Boden's Mate- a checkmate pattern in chess in which the King is checkmated by two crisscrossing bishops. Immediately prior to delivering the mate, the winning side typically plays a queen sacrifice to set up the mating position.

Chapter 1- Opening

Opening- the group of initial moves in a game.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Fleur awoke with a start. Her heart pounded against her ribcage, breaths shallow and hasty. It was just another night terror, she reassured herself, nothing more. Beside her, Alexia stirred.

"Fleur?" the 17-year-old princess asked groggily. Sighing, Fleur rested back on her elbows.

"It was nothing, Alex. Go back to sleep, okay?"

"Another night terror?" Alex glanced up with concern, honey blonde hair falling in front of her pale eyes. She was everything Fleur was not—carefree, beautiful, and a natural-born leader. Fleur nodded.

"Yes. They've gotten worse ever since Blair fell ill." She pictured her twin sister, with her matching ash blonde locks and grey-blue eyes. She pictured her happy smile and flushed cheeks, her bubbly laugh that had since been reduced to painful coughs. And then, of course, the French had attacked.

"Don't start going down that path again, okay? It won't do you any good. Besides, tomorrow we're announcing the Selected. You have to act like the princess Illéa needs you to be," Alex said. Fleur groaned. She had blissfully forgotten about the impending Selection until now.

"Those men were Selected for Blair, not for me." She vividly remembered her father and mother spending hours in his office, sifting through all of the thousands of applications and hand-picking the men best suited for her charming twin. That was a year ago. Before she'd gotten sick.

"Well, now this is your Selection. And these are your suitors. You're going to have to get used to it eventually, so keep your chin up," Alex said.

"Illéa doesn't need a prince; it needs a miracle," Fleur replied, getting a playful punch from her sister. She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Only she knew that she hadn't been joking.

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"Sit up straight and get that frown off your face. We're going live in less than a minute. Don't take these things so lightly, Fleur. Remember: you're the future of Illéa, and you'd better be a damn good one." Queen Natalia turned away from the princess, her own scowl melting into a prim smile as she faced the cameras. Fleur did as she was told, if only to prevent future arguments.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Report producer motion for cameras to start rolling. In a matter of seconds, their broadcast was playing on nearly every television in the nation live.

"Good evening, Illéa, and welcome back to the Report. I am your host, Benedict Tulane. Today, their Highnesses have a very important announcement for all of Illéa." The middle-aged man looked up at the raised stage where the royal family sat. King Edmond rose, followed by the queen.

"Good evening, citizens of Illéa. On the behalf of the monarchy of Illéa, the Queen and I are happy to formally announce the Selected men to compete in Princess Fleur's Selection. The 35 suitors have been drawn from a lottery of names. Here are the Selected…" Fleur drew in a deep breath.

The chaos had officially begun.

Characters:

Crown Princess Fleur Aryn Vanderbilt (19)- Crown Princess of Illea. She is quiet and shy, with a passion for playing chess and reading books. She cares deeply for her sisters but has a tumultuous relationship with her mother. She has long, straight ash blonde hair, fair skin, and grey-blue eyes. She is quite skinny and bony. Fleur prefers not to be social and hates the structure and decorum of the life of a royal. She feels unprepared to lead a country and can be slightly awkward and unfriendly. FC: Elle Fanning

Princess Blair Riley Vanderbilt (19)- former Crown Princess of Illea. She is older than Fleur by about 10 minutes, but fell ill about 4 months ago and is currently unable to lead. She looks quite similar to Fleur, but has filled out more. She is bright and charismatic and knows how to command a room. The entire country loved her. She is diplomatic and passionate, sometimes letting her temper get the best of her. FC: Dakota Fanning

Princess Alexia Ramona Vanderbilt (17)- Younger sister to Blair and Fleur. She is a bit naive but always happy, optimistic, and bubbly. She is cheerful and can lift anyone's mood. She is quite sheltered by her sisters and parents, so she is innocent and idealistic, not fully understanding the war between Illea and France. Nevertheless, she, too, is loved by the country and is a very eloquent speaker. She has short honey blonde hair and grey eyes. She is short and slim. FC: G Hannelius

Queen Natalia Vanderbilt (38)- She is a queen who rules with an iron fist. She is strict with her children, but acts like the perfect, demure queen in public. She can be overly stern sometimes, and cares deeply for the future of the country. She also has a hot temper, but can control herself. Plays a large role in national affairs. She has straight light blonde hair and serious blue eyes. She is tall and slim. FC: Kate Winslet

King Edmond Vanderbilt (40)- He is a hardworking man with little time for his family. His time is taken up by the Illean-French war that is going on. He is a bit detached from his family, but has good intentions at heart. He is averagely tall, with thinning blonde hair and tired grey eyes. He is stocky and a bit intimidating.

A/N: Hi everyone! Welcome to my story. I decided to start up a new story (specifically a SYOC) thanks to a couple writer friends of mine (Millyna's discord chat, specifically). Because of how much schoolwork I have and how little time I have to write, I will only be accepting about 5 MCs. Sorry! I may accept some minors or maybe increase the number of MCs, but for now, 5 is all I can handle. Also sorry for the weird formatting; I wrote this on Word and copied and pasted. Future chapters will probably be normal-looking. First, some ground rules:

Rules:
1. Please don't send in perfect characters. Flaws make the story more interesting!
2. Send in forms through PM only.
3. Name the PM "Boden's Mate-[Full Name/Caste/Job]"

Form:

Full Name:
Nicknames (optional):
Age (18-21):
Caste:
Occupation:

Province:

Face Claim:
Appearance:
General Style:
Other:

Personality (detailed):
Likes:
Dislikes:
Fears (at least 1):
Flaws (at least 2):
Hobbies:
Other (habits, quirks, etc?):

Background:
Family:
Friends:
Other:

Opinion on Fleur:
Opinion on Blair:
Opinion on Alexia:
Opinion on Queen Natalia:
Opinion on King Edmond:
Thoughts/Treatment of other Selected:
Quotes:

Reason for entering:
Reaction to elimination (early on and later):
Anything I missed:

Form will also be up on my profile. Please go submit an OC when you can!

~Cel~