JiMina Collection

More Than Gold ~ Part 7

     Mina felt as if she was choking... By a rather unconventional means. In fact, she was suffocating on the sheer amount of perfume in the surrounding air.  

     The girls were corralled outside the dining hall, waiting for the cue to head in while squealing and shrieking to one another. Mina herself stood quietly at the edge of the group; in part to maintain her sanity, and also in part because her nose was beginning to lose its sense of smell. On another note, to say she wasn't nervous would be a downright lie.

     The others were busy fussing about the prince, but honestly, Mina couldn't care less about him. Unlike everyone else, she had never been to such a fancy occasion. For the others, this was about as commonplace as any other daily event. For Mina, this was more than slightly overwhelming. She supposed she would have to get used to it at some point, since she was forced to stay here for a month, but that thought didn't make the challenge any less daunting.

     Everyone's heads snapped to the door as it creaked open. The head of an intimidated servant peeked out shyly. "The royal family is waiting."

     The girls burst through the door, ready to behold the magnificent sight that was the dining hall. One very long and heavily-laden table stood in the center of the room. At one end sat the King, as regal as ever, while his son sat all the way on the other side. Mina actually felt pity for him as all the girls raced to pick the seats closest to the prince. She thought that the look of horror upon his face was rather appropriate. Mina knew who wouldn't be able to breathe all dinner.

     When all the seats near the prince were taken, the girls started to boldly flock towards the King in hopes of getting into his good graces. Mina meekly sat in the middle of the long table, far enough from both ends. She couldn't help but keep her eyes trained on the silverware in front of her. They glimmered under the light emanating from the crystal chandeliers hung up above their heads. Gorgeous and awfully intricate designs were carved into the plates and goblets. The old maid was right, there were way too many different forks and spoons to keep track of. Although the dishes were impressive, they weren't much without the food on top. While the other girls quickly struck up conversation, Mina kept to herself.

     Glancing to her right, she eyed the prince at the end. At least seven or eight girls were leaning towards him, eager to have their hand at charming their way to the top. If she was being honest, Mina had been surprised when he shirked away from the girls uncomfortably. She would have assumed he would be enjoying himself. Mina knew the boys in the old village would jump at the chance to be surrounded by pretty women. And yet, Mina had seen the prince constantly repelled by such open affection.

     Taking a chance at her left-hand side, Mina looked down the length of the table at the King. He was a stern man, but seemed to nod his head in polite approval as each girl tried to trump everyone else. On both ends, it was a fierce battle to determine who was the richest. Mina had seen enough of this already, but now she would have an entire month of this business to handle. The thought horrified her. And so for now, she remained alone and quiet. Just the way she would prefer it to be. Mina deduced that she should be able to survive as long as she stayed completely invisible to the rest.

     When a firm hand suddenly gripped her shoulder, Mina jolted in surprise. Whipping around, she was relieved to see that it was only the old maid she had met earlier, coming to greet her with a smile. "Don't you worry, dearest. You'll do well." Smiling back at her, Mina looked around. While she was deep in thought just moments ago, it seemed as though the castle servants had begun serving appetizers to the royals and their thirty guests. 

     Mina felt a surprising sense of relief as she recognized many of the faces serving at the dinner that night. She had made friends with as many of the attendants as possible earlier that evening. Mina usually wasn't sociable at all, but when she saw how badly they were treated, she stepped in as soon as she could. When they passed by her, many offered her a wave, a smile, or a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. They were grateful to have finally been treated nicely for a change, and it showed. Mina felt a small smile stretch across her features. However, that smile was wiped off as she turned back to the table. Everyone was staring at her.