I have exams in two weeks…so it may be harder for me to update bc I really need to get on studying XD

SORRY ABOUT MY MASS ELIMINATIONS, BUT I HAVE SO MANY GIRLS THAT I CANT GIVE THEM ENOUGH POVs SO IVE BEEN MOSTLY ELIMINATING MY CHARACTERS

Chapter Twenty-Five

❂Of Truest Heart

Prince Logan

I woke up to a small, wet thing licking my face and a shooting pain in my skull. Groaning, my eyes squinted open to find a black and white ball of fur with his pink tongue attacking me.

Dry-mouthed, I sat up. Chance barked – sending a new wave of discomfort through my head. I winced. "Chance – bud – don't do that." Gathering the Border collie into my arms, I stumbled out of bed, shocked to find myself in the same clothes.

I frowned as I glanced around my room, unsure of how I even got here in the first place.

My clothes were rumpled and no longer looked presentable, much to my dismay. All I wanted right now was some coffee and a muffin. Some sort of food, but a muffin sounded the best.

I rubbed my eyes and my temple in a futile attempt to get used to the lighting.

"Logan?" Xavier's voice called out from behind my white door. I cringed at the noise and felt the world spin a little bit.

"Mhm, I'm awake – keep your voice down, though, please."

He snorted in amusement, and I was close to setting my vicious puppy on him. And wasn't afraid to tell him so.

I trudged into my closet and pulled out a shirt and a sweater, discarding my old clothes as I walked to the door.

Twisting the knob, my feet dragged out into the hall.

Xavier cleared his throat, "Logan, do you plan on going to breakfast in that?"

I glanced down at my shirt and furrowed my brows, "My shirts fine -."

"Your Highness, you aren't wearing any pants."

My cheeks burned, and I spun on my heels back into my room. I raised a hand to catch my guard's attention before I exited out of sight, "Please get a maid to fetch me some black coffee and a muffin."

Lady Adelaide

Ever since Logan's twentieth birthday passed, the crushing weight of Nala's murder finally set it. The girls in the lower castes began to worry if the Royal's were plotting their murder, next.

Not to mention, Vivian Turner - Nala's mother - just found out about her daughter's death and was on her way to the castle from Zuni.

After parents caught wind of the accident, a few pulled their daughters out of the Selection as Logan slept off the alcohol.

Aster and Alena's folks withdrew them, and West decided that she's more into writing about murder than seeing it for herself.

Amethyst glided over to me, her dress reaching her knees, "Adelaide, have you seen Logan…or any of the Royals for that matter?"

Peering up from her game of chess with Delantie, Astra scoffed, "Probably 'planning the next murder'."

Elia stiffened, her silver-blonde hair shielding her youthful face.

Eyes narrowing, Eris scowled at Astra, "No one else is dying. I was already forced into that safe-room, but I won't be again."

"Eris, you know you can't save everyone, right?" I asked, worried about the weight she might be unnecessarily forcing onto her shoulders.

The detective shrugged, "I can sure as hell try." She didn't wait to hear anyone else's opinion - swinging the heavy wooden door open.

Frowning, Cassia turned to me, "Should we go after her?"

I shook my head, "If Eris had any interest in being our friends, she would've tried a long time ago."

If the prince had any interest in some of us…wouldn't he have already talked to us?

I shoved the thought out of my mind, but I couldn't help my dislike for the future king.

Lady Clare

After the party, and Kirsten's sobbing, I didn't have it in me to even go down for breakfast the next morning. Let alone talk to anyone.

There was a dull throbbing in the front of my skull from one too many drinks, and I drew my knees to my chest. My other two maids scurried around the room, cleaning things off.

A gentle knock echoed from the other side of my wall, and my maid - Sophia - dropped her duster and strode over to the entrance of my room.

"Officer Westfall-" She started, but Jace cut her off.

"Is Lady Clare present?"

Sophia stepped out of the way, allowing the officer inside.

He carried a tray of assorted foods over to my bedside table, and after seeing my quizzical glance, explained, "Prince Logan was worried when you weren't down at breakfast so he sent for me to bring this up to you."

I could see the lie in his eyes, and I could also see that he wasn't trying to hide it. "Julia, Sophia - thank you, but you're dismissed."

Julia - who had wanted to be in the Selection - huffed and stormed out of the room.

"Logan was drunk yesterday. The chances of him actually going to breakfast this morning are one-thousand to one." I blurted, crossing my arms over my chest, "So why did you really bring me the food."

Jace's lips quirked up, "I brought it for Kirsten, she's hardly eaten after she found out about Tobias. Then once she profusely rejected it, I ended up recalling a certain someone who'd discovered the body of one of her fellow Selected mates - so when I heard you hadn't eaten yet, I thought; 'what better use for this food?'."

I ran my finger's through my part, "How thoughtful."

Even though I had no interest in admitting it, I was grateful for the food. I saw Nala-Rose's body. Bleeding. How could anyone be in their right mind after that?

Officer Xavier Chase

Logan looked like crap, even worse then he did yesterday as Lady Scarlett and Lady Elia hauled his stupid ass back to his room.

He didn't even know he wasn't wearing pants this morning. Insisting he needed a muffin. Out of everything in the castle, he only wanted a muffin.

I couldn't get his condition out of my mind, even when a short, blonde women came dashing into the castle. Rugged and barefoot.

Snapping out of overly-protective brother mode, I adjusted back to my castle-guard self, and reached out to the woman, "Miss, wait."

She recoiled from my touch, but looked me dead in the eyes - the blue irises full of sorrow and tears, "Where is my daughter."

I tried connecting the dots, but my brain was too fuzzy. "Miss, what is your name."

"Vivian Turner. I'm Nala-Rose's mother. I need to see my daughter."

"Miss-."

"Stop calling me that. And don't you tell me that my sweet little girl is dead. Don't you tell me that, too."

So she did know. That explained a lot.

"Would you mind waiting here as I fetch Prince Logan?" I asked, carefully choosing my words.

Vivian nodded and wiped her eyes.

I started off walking, back straight - but the moment I was out of sight from anyone, I sped up to a jog.

Not even bothering to knock, I opened the door to Logan's study.

He was standing by the coffee machine and I frowned, "Logan - you shouldn't drink too much of that stuff."

In shock, the pot slipped from his grasp and wobbled at its impact with the counter. "What can I do for you, officer?"

"Vivian Turner has arrived, I thought you might want to know."

Logan froze, and quickly maneuvered around me and out into the hall, abandoning all wishes for caffeine.

"Miss Turner, I wanted to let you know that your loss has been a devastation throughout the whole castle." Logan consoled the women - and not in the way that it was obvious he didn't care - he drew her into a hug as her body rocked with sobs.

"So she really is gone." She mumbled into his sweater, and I watched as the prince grimaced in pain from the loud sounds of the mother's cries.

"She didn't deserve to die. Not like that. Not at all." He replied to her in a hushed tone. It seemed more like a father comforting his daughter than a prince comforting a mother.

I tried to keep the smile from coming onto my face as I imagined the prince, happily married with kids of his own, comforting his daughter after her first breakup.

I wished it was just as easy to see that future for me as it was for the crowned prince of Illea.

The conversation between the older women and the young adult continued, until Logan addressed both me and Vivian. "Miss Turner, this is Officer Xavier Chase. He's my personal guard - and will be escorting you to visit your daughter in the Medical Wing. We wanted to wait and see if you wanted her cremated or buried."

She nodded, and thanked him. I looked to my prince, "Do you want me to also find some maids to get her a room set up?"

Logan flashed me a grateful look, "That would be wonderful. Thank you."

Prince Logan

I saw a flash of silver-blonde hair and the corner of a light blue skirt turning the corner. The sound of heels clicking on the marble flooring.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I followed. Slowly increasing my speed from long strides to a jog. Until I found Elia pressed up in a corner.

"Lady Elia?" I queried, "Is everything alright?"

She said nothing, merely pulled the latest copy of the Illean Daily closer to her chest.

I reached out for her arm, but she dodged my grasp, deserted her corner.

My eyes widened in a sudden realization, "Elia - if I said anything that offended you while I was drunk-"

Her head vigorously shook from side to side, "No, Logan. You didn't offend me." She took a step back, "But that doesn't mean you aren't trying to kill me."

My mouth hit the floor with a thud, kill her? "Elia…where is this coming from?" I tried to move closer to her, but she only increased the distance between us by twice of what I had tried to decrease.

Finally, she threw the magazine at my feet. "People say the Royals are targeting the lower castes."

She took a step back.

I felt agitation bubble in my chest, "You think I want to kill you, because a gossip magazine made an article about it."

Another step backwards.

"The 'gossip magazine' is more often right than it is wrong. I know, I used to be in it." She seethed, trying to be brave all the while fear was emanate in her voice.

Elia attempted to take another step, but found herself pinned against the wall.

I took this moment to close the distance between us, and even though she protested as I pulled her into my arms, the moment I looked down at her, she must've seen something in my eyes.

I found myself watching as the fear dissipated from her aquamarine eyes, the smell of her honey-lilac perfume enveloping my sense of smell. My head tilted to the side and bent forward until my nose brushed against her cheek.

Pausing, I kept myself in that position, close to kissing her - but not quite.

Eyes peeking open, Elia made a face and wrapped a soft hand around the back of my neck, forcing the distance to close - and my mouth to find hers.

The skin on the back of my neck burned, and the kiss started out awkward - as it seemed to be her first one.

That didn't stop the electrical current from running down my spine.

Lady Elia

I'll admit, I had imagined what kissing Logan would be like. But this. This wasn't it.

This was better.

He tasted of pastries mixed with the bitter flavor of coffee. Logan's finger brushed along my bicep, his other arm still wrapped around my waist.

Gathering some courage, I entangled my hands into his brunet hair, and he smiled against my lips.

I pulled back, gasping for air. The remains of my silly accusation vanished from my mind, and the prince smirked.

"I really do like you Elia. I would never want to hurt you, or any of the girls here." He mumbled.

I couldn't help the question from spilling out, "You also like Aaliyah, though, right?"

His arms dropped to his sides, and mine did the same. "Yes, I do like Aaliyah, too. I won't lie to you."

I bit my lip, he wasn't exclusively mine. Of course he was going to like other girls, and Aaliyah was great girl. We were so different, though.

Logan rubbed the back of his neck, "This Selection is messing with my emotions. I remember when the only girl I cared about in this way was Evelaine."

The memory of a photo with a blonde girl kissing Logan's cheek flashes in my mind. "The photo - in your room. The one with the blonde girl kissing your cheek, was that Evelaine?"

He nodded, but then stopped abruptly. "How did you know that?"

I giggled, "When you were drunk last night, Scarlett and I had to haul you and your little puppy back to your room. You asked me if Fennley had electricity."

Logan's cheeks flushed and he covered his face, "Oh dear lord. I don't want to hear anymore." Neither one of us said anything, just sat in silence for a few heartbeats, before the prince's baby blue eyes reappeared from behind his hands. "Are you okay, now?"

My recent actions crashed into me all at once, and I gazed up at him, "Yes - I don't know why I thought that you're family would do anything like that. I'm sorry." The partial lie slipped off my tongue. I believed Logan. I believed in Logan. Just…not his parents.

WOOOOOT I STAYED UP LATER THAN I USUALLY DO BC WOLFOFSTARK TOLD ME THAT IF I DIDNT HAVE THE CHAPTER UP BY THE TIME SHE WOKE UP THAT SHE'LL WAKE UP SUPER DISAPPOINTED AND APPARENTLY I WOULDNT WANT THAT.

So here's me holding up my end of the deal xD

I PROMISE IM TRYING TO GIVE THE OTHER GIRLS MORE ATTENTION, BUT USALLY I LEAN TOWARDS THE GIRLS I HAVE A STORYLINE FOR OR HAVE MORE DETAIL

ok ill stop yelling in caps now. And go to sleep.

Bye lovelies!

~Hailey