The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

LARA

In my room, I found a small bag of coins together with the dress for me which lady Fiona sent, as well a note saying that this was my first payment for all my work. Not being able to help myself, I got all the coins out and counted them. It wasn’t much but the satisfaction I had inside of me was real. This was the first time I earned something. Not given, not gifted… I earned those coins and I was proud of myself for it.

The dress was simple yet beautiful. Deep blue velvet with silver embroidery at the edges hugged my body perfectly. Long sleeves, however, implied that it wasn’t a ball dress. It was not lavish but elegant enough for me to not stand out among the Dark Selection crowd. I put my hair into a small bun and let a few curls loose to frame my face. Festive enough for a ball. But not too much since I wasn’t going to be a guest there.

Before leaving, I decided to write that letter I planned for Gideon. I needed him to know that I was fine and not in the Gerdian Empire anymore. So, if the war he was about to start was about me then he had to stop and go home. I begged for him to reconsider his actions.

When I was done, I opened the note with the two spells which I found earlier at the library and created a thread of light. My fingers were itching to use magic the old-fashioned way and I started to weave the patterns needed for the spells. I never particularly enjoyed sewing but using light thread was so different! A smile formed on my face, it was like a little part of me was back. And I missed it. Everything was ready in no time and I added a few lines so that Gideon couldn’t track my location. I was not ready to meet him just yet.

The letter was gone, and I sighed, thinking of how I lost both – the love of my life and my brother at the same time. My eyes became teary but I shook it off. It wasn’t the time for weakness. Luckily, I had a task for today.

I entered the hall together with other servants and was amazed when I saw a real-life portal. It was tall and standing in the very centre of the huge room. However, at the moment it was deactivated and people were walking freely through the huge arch.

There were a few other maids who were working today. Their task was different – from taking away empty dirty goblets, to making sure the tables with snacks were full. Ramina was here too. She was the messenger girl today. If something went wrong, she had to inform lady Fiona immediately. And that meant that she simply had to walk around and try to stay unnoticed by the guests. But she was coming to me from time to time, pretending that she was checking my table and in the meantime, we cracked some jokes. She was funny and that was exactly what I needed today.

I filled the first goblets and prepared the next jug at the same time pretending to be a piece of furniture. We were not allowed to talk to the guests unless they addressed us directly.

The ladies started to arrive first, each of them beautiful and looking like a rare gem. It did not escape me that a lot of them were wearing gerdian dresses already. Which meant they received gifts from their admirers. It was a good sign. For them.

I saw lady Iris, wearing a silver gown that suited her looks perfectly. She noticed me and gave me a light wave. To which I had to curtsy, of course. Waving to a guest would be considered rude for a maid.

Lady Gianna appeared as one of the last ones and behaved as if she was already a queen, no less. She held her head high and greeted other ladies with a graceful nod as if there was a heavy crown on her head.

Soon the gerdian lords started to arrive. One after another clouds of dark smoke appeared revealing their figures in fancy dark suits and after the desired effect was achieved, they started mingling with the girls. I saw one couple, where a young-looking guy with dark hair, sat on one knee and offered his lady – a pretty girl with red curls – a bracelet. My heart skipped a beat when she threw herself at him and he spun her and then pulled in for a passionate k**s. That was love. I bit my l*p as painful memories surfaced in my mind again. Painful but also sweet at the same time. I knew how love felt…

Suddenly I felt as if someone called my name and looked in a completely different direction. Where I saw him… Demir was standing at the other side of the hall and not taking his eyes off me. He was so handsome in his black suit with silver detailing that fit his tall and muscular figure just perfectly. People were walking in front of us, covering our vision from time to time but we just kept staring at each other. And although I knew that it would be best for me to turn away, I couldn’t do it… I forgot about everything at that moment because I honestly thought that I’d never see him again. Yet here he was…

His eyes were full of dark magic and I even thought for a second, that he would come up to me. But the magic died down and he turned away, breaking my heart… Not that I did not deserve it…

From my dark corner, I watched his every move greedily. In the meantime, Demir walked to a group of ladies and formally invited Iris for a dance! She politely accepted and they started swirling around the dancefloor. She suited him perfectly in her silver dress and I bit my l*p again in hope that the pain which I inflicted on myself would bring me back to reality, helping me cope with the situation at the same time. I needed to save my face at least. I did not want to see it! I did not want to see any of it! However, my eyes seemed glued to the perfect couple.

“That harlot!” I heard a familiar voice right next to me and saw a very pissed lady Gianna, gobbling a whole cup of wine and placing it back on the table with a thud. “More!” she commanded and stopped, noticing me for the first time during the evening, “Kara? What are you doing here?!”

“Just helping,” I explained briefly, filling her goblet, “The castle is a bit understaffed thanks to the protective barrier, so I am on duty today, my lady.”

“Good,” she nodded, “At least one face I am glad to see here!”

Seriously? Out of all the people here, she was glad to see me, her insignificant maid?

“Can you believe this?” she continued and pointed at Demir and Iris, “He didn’t even look at me once!”

“It’s early night still,” I reminded her, thinking that for some reason it wouldn’t be so painful to see her dancing with Demir. Although, who was I kidding?! “And you have plenty of other… options,” I added.

“It’s early night still,” I reminded her, thinking that for some reason it wouldn’t be so painful to see her dancing with Demir. Although, who was I kidding?! “And you have plenty of other… options,” I added.

“But none of them is the Duke!” Gianna stomped her feet and a couple not far from us threw shocked gazes at her.

“All bachelors here are noble, aren’t they?” I tied to speak calmly even though I didn’t like what I was seeing just as much as her. Demir was smiling at Iris. And she giggled at something he said. But the worst thing was that it all looked so natural… As if they really belonged together.

“And yet none of them is a duke,” the southerner sighed, repeating herself. The dance was almost over and she hurried in Demir’s direction. However, he did not stop even for a second and continued dancing with Iris, making the musicians adjust to their pace and other couples joining them rapidly.

I liked it less and less by the minute…

And the worst thing about was not even that he seemed into Iris. No, it wasn’t that! The worst thing was that the lady that he chose was a blonde!

The realization hit me so hard that my mouth parted in shock and it was at that moment when our eyes met again and a little smirk formed on his lips.

“What are you doing?!” someone shouted next to me and I noticed that the goblet that I tried to fill was already full and the wine was spilling all over the table in front of me.

Some lady screamed as splashes got into her pale pink dress, destroying it, and she looked as if she was about to kill me. Oh, chaos!

“My apologies!” I mumbled and saw Ramina running in my direction.

“Go get a towel or something,” she hurried me as she tried to deal with all the mess that I created. I guess I wasn’t a great maid after all.

But one thing I was happy about was the opportunity to escape and not see any more of this. Because in all honesty, I had no idea how much more of it all I could take.

All of a sudden, the lights were dimmed as I started walking and I heard lady Fiona’s voice, “Lords and Ladies! The time has come for you to enter the Portal of Truth and discover if the one you long to see wishes for the same thing! Inside this portal, one cannot lie about what he or she desires. And you will know if your chosen couple reciprocates the feelings. As only the desires of the heart matter in that reality!”

Someone activated the portal and it started glowing. I stopped, mesmerized by it as it was an incredible sight. People started entering and I really wanted to see what would happen next. Would they be walking out of it holding hands or not? And what would Demir do? Who did he want to see inside out of all the Dark Selection ladies?

I saw Iris step inside and came to my senses. Whatever happened, I did not need to see this, I did not even need to know. So I gathered my skirt and started walking to the exit that was close to one side of the portal. However, I did not make it far as someone grabbed my elbow and pulled me harshly right inside the portal…