I once again apologize for taking so long to update, I hope most of you can forgive me!

We're skipping ahead another few weeks in the story…

I sat calmly at a couch on the side of the room, waiting for the girls to enter. I kept a mask on my face so that my nerves weren't apparent. I was somewhat anxious for this to be over with. I was excited to meet the girls and to see Grace in a dress but I was starving and eager to have breakfast.

When the door opened, I stood and began striding towards it.

"All right ladies, this way." Jane, the palace event coordinator, directed.

I smiled politely when the girls began to file into the room. My grin widened when I heard a few giggles and became almost painful when I saw Grace.

She looked beautiful in her dress but there was a small frown on her face, as though something had displeased her. I wanted to know what was wrong but I couldn't show any of my curiosity because–as far as anyone else was concerned–Grace and I did not know each other.

I bowed to all of them after they curtsied and asked them to have a seat at the tables that had been prepared for them.

Once they were seated, I walked to the head of the table so that they would all be able to see me as I explained things. "Welcome, ladies. I'm excited to meet all of you this morning. I'd like to spend a little time with each of you before breakfast so I hope you don't mind waiting for a little while." I turned to the girl closest to me and offered my hand. She giggled rather obnoxiously and I suppressed the urge I had to roll my eyes when she covered her mouth and resembled a cartoon character.

Several of the girls that began making their way to me didn't have any character; I was fairly convinced that the only thing in their heads was air. Those girls tended to simply laugh at whatever I said, lean forward, and twirl a piece of hair in between two fingers. Occasionally they would make a comment, but it always pertained to either my looks or how hilarious I was.

There were a few exceptions, however, that actually made an actual attempt and seemed more down-to-earth than the other girls.

Ruby, in particular, scared me slightly. She was very serious and quiet, only nodding when I dismissed her. She set my nerves on edge but at least she hadn't tried to throw herself at me like some of the others.

Then there was Falia, though she apparently preferred Alex, a shortened version of her middle name. Star, Lavender, Lindsey,–who I felt would soon become good friends with Ruby as she reminded me of Ruby in many ways–Amy, Lana, Bianca, Eleanor, Johanna, Agnes, Marita, Maya, Althea, Emily, Teresa, Danielle, and Wren.

Wren was an interesting girl, she was tall and thin with ebony hair that flowed down to her upper back in gentle waves, cloudy gray eyes, and pale skin. She was also deaf. Thankfully, I had learned sign language from Justice so I could easily communicate with her, though she was quite adept at reading lips and could communicate just fine with words of her own. She intrigued me and although for the most part she didn't speak, she had plenty to say with her hands. I was definitely intrigued by her and she seemed friendly enough.

Danielle–or Dani–was friendly and exuberant. She was rather quiet as well but she seemed to care a great deal about each word said. It seemed as though each word spoken meant a great deal to her. She was pretty in her own right though her looks were rather similar to Wren's, it was almost uncanny. She also had a pale complexion, gray eyes, and wavy ebony hair which stopped just above her waist. She was somewhat short and petite, the top of her head about even with my chest though I suppose I was taller than most boys so what did I know.

Finally though, Grace settled herself across from me on the couch. I had to stop myself from embracing her. She was beautiful in her dress, it flowed around her elegantly, more complementary to her figure than those horrid maid outfits.

"Hello, Grace." I said softly.

She smiled and fidgeted in her seat a little. "I can't believe I'm finally here, it's surreal Damon."

I chuckled. "You have no idea. You look amazing, by the way. The dress suits you." I eyed her from head to toe yet again, stopping at the spots where the dress was a little tighter.

When I finally looked up again, she was blushing and I merely grinned. Then, I became gravely serious. "Are you okay; you seemed a little upset earlier?"

She nodded. "I'm fine, Damon."

"Are you su–"

"Yes, Damon," she interrupted, "I'm fine."

I sighed and shook my head but moved on, hoping to lighten the tense atmosphere around us.

I began joking around and we settled into our normal teasing conversation, making fun of each other and reminiscing past events.

After a while, I risked a glance at the clock and stood despondently, it was time for us to part ways. I bowed when she stood. She curtsied and I kissed her hand before dismissing her to the table.

I met several other girls after Grace but almost immediately forgot their names because of the rhythm of my heart pounding in my chest after my talk with Grace. She was right; it was surreal to have her in the Selection.

After meeting all of the girls, I was hungry and somewhat pleased at all of the new people I had met. Maybe I'd be able to become friends with a few of them. However, there was also more than a few who I would never befriend, they were simply too forward in their advances and too self-absorbed to have any depth to their personalities.

After the final girl was seated, I stood and used a trick that my dad had told me about. "Ladies, if I asked for you to remain here then please stay in your seats. The rest of you may follow Jane to the dining room."

Nineteen of the girls stood and left with Jane–Sylvia's daughter and replacement in-training–to the dining room. Sixteen girls remained in the room with me.

I sighed as soon as the doors were closed and the cameras focused on me. This was going to be difficult to accomplish.

I forced a small, polite smile on my face as I turned to face the girls. "Ladies, I am so grateful to have met you all. It has truly been an honor." A few of them blushed at that but most simply grinned and "discreetly" adjusted their dresses to show more cleavage.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at their antics. "However, I simply do not feel that we have any chemistry. It is for this reason that I must sadly inform you that you have been eliminated. I feel that it would be a waste of time for all of you lovely women to remain here if I cannot see a future with any of you. Please, pack your things and prepare to leave. The chef has made something for all of you to eat which you will receive at the airport."

A few of them began to cry as soon as I finished my little speech and I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. Many of them just seemed angry though and I could see the red slowly creeping up their necks and onto their faces to form furious blushes. I was slightly grateful for the angry ones–I could handle angry women, but I simply didn't have any clue about how to comfort a crying girl.

I dismissed the cameras as quickly as possible and then turned back toward the girls. I was met with a solid fist to my face–or to my eye to be more exact.

I stumbled but blocked the next punch before it could make contact. I pushed the girl who had hit me away gently and winced as I felt my face begin to throb–hopefully I wouldn't end up with a black eye.

She went for me again but I grabbed her wrist and spun her around, holding her arm against her back. "Will you please stop hitting me?" I asked. I had been raised to not mistreat women but if she kept trying to hit me I would eventually be forced to hit back.

After a moment she nodded and I released her.

"Now, I won't tell anyone of this because I know you're upset but if any of you attempt to strike me again, I will call the guards, and you will be tried for treason and assault."

They all nodded gravely in understanding but the girl who had hit me simply snickered. I sighed and then allowed them to verbally abuse me for ten minutes or so. After the ten minutes were up, I apologized once again and backed out of the room so that I could get to the infirmary.

I strode through the doors of the infirmary and quickly went to the mini-freezer in the corner of the room. I grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and put it over my eye, wincing at the burn of my skin due to the cold temperature.

A doctor seemed to materialize beside me and quickly removed the ice pack to survey the damage done to my face.

She gently prodded before reapplying the ice pack. "It's going to turn into one nasty bruise, Your Highness. How did it happen?" She walked over to a drawer a few feet away and began rummaging through the contents.

"I was sparring with a guard. I went to dodge but ended up basically offering my face to him instead." I chuckled as I lied to make it a little more convincing. "It was entirely my fault."

She seemed to believe my story and nodded as she handed me two pills. "It'll take a couple weeks for that to heal up. You'll have to cover it up for the Report, most likely." She gave me a bottle of water. "Take the pills; it will help with some of the swelling and the pain"

I nodded and quickly swallowed the two pills with a gulp of water. "Any advice to make it heal any faster?"

She smiled gently at me. "Lots of ice and no more sparring, ever?"

I smirked at her. "I can do the first, never going to happen for the second."

She laughed at that but shook her head at me in slight disappointment. "Prince Damon, sometimes it seems that you're more trouble than you're worth."

"Aw, come on. You all love me and you know it. Especially since I'm always giving you an excuse to buy more medical stuff." I grinned at her. "Besides, what's not to like about this?" I asked, gesturing to my body.

She rolled her eyes. "Just keep the ice on it and you'll be fine. Now get out of here." She shooed me mockingly and went back to work.

When I caught her eye, I saluted mockingly and walked out of the infirmary with a chuckle.

The Selection had finally begun.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a character. We will learn more about the ladies mentioned in this chapter later, I simply couldn't introduce all of them in this chapter because it would make it ridiculously long and boring. The characters I used, and will explain in more detail in future chapters, belong to the following fanfiction users:

DancinAllNight – Falia (Alex), Maya

M7star – Star

Cute Irish Gal – Ruby

Lilythemermaid – Lavender

america (guest) – Lindsey (this character was originally named Elizabeth but I had to change it because Damon's sister had the same name, hope that was okay with you america!)

Who cares (guest) – Amy

EmilyTheNerd – Lana

Pipper Pippens – Bianca

S (guest) – Eleanor

New Asian Gal (guest) – Johanna

Guest (guest) – Agnes

GloryToTheWind – Marita

angelisegaudet – Althea

Random (guest) – Emily

MusicManiac (guest) - Teresa

olive . ivy . clo (remove spaces for this username) – Danielle (Dani), Wren

Next Chapter:

My dad snorted. "A girl gave you a black eye?"

I shrugged. "She was strong. Is it black already?"

"Yes, dear." Mom confirmed with a nod.

Dad chuckled and my mom jabbed him in the side quickly which stopped his laughter.

"Don't start with me, Maxon." she warned.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, my dear."

I'm still working on the next chapter so it will most likely be a while before I'm able to get it out to you guys. Thankfully, I have a break coming up in about a month or so, so I might be able to post a few chapters during that time. Keep your fingers crossed and thanks for reading!