Lilith sat on the bedside of her ailing husband, playing the role of devoted wife and Queen ever so well. Her red hair was tied back in a braided bun. She looked every bit the Queen that she was, dressed in a pleated purple dress. Her husband Rian was hooked up to various machines that monitored his vitals as well as an IV which provided him with much needed fluids and medicine. The King, who now spent most of his time sleeping, was routinely visited by nurses who checked his vitals and changed his IV bags. The blonde haired fortyfive year old was dying, there was no doubt about that, it was just a matter of when he would die. Lilith checked her watch, the doctor was late and she had much better things to do than sit with her soon to be dead husband. I wish he would just hurry up and die, she thought. She was effectively ruling the country on her own and had been for the past five years. During this time she had implemented many changes that directly benefited the higher castes and ruling class. The first change she had made was removing the elected mayors of the provinces and replacing them with hand chosen governors who swore fealty to her as a result of their promotion which came with substantial benefits. The door opened and Lilith turned to look at Dr. Grey as he entered the room.
"My apologies, Your Majesty," Dr. Grey said as he bowed. "I was just reviewing your husband's charts from last night. Unfortunately he has taken a turn for the worse."
"He has?" Lilith asked as she turned to face her husband and smiled as she stroked his hair. It's only a matter of time before all this is mine, Lilith thought with a gleam in her eyes.
Dr. Grey nodded, "Unfortunately His Majesty does not have much time left. I would advise that you bring your children to say their goodbyes soon. I know you want to shield them from this, but I believe there is nothing we can do at this point but make him comfortable."
"How much longer?" Lilith asked as she stood..
"A week, maybe more." Dr. Grey replied. "Has he woken yet?"
"Sadly not, I was hoping to speak to him before my meetings this morning. I hope he'll be awake when I bring the children this afternoon." Lilith replied "Thank you for all your hard work, Dr. Grey. It won't go unrewarded."
"It's my pleasure, Your Majesty." Dr. Grey said.
"I must be off, do update me if anything changes." Lilith said as she walked away, she didn't bother to wait for a reply, everyone knew the consequences of disobeying a direct order from the Queen.
Lilith went to her private sitting room where Chief Political Advisor Blaise was waiting for her. He was a handsome man of forty-five and only one year older than Queen Lilith. He was tall and muscular with dark brown hair that was gelled back. He was dressed appropriately in a suit and tie. LIlith extended her hand, which he kissed.
"How is your husband doing, my dear?" Blaise asked.
"He's dying, a little too slowly for my liking." Lilith replied as she stepped closer to him.
"I'll see what I can do." Blaise said.
Lilith grinned, "I want him gone tonight, I'll bring my children to say their goodbyes this afternoon. I don't want this dragged out any longer than it has to be."
Blaise nodded as Lilith rested her hands on his shoulders, he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer.
"I can't wait until I don't have to see you in private." He whispered as he placed a kiss on her neck.
"All in due time." Lilith said as she ran her hands through his hair.
"And what are we going to do with your daughter?" Blaise asked. "Rhea is woefully unprepared to rule on her own."
Lilith smirked, "Then I'll have to rule for her until she proves herself capable. But for now we need to plan a Selection. She needs to find herself a suitable husband, someone we can control. I don't want my power tested, we need to keep her and her husband under our thumb, I won't have her ruining everything for us."
"I'll have the arrangements made." Blaise assured the Queen.
"Perfect, I want the applications sent out tonight. Rian should be dead by the time they're received. What better way to bring the people together in the wake of such a tragedy?"
Blaise nodded, "I'll start now. As for today's schedule there is not much on the table, I should have plenty of time to get everything done."
"Perfect." Lilith said as she cupped Blaise's cheek. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. "That will be all for now, Blaise."
Blaise bowed to the Queen then left the room, he had his work cut out for him.
Rhea sat in front of her vanity mirror as her maid, Abigail, worked carefully on the nineteen year old's hair. She was busy curling the Princess's waist length red hair. Rhea watched through the mirror impatiently, but Abigail knew better than to rush. The last time she had made a mistake the Princess had struck her with a surprising amount of strength. Before starting at the palace Abigail had heard rumours about how servants were treated. She was hesitant to accept the job but she needed the money to send back to her family. All of her needs were provided by the palace so she didn't have to worry about being a burden to her family. For once she would be able to support them. Abigail finished her work and grabbed a handheld mirror which she held up so the Princess could see the back of her hair. Rhea snatched it from her and inspected every inch of her hair.
"I suppose it's acceptable." Rhea said as she placed the mirror on the table. She stood and gave Abigail an annoyed look. "Aren't you forgetting something? Go get my dress!"
"Right away, Your Highness." Abigail said quietly. She quickly went to the Princess's walk-in closet and found the black lace-print wrap dress the Princess had planned on wearing that day. When she returned to the room Rhea was waiting impatiently in her bra and underwear. Abigail helped Rhea change into her dress and zipped it up. Rhea looked at herself in her full length mirror as Abigail helped her put on her shoes.
Rhea snapped her fingers and held out her hand, "Necklace."
Abigail stood and retrieved a black pearl necklace. Abigail handed Rhea the necklace and moved her hair out of the way while the Princess put on her accessory.
"You can go now." Rhea said annoyed as she smoothed over her dress and glanced herself over in the mirror, looking for any errors in her appearance.
Abigail curtsied to the Princess and quickly left the room, relieved that she wasn't needed for anything else.
Rhea rolled her eyes as there was a knock at the door, "What?" She called out.
"Is that anyway to talk to your mother?" Lilith scolded as she stepped in the room.
"Apologies, mother, I didn't know it was you." Rhea said as she turned around. "What is it?"
"Your father is dying." Lilith said as she walked towards her daughter.
Rhea shrugged, "I knew that, he's been dying for months."
"The doctor thinks he has a week left." Lilith said as she placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"That's sad." Rhea said apathetically. "Is breakfast ready?"
"Almost." Lilith replied. "There's something else I need to tell you. The applications for your Selection are being sent out today."
"About time." Rhea said as she rested her hand on her hip. "Just do me a favour and make sure there aren't too many below a three. I don't want to waste my time on someone who has no potential."
"We have to have some, the draw does need to appear random."
"Then limit it." Rhea said annoyed.
"Watch your tone, darling." Lilith warned as she grabbed her daughter's chin. "You're not Queen yet, and although I do agree with your sentiment the fact of the matter is that we can't only cater to the upper castes regarding this. We need to pretend that the lower castes have a chance. Just keep around a token four and you'll be fine."
"Whatever you say, mother." Rhea said. "What are we going to do with Silas?"
"I haven't given him much thought." Lilith replied honestly. Her son was only sixteen, they had more than enough time to decide what he would to serve the country. "Don't worry about him, we'll find something for him to do when the time comes."
"Hopefully he proves himself to be useful." Rhea said.
"Come, breakfast should be ready now." Lilith said as she wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulder.
"It better be." Rhea said as she walked towards the dining room with her mother.
When Rhea and Lilith entered the dining room Blaise was already seated at the head of the table, Rhea took her place in the middle while Lilith sat across from Blaise at her regular spot. Rhea had gotten used to Blaise taking her father's place and had no problem with it. It was her younger brother, Silas who disliked him. Silas entered the room and ignored Blaise's presence entirely as he took his seat at the table. The sixteen year old was of average height with dark brown hair and square rimmed glasses. He wore a grey blazer with a white t-shirt undeath and dress pants.
"Good morning, Silas." Lilith greeted her son. It was no secret that the Queen wasn't exactly fond of her son who opposed what she had been doing with the country. Though there was nothing he could do to stop her.
"Morning." Silas said as he took a sip from his glass of juice.
"Father's dying." Rhea said with a small smile.
"Why are you happy about that?" Silas asked, disgusted.
"Because when he dies I become Queen." Rhea said with a shrug. "Mother says he has a week left."
"Is that true?" Silas asked, looking at his mother for the first time since he entered the room.
"Unfortunately yes." Lilith replied.
"And neither of you care?" Silas demanded, disgusted.
"It's not that we don't care, your father has been ill for quite some time. It's only natural that he passes." Lilith said.
Silas rolled his eyes, he knew his father only had so long to live, he just couldn't believe how callous his sister and mother were being.
"I know this is hard for you." Blaise said. "But soon your father will be in a better place."
Silas glared at him, "And I wonder who will benefit from that."
"Silas, I assure you, no one is benefitting from this." Lilith said soothingly. "You should be grateful for everything Blaise has done for us-"
Silas cut her off, "Done for us? He's taking advantage of us!" He practically shouted as he stood. "He can only gain from this, how am I the only one who can see that he's just waiting for father to die to take his place entirely?"
"I've merely been helping your mother rule in these troubling times." Blaise said evenly. He glanced at Lilith who nodded slightly then turned his attention back to Silas. "Your outburst will not be tolerated. Sit down and eat your breakfast."
"I don't have to listen to you, you're not my father!" Silas snapped.
Blaise stood and quickly walked towards Silas, he grabbed his arm in a tight grip and pulled the teen closer. "Your mother has given me authority over you. You may be a prince but you're still merely a child. I will not tolerate disrespect."
"Let go." Silas said angrily as he tried to push Blaise's hand away.
Without warning, Blaise punched Silas across the face. Silas would have gone flying had it not been for Blaise's hand holding him in place. "I suggest that you respect my authority. Now sit down."
Silas scowled at Blaise as he released his grip on Silas's arm. Silas glanced at the door and before he could move Blaise shoved him into the chair.
"Don't get up or I'll do much worse." Blaise hissed in Silas's ear, he patted the boy's shoulder before he returned to his own seat. He smirked at the bruise forming on Silas's cheek, that should do the trick for now, Blaise thought.
"You can see your father tonight." Lilith said, acting as if nothing had happened.
Silas locked eyes with his sister who shrugged. It wasn't her fault Silas had gotten hurt, he should have just done what he was told.
Hello and welcome to my SYOC. This is a male SYOC but I'm open to receive more than just contestants for the story.
In addition to contestants, you can submit palace staff (royal planner, guards, political, advisers, and of course friends of the royals). I am also looking for rebels, they can be contestants if you'd like, but they don't have to be.
Since this is your typical SYOC I'm not going to go over the rules much. For characters, send them in a PM with their name somewhere in the subject line. If you're sending a contestant you don't need to ask first, if you are sending a character other than a contestant I would prefer if you asked first so I could give my input and make sure I can use them in the story as well as send you a modified form, as the main form pertains only to contestants.
If you have any questions regarding the story at all (including to reserve provinces) please PM me.
The form is on my profile.