As if we don’t know who they are already…

For the last half hour, the most important noble families from across Elani were announced to be present immediately as they walked into the great dining hall of the castle. All were dressed extravagantly in the latest fashions. They probably thought it necessary to look one’s best because this night was special for them. One family would have the chance to move up in class. Only one. And all were vying for that chance. Despite their too bright smiles and overly kind gestures towards each other, they were enemies at war tonight.

Along with each family came both their most handsome, most accomplished son, and a goal of catching Pandora’s eye so that she would consider their son’s hand in marriage.

In the dining hall were three long tables. And at an end of the middle table, Pandora was seated, hating every minute of this evening from the moment it began.

She recalled how much time her servants put towards preparing the dining hall for guests. The three tiers of crystal chandelier were dusted crystal by crystal. The floors were mopped and polished until one could almost see their reflection. Then came the decorations. There were tall, three-dimensional holographs of flowers and shrubs that were only found off-world in real life placed in the center of the tables. Kaleidoscopic lights were projected upon the ceiling for the guests to admire. She would rather stare at the ceiling than be present with the people at her table.

After the trials she experienced to save her planet, she no longer mentally lived in the same world as the nobles surrounding her. Their world was small and biased, mostly because none of them had been off-world. Their fine coats and dresses and fancy foods supplied by their sheltered lives of abundance were all they knew. That’s all she had known until… Hale. Now was not the time to be thinking about him, though he was the only man who held her attention. Though he wasn’t present physically, he held her interest more than any of the nobles’ sons. She dreaded when her guests were finished eating because all the men would swarm to her.

She wasn’t ready to move on yet. Hale still lingered in her mind, every moment of each day. It had been two months, but she felt like it could have been yesterday when they parted ways.

I should have told him I love you. I had two chances to say it back and wasted both of them. How could I?

She had to stop herself from thinking about their last few moments together, otherwise she would cry. If she started to cry, she would eventually start sobbing until she was a puddle on the floor and drowning in her tears.

“My dear, how are you doing tonight?”

Pandora looked to her right at an elderly woman. She was the matriarch of the Suun family. Her hair was long and grey and pulled back by a clip. Her slimming, royal blue dress was embroidered with flowers and reached the floor. She wore a shawl with her family crest across the top half of her body.

“I’m doing very well,” Pandora said overly enthusiastically. The woman didn’t seem to notice.

“I can’t tell you how relieved the entire kingdom is that you have returned to us. And to open the castle up so soon after your arrival is most generous,” the woman went on.

“Of course, you are most welcome. How are things in your province?”

The woman appeared thankful that Pandora was trying to keep the conversation going. “Perfect. I make sure that the people governed by me and my advisors are well taken care of.”

“That is wonderful.” Pandora saw through the woman’s lies. She kept up with all the provinces of her planet and knew the general conditions her people lived in. The Suun province had been experiencing a drought, and the authorities did little to solve the problem.

“Once you are finished eating, I will introduce you to my sons.”

Pandora wanted to scoff but refrained. She kept smiling as she was supposed to. “I look forward to meeting them. Enjoy your dinner.”

The woman scurried away back to her table and probably told her family every positive word Pandora had said. This was one of many mothers who came to persuade her to consider their sons. Pandora was so busy entertaining the guests that she didn’t have a chance to take a bite of her food. It was probably for the best because she was certain she would spill something on her dress, which would have been a shame because it was one of her favorites. It was a white dress layered with sheer fabric that flowed from her waist to the ground. The neckline was deep but was modest in appearance because of her unassuming chest. In spite of her disgust for the event, she wanted to look her best. Her lavender hair was tied up in a small bun on the back of her head. A hairpin pierced through her bun and from it hung a chain of clear crystals. If Hale could see her… he would have loved this dress. She could imagine his eyes scanning over every place he wanted to touch and how she would have wished to yield to his every desire. But he was lightyears and lightyears away, and she would probably never see him again.

When she refocused on her surroundings, she noticed that everyone had finished eating their desert and were ready to be more social with one another. Her father who sat next to her stood up and drew the attention of the guests.

“Now that everyone is finished with their dinner, we will move out to our garden, just outside those doors.” Her father gestured towards the double doors nearly seven meters high. “It has been remodeled.”

Pandora closed her eyes to avoid rolling them back into her head at this inane event. Perhaps she was being ungrateful, but she didn’t ask to have a party so that men could try to court her. She pleaded with her father not to have it, but he furiously insisted because he knew how often she longed for Hale. Pandora wished she would have hidden it better. Then she might not have to endure the superficial guests he invited. She didn’t want a boyfriend and certainly not a husband now. Even if she managed to find a nice man, she was still caught up in Hale.

“Pandora, follow me outside this instant. Most of our guests are already out there.”

She looked up to find the stern violet eyes of her father. “Sorry, I was distracted.”

When she stood, her father took her arm and led her outside. “You need to be talking to people.”

“You know I don’t want to date anyone right now,” she muttered so that only he could hear.

“Some of the best men on Elani are here tonight for you. Don’t be ungrateful.”

Her left eye twitched from rising anger within her chest. Me, ungrateful. You were the one who refused to be truly thankful to the man who saved my life and brought me back to you. How dare you. “You have been so different ever since I was taken from the castle. Never once did you insist that I be married ever.”

“I have realized that you need someone to protect you from your own idiocy. You are the next in line for the throne, but I doubt you can handle it on your own. You are a very naive girl.”

Pandora’s impulse was to slap her father for his words. She would have happily watched the horrified faces of the nobles all around her. They would think she wasn’t civilized enough for their sons and leave. But her father had already been through enough these last few months. So, she chose to walk away into the crowd of guests.

The next hour was stolen by talking to everyone and basically being chased by snobby young men. She had been asked the same questions over and over by the mothers and the sons of these families. And the top question they all asked her was how many children do you want? Didn’t they have anything else to talk about? She was the princess of Elani, and that was the question all the families were curious about. Wasn’t she more than a way to produce heirs to them?

For a brief while, she managed to sneak away to one of the hidden corners of the garden, and there she found time to enjoy the beauty surrounding her. Her father’s garden was filled with flowering plants and crystals carved into statues of the royal ancestors. The one of her mother stood beside her. Her mother’s statue was carved out of a light rose crystal, her mother’s favorite color. She realized now as she stared at the statue how much they looked alike.

She looked back at the crowd of guests and saw her father storming towards her.

“Pandora,” he called.

“Yes, father?” Crossing her arms, she made no effort to move towards him.”

“You should be entertaining your guests. I have tried to be patient with you, but you have a duty to fulfill to your kingdom. While I suppose you don’t need to find a husband presently, it would look good for us if you were dating someone formally.”

She nodded and said nothing. This exact conversation occurred daily for the most part. Every time she would speak her mind, her father would become angry. Reluctantly, Pandora took her father’s arm and followed him into the crowd.

“There is a family you should speak with.”

“Point to them.”

He pointed near the castle doors. “The Moargans. They are very wealthy in their own right and have an estate near the city. They have donated vast sums to support my reign over the years.”

She released a drawn-out sigh. “I am done talking with your friends. I am not interested in marrying any of their sons. The many that I have spoken tonight have absolutely no character.”

“Would you please talk with this family? They have stayed out of your way unlike the others.”

She looked at the Moargan family members who were present, a father, mother, and their eldest son, she assumed. They were busy talking with other guests and didn’t appear to be fixated on her like the other families were.

“If you want to introduce me, I’ll talk to them for you. Only for you.”

He led Pandora towards the Moargans. “Thank you. And remember that they are respectable members of our society and treat them as such.”

“Of course.” Had he not noticed her being very polite to their most hated guests?

Having walked through the guests collected in the center of the garden, they reached the Moargans, who smiled warmly in her presence. The three were tall in stature and fair in complexion. Their outfits were almost identical in appearance and consisted of black fitted suits covered by long, velvet robes.

The three family members bowed in the king’s presence. “Your majesties, we would like to thank you for inviting us to the castle,” the oldest man said.

“There is no need for such formalities, Delano,” her father replied. “This is my daughter Pandora. She wanted to come talk to you since you make such significant donations to sponsor my rule.”

The woman stepped forwards. “That is so kind of you, Pandora. It is alright if I call you by your name?”

“Absolutely. I prefer it than some ridiculous royal title,” Pandora answered.

The king patted his daughter on the shoulder and announced to the small group, “I will leave you to talk to my daughter. I must attend to some of the other guests.”

Once her father left, Pandora almost froze. What should she say to these people? She really had little idea who they were, which was embarrassing considering how her father went on about the Morgan’s donations.

“Pandora, we were so glad to hear of your return to Elani. How has your recovery been?” The woman asked.

She was surprised that they were interested in her mental health. “I am doing well. The last two months I have been making good progress. Thank you for asking.”

“Wonderful, that’s good to hear.”

Pandora spent the next twenty minutes or so talking to them about her experiences with being captured and recovery. They talked about the province they governed and maintaining their estate. It was a refreshing conversation, considering the typical topic discussed with the other families. The youngest family member present was revealed to be Delano’s younger brother, who was already married. That made it easier to have a normal conversation with these guests.

Right as she was about to tell the Moargans goodbye, the castle doors behind them cracked open. The face of a young man peeked through the opening. He looked at the Moargans and stepped out. With a half-filled champagne glass, the man walked towards them and smiled brightly. He hugged Delano and his wife.

The woman cleared her throat and gestured with a hand towards Pandora. “Matthias, this is Pandora.”

He stepped closer to Pandora and bowed. When he straightened his body, they made direct eye contact for the first time tonight. His eyes were strikingly green, a light jade green purer than the crystal itself. How had she not noticed him before?

“Your majesty, it is nice to finally meet you. I see you have met my parents. What exactly did they say about me?” Matthias smiled at her and ran a hand through the side of his hair. His fair skin made his dark burgundy hair stand out so nicely. His hair was wavy and almost touched his shoulders.

Gorgeous…

He coughed to bring her focus back on the conversation.

Pandora blushed awkwardly. “They didn’t mention you actually.”

“Well, maybe it’s for the best. That way you can truly get to know me yourself.”

“Right,” she said hesitantly. The way he looked at her was not much different than the way the other men pursuing her did. She shouldn’t have been disappointed with him. She wasn’t here to find love or anything else.

“If you want to, of course,” he added, perhaps because he saw her discomfort. “Although, it’s not exactly a secret why I’m here.”

At least he wasn’t pretending to be unaware of the reality that every family here was trying to secure a marriage for their sons.

“I didn’t see you at dinner,” Pandora said in attempts to continue the conversation. He deserved that much because of how nice his family was and that he wasn’t being as fake as the others.

“I wasn’t able to make it that early because of a meeting back home. It was about financing a new community center for our province.”

“That’s a good investment. I wish that I could be involved in projects like that.”

Matthias furrowed his eyebrows. “Why aren’t you then?”

She laughed dryly. “That is a long conversation. One that involves politics and the suppression of most young female voices in the leadership here.”

“I would like to know truly. I’m here to get to know you, Pandora.” His jade eyes were genuine.

“Is that really how you feel or,” she leaned closer and whispered, “is that what your parents want?” She didn’t want the others to hear.

Matthias grinned and glanced at his parents. “I wanted to come. I have always thought you were beautiful… from the pictures I have seen. I wanted to see for myself, even if it was from a distance.”

So, he was a flatterer. She appreciated compliments but felt strange accepting them from him so soon. “I see. You had no plans to introduce yourself?”

“I told myself that I would if the opportunity presented itself. And luckily for me, it did.”

“That’s a different approach than the others here. You must have planned this strategy well because you’ve held my interest so far,” Pandora remarked.

“Would you like to go inside and get a drink with me? It’s quieter inside.”

At first, she wasn’t sure what to say. Matthias’s family was respectable, according to her father, and she thought they were good people. But she didn’t know him well and couldn’t really read what kind of man he was. When she looked into his eyes, she knew that he wasn’t a threat to her physically, but his true personality was a mystery. He was hiding a part of himself from her. Maybe talking to him in private might reveal more of his true self to her.

“That would be nice,” Pandora said, taking the arm he offered her.

Matthias stepped in front of her and opened one of the doors for her. She glanced over her shoulder for a second and met his eyes. He smiled at her and followed her inside the dining hall, which was almost empty. A few older people were still sitting at the table and drinking wine, but they hadn’t noticed her presence. She walked with Matthias to the bar. They ordered drinks from the bartender and sat in silence for a while.

What am I doing?

She was still in love with… Hale. Matthias was here in hopes of a relationship. She was here because she had to be. Nothing else.

“Pandora?” His voice wasn’t deep, but his tone was immeasurably soothing. “You asked me if I wanted to be here. I do. But I’m thinking that you didn’t want this dinner to happen.”

She turned to him. “Why are you saying that?”

He looked off in the distance for a moment and rested his face on his hand. “You don’t seem genuinely happy. You’re really kind to all your guests, but I think you’re faking.”

Was it so obvious? She had years of practice pretending to be perfect, and he saw right through it instantaneously. Things weren’t okay with her, Elani, or the galaxy. Elani’s power was restored, but that did not fix the problems within the government, provinces, and communities. Pretending that things were okay seemed wrong because of the suffering she had seen others experiencing. Hale had spent his whole life running from his demons, but the most tragic thing about it was that he still ran. Knowing all of that, pretending was her only way of appearing okay.

“Have you ever been off-world?” Pandora asked him, redirecting his question.

Matthias’s shoulders grew tense. “Of course not. Why would I want to?”

“You wanted to know why I’m fake. But I don’t think you would quite understand because you’ve never known anywhere but Elani.”

“I just don’t see the point. I’m content with my life here.”

“That’s a good thing. But I think everyone should see the galaxy for what it is. It’s broken, and our people do nothing. The nobles of Elani refuse to see what’s wrong with our own planet and help those less fortunate. We spend our time throwing parties and raising money to build fancier homes and monuments. It’s shallow.”

He gazed into her eyes sympathetically. “I agree with you. I hate how much money we throw away for nothing, money that should be used to help our people.”

Unlike everyone else around her, he understood.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re going to make an incredible queen. I think anyway.”