I nodded.
I did as he said. "How is this?"
"Better. But try firing a spell, and then, we'll see."
I shot off some magic. The golden streak headed for the target. It seemed like it was going to hit the center until it came into contact, just to the right of where I wanted it to be.
I groaned. "Why can't I do this?"
"You've been practicing for two days, and you're frustrated because you can almost hit the target perfectly?" Topher joked.
"Well, when you put it like that, maybe I'm being a little ridiculous. But I just want to make sure I do it right."
"I know that feeling. My parents pushed me to be perfect too."
"It's not my parents," I defended. "They've never been anything but supportive. I just don't want to let them down." And some of that came from my insecurity about the fact I was adopted. The last thing I wanted was for my parents to regret taking me on.
"Ah, well, mine aren't like that. They wanted me to be the poster boy for the Enchantian middle class. Good at spells, win the most competitions, you know the deal."
Ah. That made some kind of sense with what I'd seen of him. "And you don't like that?"
"It's been helpful." He shrugged. "Now I'm at university. I get to keep a lot of my winnings for myself. And I can start being myself a little bit more."
"Hence the hair?" I asked before I could stop myself.
He chuckled. "Exactly. But you understand that, right?" He gestured to my black dress.
I smiled and nodded. "Being me is more important than conforming," I said. "It's nice to find someone else who feels the same."
13th October
After a morning of paperwork, I found myself having lunch with Adam and his friends. Both Rhi and Topher had invited me, and it had seemed rude to refuse. I reached over and grabbed one of the small finger sandwiches from the tray in the middle of the table.
"Are you all sorted out for what you're going to wear to the Fright Festival?" Adam asked the group.
"I found this dress; it's got panels cut out of it here and here." Lyss gestured to her body with a smile on her face.
Jake scowled at her, clearly unhappy with what she was suggesting.
"It sounds lovely," Rhi said with a little too much enthusiasm for her to be telling the truth. She glanced back and forth between the couple, clearly trying to defuse the situation. I didn't blame her. I could already feel tension radiating from the two of them.
I picked up the teapot and poured myself a cup rather than enter the conversation. Lyss already didn't like me. There was no need to make it worse.
"Not drinking, Kelis?" Adam joked, trying to help Rhi out.
"I have work to do this afternoon," I reminded him. There was no point in explaining that I didn't drink much anyway. It wasn't my thing. I had the odd glass of wine at official dinners, but I didn't like the way it made my head hazy. Not unlike the situation at the arena the other day. I repressed a shiver, just thinking about it.
"Work?" Jake scrunched up his face. "Why are you doing work?"
"I'm a princess; it comes with the job description," I joked, only a little offended that he didn't think I did anything useful with my time.
"But why? You have all these servants to do things for you."
"That's not how it works. Some things only the royal family can deal with. We have the whole of Enchantia to look after."
Everyone's eyes were on me, causing my nerves to spring to life. I wasn't sure what was putting me so on edge.
I met Topher's gaze across the table, and he gave me a reassuring nod. I sucked in a breath, steadying myself.
"It's not something anyone but me needs to worry about," I said, putting on the best imitation of Mother's queen-voice that I could. If this wasn't going to convince them, then I wasn't sure what would.
Luckily for me, they seemed to find it uninteresting and moved back to talking about the Fright Festival. I didn't want to admit that I felt relief to be out of the spotlight, but I couldn't help it.
"I was thinking about putting some of that glitter here," Lyss said, running her fingers along her neck and collarbone. She was the center of attention again, just where she liked to be.
"You can't do that," Jake fumed.
I frowned. Why couldn't she? I might not like Lyss, but the part of her body she was indicating wasn't exactly provocative. I actually thought it would look pretty good under the lights filling the street during the Fright Festival. Not that I said any of that, I didn't want to get between them, especially not when they were fighting.
"I can." Lyss narrowed her eyebrows at Jake and picked up a cupcake.
Rhi pushed a crumb around her plate, and Adam turned to Topher to strike up a conversation. None of them wanted to be part of the argument that was no doubt brewing. I didn't want to be either.
Lyss and Jake exchanged heated whispers. I tuned them out, not listening to whatever it was they were arguing about. Even if I'd seen her with Michael, it wasn't really any of my business.
I gestured to one of the servants, knowing that if I wanted to get out of here before they started screaming, this was my chance.
One of the footmen shuffled forward, eyeing the couple cautiously.
"Your Highness." He dipped his head and waited for my orders.
"Could you clear the food plates and bring a pot of coffee to my office, please. I’ll be heading up there shortly."
"Of course, Your Highness." He gestured to the other servants, and they swarmed the table, clearing up the food and plates.
Rhi
