Tales Under A Cloud

02| Light and Shadow

Yuxin came to her room and realized that she would share it with another girl. That girl was looking out the window and her unpacked suitcase was on her bed.

When Yuxin closed the door, the girl noticed her presence and turned to see her. Her red hair fell down her back, and just by looking at her you could tell she could kill you with a gaze. She gave off an aura of fear and cold.

"You must be number ten"

"Yes, my name is Liu Yuxin"

"Yuyan, number six."

Yuxin set her suitcase on the other empty bed and then pointed to her new partner's one.

"Aren't you going to unpack it?"

"Tomorrow will be the first elimination, I won't last long here" she said confidently as she sat in front of Yuxin, who raised her eyebrows because of confusion.

"How do you know they will send you home first?"

"The prince wouldn't force any woman to stay if she doesn't want to" When Yuyan said that, a hope grew in Yuxin.

This is gonna be easy, she thought.

"You don't want to be here either, what will you do if they don't eliminate you?" Yuyan asked.

"They should. That's for sure, so I can go home and keep working." Yuxin replied with confidence.

She was worried about her parents. They weren't against the king's rules, but it hurt them not to be able to see their daughter for several days.

"We can get along, at least we are not rivals like number eight and nine" Yuyan said, gesturing with her chin to the opposite room.

"What do you think they will ask us to do tomorrow?"

"Princess things, for sure" Yuyan replied, while Yuxin approached the window and being fascinated by the beautiful landscape that she had from up here.

"Let's enjoy this when we can" Yuyan said beside her and then they both went downstairs for dinner after chatting a little longer.

The girls were already at their seats. Some of them just talked about random things and the others were just smiling without understanding anything.

"Enough talking, girls" The same woman who brought them here, puts order in the dining room "If you want to stay until the end, you better leave a good impression. Tomorrow the way you behave at the table will be rated, practice now".

Are there rules for eating? And why are so many size of forks and spoon here? Yuxin wondered and stopped thinking about that when a plate of meat and potatoes was placed in front of her.

She got up first and took a piece of meat to put it on Yuyan's plate. Her partner was moved by the gesture and felt bad for having to reject it.

"I don't eat meat, but thanks Yuxin"

"It's okay" she started to serve the meat to another girl who was close to her while Yuyan watched her distribute the food until all of them had it on their plates and she served herself last. That action softened Yuyan's heart, and from now on she was determined to protect Yuxin.

*

"We are about to start, take your places" they warned the participants, and most of them began to fix their dresses and hair.

Yuxin already had her things ready to go home. If what Yuyan said is true, she must be the first one to be eliminated because she barely spoke yesterday with the prince. The other girls were also sure that number ten is out for this section, more because she wasn't wearing a dress like everyone else.

"The prince is here"

Kun entered the dining room and sat in the center where he could see all of them.

The girls were stunned by his presence. Kun have always been admired for being handsome, no wonder many girls wanted to be with him.

"Eat, please" he said when the waiters left a plate of food for each one. The girls sat up straight and took the correct spoon gracefully, just like they've seen in the magazines, but Kun wasn't looking at who did it best. His eyes stayed on number ten, who caught his attention the most.

She had her own plate of food, but still gave her broccoli and potatoes to number six.

"I saw that you were eating this a lot yesterday," Yuxin said.

"Yes, but you like potatoes, don't you?"

"You don't eat meat, and what they gave you won't fill you up. Take some more" She gave her another piece and Yuyan was looking at her with so much affection just like Kun.

"You love eating, so don't put another potato on my plate" Yuyan warned and Yuxin just stopped with a funny smile.

The session ended and they all formed a line. Some were proud that they did well and others faked a smile to hide their insecurities. Kun stepped forward and saw that Yuxin wasn't wearing a dress. That took him by surprise, and that made her look more unique in his eyes.

"You all did a good job here. I'm satisfied" he said, and the girls thanked him "For this round I will eliminate number seventh, sorry".

The room fell in a long silent. Most of the girls were surprised, even Yuxin was in shock. Now she had to wait days for the second round.

What happened? Why wasn't me? She asked herself, still not believing it.

Participant seventh said goodbye with a genuine smile, but she privately thanked the prince for not holding her back.