Several excruciating minutes later Zara returned with a triumphant smile.
"It's nothing bad," she told me, sitting back down on the plush velvet sofa. "I thought it would be so much worse!"
"What is it?" I asked in a rush, twisting my hands in my lap. "Please, just tell me."
Zara gave me a curious look before giggling. "It's a doctor's exam."
"A doctor's exam?" I repeated, giving her a wide-eyed look. "But what kind of exam? Are they going to take our blood? Is poor Marceline afraid of needles?"
"No," Zara gave me a sly look. "Something else entirely... Something to ensure we are pure for the wedding."
She gave me a wink, and I knew instantly what she was talking about.
A lump formed in my throat as I stared at her, my heart thumping in my chest. Fuck. I hadn't even thought of that. They were checking to make sure we were virgins.
They were sure as hell in for a disappointment when it came to me, and I bet it would come as a surprise if I delivered the news - that their Prince had been the very one to take my virginity.
I laughed out loud, realizing Zara was expecting a response from me. Shaking my head, I grinned at her, muttering, "Can you believe this?"
"I guess it's part of their old-time traditions," she grinned in response. "But hey, at least we have nothing to worry about, right?"
I stared into her eyes, my heart thudding even louder in my chest. I wanted to check, to make sure if we were on the same page, but I already saw the seed of doubt in Zara's eyes and I knew we were different. Maybe alike in many ways, but this one... this one was where I had the experience - with the Prince, no less - and she was as innocent as I hadn't been for years.
"Amber, you're not..." Zara started just as the door opened, and Marceline's cousin, Chloe, exited looking pale.
"Zara Patel," the woman from before called out, checking a name off her list as she opened the door of the room wide. "Would you come inside, please."
Zara huffed in annoyance and shot me a quick look before hissing, "This isn't over! You have to tell me everything later."
I nodded half-heartedly and watched her walk over to the room and disappear inside the room.
My heart was still pounding, doing nothing for my frayed nerves. I was about to be exposed. But surely, all the other girls weren't virgins... right?
My eyes traveled through the remaining few girls waiting outside the room.
Eva, with her flame-red hair just like mine. She was my age, and heart-stopping in her beauty. Surely, she'd had sex before.
And Freya, with the confidence I could only dream of. She was so sure of herself. I was certain she'd felt a man's touch before.
I bought the virgin thing with Marceline and Chloe - they were so young, which made it even more terrible that they'd been involved in the exam at all. But the other girls seemed so experienced compared to me. At least one of them had to be like me...
Zara was in there for ages, which only made me more anxious. Once she came out, she was eager to rush back to my side and ask all the questions in the world, but I was reluctant to answer. I just sat there, stewing in my own misery as she fired question after question. They all went unanswered, and she seemed to understand why I was so nervous. She sat close to me, pulling me in for a bear hug, and I let her hold me. I could smell her rose-scented perfume, and it was comforting, yet I still shivered with fear.
"You're going to be okay," she whispered in my ear. "I promise. I'm sure they won't make a big deal of it."
She didn't even say what we were both thinking, but she seemed to get nervous for me as the girls dwindled until the last one walked into the room, and only I was left unexamined.
"Zara, I can't do this!" I panicked at the last minute. "They're going to kick me out of the competition, and I'll never forgive myself for letting this happen."
"You have me on your side," she reassured me, squeezing my hand. "And the other girls. Maybe not Freya, but the others. We're going to fight for you."
Her words didn't soothe me, instead making me panic even more. Was it really such a big deal that I wasn't a virgin anymore? I was twenty years old, and I didn't want to be shamed for my choices. Especially when Olivier had a hand in my deflowering... and some other body parts, too.
The door of the room opened and we both glanced as Freya walked down the hallway with a smug smirk on her face and a spring in her step.
"Fuck," I muttered to myself just as Melanie called out my name.
"Don't worry," Zara said again. "You'll be fine. Chin up!"
I got up on shaky feet just as she cleared her throat at the sound of footsteps. I turned around and came face-to-face with the Queen, who wore a triumphant smile that somehow still managed to be disdainful. I curtsied like we'd been told to do in the presence of the Queen, feeling my heart hammering in my chest.
"Girls," the Queen said, walking right up to the room I was supposed to go in and giving me an impatient look. "Well, Miss Jonathan? Stop dilly-dallying and come forward."
I paled at the sight of her, fearing the worst.
"Was she in the room with you?" I whispered to Zara, and my friend shook her head, looking just as horrified as I was.
“Amber!” the Queen called out again, and I left my friend standing there, following the imposing woman into the bright white room.
The lights blinded me as the door shut behind us. In the room, there were just three of us. The Queen, me and a woman wearing white scrubs. God, it’s true! I thought, panicking right away. They’re going to do the test now, and with the Queen present, no less. How am I going to get out of this one?
“Please strip down to your undergarments,” the nurse instructed in a cool, impassive voice. At least she wasn’t prejudiced against me. But the Queen was.
I looked around the room for a screen, but there was nothing. And while the nurse turned around to give me some privacy, the Queen’s eyes were right on me.
“Well?” she barked at me. “Stop wasting everybody’s time, girl. We have better things to do than wait around for you.”
My mouth set in a thin line and I fought back the remark lingering on my lips. What gave her the right to be present for this? I had a feeling Olivier had no idea about any of this. And he would not be happy when I told him.
I looked the Queen right in the eyes as I pulled down my pleated skirt and unbuttoned the white silk blouse I was wearing. She didn’t look away, though her cheeks colored in an angry beetroot red when I defied her.
I stripped down to my black lace lingerie set and the stockings I was wearing, held up by a garter belt. Then, I crossed my hands in front of my body, staring at the older woman in front of me and willing her to say something.
From her disapproving look, I could almost tell exactly what she was thinking. My lingerie didn’t exactly scream ‘vigin bride’. She was angry, I could tell, but she decided not to say anything, keeping her composure while she turned to face the nurse.
“Well, get on with it,” she barked at the woman. “I don’t have all day.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” the woman hurried to say, offering her an awkward smile. “If you could just wait here while I do the exam.”