Riona Pov

Morning quickly came as the moon went away, hiding, as the sun took its place shining bright. It was peaceful like always, just the way I liked it.

My headache seemed to have gone away overnight making my head feel much lighter unlike previously when it felt like someone was constantly hammering against my head. 

I continued to lay on my bed wanting the peace to last forever. Even though this wasn't my first time sleeping in this bed the mattress made me feel at peace for some reason. Just like how Audrey's hugs made me feel. 

I missed her warm hugs but all I could remember now was her cold body from that day.

I propped myself up leaning against the window frame and looking out of the window. It was wintertime in the North and the clouds huddled together as the sky hid behind it. The trees had lost their beautiful decorations as all the leaves laid on the floor shrivelled up, all naked now.

There was a sudden knock that snapped me out from admiring the morning view as I turned to the door asking “Who is it?”.

At first, there was no reply, just a rather strange silence then a mellow voice answered “Your ladyship it is me, Madame Noelle.”

What business did she have, especially since today there were no lessons? 

I stared blankly at the door before responding “Come in.” 

I made sure my back was at the perfect angle and refined my posture as I sat on the edge of my bed. Hopefully, she didn’t come in hope to nag at me this early in the morning.

“My ladyship you must prepare for the banquet at once and must I say fix up your posture!” she nagged as she came in with three other maids. It seemed I had forgotten what a crucial day today was.

-

After I finally finished my bath and placed on my undergarment privately without Madame Noelle having to dress me up like a baby despite her insistence. Although I would say I was sparing her the sight of looking my unsightly body

Madame Noelle quickly sat me down by the vanity table which I never used during my time here, I didn’t have much reason to use it anyway. While the maids fixed up my bodice with each second it got tighter and tighter. This was the funny thing about humans, they wear such lavish and uncomfortable clothing that you can’t even take two steps in before you start gasping for air because of this ridiculously tight bodice. Rather than this being a form of dolling yourself up and looking pretty this would be quite a great form of execution. 

“Madame Noelle, is this really necessary?” I whined under my breath quietly 

“My ladyship must I remind you, this banquet is practically your debut as well as announcing your and his grace's engagement, so unless you want people to look down on you and his grace you must look impeccable!” She lectured as well listing another hundred reasons why this was necessary.

And I supposed she did have a point, I wouldn’t want anyone to suspect me and I needed to gain influence so I guess I really did need to dress to impress despite how uncomfortable it was. 

As she brushed my hair I found myself staring in the mirror. Madame Noelle was rather short yet had quite a plump figure while her hair was shoulder length and her glasses leaned to the tip of her nose.

“My ladyship, would you like your hair up?” Madame Noelle asked as she brushed my hair gently.

For some reason, my hands went straight to covering my ears when she said that. For a minute my mind went a bit blank as my hands still covered my ears. 

“My ladyship?” Madame Noelle repeated a couple of times after gaining no response from me.

“Oh it's rather chilly today, perhaps I should leave my hair down, covering my ears?” I suggested as I chuckled awkwardly.

Of course, she complied without a complaint although I still felt some uneasiness from the thought of someone seeing my ears.

When she was finally done I stared at my reflection without saying a word. I didn’t really know what emotions I should be feeling, my open sleeves were quite long as they dangled down my arms. While my bodice slightly lifted my breasts up and defined my figure more than usual. It felt quite strange although I was used to even worse. 

Madame Noelle spent quite some time powdering my face and dolling me up so the least I could do was plaster a smile on my face, even if I couldn’t really feel any pleasure in my outfit which in my eyes, was just as bland as everything else.

I step down the stairs in my low heels gripping tightly onto the railings as if my life depended on it. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to Madame Noelle's lessons since my legs were shaking like fishes out of water. I was constantly looking down at my feet as I went down the stairs since one misstep would mean I would go tumbling down the stairs like a lunatic.

“Wow it seems God has blessed my eyes so early in the morning,” he commented.

I looked up from my feet to see him, Adonis, standing in front of me his lips curled into a smile while his eyes remained fixated on me. His stupid comment threw me off, literally, as I took another step forward I slipped on the marble stairs. 

I was going to fall and make a fool out of myself…

That was what I thought until I felt myself press against something quite warm.

When I opened my eyes I found myself in Adonis's arms as his rough yet soft hands had a light grip around my waist with our faces barely any distance apart. 

“Oh it seems my fiance is so desperate for my touch and love,” he chuckled.

Without letting another second pass like this I quickly pulled away while avoiding eye contact with that annoying so-called ‘fiance’ of mine.

“It seems you're already dressed up,” I said as I quickly looked him up and down while ignoring all his previous remarks.

His hair tied up at the back with two short strands hanging at the front like earrings . As I looked up to look at him a thought crossed my mind, was he always this tall? Compared to him I looked like a mere child that was playing with her mother's clothing. 

Although his previous statement threw me off he didn’t utter another word and just led me to the carriage.

As we sat down across each other there was an unsettling silence. I looked out the window and couldn’t help noticing how beautiful the kingdom was. I hope it continues to be beautiful and peaceful. 

Since that would mean it would be even more enjoyable when I plunge it into chaos and despair…