Hey! I'm so sorry for disappearing like that. I wish I could promise it won't happen again but things can get pretty crazy for me so I don't know when I'll be able to update again, hopefully you'll all bear with me. This chapter features Seraphina with Brandon because she won the poll. She was actually tied with London for first so next chapter will have London and Brandon.

Thanks to my amazing reviewers who have stuck with me even though I'm awful at updating: morethanjustastory, jess120, Miss Kaydence, wolfofstark, A Fan, and BookishLifeandCoffee.

It was surprisingly easy to disappear. Aria had thought that being banished would mean a hard life hiding out and staying away from everyone's eyes, especially the media's. She had thought that she and Logan would be thrown as far away from anything familiar as they could get and left to fend completely for themselves. So far, that hadn't been the case.

To start off with, Aria had been able to call her mother and have one last conversation before she left the palace. She had explained that she had been eliminated and just needed some time before she came home. Aria said that she would be with a friend and wouldn't be able to call anymore for a while. It was a good thing she had always been so independent because her mother didn't question her decision too much. It was hard being away from her family, but Aria knew her punishment could have been so much worse.

Logan had been able to get some money from his uncle and the two of them had been using it to make their way down the coast, from Sonage to Zuni and Paloma. They were not living a life of luxury by any means, but they had enough to get by with staying at cheap motels and trying cheap, local foods when they were hungry. Aria knew that the money would run out soon but she didn't want to bring that up. Whenever the subject came up it sparked a fight between the two and they had enough to argue about without looking for fights.

"Let's eat there," Logan pointed across the street they were walking on to where a man had a small stand setup and was selling hotdogs.

"Uh, no," Aria grabbed his hand and tried to drag him away, "I got food poisoning just looking at that place. This is probably my only time in Honduragua and I'm not going to eat at some hot dog stand. We're going to find authentic cuisine."

"Ah yes, the omnipresent affordable authentic cuisine. I'm sure this town is filled with it."

Aria rolled her eyes, "If we look I'm sure we can find something better than hotdogs."

Logan's green eyes caught the sunlight and shone as he said, "I doubt it. Besides, I'm hungry enough I think I could risk food poisoning."

Aria shook her head and felt the ends of her hair brush her chin. She had chopped it shorter and added bangs their first week outside of Angeles in an effort to become more unrecognizable. Her short hair alone wasn't much of a disguise but when it was paired with her makeup free face and Logan by her side most people never thought that just a month ago she was one of the Selected. The few people who actually approached her were quickly sent away. They easily believed that the girl they'd met had never been to the palace. It seemed that outside of Angeles the Selection wasn't nearly as big of a deal as Aria had been led to believe.

"I don't think so," Aria continued walking down the sidewalk, pulling Logan with her.

He smiled as he followed her but after a few blocks he came to a stop and asked, "Can we please find somewhere to eat?"

"Alright," Aria began looking more intently at the restaurants that lined the streets. As she got to the halfway point she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the sun on her face and hearing the hustle of the people around her. "I love this," she said, still with her eyes closed.

"What?" Logan said, still thinking about food.

"This," she opened her brown eyes and gestured around them, "Traveling around, waking up in a new province every week, experiencing things I never dreamed of. Being with you," the last she added with a cheeky smile that made Logan laugh, "it reminds me of my childhood. Before my mom met Tom it was just the two of us. The first eight years of my life were spent traveling around like this. We never knew where we'd end up or if mom would be able to find enough work to get food on the table. I was so little at the time that I just thought it was some big adventure. After we moved in with Tom though, I realized how bad we had it before. But now, I don't know, I guess I feel nostalgic or something. I just don't want to waste all of this time hating everything we're going through. I mean, years from now I want to look back on this time and remember all the wonderful things. I don't want to look back and see that all I did was complain, you know what I mean? I just want to appreciate things now and live in the moment."

Logan smiled at her and pulled her close, pecking her on the lips, "I know exactly what you mean. Someday we'll look back on this as the best years of our lives. We'll tell our kids all about how our banishment was and everything we did, it'll be a fairy tale."

"You think we're going to have kids?" Aria asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Aren't we? I don't know about you, Aria, but I'm serious about us. I don't think there's anyone else I would have taken banishment for. Whenever I picture my future, you're in it."

Aria smiled at her boyfriend and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, "You're in my future too, you doofus," she reached down and entwined her fingers with his before adding, "You know, I turned out liking you a lot more than I originally planned."

Logan smirked at, "I know. And you know what else? I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you. Because I don't know what's going to happen to us or where we'll be in fifty years. The only thing I do know is that I'm all in. Here and now, you and me, that's the only thing I'm certain about. No matter how hard it is or how much fate tries to tear us apart, I will never leave you. I'm yours, forever, and I love you more than I will ever be able to say." The intensity had risen in Logan's voice as he spoke until at the end Aria hardly recognized her boyfriend. She stared at him in silence until a concerned look took over his face, "Aria? Are you okay? Say something, please."

"I-I-I," she stammered, "do you really mean it?"

"More than anything else I've ever said. I want you in my future, Aria. I want to spend my whole life with you. Marry me?"

Aria was even more shocked than before. She could only watch as he got down on one knee in the middle of the street in Honduragua and repeated his question.

"Aria Benoit, will you marry me?"

"What? Logan get up, people are staring," she tried in vain to pull him to his feet but he wouldn't budge.

"Who cares? Let them stare. Answer me, Aria." His green eyes met hers and in them she saw all of the love that was threatening to overflow from her own heart.

"Of course I love you, Logan, but do you really think now is a good time to get married?"

"Is there ever a good time?" he countered, "All that matters is how we feel, and I for one am so in love with you. It wasn't love at first sight, but it formed gradually every time I saw you. Your personality, your voice, your hair, your eyes, your humor. Everything about you. After I got to know you, I realized you were everything I was looking for and everything I'd ever want. I never want to be without you. Let's get married right now, I don't want to wait another minute."

By that time Aria had tears falling down her face and all she could do was nod. Logan stood up and pulled her to him while she spoke, "I love you so much. You annoy me more than I ever thought possible, but I want to spend every single irritating minute with you. You had my heart before I could say no."

As soon as she finished speaking Logan crushed his mouth against hers, kissing her with all of the pent up love in his body and for the first time that day not caring about where they would eat lunch.

Brandon was ready to get to Likely. He had left Angeles about a week ago and since then he'd been in Fennley, until that morning, when he and his security had begun the long drive to Likely so that Brandon could see Sera and meet her family. Brandon had never been a fan of long drives and today was feeling like the longest of his life, although it could just be how eager Brandon was to reunite with Sera after so long apart.

His week with Kadence had been great up until he left. Kadence's dad was really funny and he and Brandon had gotten along great. Kadence and Brandon had spent most of their time out exploring Fennley. He got to meet all of Kadence's friends and the two got to know each other much more than they had at the palace. Everything was going great until Brandon brought up Kadence's mother. He hadn't wanted to pry but he had been curious why Kadence lived only with her father. After he had asked, the whole story had come spilling out of the brunette. She told him about figuring out that she and Aria were twins and that her birthmother wasn't dead but in fact lived on the other side of the country in Waverly. Brandon couldn't say that he was surprised when he found out her and Aria were related- they had always looked so similar that it made a lot of sense to Brandon.

Once the topic of Aria came up Kadence wouldn't stop asking questions about her sister. Brandon understood that she was curious but he was uncomfortable with her curiosity. He didn't want to have to tell her that he had banished her twin and in fact had no clue where Aria was. Kadence told him that a few weeks ago she had tried calling Aria on their birthday but couldn't get through. She asked Brandon to check on her when he went to Waverly at which point Brandon had to admit that Aria had been eliminated and he hadn't seen her in over a month. Kadence had gone crazy at that, so concerned about Aria and desperate to find her. Nothing Brandon said made any difference and Kadence begged him to try and find her, which Brandon had refused. This led to a spirited argument between them and before they could work it out Brandon's security team had ushered him away, desperate to stay on schedule for his arrival in Likely.

Brandon's last view of Kadence had been out of the car window while she glared at him and tried to hold back her tears. She was worried about Aria and felt betrayed by Brandon not doing anything. It was the angriest Brandon had ever seen the sweet girl and he wasn't sure he would ever be able to regain her trust.

He was just ready for the day to be over but instead he had to sit in the car for three more hours before he would get to see Sera. By the time he got to Likely he would only have time to briefly meet her family and have dinner with them before going back to his hotel. Amelia and Priya had spent days planning out his schedules and making sure he would spend the same amount of time with each of the girls so that no one would be seen as having an advantage. They'd also found hotels for him in each province that were secure enough for him and all of the people traveling with him as well as being close enough to the girl's houses that it wouldn't be too long of a drive to make twice a day. The drives to the provinces were a different story though. This was only the second province he'd had to go to and already Brandon was sick of the journeys.

With a sigh Brandon stretched out and tried to block out the world for the next three hours. To his surprise, he was able to fall asleep and when he woke up the sun was just dipping over the horizon, lighting up the ocean in front of it. It was one of the best sunsets Brandon had ever seen and he hurried to grab his camera and capture the moment before it was gone. Even though it was the same ocean he saw every day in Angeles it felt more magical here in Likely. Or maybe it was just the fact that he would soon get to see Sera again.

"Where are we meeting her again?" Brandon asked the driver as he looked out the window, as if he could spot her amongst the crowds on the sidewalk.

"First we're going to the Province Service Office where the mayor is waiting to meet you. There will be a photo op and a short press conference and then Lady Seraphina will meet you and escort you to her house. At ten o'clock I, and the rest of your security team, will be waiting to take you back to your hotel," the driver answered.

Brandon nodded, accepting the information even though all he wanted to do was go to Sera and not have to deal with the rest of the people wanting to meet him in Likely.

He'd never met the mayor of Likely before and after that night he'd be hard pressed to remember her name because his mind was somewhere else throughout their whole conversation.

The press conference afterward was a blur as well. Brandon hoped he answered their questions in an appropriate way. He was surprised by how many questions were about policies in the country and what was happening because of Matthew's death. Normally these were the kinds of questions his father would answer, but now people were looking to him and he wasn't sure what to do. People would remember whatever he said and there was a lot of pressure riding on him. Only a few questions were about the Selection and even those Brandon didn't have clear answers for. Most of the people in the crowd made it clear that they were rooting for Seraphina but that was to be expected since she was the hometown girl. Sera even showed up early and the reporters wasted no time in pushing her to the front of the room so she could stand next to Brandon. Her olive complexion couldn't hide her blush as everyone watched her greet Brandon with a hug. That wasn't enough for him though and the room filled with cheers as he pulled out of the hug and leaned down to kiss her. She returned it with such passion that the rest of the night flew from Brandon's mind. It was just the two of them and right then that was all Brandon needed.

After everyone had left the press conference, it was just Brandon and Sera left in the room, if you didn't count Brandon's ever present security team. And Brandon completely ignored them as he swept Sera up into another long kiss.

She pulled away after a minute and stared up at him, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling, "I've missed you," she said as she hugged him tightly.

"Me too," he said as he hugged her back, "so much."

Sera pulled away again and gave him her brightest smile, "I'm so excited you're here."

Brandon nodded and took her hand, "I can't wait to meet your family."

She led them toward the door, "They're excited too. My younger sisters especially. You're all they've talked about since I've been home."

"Hopefully they won't be disappointed then."

She nudged him with her shoulder, "They get to meet the prince of Illéa, I seriously doubt they'll be disappointed."

Brandon smiled as they left the building, making it outside just in time to see the first stars twinkling in the sky.

Likely was further north than Angeles and in the middle of January it was pretty cold as they walked along the sidewalk. A breeze found its way to them and Brandon shivered. Sera noticed and a guilty expression came over her face.

"Sorry, I should have warned you about the weather. We're not too far away though," she informed him.

It was only after she said that that Brandon noticed the warm coat she wore and the thick scarf wrapped around her neck.

"Did you park far away?" he asked her.

An embarrassed look came over her face and she wouldn't meet his eyes as she said, "No, I walked. I should have made my brother drive, I didn't even think about you. We just have one car and I didn't want to inconvenience him, plus I missed you and just wanted to be alone with you for a few minutes. I'm so sorry, you must be freezing."

She started to unspool her scarf but Brandon placed a hand on her arm, "I'm not that cold, Sera. Keep it."

Seraphina nodded, a guilty look still on her face. They walked a few feet in silence but then Sera stopped, pulling Brandon to a halt beside her.

"Listen," she started, "I'm not sure what you're expecting, but I just wanted to prepare you. My house isn't like the palace or probably like anyplace you've ever been before. We did the best we could, but it's just not cut out for royalty," she refused to look at him while the words poured out of her, "I feel bad making you go there, but there's nowhere else we could take you and I just wanted to let you know. I didn't want you to be expecting something amazing because that's just not what we have."

Brandon reached out and placed a hand on her chin, forcing her to look up at him, "Sera, I don't care what your house looks like. I'm honored you did so much just for me, you really didn't have to. I just want to be with you and meet your family. You really don't have to change anything for me. That house shaped you into who you are and I can't wait to see it, however it is."

Sera's smile was luminescent and she took off down the street with renewed vigor, no more hesitation in her step.

As they walked, Brandon saw the houses go from mid-sized to slightly smaller until Sera stopped at one that could possibly be called a shack. It was possibly the smallest building Brandon had ever seen but it was clear that it was well-loved. The short driveway was spotless and even in the dim light Brandon could tell the house had a fresh coat of paint. He hoped they hadn't painted it just for his visit. All of the windows glowed brightly, the light escaping and lighting up a path to the door.

Sera's grip on Brandon's hand tightened as she walked up the driveway. She pulled out her keys and asked, "Are you ready?"

Before Brandon could answer, the door swung open revealing a man about Brandon's age with blonde hair and a hard expression in his eyes.

"Sera! You're back," he pulled her into a hug, effectively separating her and Brandon.

"This is my older brother, Graham," Sera introduced, "And, Graham, this is Brandon."

Brandon stuck out his hand and Graham looked at it as if he weren't sure what to do. Finally, he reached out and grasped it.

"Pleased to meet you, Your Highness," he smiled but Brandon could tell he didn't mean it. In Graham's expression Brandon saw the same thing he felt anytime a suitor came for Natalie. Graham was just worried about his sister, which Brandon completely understood.

"Just call me Brandon, please, and it's nice to meet you too."

Graham reluctantly let him into the house but made sure to keep him away from Sera.

As Brandon started to step in, Sera cleared her throat. Brandon raised his eyebrows and looked at her.

"Shoes," she motioned to his feet and Brandon looked down. He saw that Sera and Graham had both removed their shoes and lined them up near the door. He quickly pulled off his own and sat them there.

"Sorry," Sera continued, "it's a cultural thing."

"A sign of respect," Graham put in loudly.

"Graham!" Sera exclaimed, aghast.

"Seraphina? Is that you?" A woman's voice called out. A woman who had to be Sera's mother entered the room but stopped as soon as she saw Brandon. She immediately dropped into a curtsey.

"Please, none of that," Brandon said with a smile, "When I'm here, I'm just Brandon."

The woman smiled and her brown eyes lit up just like Sera's did, "It's lovely to meet you, Brandon. I'm Laila," her keen eyes swept out the still-open door and saw two members of Brandon's security team conversing in whispers, "Who are they?"

Officer Rodgers, the head of Brandon's security team, heard her and said, "Don't mind us ma'am, we're just going to ensure His Highness's safety while he's here."

"Alright," Laila said amiably, "would you like to join us for dinner?"

The junior security officer looked to Rodgers with hopeful eyes, no doubt imaging the food that Laila had cooked, which could be smelled through the open door.

"Unfortunately no, we need to stay out here," Rodgers answered, leaving no room for argument.

Laila nodded and shut the door. When she did Sera turned to her with shocked eyes and the older woman laughed, "Don't give me that look, I'll send Rania out with two plates when we sit down."

Sera looked relieved as she led Brandon into the small kitchen where the rest of her family was already seated at the table. Brandon saw a man who looked quite a bit like Graham but with streaks of grey in his hair and two younger girls, one of them the spitting image of Sera.

That one gasped as soon as she caught sight of Brandon. She leaned over to her sister and loudly whispered, "He's even cuter in person!"

Brandon laughed while Sera turned red and chastised her sister, "Rania, I told you to act normal."

"How can I be normal?" the teenager lamented, "There is a prince in our house. A prince. Sera, you have a one in ten chance of being a princess, do you know how cool that is?"

The youngest girl, who appeared to be around ten years old, finally spoke, "Is this your boyfriend, Sera?"

Sera smiled modestly at the little girl, "Yes, this is Brandon," she turned to Brandon and finished the introductions, "This is my father, Damon, and my sisters Rania and Selena."

"It's so nice to meet you," Brandon said, shaking Damon's hand. When he got to Rania he placed a kiss on the back of her hand and watched her eyes grow wide. For a minute it looked like she might swoon and Brandon smiled.

Sera jabbed him in the ribs, "Tone it down." Brandon just grinned at her.

"Rania," Laila called, "come take this food to the gentlemen outside and then we'll eat."

"It's really okay," Brandon told her, "I'm sure Officer Rodgers has food in one of his bags."

"Nonsense," Laila waved away his concern, "I won't have those men going hungry while they're at my house, besides we have plenty."

"Alright," Brandon conceded as he sat down.

He looked at Sera but Graham plopped down next to him before she could. She rolled her eyes at her older brother but didn't argue and instead sat across from Brandon.

"I hope everyone is hungry," Laila said as she brought out a big bowl piled high with chopped vegetables and seasoned with herbs.

Sera spoke up, "Mom's been cooking all day. She made a Middle Eastern feast."

"It's not a feast, Seraphina. It's only three courses."

"Whatever you call it, it's going to be delicious," Sera turned to Brandon and said, "she made all of my favorites."

"Only your favorites from my home country," Laila told her daughter, "you should be proud of your Middle Eastern heritage."

Sera grinned, "I am, Mom, especially because of the food. Shish tawook is incredible, everyone should know what it is."

"And what is shish tarok?" Brandon asked, unsure how to pronounce the strange dish.

"Shish tawook is chicken skewers with lemon and garlic and a bunch of other herbs. They're so good."

Laila smiled as she brought out even more food, "There's also tabouli salad, falafel, and for dessert, baklava."

"You made baklava?!" Selena shrieked, "We never get that!"

"Well, tonight is a special occasion."

"Can I just have baklava?" the young girl asked with a sheepish smile.

"Absolutely not, young lady," Damon said, "Your mother worked hard on this meal and we're going to enjoy all of it."

"It smells amazing," Brandon told Laila, "I can't wait to try it."

"Be careful," Sera told him, "once you try this food you'll be hooked, and I don't even think the palace chefs will be able to replicate mom's baklava."

"I guess we'll have to have them try when we're back in Angeles, although this meal is almost impossible to beat." Brandon said.

Laila smiled and set down the last dish before taking her seat.

"Thank you so much for doing all of this," Brandon told Laila, "I can already tell this is going to be an amazing week."

I know that doesn't seem like it should have taken a month to write but I also had some serious writer's block, hopefully it'll clear up so I can write the next chapter.

Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. I have the Selected's POV's planned out for the next few chapters but let me know what other character's you'd like to see in those chapters as well- like Aria, any of the royals, or any other character you'd like to see. I'm going to try to work those in as well so your suggestions would be super helpful!

Thanks for reading!

~Jen