Chapter One:
I was putting the finishing touches on my final room of the day when The Capital Report came on the tvs throughout the hotel. I didn't need to turn up the volume to know what it is about. The Selection for Prince Sebastian started in two weeks. Our letter's arrived early this morning and Aunt Mary decided that I was to sign up, whether I liked the idea or not. That is why I had taken my time with rooms today. I wasn't excited about the selection purely because I didn't get to make the choice myself. Aunt Mary came upstairs and told me to follow her, that we were going shopping because I needed a new dress. My clothes were definitely not to her liking.
Not wanting to spend a second more with her than I had to. We made a compromise, she would go pick me up a new dress while I stayed home to fill out my selection form. Much to my relief, both my Aunt and Uncle left to buy a dress, that I was sure we couldn't actually afford.
My family had been in the Hotel business my whole life. After the dissolution of the caste system, my family no longer had the status of eight's and we opened our hotel. By "we" I mean my Aunt and Uncle. After the King and Queen finally dissolved the Castle system there was a violent transition. Fights broke out between the higher castes and the lower castes, my parents were killed in those fights and I was sent to live with my Aunt and her husband. I've worked for them ever since, being one of their housekeepers.
I sat down to fill out the application. It was very basic, asking me about my special skills, my weight, and to my shock, whether or not I'm a virgin. I had two special skills: medicine and dancing. Would other applicants have more special skills than this? Should I lie? After a brief moment of contemplation, a decided on leaving it the way it was. What were the chances that I got picked anyway?
When my Aunt arrived home she dragged me upstairs and squeezed me into a dark blue dress. It only fell to my knees as the pictures only showed the upper half of our bodies. I slipped on the only shoes that I have, my beat up sneakers, and followed my Aunt and Uncle down to the picture station.
My Aunt turned and glared at me. She grabbed my arm, digging her nails into my arm "I know you aren't the prettiest or the brightest girl but you better get up there and smile like you've never smiled before. We need the money and it's the least you can do for mooching off of us for all these years." I ripped myself out of her hold, rubbing my sore arm. It was already bright red and I knew it would bruise. Of course, this was just what I needed today.
The guard called my name and I made my way to the stool. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a mother pick up her crying daughter and rock her gently, wiping the tears from her eyes. The picture of the two of them together made me think of my mother singing to me every night. A bright smile made it's way into my face and the photographer snapped the photo.
The next two weeks passed with a flurry of activity. All too soon it was time for The Report, the one to announce the girls selected. I gathered with my Aunt Mary and Uncle Derek as the introduction song played to The Capital Report. The king appeared first and gave the briefest
Update on the current state of Illéa.
After what seemed like a year the Master of Events, Garvill came out onto the stage and shook the King's hand.
"Good evening, Your Majesty," he gave a slight bow and motion for them both to sit.
King Maxon was nearly jumping out of his skin in excitement, "Garvill!" He greeted brightly. "I have to say you were looking better when we were getting ready for my selection!" Garvill didn't seem the slightest bothered by the King's comment as spirits were definitely high in the room.
"Well, King Maxon you will be happy to know that your appearance hasn't changed much!"
"Well, thank you Garvill!" King Maxon laughed, "now before the anxiety gets too much for us all, why don't we get my family out here and announce the girls!"
"I couldn't agree more!" Garvill looked right into the camera. "Ladies and Gentleman without further ado The Royal Family. Queen America, the man of the hour Prince Sebastien, Princess Addilynn, Princess Ophelia, Prince Matthew, and Princess Mia." The royal family came onto the stage one at a time as their name was being called. They each took a seat, one right after another except for Prince Sebastian who took a seat on the other side of Garvill.
"Now before we get down to the good stuff," Garvill smiled brightly, "We have to follow tradition. Queen America, may we hear your advice for the next Selected girls?"
"Of course," Queen America's smile was absolutely breathtaking. She was the one we wanted to strive to be, "During this Selection, you will not only gain the friendship or even love from my son, but the girls you will meet during this competition will be life long friends. So, help each other when you can because the Prince will choose who he loves no matter what you do."
"That was truly inspiring Queen America, thank you." The two smiled politely at one another before Garvill turned to the Camera.
"Okay, people of Illéa you know how this works!" The entire Royal family was nearly giddy, "Now Prince Sebastian hasn't seen these young girls yet and we are dying to see his reaction. So let's jump right in!"
The first picture came onto the screen, there was a little box in the stop right-hand corner of the screen to show Prince Sebastian's reaction to The Selected.
"Miss Catelynn Sherwood of Paloma." She was beautiful. Her dark hair being brought to life by the color of her light brown eyes. Sebastian grinned.
"Miss Addison Petrova of Waverly." She was just as beautiful as Catelynn, my hopes sank.
"Miss Sofia Buchanan of California." My heart stopped. I was picked for the Selection! My Aunt screamed in joy. She began ordering me around and getting things ready for my departure and she didn't stop until I left two days later.
My aunt practically threw my stuff into the vehicle that the selected had to ride in. Not even a hug or goodbye she just pushed into the car and walked away. She just knows how to show the love. I really only wanted to do this for my mother, she would have been so happy that I was a Selected. So, I left, nearly unaffected by my aunt's cold-hearted actions. The only person I said goodbye to was my uncle and after a comforting hug and I got into the car and
nervously made my way to the airport.
I was met at the airport with my palace guide, Jessica. At her side was another girl who I assumed was a Selected like me.
"And you are?" The girl said in a snotty tone.
"Sofia Buchanan, nice to meet you. You are?"
"I'm Catelynn but you can just call me queen." She grinned and began to walk away. I followed behind her, a little shocked. Queen America made this sound like more of a friendly competition. I could see now that I was sadly mistaken. I boarded the plane behind Catelynn and made sure that we were sitting on opposite sides of the plane.
The rest of the girls loaded on and we took off. The girl sitting next to me, I remembered seeing on the Capital Report before my name was called. It was Addison Petrova. She glanced over at me, looking me up and down like she was deciding whether or not I was worth the trouble.
"You were the girl called after me right?" She asked, her voice sounding a sickly sweet. "You are Sofia Buchanan?"
I smiled brightly. At least she was acting nice, "Yes, I'm from Carolina."
"Oh, I remember." She chuckled, "Who did your intake at your house?"
"Just a palace guard," I shrugged, "Went by the name Ledger, I think."
She sighed and shook her head. "I met with a guard too. I heard him on the phone with another guard. Apparently, there has been some unrest at the castle and Queen America has been threatened."
My heart stopped. "You don't think they would go through with The Selection if it wasn't safe?"
"When Queen America was having her selection there were rebel attacks almost every week. One of the Elite was even killed."
"That's scary." I was without words. Did all of these girls know about this? Were we just expected to be okay with this?
"Don't worry that's what the guards are for." Addison tried to reassure me but it wasn't working.
"A lot of good they did for the dead Elite," I whispered.
A felt a hand on my own and looked up at Addison who was giving me a small smile. "The world is a dangerous place, Sofia. There will always be people who are unhappy with their situation and feel the need to lash out violently. It's up to everyone else to act with courage and live on or the bad guys win."
I gave her an understanding nod but she didn't move her hand. We held tightly to one another until the plane landed. We were officially at the palace, competing for the heart of the prince.
I didn't know whether or not to be excited, we had to meet with the royal family but couldn't meet Sebastian until tomorrow to make it a formal meeting. The King and Queen were waiting for us when we arrived.
"Hello, ladies." King Maxon greeted with a bright smile. "I know this all seems like a lot to process right now so we would like to get you settled in right away. Queen America, would like to say a few words before the guards take you to your rooms."
Queen America stepped forward. Her motherly smile bringing me comfort. "Welcome, Selected. Now I've made a few changes since my time in the Selection to make the transition more comfortable." She sighed and glanced at her husband who gave her a nod. "However tradition must be upheld. So any changes that must be made will happen now happen in the comfort of your rooms and not in front of one another." What did that even mean? "You will need to be taped for this week's Capital Report. That will happen after your original meeting with the prince. If you have any questions please ask your maids or even me when we are in the Woman's room." Much to my relief, I wasn't the only one that looked confused. The other girls were whispering to one another and shrugging. "Okay, ladies. The guards will take you to your rooms. Remember that the third floor is the royal suits and is completely off limits to the Selected." We all curtsied as the two left the room.
When I entered the room I was surprised to see three women waiting for me.
"Lady Sofia, we are your maids." I paused to watch them as they waited for an answer from me. "Lady Sofia? Are you feeling well?"
After a moment I realized that I was gaping, "Ah, yes. Thank you. Just surprised."
"It's quite fine. We are here to get you ready for the dinner."
I was taken back once more and realized that I didn't even know their names, "Your names are?"
The girl who had been standing in back stepped forward and introduced herself as Maria, The one with blonde hair introduced herself as Elizabeth and the girl who had been speaking to me introduced herself as Annabell. "Shall we get you ready, my lady?"
"Yes, let's move on with the process."
"What color dress would you like?"
I thought about it and decided that the blue I wear to the pictures would be best. "Dark blue," I answered and they began to dig in the wardrobe. They found a beautiful high-low, dark blue, and gold dress for me to wear. I paired it would golden heels and I tried it on. Surprising it fit me perfectly.
"Ah, Lady Sofia, you look amazing. Go win that prince over." Maria said with a bright smile on her face. "Oh wait! We must change something along your looks."
"Uh, what do you mean?"
"Like your hair color or something along those lines!" I was immediately confused. Why did I have to change something? I loved my hair. It had taken me years to get it to fall at my hips.
"I don't want it cut." I whispered, "So, what do you suggest?"
"Maybe some color?" Elizabeth chirped. "How about the end maybe a light brown! It will mix so well with your black hair!" I gave them a small nod of consent and the three of them pulled me into a chair near my sink.
The process didn't take as long as I thought it would. Thirty minutes later, my thick curly flowed into a light brown. I smiled at the small change, glad that I wasn't going to those myself during this competition.
My maids all gave me bright smiles. Annabell stepped forward, adjusting my dress slightly. "Are you ready?" She asked.
"No, but I'm good at pretending." I smiled with sadness.
"You'll do wonderful!" Maria chirped. Maria, who seemed to be Head Maid, ordered Elizabeth to lead me to the dining room. On my way down the never ending hallway, I was a little shocked that I wasn't running into any of the other girls. Was I running late?
"Elizabeth, am I running late?" I whispered, clearly horrified.
"No, Lady Sofia." She answered with a reassuring smile. "The Queen asked everyone to be down early. I'm guessing you are the first one."
"And the Prince? Will he be at dinner?"
"No, he won't." She sighed. "The Queen has made a lot of changes to the Selection M'lady but tradition is still important to her. The Prince is taking dinner in his room tonight. He will meet everyone officially tomorrow."
"Thank you, Elizabeth." I tried not to let my disappointment show. My impatience was about to hit an all-time high. I just wanted meet Sebastian already.
"Of course, Miss." She curtsied. "The dining hall is just around the corner at the end of the hall. I should get back to the others. We have to get your dressed finished for tomorrow."
"Oh yes, please go." As soon as she was out of sight I turned the corner and with the horrible luck that I have. I promptly collided into someone. I immediately slammed my eyes shut in fear, and the clattering of a metal plate could be heard as it fell to the ground. Strong arms wrapped around my waist to steady me and I slowly opened my eyes.
The first thing I see is honey-blonde hair that was shocking similar to King Maxon's and beautiful green eyes that also belonged Queen America. My eyes finally fell to the royal emblem on his shirt.
I quickly pulled away from him and fell into a curtsey. "I'm so sorry Prince Sebastian." My heart was banging in my chest. I've run into the prince.
"No please," He stuttered, pulling me up from my curtsey. "It was my fault. I was too busy stuffing my face. I wasn't paying attention."
"Oh no, I've wrecked your dinner." I squeaked, "What a horrible first impression."
Sebastian's eyes widened in shock, "Y-You're part of the Selection? I knew you looked familiar."
I winced knowing that we were breaking tradition, "I'm Sof-"
"Lady Sofia Buchanan of California." He recites, "I remember."
The Prince continued to stare at me. Making me feel a little uncomfortable. "Your Majesty?" I whispered.
He blinked. "Right, well you should get to dinner and I should call a maid to clean up this mess." I looked down at his plate on the floor. The contents of his plate had only consisted of bread, chicken, salad, and strawberry tart. He was a simple eater, like me.
"They are just simple things, your majesty." I was resisting the urge to scoff. "Nothing really to clean. Should be easy to clean up on your own. I can help if you want."
He shook his head, slightly baffled by words. "There is no need Lady Sofia. It's their job." I wanted to roll my eyes at him. Of course, he was a Prince. He got to live in the Castle his whole life. He never had to work for anything.
"You mean the maids who are scrambling to get everything ready for all thirty-five girls that are here for your Selection." I snapped, "No offense your majesty, but it won't kill you to clean up after yourself." I stomped away from him, making my way into the dining hall.
When I got inside I felt the heat rise into my cheeks. I'd just yelled at the future King of Illéa. There was no way that he wasn't sending me home now.