A/N: Wow! I am absolutely blown away at the love and support this story is getting just from the prologue! A big Thank You to those who have reviewed and/or submitted girls to the Selection so far - it's been a pleasure getting to know them. There are still spots open for anyone who'd like to submit (you can submit up to two)! I hope that this chapter lives up to the last one! :)

Chapter 1

Kaden really needed to get out more. He hadn't seen real sunlight in at least a week, and he didn't think that he had even seen the inside of his room or his bed in at least three days. He holed himself up in his father's office - his office, he reminded himself - and signed paper after paper, filed report after report until his fingers ached. It was exhausting.

Well enough was enough.

He was taking some time off no matter how much his advisors yelled at him not to. There was only so much politics someone could take before they went crazy.

Maybe he would go and spend time with Osten. He really hadn't had as much time as he would've liked to spend with his brother these past few weeks, and he felt horribly leaving him alone in all of this. Osten was young and lively; he was bouncing back at much faster a rate than Kaden was from what he'd heard. For the first few days, Kaden had thought that his brother would never stop crying. He refused to eat or speak. Kaden was worried that all his brother was capable of was sitting and staring off into the distance. But more recently, Kaden had been hearing rumors that Osten's pranks had resurfaced - not nearly as elaborate and frequent as before - but the young prince had left a fake spider or two to scare the maids. To hear that Osten was going back to his old self warmed Kaden's heart. It made him think that things had the chance to get better after all.

However, as he was wandering down the corridors, he ran into someone else entirely.

"Josie," Kaden called as he passed her.

Immediately, the young woman turned to face Kaden. She was only a year older than he was, but she looked so much older than he had ever seen her. She hadn't even bothered with her hair or make up, not only accentuating the dark circles under her eyes, but giving off the impression that she didn't plan on being spotted on her little walk to wherever she was going. But she was also dressed up in semi-formal attire, so clearly she wasn't just roaming around for no reason.

"Your Majesty," she curtsied deeply, avoiding eye contact. Even so, as he neared her he could tell that she had been crying.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. It wasn't like Josie to be so quiet, though she really hadn't been the same ever since the incident. It was like the bubbly, obnoxious girl had vanished and been replaced with someone stoic and overly formal.

"Just fine, Your Majesty."

"I've known you since birth Josie. You can call me Kaden."

Josie nodded, still not looking at him fully in the eyes, like the carpet had far more interesting things to see instead. He could see her expression floundering, like she wasn't sure why they were talking or where the conversation was going. Kaden wasn't quite sure about that either. He wasn't even sure why he stopped Josie in the first place. He supposed that, being the only two teenagers other than Osten left in this giant empty palace was enough to warrant at least a hello. Besides, he cared about Josie. She was like family, and he didn't want her leaving him either.

"I've heard you are having a Selection," Josie finally spoke up, and Kaden wasn't thrilled at her choice in topic.

"Unfortunately that rumor is true," he grumbled, still coming to grips with the fact that he was no longer in control of that aspect of his life.

"Well, congratulations. I'm sure you'll find the perfect girl," Josie smiled at him wearily, and Kaden knew she was thinking of the last Selection when she said it.

"I don't know. I just don't think I'm up for this. I've only just become king. What if I ruin everything?"

"Since when have you ever ruined anything in your life?"

"You know what I mean Josie," Kaden sighed, so tired of having his doubts cast aside. "It's different now; Dad isn't here to hold my hand and play make believe as I rule over my imaginary kingdom of action figures. I'm the King of Illéa. Actual lives rest in my hands."

"And you'll rule them just as well as you did your dolls," Josie asserted, but her tone was slightly teasing, which lifted Kaden's mood.

"Action figures. There is a difference."

"Sure there is, Your Majesty."

Now she was definitely teasing, and some of the former ease that used to exist between them before the event happened returned. The banter felt nice. It felt normal.

"I've actually been thinking..." Kaden started, suddenly remembering something that he was thinking of earlier, "with mom and Eady gone, there aren't many female influences around the palace, besides your mother and Miss Lucy. If I am to have this Selection, whether I like it or not, these girls need someone they can talk to."

"And you want me to ask my mother and Miss Lucy if they are willing to help you?"

"No, I wanted to ask you, if you are willing to help me."

Her face shifted again, this time into a mask of guarded skepticism.

"Me?" Josie questioned, placing a hand on her chest for emphasis.

"Don't get me wrong, your mother and Miss Lucy are saints, and I'm sure they will be valuable players in the Selection. But you're only a year older than me, someone these girls would really relate to. You could befriend them, make them feel welcome in the palace," The more Kaden talked, the better the idea sounded. "And, between you and me, keep me updated on the goings on, who's saying what, etc..."

"That sounds an awful lot like spying Your Majesty."

"Please Josie?" Kaden almost whined. He had never had to beg for anything in his life, and the whole situation felt embarrassing. "This would really mean a lot to me. I don't have the luxury of ignorance or innocence. I can't be around these girls all the time and I can't afford to trust them just on face value. I'd really appreciate it if you'd do some digging. You used to love doing that."

"I don't know..." she fidgeted, though Kaden could tell he was wearing her down, a bit of her old mischievous nature coming back. "Isn't this what your council is for? I thought you set up a whole board to run this Selection?"

Kaden frowned a bit at that. That was another one of Lady Brice's ideas: a whole board of council members solely focused on making the Selection as secure as it could be. Usually it was the king's job to file through the applicants for the Selection, but the council seemed to agree that in this case, that just couldn't work. Thus the board was created to act as the de facto "parents" in the process. Everything in the actual selecting process would be run through them, with Kaden getting to pick out a few names in the approved crowd at the end of it all. It was supposed to make his life a bit easier so he could focus on the country, and more importantly the anarchists, but that didn't stop Lady Brice from running into his office every few hours with another question or candidate she wanted to run by him.

"I suppose, but they're not interested in what happens after the Selecting. I need someone after this madness has begun, and you're one of the only people I can rely on right now to do this. Please say you will," Kaden pressed. He would get down on his knees if it meant Josie doing this for him.

"I never thought you would be one to say that," she said, a slight bit shocked, but the small smile on her face told Kaden he had won. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Great," Kaden sighed, now more at ease. "Thank you. You have no idea how much you're helping me."

"I think I do," she smiled kindly, sadly. "You aren't the only one who has to deal with a lot right now."

Kaden nodded, very much aware of how much the Woodwork family was affected by the events of the bombing. Not only had Illéa lost its future queen, but its future prince consort as well, and the Woodwork family had lost a brother and son.

"I know. How is your mother, by the way?"

"She gets by. Some days are better than others, and dad and I help her through," she swallowed, growing a little distant as she kept talking. "Kile was her little boy, you know? I know she loves me more than anything, but Kile was different. She was always trying to keep him close, stop him from growing up and leaving. And now he's gone."

"I'll have to stop by your floor and check in on them. I feel like an ass for not doing it sooner," Kaden lamented, self-loathing and anger replacing any of the former happiness their exchange had managed to build.

"No, no, it's fine," Josie assured quickly. "We all understand the stress you've been under recently. We know you need your space."

Kaden calmed and tried to breathe slowly. He wanted to fix everything and everyone. It made him so angry, so upset that he couldn't do that for the people he loved. He could barely even do that for his people at the moment, and he just felt like he was in way over his head. He felt like a failure. And it was nice to have someone that he cared about recognize his struggles for once.

"Thank you. For everything Josie. I couldn't imagine having a better friend."

"Well, we'll see what you say a few weeks from now when you're swarmed with dozens of beautiful women all fawning over your every move."

Josie swayed, her flirtatious, obnoxious self showing its head once more. That was more of a her thing to say, and it made Kaden smile more than it ever would have in years past.

She made a tiny nod of her head and went to pass him, but Kaden was confused. Where was she going? They were only just starting to talk. It was nice.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Oh, um, I was just going to go visit Kile," she forced a smile out, and Kaden had to avert his gaze. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Yeah."

Kaden extended his arm to Josie and she took it. They walked down the stairs and out to the secluded gardens where their loved ones were laid to rest. Josie chose to sit on the bench across from Kile and Eadlyn's shared elaborate marble headstone, while Kaden went ahead and approached the spot where his parents were.

This was always hard on him. When he was out here, he was forced to acknowledge what had happened in full force. It was like a giant reminder, a giant slap in the face that sucked the life right out of him. But he had to make himself do it. It was the only way he could get better and move on.

"Hey mom, dad...Eady. A lot has changed since I saw you last. I uh...I'm going to have a Selection. It wasn't my idea but, it had to be done. And...and it'll be fine I guess...had to happen at some point...but uh..." his voice cracked and he was fighting back tears. It was getting harder and harder to hold them in the more he stood there, and he could feel the repressed emotion bubbling up from weeks worth of neglect. He buried his face into his hands and scrubbed at his eyes, hoping to push the tears back but they only came out faster. He was drowning in a tidal wave of confusion and sadness and fear, and he sunk down to his knees as he finally let himself go.

"I'm really scared," he whispered, his voice rough with grief. "I-I don't know what to do. And I could really use your help right now. And I just really wish you were here..."

But of course he got no response. His parents were gone and he was left kneeling in the dirt, crying out requests that would never be answered.