For Her Hand

Chapter Sixty-Six

It had been a disaster. What Allie had intended to be a fun-filled night full of dancing and romance had turned into a fight for survival. While the task she had set out to do was complete, she was almost conflicted about sending the results. Had the night proceeded normally, the results would have been distributed at the end of the banquet.

Now she was left with the task of disclosing—by holocaster messaging—who remained and who did not. Thankfully, she had prerecorded the message with the list of those remaining reduced to twenty-two contestants. While the interference of the ball crashers was unfortunate, it did give her the insight she needed to make a clear decision on the matter regarding who would still remain.

A good portion of the final list was decided based on what her friends—the Chatelaine Sisters—had observed during their rounds to each table while disguised as maids. While some kept their partners engaged and interested, others seemed like they were simply there for the food and paid no mind to their date. A few were rude and some were as full of themselves as Allie remembered them to be.

Then there was the dancing. Each of the sisters had managed to steal a moment of their time and were able to observe their behavior a little closer. Some held eye-contact and were polite and genuinely interested in the conversations that the four struck up, while others eyes wandered either around the room or over their bodies. While Allie didn't mind a man admiring her figure, the way these men were depicted by the sisters was nothing short of lecherous.

She was surprised Dana—the more scrappy of the four—didn't slap them in the face. She'd seen her leave marks and by Arceus did it look like it stung. Taking a deep breath, she found the prerecorded message that had been made and sent out a mass message. With a relieved sigh, Allie flopped back onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling, memories of the terrifying events playing in her head.

Who were they, and why did they attack the palace? Allie thought with a furrowed brow. This was clearly premeditated because they were able to subdue everyone in a matter of minutes. Had Mathilde not come...

"No... I won't think that way," Allie said aloud, rising up from her bed to walk out to her balcony. "Everyone got out of it alive, and that's what's important..."

Seth looked down at his holocaster as the message from Allie appeared. Taking a deep breath, he tapped the notification and a hologram of Allie materialized in front of him and began to speak.

"Good day to you all. I hope this message finds you well. As all of you are well aware, last night's ball was a major turning point for everyone. What happened was incredibly scary and something I'm sure we all wish had never occurred. Thankfully, nobody was injured, thanks to the brave efforts of some of you and the intervention of Mathilde Bellerose. Now that the halfway point in this competition is over, I'd like to say a few things in regards to the things that were observed by my friends the Chatelaine Sisters. As I'm sure you remember, these four were undercover for the duration of the ball (until the end) and were tasked with observing everyone in the banquet hall..."