Venera woke up from her pill induced sleep early the next morning. Her first instinct was to send for the prince, but a whisper of fear made her think twice.
Logically, Venera knew that Felix made the right decision, both for the 10's mission and their relationship, if one could even call it that. But she couldn't get the sound of his whip hitting her skin out of her head. Would she have done the same in his shoes. She hadn't considered it that way until that moment.
Her hand flew to the lowest slash on her back. It was mostly healed, unlike the other two, but it was the one that broke her down completely. Could she forgive the prince completely?
When Venera finally gathered up the courage to leave her bed, she sent Manny for the prince and some breakfast, because she was starving.
"Lady Venera, are you feeling better?" Manny looked at her with concern.
"I've been better, but I'm
"I need everyone at the meeting table NOW!" Micha barked, making Venera jump. He had burst into the lab in a flurry of ashy blonde hair, wearing the most wrinkled suit in the country. Despite the fact he couldn't call an official meeting, everyone obliged. News from Micha was always valuable, so the rest of the 10 wasted no time getting to the head table. The lab was overly crowded these days. For most of the 10 there wasn't any work outside at the moment. Some were sprawled on bean bags in the middle of the room, while Sabrina lay on the black stone floor, laughing at the boys training in the fitness corner. "The prince has finally decided to marry." he paused for a second to let the information sink in. "They will be announcing the 11 selected girls in a few hours on Channel 3. We need to decide if we can use t
Luca burst through the door and was about to say something when he saw that the two were also watching the broadcast. "Venera, they'll be here to pick you up. We don't know when, but you have to get ready to be taken to the palace. Make sure your chip is in order and take anything you might need. We need to think about how we can use this to our advantage. I'll suspend all other plans." Dan said, shaking off the shock. Venera was going to the palace, she was going to be so close to the person who scares her the most in this world, the King. She was still rationalizing everything when Dan instructed Luca to get to the lab asap and take everything from Venera's station and all her belongings from there. "I need a moment to get over this and think straight." she finally spoke.
When the car approached the palace, Venera put everything in her backpack and brushed hands through her hair to smooth it, the fading blue locks tucked behind her ears, which were still burning red. On the 40-minute ride, she was able to small talk and win some respect from the guards. The palace was made from a sparkly white rock on the outside and it glistened in the sun. The weather was getting chillier in the later afternoon Venera wished she'd thought to bring a jacket. Her clothes weren't appropriate for the weather. She had taken only 2 changes of clothes and her old Kevlar body suit in case things got heated at the palace, which seemed enough when she was packing but too little now that she was faced with the reality of the palace. The guards calmed her down by telling her there are dresses sewn for each of the girls the prince had ch
As Felix and Venera were making their way back to the castle, a group of guards opened the front doors and let them in. The prince led Venera up 2 flights of stairs and into a long corridor of doors to the left. The marble flooring made all of their steps echo through the palace. He opened the first door on the right wall and invited Venera in. The room was small but cozy. A long stained wood desk took one wall with a mirror over it. A huge bookshelf next to the window opposite the door and the largest bed Venera had ever seen smack dab in the middle of the room. The bed was dressed in dark green coverture with huge beige pillows. On the left wall, there was a door that led to the bathroom. "So, how do you like it?" inquired the prince. Thank you, it’s wonderful," Va
Venera had been listening to music for some time, when the tall black-haired guard from earlier knocked on her door with her dinner. She tried to invite him in and keep her company, but he refused so Venera left the door open and talked to the guard stationed at her door. She learned his name. "So, Manny, why are you at my door? Isn't the palace safe? Why am I being guarded?" Venera asked. "I have no idea as well, lady, but those were my orders, so I am here." he tossed casually. "What do you do at the castle usually?" she followed up. "Normally I guard the front entrance and the garden exit on the east, but I will be stationed with you for the duration of your stay here, lady." he sighed. I bet it is a bore to sit outside the door and count flies, thought Venera. "Why are you so exhausted? You look like you have been workin
After what felt like just a few moments of sleep, Venera was awoken by a hand covering her mouth. Instincts kicked in right away and she kicked as hard as she could, prepared to scream when she heard metal hit the carpeted floor. Venera blinked and saw a crown roll on the carpet next to her. She immediately jumped off the bed and found she had kicked the prince square in the stomach. He was trying to regain balance and breath when she turned the lights on. "What the fuck Felix!" she whisper-screamed. He tried to speak but nothing came out of his mouth, he just sat on the bed and stared at the floor. His eyes were swamp green, strained, and filled with pain. His hair was a mess. He wore the same suit from earlier that day but it was wrinkled all over. Venera was still trying to make sense of everything when she saw a drop of blood drip on her sheets from under the prince's suit jacket.
The prince fell asleep at some point, face planted on her bed. Venera tried to fall asleep on the other side of the bed but kept getting awoken by his grunts every so often. She didn't want to take sleeping pills so late into the night or her morning would be miserable.The clock read 4 a.m. so Venera was wondering if she could just stay awake and survive the next day. Ultimately she decided against it. Just before she tried to go back to bed for the umpteenth time, she cracked the door open to see Manny was still out like a candle, just like he was, when the prince had come to her room.She snuck back into bed, lifted the blanket to check on the prince's healing, which looked good for now. She didn't have the energy nor the tools to find out if the whip used on him was soaked in something to stop the wounds from clotting. She lied down and got comfortable, faced the outside of the bed, and tried to ignore the prince was just an arm's reach
After breakfast the prince had to get ready to meet the other girls. Venera started opening the drawers in her room and found a box of makeup in one of the drawers. She hauled the box into the bathroom and started looking at what she had to work with. She had never purchased makeup for herself, as she could never justify the cost, but she had gotten plenty as presents over the years, that she wasn't completely clueless. She settled for ochre eyeshadow in her creace and some mascara for the eyes, some blush on her cheeks and the bridge of the nose, and a lip oil to finish it all. She then confidently opened the door and asked Manny for his opinion. "I've got no idea about makeup, Lady, but you look good," he replied, which was followed by an eye roll from Venera. She begged him to take her out to the garden, but he wasn't sure about it. "I know why