The Crystal 3 - Jones M (best ereader for pdf TXT) 📗

castle. Everyone had dressed up for the occasion, including Ashley and me. I had worn the orange-red dress that Madam Lavigne had helped me pick out. Ashley had chosen an apricot dress of the same material as mine.

"A thousand bucks says she will fall on her ass and embarrass herself," Ashley suggested as a bet, making me turn to face her with a shocked look.

"What?" she asked with a furrow of her eyebrows.

"What will you do with a thousand bucks?" I asked her as she frowned in thought.

"Buy more beer," she replied. I nodded with a smile, knowing she was joking.

We walked forwards, approaching the entrance of the castle.

"Beer? Really?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "With a thousand dollars, you are practically rich in Crystalia."

"Exactly. Can you imagine the amount of beer I can drink? Might as well even buy those expensive alcoholic drinks," Ashley replied with a wink. I frowned as I recalled that she mentioned beer, and my mind went back to what Harry had told me. With a knowing smirk, I looked at Ashley.

She didn't turn to face me for a couple of seconds, and I stood, waiting for her to meet my eyes.

"What?" she finally asked. The people in front of us were moving, and we were soon in the castle, making our way towards the large decorated hall.

"Are you into Harry?"

"What?" she questioned, confused.

"He told me the two of you slept together last weekend," I whispered in her ear. She faced me with a shocked expression as I stared at her with a smirk.

"It was nothing," she replied with a shrug.

"Uh-huh," I replied with a smile in my tone.

"Emery, drop it. Nothing happened, and nothing will happen."

"Sure," I replied. "Whatever you say."

Ashley's eyebrows furrowed as she went to reply, but someone interrupted whatever she was going to say.

"Hi guys," it was Ethan. "You two look beautiful," he added as he looked at Ashley and me.

Ethan had worn a bright pink long-sleeved blazer that had a light-pink shirt underneath. He also had a long pair of trousers that were the same color as his blazer.

"And you look..." Ashley trailed off, her lips forming a wince.

"I know," Ethan replied with a bored look. "Pink does not go well with most guys."

I chuckled for a second, but that was enough to have Ethan face me with a curious look. I didn't want to tell him that he looked like freaking cupid.

"It's nothing. I just remembered a scene from a movie I saw yesterday," I lied. Ethan said nothing as he nodded before conversing with Ashley. I took that moment to look around my surroundings.

I was surprised we were in the ample space that was allocated for the ceremony. People of different ages were present, all wearing clothes that matched the coronation theme. The hall was filled with pink decorations. There were also leather seats that were either a variety of pink or white.

Why the hell did the planners pick pink? Why didn't Selena choose black or white? Any other color goes with those!

Right?

I suddenly felt like I was in some cliché princess movie.

"Hi, Emery!" the soon-to-be-former Queen of Crystalia spoke as she made her way towards me. I turned towards her, surprised by the fact she had attended. I thought she wouldn't because Selena was taking the crown from her, but I was wrong.

"Elizabeth!" I said her name in surprise. I walked a few feet towards her and hugged her. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Don't you see everything around here?" she asked with a furrow of her eyebrows. "I forgot how tasking planning a coronation could be."

"Thank heavens I'm not involved," I commented.

"Oh, you're involved."

I blinked my eyes in shock for a moment.

"Wait. What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"You are a crystal, Emery. Your presence is needed in such ceremonies because we believe you bring good luck."

I snorted in disbelief. "Yeah. Our history is right about that."

Elizabeth chose to smile in reply.

"Don't worry. The only thing you have to do is sit with Erick and me."

"Oh," I spoke. That wasn't so bad.

"You also have to place the crown on Selena's head."

"Okay."

"And you also have to say brief words when you are placing the crown over Selena's head."

"What?"

"No worries. You just have to speak of things relating to the coronation and the future Queen. Talk about blessings and how Selena will be a good queen--"

"Elizabeth!" I cut her off with a shriek. Thank goodness everyone was too busy talking to each other to notice the rise in my voice.

"No one told you about this?"

I went to reply with a 'no,' but then I recalled Erick telling me that I was involved with the coronation. I thought he meant dressing and showing up, but apparently, he also meant participating in the actual ceremony.

Why didn't he tell me that?

I planned to go and search for Erick. I was already panicking because I had no idea of what to say when I would place the crown on Selena.

"Erick was supposed to tell me that, but he didn't. I'll go look for him," I told the Queen. She nodded as I turned to roam around the hall. I had just taken a couple of steps when a voice broke out through the nearby speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats as the coronation ceremony will begin in a few minutes."

Oh crap.

"There you are!" Erick shouted as he approached me. He grabbed hold of my hand as he led us through the crowd that was settling itself on the seats.

"I have been looking for you," Erick said as we walked forwards.

"Why didn't you tell me I was to give a speech as I crown Selena as Queen? In fact, why didn't you tell me I was to crown Selena as Queen?"

Erick paused his steps for a moment before saying, "I forgot."

My mouth dropped open in disbelief as Erick led us to the front of the hall.

"You forgot?" I asked Erick in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Emery. In my defense, it has been busy these past few weeks," Erick replied. Before I could think of hitting him, he turned to the left, and I realized we had arrived at our seating area. There were five large red seats positioned in a way that would face everyone in Crystalia. Elizabeth had already sat on one of the chairs as she tried to calm a nervous Selena.

I made my way towards the seat that had a small paper with the word 'Crystal'. I took off the paper and sat on it, turning to face Selena.

"Why didn't anyone tell me I would be crowning you?" I questioned.

Selena looked shocked when I spoke, and she seemed to have gotten more nervous.

"You weren't told?" she whisper-yelled with wide eyes before turning to face Erick. The King noticed her look, facing her in confusion.

"What?"

Selena chose to slap him on the arm.

"Ow!" Erick whisper-shouted as he grasped his arm. I covered my mouth before I could laugh, glad that Selena had hit him for me.

"Why didn't you tell her she was crowning me?" Selena whisper-shouted at him.

"I thought I did," Erick whispered back. I looked at the front, noticing that many, many people had already settled in the seats. There was no one standing or hanging about the hall except for the guards.

"Guys, it doesn't matter. I'll just wing it," I replied as I spotted Erick and Selena whisper-bickering like school kids. Erick and Selena immediately stopped, turning to face me with shocked looks.

"We're doomed," Erick said, just as Selena's face crunch in near-crying.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"Guys, don't worry," I said, earning a whimper from Selena. I rolled my eyes, deciding not to say anything in worry of making Selena have a nervous meltdown in public.

A couple of seconds of silence had passed before a pink-tuxed man with a microphone appeared. He stood a few feet in front of us. I looked around, realizing that there were a couple of wooden stairs that led to where the royal family and I had sat. I looked down, noticing that the seats were on a wooden floor. In fact, we seemed to have seated higher than everyone else.

We were on a stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Presenting his highness, the king!"

Applause rang through the room as I observed Erick. He sighed before showing a smile, slowly getting out of his seat and making his way towards the platform. The guy who introduced him handed him the microphone before walking off the stage.

"People of Crystalia, I appreciate your presence today..." Erick trailed off as he gave out a speech about unity and happiness in Crystalia.

"...and it is with great pride that I welcome Selena, my wife and the future Queen of Crystalia."

Applause rang through the room again as Selena got up from her seat. She was shaky at first, and so I grabbed her hand.

"You can do this," I told her, and she nodded her head. She released my hand, seeming to have maintained a calm posture. She walked with what anyone could mistake as confidence towards the stage. The applause was ongoing as she gave Erick a peck on his lips. Erick mouthed something to her, and she smiled.

"Thank you, Erick," Selena said once the applause died down. Erick made his way to his seat as Selena started speaking whatever speech she had prepared.

"Hello everyone," Selena started. "Some of you may know me, and others may not."

Then Selena began telling everyone her autobiography. I didn't know if that was necessary, but with the reaction from everyone, it didn't matter.

"I was born in Crystalia, but I was raised on earth. I didn't even know that this place ever existed until I met my cousin, Emery."

At the mention of my name, some eyes turned to me. I pretended to be calm even though the attention affected me. Fortunately, it lasted for a few seconds.

Selena continued with her speech, luckily without nervousness being detected in her voice. She didn't mention the past she shared with her parents. She was glad about everyone in her life and she was also proud of the accomplishes Crystalia had made in the last ten years. She even mentioned that Eva had been captured and had been imprisoned in Andreladia, much to everyone's delight.

"Being your Queen means a lot to me. I will try my best not to be a disappointment to all of you. I will work hard to maintain the peace and to improve our lifestyles. Thank you."

A louder applause soon followed as whistling was heard in every corner of the large hall. Selena remained on the stage, and I quickly realized why.

It was then time for me to crown the new queen.

I was nervous as I stood from my seat. I had walked a few feet towards Selena when Elizabeth patted my back for a moment in comfort. I glanced at her with a smile before making my way towards my cousin. The guy who had begun the ceremony handed me a red pillow that held a diamond crown.

That was the crown? Why would anyone even trust me with that?

I took the pillow as I slowly made my way towards the future queen. Selena then knelt on her knees as she faced everyone in the crowd.

I nervously looked around for a few seconds as I thought of what to say. Thankfully, it did not take long.

"With this, I now crown Selena Trentstone Thames as the new queen of Crystalia. May everyone experience peace and may your wisdom be recognized and appreciated during your reign," I announced, surprisingly calm, as I placed the crown on Selena's head.

She slowly stood up as everyone applauded again. There were a few loud whistles heard that made Selena grin.

Just like that, Crystalia had acquired a new queen.