Scorn and Devotion

Chapter 17

Warnings - Parent threatening child, Parent being mean to child, mentions of religion

"I have some brilliant news!" Natalie seemed genuinely excited. Usually, she ran our lessons with an air of seriousness.

"We will be learning about proper ball management, since this week we will have our first ball run by one of you. As I've said before, I will only reveal the names one at a time so that no one has the advantage of extra time."

I was not looking forward to this at all. I didn't want to be in charge of creating a dance. I understood that the Queen would have to do this, but I just felt like there were more important things to focus on. Then again, these events were good for morale. Sometimes guests were so pleased they would move forward with deals and negotiations with the kingdom.

I just doubted my event would be any good. I knew I would forget something and Natalie would be disappointed in me.

"There will be a rating system. You will be rated on presentation, food, and overall experience. I expect none of you to be malicious, and use honesty since you will each have a chance to be rated yourself. Others who will be rating you as well will be me, the prince, and a randomly chosen guest at your event."

"Can we invite our families?" Juliet asked with a raised hand.

"Yes you may, in fact, it's expected that you do," Natalie nodded.

"Who is first?" asked Vangelina.

"I've got the envelope right here."

Natalie pulled a yellowish paper out of a sealed envelope. She scanned the parchment and a smile appeared on her face.

"Y/n, you would be first," Natalie read.

I was shocked and not in a good way. I couldn't imagine where I would start. Worse yet, we hadn't even started the unit on how to host an event. I would have the biggest disadvantage.

"Do you have a theme in mind?" Natalie asked kindly. I shook my head, worrying my lip. She nodded but looked slightly disheartened.

I took as many notes as I could. I didn't want to miss a single piece of information. By the end of the lesson, I felt a bit more relaxed. I had learned of a few businesses I could hire, and the importance of appropriate but not distracting decorations.

I wandered back to my room dejectedly. We had been let out early, and I was allowed to do as I pleased the rest of the day. The other girls would be eating lunch with Timothée and presumably attending other activities with him. I was glad I had the extra time to prepare. I needed to send letters out to merchants as soon as possible.

However, to do anything, I needed to choose a theme. For some reason, my mind was blanking. I wondered if I could possibly ask Timothée for advice, or if I was supposed to do this all on my own.

I sat in my bed with parchment and a quill. I was very cold despite the roaring fire. This winter seemed to be the most frigid in years, and the snow just kept piling up.

I glanced at the pillow beside me where Archangel lay. Her gleaming blade had recently been sharpened and cleaned by me. I wished that I could practice with it instead of planning this ball.

Just then I had an epiphany. Angels or deities, heavenly bodies, that could be my theme. My brain began to work a mile per minute.

We'd want airy food, cold berry juice, fluffy bread rolls, flavored ice, dainty chocolates, and such. There should be hanging lights, lots of gold and white, and pale white flowers.