𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙚 [ 𝙖 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙁𝙖𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 ]

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧

My maid was a woman around 25 with black hair that was twisted into a neat bun. She was short and had a bubbly attitude and a warm smile. ''I'm so happy you're here, Lady July! Oh, god, I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Cala.'' she said as she opened the door to my new room. 

The room itself was huge. In the corner stood a large grand balcony bed. It was a bed with a small staircase leading up to the bed with curtains tied to the bed posts. There was an open door on the other side of the room, which was filled with dresses and clothes. There was a canvas and paint set over by the window that overlooked the garden. I loved to paint. I wasn't a five, but my mother said that I was fairly good at it. I gasped in awe at the room. How was this real?

I heard feet scurrying from the hall coming towards my room. Two other girls, around Cala's age, walked in. They waved and curtsied. ''Hello, Lady July! I'm Rea and this is Cait, and we'll be your other two maids.'' Rea curtsied again and Cait followed her lead. ''It's so nice to meet you all. This is,'' I looked around the room in awe again. ''surreal.'' I could hear a giggle from Cait. ''I'm glad you like it, miss!'' Cait said, giggling again.

''July, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we do have to get you ready for dinner in..'' Cala checked the small clock on the wall. ''around 45 minutes. Do you want another dress to wear or anything else, miss?'' Cala smiled, which made Cait and Rea smile as well. 

''I'm fine, thank you. I...I just can't believe this is real!'' I sighed and then looked to my right where Cala stood. ''What time does the prince want everyone?'' I said tugging on the ends of my hair. 

''6:30, miss.'' Cala responded, smiling. She looked at a small clock next to the closet and dressing room and then added. ''You have 15 minutes, miss.'' She responded. 

Fifteen minutes later, Cala guided me to the dining hall. She smiled and then scurried away. Three or four girls were ahead of me. I recognized the girl in front of me. She was the one wearing the ice-blue dress and had blonde hair. She turned behind me and said ''Nervous?'' she said, smiling. I was nervous especially after falling in front of everyone and the prince. ''Heh, yeah.'' I clutched the soft fabric of my red dress nervously. ''You're July, right?'' she asked. ''The one and only,'' I said, curtsying and laughing. ''And you are?'' I asked the girl in response to her own question. ''Eleanora Combs,'' replied Eleanora, moving up towards the front of the line. I could hear the girl in front of us chatting with Prince Hunter. ''...oh, really?'' ''how interesting!'' ''...thank you!'' 

Eleanora whispered to me, ''That's Gwendolyn Halycon, a two. One of the other girls, Krysten, was telling me about her. She's the daughter of Marisa and Jack Halycon, these two really famous actors. I've seen interviews with them on the TVs in stores because I don't have a TV, because I'm an eight, but Krysten tells me that she's probably really spoiled and has probably even met the prince before.'' Gossiped Eleanora. ''I'll tell you later, and I'll introduce you to Krysten,'' she said, moving on to meet Prince Hunter. 

Clearly, I had no idea how competitive these girls could be or if I would even be good enough for him. I took in a breath. Well, I guess we'd see soon enough.