Laughter echoes in the large foyer as two teenage girls enter the house, each with their arms full of shopping bags.
"Oh come on, Syden, he was cute!" A blonde haired girl insists, giving her friend a playful push. "And he so liked you, you shouldn't have blown him off like that!"
"Who cares if he was cute? He was a six." The petite girl retorts, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "He should know better than to talk to me, let alone look at me. Besides, Liana, if my father had of been there, well let's just say he'd no longer be a six, but an eight. And that would be him being generous since my birthday's around the corner."
"Well, with his looks and your money you could easily pay for him to move up the castes. You could make him a two? He'd be an excellent model." Liana teases, and the pair burst into laughter.
The laughter ceases when the girls are approached by a maid, who curtsies to them.
"Forgive me for interrupting, Your Highness, but your father requires your presence immediately." The maid says to Syden.
"Do you want me to go?" Liana asks, glancing at her friend.
"No need, you can wait in my room, I doubt this will take long," Syden says dismissively.
"Actually, Your Highness, all guests have been instructed to leave. You have company." The maid says.
"Company? What company?" Syden asks, taken off guard. She hadn't been expecting company, though her father had visitors drop in all of the time, but she had never had to send friends away because of his guests, nor was her presence ever required.
"Your father said to say no more than I already have, please, Your Highness, they're waiting." The maid insists.
Syden sighs and hands her shopping bags to the maid, then turns her attention to Liana, "I guess you have to go, but I'll see you tonight." She says, pulling her friend into a hug.
"Yes, and good luck, it sounds serious." Liana says returning the hug, giving Syden a slight squeeze before she let go.
As soon as Syden's free of the hug she allows the maid to lead her through her house, wondering who these important guests could possibly be. The maid leads her to the sitting room, and leaves after informing the teen that her father is inside.
What are they doing here? Syden thinks, as she steps into room, noticing her uncle, King Bolton, and aunt, Queen Aeress, sitting on a sofa near the fire place, with her father, Prince Edgar, sitting in a cushioned chair across from them. As she steps into the room, Edgar turns to face his daughter, then stands to greet her.
"Syden, come on in, say hello to your aunt and uncle." Edgar instructs, giving his daughter a tight smile, a reminder to be on her best behaviour.
Syden obediently steps further into the room and approaches the royal couple and curtsies, rising when her uncle signals for her to do so. She had only met the king a handful of times in her life, most recently at his coronation, which had been roughly two years ago. Her uncle's presence was an intimidating one due to his rather impressive height and wide, muscular build, both evident even in his seated position.
"It's been some time since we've seen you, Syden." King Bolton says, his firm, full lips were in a tight line, showing neither pleasure nor distaste at seeing his niece. "Sit down, niece, make yourself comfortable."
Syden nods, feeling uncomfortable under the king's intense gaze, feeling as though his haunting, ice blue eyes could see right through her, "Yes, it has been, Your Majesty." She agrees with a polite smile as she takes a seat in a cushioned chair, her father sitting down on the one beside her.
"I'm not sure how much you and your father discuss political matters, but I am sure you know that my reign has been off to a rocky start. The people are discontent, and discontent subjects are quite troublesome. Before things escalate further, we must placate them. Your birthday is in a week, I believe you're turning sixteen? Which means you'll be old enough to have a Selection, and I can think of no better distraction to get the people's minds off of their less than favourable circumstances than with a chance of bettering themselves." Bolton says.
"And, of course, it will give you the chance to find a good, respectable, and loyal man to marry." Queen Aeress adds with a smile. "Think of how much fun you'll have, there will be plenty of parties, and you'll have plenty of dates with cute boys to look forward to. This will be good for the people and for yourself, Syden."
Syden had always preferred her aunt to her uncle, even if her intentions weren't always good, she always had the ability to make people feel at ease and always seemed to phrase everything in a positive way. That, combined with her beauty, made her an ideal Queen. Her ice blonde hair was styled so that it fell over her shoulder in perfect waves. She had a fairly tall, thin figure with proportionate feminine curves on her lean form, and Syden always thought that if her reign as Queen didn't work out she could easily become a model.
Syden glances at her father for a moment, before turning her attention back to the royal couple. "I'm not quite sure what to say, but thank you for this opportunity. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I had always thought the purpose of having a Selection was for a Prince to find his Princess and the future Queen of Illéa. Am I even eligible?"
"Your Selection will be an exception to this rule, it will give us time to handle the delicate matter of succession, whilst giving the people of Illéa a distraction." King Bolton replies. "I understand that this is a lot for you to take in, and we can discuss this matter further at a later time. I suggest that you pack your belongings immediately, as we will be leaving first thing in the morning."
"We?" Syden questions.
"Yes, dear. You'll be coming with us to the palace, but not to worry we'll be sure to have a wonderful celebration for your birthday." Aeress answers with a reassuring smile.
Syden nods, then turns her attention to her father, "Am I still allowed to go to Anton's party? I won't stay out too late, I promise."
Edgar thinks for a moment, then turns his attention to Bolton, "What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Bolton shakes his head, his gaze on Edgar, "Absolutely not. Our reign is still fragile, brother, I can't afford to have her out in public under the wrong influences. We don't need to give the people of Illéa another reason to question us."
They question you because you assassinated the former king and queen, Syden thinks, her gaze on her father who shakes his head once, denying her request.
"He has a point, darling," Aeress says kindly, and Syden's attention shifts to her, making sure to keep her face neutral to hide her disappointment, aware of the cold, calculating look in Aeress's deep-set almond eyes. "It wouldn't be wise to put yourself in any possible controversial situations, I'm sure you understand that. Besides, think off all the parties we will have at the capital, many of them in honor of your selection."
"I suppose you're right." Syden agrees forcing a smile. "May I be excused, then? I want to get my things ready for tomorrow, since apparently I'll be leaving first thing."
"Of course, take as much time as you need, and I would like to thank you for being so cooperative, darling. I know that this is going to be a big adjustment for you, but you seem like a strong girl. I'm sure you're going to handle yourself well in the capital, and show Illéa what a refined, graceful and loyal young woman you truly are." Aeress says with a smile.
"That will be all, Syden. I would like to speak with your father alone." Bolton says, dismissing the girl.
"I'll come find you when I'm done, Syden. You are not to leave the house." Edgar says, giving her a stern look.
"Yes father." Syden agrees, standing. She curtsies to the King and Queen once more before exiting the room.
Syden lays on her bed, reading the magazine in front of her as her maids pack her belongings around her. She glances in the direction of her door when she hears a knock. A moment later her father enters her room and dismisses the maids with a wave of his hand.
"What is it?" Syden asks, sitting up on her bed and glancing up at her father.
"I apologize for blindsiding you like that, I knew they were coming but I had no idea that this was the reason for their visit." Edgar says sitting on the edge of her bed. "I hope you realise that this selection is not for you."
Syden nods, "If it were for me I wouldn't be forced into it. Will I have any say in my husband?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but your uncle has assured me that he will make this process as comfortable for you as possible, so I doubt you'll be forced to marry anyone you entirely despise. You will need to be on your best behaviour, however, my brother won't be nearly as lenient with you as I have been." Edgar says, his voice stern.
"I know, I will be." Syden promises. "Why are they really doing this? Is there another rebellion?"
"I don't see what concern that is of your's, you're a princess, not a politician. Your job isn't to concern yourself with affairs of state, it's to smile pretty for the cameras, attend parties, present yourself in a regal, refined manner and to do as you're told. Do you understand?" Edgar says harshly, giving his daughter a look.
He knew Syden's political nature wasn't her fault, but rather his for allowing her grandfather to raise her for the majority of her life. Her mother was a two, as her father was the mayor of Kent. After she died in childbirth, Edgar attempted to raise Syden himself, but found the rebel camps a rather unsafe place to raise a child. His father-in-law offered to take her off of his hands, sympathetic to their cause and he agreed. She grew up spoiled and pampered, and much to Edgar's displeasure, her political curiosities were often indulged, though she did have a talent socially, always rising to the top of any social hierarchy that she found herself thrown into, despite her precarious position. After their victory he reclaimed his daughter, surprised by her stubborn and somewhat haughty attitude that came with years of being unchallenged, habits he was trying to break her of.
"Yes, father, I apologize." Syden says, biting her lip as she glances at her bed for a moment. She glances back up at her him and asks, "Will I be allowed to return once the Selection is over?"
"That has yet to be decided, but I imagine you'll be allowed to visit." Edgar replies.
"All right," Syden says, knowing better than to push the issue any further, knowing her fate lay in her uncle's hands.
"You're free to do what you like until dinner," Edgar says, then exits the room, closing the door behind him.
So long as it's within the confines of the house, Syden thinks bitterly, pulling her magazine towards herself again.
Hello everyone, and welcome to my SYOC! I hope you enjoyed the prologue, below I'm just going to provide some more information that you'll need to make submissions, as well as the characters that I'll be requiring. Be sure to read all of it, thanks for your interest :)
Also, thank you to the authors who submitted the King & Queen, as well as Syden.
Additional Info:
The premise the public will be given for this Selection is that since it's around the time that their son would have had their Selection, the King and Queen decided to honour his memory by throwing one for their niece, Syden. The prize will be that the winner will be promoted to a permanent two and appointed the mayor of the province of their choice (with some restrictions). However, the king will really use the Selection to hand select and groom his heir (the next King), an announcement that will be made about a week or two into the Selection..
The caste system was reinstated, and is even more harshly enforced (an example being mayors are no long elected but appointed). There are still rebel forces, though as far as the crown is aware, they have been exterminated. They are greatly weakened and are trying to build themselves up again.
Submission Rules:
Forms will only be accepted through PM, and the form can be found on my profile. Please have your character's name as the subject.
If you have a question send me a PM, please don't review them or they will be ignored.
When filling out the forms, please be detailed, very detailed. The forms of the characters I have accepted (King, Queen, and Princess Syden) were at least two messages long, and the personality section was MULTIPLE paragraphs. If you want your character to be a main character I expect a flawlessly detailed and edited form. Put actual effort into it, since I'm going to be putting a ton of effort into the story, I don't think it's much to ask for you to take some time to write a good character form.
The above note was only if you want your character to play a substantial role within the story (as in becoming an Elite or close to it). If you're perfectly fine with your character becoming sidelined, then put in as little effort as you want.
Submission Slots:
The Selected:Some should be former rebels (who helped the now current king take over) who would have a leg up on the competition, some loyalists who applied to not look suspicious would be nice, and then just regular citizens are needed as well.
There is a female slot open for a friend/companion of Syden's. Ask before sending her if you're interested.
I will also need palace personnel: guards, maids, etc. As well as the interviewer/selection planner and royal planner.