that planning would make sure that I stay incognito here.

But at the moment I saw dark flames appearing at one of the front tables…