The Luna Choosing Game



"I'm afraid to ask," I said to Charlotte over tea a couple of days later, "But what does the public think of Julian and my fake relationship?"

Charlotte closed her eyes. She clapped her hands together and inhaled deeply. "I don't even know where to begin."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I asked.

"A good thing. A very good thing." When she opened her eyes, her gaze was intense, as if she'd been waiting for this moment to share everything with me. "It's totally taken over the news cycle. Outside of the palace, it's all anyone can talk about."

"I'd been Julian's favorite for a while..

"Yeah, but it was nothing like this," Charlotte said. "The way you two acted on camera has claimed everyone's attention. People are barely even talking about Terry anymore. Instead, it's all about the great debate."

I looked at her strangely. When she didn't elaborate, I pressed, "The debate?"

"On who you should be with," Charlotte said. She took a sip of her tea. "Julian or Nicholas."

Being on a dating competition that was viewed publicly by most of the kingdom, I understood that my love life would generate some type of discussion. But to actually hear about it happening feels so surreal, I can hardly believe it.

"What are they saying?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Some people think Julian's bad boy behavior might be too much for you. Others think you might be the one who could 'fix' him."

"Fix him?" Julian didn't need fixed. He was fine the way he was and whoever he ended up with needed to see that.

I tried to imagine what a 'fixed' Julian would even look like. Would he need to become the son his father wanted him to be, obedient and perfect? I cringed. That was not Julian.

Julian's rebellious streak was part of who he was. If that was taken away, he would be a fundamentally different person.

"What are they saying about Nicholas and me?" I asked, mostly to drag my thoughts away from such an unsettling image.

Charlotte lowered her head. She'd been so keen to talk about Julian only a moment ago, but now she was clamming up.

"Charlotte?"

She sighed. When she spoke, it was with reluctance, as if the words were dragged out of her. "They don't know if you would make the best Luna..."

"Oh." The words struck me in the gut, punching harder than they had any right to. They were right to question me. I had no experience with leading a kingdom. I had no wolf. I dropped out of the Academy.

Most of the time, I didn't know what I was doing here at all. Sometimes everything felt like a dream. Reunited with Nicholas, Elva being healthy, have three meals a day with a solid roof over my head...

I knew it was temporary, and my time here had not been without strife. But to not worry about the basic needs of Elva and me was such a relief.

A true Luna would have bigger concerns than herself and her immediate family. With the way my life had been, I'd had to focus on Elva and me just to survive.

The public had a right to question if I would be a good Luna. They had a right to doubt me as the best match for Nicholas.

Because I doubted all those things too.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"I'm sorry," Charlotte said.

I felt bad. She had been excited to tell me the gossip. I felt like I stole some of her sunshine away.

"No," I said. "It's nothing I shouldn't have expected."

Later that afternoon, Nicholas came to visit to spend time with Elva. Today, he and Elva had taken perch at the table and were taking turns drawing horses. Elva's were mostly stick-figures with four long legs. Nicholas's weren't much better.

They would show each other and laugh and it was very sweet. When they had taken a break, I sneaked away some drawings from both their piles to cherish as keepsakes.