Hey guys! I'm back! This is my second Selection FanFiction, so all types of criticism are accepted. This story contains multiple OCs and considered AU since the events of the books are very much changed. A shoutout to NewKindofCinderella for approving of this story. Please review, favorite, and follow and leave feedback on how I can make my writing better. Just a warning, one of my OCs has the same last name as Kriss, but they are not related. Feel free to tell me if there are any mistakes or pieces of information I got wrong. There will be many different POVs, so be prepared. Now, let's start the story, shall we?

Chapter 1: The Palace DoorsThe moon's light illuminated the silhouette of the black limousine driving along the Illéan roads, silently, quietly. The tinted windows blocked anyone from seeing in or out of the car, although the darkness did their job for them. The palace loomed ahead, tall and grand in the night, its lights radiating a sense of welcome.

As the limo came to a halt in front of the palace's golden gates, the driver made a signal with his hand and the gates swung open with barely a sound. After a few more minutes of driving the car stopped in the back of the palace, hidden from all those who didn't know of its arrival. The chauffeur got out of the limo and opened the back door, holding out his hand. Another hand took it.

This hand was attached to a girl who gracefully slid out of the limousine, her soft auburn hair billowing out slightly thanks to the night breeze. Her eyes quickly scanned the area, looking for any witnesses. When she was sure there was none, she walked around the car toward the back door. Before she went inside she looked back at the chauffeur. "Thank you," she said. Her voice carried a sweet English accent that made her words sound like silk.

"You're welcome, My Lady," the chauffeur bowed. With a small smile, the girl disappeared into the palace.

"Miss Brittney Ambers, I presume?" came a voice from the shadows. The girl jumped back into a wall, a hand on her rapidly beating heart.

"Who's there?" she exclaimed. A low chuckle was heard as a man stepped into the light. The man wore a blue uniform and a serious yet amused expression. Brittney immediately recognized him as a palace guard.

"I'm sorry if I startled you, Miss," he said, giving a deep bow as he, unperceptively, gave the young woman a once- over. Just in case.

"No, no. It's quite alright." she said, walking towards him. "Does anybody else know of my arrival?" The guard shook his head, going to open a door at the other end of the room.

"Just myself and a few other senior guards, My Lady. The king and queen were aware that you were arriving tonight, but you'll meet him them tomorrow when you meet the Selected girls." Brittney nodded her head in understanding.

She and the guard walked in silence as they made their way through the castle halls. The floor they were currently on had many windows, and each of them let in a reflection of crystallized moonlight. It wasn't much, but it was just enough to allow Brittney to decipher the shadows of paintings on the walls, along with a mirror that scared her more than she'd like to admit when she looked into it. The rays of light provided by the night left patches of white luminescence on the marble floor, and every now and then she spotted a part of what could have been a gold engraving. It became a game; her trying to figure out what was around her by observing the shadows, and the guard trying desperately not to laugh when her eyes and nose scrunched up in concentration.

Finally they reached the end of the corridor, and he led her up a flight of stairs. Her heels clicked and echoed with every step, extraordinarily loud next to the guard's quiet and calculated ones. She looked at him, but he gave no indication of even realizing her presence. After a few seconds of debate she took a deep breath and spoke, "I'm not going to kill you if you speak, you know. I don't know what rumors are going around, but I'm actually quite a social butterfly."

He turned to her then, a questioning look on his face. "There is nothing for me to speak to you about." Brittney's brow creased. She hadn't been expecting such and abrupt and rude response. She quickened her pace to get ahead of him and practically ran up to the next flight of stairs.

"Come now. The guards at my palace always talk to me. Surely the guards here have some semblance of a social life. Am I right?"

He bristled. "There is protocol here, Miss. I follow my king's orders. Nothing more." She stopped on the stairs, silently looking at him as he passed her. Once she was safely behind she allowed her expression to morph into one of thoughtful confusion. This was interesting, to say the least. The rest of their walk proceeded in an awkward silence.

The guard stopped walking as they came to a rather large door on what she believed to be the third floor. One look around determined that all of these rooms were indeed very fancy, and Brittney was immediately confused. "Why-" she began.

"The king and queen wanted you to be as comfortable as possible," the guard explained. "It's hospitable to provide the best services for one's guests." She narrowed her eyes at the condescension in his words. She was trying to be friendly, and this is how he responded? Nice.

He opened the door for her and gestured for her to go inside. He turned on the light behind her, and the now illuminated room was enough to make her eyebrows rise. It was a huge room with a king sized cream bed and gilded light wood furniture. Nothing that she wasn't used to, of course, but still impressing. The light must have alerted the maids of her presence, as they all came out of the adjoining bathroom. They curtsied respectfully and Brittney nodded in recognition.

"Your maids will take it from here. Have a nice night, Miss," The guard said. With that he turned and left.

"What a charmer." Brittney smiled at the older maid's sarcastic notion.

"You're telling me! I tried to talk to him and he acted like I was telling him to kill someone. He said that he had to follow his king's orders or something of the sort." She gave an exasperated look. "I've barely been here twenty minutes and already questions are starting arise."

"I'm sure you can handle it, Maj- I mean, My Lady," the older maid spoke again. "You have a few weeks at the minimum."

"I know, Natasha," The younger girl sighed. "But… I don't know. I really don't."

Seeing her evident stress, one of the younger maids spoke up. "Would you like me to run you a bath, Lady?"

Brittney smiled in appreciation. "That would be lovely Luna, thank you. And after I'm out I do expect you to tell me all about your trip here. Was the jet I sent you in to your liking?"

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Brittney woke up to light streaming through the window. Blinking a few times, she sat up, the covers falling off her body. "Good morning, Miss," Natasha called.

"Good morning girls," Brittney said, stifling a yawn. She stretched a bit, noticing a tightness in her back. Natasha must have seen her discomfort, as she came over and massaged her back, immediately loosening up the knots. "Better?" she asked.

"Much, thank you," Brittney replied. She wrapped herself in a robe and went to sit at her vanity, where her maids quickly got to work on styling her hair. While they worked, Brittney ate the breakfast that had been brought up to her room, savoring it. She hadn't eaten since lunch the day before, and she was starving. Unfortunately, she had to shove half of it down her throat when her maids started on her make up. They didn't even try to cover their laughter. Brittney couldn't help but join them, but then ended up choking.

After about hour and a half she was ready and she couldn't help but smile as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her dress was a dark, forest green, ending just above her ankles. Black lace covered most of the bodice and sneaked onto the front and side of the tulle skirt. Black lace also made up the off-shoulder sleeves. Her shoes were high-heeled, black gem, and open toed, giving her an extra three inches of height. Her make-up consisted of pink and light brown eye shadow and light pink lip-gloss with a little touch of bronzer. Her hair was done up in two French braids on the sides of her head, then meeting at the back of her head where her hair fell down in cascading curls. She looked like a young girl, innocent and lovely and so unlike herself.

"This is amazing girls. I barely recognize myself!" As they smiled at her praise, a knock sounded at the door. Natasha went to open in.

"Lady Brittney." Thankfully, a different guard than the one who had come to get her last night greeted her. She nodded, and discreetly tried to read his nametag. "Officer White." He smiled at that. "I'm here to take you to see the King and the Prince. You will join the Queen and the Selected in the Women's Room afterwards." Brittney looked back at her maids and waved before they closed the door. Swallowing her nerves, she joked, "A Women's Room? I like the sound of that!"

Officer White chuckled as he led her down the hall, coming to a halt in front of a set of ornate doors. "Is this-?" Brittney's question was cut off by the door swinging open and hitting her in the face. "Ow!" she cried, cradling her forehead.

"Oh my God, are you alright?" A voice came from next to her.

"Yes," she said. "I'm fine." She stood upright, wincing and still seeing stars.

"Maria! Can you get an ice pack for the lady?" the voice called.

"No, really I-" Brittney looked up and saw a man that looked about nineteen with honey blond hair and warm brown eyes. She recognized him immediately. "Your Highness," she made to go and curtsy, but he held her upright. "I don't believe you need to curtsy to the man who knocked you in the face with a door. Come, take a seat."

He led her into the room, which she saw was an office. As she took a seat on the chair near a desk, she saw the king make his way into the room. She got up to curtsy, but once again Maxon held her down. "Sit," he commanded. Just then the maid Maria came in with an ice pack and Brittney graciously took it. "What is going on here?" the king demanded.

"This young lady was outside the door when I opened it and hit her in the head," the prince said, his voice wavering slightly. The king massaged his temple. "Who are you, young lady?"

"Brittney Ambers, Your Majesty. I'm the assistant that the European Union sent in to help with the Selected girls." Maxon's eyes widened and the king looked downright appalled. "I apologize, your grace, for my son's clumsiness."

Brittney laughed a bit. "It's alright, Your Majesty. I've been hit harder." The king sent her a tight smile before delving into a conversation about Europe and scheduling a meeting with its king and queen. She couldn't help but smile at that because what a surprise it would be when he found out the truth.

A time later, Officer White reappeared to take Brittney to the Women's Room. This time she was able to strike up a friendly conversation, and she also took the time to look around at the palace. It was, as she'd suspected the night before, beautiful and opulent.

When they reached the Women's Room Brittney nodded a thanks to the guard and made to open the door, hearing the approaching voices too late. She couldn't even turn away before the door opened and collided with her face. "Ah!" she cried out, holding her nose and feeling the blood coating her hand. Officer White immediately came to her side with a handkerchief, and she took it, horrified when it was drenched the next minute. A few more were taken out and she held them, pinching her nose and willing the bleeding to stop.

"Oh my God. Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" a panicked voice came from above her

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," Brittney waved off the stranger's apologies.

"Do you need to go to the infirmary?" Officer White asked.

"Uh, no… I'm pretty sure I can handle a bleeding nose." She straightened up and tried to look as dignified as she could while holding tissues to her nose and sounding congested. Her accent really didn't help matters, either.

"What happened here?" came another voice from inside the room. The girl in front of her blanched and turned around slowly, fear filling her words.

"I-I'm sorry Your Majesty! I went to open the door and I hit her in the face. I-" Brittney interrupted the girl's rambling. "Your Majesty, it was an accident, really." Taking the tissues off, she regally wiped her nose, making sure there was no blood before curtsying to the queen. The queen regarded her for a while before realization set over her features and she gave a welcoming smile. "You must be the new coach for the girls. I am very sorry that your first day started like this. Please, come in and take a seat."

Brittney graciously accepted her offer and made her way to a love seat right next to the door. She observed the room, filled with seats and mirrors and distinctly feminine décor. There were 35 chairs in the middle of the room now, though only 27 or so of them were filled. She smiled at the girls, seeing as they were all staring at her uncertainly. She looked over at the queen to see if she was going to introduce her, but the monarch only looked at her expectantly. She turned back to her soon-to-be students.

"Well,um, hello. My name is Brittney and I will be coaching you and giving you your lessons along with Sylvia. I'm, um, sure you've all already met her. She will teach you all the general knowledge you need but I will cater to each of you specifically and give each of you tips as to how to go about doing certain things and accomplishing certain tasks. I will be here until the end of the Selection process but once the One is chosen I will take my leave. I do believe that lessons start in a week-" she cut off to look at the queen and when she saw her smile and nod, she turned back to the girls. "So I will be seeing you all very soon."

Some of the girls looked at her weirdly, others with respect. She turned to look at the queen who had a now blank expression on her face. She gave a trained smile, picking up on the newfound tension in the room.

Well,she thought to herself. This should be fun.

Edited on March 27, 2016