Julia smiles from her couch, holding a glass of wine as she watches Olive try on wedding dresses, then stand on a raised platform set up in the dining room. I’m in the far corner of the room, the red book on my lap. I’m pretending to read, of course. Actually reading this book would hurt. 

The dress Olive is currently modeling for Julia, Ember, and Hazel is nice. It has long, lacy sleeves, a lacy bodice, and a large ball gown skirt. She doesn’t seem to like it very much. It’s nice but it doesn’t suit her. 

“I’m already clumsy enough without this giant thing,” Olive says, sighing, and pulling at the skirt. “Hazel, it’s your turn to pick one,” She says, brushing her loose hair out of her face. 

“It is a winter wedding, Olive. You’ll want long sleeves,” Julia comments, as Hazel gets up and moves to the rack of white gowns, setting her half-eaten cupcake on the table. Olive shrugs.

“I don’t even think I’ll be outside for the wedding at all, so temperature doesn’t matter. They’re holding it indoors,” She says, then sees me at the back of the room, and waves. I wave back. “Come on, Caden, you grew up rich, you know things about nice clothing,” She calls, beckoning me over. 

I shut the book, after looking around for Dellyn watching me(he isn’t here), and come to sit on the couch in the spot opposite Julia, so Hazel is in the middle. Hazel emerges from the racks of dresses with a dress on a hanger, and offers it to Olive. She takes it, and goes behind the changing wall they set up, humming. 

“When are you going to tell her?” Julia mutters, while Hazel collects the other dress that Olive took off, and starts to hang it up. 

“I don’t want to talk about this right now,” I grumble, sighing. She shrugs. 

“Well, you need to find a time to tell her that you’ve been in love with her, because she’s trying on dresses to marry another man in,” Julia tells me, then kisses Hazel as she sits down.

“Are you almost done, Olive?” Ember calls. 

“Yeah, the zipper gave me a bit of trouble,” Olive says, and steps out of the changing area. 

The dress is long and fitted to her waist, then flares out in a long skirt that sways. It’s just simple white, no ornamentation or lace. The sleeves are off the shoulder. She smiles at me, then twirls on Hazel’s command. Julia nudges my leg with her foot.

“I really like it,” Olive says, holding the folds in her hands. 

“It’s so pretty!” Hazel cheers, and I nod, staring at her. 

“Yeah, it looks good,” I add. Olive stares at me. 

“Come on, you’re supposed to be the snob here, Caden. I need more than ‘good’.” She fixes her hair, pulling it back with a clip. 

“Yeah, Caden, be descriptive about how she looks,” Julia teases, her free arm around Hazel. Olive looks expectant. I think of Dellyn’s threats, then just grab my book, and stand up. 

“I have things to do,” I mutter. Olive nods, looking down, and away from the group. 

“See you soon, then.” She coughs, and steps off the platform. “Maybe not this one,” She mumbles, heading for the clothing racks. 

“Come on, Olive, it’s cute!” Hazel says, and I glance back. Olive has her arms folded. 

“Maybe you’re right, long sleeves would be better,” Olive tells Julia, and I turn and leave. Flint passes me on the way out. 

“You might want to stick around, I have news,” He says. I watch from the doorway as Flint goes over and talks to them all. Olive’s behind the changing screen, and comes out with a grin on her face, only wearing a robe. 

“Casey’s coming?” She exclaims. At least she’s happy again. I smile to myself before leaving. 

I can’t tell Olive the truth without Dellyn killing me, so I’ll just write it down before it crushes me. I pull out a pen, and sit down in the hallway, the red book in my hand. I turn to a well-loved page that I’ve looked at a lot, and start writing in the margins. 

My Ivvy,

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I watch the palace courtyard like a hawk from my sitting-room window, and a car pulls up downstairs. Caden told me he went by Cai when we were friends. I think, remembering the last time I hung out with him. 

Please let it be Casey, I think, and grin once I see my sister, her ginger boyfriend, and a blonde girl who must be Sadie. Flint told me he likes her. I pick up my red skirt and run, downstairs to the front door. or. 

“Olive!” My sister yells, and runs into my arms. I hug her tightly, kissing the top of her head, which has burgundy hair now. 

“You’re so tall,” I sob, as she squeezes me with all of her strength. I hug Teddy too, and everyone’s ushered inside. 

“Wow, it’s huge,” Casey says, and reaches for my hand. She quickly pulls away after touching it, and her jaw drops seeing the ring. “You’re getting married, Olive?” She squeals. 

“Yeah, can you be my maid of honor?” I ask. Casey grins and hugs me, nodding. “Do you want to help me make the final choice on a dress?” I ask. Casey nods, and follows me up to my room. 

The two dresses we narrowed it down to are a nice short-sleeved lacy one, and then the plain white one Cai was staring at. I like it, but I’m not sure what he thinks is wrong with it. They’re both hanging on my closet door. 

“Oh, they’re gorgeous, you should try this one on, I think it’s my favorite,” Casey says, pointing to the plain one. I pick up the hanger and walk behind the changing screen. “Sooooo, Cai finally asked?” Casey asks, giggling. I freeze, and my head pops around the corner. 

“Asked what?” I question. 

“Asked you to marry him, Olive,” Casey teases, laughing. 

“Why would I marry Cai?” I ask, my brows furrowed as I zip up the dress, and step out. Casey tilts her head. 

“Because you’re in love with each other,” Casey answers. 

“I’m not marrying Cai.” Casey stares at me. “W-when was I dating Cai?” 

“During the competition, do you not remember?” Casey asks. 

“I’ve got amnesia. We were dating?” I ask, my jaw dropping. 

“Pretty seriously too, he got super depressed after everyone thought you died,” Casey says quietly. 

“Wait, hold up. Everyone thought-” 

“Well, a building fell on the whole revolution, Olive. And you never came back when they brought back survivors, so-” I furrow my brows as Casey’s eyes fill with tears. There’s a knock at the door. 

“Who is it?” I call. 

“It’s Harrison, love,” My fiancé replies. 

“I’m in my dress, but you can come in, I’ll just change,” I call, and move behind the changing screen. The door opens, and I hear him and Casey talk. 

“You must be Olive’s sister, I’ve heard much about you.” Harrison says. 

“Yeah, I’m Casey.”

“I’m Harrison, I’m the one… marrying your sister.” He chuckles awkwardly. 

“Oh, nice to meet you!” She says, her voice slightly uncertain. “I’m just helping her make a final decision on the dress.” 

“Ah, okay,” Harrison says. “I was just coming to check that you arrived safely,” He explains. “I’ll see you and Olive at lunch.” 

“Yeah, see you.” I hear the door close, and Casey runs over to me behind my changing screen just as I’m zipping up the back of my red dress. “Okay, he’s so hot, but what the heck happened?” 

“He rescued me from the rubble, and then nursed me back to health. We sort of fell in love,” I answer. “You said I was in love with Cai?” 

“Yeah, he adores you. How’s he handling the wedding news?” Casey asks, tilting her head. My jaw drops. 

“He’s been scratching himself with his nails since Harrison proposed,” I realize, my hands over my mouth. Casey’s jaw drops. 

“It’s gotten worse?” She asks, then sighs. “You should definitely wear the dress you just tried on. It’s pretty. I’ll go talk to Cai,” She says, and heads for the door. 

“No, I’ll figure this out myself. You go eat, and hang out with friends, I’ll go find him.” I straighten my dress, and leave my room. “Have you seen Sir Imperos?” I ask a servant. 

“He was in the courtyard, My Lady,” They answer respectfully, and keep walking after a deep bow. 

I grab a cloak from a nearby servant, and tie it around myself before heading out into the snow. It’s lightly falling and the stuff on the ground is up to my ankles. I spot a red book across the courtyard, and go over to Cai, sitting in the snow, and writing something in the book’s pages. 

“You’re going to get ill,” I tell Cai, and he looks up at me. 

“Right, I- I saw Casey’s here, that’s nice,” He mumbles, changing the subject, and shutting the book abruptly. 

“Yeah, um, can I talk to you?” I ask, folding my arms. Cai nods, and pockets the book, standing up. I grab his hand and pull him over to the cellar entrance, standing out of the snowfall. “Look, I was talking to Casey.” 

“Okay?” Cai asks. 

“Casey told me that we were dating during the competition.” I pause. 

“What?” Cai asks. I turn to face him. 

“You know what!” I call. “She told me you and I were dating, and pretty seriously,” I explain. Cai looks down, his arms folded. 

“I didn’t want your relationship with Harrison to be ruined when you came back, so I-” He folds his arms. “That’s why I didn’t want you reading the newspapers. I didn’t want you finding out about all of that mid-engagement, and ruining what you have.” He sits down with his back to the wall. “You… you seem happy with Harrison. I’m not going to keep you from that happiness.” He holds up the red book. “We read this book together, that’s when I fell in love with you,” He explains. 

I think back to the competition. The red book’s somewhere in there. I- My brows furrow, and my eyes start to go crossed. I yelp in pain as something stabs the inside of my head. Cai sits up straight, and moves to be near me as I sit down as well, shaking on the cold cobblestones. 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to remember,” He tells me, his arm around my waist as he brushes my hair out of my face. I rub my eyes, groaning. 

“It… it hurts,” I groan, swallowing. Cai nods, sighing. 

“That’s also why I didn’t want you to know we dated,” He mutters. “Just try not to remember. I’m fine if you’re happy,” He says, rocking gently. I nod, and sit up, taking deep breaths. The migraine fades. I turn to Cai, my brows furrowed. His blue eyes lock onto mine. I take a deep breath, then glance down at his lips, soft and pink. 

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