The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 0568

The next morning, I awoke slowly. The sun was bright outside my window. It must have been early yet. It seemed as if the sun's rays were coming in strong and undeterred. Even the curtains could not dull their luminance.

I felt stubborn though, and groggy from being up much of the night thinking back on the things Nicholas had said. I would undoubtedly pay for it later today.

For now, however, I could rest. Elva was still dozing soundly beside me

I rolled to the side, enough to peer over, down at Nicholas on the ground. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyelids closed. He seemed to be sleeping as well.

Good. Then I truly did have a few minutes to wake slowly. I liked mornings like this, where nothing felt urgent. They had always been a rare gift to me.

Still on my side, I watched the way Nicholas's chest rose and fell with his deep breathing. His face was stern, as if he was having a dream about giving some kind of orders or reprimand.

I wondered what he dreamed about.

Could it be anything like my dreams? Although with that stern expression, I doubted he was dreaming of a blissful family life.

"Mommy...?"

I rolled over, away from Nicholas and toward my daughter instead. She was rubbing her eyes with one hand.

"Is it time to wake up?" Elva asked. Content belong to NôvelDráma. Org.

*Soon," I said. "We can sleep in a bit, though. There's no rush."

"Okay," she said. She blinked a few times, then met my gaze. "Is Nick-lass still here?"

I nodded. "He's sleeping, so we should keep our voices low. We don't want to wake him."

She lowered her voice. "He stayed all night?"

"He did," I said, keeping my voice low as well. "Protecting us. Keeping us safe."

Elva smiled as she wiggled under the covers. She pulled them up higher, closer to her chin. "I like Nick-lass." "Me, too."

Elva seemed content with that. Her smile widened as she said, "So when will he be my new daddy? Soon, right?" Shock struck through me and for a moment, I simply stared at her, startled. But then I recovered myself.

I supposed the correct thing to do would have been to let her down gently, or at the very least, temper her expectations. But my own fantasies had been running so rampant lately, that what I should do and what I wanted to do didn't align.

So I asked her, "Is that something you would want?*

"Yeah," Elva said. "Then he'd stay with us forever."NôvelDrama.Org © content.

My heart cracked down the middle, hearing her words. Elva's dreams were so similar to my own. What I wouldn't give to have Nicholas belong to us as part of our family.

But, even with my fantasies, I should still let Elva know that it might not work out that way. I could be eliminated at the next ceremony. Or the King and Queen could simply deem me unsuitable. Or Nicholas could choose someone else. Despite everything, Bridget was still a possibility.

Yet before I could begin to tell Elva anything. Nicholas let out a loud yawn and I snap my mouth shut.

He was noisy as he began to sit up. He stretched out all of his limbs, almost as if to make a big show of it.

I could only hope he had actually been asleep a moment ago and hadn't overheard Elva and my conversation.

Nicholas blinked a few times, then looked between Elva and me. I held my breath, expecting some kind of comment.

*Ready for breakfast?" he asked, and I huffed out a deep exhale of relief.

"I am!" Elva said and hopped out of bed.

"Let's get dressed first," I said, and after selected the day's clothes for us both, ushered Elva into the bathroom to change and ready for the day.

Nicholas waited for us, and then, we all headed down to breakfast together.

As soon as stepped off the stairs, the tension in the air on the first floor was palpable.

Selma was scurrying around, being shorter than usual with the staff as she barked orders. This in turn, caused all of the staff to seem more stressed then too. Drinks were getting messed up or spilled. The person mopping the floors slipped on their own wash.

Nicholas immediately started walking toward the chaos. "Selma? What is this?"

"I'm so sorry that you had to see any of this, Prince Nicholas," she said and seemed genuinely ashamed. "I just don't know what to do."

"What's the matter?" Nicholas asked her.

"These merfolk," she said and covered her face. "I don't know what to do or how to feed them. What do they even eat? I received a list of dietary restrictions from the Ambassador. My prince, I don't even know what some things on the list are! Oh, forgive me. Forgive me!*

Nicholas wrapped an arm around her and patted her shoulder gently, offering support. He looked hopelessly back at me. I nodded at him, knowing and understanding that he was needed here. He didn't have to attend to Elva and

1.

*Let me talk to the Ambassador," Nicholas said. "I'll see if I can sort this all out for you."

"Thank you," she sniffed. "Oh, thank you so much, your royal Highness. You are so kind."

"It will be alright," Nicholas said.

I smiled down at Elva, who was watching the scene with a curious though somewhat frightened expression. Seeing a grown woman lose her composure likely frightened the poor kid.

"Hey," I said. When Elva looked up at me, I smiled down at her. "Nicholas is going to take care of this, alright? You know we can trust him to handle anything, right?"

Elva nodded. The fear ebbed from her expression. Yes, she knew she could trust Nicholas.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

*Yeah..."

"Let's go to breakfast, then," I said. "I bet Julian will be there!"

Elva's face lit up. She would miss not having Nicholas nearby, but she did like Julian almost just as much.

A moment later, Elva was the one pulling me toward the dining room.

Yet, just as we drew nearer, I could hear arguing coming from inside the room.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Bridget snapped. Her usually friendliness was missing. Instead she sounded sharp and annoyed.

"You know him," Julian said, voice dripping with accusation.

"Who doesn't know him?" Bridget replied. "You know him."

"You know him intimately." Julian wasn't letting up.

"Maybe we should go back upstairs," I say to Elva.

She's worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

"I'm famous!" Bridget says. "I know a lot of people!" Bridget huffs then. "I know what this is about, Julian. You are so obsessed with me. You have been for years! And now that I've rejected you, you're trying to make me look back."

*You are out of your mind!"

"Am I? You've been following me around like a lost puppy since we were kids. Well guess what? I'm sick of it. I won't stand for your accusations."

*Bridget-

*If you need someone to follow around, why don't you go find Piper instead? Your little crush on her is sickening, but at least it gets you to leave me alone."

My thoughts come to a complete and total stop.

Julian... has a crush on me?