2018, December 2nd
It started with a letter.
Zoey hailed from the small town Rosa.
Now as anyone from Rosa would tell you, the only thing more mundane than Rosa itself was its people. Quaint, little suburbs. One book store. One coffee shop. One everything, ensuring that everyone knew each other. Rosa was what the set of a suburban utopia might look like.
That's what Zoey liked about the place though. Everything flowed like clockwork. Nothing ever changed. Bookish, nerdy Zoey liked her predictable life just fine.
How could she have known that the simple act of opening the mailbox would change all that?
Everything was different after Zoey sat down to sort through the mail that day. The world seemed turned on its head. Broken as though in the pieces that the earth came together during the time of creation. And yet, somehow even as it spun on, it spun differently.
With her pretty face and messy curls often hidden behind a book, Zoey grew up a mere commoner. No different to most women in Terres Somnia. Having always considered herself average in every way, it surprised her to find that she was not.
That she was the granddaughter of an earl who lived abroad was not news to Zoey. Save for the cheque that came in the mail every month, however, that connection was a distant one. Zoey never felt the weight of it.
So when the news of Duke Arden being her father reached her, the young woman had many questions.
Until now Natalie, Zoey's mother, had always avoided talking about Zoey's father. But not today. Today Natalie would have to have the conversation that she had been running from for 23 years. Today Natalie would have to sit down with Zoey and tell her everything.
Natalie revealed she was once involved with a duke. When word got out and the matter turned to scandal, Natalie was exiled. Never to return to her childhood home, despite the abrupt ending of the relationship.
It was by then too late, as the dalliance had left Natalie with child. Natalie's father pitied her, but as his pride would not allow her back into his house, they compromised. Earl Michael sent Natalie to live in a small town, Rosa, where no one would know of her connection to the House of Ranger. In exchange, her father gave her a comfortable living allowance with which to raise her child.
Natalie and her father fought often. Still, never in her wildest dreams did Natalie Ranger think her father would cut her off. So when Zoey revealed a letter wherein Duke George Arden sent for her, Natalie jumped at the opportunity. The letter promised a handsome sum for a meeting with Zoey.
Zoey, headstrong and fuming, jumped at the opportunity too. It meant being away from her mother, whom she was unlikely to want to see for a while. Deep down, she longed to see him. Denial was much easier than acknowledging this. Thus, she convinced herself that she was only going to tell him off. With any luck, he had a belly and pretentious moustache. Some time away sounded like exactly what she needed.
When her half-brother Bart came for her a few days later, Zoey found herself at a loss for words. Fortunately for her, Bart talked little. The drive up to Caines happened in an old yellow mustang in mint condition.
The scenery turned from houses to skyscrapers to empty stretches of road. Zoey stared out the window, trying to sort through what was happening.
By the end of the 16-hour drive, she had concluded only two things. One was that they needed money. The second was that this perfect stranger whom she had only known about for a day, would give it to her. The questions in her mind went away, but for two. Could she give him what he wanted in exchange for said money? Was Zoey ready to meet the father who abandoned her and her mother?
It was dark when they got to the huge, imposing mansion. Regardless, it was impossible to miss the armed men stationed at every corner as Bart showed Zoey to a room. Bart told her to be up by five, after which he closed the door on her. The room was as big as the entire upstairs combined of the two-story house Zoey had lived in all her life.
Much like what little of the rest of the house she could make out, the furnishings were loud and arrogant. The way the room came together made Zoey feel, for the first time in her life, the depth of her loneliness.
There were no friends to call, no mom to comfort her and no way to know that she even existed in the world. Zoey threw herself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling until the darkest hour of the night. Too numb to cry, wondering how she'd allowed herself to become so alone.
At exactly 5 AM the next day, a string of women streamed into the room. All talking over each other, all but carrying Zoey to the dressing table like a doll. That morning was an icy, cold day, which was bound to bring snow.
Zoey let the words pass right by her as the women gossiped. Now and then they'd say something about The King's Fancy. Stylists and hairdressers and Zoey knew not what else started bustling around her. Pulling at her hair and sticking brushes in her face.
Zoey meant to tell them to stop, but no words came out of her mouth. Still feeling drained from all the surprises of yesterday, Zoey gave up and let her mind wander.
She missed being in a lecture hall, filled with perfect strangers. They expected nothing from her but silence so that they could all attend their lecture. She missed her boring, predictable life. Already she felt so far from it. Like this was always her life and that had been the dream. But that was absurd, of course.
She was only here to pick up a cheque, tell the duke off and hope never to see him again. As the denial began to give way, Zoey stared at the mirror before her. She was disappearing, bit by bit, right before her eyes.
Don’t think of it. She could barely believe herself to be sitting upright in this chair. Do not think about it. Do not wonder how he looks. Stop thinking altogether. She knew it was him the moment he entered her room.
The duke did not have a round belly. He was a tall man, not as tall as Bart, but still a giant of a man with a dignified presence and a handsome face.
The years had been kind to him. He walked well. Zoey hated how he seemed to do everything well. She drew a breath and braced herself as everyone in the room bowed. The duke glanced disinterestedly at the hired help. Zoey heard his heavy footsteps as he came to stand behind her. He stopped, held her gaze in the mirror a second longer than she could bear and then marched off without a word.
Zoey exhaled, followed by everyone else. Her mind, wherever it had been when she met his gaze, was back in that room.
"Do not allow His Grace to alarm My Lady," said the woman sticking pins into Zoey's hair. "Been that way since the day I got here."
Zoey tried to turn, but the woman steered her forward again.
"Almost done, My Lady," she said in a soft tone.
"Yes, we'll make sure you are a vision for the prince," hummed one of the other women, as she painted Zoey's nails.
"Excuse me?" Zoey asked, confused.
The hairstylist gave the manicurist a look, who then snapped her mouth shut. Now Zoey was curious. Where exactly were they going? She received no information at all.
The King's Fancy was the most important day on the calendar in Caines. This brunch had become the event of the year.
On this day, business deals were made and people spread rumours that would turn into scandals. But this year, The King's Fancy was more than that. On this day, King Henry and his cousin, Duke George Arden had to meet. For this year, The King's Fancy would change the very nation.
"Come on then," said a subdued Bart.
Zoey looked to her right. Even more dashing than yesterday when he came to pick her up was Bart. Her brand new half-brother, all 6'6" of him standing tall in his tux. He was arguably the tallest person Zoey had ever known. Not that she knew any young men. Those brilliant, dark blue eyes put you at ease and on alert all at once.
His athletic build combined with his stature could not but overwhelm her. And though she knew he was only 19, he hardly looked it. Hardly sounded it as he took call after call on the drive to Caines.
All she had to worry about at his age was getting into her hometown university, The University of Rosa. She could not believe that Bart, somewhat standoffish but ultimately well put together, was Duke Arden's son. Her thoughts turned to Rosa and her mother whom she had left behind. Her mother, who despite herself, loved Zoey. Present circumstances notwithstanding, Zoey thought how her mother's presence might have been comforting.
Bart gave her a half smile that made his stern eyes soften, but for a moment, as she took the hand he offered her.
