Love Shimmers

Chapter 16

Today was the day when the royal competition would take place. The queen explained that there are 3 tests to go and those who failed are allowed to stay in Ecrutia until the prince’s marriage ended.

The first test, all the princesses were told to walk on the garden bare legged which I found strange. The queen said that this test was to test the princesses’ sensitivity but somehow I felt that it was not that simple. The queen was a very clever woman. I sense that she had a hidden motive in this.

Gingerly, I walked through the garden and was surprised as some of the princesses’ legs were covered in bruises and some even bleeds. Princess Undine surprised me beyond words as she fainted when she touched the grass.

The queen allowed audience to supervise the test for fairness and I spotted Rosalie among the crowds. Her mouth moved and only one word I could make out, careful. I assumed that she may be thinking too much as I am not that frail so the grasses wouldn’t be able to graze my feet.

After about 5 minutes, the queen said that the test is over and the result would be announced in dinner time. In the mean time, we were allowed to excuse ourselves to the chamber and servants would help us in dressing for dinner.

As soon as I arrived at my room, I slumped towards my bed and thinking about what the queen was planning. At last, I gave up and was planning to soak myself in hot water when I heard a knock sound from the door. I told the person to come in and that person was Rosalie. She was assigned to be my personal lady-in-waiting during the days I stay here which both of us were glad for.

She prepared my bath and we talked about a lot of things since I was unable to meet her for the last 5 days. She started opening my wardrobe and choosing clothes for dinner while I was brushing my hair. I told her not to choose too extravagant dress as it was just a dinner. She told me that even though it was just a dinner, I need to show my gratitude towards the host by dressing up nicely.

After my persuasion which seemed endless, she settled with a peach colored dress with diamond ornaments. This dress looked simple but nice and light. Since I had always hated the formal gowns which were heavy and uncomfortable to move with, most of my dresses are simple and light. Rosalie commented that even though the dress is simple, I couldn’t hide my royal character which I just shrugged in reply.

Soon, I was ready to go and when Rosalie opened the door, I saw Damien and Delvin in front of the door. Delvin said, “Princess Leticia of Roseland, it would be my honor to escort a beauty such as yourself to the dinner party.” I couldn’t hide my laughter when I saw Damien’s expression. It was jealousy mixed with irritation. Then I replied, “The pleasure is all mine, handsome prince. However, it seemed that my future fiancé is clearly displeased by this.” All of us laughed it off and walked towards the dining hall.

When I reached there, everyone was looking at us - the word is not looking - they are actually staring at us with awe and some princesses’ eyes flicked with anger. I heard some nobles commented that the three of us looked like people who walked out of painting.

The king then formally started the dinner party with a dance together with the queen and followed by the nobles. Damien took my hand and we started dancing as well. From afar, I could see Delvin danced with a fair damsel and I smiled. Soon, Damien’s and my footstep merge with the music and we danced beautifully.

At that time, the dining hall was filled with the silver moonlight covering everyone with its calm beauty. After the music stopped, we took our seats and various foods were served on the table. All of us savored the food in silence while enjoying the taste of it. As expected as the royal chef, everyone enjoyed their food very much. In the middle of the meal, Damien excused himself as duties called for his attention. He looked at me apologetically and left after I nodded towards him.

After we finished eating, the queen began to announce the name for the princesses who passed the first test, “Princess Undine, Princess Serafina, Princess Aprilynne … and lastly, Princess Leticia.” There were about 12 princesses passed the test and 8 of them failed. Everyone congratulated us and the whole dining hall was filled with applause.

Suddenly, the queen said that the dinner this night was also a test which was the second test. The queen said that this test was to test the princesses dressing style which again I found it strange. Why should the queen test our dressing style when everyone would surely dress themselves radiantly?

A few people gasped in surprise when they heard this but the king just nodded and told the Chamberlain to announce the princesses’ name and out of those 12 princesses, only 5 passed which includes me and Princess Undine.

The queen informed us that the last test would be held after 3 days. She gave us hint that the test will be testing our voice. For these days, the queen would also personally supervise actions and told us not to be surprised if out of the 5 princesses, some would not be joining the last test as starting from today, every wrong action could be counted as a reason to disqualify the princesses.

Some princesses were dissatisfied but were afraid to say anything. I was returning to my room when Damien caught my hand and led me to the library. He asked me about how I did today as he couldn’t watch because of royal duties waiting for him. I told him everything including my suspicion on the queen’s strange tests. He also analyzed it and came with the same conclusion as mine. He promised me to look for more information which I refused. I wanted to pass all the tests without any unfair or underhanded method. Damien was angry and shouted at me for not accepting his offer. I was shocked and when he regained his composure, he apologized to me which I accept as I believed he was very exhausted and couldn’t control his emotions.

As I was walking towards my room, I saw Rosalie running along the hallways. When she saw me, her relieved face made me wonder that she had just dropped two sacks of sand. “Where were you? I was worried as I couldn’t find you anywhere.” she said. I told her to walk along as I explained what happened to her. I didn’t go into the details about Damien. I just told her where I went after the dinner. She nodded and helped me to undress when we reached my room. I told her to retire and rest for the day as she looked exhausted. She was about to emphasize that she was unwilling to leave me but at last she agreed and I was left to sleep.

Author's note: Comment please. Btw what do you think about the real meaning of the tests? And which one do you like better, Eric and Leticia or Damien and Leticia?