3

Airplanes

When Katherine Rhodes stepped out of the airplane, she was the last passenger. The flight attendants were certainly not happy about the delay, but the captain of the AirIlléa flight was still preoccupied with talking to the blonde.

He was a former air force pilot, and just as passionate for flying as Katherine was. It took a while for both to finish the conversation they were having (which the official from the palace had tried to break up twice already), but eventually, Katherine made her way through to the gate.

Kath: Safely arrived in Angeles.
Eliza: Fancy. Send photos. x3

She briefly turned around, took a quick photo of the airplane behind her, and sent it to her friends. Given the time, she presumed that her other friends were working; she wasn't going to question why Eliza wasn't working.

Eliza: Ready for the big day?

Participating in the Selection had been something that surprised her family. Yes, it had been a decision made a bit under the influence of alcohol, but she hadn't expected to be drawn. When the call with the news that she had been selected arrived, she had been offered the chance to decline too.

Katherine hadn't.

Eliza had called it pride, but supported the decision. Her father didn't want his 'little girl' to participate – he had suddenly developed a huge dislike for the crown prince. Her mother had questioned her decision too, but wished that her daughter did what she enjoyed.

Eliza was right – it had been her pride. She had signed up, and jumping off in the last minute seemed unfair. Wrong. Fearful. Weak. Things that Kath certainly wasn't.

Kath: Of course.

"Miss Rhodes?"
The voice calling her came from a woman. Dark skin, dark brown hair and an office look, holding a white tablet and a warm smile. She recognised her from somewhere, but it took Katherine a moment to realise from where.
"Yes?"
"I am Silvestre Lorde. We spoke over telephone."

The name rung a bell too. Someone related to the Selection, obviously, Katherine thought. To whom had she spoken? The team that organised the whole thing. Someone asking her for details – medical and diet requirements, for example, but that had been a man. Katherine recognised the voice too. Twice, they had spoken, she believed. Once when she had been informed of her 'success', and once a bit later – a briefing about the press conference that would reveal the identities of the Selected. It had been broadcasted live online, Katherine remembered, but she had only watched a video of it later on with friends.

"The press secretary, I believe?" Katherine asked, and gained a confirming nod.
They shook hands.
"Yes, that's me. How was your flight?"
"Great. I could have flown myself though." She joked. Well, she didn't joke – it was the truth. Something she was quite, quite proud of. She deserved the recognition for her skills, Katherine thought.

"I heard of that." Silvestre did not comment anything further – her smile didn't waver at all. "Your suitcase has already been picked up, but we will need to wait for two other Selected before you will be able to leave the airport. I hope that's alright, but it's security guidelines."

Katherine nodded. "Of course." She added politely. Silvestre was, apparently, going to be very involved into the Selection, so complaining about waiting for a while wasn't a good idea. Silvestre guided her to the longue where another young woman, presumably also a Selected – she believed to have seen an image of her before – was sitting, with her nose in a book.

* . * . *

Rhosyn Reynolds' pushed a strand of brown hair behind her right ear. Silvestre had just guided her to the waiting lounge before leaving again – another flight had arrived, and going by Rhosyn's watch, Silvestre had been gone for five minutes already. Not that Rhosyn had arrived half an hour ago – the five minutes made no difference – but going by the flight details, the other girl should have left the plane at least five minutes ago. Plus, Silvestre had said that they were four girls arriving around 9:00am.

Her eyes were focused on the book, she was reading. It was one of the courses from her university she was missing now, because of her social climber mother. "It's a good idea to take a break." She had told her at least twice a day ever since she had made Rhosyn sign up. Jason, her brother, had liked the idea, and the idea of being able to see him again was pretty much the best aspect of the whole idea. That, and the aspect that her mother had promised her that participating in the Selection would mean that she wouldn't need to look for a rich socialite like Jason had ended up with.

She still preferred her medicine books.

While the brunette was reading the book in her hands, she did not notice that Silvestre, with another young woman entered the lounge.
"This is Rhosyn Reynolds." Silvestre spoke up.
Rhosyn looked up, dropped her book a bit, and eventually rose. "Hello."
"Nice to meet you." The blonde girl answered. "I'm Kath – Katherine Rhodes."
Rhosyn mustered the girl for another moment – she looked familiar, she had seen that expression - cold and alpha-type - before, but Rhosyn couldn't put an identity to the name or the face. She couldn't be as popular as Juli, for sure. Maybe at school; enough of the kids from her old school were far too arrogant for their own good. Katherine – or Kath, how she had called herself – looked at her too. Right, they were rivals, Rhosyn remembered.
"Call me Rho then." Rhosyn added with a polite smile.
"Sure." Katherine sat down on the opposite of the small table nearby.
"I have another two girls to pick up," Silvestre explained. "So please don't end up fighting or anything. We've had that already earlier today, and it nearly reached the reporters waiting outside. You don't want that to happen – almost as little as I do." She laughed. It might be a joke, Rhosyn thought, but it also sounded somewhat realistic.

If just half of the thirty-five girls were anything like her sister-in-law, then this was going to be 'fun'.

"Reporters?" Katherine repeated.
"Yes. We should be able to avoid most of them today, but get used to the thought of it."
Both girls briefly nodded, before Silvestre smiled – happy that they apparently weren't going to break into a bitch fight – and left.

Since Katherine's attention wandered to her phone on which she typed – chatting with friends? – Rhosyn opened her book again. Another five minutes passed with both girls being lost in their own world.

"Medicine?" Katherine eventually spoke up.
"Yeah." Rhosyn nodded. "I'm studying at Angeles University."
"How come you flew here then?"
"I spend the summer at home, in Honduras."
"I'm from Dominica. I studied in Waverly though."

Rhosyn glanced at the girl again. She hadn't read through the information on the selected girls before, and wasn't sure how old Katherine was, but she seemed in her age.
"What did you study?"
"Engineering."
"That is a four-year degree, isn't it?"
"Yes." Katherine nodded. "I started school a year earlier, and skipped a grade later on. I graduated from high school with sixteen."
"Oh." Rhosyn nodded. "I wanted to do that, but my school doesn't allow skipping grades anymore. Some incident that happened, I don't know why."
"It was… hard."
"Hmm." Rhosyn nodded. She certainly believed that she could have graduated with the same grades if she had skipped a grade, but in the end, she was studying now, and that was what mattered. Except, she wasn't. Right. Rhosyn sighed. "Are you attending university now?"
"No." Katherine shook her head. "I am taking a break. My degree was hard enough, and I want a few years of industry experience before doing a Masters. Are you taking a break because of the Selection?"
"Sadly, yes."
"Sadly?"
"My parents' are a bit of social climbers." Rhosyn answered. "Participating was their idea."
This time, Katherine vaguely nodded. "I know that kind of people. I signed up drunk."
"Drunk?" Rhosyn couldn't help but laugh. She wanted to read, yes, but she also wanted to hear that story.
"I just don't have much alcohol tolerance than my best friend, and I lost a bet. I wasn't that drunk though." Katherine chuckled at the memory. "I won't stop you from studying though."
Both briefly chuckled again, before silence fell again.

* . * . *

"Remind me again, "Yelyzaveta Isadora Kateryna Bonovich glared through the plane's window while it was approaching Angeles' airport. "Why are you here?" The blonde girl turned around to her mother.
Alexandria Bonovich was preoccupied with lip-gloss and a mirror. Unlike Isadora, she did not bother to look up. "There is a premiere I have been invited to." Because she starred the movie, Isadora added. Her mother just alluded – there was no need for her to mention that. "And a good friend invited me to a gala evening in honour of their oldest daughter's university graduation."
Isadora laughed drily. "Sounds fun." She added sarcastically.
"Yelyazaveta." Her mother hissed like a snake. Adequate, Isadora thought.
"Yes, mother?" She responded in a bittersweet voice, pretending to be oblivious.
Alexandria sighed overdramatically. She had intended to admonish her daughter, but now gave up. A hopeless case, Isadora thought. That was what her mother was thinking, she expected.

The white plane eventually touched down, and by then, Alexandria had finished applying her make up. Good for her – it was a rather windy day in Angeles; the plane hadn't touched down softly. Even though the Bonovich's private plane didn't need to wait for hundreds of passengers to leave the plane – two plus crew was much less – Isadora found herself annoyedly tipping against the armrest of her seat until the crew could open the plane door. She wanted to get out. Out of the plane, maybe have a drink in a bar of the airport, and forget this whole mess, her parents had pulled her in.

Twenty-two was far too old to be not engaged or married, going by her parents. Apparently, a casting (Yes, old tradition blab la, but who cared?) was the best way for her to get married. To the Crown Prince, who was – going by what Isadora had read on the Wikipedia – just as much a jerk as she was.
"You sound so similar!" had been the only positive aspect, her oh-so-great twin brother had found.
Yeah, similar, maybe, but that didn't mean that that guy'd find his 'true love' (as it had later been stated in a press release – he hadn't even said it himself!) between fifty-five random girls.

"What a coincidence, that you're flying to Angeles on the day the Selection starts." Isadora had told her mother when they had boarded the plane. It hadn't been a coincidence, obviously. She knew that her mother (or father – details) had payed for her to get in.

"Yelyzaveta, don't you dare to ruin our family reputation." Her mother, now wearing black sunglasses (why apply mascara if you're going to wear sunglasses?), spoke before the two of them left the airplane. Isadora didn't bother with responding. While the airport crew guided them to the car that would take them from the private plane to the gateway, her mother took a phone call that Isadora soon confirmed to be her twin brother.

Spiritless, she pulled her phone out of her bag – today wasn't a good day, not at all. She glanced through the news section, noticed another article on the Selection and put her phone away seconds later. The phone disappeared in her bag, she sat down in the car, and leaned against the window. Her mother continued chatting while the car drove over the airfield. Obviously, she ignored the 'No phones!' rule that their captain had mentioned twice.

"Going by the palace contact, Miss Yelyazaveta's bags should be brought to the royal palace immediately." Someone told her mother once they left the car – ignoring Isadora (whose bags were the topic!). Presumably some palace staff, or someone her family employed.

Considering the fact that she hadn't gotten to speak with anyone in charge of the casting yet, and that her mother had everything being run through her assistant, she had no idea of anything.
"Maybe I should have done some research." Isadora admitted to herself, seconds before another woman joined them in the inside of the airport.
"Good morning." The woman said with a happy voice. She smiled at Isadora. The palace's press secretary, Isadora realised.
"Good morning, Miss Lorde." Alexandria answered, and shook the woman's hand.
"Hello." Briefly, she considered forcing a smile. Briefly. Seconds later, she had changed her mind. It wasn't like this Selection was going to lead anywhere.
"If you don't mind, Miss Bonovich, I will just need to pick up one more Selected, and that should be all flights for the morning. Most selected will be arriving in the midday. Just come with me – the gate isn't too far away." Silvestre Lorde explained.

It took Isadora and Alexandria at least a minute to figure out that Silvestre was talking to Isadora, not her mother, and Isadora couldn't help but laugh at her mother's reaction.

"Sure, sure." She said, leaving her mother standing behind.

* . * . *

Tatiana Loveren was still reading a book when she left the first-class gate. It was a good one, and she genuinely liked it – she hummed happily. Just the chapter, she had thought, before she accidentally stumbled into a man in a suit.
"Excuse me?" The stranger spoke up. "Look where you're walking."
"Do so yourself." Tatiana shot back when she noticed his phone which he had been looking at.

Grumbly, both walked into different directions. The man seemed to follow the flow of people leaving the airplane and heading for the exit, but Tatiana had been told to wait at the exit. Easier said than done; it was awkward to stand in the empty airport while everyone else was leaving.

The weirdest part, Tatiana realised soon, wasn't that though – but that the few people who were still passing by were looking at her. Longer than one'd do if she was just lost. Her first idea was that it was her similarity to her mother, Sarafina Harolds, but she scrapped that train of thought soon.

Right.

The Selection.

She already had a Wikipedia page, going by her best friend. People were more curious about her, because she potentially would marry the 'most edible bachelor of Illéa' as the news had called the Crown Prince. How realistic that was, Tatiana wasn't sure. She had read the news stories about his 'adventures'.

The passengers eventually disappeared (or rather, left for the exit) and she found herself alone in the airport. While the airplane crew was working at the gate's entrance, Tatiana briefly considered following them. She was worried, yes. Worried that she had misunderstood something in the moment of surprise when she had learned that she had, indeed, been selected. Or that she remembered something wrongly. Whatever.

Fortunately, the woman she had seen previously on television, Silvestre Lorde, appeared not too soon afterwards. "Ah, Miss Loveren. I apologise for the wait." She said with a warm smile. "The airport's way too large for my taste."
She was being followed by another girl in Tatiana's age who Tatiana also recognised; one of the selected girls.

"We just need to pick up two girls, and then I can show you the way to the car." Silvestre explained. "They're waiting in the lounge. If you'd follow-"
"Excuse me?" The woman, out of breath from running on high heels, demanded. Some passenger that had recognised them and wanted to talk? "What- why are you rushing?"
Silvestre turned around with a naïve face. "… Because there is a schedule to keep?s"
"I am Alexandria Bonovich, and-"
"I am very well aware of that." Silvestre, keeping a poker face, nodded.
"How do you-"
"Miss Bonovich, Miss Loveren?" Silvestre turned to the two girls. "The car will be waiting just outside the VIP gate; please follow me."
"Excuse me?!"
"Yes you are excused." Silvestre added with a smile, before turning around, and casually walking off. The blonde girl followed after a brief glance to the woman. Tatiana did too – she didn't have much of another choice.

"Yelyazaveta Bonovich, Tatiana Loveren." Silvestre briefly introduced the two, without giving Tatiana a second to try to spell that name. "You'll have more than enough time to do self-introductions later – I just want to get away from the helicopter mum."

The blonde girl laughed again, Tatiana noticed confused. She wasn't sure whenever Silvestre or the other (presumably) selected would explain her what was happening.
"That was my mother." The girl with the strange names explained after Tatiana had looked between the two for at least a minute.
"I apologise." Silvestre chuckled. "But I've had to deal with sobbing parents already this morning, and it's only nine o'clock. This day is going to be too long for my nerves, and I have to deal with another twenty-five girls. I've already reached the 'I'm done' point."
Isadora nodded rather cheerfully. "Yeah, I don't mind."

* . * . *

Author's Notes

Okay, little warning – I only know how universities work in New Zealand. I'm gonna work with a mix of my knowledge about NZ universities and what you're giving me – I apologise, but I have no idea of how university in the US works.

The award for the weirdest name (for my European standards, it is) goes to Isadora. If I type "Isodora" or anything else, punch me and I'll update it. I'm a hopeless case.

This chapter introduces the four main characters I have at the moment. I'm really happy with what kind of range I have, although – I got to admit that I'm surprised how much of a mental health theme this fic now has. I started plotting it because I wanted to write something without that topic!

Please message me / tell me anyhow if I met your character's personality correctly, and – even though I'm going to message everyone eventually, I'd like to ask you all to tell me what your character thinks of the respective characters (Michael, Samuel, Rihanna, Silvestre, Katherine, Rhosyn, Isadora, Tatiana). I worked with the first impression I got from the character information sheets, but I'd like to change them adequately over time. I have brief outlines for possible relationships between them, but I'd like to confirm them with you guys. 😊

For the moment, I'm going to go with 'Feel free to send characters' because I have only planned what is meant to be about 1/3 of the plot, so I should be able to include them perfectly fine.

I've pretty much written this chapter without outlines, since mine start with the girls' arriving at the palace in the evening, and the in-between is going to be used to develop the perspectives of the characters, I'll write most. I intend to write as little as possible out of Michael's perspective to avoid spoilers about his thoughts etc., so for the casual events, I'll most likely go between the five main characters, Silvestre, Rihanna and Samuel, depending on what fits. I intend to focus onto the main characters, but Silvestre is for 'adult scenes' (i.e. involing the PM, the king, …), Rihanna for a neutral view on the selected and Samuel for stuff around Michael.