The dragon carriage moved far more smoothly than Merope had imagined—almost without any jolts at all, as if the dragon ahead was running while holding back every stride for the comfort of the passengers in the back.
She sat pressed against the window, her face nearly touching the glass, watching the capital buildings pass one by one, gradually replaced by sprawling gardens and palace walls coming into view in the distance.
Opposite her, Felt sat struggling to maintain her posture so her flared skirt wouldn’t entirely fill the carriage cabin, occasionally sighing in annoyance every time the fabric caught on a seat corner.
”You’re super excited, huh,” Felt commented, watching Merope who hadn’t stopped commenting on everything passing by outside the window.
”Everything’s just new to me!” Merope replied, turning briefly before pressing back against the glass.
“That garden… that… what is that? Why is water shooting up into the air on its own?”
”That’s a fountain,” answered Flam, one of the twin maids sitting across from them, her voice small yet clear, polite as trained since childhood.
”A fountain,” Merope repeated, tasting the word on her tongue like her old habit, before smiling broadly.
“What a lovely name!”
Grassis, Flam’s twin sitting beside her, exchanged a brief look with her sister—not in confusion, but closer to suppressed amusement held politely behind professional expressions.
Yet the closer the carriage got to the palace gates, the more Merope felt something different creeping into her chest—the overflowing excitement gradually mixing with very real nervousness as the palace walls loomed larger before them.
She turned to Felt, who had also stopped complaining about her gown, staring out the window with an expression far more serious than usual.
”Felt,” Merope called softly, “are you nervous too?”
“Well… a little. But this isn’t my first time. You’re the one who needs to be more prepared—there will be a lot of eyes staring at you today, and not all of them will be friendly.”
Merope swallowed hard, her fingers squeezing the edge of her white cloth, seeking strength from that old habit.
”I know,” she answered finally, her voice small yet steady.
“But I promised myself. I’ll show them I’m different.”
The carriage slowed, its wheels rumbling softly over the palace stone road, and before them, the massive gold-engraved gates swung wide open—opening the path toward a day that would determine the direction of Merope’s life for a very long time to come.
The carriage finally came to a complete stop in the sprawling palace courtyard, the shadows of high towers stretching long over the clean white stone road gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight.
Flam stepped out first, opening the carriage door neatly, followed by Grassis who helped ready the small stepping stool for them both.
”We have arrived, Merope-sama, Felt-sama,” Grassis said, bowing politely.
Felt stepped out first, struggling slightly with her billowing gown at the carriage threshold, before successfully landing gracefully—or at least, as gracefully as possible considering how alien that gown was to her.
Merope followed, and the moment her feet touched the palace grounds, she paused, her eyes looking up to gaze at the giant building towering before her—far grander than anything she could have imagined, with white marble pillars and stained-glass windows reflecting sunlight into thousands of colorful fragments. This story is hosted at g.com.
”Whoa…” she whispered in awe, momentarily forgetting her own nervousness.
Yet that awe didn’t last long.
At the edge of the courtyard, a group of lavishly dressed people stood waiting—some glancing toward the newly arrived carriage, their gazes filled with sharp curiosity, evaluating every detail of Merope’s appearance which clearly differed from any other candidate.
Merope straightened her posture, recalling Grimm’s lessons from last week, and stepped forward beside Felt, her heart pounding hard yet her steps remaining steady.
Here it goes, she thought.
The beginning of everything.
Felt and Merope walked side by side, passing the line of palace guards bowing respectfully on both sides of the main entrance, before the two massive double doors were pushed wide open by dual guards, revealing the vast hall waiting beyond.
The room was completely silent—dozens of knights lined up neatly along the walls in shining uniforms, the Council of Elders seated in high chairs at the end of the hall, and not far from them, four figures stood apart from one another, each surrounded by their own small entourage—the four other candidates who had arrived earlier.
And in the middle of it all stood the figure Merope recognized most among them—Reinhard, standing upright in his formal uniform, his head bowed respectfully toward the council before his eyes caught their arrival at the threshold.
For a fraction of a second, their gazes met, and though Reinhard didn’t move an inch from his spot, something in his expression seemed to whisper softly to Merope: you can do this.
Merope took a deep breath, clutching her white cloth tightly for a moment before releasing it again, and stepped further into the hall alongside Felt—entering a world that, starting today, would become entirely her stage.
…..
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