This chapter has images of blood and slight gore, please be careful!

Lourdes Schreave remembers screaming, clutching onto her maids when she heard about the accident.

Blood, everywhere, gnarled metal, shards of glass tinged red.

"Where are they? Where's Jimena? Where's Luna?"

"Please, tell me something, that's Julian, that's my Juli, please!"

"Please!"

It didn't matter that she was family, that she loved them all so much. The guards held her back and kept her in her rooms, guarded, waiting, after she threatened the "image" of the Royal Family during the subsequent Report.

Aunt Mariana had pulled her hair back in an immaculate bun and kept her eyes forward, not sparing a glance at Lourdes. Uncle Edward's hands had shook tremendously, lip wobbling, but he didn't break. He buried his hands in his lap and straightened his back, trying to look like a King, not a lost father. And Constantine? Her fun-loving, always-at-the-ready Connie? He was a ghost of himself. Skin pale, face gaunt, eyes swollen and unseeing. He still looked bad even under the pounds of stage makeup caked on his face for the Report.

That Report had been a solemn one, a slow-going production tinged with an air of fear and uncertainty. The host, Francesa Leonardo, had wrung her hands the whole time, bouncing her knee, unsure of what to ask and how to ask it. It was an awkward affair, one Lourdes wasn't invited to. And look at her now, getting ready for the newest Report just over a year later. She wonders if she fits the image now. Is she cold enough, like her Aunt?

"Lou? How do I look?"

Lou turns around to look at Julian, and can't help but smile at the way he fidgets, so unsure of himself now. Such a far cry from the confident, but never cocky young man he used to be. His dark hair, such a deep, rich black, combed and styled to look effortlessly tousled, and the beginnings of black stubble on his strong, angular jaw. His eyes, however, are the real star of the show. His eyes, such a dark brown, they almost look black, are looking just past Lou and his thick black eyebrows are furrowed, a look of uncertainty on his face.

Lou smiles. "You look great, Juli, like a handsome young prince about to get a whole bunch of girls vying for his attention."

"Or his penis!" Connie adds, much too gleefully, from the hallway.

He walks into Julian's large room with his usual swagger and grins when he sees Julian. He catches Lou's eyes and points at Julian, while mouthing Wow! to her. Lou can only bite down a grin and roll her eyes in response. But yes, wow. Her Juli, looking as handsome as ever; clean and almost powerful looking in his dark olive shirt, pressed black slacks, and brown dress shoes shined to perfection.

"Connie, please don't talk about my penis." Julian sighs.

"Or any penis, for that matter." Lou chimes in.

Connie's smile fades, but doesn't disappear completely, and he cocks his head to the side, letting a lock of dark hair fall into his eyes. "We're not in the middle ages anymore, are we, Lourdes? I believe a man can talk about another man's penis; it's natural."

"Sure, just not your brother's penis or a girl wanting his penis." Lou snorts.

"Can we please stop saying the word penis?" Julian begs, a shade of red crossing onto his cheeks. "Let's just agree that it's fine for anyone to talk about that body part or say that word, but that we should be mindful of where we are and who we're with when we say it, shall we?"

Lourdes grins, and walks over to Julian, slipping the simple black tie laid on his bed around his neck and adjusting the collar. "You sounded like a real future King for a second." She says quietly.

"Even when talking about penises?" Julian quips, leaning his head back to allow Lou to tie a knot.

"What? You're allowed to say penis and I'm not?" Connie whines.

Julian smiles. "I'm the future King."

Lou finishes the knot, and steps back to admire the whole look. Her Juli, all grown up, standing in front her, pushing his sleeves up, rubbing the gnarled, scarred skin of his forearms in a now-frequent show of anxiety. It's funny, how just one short year, an accident, and a new, albeit darker, look on life can completely change you. Julian, who used to know how handsome he was, who used to command a room with just his presence and a look, is now scared over a newscast. Connie moves past Lou to help Julian sit on the edge of his bed and hands his brother his socks and shoes.

Is this change for the better? Lou wonders. She always thought Julian was moving too fast for his own good. Girl to girl, interest to interest, friend to friend, but never sitting down and simply enjoying life. Julian always seemed to be above it all when he could see, and now? Maybe this new lease in life has made him realize that he's mortal, just like everyone else. Maybe now –

"Heya, Kieran! I didn't know you'd be here today!" Connie exclaims. Lou shakes herself out her thoughts and sees Kieran walk into Julian's room, his crown on a satin blue pillow. "Aw, is that a crown for lil' ole me?"

Kieran grins, a sharp and mocking sort of thing, as he stops in front of Julian. "The weight of responsibility this crown holds would be far too much for someone like you, Prince Constantine." Julian lets out a surprised laugh, and Lou gladly laughs as loud and as hard as she can at the look of surprise on Connie's face. Kieran sets the pillow on the small, wooden end table next to Julian's bed. Kieran begins to putter with Julian's hair as Connie mutters something about "abusive valets" under his breath, and sitting at Julian's desk, across from his bed.

Lourdes watches Kieran and can't help but admire the young man before her. Barely twenty-two-years-old, and yet carries himself with an air of wisdom and control so far beyond his age. His eyes, such a pretty blue, Lou notes, have seen so much in his tenure at the palace. He was the first to the scene of the accident last year, stumbling away from the mangled car with blood on his hands and face, blue eyes wide and wild, sandy brown hair matted to his forehead, sticky and darkened with blood.

"Get help, please! The princes and -"

"Lourdes, there's so much blood, and her arm is- I don't think she'll make it!"

"I tried, I tried...please don't hate me!"

And how could she ever hate someone who looked at her so earnestly? Whose hands were shaking so violently, they looked as though they would fall off at any given moment? Who looked just as devastated at the lives lost and the life still in limbo? Who wept, openly, at the news that his prince was alive, and was determined to give him a good life, even at the prospect the doctors had given the family.

"Prince Julian suffered major head trauma. He's in a coma now, but when he wakes up, there could be a number of issues that await him. We really won't know for sure what they are if or when the prince wakes up."

And Kieran had done nothing, but lift red-rimmed eyes to the King and took in a deep breath and pledged his unwavering and undying loyalty to the prince, no matter what that entailed, with shaking hands and a quiver in his voice.

"Princess Lou, are you alright?" Kieran's warm voices asks. Lou looks up and sees him looking at her with a look of concern on his face.

"Sorry, Kieran, I was zoning out a little bit, there."

Kieran shakes his head with a fond look. "Prince Julian was doing that just this morning. What's going on with all of you?"

"Not me, my dear Kieran! My attention is solely focused on you, at the ready!"

Lou laughs. "Oh God, I'm so sorry, Kieran."

Kieran just grins. "Prince Julian, I'm going to help you stand now," He says gently, and grabs Julian's hand and stands him up, straightening the prince's tie and brushing unseen dirt off of his shoulders.

"Are my shoelaces crooked this time, Kieran?" At this, Kieran outright laughs, something Lou rarely ever sees the young valet do. Not that he's cold, but he's more polite than anything – stiff smiles, soft chuckles, but never something loud and loose, like this laugh is. Connie seems to sense this, too, as he stands up suddenly, and crosses over to the two young man quite speedily.

"Your shoelaces, Jules?" Connie asks.

Julian rolls his eyes, such a normal gesture that always throws Lou when he does it ever since the accident. "After I got dressed this morning, Mother made sure I knew how horribly unbecoming it was that one of my shoelaces was crooked."

Connie gasps, putting a large hand against his chest. "How dreadful!"

Kieran snorts and Julian continues, sounding more frustrated now. "And then I got to eat a short breakfast in the clothes we just put on, so that I can come up here, take another shower, and redress for a stupid show."

Lou speaks up. "Juli, we all had to gussy ourselves up for this. Trust me, this ponytail my maid pulled my hair into is so tight, I feel like I've got in instant face lift." Lou casts a glance at Connie, "And they've somehow managed to make Connie look a respectable prince and not a bootleg drug dealer."

"Exactly! I'm still a drug dealer, dear brother, but the key is that I don't look like one, anymore."

"Thank you, Connie. All I'm saying is, you're not alone in this, Julian. We've all been dolled up and primped for this, and we'll all be on stage with you, I promise."

Lou walks up to Julian, and Kieran moves aside, allowing her to rest her hands on his shoulders and look into his eyes. When Lou was first told Julian was blind, she imagined his eyes to be bloody, or glazed over and dead-looking, but now, she realizes, she was so wrong. His eyes are unfocused and constantly moving, but they're still the same kind brown eyes they always were.

"Juli, we're going to go on that stage with you, and we're going to support you through that. And when those girls come to the palace, we'll support you through that. All three of us, plus Ray, wherever he is right now," Lou makes a mental note to look for Ray later. "Anyway, you don't have to put so much pressure on yourself, especially if it's after something Aunt Mariana has said."

Julian's shoulders lower at that, looking a little more at ease than he was before, but still nervous. "Lou, what if I go on there, and all those girls see is a burden? They see my eyes and the scars I have, and they realize I'm not worth it? Or what if they see me and come anyway, just because they want the crown or money?" Julian closes his eyes, but Lou can still see the tears trapped in his dark eyelashes, and watches as his Adam's apple move as he tries to calm his wavering voice. "What if they see me, and they're disgusted?"

Connie speaks up this time, coming from Lou's left, and wrapping a long arm around his brother, pulling him in close. "Then fuck 'em, Julian. You're handsome, you're kind, and smart, among so many other traits. If they can't see that and will only let your blindness control their thoughts and decisions, then your Selection is better off without them."

"And if they treat you being blind like it's a problem, then that speaks volumes about them as a person than it ever would about you, Prince Julian."

Julian lets out a shuddering breath at that, and nods, a little wildly. He opens his eyes again, and they're red around the edges and watery, but no one comments on it. "Thank you, all three of you, thank you. I really needed to hear that."

Just then, a loud, forceful knock sounds on the door, making the three of them jump, breaking up the tender moment. "Hey, Prince Julian!" Ray calls, enthusiastic as ever, "It's Ray, by the way! Your guard!"

Lou rolls her eyes, stepping back from Julian. "Yes, Ray, we know. You don't have to announce that every time you speak with us."

"Oh, sorry, my bad! I'll definitely remember for next time!"

He won't.

"Um, the King and Queen want you guys down in the main parlor right now, the Report is about to start!" He says loudly.

Julian stiffens up again, and Kieran sighs quietly, going to the Prince to start on his hair again and wipes his face of his tears, and hopefully, his nerves. "Are you able to stall the King and Queen for a little bit, Princess Lou, Prince Constantine? I need to make Julian up again."

Lou nods, and starts, when Connie wraps an arm around her shoulders. "Leave it to us, Kieran-darling! You make our Juli look beautiful again and we'll go tame the beasts!"

"We'll see you at the Report, Julian," Lou says softly. "Remember to take deep breaths." Lou catches Kieran's eyes, and mouths Please comfort him before he goes. Kieran nods, and makes a shooing motion toward the two royals before they open the door.

Ready or not, the Report was coming.

Hi there! Thank you so much for all of the reservations and girls I've received so far. It's a slow-going process, for me to read the girls and write at the same time, so I haven't read all of them yet, but I'm slowly getting around to it.

As seen here, this chapter gives us more insight into the accident and has some violent images as the story goes on. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I will try to add a warning at the beginning of any chapter that has this, to keep you all safe from anything you aren't comfortable with reading.

This chapter is a little shorter, but it's more of an introduction to two of our more important characters, Prince Constantine, and Princess Lourdes. So please let me know what you think of those two, their interactions with each other, Julian, and Kieran, as well as the chapter as a whole. Your reviews really mean a lot :)

By the way, here are their face claims! And the royal family's personalities are now on my profile! :)

King Edward: Eric Bana

Queen Mariana: Penelope Cruz

Prince Constantine: Noah Centineo

Prince Julian: Diego Tinoco

Princess Lourdes: Sofia Carson

Kieran: Connor Jessup

Have a wonderful day! :)

~Rose