The debutante ball was the most uneventful party I had ever been to. The prince was handsome. Yes. But he was not on my list of priorities. The man I want disappeared before me. I don't even know where to start now.
I am on my way to Silveria's estate after wasting a night I've spent months preparing what to do and what to say. Now I'm back to square one. I was so engrossed in my own thoughts trying to make plans for a goal as sketchy as my future when I realized the carriage stopped. What's going on?
A soft knock came in through the closed windows and I heard Simon's voice.
Simon is my personal assistant and also my assigned guard. A middle-aged man that served the family household for 20 years. A man equipped with administrative and combat skills. A hard man they said with a soft spot for the sole princess of the Silveria Kingdom. He was a foreigner from a far away land who had lost his family, his friends, and his very own country to the empire. I wonder how he really feels about us. How does it feel to serve a family of a small kingdom who swallowed their pride to serve an empire that was founded on wars and deaths.
"Princess, I think someone's here for you."
I opened the carriage window and Simon's serene face and monocle rim eyes greeted me. A man in a blue long coat was standing behind him.
"Good evening princess." the man said under a hooded robe.
"What brought a man of such high caliber to the outskirts of town?"
The man was drabbed in all black while his face was covered by a white mask.
"The princess knows of us?" I leaned my head to the side giving his appearance a quick swept.
"This one may be young but is no ignorant. Silver is everywhere, we once ruled the land." I stated with confidence.
The man moved his hand to where his mouth should be and gave out a soft chuckle.
"Quite a bold statement, my lady. Yes indeed. But the gold of the empire runs deeper I believe."
I stared at him. His tone may have been polite but the sting of the insult reached my very core. No one spoke for a moment. The rustle of leaves under the moonless night echoed. It was loud and quiet at the same time.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The man in black burst into hysterical laughter. "You are strange, princess. You have quite piqued my master's interest and he wishes to see you."
The man handed me a black box the size of my fist. I accepted the box with both my hands. Heavy.
"Midnight. He will find you in the sea of violets."
With these words, the man in black disappeared under the shadows.
Simon's face was laced with concern.
"Will you be okay, my lady?"
I looked over at Simon and at his old but reliable face.
"I thought I wasted the night. I may have caught a bigger one."
The Empress Selection was REAL. I thought the debutante ball was a hoax. I thought it was the Empress Selection. There was nothing. How did they even select one? Was it even one? The imperial family is as sneaky as they always have. The selections has started way before. The debutante ball was merely a show. I would have to halt my pursue on Mr. Cato for awhile, dealing with the imperial prince would get my hands full.
A wide smile crept up to my face as I caress the black box in my hands. I giggled. I can't wait to go home.