Heyyy! It feels weird writing this into cuz I literally just wrote the outro for the other one, so if you're looking for something new from me… sorry. I'm just going to assume you guys sent more characters and say thanks!
Kat was shocked. What was he doing here? Shouldn't he be at his home, mourning Taliyah? And why was he wearing… guard's clothes?
"Oh, you're Talon, right? From Kat's party?" Alder asked. "I'm so sorry about your sister…"
"What are you doing back here?" Kat blinked. "Not that it isn't lovely to see you, I just thought you might like some… distance."
Talon scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, that's what I was trying to get when I volunteered for the new draft. Being back home without Taliyah sucked… but when they placed me, I guess I did too well… now I'm here."
"I could request that you be moved somewhere else," Kat suggested.
Talon shook his head. "No, no… I've decided that I need to be here. To be where she last was to truly move on… and I want to find the motherfucker who did it. Especially now that he hurt you, Alder."
Kat noticed Alder's cheeks redden just the tiniest bit, and she stifled a giggle, before returning to a serious expression. "I agree. I was planning to investigate… I have a few suspects in mind."
Alder rolled his eyes. "It's not Byrrel. He wouldn't be that obvious, Kat."
Kat shrugged. "It never hurts to look into the lead." She then turned to Talon. "Would you mind if I requested you be assigned outside of Alder's room?"
"Not at all," Talon replied smoothly, "Speaking of my guard duties. I really need to get back to work." Talon laid the flowers- purple jasmine -at the foot of Alder's bed with the rest of them, waved once, and exited the room. "Seeya later."
Once Talon had left the room, Alder looked into Kat's eyes and said, "Damn, he's cute. Probably straight though."
Kat smiled slightly. "I wouldn't be so sure. He asked me if you were gay at my party and seemed rather interested." Her face fell to a serious look. "But I wouldn't be so sure about going for him, Ald. He just lost his sister."
Alder nodded solemnly. "I know. I won't. I was just… wondering."
"Mhm, sure," Kat said, rolling her eyes.
There was a loud knock on the door, and, without waiting for response, the knocker pushed through. Queen Aledonna stood, hands on her hips, glowering down at Kat and Alder. "How long exactly do you plan to stay in here, Katalina?"
"Uh… I don't know?"
"You managed to evade dinner through Berlin, but we're not pushing back you meeting the girls. If you want to actually look decent tomorrow, I recommend going to bed. Now."
"But Mom…"
"No. Now, you self-centered homosexual. Go."
It honestly took a lot of effort for Kat not to giggle at the insult. Self-centered homosexual. That was a new one. "Alright… I'll see you tomorrow, Alder."
"The meeting with the girls has also been moved to breakfast tomorrow, Kat. Do not be late, or there will be repercussions."
"Yes, mother…" Kat mumbled. Not only was she not allowed to stay with Alder, but the meeting was at breakfast… meaning she'd have to get up at around six for hair and makeup, and the girls would as well. Great way to make them dislike her. She sighed and walked back to her room, waving one last time at Alder before she left. On her way back, she sent a messenger to the Head Guard, ordering him to assign Talon outside Alder's hospital room, and to remember to have two guards on each of the girls' rooms. When she got back to her room, she laid down under the navy sheets and tried to sleep. She tried her very best to just cancel her thoughts, close her eyes, and sink into oblivion but she just couldn't. Tomorrow she'd meet the girls. Her parents had made it very clear she was expected to initiate an elimination after the original meeting. She didn't know how she'd go about that… how would she even know them enough to make a decision? What if she messed up, and her soulmate was sent home? Or worse, what if none of the girls liked her at all? These thoughts kept her up late into the night, and it was because of them that she heard footsteps outside her door at about two in the morning. She knew her guards were very quiet people, and it couldn't be them… so who would be up at two? She snuck out of bed and peered through her peephole, from which she saw the quickly moving figure of Reice Byrrel scurrying by. Where on earth could he be going at a time like this?
After waiting a few moments Kat pulled on her slippers and unlatched her door, exiting and smiling at the guards outside. "Need to use the bathroom. Don't mind." They nodded. She headed in the direction Byrrel had went, thankful that it was the same as the nearest bathroom and peered around the dark corner. She saw him turn at the end of that hallway and followed him through the castle. She followed him up and down staircases, through main halls and through tiny little offhand ones until they finally arrived at the servant's door at the back of the castle.
Why is he at the servant's door? Why not use the main doors? This is so frickin' sus, Kat thought.
He waited there for a few minutes, before a dark black car with tinted windows pulled up, and he got into the backseat. The car roared away quickly, taking Byrrel with it, and leaving Kat utterly confused. She stood there pondering for a few moments, trying to conjure up a rational explanation for Byrrel's behavior, but simply couldn't. It very dubious behavior to say the least. However, Kat realized just how illogical it was for her to be wasting time she could be using to sleep, and headed back up to her room.
"Quite the long bathroom trip, Your Highness," one of the guards said.
Kat inwardly grumbled before throwing him a coy smile. "Lady problems."
The guard let out a noise of shock and actually stumbled back a bit. "S-Sorry Your Highness!"
Kat entered her room and closed the door before exploding in a fit of giggles. Boys. After her laughter faded, she attempted to calm herself down as much as possible. She wanted to sleep, not lay awake some more. She lay down in her bed once more, and finally, after a long night, she slept.
-uUu-
Though you wouldn't guess it from the hallway, the south corridor of the third floor was abuzz with activity. In every single room there was a girl getting bathed, primed, polished, and dressed as quickly as possible. They were rehearsing what they were going to say, yelling at their maids for being too slow, and for some of them… just sort of panicking. For you see, the south corridor of the third floor was where all of the Selected girls were staying, and in just one hour they were going to breakfast, where they were to meet- and actually talk to -Princess Katalina for the first time.
However, it was not just the girls who were nervous. In her own room, Princess Kat was having her makeup done, shaking just the tiniest bit, nervous for what was to come.
"But what if they don't like me?" Kat frowned.
"They will. And Kat, you've asked that question, like, ten times by now?" Berlin yawned. "I wouldn't have agreed to get up this earlier if I'd known all of these questions would happen."
"Ber, you showed up of your own accord," Kat replied.
Berlin stuck out her tongue. "I'm making sure you don't flip out and have, like, a panic attack or something. You should be thankful."
"And I am. Mostly."
"Mostly?!"
The two girls giggled before Yvette shushed them. "Your shaking is messing up the eyeshadow!"
"Sorry, Yvette, sorry, Adina," Kat said.
Yvette sighed. "All good, Your Highness."
They were going for a simple look, today. Traditional makeup, which for her was a full face. Her hair was going to be out plain, but they'd styled some full waves into it. She'd be wearing a jade green dress with asscher cut moissanites framing a sweeping pattern onto the dress. The deep green color brought out her eyes, and she had jades in her small tiara to match.
"You look gorge!" Berlin grinned. "I bet I'd look better, though!"
"Berlin, we look exactly the same." Kat rolled her eyes.
"But I carry myself better!" Berlin said, flipping her hair.
"If you think sassier is better, than sure."
"Oh, it definitely is."
The two girls giggled once more, as Adina added one more bobby pin onto Kat's crown. "Well, you're all done Your Highness. With thirty minutes to spare. Off you go, now, I'm guess you'll want to be early."
Kat nodded, and she and Berlin exited her room and headed down to the dining hall. The entire time Kat wondered about what Byrrel had been doing. She really wanted to talk to Alder, but that wasn't an option at the moment. She thought perhaps she could tell Berlin, but she didn't want all of Ber's little friends to know too.
Berlin skidded to a halt and turned sharply to face Kat. "You're keeping something from me."
Kat blinked. "Dunno what you mean, Ber."
"Yep. You do, you're so easy to read, Kat!" Berlin stood on her tiptoes (but still was much shorter than Kat) and pointed her finger up in Kat's face. "You're keeping something big!"
Kat frowned.
Berlin sighed. "Not gonna share, are ya? That's okay. I'm sure you'll tell me sooner or later."
Kat was suddenly thankful for her sister, who could read her so easily. She knew that she could tell Berlin anything, but that Berlin would also respect her privacy. She knew some girls in the castle who were always bickering with their sisters, and she felt lucky it wasn't like that with Berlin. Sure, they had their little fights, but she and Berlin always had each other's backs. The two kept on walking towards the breakfast hall, and when they arrived an attendant smiled at them.
"Ah, the two princesses! Welcome, your Highnesses. So, Princess Berlin, you will be sitting at the head table per usual, and you can go on in now." Her sister followed the man's commands. "But you, Princess Katalina, will be sitting at a smaller table off to the side, and you'll have small, five minute conversations with each girl. Afterwards you will eliminate about five to ten of them, alright?"
Kat nodded, sickness growing in the pit of her stomach. She should have studied the girls' names more… she was definitely going to forget some of them mid-conversation. She walked into the dining hall and headed over to the small table. Now, all she could do was wait. After what felt like an eternity, the girls began to slowly drift into the dining hall. The sat down in order of their province, and, when they were all finally there, the girl from Allens rose and sat in front of her.
"Hello, Your Highness." The girl curtsied.
Shoot, Kat thought. They'd started her off with a hard one, she didn't remember the girl's name. Attempting to cover it, she threw on a winning smile. "Forgive me, but I seem to be blanking on your name."
"Oh, I-I'm Uma Teacher." The girl frowned.
"It's so pleasant to meet you, Lady Uma. Please tell me about yourself," Kat replied, feeling so very guilty about forgetting this girl's name. Lady Uma turned out to be a very boring person, the most Three Three there ever was. Kat wasn't sure there was much notable about this girl, but she felt quite terrible for forgetting her name. Despite the lacking conversation, when Lady Uma left Kat decided she wouldn't eliminate her, more out of guilt than out of interest.
The next girl to arrive, from Angeles itself, was Lady Jennfyr Gallaway. Thankfully Kat knew Lady Jennfyr's name. "Lady Jennfyr, how pleasant it is to meet you!"
Lady Jennfyr curtsied. "I can certainly say the same to you."
Lady Jennfyr was gorgeous. She had beautiful, wavy auburn hair and big blue eyes. She had full lips and high cheekbones.
"Are you, by any chance, a model, Lady Jennfyr?" Kat asked.
Jennfyr giggled and blushed. "I am, indeed, Your Highness."
Kat smiled. "Please, call me Kat."
Kat found Lady Jennfyr engaging and a wonder to talk to, learning that Lady Jennfyr was a low profile model who'd much rather be behind the camera than in front of it, and who had a passion for photography. She also learned, quite awkwardly, that she'd mispronounced Lady Jennfyr's name. It was Jenn-feer, not Jenn-fir.
Next up was Lady Cameo Howard, from Atlin. Kat's first reaction to seeing Lady Cameo could be summed up in one word. Damn. She'd been breathtaking on screen, but in real life there was no word for how utterly hot Lady Cameo was. Kat had always had a thing for butch girls, and seeing Lady Cameo show up in a suit with short cut hair made Kat's heart stop for a second. Seeing Kat's reaction to her, Lady Cameo flashed a cocky smirk.
"Hey there, Princess." Lady Cameo plopped down in the seat across from Kat, doing what could only be labeled as 'manspreading'. Lady Cameo's conversation skills definitely weren't lacking, and she seemed very witty, but still very polite to Kat. She'd thought that it would be hard for Lady Jennfyr to be topped, but found herself staring at Lady Cameo as she walked away.
Lady Elyn Mortissio was next, and she was a fairly plain person with a fairly plain personality. She mostly just relied on Kat to steer the conversation, a trait that Kat didn't like all that much. After Lady Elyn was Lady Hanna Porter, a cutely nerdy awkward girl who made Kat smile with her social ineptitude. Kat asked her for her favorite books, and was happy to realize they shared some in common. Lady Charlotte Terracotta was next, a loud and overbearing girl whose personality was through the roof. She grinned widely at Kat throughout the entire conversation.
After Lady Charlotte was Lady Rhiannon Belmonte of Bonita, who Kat definitely thought was very pretty. She was petite with little bust or butt, but she had a very lovely face (though her expression did look a bit sad, her eyes angled down). Her personality, like Lady Charlotte's, was very big, though in a different way. She asked just a few too many personal questions about Katalina, which made Kat just a little nervous.
A few more girls passed by without notice, until Lady Nova Dyre of Carolina appeared. Wow, this girl was something else. She had bright blue hair and a rather dramatic appearance that made her look mysterious and very pretty. Kat was immediately intrigued with her coy and quiet smile, and Lady Nova kept steering the conversation back to Kat every time it turned to her. When she walked away Kat was certainly not quick to forget her. More girls passed quickly, such as Lady Fleur Lee, who seemed a bit standoffish and not that interested in Kat, and Lady Muriel Teach, a girl who looked alarmingly young and wore too much makeup. Lady Elita Carpenter, a girl with pretty eyes and a tendency to stutter was next, followed by Lady Lysa Pinegrove.
Lady Lysa was pretty, of course, as all actresses were, but she seemed sad in a way that Kat couldn't quite understand. Maybe this was just her natural demeanor, but Kat felt an aura of melancholy surrounding her. She did still make good conversation though, she just seemed sort of exhausted.
The girl who followed Lady Lysa was her complete opposite. Lady Lilac Nichols practically raced up to Kat. She looked very eccentric in her electric yellow minidress with a cat ears headband sticking up from her wild curly brown hair. She had one rainbow curl, clearly representing her gay pride, and she seemed to bounce when she talked. She was excitable and very happy to meet Kat, calling her an 'icon'.
After Lady Lilac came Lady Athena, a nerdy girl who tried to… talk to Kat about religion? Kat was very confused, and mostly just bs-ed her way through the conversation. After that it was onto Lady Carolynn Lackson, who smirked at her. She seemed as though she knew some special secret, which made Kat very wary. She was still polite though, and didn't leave Kat too suspicious. When Lady Carolynn was gone, Lady Moreena Challis approached her. A famous and popular singer, Berlin had even spoken about how excited she was to meet Lady Moreena. Lady Moreena made good and engaging conversation, and left Kat excited for their next meeting. Soon after Lady Moreena had left came Lady Marielle DeBussy of Midston. The girl spoke with a cute southern twang and didn't seem to used to her dress, as she kept fidgeting with the clearly uncomfortable material. A few more girls passed unmemorably, and then came Lady Eyrie Doctor. Lady Eyrie turned the charm on hard, and spent the entire time flirting with Kat. It was only when Lady Eyrie walked away did Kat see her expression slip and she sighed in relief. Clearly the girl had been nervous. After Lady Eyrie was Lady Juana Cook of Panama, who spoke much too casually with Kat, ignoring all the rules Silvia was supposed to have taught them. Then came Lady Tatiana Redding.
Lady Tatiana was beautiful. She had an hourglass figure and long, wavy strawberry blonde hair. Kat felt an immediate attraction to her, and felt bad when Lady Tatiana was clearly nervous. Lady Tatiana stared at Kat quite a bit, with a slightly shocked expression on her face, and Kat couldn't quite figure out why. But Lady Tatiana smiled and seemed to enjoy the conversation, so she overlooked it.
The next two girls, Lady Lucya Ruminov and Lady Jezka Adimin were practically carbon copies of each other. They each had the same Russian accent, were dressed similarly, and looked very similar in everything excluding their hair colors, Lady Lucya being blonde and Lady Jezka being a brunette. Finally, after the last girl who hailed from Zuni left, Kat was done. Well, not entirely done. As she finished her meal she thought about one thing and one thing only.
Who was she going to eliminate?
Crazy, right? Two chapters in two days? Well, I actually finished this yesterday (well technically I finished this TODAY but today is 11/26/16 and I'm planning on updating tomorrow) and decided why not post it soon. I'm not sure how I finished it so fast, besides it being like two pages shorter than my usual ones. It's probably not very good tbh. Sorry for the short chapter, but you get a quick update! You should be happy. Anyways, it's elimination time next chapter…
Who will stay?
Who will go?
Write in a review for this chapter who you think should be eliminated or who you think should stay! I'm going to be listening to those!
Also tell me who you think Kat should have her first date with!