Forward

As Rosemary got ready, her mood had soured considerably. Firstly, she had almost sent a pair of underclassmen to very gruesome deaths. She clearly did not want the boulders to go that far. Although, Rosemary was not as innocent as she wanted to believe. Her plan was to have the boulders smash against the raised wall of the arena, causing a shockwave that would help entice the crowd further. Instead, there might have been actual casualties which would have ruined the entire festival. Rosemary had only a ping of guilt in her side since she had saved them.

Barley saved them.

Though, that was simply one of the few things that had gone wrong. There was also the problem she had gotten her blazer torn when she was racing to save the two girls. A small tear that was at the hem between her shoulder and sleeve. It was small, yes, but she wanted to be perfect today. Thankfully enough, dealing with the physical stuff would be swift as she sent her blazer off with one of the maids to be fixed. Emotionally, she might have almost evaporated her sister's head and maybe also would have been fine if she accidentally did.

Rosemary's horrible-horrible sister had to show up and make things ten times worse. Not only had she gotten a proposal, she had rubbed in her face with no remorse. This made her think more and more about why she had not gotten a single proposal. There just was no way a Jewel like her was going to become a Widow.

No way right?

Rosemary frowned, her thoughts floating in chaos as she tried to grasp at something that would give her a real answer. She was not an idiot, there was some scheme going on. She bit her lip, realizing just the thought that Kings were scheming might somehow be heard. If a statement like that was said aloud, her title as a Jewel would be dropped immediately, that was how outlandish her thoughts had gone.

Rosemary almost shook her head to clear her mind, but a small frail hand grabbed her chin and tilted her head back.

"I would not recommend frowning Miss Everglare, unless you plan on doing it all day."

The snarky remark came from a short woman holding a brush coated with foundation. She had tanned skin, a sharp but pretty face with brown eyes teeming with worry. Her blonde hair was tied in a long ponytail that skated down her back and touched the ground. She had on a short red dress, but it was covered white apron> A small tink came from her wrist, bracelets of gold twinkling in the daylight spilling in through Rosemary's dorm window.

Rosemary tried to smile, but her lips seem to prefer the opposite, and her shaky voice came out a moment later.

"Sorry Nora, just not feeling all that well today."

The short woman placed both her hands on her hips, "Oh? Are you nervous about the selection?"

Rosemary shrunk in her swivel chair, "A little."

"A little, oh jeez what did your sister do this time?" Nora stepped off her wood stool and placed the brush down on a dresser. She made her way across the spacious room and plopped down on the king sized bed. She sent wrinkles across the purple sheets, and her chin found its place on her open palm.

"Go ahead dear, I am all ears."

Rosemary stared at the short women, her once stone-still frown cracking a small smirk. Nora was one of the many employees of Grace Garden, although her hands were one of the few that could make any girl look like a full meal. Even if she was just a Burden, those who never got chosen by a Mother, she held a good amount of influence. Especially since many Advisors seeked to hire her solely based on her skills. She gently turned them down to stay here at Grace Garden. Rosemary had even asked for her personally today, and the woman, respectfully, declined her other clients to attend to her. It made her chest tighten, since if anyone knew the struggles that Rosemary went through to become a Jewel, it was the woman sitting on her bed. The amount of times she had spilled her worries to Nora was staggering, and she was not so sure how the woman could deal with it.

"Where do I even start?" Rosemary sunk in her chair further, turning toward the mirror sitting above her dresser. Her mood lightened just a tad as she saw half her face a slightly different shade.

Nora yawned and traced the white swirls of the bed frame with her fingers.

"Hmm, maybe the beginning?"

And so, Rosemary let it all out.

She had to really hold in tears so as to not ruin Nora's hard work. Rosemary even had to take a few seconds before talking about Cindy, which Nora said she would personally get revenge if Rosemary asked. The idea was shunned with a few long fits of laughter that made the whole ordeal feel silly. Soon, after they put her ordeals to rest, they began to talk about Kings. A topic that many women could gossip about for days.

"Would you even want King Garnet to propose to you?" Nora put up a hand as if to whisper a secret, "He isn't the most handsome of those you could get with."

Rosemary gasped, "And who might that be?"

Nora covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, "We all know King Nue is handsome. Well, if you can get past the grey skin."

"You mean the King of Shadows, don't you hear about what he does to his Advisors, or even his Queen?"

Nora's eyes went wide, "Yeah that he does the Ritual of Embrace with all of them whenever he feels like it."

Rosemary put her hand up, "Exactly, no way would I want to pledge to a King like that."

Nora got up and spun around the room holding herself in a hug, "Ugh, but he is so mysterious and cool, If I was not a Burden I know who I would pick."

"Yeah, those dreamy red and black eyes sure sweep the ladies off their feet."

Nora pouted and pointed a small finger at her, "I'll have you know that his eyes are the best part of him. And, let's just say my feet are firmly in the clouds right about now."

The two burst into laughter, and after it died down Nora donned her brush again.

"But seriously, who would you want to be proposed from."

Rosemary went silent at the question, her body frozen as she thought heavily. In the immediate area there was King Garnet the King of Puppets, King Mattets the King of Strings, King Aren the King of Mountains, King Tate the King of Malice, and finally King Nue the King of Shadows.

King Tate was the first to go, as most of his business was merchant based. Helping the surrounding Kings manage their wealth was most of the action he indulged in. Rosemary wanted to fight like her Mother, so the plump man was of no taste of hers. There was the King of Mountains, which was even more mysterious than King Nue. Although he was one of the few at war with rival Kings, the idea of fighting as soon as possible was enticing. Rosemary lingered on him, well, what she knew of him. The man did not show himself often, and never were those few times in her presence. Having no idea what he looked like gave her chills and a slight understanding of what Nora meant about a King being mysterious was kind of alluring.

Rosemary then went to the memory of seeing the bloodshot irises of King Nue and immediately shook her head. She was not a big fan of him, just something about him was iffy. It might have been the gray skin or the tendrils of darkness that followed him everywhere he went, but she did not dwell on him enough to figure out exactly why.

King Mattets the King of String had a reputation, one that made her wiggle her thighs. He had fought dozens of wars, and his Advisors were relentless and brutal. Maybe a tad bit too brutal for her taste, but the power that was told in the stories she heard was enough of a reason. Despite how savage his Advisors were, King Mattets himself was timid and always had his face planted in a book.

Rosemary had only met the man once, and when she sucked up her courage to say a simple hello, she was ignored wholefully. It made her cry, she was not gonna run away from the fact, but a man who had priorities was not a bad thing.

Finally though, there was King Garnet, the man she had seen during her show at the arena. He seemed like the type that Rosemary liked. Garnet was powerful, professional, and carried himself like he was more than a King.

Like he was an Emperor.

Rosemary almost salivated at the thought she might be able to serve someone who would rise to such a rank. Then, her mouth dried as she remembered a certain girl named Cindy. Right then and there she erased King Garnet off her list, not wanting anything to do with her older sister.

In the end that left King Mattets and King Aren, two choices she had a hard time picking between. Though she had not gotten proposed by either of them. Hopefully they would announce it at the ceremony and all was good.

Hopefully.

"I think King Mattets would be my pick."

Nora raised a steady eyebrow, "Really, the King of String got your fancy?"

Rosemary's cheeks reddened, "I just want to be powerful like my Mother, he seems like the obvious choice."

Nora began to work on Rosemary's make up, her hands moving with perfect expertise.

"So the obvious choice is fighting bloody wars with other Advisors?"

Rosemary wanted to frown as a jest, but a small shake from Nora told her not to move. She waited patiently to get a nod from the small woman. When she did, her mouth was moving without hesitation,

"When you say it like that, it doesn't sound so great, but yeah, I would not mind fighting for my King."

Nora smiled, "That gleam in your eyes says a lot, I'm glad you seem happy with your choice. A lot of girls in your year make their choice based solely on the King himself, forgetting the fact they will probably only see him once a month at best."

Rosemary raised an eyebrow after Nora moved to her nose, which sent a few ticklish grins to her lips, "What do you mean only see him once a month?"

"Apparently, the Ritual of Embrace only takes a day, so if you are not a main Advisor right off the gate you might rarely see him."

Rosemary nodded, crinkling her nose as the powder got in her nostril.

"Or if you are his Queen, don't you stay by his side forever?"

Nora yawned again, "That would imply you defeated his present Queen, which probably has decades over you. So let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Rosemary was spun in her chair, coming to a stop facing the open window.

"But." Nora grinned as she went to get her tools from the dresser, "It is good to dream."

The ginger nodded in pride, her heart lifting up as she looked toward the horizon. The sun peeked over the forest that surrounded Grace Garden, its warmth settling on her pale skin. Rosemary closed her eyes and leaned against the backrest.

"I just hope that everything turns out alright. I worked so hard" She sniffled. "I worked so hard to be good enough for her Nora. To make my mother proud."

Nora patted her on the head, a mother's worry painted across her petite face. She also started toward the setting sun, a blanket of purple now creeping across the blue expanse.

"I am sure your Mother is watching from Urna, and is as proud as a Mother could be."

A silence fell over the two, and they only watched as Grace Garden began to light up with fluorescent white light. The metal posts dotted across campus now encased in Fey. Amongst the forest and buildings, Women began to flock toward a single tower. It was wide, spanning almost half of the entire west wall. Each floor was smaller than the last, ten floors of white brick illuminated in the early night. The tower was topped with a slanted circular roof, along with banngers as big as a tree hanging from it. Green with white and maroon showed a familiar tulip.

Soon, the ceremony would begin, and all of Grace Garden would gather to see the fourth years become official Advisors. Rosemary, Cindy, and many others would be announced with pride, and with glorious music their futures would be announced.

The Tower of Ascension waited patiently, its wide iron gates open as hundreds of figures poured in. Rosemary's eyes drifted to them, her throat catching a lump of anxiety. Though, it quickly was gone as Nora rested a hand on her shoulder.

"It's time Mary."

Those words carried the young maiden from her chair, and her white night gown was dropped, revealing her naked body. Nora admired her beauty as the moon's light began to shine amongst the room. The aging lady whistled, a signal that allowed the maids to enter. Two hurried to each of Rosemary's side, kneeling down and waiting for their time. Three more followed, within their grasp, an emerald dress with cascading waves of black frizzles. The sleeves were short, curled up with more black to resemble roses. The neckline came low into a V shape, etched with golden rope that led to a familiar symbol. The insignia of Grace Garden, a forest green silhouette of a lady that danced within the confines of a tulip.

Before Rosemary could truly understand how soon her life was going to drastically change, she was outfitted in her dress and was striding down the dormitory halls. Her hands gripped the sides of her dress as she descended down the massive stone steps.

In the foyer, maids flanked each side of the red carpet, smiles and faces of admiration littered amongst their faces. They were the employees of Magna, the dorm dedicated solely to Fourth years. In front of Rosemary, Cindy was wearing an amber dress, the outfit long on one side while the other was short and revealed her toned leg and high heels. Embroidered leaves of white decorated her entire dress, a white sash holding the Grace Garden insignia.

Cindy did not look back, her head held high as she moved forward with grace. Her short hair was split in two to mirror her dress, one side straight and the other curled up to mimic the petals of a flower. Rosemary was a little disappointed to see that her hair looked so good, especially compared to the simple straight locks she had opted for. She did not really fancy anything complicated for hairstyles, but her gut drooped with some regret.

"Your hair is fine love." Nora whispered as they made their way out into the moonlight. The stone slab patio filled with other fourth years.

Rosemary blushed, waving her off, "I know. I know, just…"

Nora rolled her eyes and lightly patted her back, "Don't be a downer now, not when you deserve to smile. Remember, you earned this Miss Everglare."

Those words flooded her mind, washing away the weight on her shoulders and the doubt she did not know she was holding on to. Nora was right, she had earned the right to walk with pride. She had earned the admiration of her classmates, and earned the claps and cheers from the maids around her. Rosemary had worked hard from the moment she was taken as a daughter. Day in and day out she kept her eyes forward and was determined to rise, to reach the peak that not many women could grasp. All for the sake of making her dead Mother proud.

She also wanted everyone in the Land of Layla to know her name, to be written in history as a figure of great proportions. A goal that her underclassmen could strive to beat. Rosemary smiled slightly at those thoughts, bringing herself to take a calming breath.

Now with a broad smile and erected shoulders, They made their way into the courtyard. Carriages waited patiently, lining up by the hundreds to carry the fourth years to the Tower of Ascension. Nora led her toward the closest one.

Rosemary climbed into the white carriage, the golden flowers that were etched into its body shining with luminescent light. The interior held two benches that were cushioned with velvet. The ground soft with grey carpet, Rosemary's emerald heels digging in as she took a seat. Nora peered in and gave her a thumbs up.

"Go get em." She said before the door shut with a click.

Now, she was left alone as the carriage slowly began to gain speed. The small window only granting her the sight of the forest, motes of light aimlessly floating amongst the foliage. She leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes and sighing heavily.

This was it, the moment in which her questions would finally be answered. The reason for why she has yet to be proposed to, the question to who she would marry, and the unsettling fear of being left a Widow. Soon, all of those things that gnawed at the back of her mind would be directly dealt with. May it be not what she wanted, there was just one thing she hoped for.

A chance.

A chance to prove to the King she was chosen by. To prove his decision was not a mistake. A chance to leave everyone breathless as she rises through the ranks of an Advisor, crushing anyone in her path. Most importantly though, she would make her Mother's legacy live on, through her own heart, that was for certain.

The carriage rode up a small hill, and Rosemary heard the echo of her Mother's word, lips moving from a distant memory.

"Power grants peace, and peace grants happiness. Weakness grants violence, and violence grants regret."

She opened her eyes, her green eyes shimmering with poise and determination. Her Mother had drilled that saying in from the day she was chosen. Only the powerful got to enjoy peace, as the weak would wallow in it, looking for anyway to grow stronger. She needed to become powerful, so much so those she would soon care about did not die in battle. Rosemary had already resolved herself for the journey, but the unknown still bit at her neck. Plus, there was still the obvious question. A single question that had come to the forefront of her mind.

Who was going to propose to her?