Hope POV:
The next night, I woke up at the normal time, put on a pair of my new, tight shorts and a red tank top, and I tied my hair into a ponytail. I headed down to the training room and found the Prince talking to some guards. I was surprised to see him again. This time he was wearing long shorts and a royal blue, short sleeve shirt. I could see his strong arms and some of his impressively strong torso.
I went to put on my running shoes and as I was putting them on, the prince appeared in front of me.
"Hey. I was wondering if you wanted to run with me?" he asked shyly.
I smiled back up at him, "I'm always happy to have some company," I replied.
I finished putting on my shoes and we headed to the track. We started jogging and talking.
"Do you normally decide to exercise this early in the morning, Prince Carter?"
"Just Carter. Sometimes; it really helps me take my mind off of things."
"Things like running a country, finding a wife and such?" I asked, smiling as he chuckled.
"Pretty much. Things like that come up when you're a prince, you know," he said with another laugh. "So what's your family like?"
"Well, I have 3 brothers. That's why I like sports. It's hard being an only daughter. I bet your sister can relate. But I can't imagine having my parents be the King and Queen of the country."
"It's not as bad as it sounds. To you, my mom is the Queen; to me, she's just my mother. What's it like having a more normal mother?"
I looked down at my feet as I remembered my mother. I sighed and started speaking. "My mom died when I was younger. So I really don't know." I sniffled my nose as my eyes teared up a bit.
"Hope, I'm so sorry. I-" He touched my shoulder as we ran, and he gave me a sympathetic smile. The worried look on his face and the look on his eyes were enough to make me want to melt. I wiped my eyes and replied with a small smile.
"It's okay, don't worry about it."
"Wow. So you grew up with 4 guys in your house. That's impressive."
I laughed at him just as we ran past Jack and Matt, who each in turn winked at me as we ran.
The next morning I got up happily, thinking about the amazing time with the Prince. I put on my white dress and went down for breakfast.
At the table, I occasionally caught Carter watching me as I talked with the other girls. I had begun to grow very close to most of the Selected that remained. They were for the most part incredibly sweet. That morning 5 more girls had been sent home, and we were down to 15.
After breakfast, as I was leaving, Carter called to me. I turned to him as the others finished leaving the room, leaving us alone together.
"Hope! I was wondering if you wanted to go on a horseback ride?" He asked.
"Of course, I would love that. When?"
I could see his eyes sparkle with happiness. "Now? We can meet back here in 15 minutes if you wanted to change outfits." We agreed upon that, and I skipped through the hallways and to my room.
My maids helped me change into a more casual white dress and some boots instead of my normal sandals. They undid my hair and left it down, only adding some pins so that it wouldn't fall directly into my face. They always knew exactly what I wanted. This hairstyle allowed my hair to fly free in the wind. Then I went back to the dining room to find the Prince.
He was waiting for me where I had left him. He gave me his arm, which I took happily as we exited the room.
When we rounded a corner and started into another corridor, I heard a loud voice from behind me.
"Oh! Hope!" We stopped and I turned to see the person with the familiar voice. Magdalena, one of the cooks I often worked with, started running towards me with excitement. "Hope! I've been looking for you everywhere." The short and round lady was bursting with happiness. "He's finally arrived! My Johnny is back from New Asia, and he's safe and sound! I want you to meet him!"
I squealed bent down to give her a huge hug, and matching her excitement I said: "Oh Maggie! That's great!" Then, she noticed Carter standing next to me. She bent down and curtsied with embarrassment.
"Your Majesty, I'm so sorry."
"Do not worry, Miss Maggie," he said looking confused as ever while looking from me to Maggie and back. "I'm very happy for you and your son." He gave her a genuine smile.
Maggie looked at the both of us apologetically. "You Majesty, take care of this girl. She's the sweetest person I've ever met, and she most definitely lives up to her name." She winked at me and left us.
I laughed at Carter's confused face, which only made him more confused. We continued to the stable as he talked about the weather and such. When we arrived, two horses had been tied to the mounting dock. There was a black stallion for Carter, and a palomino mare for me. I walked up to my mare and pat her nose and kissed her on the white stripe that passed in between her eyes.
"Do you need help mounting?" said Carter, still confused as ever. As he spoke, I put my foot into the left stirrup and swung my body onto the saddle. "Ah. Of course." He said, looking at me in awe. Clearly he didn't expect me to know anything about horses, yet I secretly always loved horses; they were my favorite animal. He untied our horses and mounted his stallion. We both walked on our horses to the trail that led us into the forest.
"Carter. Saying that you look a little confused seems like it would be a complete understatement…" He chuckled as we continued on the path with our horses walking side by side.
"Well, yes. That's completely true."
"You deserve a explanation, your royalness. What would you like me to explain?" I asked as he smiled.
"Maggie?"
"Well, she's a cook in the kitchens. Sometimes I go down and help with whatever needs to be done. I usually work with her, and she's very friendly." Carter nodded understandingly.
"She does seem to love you. What about the guards? You seem to spend a whole lot of time with shirtless guards in the training room." He raised his eyebrow as he spoke, making me laugh.
"Sometimes it's nice to talk to people who aren't trying to get you sent home. All the girls are amazing and super sweet, but I know deep down they hate everyone else. And it's normal for me to be around guys all the time, having three brothers and all. They're just my friends."
We talked about other things like life at the palace for a little while longer, and then we headed back to the stable, racing each other there.
We both galloped, pretty much at an equal pace, until the very end where I pulled ahead, leaning forward to make my beautiful horse run faster. At the stable, a guard immediately told Carter that his father wanted to see him.
He looked back at me, giving me an apologetic look, and left.
Jade POV:
The group of girls was getting smaller and smaller. I knew what I had signed up for by entering the Selection, so I expected nothing less. I just didn't expect the Prince to be so charming, and such an amazing person. He was a Prince, but he was a real person too. He had all the qualities of a perfect husband, and I was so happy that he had taken the time to get to know me.
While I was sitting in the women's room, talking with Bella, Ashley and Rebecca, a maid delivered a not to us. The note read 'Dear Jade, Charlotte, Ashley, and Rebecca, Would you care to join me in the gardens for a picnic this afternoon?'
We all squealed as I read the note out loud. We were all so happy to have been invited on a date. Plus, all the girls who were invited were all my amazing friends, and they were all very sweet people. Ashley, Rebecca, and I squealed with excitement as Bella, who wasn't invited, smiled. I could see the disappointment in her eyes even though she was trying to hide it. But that was the competition; we were all fighting for time with the Prince.
We all headed to our rooms, and Bella went to go tell Charlotte about the picnic. It really seemed like Charlotte went on every group date, and hundreds more of dates with Carter alone. She definitely got to spend the most time with the Prince. But there wasn't anything I could do about it; all I could do was make the best of the time I got to have with Carter.
I then went out to the garden to find my future husband.
I found him standing in front of some flowers, just standing; thinking.
"Carter?" I asked, approaching him before the other girls came.
He turned around, smiling at the sight of me, and gave me a warm hug. "Jade! You came early."
"Thank you for inviting me, by the way. It means a lot," I said, looking up at him.
"Of course. I love spending time with amazing people like you. Thank you for coming."
"You know I'd do anything for you, silly." I answered, leaning in and kissing his lips softly. I stared into his eyes, and saw him look over my shoulder. The other girls were probably arriving. My heart sunk as I turned towards them and waved. "I hate having to share you.." I whispered quietly to Carter, who squeezed my hand gently in response and then went to greet the others.
Carter POV:
It was almost over two months into the Selection, with 15 girls left when my parents told me that I needed make another cut. For some reason that my parents wouldn't tell me, they wanted me to narrow down the group of girls to the Elite.
I suspected that there were more uprisings from the rebels in the South, and speeding up the Selection would create more of a distraction.
I needed to send at least 5 girls home, but that would be hard considering I haven't gotten that much time to get to know them.
I decided to go over every girl that was still at the palace. I hated picking favorites, but I had to.
Charlotte. Charlotte was definitely staying. She was amazing. I loved her already. She was perfect in every way. She was kind, caring, and considerate. I felt like I was already ready to propose. She took my breath away from the moment I first saw her, and I felt like every time I saw her, I fell more and more in love. But I couldn't get to ahead of myself. While I already knew I loved Charlotte, the Selection was a process, and I needed to play by the rules. The problem was figuring out who else to keep and who to send home.
Georgia was going to stay. She was full of fun and I seemed to always feel more relaxed around her. She always made everything a joke, a great quality.
Audrey was also very sweet. She knew how to make me laugh and she made the best of every situation.
Bella was one of the kind ones. It took me a while to realize who she really was. She was shy but she is incredibly smart. Once I spent time with her, I realized that she was very caring, and her intelligence is like her secret weapon.
Jade was smart and she is proud. She isn't ashamed of herself and she speaks her mind. She also is very pretty with her long chestnut hair and her green eyes that match her name. She is beautiful. I hadn't spent a lot of time with her, but I knew she should stay.
Morgan was also very proud. She draws attention to herself and likes to have people working for her. She acts like she's Queen already. She wasn't afraid of me, and our chemistry was undeniable.
Natalia was very talkative. She has a light accent, but it doesn't stop her from knowing everything about everyone. I liked how she could read people easily and she could talk to anyone, no matter who they were.
Then there was Hope, who I hadn't really gotten to know. She seemed nice, but there was something about her that I couldn't quite grasp. To me, she seemed like a gorgeous blonde, nothing more. But, as I was getting to know her, I realized that my first impression might not have been right.
Ashley, Rebecca, Jacqueline and Amanda were very sweet, but they seemed too proper for me. Then, Angelica and two other ladies, very pretty girls, just seemed to be competing for the crown and not for me.
I decided that Georgia, Charlotte, Morgan, Bella, Jade, Audrey, Hope and Natalia were definitely going to stay. They were the girls that I thought I would actually have a chance with, but it meant that 7 ladies would have to go home.
I had found my Elite.
Once I had sent the girls home, I felt awful. But it was something I had to do; it was part of the Selection. And by the end, I would have to send all but one home.
As I was walking back to the office to continue my work, I heard a sniffling noise from a nearby hallway. I stopped dead in my tracks and went to go find the source of the noise. I realized that it was actually someone crying.
I picked up the pace and turned a corner to find Charlotte, sitting on the floor against the wall, curled into a ball, and crying into her dress. I ran up to her.
"Charlotte?" I asked her. "Charlotte, what's wrong?" I crouched down next to her, and touched her shoulder. She looked up at me, with blotchy eyes and makeup running down her face. What if I had done something wrong? What if she wanted to leave the palace? I couldn't bear to think about it, I really liked her, she was kind, caring, and compassionate and it hurt me to see her cry. It felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest.
"Carter… I'm so sorry…" She said through her tears. She kept crying but managed to mumble out a few more words. "Get… please… I… hope.."
I connected the dots and ran to the nearest guard and said, "Sir, please get Lady Hope. Tell her to come as soon as she can. Tell her that Charlotte is crying. Please hurry." He gave a solemn nod and ran off.
I went back to Charlotte who was still crying and I did my best to comfort her.
Five minutes later, Hope rounded the corner of the hallway at full speed, running with her heels in her hand and wearing a day dress.
"Oh my God, Char…" she said, running up to us. She threw her shoes on the ground and knelt to her knees, pulling Charlotte into a big hug. "It'll be okay, everything will be alright. Don't worry. I'm here for you."
It was then that she noticed me, sitting on the other side of Charlotte. I could see the tears forming in Hope's eyes, but she didn't pay me much attention. She sat down on the other side of Charlotte.
"Charlotte, look at me," she said, cupping Charlotte's chin with her hands, making Charlotte look up and into her eyes. "They love you and they are so proud." Charlotte buried her nose into Hope's shoulder, tears still streaming down her face. A tear slowly fell down Hope's cheek.
I felt so terrible that I couldn't do anything. "Is there anything I can do?" I asked quietly, almost at a whisper. Hope nodded no, as she pulled Charlotte into her arms, hugging her closely. Charlotte's tears slowed, and she pulled her head up from Hope's shoulder where it was been resting, and spoke clearly, whipping her tears away. "I'm so sorry. I'm good. I'm sorry."
Hope spoke first. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. We're always here for you. C'mon, let's get up." She got up, and then pulled Charlotte up onto her feet. She gave Charlotte another hug and whipped her eyes. "Okay. Carter, would you mind walking her back to her room?"
"Not at all, it would be my pleasure." Hope whispered something into Charlotte's ear, which made her laugh weakly, then she came to take my arm as I escorted her to her room.
We started walking back to her room as we spoke. "I'm so sorry Carter. I just miss my family like crazy. It's hard being away from them when I know they need me."
"Don't be sorry, Charlotte. You must miss them a lot, and I understand. I know they must be very proud that their daughter was even chosen to take part in the Selection." We had arrived at her room. She opened the door and led us in. "But, if you wanted to go home to be with your family, I could make it happen. I would be devastated to not have you here anymore." Even though it would kill me to see her go, I just wanted what was best for her.
Charlotte looked into my eyes, questioningly. "I don't want to leave," she said quickly. "I miss my family, but I don't want to leave the palace, the food, the fancy furniture. And. And I don't want to leave you."
Her eyes started tearing up again, and before I could think twice, I put my hands around her waist and I kissed her.
