Chosen by Shelby Hild

Author:Shelby Hild [Hild, Shelby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Vivilyn couldn’t have been asleep for more than fifteen minutes before someone started pounding on her door.

“Go away,” she mumbled. “The sun hasn’t even gotten up, Duncan.” She curled her legs up in the warmth of the velvety blankets. As she nestled her face into the cloud-like pillow, her mind woke up. She wasn’t at home. Whoever was knocking on the door was not her brother.

With a jerk, Vivilyn sat up. What if someone had found out about her unauthorized excursion outside the night before? What if one of the princes had told on her?

It would be so embarrassing to be disqualified before the first day even began.

Maybe it’s for the better, she thought as she sat up. Less chance to get caught having a vision.

Whoever was at her door knocked again, but before she could say anything, the door crashed open.

“We don’t have time for pleasantries,” Malcolm said as he stormed into the room. “We have to get her prepared.” Andrea nodded from the door as she lowered her hand. She must have been the one knocking.

“Good morning, Vivilyn,” Nell said as she slipped by Andrea. Tia and Fiona followed. Within minutes, Malcolm had Vivilyn sitting in a straight-backed wooden chair in a robe having brushed her teeth and washed her face. Nell and Tia were playing with Vivilyn’s hair while Malcolm and Andrea were digging through Vivilyn’s closet.

“The last of the first forty arrived very early this morning, my lady,” Fiona said as she held sparkly hair clips for Nell. “They say everyone else should arrive throughout today and tomorrow. That means—”

“That means today you will have brunch with your initial group in three hours,” Malcolm interrupted. “Before that, you’ll have your introductory interview for the people.” He held a long, flowy outfit in front of Vivilyn then shook his head. “Which means we have less than an hour to get you ready. You were the first here, so you’ll be the first to be interviewed.” Malcolm switched the outfit he initially held up for something Andrea pulled out. “Yes, this will be perfect.” He spread the clothes out on the bed.

“I wish they had told us earlier,” Tia grumbled as Nell pulled and prodded at Vivilyn’s hair. “It’s not polite to make us rush through getting her ready.”

Tia moved away from the back of Vivilyn’s head and rustled through a bag before pulling out another smaller bag. She approached Vivilyn and started to brush creams and powders from the bag on Vivilyn’s face.

“Not too fancy,” Nell said to Tia. “She’s a real person, not a made-up doll like all of the others.”

“I know,” Tia said. Delicately, she started drawing with a pencil around Vivilyn’s eyes. “Hold still, child. I don’t want to accidentally stab you.” Tia laughed, but it made Vivilyn even more uncertain.

“Have you ever worn make-up before?” Fiona asked, as she handed one of the clips to Nell.

“No,” Vivilyn said. She barely moved her mouth as she tried to keep from moving her head at all.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.