Prince Killian

There I was, standing before the double entry doors that led to the dining room. I could hear some murmur already, and I was guessing that the girls were waiting in anticipation for me to arrive. My parents and Yasmin were already inside, since I had to make a 'grand entrance', as Yasmin put it. I thought it was a bit dramatic, but she and mother insisted.

A voice beside me interrupted me from my train of thought. ''Well, come on. Since when don't you jump at the chance to meet new ladies?'' Tristan asked.

I straightened my crown, my brown hair sweeping up beneath it. ''One of those voices is the voice of my future wife. Just give me some damn time to register that.'' I replied grumpily. This was how our friendship worked. Bickering and joking around.

I waited for a few more moments, and then signaled the guards to open the grand doors. The murmurs immediately died the moment they opened and I walked in, fifteen heads turning in my direction.

All the girls, minus one, quickly scurried to their feet and curtsied to the best of their ability. I could see that some still had trouble with that, and others were already gracefully dipping low. I was glad that I still remembered every single name and that they hadn't changed drastically after their makeovers. I had no choice but to remember their names, as Yasmin had drilled it in my brain during the past days.

My eyes were drawn to Lady Arizona, who merely dipped her head from her seat in her wheelchair. I quickly averted my eyes and smiled my most dashing smile. ''Good evening, ladies. It's such a pleasure to finally meet you. Please, have a seat and enjoy your meal.''

The girls sat down in their chair as I walked up to my family, who were seated at a table that was slightly removed from the Selected, but overseeing the entire room. I took my seat in between Yasmin and my father, who looked at me with a proud smile on his face.

''Well done, son.''

''All I did was greet them,'' I replied, not understanding what he was so proud of.

''I know. I'm just glad that you're doing this and starting this journey for me to see.''

I smiled back at my father, appreciating that he actually voiced his feelings. I had noticed that he was doing that a lot lately. While growing up, our father hadn't been around that much. It was understandable, and I always made excuses for him. A good king needed to put all his time and energy into his work, he couldn't have any distractions. And since dad was such a beloved King, it seemed to me that his method actually worked. But I couldn't deny that it had also been hard for me and Yasmin. I was glad that his illness made him realize that he needed to spend more time with us, and he did. Before, he used to spend his free time in his study, doing extra work that one of his advisors could have easily done. And now, he spent that time with us. It did make me wonder how I would be as King and father. Would I be able to find the right balance?

I was snapped out of my thoughts as the waiting staff started bringing the food in. I looked at all the Selected, curious as to what their reactions to the luxurious food were. The lower castes were practically drooling, enthusiastically diving into their meals. The upper castes barely had any reaction, as they were probably used to this.

Yasmin poked me in the arm. ''Well, what do you think?'' she asked, her eyes also fixed on the Selected. Our table was close enough to converse with the ladies without yelling, but also far enough to have our own private conversations if we spoke in a hushed manner.

''To be honest, I don't know yet. They are all attractive in their own way, which is a plus.'' I replied, my shallow side surfacing. ''That's all I can say about them for now until I get to know them better. For the time being, I'm satisfied.''

''Well, don't mind me then if I do some digging,'' she said, excitement gleaming in her eyes. Yasmin had promised me from the start that she would do her very best to infiltrate the Selected and get to know everything about them, to help me make decisions. I guess she was already starting with that.

She leaned forward a bit, addressing the girl sitting closest to her. ''Lady April, is it? I read in your file that you're a genetic scientist. How did you get a job like that at such a young age?''

''I completed high school at a very early age. After that, I obtained a science degree in two years instead of the customary four. That's when I started working in the lab,'' the red haired girl replied. She looked slightly anxious to be spoken to directly by Yasmin, which I couldn't exactly blame her for. Yasmin could come off quite strong.

''That's quite impressive,'' I said. I wasn't planning on conversing with all the Selected on this evening, as I had the whole Selection to get to know them, but I couldn't deny that I was fascinated. While I knew I was as an intelligent man, I never quite got the appeal of science. That was mostly because I just didn't understand it. I lacked in that department, but my intelligence in other subjects made up for it.

Yasmin moved on to the girl sitting next to Lady April, which was Lady Viollca. ''And what do you do?''

''I'm a comic book artist,'' she replied politely.

Yasmin immediately piped up at that. ''That's so cool! I'm an artist too. You should come to my studio sometime.''

Viollca seemed to be taken back a bit by Yasmin's enthusiasm and looked like she didn't really know what to reply. That was until Yasmin started to ask her more questions about her work, and the girl answered all her questions enthusiastically, hands flailing about.

I watched them for a few moments, smiling to myself. I was glad that Yasmin seemed to be making friends with these girls, as Yasmin wanted to gain a sister more than anything. Viollca seemed sweet, although a bit eccentric and slightly out there.

I let Yasmin and Viollca have their conversation as I got back to my food, while my eyes surveyed the rest of the table. My glance stopped at Lady Alondra, who was wearing a dress her chest almost seemed to spill out of. I swallowed and tried to suppress a grin as I saw two other ladies who were also wearing quite scandalous dresses, Lady Rowan and Lady Aurelia. I already knew what their tactic would be, and to be honest, I was quite looking forward to it. Nothing wrong with having a little fun, right?

The dinner continued without a hitch as Yasmin questioned a few other ladies before turning her attention back to our own table.

''Well, have you already decided who is going to be your future sister-in-law?'' I joked.

Yasmin pretended to think about this, before replying, ''I have a few contenders.''

''I think they all seem lovely,'' my mother chimed in from the other side of the table, elegance personified. ''Even though some of them could cover up a bit more.''

''I knew you were going to say that, mom. There's nothing wrong with a bit of skin. It's the modern age, lighten up,'' Yasmin teasingly said.

''It's up to Killian. He'll be the one choosing,'' dad said.

I was glad that my parents were giving me so much freedom with choosing my bride. I knew it wasn't always this case in the Selection, and political strategy always had to be considered too. But dad had decided to take a different approach with my Selection, and I was glad for it. Falling in love and committing to one girl was already hard enough, I didn't need the extra complications.

Officer Tristan

Dinner was finally over. All the Selected were brought to their rooms, their guards were posted at their doors and the Royal Family had also retreated to the Royal Wing. I had just closed the door to Killian's room behind me, done with my shift for today. I greeted my fellow guard who would be taking over from me, and started to walk down the hallway. I contemplated going to my own room, but I had something to take care of first.

Her maid, Aria, immediately opened the door after just a few knocks. She didn't look surprised, as she was used to me visiting Yasmin in her room. Everyone in the Palace knew of the friendship between me, Yasmin and Killian. But that friendship had seemed off these past few weeks.

''Who is that?'' I heard Yasmin ask from across the room. I didn't wait for Aria to answer and moved past her.

''We need to talk.''

Yasmin looked up from her seat behind her vanity. Her other maid was in the process of taking the pins out of her hair, taking down the elaborate hairdo. Yasmin motioned for her to stop. ''Could you leave us?''

The maids curtsied and hurried out of the room, closing the door behind them.

I walked over to where Yasmin sat, standing behind her and looking at her reflection in the mirror. She was doing the same, finishing the process her maid had started. I didn't speak as I watched her do this, entranced by the way her dark hair fell to her shoulders, framing her angelic face.

I had watched her all throughout dinner. I could never get tired of looking at her. The critics may love her art and praise her for her creativity and talent, but they didn't realize that she was the most beautiful artwork of them all. The way her eyes shone when she laughed reminded me of aquamarine gemstones. Her smile could light up any room, and I had seen far too little of it since she had found out about her father. It did me good to see it again tonight. It did me more than good actually. This is why the fact that she had been so cold to me lately infuriated me even more.

''Did I do something wrong?'' I asked.

She looked at me through the mirror, feigning confusion as she picked up a brush and ran it through her hair. ''I don't know what you mean.''

''Stop with the act, Yasmin. You know what I mean. You've been cold and distant lately, and I want to know why. Is it me? Did I do something to upset you?''

She slowly put down the brush, stood up and turned around to face me. The big skirt of her blue dress pressed against my legs as she stepped closer to me.

''The mere sight of you upsets me,'' Yasmin slowly said.

This took me aback. I had expected her to give me a petty little reason, or convince me that there really wasn't anything that I had done. I had never expected her to say this. The girl I loved just told me that she couldn't even stand to see me.

I swallowed hard before I spoke again, ''Well, excuse me then, Princess. If you can't even stand to look at me, I will do my best to make sure you have to do that as little as possible.'' I bowed to her, not showing any emotion on my face, and turned around and walked to the door, more than ready to leave.

''It upsets me because I know that I can never have you.''

I stopped dead in my tracks.

''I'm the Princess, and I'm engaged to the Crown Prince of the German Federation. I have to marry him, even though my heart will never belong to him.'' Her voice was shaky, and she took a steadying breath before she continued, ''It belongs to you.''

I slowly turned, looking at Yasmin in disbelief. This was another scenario I hadn't expected, at all. She was fidgeting with her hands and tears were forming in her eyes, which hurt me. I never wanted to be the cause of her tears.

I was by her side in a few long steps, and before I knew it, my hands were on her cheeks and my lips pressed to her soft ones. I could feel the tears spilling out of her eyes as she wrapped her arms around my neck, holding onto me and melting into our kiss. It was nothing like I had ever experienced before. It was sweet and gentle, but also burning with passion and desire. It was as if everything had fallen perfectly into place in this exact moment. This was where we needed to be, where we belonged. In each other's arms.

She broke the kiss and looked at me, a questioning look in her eyes. I gently wiped away her tears with my thumb and smiled at her. ''Mine belongs to you, too.''

This made even more of her tears come out, but this time they were tears of happiness. I tried not to think of the fact that this didn't resolve the problem of her engagement. I just wanted to focus on this moment, on her, so I kissed her again.

The kiss turned heated very quickly, and before I knew it, my shirt was on the floor and she was admiring my muscular body.

''I never knew you were hiding this under that uniform.''

I grinned, flexing my muscles which made her laugh. ''I need to be strong to protect you.''

She rolled her eyes at this cheesy remark, and I pulled her close to me, letting my hands roam over her body which was still covered by her ridiculously intricate dress. ''Now, how the hell do I take this thing off?''

Yeah, Trismin happened. I just had to let them be together, and since a lot of you love them, I had to give them a part in this chapter. Hope you're satisfied. Oh and you can see Yasmin's 'intricate' dress, as Tristan put it, on her pinterest board.

So, that was the first meeting between Killian and all the Selected. Sorry it wasn't that long, but as Killian also said, he will be having plenty of time to get to know every single girl.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and tell me what you thought of the first meeting and of course, Trismin.

Thanks for reading!

~wolfofstark