Chapter 129

“Yes, pay no attention!” I call to all the boys, chin high, as I head back into the main room of our train car after Daphne. “However, the bathroom will be off limits for the next hour, so you can all just…deal with it!” I’m about to close the door behind me when I hear Luca’s next words.

“Do I even want to know?” Luca murmurs to the boys, a little shocked and fascinated as he watches us go.

I grin, pressing my eye to the crack in the door and watching this unfold.

“Nope, it’s girl stuff.” Rafe says, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “So, you definitely do not.”

“You poor thing,” Ben says, resting his hand supportively on Luca’s other shoulder. “I always forget you don’t have sisters, so you’re completely unaware of the rules and codes of girl time.”

“Welcome to this land of mysteries,” Jesse says gravely, raising a glass of whiskey towards Luca. Luca responds with a smirk, raising his own glass and clinking it against my cousin’s. “There’s a lot of glitter here.”

I laugh, rolling my eyes at all four of them, and press the door firmly shut. And with that Daphne and I lock ourselves away and get to work.

My brows arch when I see the incredible amount of clothes that Daphne has packed into such a small case.

“I know,” she says as we lean over cache together and she quickly sorts through it. “I’m a great packer. Plus, I really like these thin fabrics that really save space –“

Daphne quickly explains the logic behind her packing choices while pulling out a few options that she thinks will suit me. Daphne is taller and a little fuller-figured than me, and certainly more gifted in the chest, so she picks a few options that are not quite as fitted. I admire each of them in turn, but a soft “oohh” slips from my lips when she pulls out a mod-style navy dress with white trim and gold details.

“Yeah!?” Daphne says, grinning at me. “You like this one?”

“Can I?” I squeak, taking it gently in my hands. Daphne laughs and pushes it towards me and I quickly change as Daphne pulls a pair of white booties out of the bottom of the case. As I pull the dress over my head, I bless our luck that our feet are miraculously the same size.

When I turn to look at myself in the large mirror above the sink, I give a little gasp. Because, I mean, it’s just a chic little day dress – it’s certainly not the most dramatic thing I’ve ever worn. But in the mirror I see a girl looking back at me –

And god, god I’ve missed being a girl.

“Yup, this is the one,” Daphne says, coming to stand beside me and tugging at the dress in her seamstress way. “Let’s just fix the hem a little –“

I laugh and wave a hand at her. “It doesn’t need to be fixed, it’s perfect –“

“It’s an inch too long!” Daphne protests, horrified, even though the hem is already a little past mid-thigh. “And if this is my first time dressing a Princess, then it’s going to be perfect!”

“You’ve been dressing a Princess for months,” I remind her, dry. But Daphne just laughs and ignores me, getting her needle and thread and rapidly making the changes she wants to ensure that the fit is, as she said, perfect. That done, we move on to my hair and my makeup – just light touches, but things that make me feel more and more like my former self as the time passes.

But as my image in the mirror transforms, I have to admit – I’m not sure how I feel about it.

“What?” Daphne asks, leaning back a little as she takes in my frown, the little stick of eyeliner suddenly still in her hand. “You don’t like this color?”

“No,” I murmur, shifting my eyes to her from my reflection in the mirror. “It’s just…I don’t know if I want to be Princess Ariel again. She was kind of a pushover. Cadet Ari Clark is…tougher than she is.”

“I hate to break it to you,” Daphne says, leaning in with a false grimace. “But Ariel…they’re the same person.”

I burst into laughter, cheered, and she does too. “No, but seriously, Daphne! I’m afraid I’ll fall into all my old ways – I used to be so pleasant and obliging. I was willing to do anything – get married, even! Just to make peace and help the country. I guess I’m afraid that now that if I’m stepping back into that role, I’ll step back into those old habits.”

“Yeah, but now you’re also a kickass marksman who knows a lot about poisons,” she says, shrugging and turning my face so she can finish the make up on my other eye. “So, if anyone tries to make you do anything you don’t want to, you can just smile pleasantly and slip something terrible into their dinner.”

“Good point,” I murmur, but my mind still turns on it, wondering what it’s going to be like to go back the life of a Princess. Being a cadet – being a boy – there were so many freedoms there, even if there were a great deal of secrets.

“Well, I’ve got your back,” Daphne says quietly before she blows on my closed eyelid to dry the liquid eyeliner. “And so does your cute little pack of Alphas out there –“

I laugh, opening my eye. “Don’t let them hear you calling them cute.”

“Oh, Jesse would kill to hear me call him cute,” she says, her voice heavy with the understatement, which just makes me laugh harder.

“And what about you?” I ask. “What can I do to have your back?”

“You’re already doing it,” she says cheerfully. “I mean, you’re brining me to the palace for winter break, Ari! People would kill for that.”

“It’s just my house,” I say with a sigh, rolling my eyes, wanting to do more, but she laughs at that.

“Well, you’re wearing my clothes,” she says, gesturing towards the dress.

“That’s a favor you did me –“ I protest, confused. “My mom makes sure I have probably the biggest wardrobe in the country besides hers, and here I am, stealing your dress –“

“No, Ari,” she says, laughing, “you’re like…wearing my designs.”

“Oh,” I say, looking down at the dress anew, “oh, like, you made this!?”

“Of course I did!” she says, grinning at me.

“Daphne!” I gasp, amazed. “This is like, a beautiful dress! This is amazing!”

“And think about the gift you’ve given my mom, who will get to hear about you wearing it,” she says, laughing with me and turning me towards the mirror so I can take in the whole picture. Me, again a girl, again a Princess, standing with my friend in the dress she designed. I suddenly feel very warm, and very, very happy.

“More people than that will see it,” I murmur, tilting my head to rest on her shoulder. “After all, the palace steps are going to be flooded with paparazzi.”

“What?” she gasps.

“The crown Prince and the Duke returning from their first successful semester at the Academy with Luca Grant in tow? Not to mention the missing Princess, who has suddenly appeared in this carriage?” I burst out laughing at the shock on her face. “Yeah, Daphne – there’s going to be press.”

“Oh my god,” she says, giving me a little shove. “I have to get changed! I can’t show up like this!”

I grin, taking in her Seamstress uniform, the only thing I’ve ever seen her in except the pretty floral dress she wore to our party the night before the Examination. “I think you look great, Daph!”

“Out, out!” she shouts, flapping her hands at me. “I need quiet! I need to think about this! Tell the boys still no more bathroom, because I need to plan and plot what I’m going to wear!”

“Yes, ma’am!” I say, shaking my head and refilling her glass of wine, sensing that she’ll need it, before I head out the door into the carriage.

When I step out into the main room of the train car, I stop a little when everything goes silent. My eyes go wide as I instantly whip my head around, looking for threats, but then the silence is split by Jesse’s impressed whistle.

“Well look at you, cousin!” he shouts, laughing. “It’s a girl!”

I burst out laughing, blushing and giving a little curtsey as I realize their shock was just seeing me out of my Academy clothing for the first time in months. I smile at Luca especially, realizing that this is the first time he’s seeing me really in girl clothes outside of the dream state.

“Who are you,” he says, his voice mock threatening as he slowly gets to his feet and narrows his eyes. “And what have you done, with my mate, Ari Clark?”

“Aw, I threw him off the train,” I say, twisting my lips in mock apology as I gesture over my shoulder with my thumb. “Decided we don’t have use for him anymore – at least not for the next couple of weeks.”

“Awesome,” he murmurs, crossing the distance between us in two long steps and wrapping his arms around me, laughing. Behind us, Ben, Jesse and Rafe laugh and continue their conversation, giving us a second mostly alone.

“So what do you think?” I ask, wrinkling my nose as I look up at him. “Do you like me all girly?”

“I love you all girly,” he says, grinning down at me as he strokes a hand over my hair. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like you all tough in Cadet Black too –“

“Thank you!” I say, quite pleased.

“And I like you all stressed out in your pajamas, moaning in agony over a chemistry textbook –“

I squeak a little, liking this one less.

“And I like you when you’re asleep on the couch cushion, that cute little line of drool dripping out of your mouth –“

It’s a full on shout of dissent now, even as I laugh, smacking my hands against his chest. “Rude!” I snap, though I can’t help my smile.

“I like all iterations of Ariel,” he murmurs, pulling me tighter, and I drop my head back on my neck so that I can grin up at him, at his beautiful face, at the way his eyes crinkle at their corners when he teases me like this. “But you look very beautiful today, and I’m excited to see this side of you along with the rest of them.”

“Good,” I murmur, standing on my toes and pressing a kiss to his mouth. “Because this train just started slowing down – and you’re about to walk into the Capital with the Princess on your arm. Are you ready for it?”

“Oh,” he murmurs, his voice a low, eager growl. “I’m ready for it, Ariel Sinclair. You just lead the way.”