Chapter 18

 Chapter 18

“Ha! You fell for it!” I hear Mataya’s voice say over the crumbling of stone. I realize that in the process of the pillar falling down, Will came on top of me intentionally to protect me from the crash. “Oh, uh sorry.” He stammers, getting up from his pose on top of me. “Oh, thanks.” I rub the back of my neck awkwardly. I turn around to see everyone laughing hysterically- Including the queen. I notice that the pillar that was there before the crash is still there, plain and tall right where it is. I tilt my head sideways, confused by the illusion. A rubber pillar lays on the ground with a lot of other rubber pieces the same color as the rubber pillar. “It gets newcomers every year!” Mataya pants through laughter. “Oh I get it now, you played a pretty little joke on us to test what we would do but oh no.” I see Rayonetta emerging from the crowd of people, her confident appearance all that she needs to look brave. She draws a knife from her suit and walks toward the queen. Putting the knife up to her neck with a sly grin on her face, she smiles evilly. “Don’t do that again or this knife will go a couple inches too far, would you like that?” Rayonetta asks. Before my brain has the time to process it, I’m running toward Rayonetta and pushing her out of the way. Mataya’s once fear-stricken face is replaced by relief. Rayonetta glares at me. “Look, it was just a practical joke, there’s no need to play with knives over it.” I comply. 

“I have a bone to pick with you Byleth. Later.” Rayonetta speaks through gritted teeth. I nod sharply and relax. “Well, now that this little skirmish is done, we need to prepare all of you for the ball! It happens to be taking place tonight so we are very glad you were able to make it!” The queen explains. Mataya eventually sends all of us to what she calls “Groom rooms” to get ready for the ball. The room is spectacular with beds with comfy blankets and pillows to sit while your makeup is done and an additional room with just clothes inside. I stare in awe at the mini palace that I thought would look like a house. Suddenly, a girl with baby blue hair and a long flowy skirt along with a sleeveless pink top approaches me. “Hello! My name is Genevieve and I will be grooming you today. Man, you look like one big twig empire.” Genevieve wraps her hair into a perfect tight bun before escorting me to the makeup counter. “Who do you want to impress?” Genevieve asks me. I stare at the mirror, should I tell her? 

“You mean who I like?” I ask her, clarifying her personal question. “Yes, don’t be afraid to tell me. I’ve heard tons of girl’s crushes, I promise I won’t tell anyone.” Genevieve pleads with me. “Will.” I say shortly, it’s just one word but it brings on so much more emotion. Genevieve is quiet for a second and then replies “Man Byleth, you're going for one of the guys that like fifty different girls like. I visited Stathford once with the queen for a meeting and you should’ve seen the girls literally swarming over him. But he's a good choice, you know, I can tell he likes you. The way his face contorted into a disappointed look when you parted ways into the different grooming rooms.” Genevieve pauses to look at me from the mirror. My face is already tinted with blush along with thick eyeliner that makes my eyes look straight out of a women’s magazine. Luckily, Genevieve washed my face with some cloth beforehand and also dunked my hair in a bowl to get the ‘twig empire’ out.  “You can call me Gen by the way.” Gen states. I nod and let her do her work. Once she does my hair into a braided bun in the back, she lets me choose my outfit, accessories, and shoes. I choose a layered sleeveless teal dress with no accessories. “Now here we are, the shoes. Here we have high heels, normal heels, boots and some old converse which in my opinion don’t look that good.” “I choose the converse, the black ones.” I say. “Are you sure?” Gen confirms. “If I’m going to dress to impress, I want to be myself.” I smile.

I was really tired last night because I got home from my grandparents and I only had time to blog apart from preparing for school.