A/N: Hellooo! I really want to thank EB for reviewing and KittyPie2002 for favoriting. You've motivated me to actually continue this chapter. I'm really thankful to everyone that has read my story and please remember to review, favorite, follow, whatever floats your boat. More notes at the end!

Normal POV

A figure made its way out the doors of the garden and down the slight grassy hill. It was apparent the female was being sneaky, their movements moderately rushed. Silky white lace floated past Connor's sight, the figure pulling to a rapid stop at the peak of the grass hill. He was positive she would be receiving an unpleasant case of scraps and bruises after.

Eventually, an hour passed and Connor determined to was unsafe for anyone to be left out for that long alone, unattended by guards. Already knowing whom the figure was, he descending the stairs in an unhurried manner. Just as he reached to the first floor, guards began shuffling, presumably changing shifts for the night. Once they caught sight of the prince, all bowed at the waist, some a sophisticated nod. Connor responded as usual, a tight smile that was reserved for situations like so. His pace quickened, suddenly worried over her, maybe it wasn't the best thing to leave her out so long. Especially with no guards. And how did the palace guards not notice her slipping from her rooms and out the heavily supervised garden doors?

He rounded the corner to the doors that led to the garden that she had departed from. But to his dismay, saw nothing out of the ordinary or specifically, any trace of Lady Tiffany. He turned around to see if she had left in the time span she spotted his appearance. Now coming to a resolute that the situation was becoming serious, he went up the stairs to the second floor where the Selected were staying, two steps at a time. Just as he ascended the second flight of stairs, a door clicked shut. Smiling inwardly, Connor flexed his hands that were close to warming just seconds ago. He followed the sound of the click though unfortunately unable to decipher which door from which. And thirty-five doors to go through was not what he had intended after a long evening with them already. A disappointing sigh left his lips, hands in his pant pockets. They were, surprisingly, joggers and not dress pants only for the reason searching for one of his Selected was not planned in the middle of the night.

Relieved nothing was wrong, he finally, finally could sleep from a long day's work. Tomorrow was just another jam-packed day of meetings and plans for the Selected, last-minute preparations for the pool party coming after.

Lady Jade POV

I awoke to the sound of rustling and a very bright light coming from behind me. At first I thought it to be my room back home in Midston but soon recalled it was the palace. I turned around to face the light, only to meet my maid's face, Lea.

"Good morning Lady Jade!" she sang it with much enthusiasm, too much for this early in the day.

I mumbled something along the lines of, "What time is it?"

Surprisingly she replied, "7:30".

My other maid, Clarise said, "Hurry miss, you're due at the dining hall in promptly one hour." After much groaning and complaining, I finally heaved myself off the glorious bed and took care of my 'hygiene' business. Next came the hair and face and dressing. It was a calm paced hour, my hair braided to side and tied off at the nape of my neck into a ponytail. My long black hair was beautiful as it cascaded down my shoulder straightened, no trace of a wave there. Though it never was any form of waves naturally. My makeup was equally beautiful, my lashes enhances, lips and cheeks colored. The dress was even more attractive, colored a light shade of pink. Simple yet elegant.

After a while of rushing me out the door my maids all chorused, "Good luck!"

A smile on my face, I was followed two other girls down to the dining hall, if I recall correctly, were Lady Giselle and Lady Cora. They each looked absolutely radiant though it wasn't surprising. Lady Giselle was a model afterall, her height most noticeable. I would have to guess she would be looking straight into the prince's eyes when they spoke. And he was respectably tall.

My stomach grumbled quietly as we made it to the dining hall, smells of food already reaching the room. The smell of freshly oven made bread wafted from the open doors. Turns out we were the first to arrive. I sat in the same seat I was assigned to yesterday. Good luck to me at breakfast.

Lady Aurora POV

My maids dressed me wonderfully, it was a fitted white lace bustier, light blue ruffles as the skirt. The sleeves reached my elbows. I hope I'm not late, it's exactly 8:30. Last night, talking with Prince Connor wasn't bad, it wasn't bad at all. If anything, it went great. As I start the stairs, I hear chattering from behind me. Turning my head, I see Lady Bella, Lady Leah, and Lady Daniella smiling and conversing on some sort of topic. Of course I already memorized their names. By the second hour I found out I was one of the Selected, their names were a second nature to me. I smile back, hoping to make some friends on my second day at the palace.

"Hello, I'm Aurora."

Lady Leah notices me first and says, "Hey! I'm Leah." Soon after we all introduce ourselves and begin the stairs. I got involved in their conversation, talking about our home provinces. Belcourt was pretty close to Angeles and I had two road trips here as a child. We went to one of my dance competitions in Angeles when I was fourteen and it was beyond my expectations, even more as my team placed second. It was my first time on a broadcasted show and I was a tad too nervous. I remember how Adrian, my step-brother was cheering for me in the audience, holding signs and screaming his head off. I ended up taking of him after he came down with a sore throat for a week. He said it was worth it though.

We arrived in the dining hall just on time, another group of ladies taking their seats. I noticed that the royal family had yet to make their appearance. Thinking of the prince makes my heart throb at times–who am I kidding, all the time!

He wore perfectly perfect slick back hair that was just the perfect shade of golden brown. Gifted with sparkling blue eyes that always seemed curious, a straight nose, and a mouth that adorned the most brightening smiles reaching his eyes. In simple terms, he was gifted with a heck lot of good looks. Too attractive to be alive, in my opinion.

By the time I snap out of my daydream, everyone has arrived, the Selected and staff all meeting the proper protocol by curtsying and bowing to the monarchs. The Queen is addresses everyone, "Good morning ladies and gentlemen."

A chorus of 'Good morning, Your Majesty' bounces off the walls as our reply.

This time, " I hope," Prince Connor spoke, "everyone has had a fantastic night's rest in their respectable rooms." I can see the Selected nodding in response. And to be completely honest, the beds were like sleeping on clouds. My family was a fairly stable one, we had everything we needed and sometimes there were extras as well. But my bed back home that was top-notch could not compare to the ones here.

"Today, you young ladies will be meeting Krystal. She will be guiding you and prepping you for the princess life, starting today. Krystal teaches are history lessons, etiquette lessons, and such. You all are expected to be capable of all responsibilities of a princess, especially the Elite. I would also like to remind you to enjoy your time at my home and take this opportunity to make new friends," he pauses, "Without further ado, breakfast is served." He smiled broadly, taking his seat.

Just as he finishes his sentence, the covers of plates and bowls that were gathering as we arrived at the table were lifted. The most gracious smells invaded my nose and I could have sworn even the queen closed her eyes in delight.

Chatter resumed, several of the Selected looked around, questioning their permission to actually eat. Breakfast was a variety of dishes, ranging from strawberry french toast to chocolate muffins and fresh bowls of fruit. I'm fairly sure that if I asked for cookie dough ice cream at the moment, the kitchen staff wouldn't think twice before scooping some out and serving me. I reach out for blueberry pancakes and later a small yogurt with granola. Tiffany, Giselle and Stephanie sit next to me and I am slightly distracted by them.

Stephanie started the conversation saying, "What do you think is his type?" Who 'he' was, was pretty obvious. My chest tightened as she spoke, hoping that my nervousness doesn't show.

Giselle chews as she thinks, resting her chin in her palm. She pauses to say, "I'm guessing he's into charisma but more or less the ideal goodie-goodie."

She gives off a careless expression, barely glancing at us when she finished her remark. None of us took it offensively.

Tiffany challenges, "And you think," she offers a smirk, "you're included in that category?" I can assume that they're fairly close for saying those things or maybe I'm just too reserved.

"Well duh, look at me." Giselle wiggles her hands, gesturing to herself, jokingly showing off. All four of us chuckle and and as a result receive a look from the prince. Somehow, I didn't really care. It only made us press our lips together, working to stifle a laugh. The rest of breakfast consisted of us talking and joking, also mentioning that Prince Connor smells exceptionally good. But "that's an obvious feature", according to Tiffany.

Breakfast was much more enticing than I had expected and concluded after about an hour. We were instructed to meet in the Women's Room, only permitting females to occupy the space and no male allowed in without their consent. It was my our own little (not really, quite the opposite) retreat away from all the troublesome males. I tell myself, good luck Aurora, just as Krystal comes walking in.

Lady Janice POV

Breakfast was great, better than the food served at my cafe back home. I'm hoping to send back some recipes for my mom to make while I'm here. Everyone gathered in the Women's Room and the slight nervousness was palpable as a woman clad in a navy wrap dress entered the room. I'm pretty sure her name is Krystal but well, I didn't listen.

"To get things clear, I am Krystal, the main instructor of the palace," her right hand moves to signal the room.

As she speaks, she paces calmy, her tone hard "Despite contrary belief, being at the palace as one of the Selected does not mean learning your position is all frilly dresses and tea job is to train all of you to be princess material, for one of you will be leading this country alongside Prince Connor in the future. You are all expected to complete your assigned tasks on time with the best of your effort and knowledge put in. You are all equals in my eye and will be treated as equals. Do not ask for a forgiving teacher, I am here with a purpose and I am to serve it as requested. Any misbehavior that disrupts this environment shall not be tolerated. Understood?" Throughout the whole speech, she made eye contact with each and every one of us, her stare giving me shivers that were concealed.

"Understood, ma'am" is said by all of us, much quieter than before.

Then she speaks again, her face cheerful and exciting again, "Welcome ladies," she begins, "Starting today, we will be working on several projects regarding Illea its relations, its history and the rundown of things all princesses need to know. First off, I will need all of you to get into groups of five." She gestures with her hands in a 'move along' motion and we all scramble to find a group.

After minutes of organizing, we have our seven groups. I'm with Brooke, Daniella, Saffron, and Vivian.

Vivian and Daniella seem to be already acquainted, speaking in hushed whispers. Vivian is all formal, dressed in an eggplant colored dress, without a doubt too old for her age. If I remember correctly, nineteen is much too young for an outfit that color. Just ew.

Her voice ends my thinking. "Working with the people in your group, your assignment is to create a video of yourself that should express your personality, background, hobbies, thoughts and anything along the lines of your character. This video will be played for the public so I am advising you to make sure everything being recorded is suitable for all audiences of the country. Each lady is responsible for their own video and should be 3-5 minutes long. You have one week to complete it with the help of your group members to record and edit the video."

Krystal ends her assignment and begins talking privately to one of the groups. I turn around to speak to my group, already wondering what I should say in the video. My family, my cafe, make them pity me. After drafting out what we wanted to say, several maids enter the room with a tray containing video cameras and these things called 'laptops'. I've seen them a lot in my town but never bothered to purchase one, they were too expensive. We were told that if we had any trouble using them, someone would come and help us navigate our way. Sighing quietly, I wish myself good luck.

A/N: Hey there (again). This was 2,506 words and in the midst of everything, I've noticed that I haven't been consistent with the tenses I am writing in, present or past tense. Please tell me which one you prefer I write in. Anyways, thanks for reading and see you next time!

-Lexi