The Crystal by Jones M (the chimp paradox .txt) 📕

We were in one of the rooms in the castle. My eyes kept jumping from the mirror in front of me and the reflected green marble floors. I could even see a window that showed one of Crystalia's castle towers was present on my right, revealing the setting sun. 

I soon noticed my mother taking out a pair of scissors from the mahogany dressing table near her.

The party was an hour away from starting, and everyone in Crystalia was getting ready for it. As it was part of Crystalia's tradition, during important events that determined the future of witches, everyone had to dress formally. For the event, I chose a teal blue dress. It was sleeveless, and it had a white flowery pattern on the collar and the waist. 

"So how are you feeling dear?" my mother asked as she zipped up my dress.

"Nervous, I guess," I replied as my mom ushered me to sit next to the dressing table. She helped me comb my hair and style it.

Ever since I had the argument with Zane that ended with my mother slapping him, I couldn't help but feel anxious. I felt like I was in high school again; that he and his friends would bully me. That was impossible at the current time because we were becoming adults. 

I had to remind myself that and to also remember I wasn't in high school. More importantly, I had to remember I was a witch.

"There is nothing to worry about, Emery. Everything will be okay as soon as the night is over," my mother said, interrupting my train of thoughts.

"Mom, what if I am the next crystal?" I asked with wide eyes. Apart from the whole ex-bullies thing, I was worried about becoming the next crystal. There is the advantage of becoming the most powerful witch, but there is the disadvantage of being a danger magnet.

"Why worry about something that you are not so sure of?" she asked.

I went to say something, but she interrupted me with a gasp.

"I forgot about Selena! Emery, you can deal with the rest on your own, right?" she asked as she frantically filled her black purse with some of her things.

I nodded in reply. She moved her head to give me a kiss on my forehead before leaving the room. My eyes moved to my reflection, and I almost jumped in shock.

My mother styled my hair into a bun! 

I was not surprised by the style; it was just that she took a long time to do it.

Anyway, I could make it work. With a shrug, I proceeded to apply makeup.

About fifty minutes filled with concentration, I was done. The eyeliner and mascara that I had applied sharpened the contrast of my eyes. My lips were a light pink as a result of the lip-gloss I used. I had also applied a bit of foundation and blush to enhance the color of my skin.

"You look beautiful," someone said, making me almost shoot off the seat. I turned to face him with a hand on my chest.

"You scared me, Justin!" he shrugged with a smile on his face.

Apart from Erick, Justin was the Queen's other child. He was two years younger than his brother, and he was hardly ever present in the castle. That was because he was an international pop-star. He was internationally known as Justin Bieber.

Justin was currently sporting a black cotton dress shirt with white buttons. His attire was completed with a pair of black khaki trousers and black shoes. Moreover, his dirty-brown hair was styled into a quiff.

Justin approached me and wrapped his arms around my form. I gave into the hug before we both retracted.

"How's the tour?" I inquired. Justin was on tour around the USA, just like the Ordinary Brothers. He had informed me that he would be done in about two months, around the same time Selena and I would be leaving for college.

"It's okay, come to think of it. There's always a huge turn-up at my live performances. Who knew I had so many fans?"

I rolled my eyes. Justin suddenly looked distraught.

"Are you worried about tonight? Because I'm worried," he said. "I can't be the next crystal when all I want to do is be a musician."

"I know, Justin," I replied. "You said the same thing when it involved who would want to be Crystalia's next king." It was a fact, and that was a month ago. The Queen had a private meeting with her sons and her officials about the next ruler. She didn't want a disagreement between her sons like in the movies. To her surprise, Justin adamantly refused to be Crystalia's next king while Erick wanted the position. 

One could say the problem was solved instantly.

"What about me? I have my future ahead of me! I don't think I could balance being the crystal and working on earth at the same time!"

"Oh, please! You guys make it seem like it's such a bad idea," Selena made her presence known as she entered the room. Justin and I turned to look at her.

Selena walked slowly toward us, making her red sleeveless velvet dress momentarily sway with her movement. Her hair was styled into a long ponytail. She had light blush on her cheeks, and her eyes were brought out by the eyeliner and mascara she had applied.  

"If I remember what is correctly written in the books, being a crystal isn't that tasking. The crystal would only have to show up when they are needed. It's not like they'll be forced to be Crystalia's ruler."

"Hey babe," Justin said as he approached her. Selena smiled as she leaned towards him for a peck. 

Selena and Justin had been a couple for about five months. One could call it young love. However, their relationship had been undergoing problems. In particular, the world didn't know that Justin had a girlfriend. Selena wanted to be showed off as his, but Justin was worried about his fans' reactions. Selena seemed okay with that at first, but as their relationship progressed, she was having second thoughts. What made her especially mad was that Justin's management called a model to act as his fake girlfriend.

"Have you forgotten about the whole evil-magnet part?" I asked, interrupting their lovey-dovey moment. I saw Justin as a brother, and I didn't want to see any PDA action that involved him or Selena.

"So far, there is nothing to worry about. It's not like Eva is with us or something," Selena stated. "Now let's go or else we'll be late."

Selena, Justin and I walked out of the room and headed to the large conference room two floors below us where the party was being held. Once we arrived, the people in the room caught my eyes. They were mostly teenagers. The guys wore suits while the women wore formal dresses of their liking.

Would rather not go into the detail or else I would look like a creep checking them out.

Two chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling, emitting a bright golden glow to the room. Wooden tables filled with drinks, food and appetizers were arranged next to the walls. There was music playing with some people dancing in the middle of the room.

"May I have this dance?" Justin asked Selena. She smiled in reply before putting her hand on his and having him take her to the center of the room. With a smile, I turned my head and looked around. Everyone seemed to be having fun. 

I moved around during the party, greeting fellow witches and catching up with their lives. About an hour later, I was bored. I turned to look around for my cousin, only to gasp in surprise. Justin and Selena were shockingly still dancing.

I turned to leave just in time to see Erick approaching me. I sighed in relief, happy to see someone with similar interests as mine. The prince had worn a brown suit with a white dress shirt underneath. On his left arm was his mother, the Queen. She too was smiling as she looked around the room.

The Queen had worn a purple organza dress that reached her feet. It seemed as if she was in a wedding with her as the bride.

Once Erick and the queen reached me, I bowed my head and lowered myself as I formed a curtesy.

"Your Majesties," I said before rising to stand. Erick and his mother gave me bored looks.

"How many times do we have to tell you?" Erick said with a groan. "You are part of our family. You don't have to continue bowing to us."

I grinned.

"Hello, Emery. I hope you are enjoying yourself instead of worrying about being the crystal," the Queen said, making me wince. She shook her head at me in disapproval.

"Go ahead," she said in an instant while pushing her son and me to the dance floor. Erick and I both wanted to object, but she was very adamant. We hobbled to the dance floor where a slow song suddenly started to play.

Erick and I both shared horrified looks. With a shrug, I put my arms around his shoulders. He did the same, except that he placed his hands on my waist.

"Well, this is awkward," I said, and Erick shook with laughter.

"Tell me about it. It's like she's pushing you to me so that we can get married and become rulers of Crystalia or something," he said with a smile.

I didn't want to say anything yet, but what Erick said was true. 

It had started about a year ago. When we would have a conversation with her, the Queen would suddenly up and leave us alone. Then there were the invites to parties like the one we were currently having. She would tell her son to dance with me. That's when I started picking up on his mother's cupid tendencies. I guessed it was because the Queen considered my mom and me as her family. 

And what better way is there to make us a complete family than to have the children wed each other?

"Doesn't she know that I'm in love with someone else?" Erick said with his smile fading as he directed his gaze behind me. I turned my head to see what he was seeing. My mouth dropped open at the sight. Selena was kissing Justin.

It shouldn't have been a shock since I knew they were dating, but to do it so publicly...

I knew that Erick had a crush on my cousin. I didn't blame him—okay, let me stop speaking before I make this awkward. He fell in love with her a year ago, about the same time his mother started playing Cupid, but she was blind to his feelings for her. Even my mom knew that he loved her! Almost everyone who knew the prince and my cousin recognized the love in his eyes for her. I guessed that was another reason why the queen was pushing him to me to help him move on from Selena.

Sadly for Prince Erick, Selena was dating Justin. That disrupted Erick's plans of confessing his love for her. He didn't want to ruin his brother's relationship. But then, there was also the fear of rejection.

"Erick, are you okay?" I asked him with a worried glance. We stopped dancing some seconds ago. He seemed frozen for a moment before he shook his head and focused on his surroundings.

"What? Oh, yes. I'm fine. Don't worry about me," he said with a fake smile. I decided to drop the issue for the moment.

"But I would worry about you," he said as he looked at something behind me. Again? I squinted my eyebrows in confusion before turning to inspect what he saw. When I saw what he meant, I rolled my eyes.

"Nothing is wrong, Erick. They are keeping their distance," I said. The members of Ordinary Brothers were there since they too were witches. 

Erick had found out about the history I shared with them after I was out of the hospital two years ago. He was not happy about the incident, and he was definitely not happy to see the inflictors of my pain in his castle.

As I stared at the group with hate, Zane turned and his eyes suddenly met mine. My heart began to thud faster. The events of the morning were still fresh in my mind, and I was still mad that he thought that money could change what he and his friends did to me in the past.

Before Zane went to approach me, the music was cut off and the Queen spoke.

"May I get everyone's attention?" she asked. About a minute later of people hushing each other, everyone had settled and was quiet, awaiting the Queen's words.

"As you all know, tonight is the night when the next crystal will be selected. Before we begin, I would like us to go through our history of crystals."

The Queen started naming the most powerful witches of every two centuries. I zoned out because I already knew about them.

"I would want everyone to move to the garden outside," the Queen said once she was done with her History speech. Everyone followed her instructions, heading out of the doors of the castle. Some moments later, we were all outside as we waited for our next instructions. Everyone was anxious and curious at the same time to know who the next crystal would be.

"It is time, fellow witches, for the selection of the next crystal to start," the Queen said. Every witch turned to face her as she spoke.