39

Though the first few days after losing her job, Margot was slightly morose, her mood improved quite noticeably as she grew more and more relaxed. Sunday afternoon, for the first time in ages, she was able to sit down for two whole hours and read a book, and then still have more free time afterwards which she spent practicing with Roze.

Tuesday was her dress fitting, and much to Evie's relief, Margot actually showed up.

"I didn't think you would actually make me wear orange." was Margot's first comment as she nervously let Evie pin the dress to her.

The dress itself was beautiful, and it looked like a sunset. The chiffon fabric faded from red at the top to orange to gold to pale yellow at the bottom, and the off the shoulder sleeves and bodice had some dusk purple accents here and there. Margot's nerves stemmed from knowing that her usual style was much lighter and less bright.

"I was joking at first, then I thought about it and decided it would look really pretty on you. And it's kinda symbolic of your phoenix-y character growth since coming here." Evie explained in a knowing, chirpy voice as she placed a few more pins. "And, no getting out of it, it looks beautiful on you."

"I know better than to fight with you about clothes." Margot said jokingly, but her voice betrayed her nerves.

"Don't be so nervous, Gogo. You look beautiful."

Margot nodded. "I know, I'm just not used to this much... flashiness. Shouldn't Mal be the flashy one since she's the one being introduced as the Lady of the Court?"

Evie grinned coquettishly. "Well, this way, Ben's eyes will only be on you the whole night."

With red cheeks, Margot shook her head, cursing her traitorous heart for fluttering at her words. "Please, Evie. That won't happen."

"You're joking, right?" Evie deadpanned, making full eye contact with the suddenly shy girl. "You and Ben have liked each other for months now, practically everyone in the whole kingdom knows it."

Margot shook her head again, feeling her hands stiffen as she forced down the feelings of hope. "Ben doesn't like me that way, and even if he did, I'm no princess, much less a queen. We're just friends."

Evie spun the girl towards the full length mirror hanging on the wall, and hugged her from behind. "Looks like a princess to me."

"Looks don't mean anything." Margot replied, glancing away from her reflection.

"Well, good thing you're beautiful inside and out, and I promise you, Ben sees that too." Evie said in a soft voice, and Margot leaned towards her with a sigh.

"It's just... It's not right. All I've ever dared to hope for is a quiet, peaceful life, so I couldn't ever imagine myself next to a King." Margot admitted, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

"How about just next to Ben? No crown, no kingdom, nothing."

Evie watched as Margot's face softened to wistfulness, and the curly-haired girl couldn't seem to formulate a reply as her heart yearned for the images her mind showed her. Quiet nights in the library reading together, nerding out over books, playing with Estel, exchanging glances across the room. All of those memories felt like a dream or a past life, and all that now remained were the Kingdom and the Isle program, those few moments they were able to be near one another in these busy days.

"Unfortunately, that reality doesn't exist. What exists is that he's the King, and I'm an advisor for a program and a party planner. I'm so grateful for where I am now, but there's just... a line that I can't cross." Margot said in a near-whisper, glancing away.

"I can't even begin to tell you how ridiculous you sound right now, Margot. Please, put aside your insecurity for two seconds to see what you're missing out on. You're just hurting yourself and Ben by thinking this way." Evie sighed, petting Margot's hair comfortingly.

Margot stayed quiet.

Before she could respond, the door burst open and Mal slammed it behind her, breathing heavily.

"I need to get away from the stupid press." She breathed out.

Evie glanced concernedly at Margot for a moment, before walking over to her best friend. "What did they do?"

"Every other second I have a microphone shoved in my face, and they ask me, how do you feel being the first villain kid to be given a title? Do your approval ratings bother you? How do you feel about the rumours of you jumping from Ben to Oliver? I can't stand it!" Mal yelled out, her eyes glowing bright green. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she forced her eyes to return to natural as the other two girls watched worriedly.

"Is there any way you can avoid them?" Margot asked.

"No! They're everywhere!" Mal complained, before calming herself once more and collapsing onto a chair. "Do you guys ever miss the Isle?"

Evie and Margot exchanged a glance.

"Why would we miss the Isle, Mal?" Evie asked. "I mean, we have everything here! And the Isle was awful."

"It's just... nevermind." Mal muttered.

Margot smiled sympathetically, feeling her heart ache. "I think I get what you mean. It's really different here, isn't it?"

"It's impossible." Mal agreed. "Every time I think I have a moment to breathe, there's more work, or school, or another dinner with government members, or meeting another royal family, and there's always a camera in my face too. Not to mention, I found out yesterday that being Ollie's Lady of the Court is basically committing to getting engaged, and no one told me that! And..."

"There's pressure everywhere." Margot nodded. "If you ever needed help, you know, I have some free time now that I'm not working at Red's, so I could help you out."

"No, it's fine." Mal sighed.

"I think Gogo's right, you should relax and take a bit of a break. Have you told Oliver any of this?" Evie suggested gently.

"No, of course not. He has enough to do as it is, and I should be able to do all of this." Mal replied immediately. "Otherwise I'm not fit to be a Lady of the Court, am I?"

Evie sighed. "You both need to deal with your insecurities so badly. Mal, you are amazingly talented, and funny, and cool, and smart, and beautiful, and Oliver loves you more than life itself. He would want you to be communicating with him, and he would help you. In your head, I know you know this." The blue-haired girl turned to Margot. "And Gogo, Ben doesn't care that you're not a princess. No one does. The entire kingdom loves you because you are sweet, generous, incredible, hard-working person, and I would bet that Ben would give you that exact same speech if he heard you talking yourself down the way you did earlier."

The two girls stayed quiet, sharing a glance. Where Mal's eyes were exhausted and frustrated, Margot had almost a look of guilt on her face. Evie words from earlier about her hurting Ben had sunken in deep, and she didn't know how to remake her mindset to account for this. The confusion was eating her alive, but hope was fighting valiantly to win out against her pessimism.

"Evie's right, you know, Mal." Margot said. "You're the coolest person I know, and you're capable of anything. You're still allowed to ask for help, though, and Oliver would love to give it to you."

"Says you. Don't just ignore her whole speech for you, I know you're deflecting." Mal retorted instantly. "Also, you look absolutely amazing in that dress."

Margot flushed pink. "Don't change the subject!"

Mal chuckled in unison with Evie.

It wasn't long though before Mal was called out to do something else, and any tightness that had left her shoulders reappeared instantly. Margot, on the other hand, had only gotten more stressed in her confusion, and a small frown was stuck on her face as she re-evaluated what she needed to do.

"Don't stress so much, you'll get frown lines." Evie said with a teasing smile as she brushed her fingers over the creases in Margot's forehead.

Margot smiled softly. "Aye aye, captain."