PRELUDE
"They're making me do it."
"Even after what he promised you?"
"It wasn't in his will, Madeline; there's nothing official about a dying man's last wish to his son."
Madeline sighed. "And to think I had an inkling of faith in those bas––"
"Hey, hey." The prince put a hand on her arm. "Don't bother getting worked up about it. We both knew they would force me into a Selection eventually."
Madeline knew it, but that didn't mean she had to accept it. A Selection with any other conditions would be fine with her, but William's Selection included the agreement of Christine's return to the palace; her dreadful half-sister.
William seemed to understand why she was displeased, and moved from the seat across from her to be next to her, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Christine isn't that bad, Lyn; just give her a chance."
"A chance?" Madeline scoffed. "She lost that long ago, when she got knocked up by that photographer." She shuddered, disgust controlling her facial expressions.
"They were engaged," William reminded her gently, "and he was an asshole that ran away."
"She doesn't deserve any sort of title," Madeline continued, "her mother didn't even get to her coronation before she died, and her own child is practically a bastard. I don't understand why they haven't gone ahead and taken her title."
"Father said––"
"He's the one who agreed for it to be revoked in the first place," she snapped. "The only reason I wish she'd married that man is because she'd be out of our hair and the ranks of nobility."
Silence ascended the car after Madeline's outburst. William didn't say a word until they reached their destination, and even then he simply whispered, "don't say anything to her until we're in private."
The car rolled to a stop and their doors were flung open, the sounds of a mourning crowd welcoming Madeline as she stepped out, her black gloved hand in the driver's. The crowd was mostly commoners and press, with a few smatterings of lesser nobles standing at the fronts. Their mother stood with the councilmen and extended family, a vision of elegance draped in black. Though her face couldn't be seen through the chiffon of her veil, there was no doubt she was an absolute wreck––Madeline most certainly was.
However, much to her displeasure, Christine stood beside the queen with her daughter on her hip. Little Angelina wasn't as much of a nuisance as her mother, but her constant presence drew Madeline to a wit's end. Thankfully, she was old enough to speak in semi-correct sentences and know when to not speak, something her mother sorely lacked. Face drawn up, Madeline approached her mother, quickly hugging her and standing to her side. Naturally, Christine was on the other.
With their brother at the front, the burial process began. Madeline didn't listen to the droning words of the priest but instead observed the people around her. The married woman had veils covering their faces––some strange tradition––while the children and others only donned black clothing. The children were unamused, most likely not understanding what was happening, while mostly everyone else was stoic in their stance, keeping their faces closed off and body tense. William simply looked solemn and Christine kept her emotions closed off. Angelina barely made a sound. Soon, the priest gestured for them to step forward, giving them clumps of dirt to cover the body with.
Christine was not invited forward.
Madeline took small satisfaction in sprinkling the dirt over her father's casket while Christine could only look on. She didn't even have a veil to cover her tear streaked face, considering she had never married. All she could do was stand and watch the last piece of her father be covered away, buried into the ground to be forgotten about. Even worse, there wasn't a thing she could do to be part of the process. It was equal parts pity and vengeance for Madeline. Perhaps she would understand that she was no longer welcome––never had been, actually, but she couldn't say that while her father was still breathing.
So, while Madeline and her brother stood hand in hand thinking of their happiest memories with their father, Christine stood to the side, body shaking with quiet sobs.
ONE MONTH LATER
It had been a month since his father's funeral, and the palace was still a dump. Relations were also tense, with Christine and Angelina in the palace. This, on top of the Queen's constant absence, led for rather dull days constrained within golden walls. Madeline refused to even look at Christine, so she she remained in her room most days, and Christine felt too uncomfortable to leave her quarters. Meal times were lonely, with the Queen busy, Madeline stubborn, and Christine feeling unwelcome. After a week of the nonsense, he took meals in his room. After a few more weeks, William had had enough.
"You are going downstairs," William said as he burst into Madeline's room, "and you are going to eat with me!"
Madeline was not impressed.
"If that witch is going to be there, I'd rather stay up here."
"She's not down there and hasn't been in weeks! You scared her off Madeline, and there's no way she's coming out soon; so please, I beg you, just sit next to me for a single meal to prevent my loss of sanity."
Madeline sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. But only because I don't ever want to be Queen in your place."
William honestly didn't care if she condemned him to the depths of hell––as long as she was getting up and following him downstairs, he was happy. Even better, they didn't run into a single person on their way from the third floor to the Grand Room, and no one was waiting inside to surprise them, besides the mandatory guard in each corner and by the doors. Madeline, rather stiffly, sat down in a chair and crossed her legs eloquently, raising an eyebrow at William when he didn't sit right away. It was as if she had been the one to invite him to dinner, not the other way around. Nonetheless, he sat down as the kitchen staff brought out the dishes.
"It's strange to think in a week this room will be overfilling with conversations," Madeline mused between bites. "It'll be a nice few months."
"Until everyone goes back into solitude and it'll just be me and my wife?"
"I give you a year before you have, like, eight kids."
A few moments passed before William spoke again. "Madeline, that's not how it wor––"
"Your Highness." A councilman burst through the doors, files in hand, "I have urgent news."
"What is it?" William asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin and getting up to step towards the man.
"It's––uh––it's important."
"You really didn't think this one through, Max," William sighed.
"Not really, Your Highness," Max sighed. "Despi wanted to come to the palace, and I really couldn't think of an excuse to tell her no."
"Despi's here?" Madeline's eyes lit up at the mention of his younger sister. She was a sweetheart everyone in the palace adored. "Where is she?"
"In the gardens, I believe; she's most likely with Faye." Max nodded towards the doors leading outside, "I'd hurry, before they move to another point inside the palace."
Madeline didn't need to be told twice and quickly left the room to find the Pentwist sisters. William almost went himself, but stayed back, for the sake of priorities. "Is there anything of value inside of those files?" He nodded towards the papers Max held.
"Taxes, mostly. And something about your Selection. Didn't bother to read it, though."
Will sighed and took the files anyways. Might as well get to work.
Madeline loved children more than she could say. Ever since she was a young teenager, she'd always been the first to volunteer for taking care of the kids of their diplomatic visitors. When it came to Christine's three-year-old, Angelina, she had mixed reactions. While the girl was adorable and lovely, she was also the spawn of a witch more evil than words could say. In the end, Madeline would never be mean or rude to her, but her mother could rot at the bottom of the ocean for all she cared.
"Faye," Madeline called as she stepped outside. The golden haired girl turned at the sound of the princess' voice, her smile lighting up the gardens.
"Madeline!" Faye jogged towards her and gave her a brief hug. "Did Max tell you?"
"Doesn't he always?" Madeline laughed. "In all the years he's been here, never once has he succeeded in bringing you two to the palace in secret. He always stumbles over himself and admits to the real reason for his visit within a sentence."
"Well... you're not wrong––"
"Madeline!" Something crashed into her chest, causing her to let out a small oof.
"Despi?" She pulled back, and the twelve-year-old smiled back at her. "God, you're tall."
"Barely," Despi argued. "I'm like, Faye's height. Short."
"Hey." Faye nudged her sister in the shoulder. "I'm not that short. Everyone else is just really tall."
Despi rolled her eyes and turned back to Madeline. "Are you excited for Will's Selection?"
Straight into it, then.
"Yes, I'm excited; I get to meet a bunch of lovely ladies and my brother is finally getting married––what's not to be excited about?"
Despi regarded her for a few moments. "That sounded really rehearsed."
Faye nodded in agreement. "Sorry, Madeline, but that's true. Might as well add something about 'lasting friendships' to complete the whole package."
Madeline gaped at them. "That was so not fake! I really mean it––I'm excited."
"Then don't use the script the council gave you to show it," Faye retorted.
Madeline, about to respond, was interrupted by a small voice yelling "Maddie, Maddie, Maddie!" and something colliding with her legs. Looking down, she saw the top of Angelina's pale blonde head. Her niece clung to her legs with such might she was almost sure she was going to loose circulation.
"Angie," Madeline said, a wary smile on her face. She picked up the little girl and put her on her hip. "Where's your mommy?"
"She's inside. Said it's too cold for her."
What she meant was that Madeline's icy wraith was not something she wanted to bear. Good riddance, she thought; Christine's general presence wasn't something she wanted to bear, either.
"You can stay with me, Faye, and Despi, yeah? We'll have lots of fun." Madeline smiled, more genuine now. Despite her attitude towards Chrstine, she doted on little Angelina. The girl had done nothing wrong to her or her family, and she was sweet and charming enough to have the entire court under her little finger. Madeline had no doubt that when Angie was older she would have boys and girls following her every move. Angelina, happy with Madeline's proclamation, slid down to the ground and got Faye and Despi to run after her with smiles on both their faces. The sisters didn't come by the palace often––at least not together––but whenever they did they'd light up the room.
"I haven't seen Faye smile like that in ages."
Madeline nearly jumped out of her skin, whipping around the the source of the voice with a hand on her chest. Unsuprisingly, it was Max, hands stuffed in his pockets to protect himself from the winter chill. "What I mean, Your Highness, is that I don't think she's had a lot to smile about, lately."
"She always seems happy in the palace," Madeline said quietly, not quite facing him. He hummed in response. Taking it as a positive, she moved a step forward. "She should enter the Selection."
Max didn't respond. Neither through words or physical movement, and his face stayed how it was before: relaxed. She would think he hadn't heard her, except the air around them was thinly quiet. A paper clip could fall into the grass and they'd all hear it. Wishing she could take back what she said, she turned back towards the girls running around. After a few moments of constant sprinting, Angelina came back to Madeline and plopped herself at her feet, declaring that she was tired. Madeline leaned down and picked her up, balancing the sleepy child on her waist while the little girl's head rested on her shoulder. She turned back to the palace, and heard a quiet whisper as she walked by Max.
"She already has."
shout out to paige for letting me plot with her (aka tell her about all the death™) and for creating like 70 characters for me. and also to ruby for destroying m e. check out my profile for the form and check out my pinterest, agentanj. ALSO i'm gonna take like 20 characters because realistically not all 35 will be featured and i don't want people to feel bad if i cut them out so soon. ALSO PT. 2: for now, people can submit max. 3 characters.
stay classy,
anj
