Guided by secrets

Makeovers and trips to the unknown

Hey guys, sorry this chapter is like, super long, but I'm trying to make up for the times I don't write! Also, wow, the reads are boosting up, so quickly! It's already on 180 reads! Can we get it to 200 by the end of this week? Thanks so much for all the support, seriously! So, I'll probably write the Christmassy chapter in a week, since it's going to be Christmas soon! Who's excited? But for now, enjoy this chapter and byeee!

Chief's words rang again and again in my ears. I couldn't believe this! They seemed to be convinced...so easily! That was it. I wasn't going to be prime minister....just like that! What could stop me now that everything was about to take place?

"Wait, are you serious?" I exclaimed. Well, it had taken a lot of thought, but they thought it was a good idea!

"Indeed, I am. Your mother, Cleo, also considers your idea to be quite...modern," he said cheerfully. Mother nodded next to him.

"We both think that if you don't want to do that job, then you shouldn't be pressured to, just because your ancestors have for some centuries. We want you to be free Cleo, to do whatever you wish in life. We're just glad that you told us before Monday (when I was going to be Prime Minister)," Mother said.

Wow, that turned out to be the opposite of what I thought it would have been.

"Erm..okay, so when do we start to spread the word?"

"I'd say Monday, because then, everyone will be expecting news, just not the ones we will give out," Chief smiled knowingly.

"Well, I'd better go and finish my dessert," Mother chirped in, out of nowhere. I think she did that in order to let us discuss some details that would not involve her. My mother always thought that women should stay at home, and do what their husband wishes, and that they shouldn't get involved in politics and 'serious businesses', because after all, they are women, and women are not made for that type of thing. Which is absolutely bullshit and sexist, in my opinion.
Of course, I've never told her that, because, she's a good woman, deep down.

"As I said before, you should firstly find some candidates!" Chief broke the silence.
He was so right. I had not actually thought about that before.
"But how?"

"Well, I think you should take a good look at what is being offered," he hinted. How was I supposed to do that? All this time in my brain, I just thought we could just put flyers up saying: who wants to be the next Prime Minister?

Only then I realised that sometimes, I was a fucking idiot.

Of course we had to pick someone fit for the job. Not some random person who could turn out to be a farmer! Someone highly intelligent. Someone passionate but patient. Someone fierce but cunning.  Someone like me, basically, but who actually wants to do the job.

"So what do you suggest, Chief?" I asked, impatient for the answer.

"Well, what do you think? We start looking for people!" He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Wait, did he mean that literally? He couldn't be serious, he knew that if I went out there without bodyguards or something, I wouldn't even be able to walk one step without cameras and flashes in front of me.  And even if I went to a local village, the people would still recognise me and ask me for pictures and all sorts of things. So going out to the public without some 'protection' was a no-no.

As if he was reading my thoughts, Chief Gustav stated, "But you will not go out there alone. And anyway, you will have a make-over, so nobody recognises you! That will be the perfect way of finding someone to rule!" He said, clearly more excited than before.

Hmm...that was weird. Shut up, don't be so suspicious of everything Cleo, I told myself. He's just trying to help me! But a makeover...that sounded soo cool! Last time I did my hair for a formal event was about a month before Dad passed away. It must have been another invitation from my parents' friends. A celebration party maybe. The thought brought so many memories back, but I pushed them away quickly.

"So...when do we start?"

"How about, right now?" Chief answered, with a bright smile.

Time lapse: an hour later

I turned my glass chair around to look at the mirror. The reflection I saw, shocked me immediately. That girl standing opposite me, was so, so beautiful. Gone was my light brown hair, a straight, blonde wig took over. My eyebrows were thickly outlined, so I looked much fiercer than before. The eyes I was always so proud of, looking at their beauty in the mirror every night, were lost, replaced by darker contacts. That was the only thing that I didn't really like about my new appearance. A thick, red and brownish-gold eyeshadow emphasised my eyes even more. I had bright red lipstick on my lips, which for some reason, looked bigger than before. There was just one word to describe it: powerful. Gone was the playful girl that you see in the park chatting with her friends innocently. This girl, you would see on the street, and feel a sudden rush of fear, and uncertainty, of what she is, and what she can do. I looked at the girl in the mirror again. She just seemed so sure of everything. So determined....

She was perfect for my mission.

Time lapse-two hours later

"I'll be fiiiine, Mother!" I said, hugging Mother tight. Gosh, she seemed very upset. I would only be gone for a week or so, just to see what type of people my country bloomed.

"Please be safe, Cleo dear!" She said, wiping her tears with a tissue.
•Yes, Mother, I will. I won't be alone anyway, Gustav and five bodyguards will be with me at all times! So you have nothing to worry about!" I tried to reassure her.

I wasn't sure of what I felt about that though. I mean, Chief's behaviour was quite strange in the last hour or two...he just seemed...very keen of packing his suitcase and planning the trip to the country's city...shit, I am imagining things again, aren't I?

"Just, please don't worry, I'll even enjoy myself when I go there. And hey, daddy would have been proud of me, right?"

"Yes, very much," she whispered. That seemed to do the trick, because she calmed down and decided to let me go. "You go now, be good and make good decisions," she melancholically smiled.

"Miss Cleo?" A guard whose name I must have forgotten shouted from down the stairs.

It was time to go.