Hazel looked straight ahead so she could avoid the gazes of everyone around her. She wore a smile like her mother instructed her to do right before they returned to the ballroom.
The room felt different now that they had exited and returned.
The sweet reunion of families seeing their daughters and anticipating the names of those to stay in the palace was no longer here.
Hazel felt hot for some reason and though she wasn't looking at the faces of the people she walked by, she knew that they had to be inspecting her as the queen said. Nitpicking at her appearance now even though they had already seen her dress before.
There was a bit of chatter, but Hazel couldn't make out what was being said.
She had always been able to stomach anything said about her and the attention because of her family, but it was a little different to deal with when it was a crowd of people.
