A/N: This is my first fanfiction so please no hate! Constructive criticism, as my friend ThePondFamily3 likes to put it, is okay.
Chapter One:
Being part of the Selection was my worst nightmare. I didn't want to be a doll that needs to be dressed up to please a prince. And I still don't. I liked my life like it was. But when the letter came in the mail, my life changed for the worst.
For months, news of the new Selection buzzed around Illea. Prince Andrew was 18, and rumor has it that he's quite handsome. From what I've seen and heard about him, Prince Andrew seemed like a stuck-up, no good brat that only cared about himself.
Queen Eadlyn, King Maxon, and Queen America had tried to help with the poor conditions of the lower Castes, but that ultimately failed. I'm a Four, but it's still hard on my family. Ones and Twos get all the money, and now Fours are getting horrible payment. It's worse for Fives, and worse still for Sixes. Threes got away okay.
My worst nightmare had always been meeting royalty. The Selection would give 35 "lucky" girls the chance to impress the prince and his family. My mother practically forced me to sign up. For some reason, the age limit was lowered to 15, so a lot of girls would be signing up. My chance to be picked was about 1/150 because my Province is small. I was pretty confident I wouldn't get picked. In my picture I didn't smile, didn't dress nicely, and, well, I tried to look the worst I could, which isn't saying much. I wore my well-worn black dress and put on very little makeup. I put my dragon ear cuff in, wore my leather gloves, put on my black fedora, and threw my hair into a messy ponytail.
Illea News was on at eight. It was only seven, but I was anxious to see if I would be Selected, not that I wanted to. I paced around my small room, making a beating rhythm with my feet. I lied down on my cozy bed and traced the star charts that lined my ceiling. I heard the grandfather clock in the living room strike eight, and I hurried down the stairs. Mom had popcorn popping, and Father had a cup of tea and a book. "Hot chocolate, please!" I yelled while jumping onto our couch.
"Coming right up, honey," Mom replied. I grabbed the remote and turned on the television.
Bzzt. Bzzzzt,the TV groaned. "Hello Illea!" the announcer exuberantly welcomed. "I am Jonathon, and tonight we have a special treat for you. My team and I are here at the castle in Angeles. In a few moments, Prince Andrew is going to pick a lucky girl from each Province to come and, well, entertain him for a while. Oh! Here comes the royal family! It's so nice that Queen America and King Maxon are here to witness their grandson's own Selection. Queen America is currently 83 and King Maxon is 84.
"Now, Prince Andrew is picking a girl from Clermont, starting the Selection. And this lucky girl is... Miss Kina Jane Beck, Two!" A picture of a beautiful girl popped up on the screen. She looked like a supermodel. She had nice curves and was a little heavily chested. Her wavy blonde hair framed her face, and a gold smoky eye made her blue eyes pop. In the corner of the TV, Prince Andrew appeared. I guessed to show his reaction to the girls. He stared intently at the picture, and his jaw dropped.
"Well, she looks like a keeper!" Jonathon said, noticing the prince's reaction. I heard faint whispering, and His Highness went to the next group of photos. I saw the label, Carolina, and Prince Andrew picked one. It went on like that forever. When Announcer Jonathon said that it's the last lucky girl, I knew it'd be from Dakota, the Province I lived in.
"And the last girl is..." the announcer said, "Miss Scarlet Trixi Montgomery, Four!" Mother jumped out of her seat. Father spilled tea on his pants. I fell on the floor laughing. I looked up to the corner to see Prince Andrew's expression. He was staring at his parents like he couldn't believe I was in the pile. He ran over to his parents, and they started arguing over it.
"Uh, Mom?" I asked, still laughing on the floor, "I think I'm not going to be allowed to participate."
"Of course you are, Trix! You're just different. I'm sure the prince is going to accept that sooner or later," Mother reassured me.
"Yeah, whatever," I mumbled. "I wish I'd never signed up. Thanks a lot. And you do realize I'm doing this for you and the money. It's out of the kindness of my heart." I walked up to my attic room and started packing what few things I needed. After gathering my clothes, jewelry, and a couple keepsakes, I collapsed on my bed and instantly fell asleep.
I woke up to sunlight streaming through my window. I must've forgotten to shut them. Oops. I heard a knock on the door downstairs, and I quickly rolled out of my warm and cozy bed and started to make myself look presentable. I threw on a pair of yoga pants and a shirt. I cautiously climbed down the stairs. "...concerning your daughter in the Selection. You know we want to get started as early as possible, so we are going to go over the basic rules, and then your daughter, Scarlet, and I will hop on a plane to the castle," an unfamiliar female voice said. 'O-okay,' I thought, 'I guess we're going as soon as possible. This is going to be just great.' When I reached the bottom of the steps, I was pulled into the kitchen where my mom and a middle-aged woman were sitting at the table.
"We're going to go over a few things, okay?" the lady kindly said. "Some of the questions are going to be...personal, but feel free to be open with me and your mother. Oh, and by the way, I'm Margret."
'This is going to be awkward,' I thought, but I smiled and said, "Let's get started," anyway.
"So, first question. What's your favorite color?" Margret asked.
"Um, huh. Silver, black, or red, I guess," I responded. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, firstly, we want your clothes to be in colors you like," Margret replied calmly. "Secondly, the prince wants to know everything about yo-the Selected girls."
"And, that's not weird at all," I mumbled. I got a playful slap on the arm from my mother. "What?" I shrugged. "Margret said I could be open."
"It's fine, Scarlet. Prince Andrew is very interested by you girls," Margret said with a light chuckle. "Anyway, next question..." It went on like that, small meaningless questions, until one question caught my interest. "Are you a virgin?" Margret asked. "I'm very sorry about this question, but it's a necessity."
"Yes, I'm a virgin. I've never had a boyfriend in my life," I said while shifting around in my seat.
"That's great. Most of the girls I've interviewed weren't." She mumbled the last part under her breath. "Well, that's all! I hope your bags are packed because we're leaving in-" she glanced at her watch "-about 10 minutes. So go get changed, and we'll head out!"
I ran upstairs, grabbed my pre-packed bag, and quickly changed into the outfit of the Selected: a white shirt, black pants, your Province flower, and any pair of shoes. I chose combat boots. I ran back downstairs and yelled, "Bye!" to Mother. I went outside, and the crisp fall wind fell upon my face. My hair whipped all around, framing my face with tangled, curly brown knots. I breathed in and out, trying to calm myself. Meeting royalty. My brain refused to process that. I've hated royalty all my life, and now I'm meeting them?!
I felt a presence behind me.
"Let's go, Scarlet," Margret said. She stepped in front of me and walked towards a sleek black car. She opened the passenger door and slid in. A young maid opened the car door for me. Seeing the maid reminded me of my sister. 'And here comes the-' my thought was cut off as I was puled into a memory.
"Stop! Stop! Please, please! She's my only normal daughter!" Mother begged the guard.
"You have not payed your taxes yet, so this is only right. It's been law since the first king," the guard who held my flailing sister replied.
"B-b-bu-but... She's my baby girl!" Mom cried. I was in the entry way listening to the whole conversation. My back was stiff and My eyes were scanning the yard, looking anywhere but my mom and my sister, Quinn. I saw 10 guards surrounding the house, and a couple more trying to calm down Quinn. My eyes locked with Quinn's piercing green eyes. "Stay strong," I whispered.
"I will. But promise me you'll be strong, too. For mom, for dad...for me," she said. With that, she stopped struggling and let the guards take her away. I've upheld my promise to Quinn since then, but my mother's words kept on ringing in my head. "She's my only normal daughter!" I shook my head, snapping out of my trance. Concern flashing in her hazel colored eyes, the maid looked at me. "I'm fine," I said. I tentatively stepped into the car. The inside smelled like leather, and it wasn't pleasing. The car has tinted windows and white leather seats. A girl, who looked about my age, was picking at her perfectly manicured nails. She glanced over at me when I got in. She had curly blonde hair with light pink highlights, a fitted white tank top that hugged her curves, black pants, and bright pink heels on. Her Province flower was tucked behind her ear. I could tell she was assessing me, as if I was competition. 'Yeah right. Like I'm competition,' I thought. "Waste your time on someone else, sweetheart," I advised. "I'm only doing this for the money, not the prince, not the crown. I'm not worth your time."
"I like you," the girl said. "I'm Eve." She looked down at herself. "Trust me, I wouldn't be in these clothes if not for my mother. I hate heels, pink, and having my nails done. Once I get to the castle, I'm dying my hair blue."
"Nice. I'm just keeping my normal appearance," I decided.
"Cool. My mother did my interview for me. It was ridiculous! She locked me in my room! Anyway, she said I was this preppy girl that likes pink and all things girly. As if," Eve snorted. "Friends?"
"Sure, why not? I'm Scarlet, but you can call me Trix since my middle name is Trixi," I agreed. "At least I'll have someone to talk to, 'cause I'm not going to the prince with my issues. He's a cocky, stuck-up, spoiled brat. Please tell me you're not infatuated with him. You're blind if you are."
"Why would I be infatuated with the vain, conceited, arrogant jerk?" Eve asked.
"I like you," I said.