Fallout

Chapter 01

»Don't turn the Selection into a job interview«

Illéa Palace, Los Angeles, Angeles
Crown Prince Xander of Illéa

Xander glanced at the pen in his hand.

Maybe he was looking at the paper beneath it too. Maybe he was just looking at the pen. Probably, it was the paper sheet beneath. He didn't want to sign it. Something in him refused. Something that Xander didn't like at all. It frightened him – what was it? There was no reason to be afraid of a piece of paper!

But everyone agreed. All advisors agreed. The instant he would tell his father, he would agree. His grandmother would agree. His sister would agree. Maybe his other siblings – except Ernest – wouldn't be too keen, but they would accept the decision wordless.

A knock at the door of the prince's office gained Xander's attention. The clock at the wall reminded him that he should be heading to bed soon. It couldn't be anyone foreign. Maybe his valet?

"Come in."

It wasn't his valet but his sister, Sophia, who stepped into his office – calm and elegant, with the kind smile as always on her face. She closed the door behind her. "Good evening."

"Good evening," Xander replied. "What can I do for you?" he asked his younger sibling. The prince sat up straight – Sophia rarely came to him for anything. She was a grown-up adult and needed no one to hold her hand in life. If even, she came to hold the hand of others, but then again, Xander had no need for that either.

"I just wanted to talk to you," Sophia answered. "May I sit?"

"Of course," Xander replied with a subconscious gesture towards the chair, "about what?"

"Nothing in particular." Sophia looked at him as if she was looking at a riddle. There probably was something she wanted to talk about, Xander concluded. Sophia didn't have the time to talk about nothing – not so late in the evening, at least.

"You aren't seeing anyone today, I assume?" Xander asked with irony. It was too late for Sophia to leave now. Maybe she had met with her friends before this though, he reminded himself.

Sophia chuckled. "Jealous that my social life is so much more existent than yours?" she teased. "But no," she said, returning to the voice that she usually used to talk to the prince regent—calm and mature, "not this evening. I cleared the evening after-," she hesitated.

"After what?" Xander began to relax. Sophia was his sister; there was no need to be that uptight around her. However, it had been another exhausting day, filled with dealing with the consequences of the civil war, and Sophia's unannounced visit was rather strange.

"I heard rumours." Sophia leaned forward, placing her elbows on her arms on his desk. "Is it true?"

So, there were rumours now? Who in the council of advisors had talked? He didn't like that – it could cost him trouble and problems, which in return would take time away from running the country. "… Maybe."

Happiness filled Sophia's expression – now as bright as the sun – and she sat up cheerfully. "You're holding a Selection!"

"Maybe," Xander emphasised. "Nothing is decided yet."

"Oh, come on!" Sophia laughed. "You're what? Twenty-two years old? It's overdue!" Sophia's joy was catching. Xander couldn't help but smile as well. She was right – the Selection was overdue. If it hadn't been for the Great Unrest, he'd either be married or still holding it now. "What's holding you back?"

"Costs, the time spend on it, …" The something else holding him back. What even was that? It couldn't be fear – Xander wasn't afraid of girls. No way. He yawned into the back of his hand. He'd need to sleep a night over this. He generally needed sleep.

"I'm no prodigy in economy or anything," Sophia spoke, "but haven't we made lots of plus over the last half year? Through the prisoner camps with the rebels, I mean?"

"Not enough to equal a civil war, Sophia," Xander reminded her. "The money we've spend on the Great Unrest is a lot. I don't want to go too far into using the resources the camps have given us – not yet at least."

"So… It's a money issue?" Sophia asked. She leaned forward over Xander's desk, trying to get a peek from what he was looking at. Wordless, her brother handed her the folder. Among them was a list of calculations made by one of the advisors with whom Xander was working.

"Considering the situation and the ripples, the Great Unrest has sent through the country, it is only realistic that Ernest and-or Louis will end up holding a Selection as well. Ernest is in eligible age. Louis too. People would question why he isn't following up, and I don't like people questioning the country's finances." Xander explained, referring to his younger brothers.

Sophia did some untrained calculations in her head herself. "And… If we were to say, we'll do it again with Louis and not with Ernest… He probably would be more difficult to be married to a person of influence, considering his public image," she concluded.

"No one wants to marry someone who's known for spending his time and money in a club during a war, yes." Xander nodded – he trusted Sophia's opinion on the society. "I don't even want to suggest looking for foreign women with him; it's too dangerous for foreign relations. And inside Illéa? Even if we were to look at the influential families and houses, they know him. A Selection would be the best solution."

"Who'd want to sign up for a Selection with a playboy?" Sophia questioned.

"About every girl in the country who'd like to be a princess, I presume," Xander said. "It would allow us to change his image as well."

Sophia finished the thought for him. "Growing up by falling in love or so, I see what you mean. Louis is far too socially awkward and shy to hold a Selection either way. At the moment, at least."

"He also is only nineteen," Xander reminded her.

"Grandmother was seventeen when she married grandfather though." Sophia reminded him.

"Yes… That reminds me…" Xander began scribbling something on a paper sheet that had been marked to hold changes he needed to implement. He wouldn't want anyone underage in his Selection. Between twenty and twenty-four sounded like a good age range to him – he wasn't sure what to make of the idea of having a wife older than him but then again, his mother was a few hours older than her father.

"Understandable," Sophia commented after she read his note from her seat. "Would Ernest need to hold a Selection though?"

"I don't expect him to court anyone otherwise. The longest he's been with someone was probably for two nights." Xander huffed. At least Ernest probably wouldn't refuse a bus load of girls.

"Yes, but, what if we were to say that he is to marry during your Selection? I mean, it's a bit cheating, but think of grandfather's brother – he fell in love during the Selection too."

"You know how that story ended," Xander muttered bitter.

"Yes, I do," Sophia replied with a sigh, "but do you see what I mean? If Ernest was to look for a wife during your Selection, we would kill two birds with one stone – we save money because Ernest doesn't have a Selection on his own, but he'll have a Cinderella story to rise the public support. I mean, officially, he would have just met the women a few times, but he still fell in love and blabla. Sounds like a romance movie to me."

"I wouldn't know," Xander commented. They both knew that the last time Xander had seen a movie was ages ago.

"Do you see what I mean though?"

"Yes, I do." And it was a good idea. Sophia had a very good point, and if they were already dealing with that, they might as well include Louis. He needed to break out of his shell either way. "Louis too."

"The girls are going to scare him if they're older though."

"He can at least try," Xander thought aloud. Maybe they could play around with the age limit. Set a date for birthdays as limit would be a choice. "I'll talk this through with the council tomorrow."

"How-," Sophia hesitated. "Are you going to select the women randomly? Grandmother remarked that the Selection isn't completely random…"

"They weren't," Xander answered, "and probably no. There's no reason to leave such an important matter to luck. One of the thirty-five Selected will become the future queen of Illéa. I don't particularly care about Ernest and Louis – their wives won't be involved into politics. I need someone who will be the ideal queen for Illéa… I saw the form that was used for dad's Selection. It's not of much use – I'll need to have someone overwork it. We'll need to look at skills, past experiences… What?"

Sophia was glaring at him. "Don't turn the Selection into a job interview, Xander. By all respect – don't. The Selection is about love!"

"Not particularly if you look at its history," Xander reminded her. Most – all but their mother (who though had been an actress and daughter of an honoured military man), grandmother and great-grandmother – had been primarily influenced by who the women were in society. "I couldn't care less about 'love' and 'romance'. I need to find a wife – a queen. Someone who can support me in ruling the country. My workload will never be less – who knows how long we will have absolute peace and time for this to happen?"

Sophia looked aside. She wanted her fairy tale romance, Xander understood that, but she wasn't just a random girl but a princess. There was little fairy tale in real royalty, and he knew how 'helpful' his mother had been in ruling the country – even if they denied her influence on the civil war.

"I was thinking of giving them a month to learn basic protocol, etiquette et cetera," Xander began to explain. "I want to see what they can do. Rather than waiting for the elite, I probably would have them being taught about the work of a princess from the beginning on. While I admit that I haven't come up with too many ideas, they will definitely be given philanthropy projects to do and other organisation tasks. I want to give them the chance to prove political skills, but…"

"But?" Sophia rose an eyebrow. "Are you saying that women can't do politics? Because I know one that could have, if it wasn't—," She stopped when she saw the sadness filling in her older brother's expression. Never mention Victoria was still a rule, huh?

"Yes – I don't expect that from a consort. There has never been a queen in the history of Illéa that was actively involved into politics. I am willing to give them a chance, but I don't know how yet."

"Women can do that," Sophia insisted. "Maybe none of the past winners, but women can." Victoria was a prime example for such. When she had been younger – before all what happened – she had been expected to one day help Xander with leading the country. Now she was only an afterimage of her past self… Xander shook the thought away.

"I was considering giving them the chance to write their own explanation on why they would be an adequate consort," Xander continued after catching himself. It never took Xander long to return to his stern, aloof expression, but Sophia had seen the sadness in his eyes. Xander was a soldier, but even soldiers could be hurt.

"If that is the case… What are you going to do about castes? A Three will have more experiences, skills and abilities than a Seven." Sophia looked at her skirt.

"That's why I was talking about giving them a month to learn etiquette and protocol, as week as other things."

"Even if you do that – how can you guarantee that anyone beneath the a Three even has a chance to be selected? They probably don't have the education and abilities needed, Xander. Plus, you have to admit it, you and the advisors are prejudiced towards higher castes."

"I wouldn't see a reason to have them include their caste in the form, to be honest," Xander explained after a moment of silence. They still could research potential candidates and figure it out later on. He knew that his sister had come to see the opinions on lower castes in a very critical light – ironic, considering the fact that Sophia was the one of the five royal siblings who was closest to Illéa's elite and society life. This would, hopefully, silence her. "What I am looking for are soft skills either way." Sophia smiled – good. "Primarily at least. If an Eight is the ideal queen, then it's an Eight. If it's a Two, it's a Two."

"What about past achievements? Education?"

"That… That is an issue that can't be easily solved, Sophia."

"Change the education system," Sophia recommended.

"It isn't as easy as it sounds, Sophia. You'd need to deal with financial issues that are above what we have – for long term, it is. The amount of money to guarantee that would be taken from taxes, meaning that money that can be used on restoration after the Great Unrest is gone."

The princess sighed. "I suppose that's why you're the prince regent and I'm just the nice-looking princess. You're right…" She paused. "… You were talking about philanthropy projects. Have them include their interests. Someone who likes creative arts will be good at organising receptions. Someone with interest in sciences will be good for… I don't know. Government work, I guess. Have them talk about themselves – what their hobbies are, what they love and what they do."

"The more they'll be required, the more they'll assume that they're not chosen by chance."

"You could make that obvious and official," Sophia said. She knew that that was no choice though, "or you do something else: you talked about a month of study. Don't have them stalked by cameras then – give them time to learn all. Rather than telling the public that these letters are for the Selection, have them think that we also are looking for ladies-in-waiting. Let the public believe that we're training maids-in-waiting and ladies-in-waiting for a month before inviting the Selected to the palace. We can actually do that – after the Selection is over, I mean. Have the winner go through forms and chose women she'd like to 'try out' for herself."

"The second part will need a bit more work," Xander looked to his sister, "but the rest…? That sounds like a good idea."

"You're doing it? You're holding a Selection?"

"I will discuss it tomorrow with the advisors."

/ / /

Author's Note

Welcome to my new SYOC "Fallout".

I've finished writing The Red Herring, and this is my new project. You can find all information you need to submit a character on my profile.

The basic outline for the story is that it'll focus on a post-civil war ("The Great Unrest") Illéa and healing from the wounds of what essentially was a war. The royal family themselves have been hurt by the war, but everyone somehow was affected.

It's up to you to decide how heavy the disruption between the uprising and the government was in the province of your OC etc., but the rebels (while claiming to intend to hurt the upper castes etc.) primarily hurt the lower castes that couldn't afford protection etc., leading to many in the population supporting the government against them. Many males were conscripted. Women were able to volunteer.

You can find a Pinterest board called FF – Fallout on my account, millynalava.