THE LUNA CHOOSING GAME - Season 7 Episode 15

As the car entered the neighborhoods that I recognized, I grew more and more tense. Nicholas squeezed me tighter, likely trying to offer what comfort that he could. But there was little comfort to be had.

I didn’t mind the smaller place. I didn’t even mind the harsher lifestyle.

But I didn’t want to do any of it anymore, without Nicholas

I would, of course, if forced to. I would give my all to raise Elva to the best of my ability, no matter the environment. And now that the Oracle had cured her of her curse, we didn’t necessarily need to be at the palace, since Elva didn’t need such intense medical care.

I wanted Nicholas, Elva, and I to be a family. Full stop. It didn’t matter where.

Finally, the car came to a stop in front of our old apartment building. A camera crew was already set up outside, waiting. There, standing among them, chatting them all up, stood Anna. She looked much the same as when I had last seen her.

God, I missed her so much. I didn’t even realize how much until this moment.

Nicholas cupped my face and lightly kissed me on the lips. The windows were tinted, the cameras wouldn’t be able to see.

“I will see you soon,” he said. His eyes were creased with worry, his mouth heavy with sadness.

I kissed him again, offering comfort as he tried to do for me. “Soon,” I promised.

Nicholas nodded and turned to Elva. He kissed the top of her head.

I sucked in a sturdy breath, then exited the car. The cameras were immediately on me. The crew pushed Anna back behind them, even though she was the one Elva and I were here to

see.

I knew what was happening here. Likely under the King’s orders, they wanted to catch me at my worst so the footage could be sliced to make me look like a real loser. Dr worse, a bitch.

I couldn’t let that happen. So I committed to keep my best forward at all times. With my head raised high, I walked around the car and opened the door enough for Elva to hop out, while keeping Nicholas hidden. No one needed to know of Nicholas’s favoritism but Elva and me. After Elva was out of the car, I closed the door. Then, holding her hand, we gently ushered through the camera crew until we were neared to Anna. Elva tugged on my hand, rushing us closer. Anna let out an excited shriek.

Then, at once, we all rushed toward each other and joined in a three-person hug. It was so nice to be reunited. God…

“I missed you,” I said to Anna, who said the same to me.

“I missed you both so much,” Anna said. She kissed my cheek and then the top of Elva’s head. “It hasn’t been the same without you.”

The driver removed our bags and set them unceremoniously on the curb. If we lived in a

place with servants, those servants would see to our bags. As it was, we were now left to our own devices. This, especially, I did not mind. I was no closer to being accustomed to having someone waiting on me hand and foot.

“Thank you!” I called to the driver as he returned to his driver’s side. He nodded in acknowledgement, started the car, and then drove away.

When I turned back to Anna, I noticed something off. Now that our initial excited greeting had worn off, she was having trouble looking me in the eye.

“Anna?” I asked. “What is it?”

“Oh, well..” She looked down as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. I recognized that as her embarrassed look.

“Did something happen?” I asked.

“Things have been tough, with the two of you gone,” she said. “The royals were paying a stipend for a while, for me to keep your room open. But I don’t know if the checks got lost or if they were stolen, but then just… stopped.”

Anger scratched at my chest. Why would they stop paying Anna? I had to look into that as soon as I could.

“I’m sorry, Piper,” Anna said. “But I had to get another roommate to make ends meet. They took over your old room. I’m so sorry!”

“We don’t have our room?” Elva looked up at me for confirmation.

“It’s going to be okay,” I told her. To Anna, I said, “It’s okay, Anna. We weren’t here. You did what you needed to, to survive. Of course, that is okay.”

Elva seemed worried. I squeezed her shoulder to show her it would be okay.

The only question I had was, “If the new roommate is in our room, where did you put our stuff?”

We hadn’t taken everything with us, only a few necessities. We’d left the rest behind.

Anna led us into the apartment, though she assured us that the key still worked.

Our stuff, it seemed, three cardboard boxes stacked against the wall in the living room behind the television set.

The cameras came close to catch my reaction. Knowing they wanted me to get angry, I kept my face carefully schooled in indifference.

In truth, I was upset. Not because Anna had to move forward with her life, but because my entire life up until this point fit so perfectly into three cardboard boxes. That was it. Three boxes, the entirety of my existence.

I swallowed hard, pushing down the part of me that wanted to break a little, and looked at Anna. “Which one has Elva’s toys?” I knew she would want to see those again.

Elva perked up right away.

Anna smiled too, relieved. “I’ll show you.”

The toys, thankfully, were in the top box. Together, Anna and I lowered it down to the floor and opened the flaps so Elva could scavenge inside. There were a few books on top. With those out of the way, undemeath were all of Elva’s toys and blankets and clothes.

She laughed as she pulled a stuffed frog from the box. “There you are, Mr. Frog! You were gone so long!”

Watching her, Anna and I sat on the nearby couch. The cameras were recording our every move, so we couldn’t talk as candidly as I would have liked. I still wanted to catch up some.

“Honestly,” Anna said after a few minutes of talking, “Not much has changed overall. Other than the new roommate. Life goes on more or less the same. I’ve enjoyed watching you on television, though. It looks like so much fun at the palace.”

I wanted to tell her the truth, that there have been some ups but also some major downs. But

I can’t get into talk of Jane or even badmouthing Bridget with the cameras watching.

“It is,” I said, with a tight smile. Anna knew me well enough to knew what that meant. I wanted to tell her the truth but couldn’t. She glanced at the cameras, then back to me. She sighed and nodded, understanding.

“Well, there is one thing that I want you to see,” Anna said, changing the subject.

“What’s that?” I asked, looking around.

“You will need to dress up for it,” Anna said.

“Dress up?” Elva asked.

“I want to take you somewhere, but you can’t be recognized.” Anna smiled at me,

mischievous with her secrets.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “Where?”