Pɾιɳƈҽʂʂ σϝ ƚԋҽ Dҽαԃ

ȶɦɛ ƈօʀօռǟȶɨօռ

Coronation day had arrived, and Holly was dreading it, she didn't even want to get out of bed, the thought of faking some sickness crossed her mind so that she could stay here a little longer. Then she remembers that Mal knew she couldn't get sick, because she couldn't get sick either. She laid in bed staring at the ceiling running her fingers through Spots fur desperately terrified to look at her clock. That would just make the day more real. She would leave this bed for the last time today, walk through the courtyard for the last time and be with Ben for the last time. 

She willed herself to look at her alarm clock, 6:30 AM. The coronation started at 10 AM. They had three and a half hours to get ready and somehow it didn't feel like enough time. Not enough time to get ready, not enough time to ingrain her room in her brain, not enough time to see all her friends once more. 

She threw her legs over the side of her bed; Evie was already at her vanity brushing out her hair with a solemn look on her face, Mal was doing what she had just done staring at their ceiling. She pushed her hair back willing the flames to die, eyes didn't need to be on her today, not yet anyway. They needed to be on Ben. She needed to be the strong leader she was born to be today. Her friends needed her to pick them up, not make them feel like they were marching themselves to their doom. "Perk up you two," she said bleeding false cheer into her voice, "Just a few more hours and we're home free, just a few more hours and everyone will be let out to play." 

The smiled on her face is so obviously fake, but Mal and Evie decided to spare her and smiled with her. 

Holly did her hair and make-up fairly quickly and put in the new set of magical contacts Jane had gotten her, then she pulled out the dress Evie had made for her, a beautiful simple floor-length navy-blue dress. As she had Mal zip up the dress, she felt that same tearing feeling that she felt yesterday eating away at her. This dress felt more like a prison jumpsuit than anything. She sat down and pulled on her black heels as slowly as possible, she looked around the room trying to ingrain everything into her brain, from the pink curtains to the desk she had claimed as her own. She picked up Spot against Evie's protested and set him outside their door, "Hey buddy," she said softly as she kneeled down, "Can you go find Hadie? He'll take good care of you till I can get back to you. You know where Hadie is right?" His right most head barked in confirmation, and he scampered off down the hall. 

"Evie, could you maybe take Poppy?" Mal pleaded holding her beloved Prairie dog in her arms. 

Evie looked hesitant but eventually relented. All to soon they were done getting ready. "Wait one more thing," Evie said. "I talked to Melodea and got these for you guys, you don't have to wear them, but I thought you might want to." Out of a rather large wooden box she produced two laurels the kind that Greacen royalty wore in paintings. The one for Mal was a very small gold one that would only show at the sides and back of her head, it looked more like a headband. For Holly though there was a black one that would wrap all the way around her head. "After all every princess needs a crown," she said placed Hollys on her than turning to Mal. "Even if you don't accept the fact." Mal looked offended by the jewlery but allowed Evie to place it on her head none the less. 

"I'm glad you mentioned the princess thing, because I spoke to Ben, and he pulled a few strings for me," she pulled out a wooden chest of her own and showed Evie a silver tiara before placing it on her head. Evie smiled touching the tiara gently. "Okay," Holly breathed shaking her hands out, "lets burn down a kingdom." 

Hadie stepped out of his room with Hye doing everything in his power to pretended like his world wasn't crashing down around him. Spot barked scampering up to him definitely rubbing underworld dog hair all over his navy-blue dress pants. "Hey buddy, Holly couldn't take you with her huh?"