"Mom I don't know what to do."
"You do what your heart tells you to do Claudia. There isn't much else I can tell you. You know what you want more then I do." Virginia flattened my hair down with her hands trying to keep the curls tame. "They all care about you."
I shook my head. "But I don't want one of them to just care about me mom. I want them to love me." Looking at myself in the mirror I didn't like what was looking back. The girl was dressed up in a dress made for a princess, a real princess. If I stayed here that was what I would be. I'd be a princess, never alone, never completely safe. Did I really want that? There was so much to choose from. I could go back to the 10th Kingdome and find love there. I could stay there and have children that would be normal. That wouldn't be looked at with awe because they were royal. But what if I didn't find someone that loved me like the people here did? What if there was no one like the princes?
Virginia sighed. "I don't know how to help you."
"Because you found dad. There was no choice it was just him."
She laughed. "No it wasn't as easy as you make it seem." She sat down on my bed and ran her hands down her white dress. "Your father wasn't meant to be with me Claudia, he was supposed to hurt me but he realized that he loved me." Holding her arms out to me she motioned for me to come over and sit next to her. When I did she wrapped her arms around me. "You should have met him back before you were born, he was a wild one."
I laughed. "He's a wild one now mom."
"That's true."
Standing up I walked towards the door and peaked out of it. "What if I can't do it?"
"You don't have to pick anything."
"And then Wendell does."
"No he wants the tournament. They will fight for you."
"I don't want anyone to fight for me." I leaned against the doorframe. "What if I make a bad choice?"
Virginia shook her head. "You can't make a bad choice."
"But I can."
"How?"
"I love one more then the others."
"Then pick him."
I shook my head. 'No mom you don't understand. I can't pick him, I can't be the one that says I love him more then everyone else its just wrong to me. This was so stupid why would you make me do this?"
"We're not making you do this."
"Yes you are! You're making me pick between the men I've loved my entire life to say that I love one of them more then I love the rest. To look at them standing there and say sorry I love him more then you." My mind floated back to the week before when Kyle kissed me. I still remember looking at the mirror when it answered my question. Even the mirror didn't know who would win.
"Your heart must choose who will win and who will lose."
Stupid mirror.
Music floated down the hall from where the party was. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath to calm my nerves down. It was almost time for me to go down there and make my choice. I ran my hands down the dress feeling the silky material under my hands. Reaching up I put my hand over the gem that the dress maker had placed there. It sat right under and between my chest, pretty much the center piece of my dress. I held it and tried to focus on being like the stone. To be strong and make up my mind before I walk into the room. But I didn't know what I wanted. No one knew what they wanted.
My father walked down the hall and stopped in front of me. "It's time."
"Daddy I can't."
He kissed my forehead and motioned for my mother to come as well. "Don't worry my little pup you'll be perfect." Taking my mother's hand he kissed the back of it. "You'll find love like I have for your mother." His eyes flashed and he laughed. "Her succulent beauty."
"Oh my god shut up." I covered my ears. "I don't need to hear anything about you and mom."
"Come on lets go."
We started walking down the hall and all of the doors opened before us. The crowd went silent as my parents decided the stairs while I was still out of site. I waited until my name was announced before walking down them as well. The crowd came into view and I felt sick to my stomach. Everyone was there. The princess stood in a line in front of the raised platform that Wendell and his wife were sitting on. Clearly I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and my foot slipped on the last step and the crowd gasped. I saw the princes started to move forward by my father was faster then all of them. He turned quickly and caught me. My arms wrapped around him and I took a deep breath.
"I'm ok."
"Are you sure?"
Looking up at my father I nodded. "I'm fine it was just a slip." Letting go of my father I walked past him and my mother through the center of the floor towards the platform. Going into a curtsy I stayed in that position for a moment before rising again.
"You look beautiful." Wendell smiled. He stood and walked down the steps to me. "You really are a beauty Claudia Lewis."
A smile made my face glow. "Thank you."
He kissed my cheek. "Are you ready to do this or do you want more time?"
"I have to do what I have to do."
Touching my cheek Wendell nodded and walked back to his thrown. He took a seat and took his wives hand before kissing the back of it. He nodded at the court speaker to ask what he needed to.
"Princess Claudia Snow Lewis, a choice must be made today of how your life will be lived. Will it be here with the rest of the royalty you have been raised with or in the tenth kingdom with the world your mother knows." He paused. "Now a choice must be made, to stay with your prince or go on and find love somewhere else. What is your choice?"
"I-" Looked around and couldn't get my voice to work.
"What is your choice Princess Claudia?"
"I don't have one." The crowed went silent around me. "How can all of you expect me to choose who I want to marry out of a group of men I've been friends with since I was a child? They're all my friends and I can't bear to see any of them hurt by my hand and me choosing would do just that. But they're not the only ones I could lose. Having me pick now when I know it will break the hearts of those I treasure the most is cruel. If anyone here cared even the tiniest bit for me they wouldn't make me do this. I know the stupid rules say I have to choose or Wendell does for me but it's not fair. Would you do this to your daughter? Make her stand here in front of the four men she's loved since she was a baby and break three of their hearts? I can't do this and I beg all of you." I paused. "I beg-" Slowly even in my beautiful gown I got down on my knees in the center of the ballroom facing Wendell, Kyle, Robert, Mitchell, and Emmett. "-you. Please don't make me do this."
Kyle broke out of the line and grabbed my hands to pull me back to my feet.
"No don't touch me. Don't treat me like I'm so special that I can't beg for something."
Kneeling in front of me Kyle took my hand. "If you can't pick out of us because of me don't pick me. I've loved you since you first hit me. But I'm not going to stand there and let you do this. If you want that-" he paused. "If you want to be with Jason pick him I will never keep you from someone that can make you happy."
"But I know you'll make me happy Kyle I just can't pick. I don't know what to do. How can I look at all of you and say who I love more? Sure they can marry someone else but then that girl will know she was second choice to me. This stupid law wasn't fair from the beginning."
"I know that Claudia but you can't do anything about it now. You pick or you don't. It's up to you. You know me I'll deal with your choice. I went to the eight kingdom to save you and I've waited all my life for someone like you what's waiting another twenty?" His thumb ran across my cheek and he forced a smile but it never reached his eyes. "I would rather know I was second best to someone that will always love you then know that I lost you to someone that wont." He paused and gave me a real smile. "But none of us deserve you." With that he stood still holding my hand in his leaving me gazing up at him. "What do you say princess?"
Slowly I looked around me seeing everyone I'd been around since I was a child before my gaze rested on my parents. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Could I really just pick the one I'd always been in love with? Could I do that?
As if reading my mind my mom slowly nodded.
Holding tight to Kyle's hand I rose to my feet as gracefully as I could. Reaching up I pulled the tiara Wendell had made for me out of my hair and held it in my hands. The crowd was silent again. They thought that me holding onto Kyle meant I made my choice and it was him. Yes I'd made my choice but they didn't know what I was doing.
Wendell beckoned me forward and I practically ran to him. "You don't have to choose I told you that."
"But I feel like I've always known who I was going to pick I just don't know how to say it."
"Well dear I'm already married."
I laughed. "I know and it is very upsetting to me I've always been in love with you."
"Say what you need to say."
Turning back around I looked at Kyle still holding the tiara in my hands. "I guess I've always know what I was going to pick when the time came but never realized it. There has always been that one person that I've loved since the moment I met him and I've never known how to show it." I looked at my parents. "No offence but I really haven't had the best advice on how to tell someone." Looking at the tiara I let it go and it hit the floor making people gasp. "I don't want to be a queen, I don't even want to be a princess but it's something I have to deal with."
Kyle's face fell then. He locked eyes with me and I could just tell he was begging me to pick him, begging me to tell him I love him like he loves me.
But I turned my back on Kyle and faced the others. "Emmett you've always been there to keep me safe when the others were picking me because I couldn't throw the ball as far or run as fast and I will always love you for that, but I'm not in love with you like you would like me to be."
Emmett nodded and looked down. "I understand. I've never been more then a brother to you Claudia I never expected to be picked, just be happy."
"Mitchell, we've always had the most fun together and always got in the most trouble when we were having fun. You helped me break my arm, wrist, and ankle before I was fifteen but it was always fun. But you've always been my best friend and I will always love you as such."
Mitchell smiled at me. "I'd rather be your best friend then nothing at all."
"Good because you will always be that." I paused and looked at Robert. "Oh my Robert, you've always been my prince. The one that I could never say no to when you asked me a question or when you kissed me. You took my heart early and you knew that and I loved you more when you told me not to pick you." That caused some gasps from the crowd. "I hope you're happy with your princess because she is lucky to have you just like I would have been."
Roberts attention when to a girl in the crowd who really was the most beautiful one in the room. I knew who she was; it just so happened that she was Mitchells younger sister and future queen of the 2nd kingdom. She was lucky to have him.
"Jason." I laughed when I looked at him. "We're too good of friends for this to actually work and believe me I think it's sweet that you came here because Kyle told you what was going on. But I can't pick you; you wouldn't have won against these four I've known them for far too long."
"I know I didn't have a chance but I got to be here right? It was fun."
Taking a deep breath I turned to look at Kyle who looked more upset then ever. I had turned everyone else down and he was upset because I could do the same thing to him. "Kyle-"
He started shaking his head and looked away from me.
"Kyle look at me." When he did I smiled. "You're my knight in shinning armor Kyle, there was never a choice because there was only ever you."
"You mean?"
"I pick you."
Almost instantly he had me in the air holding me tight. "I will always love you Claudia Snow Lewis."
"Good because if you stop it's only going to be bad for you."