imperfect fit ; an everlark au based off of 'the selection' series

f o r t y - t h r e e

It's Monday night. Or Tuesday morning. It's so late, I can't tell.

Delly and I have worked all day finding appropriate swaths of fabric, having butlers hang them, choosing our clothes and jewelry, picking china, creating a rough draft of the menu, and listening to a language coach speak lines in Italian to us in the hope that some of it will stick.

I pick it up a little bit, while Delly tries to keep up.

I ought to be exhausted, but all I can think about are Peeta's words.

What happened with Delly? Why is she all of a sudden so close to him? Should I care this much?

But this is Peeta.

And try as I might to pull away, I still care about him. I'm not ready to give up completely.

I also think about my own words, words I still remember myself saying before I fell asleep.

"Stay with me."

He had said something back that I didn't quit catch, but I yearn to know what it was.

As I debate everything that's happening, attempting to separate one issue from another, it looks like all the pieces fall into one of four categories.

My feelings about Peeta. Peeta's feelings about me. Whatever is going on between me and Gale. And my feelings about actually becoming a princess.

Of all the things swimming in my head right now, it actually feels like the princess thing would be the easiest to tackle right now.

-

The next day flies by, and suddenly, Delly and I are arriving at the other girls' reception in conservative gray dresses.

"What's the plan?"

I consider for a moment. I dislike Glimmer and wouldn't mind seeing her fail, but I'm not sure I want to see her do it on this grand a scale. "Be polite, but not helpful. Watch Effie and the king and queen for cues. Absorb everything we can . . . and work all night to make ours better."

"All right." She sighs. "Let's go."

We are on time, as it is crucial to the culture, and the girls are already a mess. It's like Glimmer is sabotaging herself. Where Esim and Nina are in respectable deep blues, Glimmer's dress is practically white. Put a veil on her, and this is a wedding. Not to mention how revealing it is, especially when she stands next to any of the German women. Most of them are wearing sleeves to their wrists despite the warm weather.

Nina had been put in charge of the flowers and missed the detail that lilies are traditionally used a funerals. All the flower arrangements have to be removed hastily.

Esim, though clearly more agitated than she usually is, appears to be the image of calm. To our guests, she will look like a star.

It's intimidating, trying so hard to communicate with the women from the German Federation- who speak very broken English- particularly when I have so much Italian packed into my brain. I try to be hospitable; and despite their severe appearance, the ladies are actually quite friendly.

It becomes clear pretty quick that the true threat of the disaster is Effie and her clipboard. While the king graciously helps the girls in hosting the German guests, Effie walks the perimeter of the room, her sharp eyes missing nothing. It seems she has pages of notes before the event has even ended. Delly and I quickly realize our only hope is to have Effie fall in love with out reception.

The next morning, Delly comes to my room with her maids, and we get ready together. We want to make an effort to look similar enough so it's clear we're in charge but not so much alike we look silly. It's kind of fun having so many girls in the room. The maids all know one another, and they talk animatedly behind us as they work. It reminds me of how things were when Prim was here.