Carissa hurried through the darkening streets, eyes on her dirty sneakers. She knew if someone recognized her face she would be tormented for hours.

Unfortunately, her stringy auburn curls must have been very recognizable, because a shrill voice behind her called:

"Hey, freak!"

Carissa ran faster, feet skidding on the bumpy gravel.

"What's the matter?" called the taunting voice, and Carissa knew everyone would be watching her soon. "Aren't you fine with who you are?"

Of course she was. She was just the only girl in the entire province and beyond with not a single drop of magic in her being.

For years, Carissa had been experimenting with different exercises, trying to activate a power. Her twelve younger siblings had powers. Her single mother had powers.

But the eldest girl, the one that was supposed to bring glory to the entire family had none. And she was teased for it daily. No, not teased. Tortured.

"Catch, freak!" yelled the same screechy voice, and Carissa watched as she held out a hand to a passing cart of tomatoes.

A large, ruby red orb levitated off the cart and flew straight for Carissa's face.

She stood there, calmly, trying to act as if it didn't matter. She was used to it by now.

The tomato splattered all over Carissa's face, and she watched as blood-red juice, seeds and mush pooled in her hair and dribbled down onto her shirt.

Peals of laughter seemed to echo off the streets, caging her in. Carissa would not stand for it. In fact, she intended to punch that awful, mocking Two so hard she wouldn't wake up until New Year's.

But she couldn't do that. She needed to seem lofty, like she was entirely above it all.

She held her head high, turned on her heel and marched away, still feeling tomato guts covering her face and shirt.

She was pathetic. A mere Seven with a huge family and no money. And no magic either.

But at least she wasn't in the upper castes. More powerful people tended to gravitate toward better castes, probably because they just used their magic to buy their way up.

But the less powerful ones usually ended up at the bottom of the ladder. It was typical that almost all the royals were Elementalists, and that she was Powerless.

She swung open the door to her tiny house, hearing the hideous creak of the hinges.

It was pandemonium in the little cottage, as usual. The kids were everywhere, all using their magical abilities for something or another.

Carissa's mother, Nora, was a Cleaner, and a very weak one at that. She was trying to magically sweep broken glass from the floor, but the broom kept losing momentum and collapsing against the wall.

"Rissa, thank goodness you're home. Can I get some help?"

Of course, Rissa's mother didn't even react to the tomato gushing down Rissa's neck. Typical. Carissa knew her mother was stressed, but couldn't she at least ask how her day had gone?

"Yeah, Mom," she said tiredly, plopping down on a little couch to watch her toddler brother wobble through the air.

He was a Levitator, and was having a very hard time with it. He was tilting and teetering, dropping slowly toward the ground and laying halfway down in the air.

"What are you doing, buddy?" Rissa asked, a laugh lacing her voice.

"I practice!" he called enthusiastically.

Rissa watched as he managed to straighten himself in the air, hanging like a piñata above.

"I fly!" he squealed, waving his chubby little arms in celebration.

This was his downfall. As he waved like an over-excited cheerleader, his perfect equilibrium abandoned him and he dropped, spinning and squealing.

"I fall!" he cried, pouting on the carpet.

"Will you get the mail, hon?" asked Nora, not even noticing her son's small accomplishment.

"Yeah, Mom," Rissa muttered, standing and picking her way through the chaotic room.

"Yeah, Mom," mimicked Via, Rissa's sister, in an uncanny impression of Rissa's voice.

Rissa sighed and slipped past Via, ignoring her Voice-Shifting sister's antics. She didn't have the time for that now.

As she stepped out into the street, Carissa took a much needed breath. Not only because it was hot in there, but because of the relentless chaos that filled the home. And Carissa wanted to leave her mother's presence. She couldn't handle anymore of that empty shell that was once her mother.

Carissa made her way to the mailbox, pulling it open. Inside was a single letter in a thick envelope.

Carissa pulled the letter out, and as soon as she felt it, she knew it was from Angeles. No one else had that nice of paper.

Rissa knew that if she entered the house now, she would be flocked by children asking too many questions. So she sat on the grass and tore oven the envelope.

A crisp letter was inside, begging to be read. Carissa pulled it out with reverent fingers and began to read.

The Selection. Prince Will's Selection.

Carissa knew it was going to happen eventually. Will was what- twenty now? No, nineteen. He would turn twenty in about a month. Still, it was about time.

Carissa's eyes suddenly caught on a small note at the bottom.

Women from lower castes will be compensated for every day they are at the palace. Each Selected with be at the palace for at least a week before eliminations begin.

Carissa caught a breath. Wow. That was definitely something new.

Rissa knew she needed to enter. It was for her family. For her little siblings who always cried at night because there was not nearly enough food. For her mother, frazzled and barely aware of what was around her.

But Rissa knew a lot of girls. She knew that the ridicule would be much worse at the palace, with thirty-four other girls. Powerful, beautiful girls. And here was Rissa with her stringy hair and dull eyes and red-stained, blotchy cheeks.

She was ugly. She would be eliminated at first opportunity.

But still, it would be a serious amount of money. And once Carissa returned, she would be a Three. She could find a job, be useful to her family for once.

Yes. It had to be done. But Carissa knew she would hate it. And she wouldn't make it past the first elimination.

But a tiny voice in the back of her head- her late father's voice- whispered to her:

"At least you're trying. No one can blame you for that."

And that little voice was absolutely right. She was going to try. And that was all that mattered.

...

Will squirmed in his chair. It was time for the Report again. Hadn't it just been Friday yesterday? The time was going by too fast. The Selection had to be announced today, along with the adjustments King Maverick had made.

But he hated being in the public eye. Sure, around his sisters and family he was usually cool and charismatic. But in front of glaring cameras? Definitely not.

Serene and Leina entered the studio, arm in arm, with identical smiles on their faces. They were so perfect. Even when they weren't in front of the cameras. They were always smiling, always finding some fun thing to do or a kind remark for Will. And they did it all with fluid grace. It wasn't fair.

Leina grinned at him and patted his shoulder. She was wearing her crown today, a metal circlet with flames that rose and fell around it, making the metal gleam. It was a sign of her power, even though everyone knew she was a fire elementalist.

Next came Serene. She adjusted his tie, shot him a warm smile, and took her place.

Above her head was a circle of bubbling water, like a crystal blue, very wet halo. Even so, she looked perfectly dry. Like an angel, as usual.

Will had a crown of clouds, swirling and dancing in an invisible breeze. Today, the wind was a little harder to control than usual, but he kept it at bay, in its perfect shape. He could not afford to lose it tonight.

All too soon, the light above the camera flicked green, and the Report began.

Lenny Golde, a Persuader, stepped up to the podium. The very sound of his voice made Will want to nod along and do whatever Lenny wanted, but he managed to restrain himself.

Even when Lenny wasn't Persuading to his best abilities, or even trying, for that matter, he had a powerful aura about him and almost demanded respect. Still, he had a twinkling smile and a light in his eyes.

"Good evening, Illéa!" he boomed. "Before we start with the smaller announcement, we are going to hear from Crown Prince William. He has a special announcement."

Will stood up and walked to the podium, his crown of wind churning above him. He put on a calm smile to the camera, and spoke into the microphone.

"Good evening, people of Illéa. I have a very special announcement for you today. The time has come for me to find a bride. Thirty-five young ladies will be Selected, and will join me at the palace. Forms have already been sent out, and preparations are well underway. I look forward to finding my queen."

A smattering of applause filled the studio as Leina flashed him a reassuring grin.

"However, things will go quite differently this time around." he called, reigning everyone back in. "The Selection has not been quite fair in the past. We are going to make several changes this year. First off, many of you may know that the Selection isn't entirely a lottery. But this time, we will not be examining the forms. Each girl with be randomly selected. There will be no prejudice against lower castes. Everyone will have an equal chance." He took a deep breath, his heart racing. What was he so nervous about?

"And lastly, eliminations will not occur for at least a week. The process will be much slower this time. Once again, I am very excited for this new approach. Good luck to all the young ladies who apply."

He sat back down, and the rest of the Report passed smoothly. Still, Will couldn't stop thinking about how stupid he must have sounded. His tongue was like led, and he always got so muddled when he spoke in the public. How was he ever to be king?

Finally, the light flickered away and Will jumped up, aching to go outside. For once, his sisters did not follow him, and he was finally allowed to have some peace.

In just a few weeks, thirty-five girls would be in the palace. Thirty-five girls, all with different abilities.

Will tried to tell himself everything would be fine. It was just a bunch of girls, they would be nervous too.

His feelings were too much of a mess to untangle, so he slumped against a bench and tried to prepare himself for the coming storm.

How was he going to be himself around these girls? How would they react to his strange powers? And how would he react to theirs?

Strange questions filled his head. He rubbed his temples and sighed deeply.

He had to be optimistic. This was going to be fun.

And yes, he would run into some bumps on the way. But he would try. He would try harder than he ever had before.

Because there was a new future on his shoulders. A new queen, a new approach...

And Will decided that he may just like the way things would be. After all, what was the harm in a little change?

...

Author's Note: Thank you for reading all the way to the end! I hope that wasn't too boring! Just some background info to help with your girls.

Carissa was the girl I made, but I promise you she won't have any bias and she won't win! Please review, it's greatly appreciated. Huge thanks to Hazel Sparks Fly for reviewing last chapter.

So you can also reserve a power if you want! I'm not going to reserve a "no power" spot for Rissa because others can have no powers as well. Also, we can have more than one person with the same power, but it might not be as interesting. I also wanted to say that I'm blind, so I sometimes have a hard time with coding and formatting. If something looks weird, please let me know! Have an awesome day, thanks again for reading!