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The Heir - Chapter 33 Re-Write

I WALKED THROUGH THE HALLS to clear my head before breakfast. In the two days after Camille left, I had been on eight dates and some of the boys were running together in my mind. I was really trying to see each one for who they were and whether or not I was interested. Neena had been keeping notes perfectly organized for me, but I was struggling to keep up with four dates a day.

Several large, framed pictures covered the wall. There was one of Mom and Dad when they were my age, with him in his full suit and sash next to Mom in a cream-colored dress, one of their wedding day, their faces covered in cake, there was Mom, her hair slicked back with sweat, holding two babies in her arms as Dad kissed her forehead, a tear falling down his cheek. Several candid shots, like a kiss or a smile, had been blown up and changed to black-and-white, making them seem more classic than casual.

Staring at the pictures, I was reminded of their undying love for each other. I had told my parents that they were practically a fairy tale… but they truly were the real thing. They were each other's happily ever after. I was a part of that and was ashamed to think that I had ever imagined otherwise.

I could see why Ahren would give me up – give all of us up – for a chance at this. If he even got a scrap of the love Mom and Dad had, it would be justified to marry Camille and move to Paris. I couldn't imagine what I would give up to experience even a small portion of what they had. I could also see how different their love had been from what Ahren and Camille had. Not better or worse, really, just better suited to the two couples.

I had somehow become desensitized to it all. The smiles they gave each other, the silence that spoke volumes when they were together, the way they never missed the chance to hold hands or kiss or touch. Baden had told me that he wanted real love, the kind he didn't have to schedule in. This was so much more than that. This was love that transcended the schedules and the business. This was love that created four children and overthrew the cast system that everyone hated so much. This was the love that kept my Mom and Dad together through the struggles of being King and Queen. If I couldn't have this, my marriage, no matter how perfect my husband was, would never last. I needed this. I needed a love that was meant just for me.

:)

Fox's face flushed as I removed my towel and revealed my blue two-piece bathing suit. I had considered wearing a one-piece, but the sun was out and I wanted some extra tan. I was also trying to do as Ahren told me to do. I was trying to be more me in front of everyone and this was me.

"Aren't you a lifeguard?" I asked him, my hands perched on my hips and lifting my eyebrows.

Fox averted his eyes and nodded.

"Shouldn't you be used to seeing girls in bathing suits then?" Though, the fact that he had well defined abs and tone in his arms did not go unnoticed by me, despite the fact that I saw guards running shirtless often enough around the palace to stay fit.

Fox bit his lower lip as he returned his eyes to mine. "Yes, but you're different."

I felt heat rising in my cheeks and stepped into the pool to cool off before I turned red.

Fox smiled impishly at me before getting a running start and jumping into the pool, splashing water everywhere.

I squealed and covered my face, laughing despite my best efforts. I grabbed the floating ball next to me and threw it at him.

Fox shook his sun-bleached-blonde hair as if he were a wet dog and grabbed the ball. "This could be fun for a minute," he said, acting as though we could volley it.

"Sure," I said, a smile holding on my lips.

We volleyed the ball back and forth in the pool, all the while Fox attempted to make conversation with me.

"So you design all your own dresses?" he asked.

"Most of them," I told him. "Sometimes I just draw dresses for fun or to relax if I'm stressed."

"Anything else you like to do to relieve stress?" Fox asked, tapping the ball with his fingers to pass it my way.

I felt heat rise in my cheeks thinking about how my other favorite option for stress relief was to kiss Kile. I decided I should change the subject instead. "What do you do?"

Fox shrugged. "I swim, but that shouldn't be a surprise."

"How is your father doing?" I asked, hoping I wasn't prying too much.

"He's good," he responded, sounding pleased that I had remembered details about our discussion, and then I realized how long ago that was. "I spoke with him yesterday. He reprimanded me for fighting."

"I hope you told him that wasn't your fault."

Fox shook his head. "I told him I didn't have an excuse and that I wouldn't need one because I won't be fighting again. How can I expect to have a princess fall in love with me if I do that?"

I felt my lips curl into a smile. "It does take a certain level of control to be the Prince Consort."

Fox nodded and caught the ball in his hands. He held it for a moment as though he were thinking. "Do you think I could handle it?"

I tilted my head. "Handle being the Prince Consort?"

Fox nodded and looked to me with his boyish eyes.

"I think there's very little you can't handle," I told him honestly. I couldn't imagine finding a job to support my family because my mother ran off and my father was dying of cancer. Though he was getting a break from the stresses of his home life while he was here, I doubted that he was truly ever removed or free from the responsibilities and worries.

Fox smiled at me with a toothy grin. "I might need some lessons," he told me, wading a little closer.

I thought for a moment that he might want to try to kiss me.

"Want to race to the edge?" he asked, smiling at me playfully.

I laughed and started swimming. "Go!" I yelled.

"Hey! Cheater!" he called, swimming after me.

:)

I privately eliminated Winslow and Julian, being as tactful and polite as I could manage. I had considered keeping Winslow since he had been the one to ask me for the group date when the boys were whining about needing to have more time to be fair, but that wouldn't have been right. I needed to stay focused and pursue the boys that I felt a connection with. They were gone by the time the Report was being aired.

Gavril went through the boys that had one on one dates with me, asking for details and filling up most of the time with his questions and their answers.

I was both surprised and relieved when Hale didn't disclose our kiss, and I realized that I was worried about what Kile would think… or what he was thinking now if he knew.

"An impromptu date?" Gavril said, intrigued, when he got to Kile.

"I wasn't given much notice," Kile explained, "but I've had ideas for dates for much longer than she gives me credit for." He winked at me from his seat.

I grinned at him.

"Well," Gavril said, "if the gleam in her eye is any indication, she will be giving you credit going forward."

Was there a gleam in my eyes? Did I look at Kile differently than the others? Had he mentioned something else about the way I behaved around the other boys and I just didn't notice?

Gavril moved on to Calvin, who discussed the group date, like many of the other boys that I hadn't gotten one on one time with recently. As he walked toward him with the microphone, I saw Kile's eyes were on me and I wished I could sneak away and spend some time with him alone.

:)

Dates had started running together for the weeks that passed, and I knew the Reports were getting repetitive. I needed to come up with a new group activity that would gain better attention without making me the center. I considered how the game show idea had worked well and thought there must have been something else I could do that would fit properly.

I had eliminated Edwin and Alex because despite them being great guys, I was unable to feel anything for them other than friendship. Both took it much better than I had expected, considering most of my eliminations, even when I was trying to be nice about it, ended with the boys being upset.

I stepped into my room rubbing my temple as I closed the door.

"Rough day?" a voice surprised me.

I popped my head up to see Kile laying across my bed. "How did you get in here?"

Kile raised his hands. "It seems I'm your maid's favorite."

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't surprise me. She always schedules you with more time for dates."

Kile hopped off the bed and stepped up to me. "I guess I should thank her then."

I grinned at him.

He ran his thumb over my cheek and gazed down at me. "Are you struggling to keep up?"

I nodded. "There's just so much to do and too many Selected to date at a reasonable speed."

"You're weeding through us regularly now though," he told me.

There was something different in his tone, something I hadn't heard from him before, but that I had heard from the other boys…the fear of elimination. "Are you… worried?" I asked him, a level of compassion in my tone that I hardly allowed room for normally.

Kile averted his eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to me and making my breath catch in my chest with the look in his eyes. His lips were on mine and I remembered how to breathe. His scent was something that I hadn't realized that I missed.

My hands instinctively ran up his arms and rested on his shoulders as he curled one hand into my hair at the nape of my neck and another to the small of my back, pulling my hips to his.

He began trailing kisses down my chin and neck and I gasped when a pleasant ache ran down the front of my body.

I felt him laugh lightly against my skin before he whispered, "I guess I didn't need to be." He pulled back and looked at me with an expression that I couldn't place.

"I told you I was serious about you," I reminded him. "I thought you understood that meant you were safe from elimination."

He traced his thumb across my cheek again as he gazed into my eyes. "That was before I thought I had real competition."

I tilted my head at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

He released me and slid his hands into his pockets. "Well, I figured Henri was starting to make a little progress and then Hale… I just realized that it matters to me, I guess."

"Are the boys… talking?" I asked him. I had assumed they were, being boys, but I thought they might attempt at strategy, as I am sure Ean was sharing no details from our time together, but did the other boys think it was important? Were they sizing each other up and determining where they each stood so they didn't need to ask me?

Kile laughed a little. "You mean are we talking about our dates?"

I pushed a stray curl out of my eyes. I wasn't sure I really wanted this answer. "Yes."

Kile rocked back on his heels and looked at his shoes. "Not the way you think. It's not like anyone is bragging or anything, but some of the guys are trying to figure out where they stand."

I folded my arms and raised my eyebrows at him. "Like who?"

Kile looked at me and shook his head. "It's not against the rules for us to talk… and I don't want you to eliminate someone because I outed them."

"Isn't that to your benefit?" I asked him, walking to my bed and motioning for him to follow.

He followed me and casually took a seat on the bed, facing me. "I don't want to be chosen just because I'm the only one left."

I felt that dirty feeling inside me again. Did he think that was why he was an option? Did he think he was a backup plan? As it stood, there were a handful of boys that I truly liked, with him at the top of that list. The fact that I had known him my whole life probably contributed to my comfort with him and his kissing skills likely added to my attraction now that he was cleaned up a bit. He definitely wasn't just the annoying bookworm that he used to be anymore. If he was this shaken, were the other boys feeling the same way?

"Fine. I won't make you tell me who is asking, but I would like to know what you've heard," I told him. Locker room talk was hardly an acceptable trait in a Prince Consort and while I might not eliminate someone solely one talking about their time with me, it wouldn't help their chances.

Kile put his hands behind his head and lay across my bed with a sigh. "Most don't have much to say. They talk about things they learned that you like or don't like. They confirm with me anything that they've been told."

I lay down next to him and stare up at the ceiling. "Of course." It felt so natural to be close to Kile. While being near the other boys made me watchful for signs of what they wanted or what they were thinking, with Kile… I could just be there.

"Erik mentioned that Henri was worried he crossed a line with you," he swallowed, "so I know he's kissed you. Then Hale has been happier ever since he got to kiss you-"

"Did he tell you that?" I asked him, turning my head to watch his face.

He turned to look at me. "I guessed," he responded.

I felt a flush in my cheeks.

"Ean doesn't share any details about his time with you and doesn't even listen in when others are discussing theirs, so a few of the guys think he's a strong contender. One of them even said," he took a breath and reached down to take my hand, "that he's catching up to me."

"All that from him saying nothing? And I thought girls were presumptuous."

Kile shrugged, not releasing my hand. "They're all dating you and only one gets to continue to be with you when this is all over. It's kind of natural for them to wonder where they stand and assume anyone who isn't worried is in better standing."

I sighed. "I don't like that everyone feels so…"

"Competitive?" he offered.

I sighed and smirked at him. "Right." But this was a competition, so of course they were feeling competitive. And how do you gain ground in a competition where the victor has to win someone's heart? And not just anyone's heart… my heart. They had to get through all my walls and somehow get me to feel something for them. I thought about talking to Mom about how she felt when she was in Dad's Selection.

"None of the Selected think this is all for show anymore," he told me, "so everyone is getting more serious. Especially since two Selected a week are getting eliminated."

I groaned internally. It would be more than that if I wasn't trying so hard to give everyone a chance. I could have it down to the Elite by now, honestly. I was just trying very hard not to cause anymore waves. "I have to. I'm serious now."

Kile ran his thumb over the back of my hand and I felt a heat run up my arm. "I know."

"So you don't have to tell me who asked about things, but I do want to know who is shaken the way you are," I told him, giving his hand a light squeeze.

Kile sighed. "Leeland has been taking it the hardest. He says he can't seem to connect with you. Really, everyone is a little nervous except for Ean. He seems confident that he's not going anywhere."

I looked down at our hands, our fingers laced together. Would I feel this way if I were with any of the other boys? Was it our history that made me so comfortable with him?

"Eadlyn…" he began, his tone hesitant. "I'm not so bold to call this love yet… but I really like you."

I looked up at him and saw something in his eyes that I recognized immediately but couldn't imagine would be directed at me from anyone. I smiled at him. "I really like you, too."

:)

Two more weeks of dates. I was over two months into the Selection. I considered for a moment how excited I would have been two months earlier to know I was only a few weeks away from my promised minimum of time that I gave to my parents. Now I felt like I had made barely any progress because I still had so many Selected left and was dating at top speed and having Neena sneak information from the butlers that worked with the boys.

I absentmindedly rolled some peas across my plate.

Dad tapped my shoulder. "Kile's been staring at you for at least five minutes," he told me.

I looked over to Kile and bit my lip when he smiled at me.

"I didn't expect him to get this far," he admitted to me.

"Maxon!" Mom hissed.

Dad shrugged. "Well I didn't."

"He's not the worst choice," Kaden mentioned softly.

I turned to him. "Oh? And who is the worst choice of who is left?"

Kaden glanced at Mom and Dad before answering. "It's a toss up between Calvin, Leeland and Henri," he said flatly.

"Kaden!" Mom snapped at him.

"No," I halted her. "I want to hear what he has to say." I turned to Kaden. "What's wrong with them?"

"Leeland cries too much," Osten piped up and was rewarded with a strong sideways glance from Mom.

Kaden shrugged at me as if to agree with Osten. "Calvin won't be able to handle being the Prince Consort. He doesn't have the backbone for it."

I shrugged. It was a fair assessment. "And Henri?"

Kaden glanced in Henri's direction and then back to me. "What are your feelings on a three-way relationship?"

Mom's head whipped in his direction so fast I thought she might fly from her chair. "Kaden!"

Ahren turned to me. "He's not wrong though."

I looked to Henri and then back to Kaden. "Thanks for being honest with me," I told him.

Kaden returned to his food.

I turned to Osten. "And you still owe me a report on what the boys answered your embarrassing questions with."

Osten opened his mouth to speak again, but Lady Brice came hurriedly into the room and whispered something into Dad's ear.

Dad's eyes widened and something between fear and anger flashed as he set his gaze on Ahren. "My office. Now." His tone was more forceful than I had ever heard it.

Ahren looked at me confused and followed Dad out of the room.

Mom turned to Lady Brice. "What's happened?"

Lady Brice shuffled to Mom's seat and whispered in her ear.

Mom's hands dropped her fork and knife and leapt to her mouth with a gasp. "Oh my…" she breathed as she quickly stood and rushed after Dad and Ahren.

I looked to Lady Brice and she gave me a somber nod before quickly making her way out of the dining hall.

"I don't like this," Kaden said as he looked at me from across the table.

I nodded. "I'll make sure everything is okay," I said as I followed them. Dad hadn't asked me to join them, so this had to be something dealing directly with Ahren, but I was the future Queen and would need to know if this was something important. Besides, Ahren hardly ever got in trouble. I couldn't imagine he had done anything terribly wrong.