Free Testament by Katie Ashley

reigning down on me also made it feel like I was deep below the waves.
    I squeezed in between Maggie and Emma. “Guess we’re still not a member of “the toos”, huh?” I muttered under my breath.
    “Unfortunately, not,” she replied.
    “Now ladies and gentlemen, we hope you’ll come back this evening for our second portion of the competition. It’s a masquerade themed evening competition, and each girl will embody a certain character. After we narrow our ten down to three, the final ladies will spend allotted time with Kellan tomorrow, so he can make his choice. We’ll see you tonight.”
    When we got backstage, we were met by a beaming Mrs. Munroe. “Congratulations ladies! This must be thrilling to you and your families. Now, we’re going to go back down to the room where you were fitted for your dresses, so you can pick out your dress for tonight. Then it’ll be up to you to come up with your costume. Your stylists and their assistants will help you with any props.”
    “Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, they outdo my expectations,” Maggie whispered.
    The other girls trailed to the elevators after Mrs. Munroe like she was the Pied Piper. The door to the dress room opened, and several girls shoved and pushed each other in. It had the same desperate madness as the first food shortages after the Great Fall.
    Maggie held back with me for a moment before a dress caught her eye. She calmly, but determinedly, strode over to the rack and snatched it up. Just a quick flick of the label, and she was satisfied. “Have fun,” she mused, as she started by me.
    “Any ideas on what you’ll do with it, you know, costume wise?”
    She arched one eyebrow. “Let’s just say I won’t be going for the Queen of Hearts or a Domestic Diva. I’m going home one way or the other.”
    My eyes widened at her determination. After Maggie left and there were only four girls left, I figured it was now or never and headed to the racks. Before I reached one, someone cleared their throat. I glanced up in surprise where Laurel stood in the corner, pretending to be going through a make-up case. She gave a quick shake of her head. No one but me would have even noticed she had done anything.
    Since I didn’t know what in the world she was talking about, I held back, watching the remaining girls ooh and aah over the dress choices. Instead, I pretended to be preoccupied with a black dress on the end of what could only be an undesirable rack.
    Once the four girls had snatched and grabbed what they wanted, they scampered back out the door, hugging their dresses to them. It went without saying that all the dresses were red—Kellan’s favorite color.
    I turned to find Laurel smiling wickedly at me. “I got in here before the others.”
    “Sneaky,” I replied, with a grin.
    She glanced around before she took my hand. “Come on. It’s already in your room.”
    Eyeing the hideous black number, she said, “Take that one just in case we’re stopped along the way.”
    We weren’t exactly doing anything wrong, but it didn’t stop my breath from coming in nervous pants or my heartbeat zigzagging out of control. I didn’t calm down until we were safely closed into my room.
    “Okay, so where’s the mystery dress?”
    She went into the bathroom and then emerged with a shimmering emerald satin dress. “Ta-da!”
    I eased down on the bed. “Hmm, let me guess why you picked it. One, because we wouldn’t want the color everyone else is doing, and two, green looks good on redheads.”
    “Actually, I have a little idea of how to make you into a nymph.”
    “From what I remember of my literature, nymphs were very sexual creatures.”
    Laurel waggled her eyebrows. “Yes, and you will be too when I finish with you.”
    “Um, call me crazy, but I don’t think the way to win Kellan over is by going out there looking like a prostitute?”
    “Wasn’t I right before about knowing what Kellan would want?”
    “Yes,