The Luna Choosing Game

I stayed in my room from then out as much as I was able. Staying near Elva helped me keep in mind my promise to her. I would not abandon her again. And so long as I was in my room, I was safe from running into Nicholas and Bridget and seeing whatever was going on between the two of them unfold. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Elva seemed happy to have me near, and we played a lot, including the game I had promised where we sat in the window and counted the different kinds of birds we could see down in the gardens.

While Elva was awake and active, we had a great time. Even when her tutors arrived and she learned, I sat quietly and listened, proud of how smart my little girl was.

But times where Elva was entertaining herself, or like now, was lying down to rest, my thoughts began to fester and my jealousy burned so brightly it was difficult to control.

Charlotte noticed my unhappiness. She was always around, and as one of the servants, there was no hiding any gossip from her.

She tried to stay tight–lipped around me for a time, and I appreciated her for it. But eventually, I cracked.

“What is everyone saying?” I asked.

She knew right away what I meant. “About Bridget and Nicholas?”

I nodded.

“The people think they would be a good match. They’ve totally enthralled the nation. There isn’t so much news about… that unpleasantness as before,” Charlotte said.

“The protests?”

“Still ongoing, but not quite as boisterous as before. If this was the royal family’s plan, it seems to be working.”

I could be grateful for that.

“What about the staff?” I asked. “What do they think about Bridget?”

“They’re star–struck,” said Charlotte. “Who can blame them? You think we’d all be used to seeing celebrities working here. But a movie star? That’s on an entirely different level somehow. And she has been so kind to all of us.”

I could be glad about that too. Someone who acted rude to the staff was unforgivable.

“Charlotte,” I began. This question was the hardest to ask. “Do you know anything about their past?”

“I wasn’t here then,” she said.

“I know, but… if you’ve heard anything…”

“Some of the older staff do like to gossip,” Charlotte admitted, after a moment. She worried her bottom lip like she was afraid to talk.

“I want to know,” I said. “I know it will hurt me, but… I have to hear it Charlotte. I’d rather hear it from you than learn it on television or through one of the other girls.”

“Very well.”

Charlotte and I took seats facing each other near the sewing machines still arranged in the center of the room. I quickly glanced behind me, but Elva was still fast asleep.

Comforted by that, I gave Charlotte my full focus.

“I don’t know the full story, of course, just bits and pieces,” Charlotte said. “But apparently Bridget and Prince Nicholas were practically inseparable as they grew up. They were constantly with each other. Sometimes Prince Julian tagged along.”

She cleared her throat. She was holding something back.

“Charlotte?”

“The cook, she was here then. She said they often held hands. One day, when she caught Bridget alone, Bridget told the cook that she was going to marry Prince Nicholas someday. It charmed the whole staff then. Everyone wanted to pair them together.

“Some time later, Bridget’s family moved away and she went with them. From what I hear, Prince Nicholas was totally heartbroken. He wouldn’t leave his room. for large chunks of time. Many times, I heard he flew to see her, or she came to see him.

“But as it so often goes, time and distance continued to stretch things out between them. Visits grew farther apart. Phone calls were fewer. Eventually they grew apart. The cook says Nicholas turned into a different person after that. Someone harder, I guess.

“Though one of the wait staff told me that’s about when Nicholas left home to go to the Academy.”

That was when he met me.

For a moment, I just sat there quietly, letting Charlotte’s words sink down into my brain. I let myself process them, turning them over and over again.

Yet even after processing them, even after examining them from every which way, trying to find the ways that would hurt me the least, I could only focus on one overarching thing..

From every angle, it seemed as if Bridget had been Nicholas’s true love. His one that got away.

If he changed when he went to the Academy, when he met me, then who was I but a rebound? All those months we were together. All those whispered promises and words of love. Maybe he hadn’t meant them at all.

No, I couldn’t believe that. That hurt far too much. He had meant his love for me.

It was just that his love for Bridget was much stronger.

If anything, I was Bridget’s replacement.

“Thank you for telling me,” I said to Charlotte.

“Of course,” she said, and seemed apologetic about it. She didn’t mean to be. I received exactly what I had asked for.

I stood from the chair. “I need to go for a walk. Will you stay with Elva? The nanny should be back soon from her break.”

“I’d be happy to,” Charlotte said. “Are you going to be okay on your own?”

Was she asking me if I was going to run?

“I’ll be okay,” I said. My heart was heavy with heartache, but I had no desire to make a break for it or anything. Right now, I just wanted to walk and think, and clear my head.

I headed out from the room and started down the hallway. I had no real destination in mind. With the garden still closed to all but the royal family, I couldn’t wander there without making a scene, So I made my way toward the kitchens instead. Not to cook, just to move my feet.

I thought of Nicholas, with his arms wrapped around me, whispering how much he loved me in my ear. In the next instant, I thought of him with Bridget instead.

I kept walking. And walking. Walking until my legs hurt.

And then I saw them, standing in the middle of the ballroom as I stood at the top of the stair. Bridget and Nicholas dancing in a room with no music.

My frazzled heart sank further down to the floor.

As I watched, shocked and silent, another displeased figure joined my side.

“That asshole is doing it again,” Julian grumbled. “Look at them down there. Not a care in the fucking world.”

It did seem overly romantic, dancing with no music on, though as I continued to watch, I noticed that Bridget seemed more forceful than properly led, and Nicholas didn’t seem all that happy. If he had agreed to this dance, he had wanted it to end some time ago.

“I see what he’s doing,” Julian said, blinded by his own jealousy. “He wants to steal her away again, before I even get the chance.”

“I’m not sure…” I tried to say, but Julian didn’t even seem to be listening to me. Julian growled, “I won’t let you win this time, Nicholas.”