What lies underneath

Chapter 3

Once upon a time, Rose and Naomi were the best of friends or frenemies, but they still managed to get along well. They were happy to be together in one village, until the incident. Naomi was cold and could be cruel, but she tried to be nice to others and tried to be a different person. Rose embraced her blood royal cruelty, and that came between them. Naomi became friends with a girl named Rubia, and one day, on the killing moon, where the blood royals were allowed to kill those who deserved it, Rose killed Rubia, just for the fun of it. Naomi was enraged and swore that she would avenge Rose. Thus, the end of their friendship, and the start of an unhealthy relationship between enemies. They never spoke again. And now, Naomi would have to see the backstabbing girl that killed her best friend. Her expression soured at the thought, and she turned away, scoffing. She would not go so low as to talk to dirt like her. It was quite unlikely that Rose would become queen, and she would most likely die. With that thought, Naomi haughtily walked past Rose, ignoring her, and treating her like a servant. Rose raised an eyebrow, looking calm but was clearly enraged.

Naomi entered her assigned room and was not disappointed. It was filled with luxurious furniture and was made out of the finest materials. The windows were trimmed with pure gold, and the view was marvelous. Everything was white, silver, or gold, and it was a room fit for royals, complete with a huge and lavish bed, one as soft as feathers. The maids had already left her bags, and they had gone to the maid's quarters. Naomi leaned against the wall, turning her head sideways so she could see out the window. She was here, at the ascension palace, where she would soon get her power.

And then her mind drifted toward darker thoughts, for example, Rose's death. They were allowed to kill once the night they received their powers was over. And then, she would finally avenge Rubia. Rose would die. She would make sure of that.

Naomi stayed in her room, ate some dinner, went to explore some of the palace, and then returned to her chambers. She lay on the bed, staring at the stars, and slowly drifted to sleep, thoughts peaceful.

The next day, she awoke with the birds, who were singing a sweet melody. Naomi smiled softly, and got up, letting her long dark hair cascade down her back. She yawned, stretching her arms out, letting the sun hit her face. Her icy blue eyes glistened, and she was clearly excited. Quickly, she got dressed, wearing a light green dress decorated with flowers and donning rare gemstones. She already looked like a queen, even though she had no crown. Yet.

Then, she came down for breakfast, descending down the stairs gracefully. She was well aware that she would meet her long-lost childhood friends, most of them, at least, but she was ready. She knew they would no longer truly be friends because this was a war zone. Once she was in the dining room, she sat in one of the plush velvet chairs, careful to keep her distance from the other girls, but much to her dismay, another blood royal sat down next to her. Disappointed, Naomi avoided their looks but was grateful that Rose wasn't sitting next to her. She suddenly realized that she was the only commoner there, and in the back of her brain, she wondered if that would affect her chances of winning. She ignored the thought, closed her eyes, and kept eating peacefully, enjoying the culinary delights of the palace, and keeping to herself. You could hear the chatter, and if you didn't know anything about them, it would look like a comforting and friendly atmosphere. All the girls were smiling kindly, exchanging words and compliments. They looked like little angels. But if you looked past all the manners, and all the silk, what lay underneath wasn't so pretty.

Because they were blood royals, and blood royals are pretty girls with pretty daggers and a not so pretty destiny—Naomi most of all.

***

Suddenly, the butlers came, bringing new food and snapping Naomi out of her thoughts. She heard gasps, and then she noticed that their butlers were actually polar bears. White, fluffy polar bears in suits, bringing their food. She was torn between surprise and amazement. What was happening? As quickly as they came, the polar bears set down the food and went back to the kitchen. One tiny baby polar bear, with a name tag that read "Andrew" came up to Naomi. It gave her puppy eyes or polar bear eyes, and it looked so cute that Naomi was tempted to pet it. Suddenly, the cute expression morphed into an annoyed one. Andrew the polar bear began growling, most likely saying something in polar bear, but Naomi was a human, therefore she didn't understand. "Grrr grrr grrr," said the polar bear, shoving the plate at her.