not a fairytale

nine

We all spent a few hours skiing before all of the girls went to a more casual dining room for dinner and Logan went back to wherever Jeanne was hiding him in the manor.

"I forgot how well you could ski Juliette," Tessa remarked as I ate with her, Kate, Meghan, and Alex.

"I wasn't sure how it would go," I laughed, "I haven't skied in almost two years, Ana and I didn't get to the mountains last winter."

"You've always been athletic," Tessa said, "And you don't even have to try, kind of makes me hate you for it," she added with a laugh.

"Now that's uncommon around here," Alex laughed, "The only thing we play around here is croquet and tennis occasionally."

"Well, I have eight brothers who all played a million sports and taught me so they could beat on me," I laughed, "I ride horses too."

"Oh, I love riding!" Kate exclaimed, "It's one of the very few normal things I was able to do as a kid."

"I used to do everything, English, Western, I did barrel racing a few times, God, I love to jump," I sighed, "I have a horse at my dad's, she's the best."

"I think we're supposed to go riding with the King and Prince at some point, it'll be right up your alley," Kate smiled.

"Good, I need a break every now and again, this world is so foreign to me," I sighed.

"Well, you can't tell that you're just getting your feet wet here, if that means anything," Meghan remarked, "And Prince Logan really seems to like you," she added, causing Tessa's face to drop for just a moment before her PR smile was back on her face. 

"I hope so," I sighed, "At least we only have one more day of Jeanne having home field advantage, right?"

"True," Alex agreed, "We just have to get through the festival tomorrow afternoon and the dinner and ball tomorrow night."

"And try not to freeze to death in the meantime," I laughed.

###

We all turned in after dinner to settle into our rooms in the manor that night and had breakfast brought to us in our rooms while we got ready the next morning to kick off the Northern Lights Festival in the early afternoon in the town a few miles from the manor.

I wore a pair of lined black leggings and a pair of black leather boots and a knee-length evergreen-colored coat with a sort of flouncy bottom that made it look like a dress. I wore my hair down with a black beanie with a stupid pompom on it, but I wasn't going to complain because it was actually warm. 

We rode down to the town in carriages, it felt like I was back in some sort of princess story that my mom read to me when I was a kid as I peered out the window and watched the snow fall on the mountainside as we approached the cute little town where people were gathered and there were fire pits every twenty feet or so along the crowded streets.

All of the carriages gathered off on a side street where Logan was all done up in another kind of fancy suit with white gloves and a trench coat.

"I wish you had to go do all this shit with me," I sighed, giving Anthony a look as I put my gloves on and got ready to get out of the carriage.

"I'll be waiting where there is no press," he laughed, "Have fun."

"Yeah, we'll see," I sighed as I got out and found Kate, Meghan, and Alex waiting near some of the other girls.

"It's so cold out here," Meghan groaned as I found the group of girls waiting for the word on what exactly it was we were doing out here.

"I'm never going to be warm again," Alex agreed.