Chapter 28

Ray's POV

Ray entered his father's office slowly, peaking around the door. He'd called Ray down here, for what Ray legitimately didn't know this time.

"Ray, good, come in." His father's voice carried.

Ray stepped fully into the office, and saw his father seated at his desk. "Father? What did you call me here for? If it's about the files, no, I haven't found them yet. Yes, I've been looking, Endra's been asking questions, she hasn't found anything yet either."

"Ray-"

"I swear, I'm trying, but there's just so much going on-" Ray continued, as he hadn't heard his father's attempt at cutting in.

"Ray!" His father raised his voice slightly to stop his son.

Ray turned to look at his father, curious. He wasn't being scolded yet. Was it possible Ray really hadn't done anything bad this time? When his father seemed certain Ray wouldn't start spewing words again, he spoke.

"Ray, I've decided to invite over an old friend. You remember the Prime Minister of Italy? Well, I've invited him to visit, his daughter will also be joining us. Not only is it a good opportunity for you to know future monarchs, but also for the Selected to handle foreign visitors." His father said, smiling confidently.

"I'm sorry, what?" Ray asked, dumbfounded. "Let me get this straight. You want me to add foreign politics on top of all of my other responsibilities and the Selection? Did you literally forget that I almost passed out from sleep deprivation?" Ray was throwing his hands around in exasperation as he spoke, a habit which rarely showed itself.

"Well, yes, Ray. This is what it takes to be King." His father said, "It's a lot of work."

Ray scoffed, "But at least when I'm King I won't still be managing a Selection, it'll be long over with by then."

Ray's father sighed, "Listen, Ray, I know it's a lot right now, but it will get better. As you get older, you learn to manage your time better."

Ray groaned, "But I don't want to put work above family!"

Silence.

Ray's father watched him carefully, and Ray immediately felt bad for saying it, but it was true. Lately his father hasn't even bothered to say 'hi' to any of his children, and Ray suspected the only time his parents interacted was when they ate their meals together. His parents and his family in general had always been so close, but now that the rebels were a threat, and the Selection was going on, everyone was on their own it seemed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Ray mumbled.

Ray heard his father sigh, "Ray, I do my best, but this is what it takes to be King."

"Well then maybe I shouldn't be King." Ray said, staring up at his father.

Ray's dad drew back, shocked at his son's statement, especially after he'd had time to think before he spoke. "You don't mean that, it's just the stress."

Ray sighed, and walked towards the door, "Anything else?"

"No, you may go." His father said. Ray nodded, and left the office.

As Ray walked down the halls, he thought back on his visit to see his father. He'd said he didn't want to be King, but maybe his dad was right? It was probably just the stress of the situation. Right?


Ray came across Christian in the hallway, and he smiled, "Oh, Christian!"

Christian froze, and turned to see Ray approaching him. He allowed Ray to catch up with him. The brothers then continued, and Ray couldn't help but notice Christian seemed to walk taller than usual.

Ray had to wonder if having Ivy around made him more confident somehow. Ray smirked, and then he remembered what his father had said.

"Oh, hey, I was talking to dad earlier-" Ray began, and after Christian nodded his acknowledgement, Ray continued, "and he says that the Prime Minister of Italy and his daughter would be visiting soon."

Christian stumbled, and whipped his head to Ray. "His- his daughter, Rosalina?"

Ray nodded, "Yeah, you remember? The short girl with the curls? You were always following her around?"

"Yes I remember." Christian snapped, glaring ahead of him.

Ray was taken aback by his brother's sudden harsh tone. Did he not like this girl? Last Ray checked he'd had a crush on her, and they had remained on good terms. Had something changed?

"Anyways, they'll be visiting soon, so prepare yourself for company." Ray concluded cautiously.

Christian gave a stiff nod, and Ray figured he'd better leave him alone for now, so he wandered off to find a Selected to talk to.


Ray found himself walking to the kitchen, he could certainly use a snack. He walked right in, and was surprised to find Kara in the kitchen, sifting through the cabinets along the walls.

"Kara?" Ray asked.

"Fuck!" Kara shouted, bumping her head into the cabinet as she tried to escape from Ray's view.

Ray gasped, "Are you okay? That must have hurt." He walked over to Kara who was holding her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kara replied, stepping away from Ray's outstretched hand.

Ray sighed, "Kara, why are you looking through the kitchen cabinets?"

Kara was silent, and Ray wondered if she'd actually tell him, when she finally gave in, "I was looking for….alcohol."

Ray raised a brow, "You're that desperate for a drink?"

Kara scoffed, "Pathetic, right?"

Ray thought for a moment, then walked over to a side cabinet with a keycode on the door to open it. He quickly typed in the code, and turned to Kara, "What do you prefer?"

"Got any vodka?" Kara asked. Ray chuckled in surprise, and pulled out a bottle of vodka from the cabinet.

Ray grabbed two shot glasses, and walked back over to Kara, "Here you go, m'lady." He said, tipping a fake fedora.

Kara snorted, "All right, now we can get this party started!"

Ray chuckled, and poured the vodka into the shot glasses, handing one to Kara, "To getting the party started."

Kara smirked, and tipped back the alcohol into her mouth, Ray following suit. Ray coughed, and shook his head.

"What's the matter? Not used to hard alcohol?" Kara asked, pouring herself another shot.

"I haven't had vodka, much less in shot form, in a while." Ray replied, pouring himself another shot, as Kara poured her third.

"Wait, you've had vodka before?" Kara asked, setting down her shot glass.

Ray felt his face heat up, "Uh, yeah, the kitchen workers know how to throw a party."

Kara chuckled, "No way, you're like, perfect prince! I would never have guessed that you drank or went to wild parties."

Ray shrugged, "People are complex, it's not like I go around telling people I do shots of vodka, instead of the regulation champagne at royal parties."

Ray's memories flicked to the last party he'd attended. It had to be close to a year ago now, and he'd gotten so drunk. He'd had barely any memories of the party, but he remembered dancing, singing, making out with several workers, and most of all, claiming he was sick the next morning to avoid seeing his family.

Kara hummed in thought, "I guess that's true."

Ray smiled, and poured himself another shot, drinking it quickly. Kara followed suit, and they stayed silent for a while.

Eventually Ray glanced to her, and asked, "So, those rumors about you and Brendan?"

Kara scoffed, "I can assure you, we're just friends."

Ray drank down another shot, and tilted his head, "Are you sure?" He asked, his words slurring a little.

Kara glanced to him, and rolled her eyes, "You're starting to get tipsy, you don't know what you're asking."

Ray scowled, "I am not getting tipsy!" He paused as he felt a wave of dizziness consume him. "Okay, maybe a little, but I know what I'm asking."

Kara sighed, shaking her head. Ray frowned, he didn't need to be treated like a small child. Sure, he was a little stressed, and sometimes he didn't make the nest decisions, but he wasn't stupid.

"Kara, if you and Brendan are in love, I won't kick you out, I just need to know," Ray pressed.

Kara grimaced, "Ray, we're just friends."

Ray nodded in thought, and was about to drink another shot, when Kara lowered the glass away from his face, shaking her head.

"I think you've had enough, Ray," Kara commented.

"No, I'm just getting started!" Ray said, grinning widely. He felt a nice little buzz in the back of his mind, and he wanted to make sure he would forget the stress he was under.

"No, Ray, I can't let you," Kara retorted, taking the shot glass away from him.

Ray sighed, and when Kara turned away to stash the shot glass away, Ray smiled, and grabbed the vodka bottle from the counter.

Kara gasped, and grabbed the bottle, trying to wrestle it from Ray's grip. They struggled a bit, and eventually Kara won. Ray lunged forward, but Kara held out her hand, keeping Ray away with one hand, while holding the vodka bottle out with the other.

"Ray! This is insane! You don't need the bottle!" Kara huffed.

"Yes I do! I haven't forgotten yet!" Ray complained, trying desperately to reach for the bottle.

"Forget what?" Kara asked, her tone demanding, but curious.

Ray froze. Could he trust Kara with this information? Ray sighed, deciding he might as well tell her. But if Ray had been completely sober he wouldn't have told her, for now though, he thought she was his best bet. After all, if anyone understood drunk confessions, surely it was Kara.

"Well…" Ray leaned against the counter, and Kara watched him carefully, setting the bottle beside her on the counter. She was standing across from Ray, and she crossed her arms, but not in a menacing way, just a casual way.

Ray felt a small smile tug on his lips, but then he remembered he was supposed to be telling her what's wrong. "Well, a while ago, during the rebel attack on the castle? Umm, a couple of files went missing, and they're kind of important."

Kara's expression turned to one of genuine concern and confusion, "Is it dangerous?" Ray couldn't bring himself to speak it, so he just nodded his confirmation. "Oh shit," Kara mumbled, she glanced to Ray again, "and this is what you're trying to forget?"

Ray nodded again, "It's just, it's so hard. Trying to juggle the Selection, and work, and the rebels, I just-" Ray sighed, and dropped his head into his hands. "I just can't do it."

Kara was unsure of what to do, but she finally settled on approaching Ray. She grimaced, but gently pat his shoulder, "There, there." She said, "It'll be alright, you can do this."

Ray shook his head, "But what if I can't? What if this is just a sign that I'll make an awful king?"

Kara frowned, "Ray, you're not going to be an awful king, you're going to do just fine. If anything, all of this proves you'll be a great king, you put your work first, and you actually care about it. And besides, the Selection is supposed to help you find someone to help carry the burden, right?"

Ray glanced to her, and considered her words carefully. "Well, yeah, but there's only 15 or so of you left, and honestly, I don't know how I feel about any of you."

Kara tilted her head, "What?"

Ray sighed in frustration, he had so many thoughts running through his head, but he didn't know how to express them all. "Well, some of you I consider friends, and only friends. But then some of you there might be something there? But then again I haven't gone on nearly enough dates with any of you to know for sure. Then there's some I just know I wont marry. But….I guess feelings can change? I want to get to know all of you better, and I'm kind of glad I'm here with you, because you were at the top of my list."

Kara seemed surprised, but she quickly recovered, "Well, I don't-"

"You know, when I first saw your picture on the Report, I was intrigued by you. You were one of the ones I knew I was going to keep around." Ray admitted, slumping his shoulders. "Is that weird? I'm sorry, I don't mean to be weird."

Kara looked away, and Ray panicked internally, what if he'd done something wrong? He didn't want to scare her away.

"Ray, I didn't come here to win your heart. I came here to get enough money to support my mother." Kara replied, and Ray was surprised. "You want to get to know me, you have to understand I'm not some girl who's going to fall head-over-heels in love with you."

Ray absorbed the words, and thought them over carefully, then he decided to ask, "What's your mother like?"

Kara glanced to him, and smiled slightly, "She's amazing. She's one tough cookie, but she's the most caring woman anyone can have for a mother."

Ray nodded, "That sounds nice."

Kara raised a brow, "Is your mother not like that?"

Ray shook his head, "No, she is! Well, I guess as loving as a royal mother can get? She talks to us, and loved to give us attention when we were younger. I guess now she still talks to us, and I can tell she loves us, but our entire family just kind of does their own thing. No one seems to interact anymore. Well, Endra loves to bother me, but besides that…." Ray shrugged in conclusion.

Kara hummed in acknowledgement, "Well, I'd say everyone's just busy, but I know Christian's just anti-social."

Ray chuckled, and nodded fondly, "That he is." He glanced to Kara, "You know, if you were here to win my heart, I'd probably kiss you right now."

Ray saw Kara's eyes widen, and she scoffed in disbelief and shock, "Well, what...uh…."

Ray shook his head, and leaned forward, his lips meeting Kara's. Kara was surprised, but she found she didn't pull away. After a moment, they pulled apart, and Ray was trying to decipher Kara's face for a hint at what she was thinking.

Kara glanced away, then said, "Well, if you want to get to know me, start asking questions." Ray couldn't help but smile, and he began to ask her question after question.


Hello everyone! Welcome to stressed boi Ray! Also, the royal visit is coming up soon, I can't wait for that drama to start! Also, kiss number two goes to Kara! Who would have guessed? I wouldn't have either, don't worry. Okay, see you in the next chapter!