Is that obvious Briara has changed?

    I look at him calmly. “Your Majesty, if you want this cover to work and for me to be your fiancée, then treat me like one. A royal fiancée is not dragged around. Do not forget that I am doing this for the good of the future kingdom, which needs a king, and in memory of my dear mistress.”

“Very well, young lady. But let us see how you play your part. After all, you are a servant. Yet, if I look more closely, you seem more acceptable than that frightened little girl Briara.”

“Please do not insult my late mistress. I am trying to recover from the shock I suffered. Besides, I am sure a prince like you would understand. You are loved by the people, Your Majesty.”  

 He raises an eyebrow and laughs proudly. “Forgive me. You are right; that is so. You understand a great deal, it seems. Now let us waste no more time.”   

 So you are putting your manipulation into practice, Prince? Just as I saw. Only now I no longer believe you; now I know your true colours. 

   I sit upright, my eyes downcast, occasionally glancing out the window. I make no sound. He studies every detail of me and says nothing. But I know what someone like him would think.

“I had one of my attendants throw her into a river. I said that my fiancée’s maid fell down the stairs and died, and that I did not want to make an event of it. When you return, you will fully take over Briara’s life, and I tell you now that I will break off the engagement within a month.”

“I trust your judgement, Prince Alistair.” 

  The Palace of Eclipse rises before us like a tomb of light. The windows are lit, and I can hear music all the way into the courtyard. The footman opens the door. Alistair steps down first, then offers me his hand. I take it. I smile.

   The nobles look on. “Lady Briara Mariam Lautrec, fiancée of Prince Alistair Romanovantis.” Applause. People whisper: “How beautiful she is.” “How royal.” “She deserves the prince.” 

  Alistair feels my hand. He squeezes it. I smile more broadly. The king and queen are before us. The king is a tired man with a white beard. The queen has the same cold eyes as Alistair. She sizes me up.

“Briara, are you feeling well? You are late.

Before the prince can answer, I curtsy and take over, giving Alistair a subtle nudge with my elbow.

Your Majesty, I am honoured. I am more than delighted to be in Your Majesty’s presence, and I hope you will forgive our delay. A northern elk came out in front of our carriage, and so as not to disturb its sanctity, we took a short detour.” (Northern elks are one of the three sacred animals of the Kingdom of Eclipse; they are said to bring news of a significant gain.)

“A northern elk? Good heavens, how could we be upset! As monarchs, we must protect its sanctity.”

“My fiancée is right, Father. And she already knows her duties to the kingdom very well; she is an example even for me.” 

Such empty flattery, what a consummate actor. Not that I am any better; perhaps that is why we ultimately ended up husband and wife in the vision. The same worm lies within ourselves.

   The king and queen leave us with the guests. The prince is immediately surrounded by his friends from the Royal Academy. I recognise a few of them. Nothing but spoiled brats raised in cotton wool, knowing nothing of life’s hardships or of man’s inner struggles. A young man with honey-colored hair, holding a glass of wine, turns toward me. His unserious gaze betrays how much he wants to mock me. He has no idea what has hit him.

“Ah, if it isn’t little Briara. Did you think that if you gave yourself a new hairstyle, we would no longer know that your brain cannot compete with your outfits?” Everyone laughs except for the prince.

   I cannot believe the real Briara allowed herself to get such a reputation among them. I smile and look him straight in the eyes.

“Desmond, I am glad to see you too. Did you think that insulting the future queen in front of the others would make you seem stronger and more amusing? Isn’t that so? That your friends would continue to listen to you, and you would bask in your only quality, the fact that you were born into wealth.”

His eyes widen. Silence. Alistair purses his lips. Desmond shouts, "E-excuse me?”

“It seems that even your intelligence does not do you credit tonight. That is perhaps why you were drawn to my so uncultured presence, because two negatives make a positive, right? Very amusing, Lord Desmond. Now, if you don’t mind, Alistair and I must enjoy this evening.”

“You slut, how dare you? Who the hell are you?” 

   In two swift movements, he snatches the tray of wine glasses from a servant’s hands and hurls it straight at me. My dress is stained, and a burgundy puddle has formed at my feet. The glass shards are scattered in all directions, and one of them cut the prince’s wrist. Everyone looks toward them. The other two who were accompanying him try to stop him. 

The prince reacts first, “Enough! Guards!”

“Lord Desmond, someone in your position should reassess the situation calmly. You cannot insult someone and expect the coin not to be returned to you.”

He struggles in the guards’ grip. “Who are you?”

“Your future queen, and that is why I will forgive you. This time.”

   The guards take him outside. Everyone looks at me, at the disaster I have become, but I smile. Dear guests, this small incident must not ruin our evening. Please, continue enjoying yourselves and be assured that everything is being handled.” 

  The servants clean up immediately. One of the maids invites me upstairs to change clothes. The prince's order, she said. In the blink of an eye, I return with a new outfit. A dress far more beautiful than the bluish one from before,  the colour of plum violet with a deep neckline, ending in a train. All eyes are fixed on me. Briara is the star of the evening, or rather, I am. 

  The prince extends his hand, and we find ourselves in the middle of the ballroom, spinning to the rhythm of a waltz. I move perfectly. I never learned, but my body knows the movements. Ah, yes. I learned in the life from which I awoke. For I do not dream, properly speaking; I am transported into the dream world in flesh and blood, even though I sleep, as if I were split between two worlds. This explains my gift. There I learned to perfect my dancing. In the first version of this ball, I was clumsy. Now, I show him what a perfect fiancée means. He spins me. I have learned to keep pace with his pompous movements.

“Who taught you to dance like that?”

“I danced often.”

Something in his eyes changes. I see a glimmer of gentle curiosity.

“I liked what you did earlier. You showed them authority.”

“I am only playing my role, as promised.”

“Hm, you might not view it as just a role anymore.”

“Is something wrong with that?”

“You’re sharp-tongued and demanding. What else can you do?”

“Do you want me to show you, prince?”

“Oh, sooner rather than later. That way I will decide whether to keep you or not.”

“After tonight, you will have no choice.”

The music ends, and so does our dance, not only the dance of our feet but also that of our words.

   I have arrived home. When I step into the dark residence, I see hair scattered around like a messy wig at the base of the stairs. I approach. A body and a face appear too. The real Briara looks at me with wide eyes, her neck twisted. She moves her lower lip and mumbles something unintelligible. It cannot be...