The Report

America's POV

I was pacing back and forth in my room. My hands were rubbing against each other. They were hot and sweaty and I… I was nervous. Everything had been leading up to this moment. Every dance lesson, every etiquette lesson I had with Silvia, every rehearsal for the Report. All those hours spent walking up and down the hall with piles of books on my head; every day of my life had been preparing me for this. And yet I felt completely unprepared. Of course, I didn't know that all of it was for this. I didn't know until just over 3 months ago when my father summoned me to his office and I was met with the nervous faces of my parents, both unsure of how I would react to their news.

I wouldn't exactly say I handled the situation badly. I didn't yell or scream or throw a fit, so over all I'd say it went well. I've never really been one for the spotlight, despite the fact that I will one day have to be queen; I've always preferred to be simply there. I didn't have the confidence and charisma of my little sister May nor was I adorable like Gerard. I was America, the redheaded princess that was to be queen, and the one who no one knew and who was finally being thrust into the spot light for all to see. The public was always grasping at straws to get something about me in the paper; there was even something last year that my red hair was fake. It wasn't of course and people knew that, but it didn't stop people buzzing about it. I had been a little annoyed at that; I considered my hair my finest feature.

The uproar when we announced my Selection had been crazy. My face was everywhere. The picture of me standing up on the Report to acknowledge the people right after my father revealed the 'exciting' news was on the face of every magazine, newspaper and even a couple billboards. I was very thankful they had put me in blue that night it was my best color. Everyone was talking about me and the unrest in the Castes had cooled down. Even the number of rebel attacks on the palace had gone reduced; we'd only had one since (no one was injured, thank the gods).

But there was no escaping the stories that would soon be spread on every magazine cover, splashed across the newspaper's front pages. No, there would be no ignoring that I, Her Royal Highness, Princess America Singer was hosting a Selection. The first Selection for a princess in the history of the country. They would bring out every little thing about my relationships and broadcast it for the entire world to see.

35 boys were to come to the palace, my home and try to woo me into marrying one of them. It was the competition of the lifetime, not just for them but for me as well. This was my one shot at happiness. This was my shot at not having an arranged marriage with a foreign royal in order to make allies. My parents had given me a chance that no other princess had ever received. I couldn't mess up. I couldn't let down my country or my people or my parents. I always dreamed of true love, but I always thought it was out of my reach, until now. Maybe I could find happiness and a suitable ruler for Illea.

Maybe.

"Your Highness, we really must start to get you ready." Came the voice of Anne my head maid. I could tell from her tone that she was in charge right now but that didn't stop me from walking back and forth and continuing to wear a hole through the floor.

"Miss, I think you are going to burn through the carpet." Ellie giggled. I heard Anne whisper shout at Ellie to watch her tongue.

Maybe.

It was all just a maybe thought wasn't it? Because what if I failed? What if actually opening up to my people ended with them hating me? What if none of the boys who came liked me? Or worse, what if they only liked my crown?

I huffed and came to a stop.

"Look, I don't know if I can do this. I mean I feel like the fate of the country is in my hands. It is in my hands and my heart is racing a thousand miles a minute. My parents are counting on me; my people are counting on me. And I, I just don't know…" I trailed off not knowing what to say or how to finish my sentence. I brought my pointer and middle finger to my temples and massaged them; I had given myself a head ache with all this agonizing. I knew I was lucky for this, I was glad I wasn't going to be a victim of an arranged marriage. The night after my parents told me about my selection, I repeated that to myself over and over. The truth of it was though; I didn't really want a selection.

"Oh! Miss, don't worry! I just know you'll do great. You've never let any of us down before. It'll be hard, but exciting too. So many young men in the palace, all for you! I know how you feel with the pressure though. See when I was only a little girl my mother-"

"Mary! Please, Her Highness doesn't want to hear about your childhood traumas." Anne protested her face pinched in clear annoyance. Mary was waiting for to yell at her some more when she turned to me. Her eyebrows were raised.

"As for you Princess, Mary is right with what she said. You have no need to worry. We all have full faith in you. But, we have just over about two hours before the Report and you haven't even had a bath yet… so quickly." She started to shoo me into the bathroom. Ellie and Mary had already run the bath, but I had been avoiding getting into it for about an hour so, except now it was barely warm and almost all of the bubbles were gone. The sent of the lavender bath oils of still hung in the air though and I took in a deep, calming breath like usually did when I was stressed. I sighed and slipped off my robe and into the water. I tried to relax as I washed my hair. My muscles ached and my head was pounding. My maids running in and out gathering makeup and debating on what perfume I was going to wear.

In all honesty I didn't care what perfume I wore. The only thing I wanted was to get the pounding in my head to go away and since I couldn't avoid it, this evening over with. I had practiced my replies to Gavril for the live show about a hundred times so technically I should be good to go with that, but you never know.

It took about 50 minutes, but eventually I was out of the bath my hair dried and in the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. It was a periwinkle blue taffeta that had hits of gold when the light shown down on it. There was a lace neckline and three quarter length sleeves that match the color of the fabric that pooled around my ankles. I wore my songbird necklace that my father had given me one year as a birthday present and my small diamond earrings that had belonged to my grandmother before she entered the Selection and obviously won. I knew that I was actually lucky to be hosting my own Selection. I knew my dad wanted to give me the chance at love and I knew he would be there to help through this entire process, but that still didn't stop my nerves from trembling.

Anne, Ellie and Mary had me down at my dressing table and braided my hair up in a crown, loose waves framing my face and threaded delicate gold wire flowers through it instead of giving me my tiara. God knows I couldn't stand to ware that thing. They tried to jump in on the makeup before I could say anything, but I stopped them (much to Anne's dismay) and insisted that my makeup was kept light and as natural as possible. Anne shook her head in silent disapproval, but when I allowed her to choose my perfume she perked up a bit. I was surprised when she picked a soft perfume that smelt like my favorite flower, Lilly of the Valley. I thought Anne would go for something extravagant, but she chose something I liked. She was a softie on the inside really and when I thanked her she pretended to bristle slightly and wave me away, but I saw the slight blush on her cheeks.

I was standing in front of the floor length mirror on the front of my wardrobe, admiring my maids' work when a soft voiced sounded from the side of the room.

"You look beautiful America," I turned and saw my mother standing in the doorway of my room. My maids dropped into their own curtsies, bowing their heads in her direction and mumbling their greeting. The Queen didn't even glance their way. She had a faint smile on her face as she took in my dress and overall appearance. I couldn't stop the little bubble of warmth that bloomed in my chest at her words. It wasn't everyday that my mother complimented me. I smiled brightly at her about to express my thanks, when she turned to Anne in the corner and said, "All thanks to your wonderful maids of course, they never fail you." She said gesturing to Anne, Mary and Ellie. My smile dulled and the warmth I felt cooled. I knew she hadn't meant it to be cruel as she insinuated she didn't think I was beautiful on my own, but that was the thing about my mother, she hardly ever even used that title. She had apparently decided long ago that she could either go buy Mother or Queen, only one at a time and she chose Queen. My three maids blushed at the compliment, but Anne shook her head politely.

"You are too kind Your Majesty, but the Princess is full of natural beauty." My mother let out a royal breathy laugh, one I had heard many times at social gatherings as she pretended to be amused by a politician's attempt at a joke and nodded her head.

"Of course she is." She looked at me, suddenly beaming. It appeared she was far more excited about the announcement than I was, but I knew she was here to check and make sure that she approved of my appearance. Even though she had chosen the dress design herself, it had only been finished a couple hours ago so she hadn't seen in it in real life. I was glad she seemed pleased with the outcome, one could only imagine what would happen if she hadn't been. "Well, I'll let you finish up. I only wanted to see how everything was going. You only have 15 minutes before we start so do not stall, darling. We are on a tight schedule as always." She put an elegant whisper to the word 'schedule' and smoothed out the front of her dress readying to leave. She looked at me one last time, or rather my dress one last time, before continuing down the hall.

Once she was gone, my shoulders slumped slightly, as they always did after an encounter with the Queen. She seemed to snap an invisible rod up my back with her presences and when she left she took it with her, of which I was grateful.

"Don't pay any attention to her, Miss. You are beautiful all on your own." Ellie said with a firm nod and I gave her a small tired smile. I had thought my headache had faded during my bath, but it had grown again after my mother arrived.

"Thank you Ellie. Thank you Anne, you are all too kind, but my mother is right, this," I said gesturing to myself in the mirror. Their cheeks tinged pink slightly, but they didn't try to argue with me as I said; "This is all thanks to you. You are all dismissed. I just need a few moments alone."

"Of course, Your Highness." Mary said as they all cursed and left the room shutting the door behind them. I shook my head slightly amused as they left. No matter how many times I asked them to call me America, they never seemed to let it slip very much. Still I was glad I would have them during this time. I would need friends now more than ever and despite the impropriety of the notion, I did consider my maids friends too.

I started back at my reflection; I had always preferred my shadow. The shadow changed throughout the day always depending on where the light was coming from, it was you but at the same time it wasn't you. That and there was something romantic about a silhouette. One's reflection however was sharp and real, a harsh reality at times. I sighed and looked towards the clock on my bedside table and sighed. I knew I had better start heading down if I wanted to make it on time and with my mother's warning I knew she wouldn't be happy if I was late. I

With one last deep breath, I left my room.

Xxxxxxx

I let my eyelids drop closed for the millionth time in an attempt to calm my nerves again. My hands were knotted together in my lap, cold and clammy. My dress was making it hard for me to breathe properly; Anne must have tied the corset too tight. I knew she had tied it too tight, with my mother's request to ensure I had an 18-inch waste for this evening. I was sweating and shivering all at once, Goosebumps rising on my arms and sweat prickling at the back of my neck. Still once I heard the music start I forced my face into my usual, neutral expression and looked towards Gavril who introduced my father, the King who went through usual updates on the country and politics that no one less than a Three would understand. I didn't hear a word of it though as I forced my mind blank in order to relax enough to release my hands from the vice grip. The camera would be on me soon and I had to look happy, thrilled even at the reading of the candidates for my Selection.

When my father was done Gavril's voice brought me back to the present as he called my name.

"Your Highness," he called and I felt the entire country's eyes on me. I stood from my seat with my family and made my way towards Gavril. May caught my eye as I sat down and she gave me a reassuring smile. I knew she was excited about all this too, to see who the young suitors would be.

"Princess America, aren't you just looking ravishing this evening." He said and I smiled at him. The Princess smile I always hid behind, the small no teeth smile that was simply expressing gratitude and politeness.

"Why thank you, Gavril. You are looking quite fine yourself." I replied and he laughed, a few chuckles sounded around the room and I smiled a little brighter for the camera.

"Thank you, Your Highness. Now shall we get right to the point? I'm sure everyone it waiting with baited breath to see the lucky young men that get to come up to the palace and compete for your hand in marriage." Gavril's voice was clear and I even detected slight excitement of his own in his tone. Seems every one was thrilled about this, except me.

Compete for my hand in marriage. Not my heart, my hand. It means the same thing. My mind argued, but it wasn't, not really.

"Yes shall we? I'm hardly able to contain my anticipation, this suspense is grating on me, truly." I replied as I had practiced with Sylvia and Gavril smiled and patted my hand.

"Ah, yes of course this is the first time you are seeing these men as well." He said. It was true; I hadn't seen any of the boys before. It was all a big thing that the Selection was a lottery and that the contestants weren't picked like many thought. To be entirely honest I didn't even know myself. I wasn't there when the names were picked.

"Yes that is correct." I replied and he nodded. "Now please, put us all out of our misery, will you Gavril?" I pleaded and he chuckled.

"Yes, yes lets get started." He said and then he started to read off the names off the names of 35 men, one of which would become my husband, therefore Prince, thus one day King. It felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, in actual fact I at least had the weight of my country on my shoulders. I rolled my shoulders back and I took a deep breath as the first name was called.

"Jonas William Fletcher, Three" everyone clapped as the blonde haired boy with dark, blue-grey eyes appeared on the screen. He had a charming sincere smile on his face. He was handsome, no doubt about it. Even I, someone with no experience with the opposite gender what so ever, could tell that. It was a relief to see him actually; the normalness of his face and kindness on it was like a cool breeze. I was about to sigh when the next name was called.

"Callum Jackson Winter, Five" Green eyes flash onto the screen. Strawberry blonde hair gleamed from the flash of the camera from when the photo was taken. Again he seemed nice, his outfit was less polished than Jonas's because he was from a lower Caste, but it was clearly the best he had and I liked it. He continued to list off names and, faces continued to appear on the screen. Some faces weren't as friendly as the first two. There were smug, cocky expressions on a couple handsome faces that made my stomach flip and my heartbeat faster. What was I getting myself into here?

"Lucas Charles Burn, Four"

"Thomas Grant Cook, Four"

"Alfie Andrew Cash, Two"

"Ryan Philip Opal, Two"

"Harry John Smith, Five"

Wow, two Fives? That was unusual from what I knew. I took a quick peek at my mother to see her press her lips slightly tighter together. No one else would notice her distaste for the occurrence, but it was what I expected from her. My mother had been a Three when she entered the Selection and frowned upon anything lower.

"Nathan Michael Cavanagh, Three"

"Liam Gordon Mukajee, Four"

"Flynn Liam Daily, Three" I allow myself to imagine faces in the pictures morphing into shock as these boys realized that that's their name being called, and their face on national television. I can't help but smile slightly at the thought. As more names were recited I paid as much attention as I could, trying to remember each name and caste. Repeating it to myself after it flashed off the screen. It was impossible though, the names slipped away almost immediately as I tried to take in the one that followed it. They were all handsome and healthy, which really made them all blur together.

"Drew Marcus Carter, Three"

"Maxon Calix Shreave, Two" Blonde hair, warm brown eyes, a smile that would make any girl weak at the knees; I tried not to smile back at the image. Even though all these boys or should I refer to them as men? It didn't really matter I supposed. I still considered myself a girl, not a woman. Woman sounded so old, a Lady… maybe. Maxon's face disappeared and a thought struck me. Of course all these young men were extremely good looking, but none of them were below a Caste of Five and for some reason this bothered me. I didn't have anything against the lower Castes, unlike my mother. In fact I really desired to help them. I had asked to go visit Caste Five once when I was sixteen and was shot down at breakfast by my mother before anyone could utter a single word. I remember her pushing, asking me to retire to my room for the day after we finished eating till I was feeling better. As though the fact that I had asked such a thing meant that I was ill.

The memory made a little niggles of annoyance run through me and I began hoping for a lower caste to show up. Surely they had applied for such a chance, and Five to Eight took up the biggest percentage of our country's population, statistically speaking there had to be one lower than Five. When there were only five names left, I crossed my fingers, not even caring if a camera zoomed in on it. Who would even know what I was crossing my fingers about? Maybe I was just superstitious. The second to last name was called and I held my breath. This would be it; there was hardly any chance now…

"Chaol Ryder Wendlyn, Two" I let my breath out. That was it, there was only one name left. My annoyance grew slightly. Most dearly I wanted to look on my mother's face as an even lower Caste was called. Maybe it would make up for the dismay I felt earlier when she came to my room. I glanced toward her just as the last name was announced and I almost laughed out loud at the look on her face when

"Aspen James Leger, Six" was called out loud and clear in Gavril's voice. It seemed to linger for a moment and my mother's eyes wide from shock, dipped into thin slits as she lowered her eyelids slowly. Oh- oh oh yes, she was not happy, not happy at all. Finally I turned to look at the boy from six who had just made my evening. It was lucky I suppose that I had given up and just peaked over at my mother, I got to see her face exactly as she saw him. I must say my amusement at her vexed state took away from my own astonishment at hearing Six being announced.

When my eyes landed on the screen my breath caught in my throat, really truly it did. He was… handsome wasn't even the right word, the word wasn't enough for me. Handsome was what all the previous faces had been; extremely handsome would even be how I would describe some of the Selected, but this boy… Aspen… no handsome wasn't right. Handsome didn't leave me breathless like this did.

Glistening green eyes and black midnight hair cut unevenly and even thought it was clear he'd tried to brush it back, it still looked scruffy. He was different from any boy I had ever seen. A small smile tugged at the corner of his plush, pink lips as though he were almost fighting off amusement at something. His eyes only supported this, as they seemed to twinkle with mysterious entertainment. I was transfixed and blatantly staring, mouth slightly ajar. He was, he was…

I snapped myself out of my hypnosis just before the screen changed to the royal seal. I couldn't show favorites this early in the competition. Who was I kidding, the competition hasn't even begun yet and I was already ogling one of the contestants. No, I thankfully managed to save face and I turned my attention back to Gavril whose face was split in a wide grin.

"Princess America," he began slowly with his blinding smile. I blinked.

"Yes, Gavril?" I replied, my voice sounding slightly breathy to my own ears. I prayed I didn't sound desperate in anyway to the audience or anyone in the room. I placed one hand on top of the other and curled my fingers together.

"What do you think," he paused again, building suspense and I couldn't stand it. Not with my finger's tying themselves into a death grip. Gavril raised one of his perfect eyebrows "Of all these fine young men?" he asked and I gripped my hands together as I too lowered my eyelids slightly, it was indeed a habit I had inherited from the Queen.

"I think, Gavril," he nods as though trying to coax me to continue, but two can play at the suspense game, Gavril. "That I, that we all have just seen the future King of Illéa." And then we both grinned and applause wrung in my ears.

A/N- Hello all, I haven't updated this story in goodness knows how long. I've even had it on hold for a long while, but for some reason I decided to just play with this chapter and I ended up rewriting it. When I began writing this story I think I thought it was great and I had such wonderful readers as well, but my writing has improved so much since then I thought why not refresh this story and give a little more umff. So I did and this is what the first rewritten chapter ended up like. I'm pleased with it I think. It went from being 1,280 words to being 4,008. I really hope people like this new version of this story, I'm sorry to those who thought this may have been a completely new update, but maybe if I like editing these chapters and getting it going I'll start posting new chapters! Yay! The chapters with real titles and not just "Chapter 1" etc. are the ones that have been edited and are safe to read :)

To new readers, welcome! Anyway just thank you all for reading! I promise my A/Ns won't all be this long haha.

(Original A/N from two years ago below)

A/N- HEY EVERYONE, I HOPE YOU LIKE MY NEW STORY. I HAVE TALKED TO ACADEMICGIRL ABOUT HER STORY REVERSED (IT'S AMAZING IF YOU AREN'T ALREADY READING IT PLEASE CHECK IT!) AND SHE SAID THAT IT WAS OKAY FOR ME TO WRITE THIS STORY. SO I ENJOY!

Chapter was here.

A/N- TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! LIKE IT? LOVE IT? HATE IT? DO YOU LIKE AMERICA? THE MAIDS? THE QUEEN? OKAY SO PLEASE REVIEW AND I WILL UPDATE SOON!