turned back towards her, she was talking to
another boy. Even though I was curious, I still made a promise to
myself to steer clear of her as much as possible.
In no time at all, Pegotty stood and
announced that the Cotillion had begun. My stomach fluttered with
nerves in anticipation of what was to come next but when I stood, I
tried to exude confidence. We made our way into the small group
sessions and the rest of the day was a blur. All of the interviews,
etiquette lessons, how to speak, how not to dress, what fork to use
first when you’re at a council dinner was all a fog by the end of
the day. Kain, Lily, Daniel, Carissa (the tall girl giving me looks
at the table), and I were in a group together for all of the
sessions. Aside from a few hours here and there, we would be
sharing in the embarrassment together the entire
weekend.
I was surprised that Carissa tended to
stay by my side most of the time. She didn’t say much to me, but
her company was oddly reassuring. I discovered that she was a model
in New York, not an uncommon profession for mermaids, and that she
had her sights set on Milan. Attending Cotillion was the last thing
she wanted to do since her entire summer booking schedule had to be
rearranged. We were the same age and she already had a career in
place. Granted, I had the fiancé, but neither of those were really
part of my life plan. I just wanted to run away with Brendan.
Carissa seemed to have it all figured out. She was sure that she
would be promised to someone by the end of the weekend and she
actually seemed to be okay with that prospect.
Daniel was gay. At least I was pretty
sure he was, even if he didn’t quite know it himself. We paired up
a lot of the time, not only because we got along well, but also
since Lily or Carissa did their best to partner up with Kain at any
chance they got. I should have been jealous and maybe I was a
little bit. Especially when Carissa was around, but ultimately I
hoped that Kain might take some interest in one of them.
“ Aren’t you excited for the
ball?” Lily asked me during one particularly boring etiquette
lesson.
“ Hmm??” I was trying to at
least look like I was paying attention.
“ Tomorrow night silly,” she
nudged me in the shoulder. Her face was beaming and it made her
look several years younger. “At least you’re already promised.” She
sighed and looked blissfully at Kain who was getting too much
personal attention from the teacher. “I think that my family is
hoping to get me married off this year. There are a few interesting
guys here,” she shrugged her shoulders, “so maybe it will work out.
Regardless, I can’t wait to get all dressed up.” Her smile was back
and I couldn’t help but share in her enthusiasm.
“ Yeah, it should be cool. I
don’t think I’ve been to a fancy event in quite some time.” It
would be fun to pamper myself; I just had to play dutiful fiancée
the whole time. Looking across the room at Kain smiling and nodding
at his instructions, I realized that it wouldn’t be such a hard
task after all. As though he sensed my gaze, he turned his head
towards me and winked when he caught my eyes. I felt a slight blush
creep up my cheeks and quickly tried to suppress those feelings. I
really had to get a hold of myself.
Lily continued to babble on about the
ball and her hopes of coming away with an arranged marriage. It
still seemed so odd to me. I was constantly fighting the system
while Lily and Carissa had not only accepted their fate, but they
also seemed to be genuinely excited to become young wives. Lily was
the only female in her family and Carissa didn’t have any siblings.
Maybe that’s why they behaved this way. But as the day dragged on,
I continued to ponder the importance of uniting the Dumahls and the
Matthews through our marriage. It did make political sense. We
would be the largest and most powerful family unit. Kain was cute
enough and nice enough, so why couldn’t I just accept my fate?
another boy. Even though I was curious, I still made a promise to
myself to steer clear of her as much as possible.
In no time at all, Pegotty stood and
announced that the Cotillion had begun. My stomach fluttered with
nerves in anticipation of what was to come next but when I stood, I
tried to exude confidence. We made our way into the small group
sessions and the rest of the day was a blur. All of the interviews,
etiquette lessons, how to speak, how not to dress, what fork to use
first when you’re at a council dinner was all a fog by the end of
the day. Kain, Lily, Daniel, Carissa (the tall girl giving me looks
at the table), and I were in a group together for all of the
sessions. Aside from a few hours here and there, we would be
sharing in the embarrassment together the entire
weekend.
I was surprised that Carissa tended to
stay by my side most of the time. She didn’t say much to me, but
her company was oddly reassuring. I discovered that she was a model
in New York, not an uncommon profession for mermaids, and that she
had her sights set on Milan. Attending Cotillion was the last thing
she wanted to do since her entire summer booking schedule had to be
rearranged. We were the same age and she already had a career in
place. Granted, I had the fiancé, but neither of those were really
part of my life plan. I just wanted to run away with Brendan.
Carissa seemed to have it all figured out. She was sure that she
would be promised to someone by the end of the weekend and she
actually seemed to be okay with that prospect.
Daniel was gay. At least I was pretty
sure he was, even if he didn’t quite know it himself. We paired up
a lot of the time, not only because we got along well, but also
since Lily or Carissa did their best to partner up with Kain at any
chance they got. I should have been jealous and maybe I was a
little bit. Especially when Carissa was around, but ultimately I
hoped that Kain might take some interest in one of them.
“ Aren’t you excited for the
ball?” Lily asked me during one particularly boring etiquette
lesson.
“ Hmm??” I was trying to at
least look like I was paying attention.
“ Tomorrow night silly,” she
nudged me in the shoulder. Her face was beaming and it made her
look several years younger. “At least you’re already promised.” She
sighed and looked blissfully at Kain who was getting too much
personal attention from the teacher. “I think that my family is
hoping to get me married off this year. There are a few interesting
guys here,” she shrugged her shoulders, “so maybe it will work out.
Regardless, I can’t wait to get all dressed up.” Her smile was back
and I couldn’t help but share in her enthusiasm.
“ Yeah, it should be cool. I
don’t think I’ve been to a fancy event in quite some time.” It
would be fun to pamper myself; I just had to play dutiful fiancée
the whole time. Looking across the room at Kain smiling and nodding
at his instructions, I realized that it wouldn’t be such a hard
task after all. As though he sensed my gaze, he turned his head
towards me and winked when he caught my eyes. I felt a slight blush
creep up my cheeks and quickly tried to suppress those feelings. I
really had to get a hold of myself.
Lily continued to babble on about the
ball and her hopes of coming away with an arranged marriage. It
still seemed so odd to me. I was constantly fighting the system
while Lily and Carissa had not only accepted their fate, but they
also seemed to be genuinely excited to become young wives. Lily was
the only female in her family and Carissa didn’t have any siblings.
Maybe that’s why they behaved this way. But as the day dragged on,
I continued to ponder the importance of uniting the Dumahls and the
Matthews through our marriage. It did make political sense. We
would be the largest and most powerful family unit. Kain was cute
enough and nice enough, so why couldn’t I just accept my fate?
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