The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

LARA

I didn’t even notice at first that I clenched my fists so hard that nails dug into my flesh, hurting me.

“What are you waiting for?!” Gianna looked at me, clearly annoyed, “We have a lot of work to do, Kara!”

“Of course, my lady,” I hurried inside. Work now, feelings later.

Dozens of dresses were thrown around the room. The lady of the South wasn’t in a good mood today.

“Did you decide on your outfit, my lady?” I asked her while kneeling and gathering her lavish dresses. The southerners of Akyrian kingdom loved shiny and sparkly things. Their fashion was bolder and brighter.

“No, that’s impossible!” the girl fell into one of the chairs, “Nothing I have will suit gerdian tastes! All this is wrong!”

“I’ve heard from the other maids that they love daring women,” I told her, remembering the one and only gerdian ball that I attended, “And their princess Primrose wears all kinds of colours and shades, preferring things with golden elements.”

Gianna looked at me with a suddenly interested gaze, “What else do they say?”

“Erm,” I stumbled, “Not much. We are just maids…”

“What about hair?” the lady asked me.

“They like hair up,” I bit my l*p, “With jewels in it. But it’s for official events, my lady. I am not sure if a date is…”

“Yeah-yeah,” she waved her hand at me, signaling to stop talking, and rubbed her forehead, “I can work with that!”

She started pacing around the room, while I gathered her gowns.

“Find me a blue and gold dress. Not the puffy one,” she commanded and I started my choice, “It should be fine for first personal introduction in the garden…”

“In the garden?” I repeated her words.

“Yes,” she smiled, “He ordered to put up a tent in the castle’s garden and will be meeting the ladies inside.”

I had to close my eyes and breathe out through my nostrils to calm myself down. Now he was even creating a more intimate atmosphere for them. And meeting everyone in one day. The damn gerdian emperor was in a hurry, wasn’t he? In a hurry to find my replacement…

“What are you waiting for?!” Gianna scolded me, “Hurry up! Hair first!”

She already made a small sketch of what she wanted on her head. And again I was thankful to my friend Bria for plenty of experience. This was a complicated hairdo with many braids that only a professional could create.

However, I almost choked when I came to Gianna and noticed that she had many other sketches prepared. Not with hairdos. With the contestants of the Dark Selection! There were the lords and the ladies… And the small pieces of paper were arranged in groups.

“You were busy my lady,” I suppressed a laugh willing to escape me. The lady of the South was tactical, wasn’t she?

“Oh, this?” she acknowledged me lazily, “I like to visualize things! It helps me think.”

I started brushing her hair and she started to explain her system to me. As if I cared.

“And this group of ladies is the most dangerous,” she got into too much detail explaining to me why she considered the poor girls a threat. I nodded here and there and sometimes was adding a simple yes to make keep her happy.

“Melody Raen is the most dangerous of them all!” Gianna assured me, “Even the Duke was fascinated by her. He looked at her intensely!”

This got me interested without me even realizing but when I saw a sketch of lady Melody, I calmed myself down.

“She is the last you should be worried about,” I snorted and caught Gianna’s gaze on me.

“Why us that?” she raised her brow, “Melody is a beauty with shiny blonde hair, she is considered one of the most beautiful women of the kingdom. After me, of course.”

“Of course,” I echoed, “But the problem is…her hair may be considered golden.”

“So?” Gianna looked at me dumbfounded.

Yes, so what? Where was I going with it? I couldn’t reveal the prophecy and that Demir was actually the emperor of the Gerdian Empire. Nice way to set yourself up, Lara!

“Gerdians don’t like that hair colour too much,” I muttered, “It’s… considered bad luck in their lands.”

“I see,” the lady of the South smirked and placed the sketch of lady Melody into another pile, “You prove to be very useful, Kara.”

“I do my best,” I smiled politely at her and went on with my work.

“But now I think that maybe it will not be the best idea to take you to the Gerdian Empire with me,” she pointed at my hair and I clenched my lips. Thank you all the gods for that.

“Probably not,” I tried not to show my excitement. One less problem for me.

“But do not worry,” she said, “If everything ends well here, I will find a way to reward you.”

Something told me that she would forget about me the instant a gerdian proposed to her. But I didn’t need her attention. I needed this Dark Selection to be over soon. And also, I needed money. Now I wasn’t so sure anymore that it was such a great idea to stay in a castle that was full of gerdians even if it was just for a couple of months per year.

“Just the most usual way of thanking a maid would be great, my lady,” I dared to look the southerner in the eye and she smirked at me, knowing far too well that I was talking about coins.

Good. It would be easier with her if she believed that we would be on the same side.

“I always like to reward talented people,” Gianna chuckled, “And talented maids are the rarest of them all. You will be rewarded for every success of mine. So, work hard, Kara.”

“With pleasure, my lady” I was attaching one of the braids to its place.

In a few hours, we were done and even I had to admit that Gianna Vensal looked wonderful today. She had an elegant dress on and an intricate hairdo. Any man would admire her looks today…

A lump formed in my throat when I remembered that all this was intended for one man only… Demir… But I suppressed my broken heart and started cleaning up the room.

“What are you doing?!” the lady wondered, “You need to get yourself in order.”

“That’s fine, my lady,” I forced a smile, not willing to look at her anymore. I didn’t need more of those hurtful thoughts inside my head. “I’ll clean up the room and then come back here when you are back from your date.”

“No,” she snorted, “You are going with me!”

I started to think of excuses that I could use not to and it was as if she read my mind.

“Did I forget to mention?” she fluttered her long eyelashes that were too long to be natural, “The Duke ordered us to arrive with our maids.”

Uh-oh.

“Wh-why?” I mumbled and she rolled her eyes.

“How would I know?! It’s a strange request, but on the other hand, maybe it’s some kind of a gerdian tradition,” Gianna didn’t sound so sure and I had a bad feeling about it, “Never mind. Just go and change to look clean and presentable. Your curtsies are perfect and there will be no need for you to speak. We’ll be fine.”

She looked me up and down again and frowned, “Maybe cover your hair…”

“Yes, my lady,” I curtsied and left her.

This was bad. This was really bad and I knew that!

As long as I knew Demir, he was never interested in my maids… Could it be that he was here not to actually look for a bride?!

Anyway, there was no way I could go inside that damn tent!

I wished all the luck to Gianna, even though not sincerely, considering who her date was with… But I wasn’t going to risk myself being discovered! It couldn’t happen!

I was close to my room when someone dragged me by my elbow into a dark passage and I saw someone I didn’t expect here at all…