Аманда Хокинг - Switched

“I don’t like fishing,” I muttered dryly, but she ignored me.

“You know who is a catch? Tove Kroner.” Willa made a pleased sound, and I groaned inwardly. “I wish my dad would set me up with him.” She sighed wistfully and pulled painfully on a strand of my hair. “He’s really foxy, really rich, and he’s like the highest Markis in the world, which is so weird. The Marksinna are usually the ones with all the abilities. Of course guys have some things, but they almost always pale in comparison to what women have, but Tove has more than anybody else. He tries not to show off, but I’ve seen some of the stuff he can do, and it’s amazing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he could read minds.”

“I thought nobody could do that,” I commented, amazed that I was even following her.

“No. Only very, very few can. So few it’s almost the stuff of legends anymore.” She gently fluffed at my hair. “But Tove is the stuff of legends, so that makes sense. And if you play your cards right, you’ll be pretty damn legendary yourself.” She whipped me around so she was facing me again and smiled at her handiwork. “Now we just need to get you in your gown.”

Somehow, while getting me ready, Willa had managed to ready herself.

She had on a floor length light blue gown that swept around her, and she looked so beautiful, I had no hope of topping that. After she had finally gotten me into my own dress, she forced me in front of the mirror, insisting that I looked too amazing to ignore.

“Oh wow.” Saying that to my reflection, I felt egotistical, but I couldn’t help it. I had never looked better in my life, and I doubted that I would ever look this good again.

The dress was a shimmery silver and white that flowed out around me.

It was strapless in an elegant way, and the diamond necklace Willa had chosen set it off. My dark curls fell perfectly behind me, and Willa had added subtle touches of diamond clips in my hair. For the first time in my entire life, I actually looked like a Princess.

“You’re gonna rock it tonight, Princess,” Willa promised with a sly smile.

That was the last calm moment of the night. As soon as we stepped out of my bedroom, we were swept off by aides and staff that I didn’t even know Elora had. They were giving me a rundown of the times that everything was set to happen and where I had to be and who I had to meet and what I had to do.

It was already more than I could comprehend, and at least momentarily, I was pushed out of the dull heartache that I got from thinking of Finn. I looked helplessly for Willa, and later on, I knew I would have to try and make this up to her. Without her, it would’ve been completely impossible for me to make it through.

First, there was some kind of meet and greet in the ball room. Elora stood on one side, and thankfully, Willa was allowed to stay on my other side, explaining herself as some kind of personal assistant to me. The three of us stood at one end of the ballroom, flanked by security that had the same stoic posture as Finn, and a long line of people waited to meet me. Most of them were famous and Willa filled in the names and titles as they approached, but Elora explained that anybody could come meet me today, so the line was absolutely endless. My face hurt from smiling, and there were only so many different ways I could say “pleased to meet you” and “thank you.”

After that, we went to the dining hall, and that was a more exclusive function. The table only seated a hundred (that’s right - only a hundred), but Willa was five places down from me, making me feel strangely lost. Whenever I felt insecure, I felt my eyes instinctively searching for Finn, only to remember that he wasn’t there. I tried to concentrate on eating my food properly, which wasn’t that easy considering how nauseous I felt and how badly my jaw hurt from the forced smiles.

My mother was sitting to my right at the head of the table, and Tove was sitting next to me on my left. Throughout the dinner, he’d said hardly a thing to me, and Elora had gone about making polite conversation with the current Chancellor, an obese balding man named Antonsson. Personally, the way he looked at me creeped me out, and I found it impossible to smile at him out of fear I might vomit.

“Drink more wine,” Tove suggested quietly. Holding a wine glass in his hand, he leaned in a bit towards me to be heard over the echo of everyone talking. His mossy eyes rested on my briefly before averting and staring at an empty space across from us. “It relaxes the muscles.”

“I beg your pardon?” I crinkled my forehead, not understanding what he was saying.

“From smiling.” He gestured to his own mouth and forced a smile before quickly dropping it. “It’s starting to hurt, right?”

“Yeah.” I smiled lightly at him, feeling a growing soreness in the corners of my mouth.

“The wine helps. Trust me.” Tove took a long drink from his wine, much larger than was polite, and I saw Elora eying him up as she chatted with Antonsson.

“Thanks.” I took his suggestion, but I drank much more slowly than he did, afraid of inciting the wrath of Elora. I didn’t think she’d do anything publicly, but then again, I didn’t really think she’d let me get away with anything either.

As the dinner wore on, Tove apparently started getting restless. He leaned back in his seat, leaving his hand lying on the table. His wine glass would suddenly slowly slide over to his hand, then it would slowly slide away, without him ever having to touch it. It was a similar trick that I had seen him pull before, but I couldn’t help but stare.

“You have persuasion, right?” Tove asked, glancing at me. I’m not sure if he caught me watching his trick or not, but I looked down at my plate either way.

“Mmm, yes,” I nodded.

“Is it pretty powerful? I heard it was.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and I could imagine that Elora was livid.

“I don’t think so. Not now anyway,” I stabbed absently at some kind of vegetable I had no intention of eating. “Since I’ve lived here, I haven’t used it at all.”

“Yeah, they do that on purpose,” Tove muttered disdainfully. He leaned in closer to me, lowering his voice, and he looked intently at me. “I can’t explain it but… I know what you can do.” He chewed his lip. “And your persuasion is going to be immensely powerful.”

“Maybe,” I allowed. His gaze was unnerving, and I didn’t want to disagree with him.

“Here’s a tip: use it tonight,” Tove was barely audible over the chatter.

“You’re trying to please so many people and it’s exhausting. You can’t be everything to everyone, so I try not to be anything to anyone. My mother hates me for it but…” He shrugged. “Just use it a little bit, and you’ll charm everyone.

Without really trying.”

“I have to try to use persuasion,” I whispered. I could feel Elora listening to us, and I didn’t think she’d approve of what we were saying. “It would be just as exhausting.”

“Hmm,” Tove mused, then leaned back in his seat.

“Tove, the Chancellor was just telling me that you had discussed working for him this spring,” Elora interjected brightly. I barely glanced up at her, but in that second, she managed to glare icily at me before instantly returning to her overly cheery expression.

“My mother was discussing it,” Tove corrected her. “I’ve never said a word to the Chancellor, and I have no interest in the position.” I was increasingly becoming a fan of Tove, even if he weirded me out and I didn’t understand what he meant most of the time.

“I see.” Elora raised an eyebrow, and the Chancellor started saying something about the wine they were drinking.