Audrey POV:

A couple of weeks ago, Charlotte had decided to leave the palace, she quit the Selection. Until then, it was obvious that she had been Carter's favorite. Of course, he had spent some time with the rest of us, but we could all see through his act. None of us had a chance. But now that Charlotte was gone, we all actually had a chance, one of us could win. It was like we were starting over.

The Elite sat in the Women's Room talking, waiting for our next assignment from Silvia. She seemed to always have work for us whether it was finding new decorations or planning events.

"Have any of you guys seen Carter lately? I haven't seen him in forever. Like honestly," said Morgan protectively.

"I know Audrey has," replied Jade with a mischievous tone. I blushed and looked away as the other girls looked at me.

Lately I had spent a lot more time with Carter. He was a great guy and I was beginning to like him a lot more.

"Audrey, tell us everything." Exclaimed Natalia happily. But, as I was about to start talking, there was a knock at the door, and in walked Carter himself. He wasn't smiling, and he didn't look at me. It seemed like he had something urgent to talk to us about.

"Sorry ladies, but Natalia and Georgia, may I speak to you?"

Carter POV:

Three weeks after Charlotte had left, I was finally beginning to really get back to my Selection. After almost two months, my group of girls was starting to get a lot smaller, and everything was beginning to be more serious. I hadn't had a lot of time to reconnect with the remaining ladies, but I still needed to make a cut, even if it was going to be hard.

As I walked back into the Women's Room, I felt all eyes on me.

"I'm sorry ladies, but Georgia and Natalia have left. I am truly looking to find my wife through this experience, and while both Georgia and Natalia are great people, I don't believe that they would fit perfectly into my life. You girls knew them both as well as I, if not better. They were both amazing, fun-loving people. I didn't want them to lose those qualities by becoming members of the royal family. They wouldn't be able to be themselves as Princesses, and I didn't want them to change parts of themselves. So, I decided to send them home. Please respect my decision, it wasn't easy."

I looked into the remaining girl's understanding faces, and I was reassured. I knew they were sad that they had their friends were gone, but I knew they understood.

Now there were only five girls left. Hope, Audrey, Morgan, Jade, and Bella. And they were each amazing in their own way.

After my announcement I went into the corridor and waited, wondering if I had just made a huge mistake by sending those girls home. I leaned against the wall as I heard footsteps coming my way.

A caramel haired girl appeared: Morgan. She walked up to me, smiling deviously, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me with fierceness. I kissed her back, putting my wants around her waist, pushing her against the wall as her hands moved my neck and onto my hair. Kissing Morgan always made me forget about what was going on. It cleared my mind, and all I could think about was the kisses that we shared. I loved how she wasn't afraid of me; she would go for what she wanted. However, I knew that she wanted the crown, not me. She hid it from me, but it was obvious in my mind the whole time. But I liked having her as a distraction, and I was always happy to have her kiss me and distract me from my worries and insecurities.

After a couple minutes, she pulled away, smirking as she moved. "Good job sending them home, Carter, I'll see you around," she whispered, winking as she turned and went back to the women's room.

I smiled to myself as I walked back to my study to continue my work and plan for the upcoming events.

Jade POV:

I'm not the type of girl who goes to a palace to date the Prince with 35 other girls. Until it actually happened, never would I ever have imagined it. Things like that don't happen to girls like me. Girls like me don't tend to like that sort of thing. I expected to come to the palace, enjoy the food and get sent home. But my original plan didn't work out.

It sounds crazy, but instead of loving the food, I ended up loving the Prince. He is such an amazing person, so much better than I could have ever expected. I feel like we complement each other, a match made in heaven. I feel like I could spend the rest of my life with him, that I could love him forever. I just hope he feels that way too.

We were down to five girls, all of which were tough competition. They were all angels, gorgeous angels for that matter.

As four of the girls were sitting in the Women's room talking, Hope walked in with a huge smile on her face. A smile bigger than usual.

"Guys!" she screamed, running towards us. "Family visits are next week!" She almost tackled me on the couch, as we all looked at her, stunned.

"Wait for real?" I asked.

"YES! Carter just told me!" I hugged her, and we all were amazingly happy that we would be able to see our families soon.

Out of all of us, Hope had the biggest family. She had three brothers. Morgan, and Bella were both only children, and Audrey and I each had one sibling. We are all definitely ready to see our families again.

Hope POV:

Finally, finally my family was going to visit. I had missed my family so much during the Selection. I missed seeing my brothers everyday, and always having my dad behind me. Finally I would be reunited with my family. And I knew that we were going to have a blast at the palace, for there were endless sources of entertainment.

I could only imagine what it would be like. But first, I would have to get through the week. Tonight, we were having a party, organized by Sierra. The Queen's extended family was coming over to visit. After a long day of working in the kitchen with Maggie and the others cooks, I went back to my room to prepare and get changed. When I entered, my three maids who were all wearing mischievous expressions greeted me.

"Hope! We have the perfect outfit for you tonight!" Stella said happily with a smirk.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" I asked, smiling.

"No reason. We think that you should look different tonight, just a bit different. Come, we need to get you ready."

There did my makeup and my hair, but they made me close my eyes during the whole time so that I couldn't see anything. They took their time making each eyelash perfect, or at least I hoped that was what took so long. Then, they did my hair, using different irons, curling, straitening, putting in pins and tying different pieces of hair in different directions. I didn't know what they were planning, but I trusted them and their sense of style. My maids were angels, and they were my friends. I trusted them.

Finally, when they were done, I opened my eyes and I could hardly even recognize myself. My makeup was perfect. My green eyes popped and were surrounded by dark eye shadow. My lips were painted a light red cherry color. Different sections of my hair were braided and pulled back. Many different braids were pinned to the back of my head, and the rest of my hair was left down. It was absolutely gorgeous. Coming from a family with boys, I rarely had the time for myself, and I was rarely able to dress up, no reason to look good. But right then, I felt beautiful.

"Miss, come see your dress," said Stella.

"Stella! How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Hope."

"Fine. Are you ready to see it?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Sure! I'm sure it will be beautiful.

She unzipped the bag containing the dress, and revealed a bright red dress. The two straps were silver and they shone in the light. The back of the dress was practically inexistent, and the right side of me stomach and waist was open. The dress cut open, and the edge was lined with the same silver material that reminded me of flames. The rest of the dress hung down do my ankles, but there was a slit that cut up to the top of my leg.

I gasped when I saw it, and as my maids put it on, I could hardly believe how gorgeous the dress was.

"Miss Hope, we know that you and Carter are only friends, but we thought that this look would, you know… enhance your look, maybe make him like you a little more? Not that you need it. " Stella winked at me as she spoke.

"Wow. Just wow. You girls truly outdid yourselves. Thank you guys. And you guys already know that we're just friends. A dress isn't going to change that." They giggled as I spoke.

"Of course." Said Stella as she put the finishing touches of makeup on me.

Carter POV:

That night, at the party, I made the effort to dance with each of the girls and spend time with each one. I liked each of the girls in a different way, but they were all important to me. I danced with Jade, who was as cute as ever, and I spent time with Audrey. Then, as I got a glass of champagne, I saw Hope. When I first looked at her, my heart stopped. I hardly recognized her. She was absolutely stunning, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

I walked up to her and touched her shoulder.

"Hope."

"Carter," she said smiling, as she turned around "this party is amazing."

"You look, stunning." I said, staring into her eyes. I couldn't help myself; her eyes were like magic. Once you looked into them, you couldn't look away. I couldn't figure out how she had that kind of power over me.

"Thanks," she said, looking down. "You don't look to bad yourself," she answered, eyeing me.

I felt so awkward. I couldn't talk to her like normally; that moment just felt different. "Dance?"

"Of course!" I led her out onto the dance floor, and we started dancing among the crowd.

"Carter!" Hope said as she winced after I had stepped on her foot.

"I'm sorry! You know I'm an awful dancer," I cried with mercy.

"Good point, I should have known what I was signing up for." We both laughed as we walked off the dance floor. Soon after, I left her talking to a guard and I went to go find Bella.

I found Bella outside near the entrance to the garden, so I went up to her and said hello.

"Bella, you look gorgeous." She was wearing an icy blue dress that matched her eyes. She turned to look at me, pursing her lips.

"Did you finally decide it was time to stop talking to that tramp? Honestly that red dress just makes her look like a red pepper." She leaned into my shoulder, and her breath smelled like wine. "Time to spend some time with yours truly, at least I'm not fake, and I have a real name."

I was stunned. I didn't know what to think.

"Excuse me?" I asked feeling insulted.

"Well, yeah. Hope hasn't stopped flirting with every guy that comes near her. She tries way to hard. And what is she wearing anyways. Did she forget half her dress in her room?"

I knew she had had a bit too much to drink, but I knew that when people drank too much, their true personality was shown in an exaggerated manner. But seeing Bella like this was so unexpected.

"Bella, please apologize."

"No. I wouldn't say something I didn't mean. You can't get mad at me for telling the truth."

I couldn't take her absent-mindedly insulting my best friend. It was downright rude and insulting.

"Bella. Stop." I replied with a stern, cold voice.

"No. Don't tell me what to do."

I was absolutely stunned. "Bella, please go pack your bags and leave. Thank you for participating in the Selection."

"What?" She replied with a disgusted tone. Her voice was starting to scare me.

"You heard what I said." I replied fiercely, not giving into the new person I was talking to.

"Carter, you can't do that. I'm staying. You don't want to send me home," she replied with a tone that was just as fierce as my own.

"I am the Prince, you must do as I say."

"Carter," she said warningly as she stared daggers at me. "Don't do it." I looked away, not looking into her icy glare while keeping my jaw clenched shut. "If you send me home, not only will your heart be broken, but your palace will be as well." The words she spoke were beginning to actually be frightening. What did she mean by that? "You don't want to find out what would happen if you eliminated me."

I didn't know what she meant and my head started spinning. It seemed like I was living a nightmare. I looked down, not wanting her to see my emotions and saw a tattoo on her foot. It was a star. It was abnormal yet I recognized it. I tried to pin down the image and what it was; memories running through my mind. And then I figured it out. It was the rebel sign. Rebels.

She was a rebel. The attack on the palace. She had to have had something to do with it. I connect the dots quickly and I made a discrete signal to a guard who came over immediately. He rushed over and I told him to take Lady Bella into the prison for questioning. He abided without asking questions, without doubting me, and took her away. As she was being led away, all I could see were her icy, cold eyes staring at me menacingly, dangerously.

My head was spinning. I was scared. I didn't know what was happening, I didn't have nay control over my future, and it was truly scary. I couldn't stay at the party. After seeing the real Bella, I needed to think things over. I truly had trusted Bella; I thought that she was a genuine person. But it turned out that she wasn't. I didn't know what she was, but I knew that she was here for the wrong reasons. I felt betrayed, tricked in the worst of ways.

I left the party and walked to the roof where I knew I wouldn't be bothered. I didn't know what to think. I didn't know how to deal with the Selection.

As I was thinking, I heard a pair of shoes clicking, someone walking up behind me.

"Carter, are you alright?" said a familiar, soft voice. Hope sounded worried as she walked up to me. I did my best to cover up my emotions, not wanting to make my friend worry about me, but clearly I wasn't good enough of an actor. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine, it's okay, don't worry," I replied, giving her a weak smile.

"Carter. What's wrong," she demanded, turning me towards her, and making me look into her eyes.

"I sent Bella home."

"What happened?"

"She… she insulted you. It turns out that she was against me the whole time. She's a rebel."

"Whoa."

"Yeah. I didn't expect anything like that, especially from her. And the things she said… it's scary, you know?" Hope nodded understandingly, thinking.

"So she was faking it this whole time?" she asked sadly.

"I think so. I just thought that what we had was real. I trusted her."

"I'm so sorry." Her eyes looked pained, as if she felt was I was feeling.

"It's hard because I don't know anymore. I don't know who I can trust, who I can love. I don't want to be tricked again, I don't want put my family in danger."

"You're so strong. So much has happened to you because of this process; I know it's hard for you." She stood right next to me as we both leaned on the wall. She rested her head on my shoulder. "I'm here for you. I know there's not much I can do, but I promise to do my best to help you get through this mess of a Selection. That's what friends are for," she said, giving me a soft smile.

She so understanding, so reassuring, so beautiful. I looked into her eyes once again, and I saw a completely different girl. She was so beautiful, so genuine, so trusting, and so real. Without thinking, I wrapped my hand around her waist, touching her bare skin that wasn't covered by the dress; pulling her closer to me. I leaned down, looking into her magical eyes and pressed my lips to hers, kissing her.

Kissing Hope was like having a first kiss all over again. It was amazing, it was perfect. She wrapped her arms around my neck, resting her arms on my shoulder as she returned my kisses in the moonlight.

She pulled away too soon, looking down at her feet, taking a step back.

"I should go," she said softly, looking back up at me. I wanted to ask her to stay, but I didn't have the courage to do it. She leaned up and kissed my cheek, and left.

Being with Hope made me feel reassured, and I felt so comfortable when I was around her, and I definitely felt like I could trust her. She helped me forget about Bella, and showed me that I was strong, and that I still could find my wife during the Selection.

I didn't see Hope for the next couple days, but I knew that what we had was different. I didn't really understand it, but I knew that it was something.