Hey guys! So I know last chapter I said this one would be about Aria, but I decided to give you more info about the Prince and royal family in this chapter and do Aria in the next one. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, Demigod18, XOStarbrightXO, Morgenstar, and 4Love4Love4 and who submitted characters. I still need a bunch, so submit away and let me know what you think of this chapter.

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Prince Brandon walked down the hallway, deliberately avoiding everyone's gaze. Everyone in the palace wanted to talk to him now it seemed, all because of the Selection. People who he'd never met before came up and congratulated him, wishing him good luck in the weeks to come. Brandon had always been shy and more of an introvert, so the sudden onslaught of attention was quite overwhelming for him. He wanted to go to his room and hide from everything between the pages of a book, like he usually did.

Brandon made his way up to the third floor and down the hall to his room, expecting it to be empty. He nearly jumped when he opened the door and saw the blonde girl sitting on his couch, waiting for him.

"Oh my gosh, Serenity! Don't you knock?" he asked, still recovering from the shock of seeing her there. Despite being a part of his family for nearly five years, Brandon had never been particularly close to his sister-in-law. The two were quite a bit alike, both introverted and quiet, more comfortable with books than people. They hardly talked when other people started the conversations, so when you put the two of them together they were quite awkward. Before she married Matthew, Serenity was a Three. She was very studious and the complete opposite of Brandon's lively, outgoing brother. Her current mission was revamping all of Illéa's public schools to make them better quality and easier access for people, especially the lower castes.

Princess Serenity laughed, "I did knock, but you weren't here so, I let myself in." Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief as she smiled at him.

"Oh..." he trailed off awkwardly. Since the shock of her being there had worn off, he wasn't quite sure what to say to her.

She laughed again at him and patted the couch beside her, inviting him to join her. Brandon walked over and sat down, still not quite sure what she wanted from him.

Serenity saw the confusion on his face and decided to help him out.

"I know you're probably sick of talking about it, but I wanted to speak with you about your Selection."

Of all the things she could have said, that wasn't what Brandon was expecting, "It is a bit overwhelming, but you know I always have time for you."

She nodded and thought for a moment before speaking, "I know everyone has an opinion about it and they all want you to listen to them. I hate to be like everyone else, but I do bring an interesting perspective on the process and wanted to help you out."

"Really?" Brandon asked, "What kind of help?"

"Well," she started, "I won the last Selection, and other than your mom, I'm the only person who knows what it's like to be on the girls side of it. Matthew can help you with his experiences, but I'm probably the most qualified to help you understand what the girls are going through. I can understand them and help them adjust, because it will be quite the change for some of them."

"What do you mean?"

"You've lived your whole life as a One, Brandon. There's nothing wrong with that, but few people are like that. If you grew up as a Six or Seven and then had to just jump to living like a One, it's a big change. And then there's the girls who just want power and the title or the money. They don't care about you, they just want to be called princess."

"They really do that?"

Serenity nodded, "There was one girl in my Selection, she actually made it to the top three, and all she wanted was the crown. She didn't care about Matthew at all, she just wanted to be Queen. For a while I thought he was going to marry her, and it broke my heart," her eyes, which had just moments ago been full of happiness, brimmed with tears.

Brandon wasn't sure what he could do to comfort her over something that was years old, "Uh, Serenity? Are you okay?" He said when he couldn't think of anything better.

Her tears spilled over but she laughed as she wiped them away, "I'm fine, really."

"Are you sure?" Brandon was still worried, usually Serenity had a much better reign on her emotions, especially after living in the palace for five years.

She nodded, still wiping at her eyes and continued with her story, "I can't even begin to explain how it felt when Matthew picked me instead. It was the happiest moment of my life. I never thought I was fit to be a princess so when he picked me, I knew he believed in me and that I could do it, and just look at me now."

"You are quite the princess. I can't imagine Matthew married to anyone but you."

She smiled again, "Neither can I. I knew from the moment I was Selected that Matthew and I were meant to be. He was the one who needed the convincing," she laughed quietly at some memory of the two of them together then focused on Brandon again, "And that's what I want for you. You deserve to be happy, Brandon.

Once the Selection starts, everyone will be telling you what to think and what to do. Nobody wanted Matthew to pick me, they didn't think I could do it. But Matthew loved me and here we are now. You need to follow your heart, Brandon. Don't listen to anyone else. There may be a girl in your Selection that nobody likes and everyone thinks is worthless, but if you like her than you need to keep her. Since you won't be King you don't have to find a girl who can be Queen, you just need to find a girl who makes you happy. The Selection is so publicized and such a big deal that everyone wants to say that they helped pick out the future princess. You need to ignore them all and focus on what you want, for once, Brandon. I know you, and you hate to disappoint anyone, but this is a choice that will be with you for the rest of your life. Don't worry what other people think, just do what makes you happy. The Selection is supposed to be for you, don't let everyone else make it about them."

Brandon was silent for a moment. Without him having to say anything, Serenity had cut right to the heart of his fears and managed to put him at ease. He was always worried about letting people down. His family, his country, everyone. That was why he stayed out of the spotlight, if people didn't look at him, then he couldn't let them down.

For the first time, Brandon wasn't worried about his Selection. Maybe the process would actually be fun and not as daunting as he first thought.

Brandon looked at his sister-in-law and smiled. Serenity saw it and smiled back.

"Thanks, sis. I think that was exactly what I needed to hear."

"Good. I'm glad that made you feel better, now are you ready to go down to lunch? Because I'm starved."

Brandon laughed. It seemed like Serenity was always hungry these days, yet she still kept her slim, petite shape. Although lately it did seem like she was getting a bit bigger. She stood up from the couch and Brandon noticed a definite lump protruding from her small stomach that he was sure hadn't been there for very long.

He was a bit worried about bringing the subject up with her, because from growing up with two sisters he had learned that weight was usually a touchy subject for women. Serenity had just helped him out and he hoped she wouldn't mind if he asked her about it.

She was almost to the door when he cleared his throat, causing her to turn around and raise her eyebrows with a questioning look.

His face burned as he knew what he had to say, "Umm, Serenity..." he trailed off not certain if he really wanted to broach the subject.

She continued to look at him without saying a word.

"You, uh, you... maybe you should..."

"What, Brandon? Maybe I should what? Spit it out already, I'm hungry and want to get lunch," she didn't quite snap at him, Serenity never snapped at anyone, but it was pretty darn close.

His cheeks got even redder than he thought was possible and he pushed his words out in such a rush it was a miracle she could understand him at all, "Maybe you shouldn't eat so much I think you might be getting fat."

He held his breath as he waited for her to answer, praying that she wouldn't cry again. For a moment he thought she would and the apology was on the tip of his tongue, but instead she burst into laughter. And then she cried, but they were tears of laughter because she was giggling so hard she was doubled over for nearly a minute. When she finally got control of herself she turned to look at Brandon and saw that he was still flushed with embarrassment.

She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand but kept smiling, "Is it really that noticeable?" she wondered.

Brandon was so confused he just mutely nodded, then he decided he should probably add something so he said, "I mean, it's not that bad, I just thought you might want to know in case you wanted to change it or embrace it or whatever you want to do, you still look good. I mean..." he knew he was rambling so he just stopped talking.

She chuckled quietly again and said, "Brandon. I'm not getting fat, at least not yet."

He raised his grey eyes to look at her, "You're not?"

She shook her head and then gave him the biggest smile of all, "Nope. I'm pregnant."

Brandon was shocked for just a moment before he flew across the room and embraced her in a giant hug, "You are?!"

She nodded, the giant smile still on her face, and everything suddenly made sense to him. Her recent unpredictable mood swings, her crazy appetite, how a few weeks ago she'd been sick and tired all the time, and now the small bump growing out of her abdomen. Nothing was wrong with her, she was just pregnant.

"How long?" he asked, staring at her small stomach with newfound wonder.

"I'm about thirteen weeks along," she told him, "I've just finished my first trimester."

He turned to look up at her face, "And when exactly were you planning on telling everyone?"

She looked a bit guilty, "We've been trying to keep it a secret. We didn't want the media finding out so we decided not to say anything. I wanted to tell you Brandon, I really did, but there were a few reasons why we decided to wait," she paused and when he didn't interrupt she continued, "We didn't want to take attention away from your Selection. Everyone was supposed to pay attention to you, and announcing our baby would take all of the spotlight. There's always huge parties when royal babies are announced, and we didn't want to steal the thunder from your Selection."

He could tell there was more she wanted to say, "And..." he prompted.

"And we know it will make your Selection a lot more dangerous."

"Why?"

"Because now that we're adding a new member to our family it will spur the rebels on even more. There'll be one more person between them and the crown, so Matthew and I think they'll try and get rid of me before I have the baby, which means they'll be attacking during your Selection. All of the girls will be in danger once people know about it, so we've been trying to keep it under wraps until the Selection is going well and I'm too big to hide it anymore."

Brandon took in the information with a nod of his head, not saying anything.

"I'm also worried," she confided, "because I know Matthew will do anything to protect me. He'd take a bullet if it meant that I'd survive, and once the news of this pregnancy is out, that could be a very real possibility. I can't have that. I can't stand the thought of him dying for me. I'm the replaceable one. He's the one the country needs, if he dies than it means Ryan has to be King, and I don't think Illéa is quite ready for that."

Brandon chuckled with her at the thought of his irresponsible brother running the country.

Serenity sighed and laid a hand lovingly on her bump, "I guess since you know it's probably time to tell everyone else," she mused.

"Probably, but you know you'll never get a moment's peace once you do. Brook will be so excited she'll never leave you alone."

"I know, but I'd have to tell her eventually, and now's as good a time as any."

"Alright, then I guess we'd better go to lunch. You have to feed the future ruler of Illéa after all."

"That I do, and the future monarch is quite hungry so I think we should leave now," she smiled but then added, "Sorry again about all this happening at the same time as your Selection."

Brandon shrugged, "It's fine. This is more important news anyway, I still can't believe your pregnant."

"Me either, but it's so wonderful."

Brandon had to agree. In a few months he would be an uncle and fourth in line for the crown instead of third.

"We should get going though. We're already late and even I'm starting to get hungry, and I don't have your excuse," he offered her his arm and she took it with a smile.

They left his room without looking back and made their way to the dining room, which they knew would soon be filled with shouts and tears and laughter as Serenity and Matthew shared the news that wouldn't only change their lives, but the whole county's as well.

...

So, there's a royal baby on the way. I don't know about you guys, but I'm really excited for it! Don't forget to leave me a review, good, bad or otherwise. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I also need lots more characters so don't forget to submit. Hope you guys liked this chapter and please tell me what you think, I LOVE hearing from you guys.

Until next time,

~Jen