The other girl, Rhi, was just as petite as Lyss, but with dark hair and she was more pretty than beautiful. But it was Topher who took me by surprise. He was scruffy, a word that wasn't often used in Enchantia. His dark hair fell over his ears and into his eyes. He swept it away in one smooth motion, only highlighting the stubble on his cheeks.
He glanced up at me with bright green eyes, taking me off guard. I quickly looked away and set my eyes back on Jake.
"We'll get some more rooms set up next to yours in the palace," Father promised. "This is my daughter, Princess Kelis."
I didn't miss his use of my title and had to wonder what had made him use it.
The two girls dropped into pretty curtsies, while Adam just smiled, and Jake did nothing. Topher swept into a deep bow.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess." His voice rumbled pleasantly, a little at odds with his appearance.
"The pleasure is mine," I answered diplomatically.
Adam saved me from saying anything else by swooping forward and taking my arm. "How are you, cousin?"
I laughed lightly. I wouldn't say Adam and I could ever have been considered close, but we'd always gotten on.
"As busy as ever," I responded to him. "What about you?"
"The usual. I'm taking the university by storm, fighting off the women throwing themselves at me because they forget I'm not royalty, and just living life to the fullest."
I snorted. Mostly because I knew he wouldn’t give most of those women the time of day. He was far too interested in his studies for anything else.
"Are you keeping up with your magic studies?" he asked me.
I shook my head. "You know it's not my thing."
"You could be great if you just tried," he countered.
"My future lies in running a kingdom," I countered. "Magic is the least of my worries when there's politics and the right way to address the third son of an Earl to pay attention to."
"You're really something special, Kelis. You know that, right?" Amusement tinged his voice.
"Of course. I am a princess, not many people can say that about themselves," I quipped.
"And then there's your personality."
A smirk tugged at the corners of my lips. "Some of us don't have dashing looks to make ourselves memorable like you and Jake do," I pointed out.
"You think Jake is good looking?" he asked.
"Objectively, yes," I answered too quickly.
The knowing look on Adam's face was enough to let me know he'd caught me.
Oops. That wasn't what I wanted to happen.
I'd almost picked a white dress. My hand had been ready to pull it out of my closet, but I knew I was choosing it to impress Jake. He had a girlfriend, I reminded myself The coolly impressive Lyss, with her perfect body and perfect face and perfect red lips.
“Your face will stay looking like a duck’s if you continue to pout like that.”
I flashed the mirror some shade and pulled out a black dress.
I had no reason to impress Jake. None, whatsoever.
I pulled out my wand and waved it over my hair. Sparks flew out of it, lifting the dark strands and making them into bouncy curls sweeping over and pinned so they fell over my left shoulder. Remembering what Mother had said about my costume for the Fright Festival, I picked up a pot of red lip paint and smoothed it over my lips. The full-length mirror in front of me revealed the effect of my paying more attention to my appearance.
I didn't look half bad. My black, shimmering dress fell to the floor in one smooth line. The sleeves stopped at my elbows with a square cut neckline. I needed' to choose an appropriate necklace from the ones in my jewelry box, preferably one that had a matching wand belt and sheath.
Rummaging through the box, I found exactly what I wanted, deep rubies set in black metal. The only thing that would pull attention was the gems. The wand belt looked the same. It'd cinch around my waist, and the black leather sheath would hang against my left thigh. A matching bracelet caught my eye, so I slipped it on. There'd be no sense in leaving it behind.
I sighed and studied myself in the full-length mirror.
"Not too bad, Kelis," I said to myself.
"I have to admit, you're not wrong," the other mirror said.
My mouth dropped open. I spun around to face it. "What did you just say?"
"You look passable. Definitely better than normal, but that doesn't mean much."
I blinked a couple of times. Had it just given me a compliment? A back-handed one, sure, but it was still far more than it had ever given me before. I wasn't sure how to process what had just happened.
"Erm, thank you?" Was that the best way to respond to a mirror that normally insulted me telling me something nice? I wasn't too sure about that one.
I swept out of the room in a rush, almost tripping over the dress as I went.
The corridors were full of people dressed in their best clothes, all white, naturally, and heading towards the banquet. I stuck out like a sore thumb in my black dress.
The smells of roasting meat and baking bread filled the air as I neared the hall. My stomach rumbled as I thought about eating. I'd been too nervous to eat much of my lunch, and I was starting to regret that.
I slipped through the banquet hall door and stepped into the room full of chattering people. No one paid me any attention, which was something I was used to. I made my way to the opposite side of the room where two thrones sat waiting for my parents. A smaller ornate chair to my Father's right was waiting for me if I chose to use it, but my parents had always made it clear that I could choose to sit with my friends instead of
