"You're playing with fire Safania."
"Good thing I don't burn."
The last words he spoke before throwing me onto my bed sounded like a threat, but felt more like a promise.
"You will."
***
Don't get caught. Those are the three words Safania has lived...
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Safania's POV
The next morning was a blur. I was so nervous I could barely eat. I tried reading, but my I kept re-reading the same page over and over again without comprehending any of it.
That afternoon, I tried not to panic as Emalina prepared me for the ball. The excitement from yesterday had devolved into pure nerves. I still didn't know what I was supposed to do, how I was supposed to act, what I was supposed to say.
"Just keep quiet," was Emalina's advice. "Usually the men do all the talking and the women kind of stand there. Except for the dancing of course. I would say spend your time with the other women, but most of them are terrible. You could hang out by the food table?" she suggested.
"I just feel awkward about the whole thing..." I confessed. "I think it was a mistake agreeing to go. Going to this fancy ball with the prince as a friend? I mean, why didn't he just go with some noblewoman? You know, someone he could actually end up marrying." I asked Emalina as she continued to do my make-up.
"First of all, he absolutely hates his father playing matchmaker," Emalina replied. "And second, I don't know if you're blind Saffy, but he's kind of obsessed with you."
"I know he likes me, but we both understand that there's no future for us. We're just friends," I responded.
"You mean you forced him to agree that you would just be friends," she replied. I looked at her, dumbfounded. "What? You're not the only one the prince talks to you know."
"Emalina, you know I didn't have a choice. I can't exactly hide the fact I'm marked from him if things between us...escalated."
"I know," Emalina replied as she applied something to my lips. "But what would you want if you weren't marked? You would want to be with him, wouldn't you? I mean, I swear I can literally see sparks flying between you two sometimes."
I thought about it for a minute. What if I wasn't marked? I couldn't deny the chemistry between us. Maybe if things were different...if I was different . . . I dismissed those thoughts.
"There's no point in speculating about something that could never happen," I told Emalina, firmly placing those thoughts out of my mind.
"I suppose," Emalina acquiesced with a disappointed tone. Her disappointment was short-lived though, because a smile quickly spread across her face. "Oh Safania," she said softly. "Look."
I looked at myself in the small mirror she handed me. My dark hair was pinned up in a delicate, intricate pattern with a few tendrils loose. My eyes looked dark and seductive, while my face appeared dewy and soft.
"I look different."
"No Safania, you look like you...just highlighted a bit. I didn't change anything, just emphasized your features. I didn't even have to use much makeup – you, my friend, are a natural beauty." She clapped excitedly. "I'm so glad you like it, but now it's time for the dress! I am so happy the prince finally has a date to the ball. The maids like to compete over who can do up their lady the best, and I think I definitely have a shot. And I've never even competed before!"
