Sorry! I'M SO SORRY GUYS! THIS IS WAAYYYYY OVERDO! AUTHORS NOTE BELOW! ENJOY!
Sophie:
I quickly fixed the loose strands of my hair in the mirror. Sophie, you should have made a tighter bun! I mentally chide myself.
Today was the day where I would meet the girls for the first time. Only 25 of them left. His highness is off to a good start. Prince Lucas is the only royal who's met any of the girls yet, but tonight everyone will be having dinner. It's not like we didn't give them dinner yesterday or anything, they just had it alone or with their maids, just as they did with breakfast this morning. So today, my job is to teach them table manners. Goodness knows that most of them probably need it.
I'm actually very excited to meet the girls! Gavril, Sarah Jones (the head of all of the maids) and I have a little betting pool going. Once we meet all of the girls, me today, Gavril on this Friday's report, and Sarah has informants and has to give a "maid inspection" next Sunday, each of us is going to pick a girl who we think is going to be "The One". $1,000 to the winner. But besides getting a head start to know the girls, I'm just excited to meet them in general! My Aunt Silvia recalls her recalls her experiences as the Selected's teacher often. There were ups and downs, she likes to say, but she wouldn't change that opportunity for the world. And I can't wait for my job to formally begin! Well, technically it started at the makeovers, but I was- so unfortunately- sick that day. Of all the days to be sick…
I straiten up, finish playing with my dirty blonde hair, and plaster a slight smile on my face as I grip the gold mustache handle bars and open the large mahogany double doors- rather dramatically really.
The Women's Room was something to look at, as usual. The cream satin armchairs and couches had been moved to either side of the room and the silver and glass coffee table that usually sat in the middle of the room had been removed for the time being. A large mahogany dining table dominated most of the room and 25 places were set with fine silverware and white china plates, along with a name card set at each set. I picked up the nearest one to examine it. It was made of manila oak tag, thick and cool from being in an air-conditioned room for the past 3 or so hours. I touched the black lettering; it felt slightly rubbery and raised on the paper. The card read Graciana Winters. I placed the nameplate back between the silver cup and creamy-rose placemat where I found it. The table held three centerpieces: all of them flower arrangements. One was a large silver bowl of pink and cream roses and lilies dotted with silver spikes, which shot out randomly. The other two were identical and on either side, with light pink and cream roses and more silver. Surveying the rest of the room, I noticed a ginormous mirror surrounded by a fireplace, which was underneath it, and intricate patterns on every other area. The wall was coated in the same intricate patterns, some of them raised from the wall, others imbedded in it. There was a candelabra on the left of the door where I had entered, though it wasn't illuminated and they weren't real candles, I don't think. In the center of the plaster ceiling was a huge crystal chandelier. It held many diamond like crystals, which fell from more fake candles. There was a large bookcase in the back of the room, and there were chairs surrounding it. I notices a pair of glass doors leading to the terrace, so I decided to wait out there until the girls came in, which should be about 10 minutes.
I want out side and felt the warm Angeles breeze against my skin. You could see all of Angeles from here, and what a beautiful sight it was! The Hills were visible to the right, bright and green, and the buildings all were jumbled up in front of me. I looked below and saw the iron gates guarded by some guards who I didn't know. My mind immediately went to Lady Rhea, who hadn't yet been given her position when she was Selected. I wonder what she's like…
Maybe I fell asleep. Or maybe I just got really lost in thought. I don't know, maybe. But sooner than I would have thought possible, I heard a knock at the doors behind me. Looking back, I find Lady Skylar asking me "Ummm… Mrs. Sophia?"
I straiten up and reply with "Sophie will be just fine, I'll be in in a second." She nods, closes the door and goes back to her seat. I mentally facepalm and fix my hair quickly again as I walk inside.
"Hello girls, sorry for the delay." Sorry for the delay? SORRY FOR THE DELAY? What is that Sophie?! "Today you will meet the Princess Arabella for the first time. She has requested to formally meet you all. But first, there's dinner. And does anybody know the proper way to use each utensil?" Lady Alice raises her hand and I groan mentally. Of course she knows… "Lady Alice, fantastic. Anybody else?" Lady Bethany raises her hand. Good, coming from such a respectable family, I'd sure hope that she would know… "Fantastic, Ladies Bethany and Alice know, anybody else?" no one raises their hand. "That's what I thought. But you're eating with the royals tonight, it's quite important to know." I inform them. "Now, here's a quick crash course on each."
There's much trial and error before each girl, even Juliana, who I've picked up is about as smart as a couch, finally memorizes everything they'll need to know for tonight. But just to be sure, I quiz them again.
"Lady Kaylee, which is the dinner knife?" I ask the girl who's whispering to her neighbor, Lady Gemma.
She blushes lightly and replies with "The long one on the right of the dinner table."
I give her a small nod, "Correct." She begins looking at her lap, a small smile on her face. "Lady Anna, get your elbows off the table." The blonde, who looks like she's about to fall asleep, removes her elbow from the table and she's forced to sit up straighter to keep from her head from falling. "Which one is the dinner fork?"
"The biggest one." She says. I give a small nod.
"Lady Juliana, stop looking at yourself in the big spoon. Now which spoon are you looking at yourself in?"
"The big one!" She says, giving me a big smile.
"Yes, but what's it's proper name?"
"Ummm… the soup one?"
"Good." I offer her a smile.
Once I finish quizzing the girls, e move on to discuss the formal attire of tonight.
"So ladies, tonight is a very formal evening. You're meeting the princess, and by the relationship that she has with her twin brother, she could be relaying everything that you say to him, twisting him one way or the other. Try to impress her, not depress her. You will all be wearing floor length evening gowns, no exceptions. I've instructed your maids to design one for you, and the dresses have already been made. I've asked for a rough sketch of each outfit design, and those should be in to me in the next five minutes or so. Then I'll hand them out to you so that you can preview what you will look like. If you don't like the design, well, I believe you're going to have to suck it up. However, your maids have tried their very best to create something that they believe that your would love. Share your designs with no one. Everyone will get to see them tonight. Talk amongst yourselves until I hand out the designs."
I stand by the fireplace and simply watch the girls, some of them talking louder than others, some smiling brighter than others, some conversing more than others. I notice Ladies Elizabeth, Clarissa, and Anna talking rather loudly, all three of them smiling. Lady Anna looks exhausted, but Lady Clarissa and Lady Elizabeth seem lively and smiley. Lady Lacey, the 8, is talking with Lady Madison, the famous model, Roxanne, the famous partier, and Lady Rhea, the military soldier. My first thought is how weird and out of place she seems with them, but I know that I shouldn't judge. Lady Rebecca, was laughing very loudly with the boisterous Lady Skylar, and the extrovert Lady Isla, presumably at something that Lady Skylar had said. Ladies Noelle, Willow, and Bethany were all huddles together and whispering about something, Lady Danielle was doing both sitting by the bookshelf reading, and looking at everyone just as I was. Ladies Meadow and Emerson were smiling and talking amongst themselves.
One ladies maid, who I didn't happen to know the name of, handed me a stack of papers, some of them ripped at the edges, others with bent corners, some of them had slight water marks, and some looked like they were just printed. They were on varying colored and textured papers.
"Ladies! I have your papers!" I announce. There's an excited and slightly nervous whisper among the 25 Selected. "When I call your name, please come up and get your sketch. You might have to make one of your own eventually, but for now, you have your maids to do it for you." I start listing off names, and once I'm finished, I say "Ok, good luck. I'll see you tonight." Some of them give me smiles, while others don't give me any thought at all. Rude. But Meadow answers me with "Thank you, Miss Sophie." And I think that that's my bet. She's not only pretty, but kind, and polite as well. I think I just may have a winner!
Reviews:
Athenachild101- Sooooooo sorry! She's safe, don't worry! And there's going to be an all-Selected POV in 2 chapters, for when they all meet Princess Arabella. I hope that's good enough!
SelectedDivergentShadowHunter- Thanks! Soooooooo sorry! She's safe, don't worry! Thank you so much! You're the sweetest!
frozen13- Thanks! I think that I might have, but I'm not sure… I didn't mean to make her mean! SORRY! Thanks, I think that they would make cute friends. I hope you liked Sophie! Next is probably going to be America, and the next is all 25 of the Selected. Oh boy. MERRY CHRISTMAS, even though it's REALLY late!
Wandserstar- Thanks!
xxbookwormmockingjayxx- Thanks! There really is a lot… Good! You should be! They're both great! :)
7thseven- Thanks!
PEETAMELARKLOVER123- Awwwwwwww! Thanks! Love you too! Thanks! Np! I'm SO glad that you are! YES PLEASE UPDATE! I NEED to see what happens to my characters!
Smiley face- Thanks! Glad to know I was missed, but it's great to be back! Even though it's been another 2 months later… I suck, I know. Sorry. Thanks! I'll get into that friendship, don't worry! Ooh! Yeah, the scars… you'll see…
Demigod-Gallagher-Selected- Awwwwww! Thanks! You're sooooooo sweet! Speaking of which, CANNOT WAIT FOR YOU TO UPDATE! SO PLEASE DO! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH FOR ADOPTING BTW! YOU ROCK!
Shadeslayerprincess111- Haha, that's ok! Thank you so much for adopting! Just if you could remake the character, that would be great! ABSOLUTELY NO PRESSURE THOUGH! Take your time! Thank you so much! Yup, it's HARD! Gotta say! Thank you so much! Just curious, why don't you like Fallon? I'm interested!
everyonecaresaboutbeingthebest- That's ok! Thank you so much! You rock!
Ok guys, request! I'm going to have a little contest! So, I hate my cover. It's pretty terrible. SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE ME A NEW COVER! Here are the requirements:
It must have the words: The One and Only by 4Love4Love4
Ummm… I think that's it. It must have a girl somewhere on the cover though. She can be wearing a dress, it can be artistic or photographic, but it must be pleasing to the eye and eye-catching! The winner gets to have their character or the character of their choice bumped up to instant main status! Please notify me as to where I can find your cover! THANKS!
Ok, bye guys! Love you all!
~4Love4Love4~