The Start of the Season

It was almost nightfall. I was seated in front of my vanity table and was being dressed like a doll. Jasmine, my handmaid, was adding the final touches to my makeup. And after checking if the hairstyle was in place, she gave me an approving smile, despite knowing my lack of interest in all these tonight.

I looked at myself in the mirror and tried to smile in a failing attempt to acknowledge the effort of Jasmine. I was too consumed in my own miseries to be a good friend to her, let alone a proper princess. What I saw in the mirror was a face that carried no emotion or maybe even lifelessness and when I momentarily looked out at the plain, dull night sky just to avert my eyes from the pathetic state of myself, ironically I realized that it resembled the way I was feeling deep inside. Right now, all I wanted was to go numb and not feel scared or hopeless. I desperately wanted to feel nothing.

As I was sighing one last time before it was time for pretense, the door to my dressing room opened and Jasmine backed away, stopping what she was doing to provide room for whomever that came to escort me. Before I could get up to go in resignation, a familiar voice filled the room breathing a bit of life into the lifeless atmosphere.

"Oh, my darling, don't you look gorgeous!" Dabria exclaimed, trying and failing to hide the sympathy that was laced in her voice. With that she extended her arms, inviting me into a hug that was so welcoming that I rushed towards her and let her embrace soothe me. "Do try to smile a bit more. Tonight all eyes will be on you." She assured me before any tears escaped my eyes.

And for her sake, I did try to smile, though deep down I knew that I was not at all ready to face the audience tonight, who were literally there to bid on me.

Holding me at arms' length, she stated; "You can keep up your hopes, darling. One can never know, who they will meet in life and you have a good chance of finding a good partner, not everyone will be after your position."

I knew her words held some truth, but I also knew that the chance of being that much lucky was very slim. However, I decided to keep my spirits up and keep on clinging to the little hope she reminded me of just to survive through tonight and the rest of my life.

"Dad will be coming soon to take me to the Great Hall, won't he?" I asked Dabria to which she nodded.

We have gone through countless rehearsals for today, not only the royal family, even the servants were commanded to practice for the day so as to ensure that everything flowed perfectly and on time. This would be a night that would go down in history as tonight I, who is to be the first-ever queen in the history of Cordelia, would be presented to the noble families to whom invitations were extended to send in suitors, seeking the hand in marriage with me.

"I'm so glad that Queen Sylvia gave me permission to visit you and have a heart-to-heart before she, along with Amelia and Adrian comes to check if you're all ready." Dabria broke the silence.

"Mum knows how much you mean to me and she knows well that you've always been there for me," I replied sincerely.

Even though she harbored no ill will towards Dabria, I was aware of how much it hurt my mum, Queen Sylvia, to accept her as she was the daughter of a woman dad had loved before her. But knowing how close we were to one another, my mum never tried to make us fall apart.

Time passed all too soon and the guard posted at the doors to the dressing room announced the arrival of my mother and my two younger siblings. It was the cue for Dabria to go and with a last word of comfort she headed off to the Great Hall. I mustered up every bit of grace in me and be presentable as possible when mum entered the room.

The moment I saw the smile in my mum's eyes, I instantly felt obliged to look delighted for her sake and to make sure that everything went smoothly tonight. Following behind her were Adrian and Amelia, my loving little sister and brother. They were practically glowing with excitement, discussing what would happen at tonight's event. Seeing them made me realize how I had long ago wished for a life with fewer burdens, the simple life of a peasant child. Knowing the hardships of the common people could never make me fear the simple lives they lead, but I later realized that I was lucky to be born with comforts, which some can only dream of. Reminding myself that everything that exists in this world has its own good and bad sides, I decided to stop complaining about my own grievances, at least for the time being.

I walked up to mum and kissed both her cheeks with a greeting and when Amelia tugged at my hand, I gave her a kiss on top of her head, which made Adrian envious. However, when I picked him up to ruffle his hair, he stuck his tongue out at me, trying to act tough. Right then, I wanted to tell him that he would get to be all tough as much as he wanted once he grew up, but I knew that it was much too solemn for his age.

"Adrian, Amelia, can you give your mummy and sister some time alone," Mum said finally. I was expecting this but was reluctant to usher my brother and sister to leave when they were so enthusiastically asking me about tonight.

"But, mamma, I wanna know what sort of a prince sister is going to marry," Amelia complained with a pout. It made me laugh despite how the gravity of that question seemed to sink into me.

"She will tell you all about it once the event is over," Mum assured her with firmness and beckoned Jasmine to take the two children out.

Once the door closed behind them, mum reminded me of how important tonight was for my life and that I should not at all act rashly, even if I were to feel overwhelmed. She also said that I was responsible for my own life and that I could make or break it and so I should be wise in taking decisions from now on.

"I know that you don't have much of a choice here, in selecting your future husband, but you can certainly influence the decision. I'm sure that you will know who is best for you in time and that you can definitely make the right decisions whenever it matters so that the right person will be drawn to you and for you." mum said finally with a sincere smile.

I was not completely sure if she was saying all these to make me feel better or that she believed that I was capable of influencing the decision on choosing my future husband.

I was not allowed more time to ponder on it, because at that moment dad came in to escort me down to appear before the crowd gathered for the Opening Ceremony for Calling in Suitors.

As we walked down the stairs and towards the Great Hall, my heart started to pound faster. Why I was getting excited was not clear to me. But the throat-drying excitement mixed with nervousness was better than the hopelessness I was feeling some time ago. Maybe I was growing to have more faith in the words of my mum about me having the power to influence than I thought of before and it could be what was making me more lively than I was the entire day.

As the doors to the Great Hall opened, voices seeped out and I was engulfed in an air of excitement as I walked in, guided by my dad. The noblemen and women gathered there bowed before us. I, as taught all my life, acknowledged them all with a slight wave of my hand.

After I was in the hands of my mum at the raised platform to the left of the dais, dad went up to the throne.

"Welcome, all of you. As you all know," King Liam, my dad began, spreading silence in the hall, "we're gathered here tonight to mark the beginning of the two weeks in which young men from each family here can send in their letters of request along with their application to ask for the hand in marriage with my lovely daughter Avalyn."

All eyes fell on me and naturally, I started feeling overwhelmed. I was grateful for the fact that mum, who was standing beside me, took my hand in hers without letting anyone notice, helping me feel braver to go through this.

*

The ceremony was finally over and I was back in my room. Jasmine removed all the pins that were attached to my hair and was combing my hair so that I was ready for bed.

I was tired after the event, but I made sure to pay a visit to Amelia, who was excited to hear my account on everything related to my upcoming marriage. It was hard to satisfy her thirst for more details, but she understood that I was tired and said that I could come back to her when I was free and tell her more about it. Like always she was behaving as the angel she was. The thought of her innocence and sweetness brought a smile to my lips.

Out of the blue, my phone started vibrating on my lap, bringing me back to the present. When I checked the phone, it was a call from Mel.

"You can go now, Jasmine. I can manage on my own now." I dismissed my handmaid, bidding her good night, and quickly called back my bestie.

"How was it, Ava? You are alright?" Mel started, sounding concerned.

"Relax, sweetheart, everything went fine." I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

"You have any idea who would be applying?" Being the typical Mel, she was instantly shifted from being concerned to being excited. "I hope there're plenty of cute guys for you to fall for." She giggled.

My heartbeat quickened as what she said reminded me of the Beaufort cousins. The realization that they came to my mind along with the word 'cute' bothered me and I let out an involuntary sigh.

"Oh, babes, I'm sorry. I know things are hard for you. Tell you what, I'll pay you a visit tomorrow and if you want me to, I can stay at your place as long as you need me to."

If only Mel knew why I suddenly became anxious, how would she react? I thought to myself.