I had just sat down to begin breakfast with the Selected, my family, and Uncle Osten's family, when the dining room doors burst open. My cousin, Prince Nichol Schreave de Sauveterre, strode through, a butler scuttling behind him with a large bag, and walked over to our table. Lucas sprang up in surprise, and Nichol clapped him on the back before greeting my mother and father and Verity's parents- all his aunts and uncles- with deep bows. Little Ben pops up beside him, giving him a high five before exclaiming "I didn't know you were coming too, Nic!"
Nichol smiles solemnly before replying "Well, it was a very last minute, and I had to turn my schedule upside down to be here. But, you only turn 17 once, right Lucas?" His eyes shine, and he walks over to me and we kiss each other's cheeks. "And how are you?" He asks, then sneaks in "Are they more trouble than they're worth?"
I giggle, shaking my head, "It's been pleasant so far. So, you came just for the party?"
He winks at me, before turning back to Lucas. "I have just been on a plane for six hours, so I'll repose until the big bash tonight, okay?" They give each other a typical guy handshake-thing, and I see all our parents shaking their heads. There are probably far too many young adults in this room right now for their liking, what with all my Selected, my siblings, Verity, and Nichol. Thank goodness his twin sister, Amberley, didn't come. Amberley and Nichol, both French, of course, being Uncle Ahren and Aunt Camille's children, had gotten that lovely twin gene, but were quite a bit older than the rest of us, having 9 years on Verity, who was a year older than me. I guess after Verity our parents had children kind of like clockwork. The youngest Schreave is Princess Hope, Aunt Josie and Uncle Kaden's 11 year old- excepting Ben, who is 10. So, as you can imagine, large holidays and festivities are absolutely full of family.
As Nichol and Lucas leave, I smile, thankful that Lucas's birthday will be festive after all, now one of his closest friends has arrived. Nic really is close to Lucas, despite both the age and country gap- 12 years and 9000km. I hope this will temporarily distract Lucas from his intense hatred of anything related to Illéa politics at the moment; he does deserve a break.
As soon as I've finished my breakfast, Verity whisks me away, promising my Selected some action in the coming week. Good lord, that's setting some high standards I mightn't be able to fulfill. Instead of returning to either of our rooms, like usual, we head slowlyto the women's room, which the female selected are using as their day room. I'm dreading the idea of being in watching distance of half of the Selected, trying to walk as slowly as possible just to delay the inevitable nerve-wracking situation.
"It'll be great! This way, you can watch all of them to see how they interact with each other, and maybe pick up on a few of their hobbies, or whatnot." Verity reassures me. She untucks a piece of my hair that's stuck in my collar, before entering.
I haven't been in the women's room since the time I half-assed the colour scheme and furniture selection, and I've got to admit, it looks amazing. The windows in here are enormous, and let in a ton of light, and the curtains were replaced a few years ago to a medium-ocean blue, modernising the look. There is significant seating in here now, especially lounges, and I find our bookshelf has expanded dramatically, while there are two TVs in here, rather than one. The grand piano has been pushed up into a corner, where there's also a guitar and some music. Aside from that, I even spot sewing patterns- courtesy of my mother, no doubt- knitting wool, and art pastels and sketchbooks, as well as a stationary table, a refreshments table, and I spot a group of girls huddled around a board game. I honestly think these girls could stay in this room the entire time, and never be idle.
Verity gasps, it's her first time seeing the room like this, too, which attracts some attention. A few girls turn around to see what the small commotion is, some rushing to stand and curtsey, while others are unsure and wave. I grin, and pull Verity towards two vacated armchairs, close enough to the girls that we can, well, not spy, but, close enough.
"Do you think any of them will ask us to join a game or something? That'd be fun!" Verity whispers.
"We could ask them, I'm sure they wouldn't mind." I smile. Verity may be engaged, but still has the heart of a six year old sometimes.
"Okay. In ten minutes, we'll go ask those girls over there. See the one with the insanely blonde hair? Next to the one with a short bob?"
"Oh, yeah. That's Florence and Jasmine. The other two they're with are Iridessa, the brunette, and Lisbeth, the blonde one with short hair, sweet face." I identify, beaming at how I've finally memorised all their names and that they have faces to match.
"Aww, look at you, calling her sweet!" Verity crows.
I laugh, "I mean, look at her! Isn't that the epitome of a sweet face? Rosy cheeks, freckles across a button nose, small features. She's pretty tiny as a human. I remember her first day here, she stood next to... Benn! Yeah, Benn. She stood next to him, and looked like a midget. But, he's well over six feet so it makes sense." I recall. It is rather amusing to see the varying sizes of all the Selected. I know Benn is the tallest guy, but I think it would be a competition between Lisbeth and Jasmine for smallest girl. Then, the tallest girl is Natasha- over there, dark skin, dark hair- I think she's almost 6 feet, and the shortest guy is Matthieu, I think he's actually shorter than me!" I cringe thinking about that, feeling incredibly shallow. I just don't think we would make an attractive couple, since I love to wear heels, and would probably end up being at least four inches taller than him at most occasions. You do have to think of appearances as future maybe-Queen. Ugh, I definitely don't want to think about that whole situation right now.
"Come on, let's just go over now!"I tell Verity, and she grins at me.
"Good luck!" She whispers.
"You're going to be there the whole time!" I say, daring her to say otherwise,
"Yeah, but you still need the luck," she laughs, poking me in my side, making me almost fall over. I am so intensely ticklish that I will bring out my nails and fists in an effort to prevent tickling.
"Stop! I have to act like a regular human if I want any of them to like me! Okay, shhh we're almost at them. Act natural, act calm, everything is fine." I say, mostly to myself. Well, completely to myself.
"Hi ladies! Do you mind if we join?" Verity asks, already clearing room to put a pillow on the ground so she can sit, and I follow suit.
"Well, this game is for four players, but there's one just there that plays up to eight we can try?" Replies Iridessa, her two different coloured eyes striking as she glances up at me through dark hair.
"That sounds perfect! So, how are you enjoying the palace so far, ladies?" I ask, trying to relax. It's literally just a normal conversation, I can do that.
"It's so beautiful! Of course, we've seen pictures, but I think the environment around the palace is just incredible. I have a forest view from my room, and research shows seeing nature everyday is extremely beneficial to your health." Florence smiles, her gaze wondering towards the window, from which you also have a view of the forest.
"Oh, I adore it too. Yes, I've only ever lived here, but there's not many scenes that could come out as beautifully as this one!" I say, smiling at Lisbeth as a catch her eye.
"I don't know... up in Bankston the views of the mountains over the water is absolutely stunning. It's kind of offset by the horrid cold, though." Verity tells us. I know, of course, having stayed at her house- if you could call it that- many times over the years. Uncle Osten and Aunt Beatrice moved there for Uncle Osten's military work, and had fallen in love with the exact mountains we were discussing now.
"Oh! I'm from Baffin, as far north as you can go, and you're absolutely right about the weather. It's been divine being here, it's like the desert compared to my home. We don't even get the beautiful views until summer, because the snow storms are so intense, and then everything is white for so long." Jasmine adds in.
"It's so cool that you get to live in snow, though! What do your parents do up in Baffin, if you don't mind my asking?" I question her.
"Well, my father passed in a car crash several years ago, but my mum has a job as a meteorologist, specialising in cold weather." She replies, shocking me a little. Every time one of my Selected tells me something personal like that, I feel like I owe them something in return. However, I respond simply with
"I'm sorry about your father."
And she smiles and shakes her head, but her eyes look sad, understandably.
Shivering, Iridessa adds "My! I live in Lakedon, just below Baffin, and I am constantly complaining about the cold. I don't know if I'll be able to move back after this- if I have to, that is." She finished quickly. Ugh, this is too awkward for me. This is the second time someone hasn't known what to say about their ideas for once the Selection is over.
Verity chimes in with something to relieve the tension as a catch someone watching me, out the corner of my eye. I look up to recognise Persephone Squire's face. She has a square face, with New Asian roots, and freckles over her nose. She's really gorgeous, and I remind myself to smile, rather than just stare. She smiles back at me, looking down quickly after. I think I recall her wearing glasses in her application photo. I wonder if she switched to contacts now. It's funny seeing the changes- some dyed their hair, or wear more makeup, and even the clothes change a person a lot. I look back to the girls I'm sitting with, only to realise we never actually started the board game, we only just managed to pack the old one up.
I take that as a good sign, that the conversation is moving well, and feel myself beaming from the inside out, happy that things are starting off well, and it's coming more easily now. I think later this week, I'll be looking forward to some one-on-ones.
