Chapter 10

Spencer Adalhard, Two, Likely

Spencer's group arrived around noon, and he was excited to be away from Likely. Every day had seemed the same routine, and nothing ever changed, but now, now he could learn more, experience more away from home. Different people in a different place could only mean an exciting experience.

They were escorted by a rather lively lady, and they now were sitting in a large ballroom, filled with both staff and Selected, and Spencer could have sworn he saw a cloud of perfume and cologne sitting in the air. Staff were running around like crazy, calling out for color palettes, clothes racks, and tools. Spencer felt a little bad that everyone seemed so confused, he should have guessed the staff would be just as nervous as the Selected.

"Sir Spencer, this way please." A butler said, leading him to a station with a small sink and large mirror, and a swivel chair. Spencer smiled at the swivel chair, and sat in it, immediately spinning himself around, before he felt a hand stop it.

He glanced up at the mirror, to find a woman smirking at him. "No excessive spinning please, I get motion sickness." She said.

Spencer winced, "Oh, sorry, I'll stop then." The woman nodded, and picked up a comb, and then, on inspecting his hair, set it down, and instead went for a much larger- and sturdier- brush.

"So, Likely, huh? Tell me about it." The woman said, trying to make conversation.

"Oh, uh, well, it's cold sometimes, but the summers are really nice, I love to go out and just surf," Spencer said. The woman hummed in acknowledgement, and he asked, "Have you ever been?"

The woman looked at him through the mirror, the brush stalling. "Hun, if I'd been, do you think I'd have asked?"

Spencer's cheeks heated a little, "I suppose not." After a few minutes of awkward silence, Spencer asked, "What's life like here at the palace?"

The woman looked at him again, "I wouldn't know, I'm only in here for the makeovers, then I go back home, and work in my little salon."

"Oh….what's your name?" Spencer asked, genuinely curious.

The woman glanced at him again, then roughly brushed his hair, "Aw, sorry Kid, didn't mean to hurt too much. And the name's Claira." Spencer nodded."Okay, now onto face, and hands. Here, hold still," Claira said, wiping green goo all over Spencer's face.

Spencer fought the urge to wipe it off, and tried to hold still as Claira next grabbed his hands, and worked on getting the calluses off of them. It went by pretty quickly, and Spencer actually found himself enjoying the treatment.

"Okay, Kid, cold water in 3...2…" Spencer heard her count, but he wasn't actually thinking she'd spray his face with ice cold water to get rid of the face mask. Spencer shivered, and Claira inspected him carefully, before nodding, and standing him up.

"Make your way over to that corner, you'll find a rack of suits with your name on it, pick one you like, and change into it in the temporary changing rooms over there too." Claira said, pointing across the room.

Spencer looked at her and smiled, "Okay, thank you Claira, I hope your salon does well." Claira smiled as she watched the boy with -still- wild, brown curls make his way across the room. Claira, personally, hoped Ray picked the Likely boy.

Camilla Milano, Four, St. George

Camilla had just finished her makeover, and had to wonder if this was all necessary. She was just as excited as the next person, but she wasn't exactly one for fancy makeovers and ball gowns. Although, when she reached the clothing rack with her name on it, she was pleased to find that there were hardly any ball gowns on the rack.

Perhaps that was why the coordinator had asked her about her preferred style. There were dresses of many styles, and colors, and even a pantsuit. Apparently the royal family wasn't much for traditional formalities, not that Camilla minded.

Camilla grabbed a simple grey dress off of the rack, and held it up, looking at it more closely. It had a small sash around the waist built into the material, that ended in a bow pinned to the waist. Camilla looked around, wondering if there was a rack for accessories too.

"Excuse me!" She said to a passing girl. The girls stopped, and tilted her head, indication for her to continue. "Do you know if there is an accessory rack for the Selected?"

The girl smiled, and pointed a little further down the room, where a group of people were gathered, "Just down there, I'd be careful though, some of the girls can get nasty."

Camilla nodded, "Thank you."

Camilla glanced down at the dress again, smiling. She made her way over to the crowd, and saw a table of jewelry, and a rack of hair accessories, and next to the rack, a giant shelf of shoes. Camilla let out a low whistle at the sight.

Camilla was about to reach for a pair of shoes, when another girl grabbed them. "Um, excuse me, but I was going for those."

The girl faced her, and Camilla saw she had fiery red hair, with freckles splattered across her face, with grey-blue eyes that seemed to pin Camilla in place, and dry the words from her tongue.

"Yeah? My bad, well, I can't very well give them back now, it wouldn't suit my outfit well to choose another pair." She said, and turned away, stalking to another side of the room.

Camilla huffed, but brushed it off, and chose another pair of stunning silver shoes. These ones had little ribbons on them, so they would at least match her dress. She made her way to the accessory table, and picked out a jumble of gold bracelets to stand out against the mass of grey and silver she'd chosen.

Camilla checked a nearby mirror, and smiled. Yes, this will do just fine. She glanced around at the other Selected, and wondered who the girl who'd directed her to this corner was, and where was the girl who had stolen her shoes? Camilla would have to be sure to avoid her in the future.

"Hey, glad you found your way over." Speak of the devil. Camilla turned, already smiling at the girl who'd directed her to the accessories.

"Hi, so, I didn't catch your name." Camilla said.

The girl smiled, "I didn't throw it." She grinned, "That was cheesy, sorry. My name's Evie, what's yours?"

Camilla smiled, "Camilla, it's a pleasure, Evie."

Kirara "Kira" Stride, Five, Hansport

Kira grinned at herself in the mirror, she'd acted many parts on stage, but she hadn't thought that she could actually be in a different life. The red dress that flowed around her was enough to remind her of where she was. A ballroom, getting ready to meet Prince Rayden, and in the fanciest 'house' she'd ever seen.

Most of the groups had arrived, and those who had, were finished dressing, now waiting for further instruction. Clothing racks were being removed, and empty boxes thrown away to make the room look less cluttered. It was working.

Kira made her way over to the giant windows on the far side of the ballroom, and gazed out of them. She didn't hear anyone approach, until they were right next to her. She looked over, and saw it was the other girl from the plane ride.

Kenna.

She wore a simple, but pretty white dress that fell just above her knees in the front, and a little longer in the back. She didn't have many accessories, in fact, she didn't have any, yet Kira thought she looked stunning without anything extra.

Kenna smiled at Kira, "Are you excited to meet the prince?"

Kira glanced out the windows, but nodded, smiling to herself. "Yeah, I am. I think he'll be just as good a person as we've seen from the media."

Kenna nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, I hope so. It would be quite a disappointment if he was rude or arrogant."

Kira had to agree, they'd all come here in hopes of winning the heart of the prince, and yet, it seemed like no one actually seemed nervous about meeting the prince. Maybe the others were just as confidant in his kindness as she was? But then again, she didn't even know the prince yet.

Her stomach churned, and she desperately wished there was water or food in this room. Maybe a nice velvet cupcake…

"So, have you lived in Hansport your whole life?" Kenna asked.

"No, actually, I was born in Sonage, moved around for a bit, then I moved to Hansport to live with my aunt." Kira said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware your parents were-"

"Oh, no. They're not dead. They're actors, and figured it would be more stable for me to live with my Aunt Tilly." Kira said quickly, reassuring Kenna.

Kenna nodded, smiling slightly, "Ah, I understand."

Kira couldn't help it, she needed to ask, "Your accent, it's Scottish?"

Kenna smiled fondly, "Very good, yes, it's Scottish. My father was born there, and my mother was Illean, so my accent isn't as strong as my dad's obviously, but it's still there a little."

Kira nodded, and was about to speak, but there was a hush over the crowd, and Kira couldn't see what was going on until people started to bow, and Kira realized Prince Rayden had arrived.

Hello everyone! I have another chapter for you, yay! I hope you like it!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the Selected are meeting Ray in the next chapter, oops, surprise! Haha

I hope you keep the redhead who stole the shoes in mind, she's basically going to be the story mean girl, and she's of my own creation, so...that's fun! Anyways, thanks to all of you for reading this story, I seriously love all of your characters, and I love writing them (Although sometimes the inspiration for some is hard to find, but nonetheless I love them).

I have a new poll to determine the theme of the ball on my profile. It's down to the final 2 from the last poll. So be sure to take it! Thanks guys! You're all the best!