Prince Jayden Schreave, 18, the gardens at Angeles. (five days before the Selected girls are announced.)

The stack of papers was, to say the least, daunting. Each girl's submission was two or three pages long, front and back. Now times that by 35, and you'd understand quite how scared Jay was. He sucked in a deep breath and picked up the first form. Emmaline Anchor of Atlin, 18 years old. She was far from ugly, but he couldn't decide if she was gorgeous or plain. He was surprised she had actually made it into the Selection, as her record showed many small offenses, the largest apperantly being that she had seduced a drunk police officer into freeing her. He figured that wasn't exactly the truth; the police had been the one to tell the story, not her, but he figured he could always inquire when she arrived at the palace.

The second was a ravenette with stunning blue eyes and pale skin. Her name was Olivia, which somewhat surprised Jay, because he usually assumed that girls with the name 'Olivia' would have brown hair. He didn't know why exactly he thought that; maybe it was because all the Olivias he had met (which was very few, but enough to give base to his theory) had brown hair and caramel streaks. This Olivia looked different than the other Olivias, but she was boring. She spoke English, worked as a teacher, and enjoyed gardening. He sighed as he reached for the third application. He was already getting tired. And he had 33 more to go. Absolutely wonderful.

Next came Catriona Elion, a Three from Tammins. She stood out among the papers for one thing- her hair was pink. Well, the bottoms of her hair were pink and the top was a light brownish color, but she still stood out to him. He'd never seen a contestant with dyed hair before she came to the palace. Most girls got highlights or a color shift during the makeovers; never before had he seen actually dyed hair, like bright colors, and not just the streaks of platinum Willow put in her hair. He liked it on Catriona, though. She was pretty, and, by the looks of it, very smart. He put her in a different pile than Olivia and Emmaline, deciding he'd look over her entry again later today. She would be fun to have around the palace.

emmaline anchor, 18, atlin, a five. (nine days before the entire Selection is announced)

Emmaline was bored. Bored, bored, bored, bored. She hated going to fancy parties and watching the Twos giggle and drink champagne and eat delicases while Emmaline sang sweetly in the background and recieved meager thanks for the hours of work she'd done. On this particular day, she was completely and utterly fed up. She'd been performing for 4 hours now. 4 hours! Plus, she was hungry. She had figured that they- the rich couple and their daughters- wouldn't mind if she snagged one tiny macaron. Well, they certainly did mind, and that was exactly why she was currently sitting behind bars while the couple screamed obscenities at her and the poor shmuck guarding her cell. All for one cookie she'd barely nibbled at. Erica was going to be furious. This was the second time Emmaline had ended up behind bars this month. She was seriously considering picking the lock and running for it while the guard was busy escorting the screeching couple away; there was no way in hell that Erica would come to bail her out again. Threes only had so much money, she supposed, and plus, Erica could hold a grudge like nobody's business. Emmaline drug her hand down her face for the fifth time in three minutes. The guard had returned to his post and was staring at Emmaline in a way that made her skin prickle.

"Whatcha do to 'em, eh?"

Emmaline looked up. "I ate a cookie at their daughters' birthday party, that's what, and now I'm stuck in this hellhole because I'm a screwing Five!"

The guard rolled his eyes. "Twos, am I right?"

Emmaline snorted. "Yeah. Now screw off."

He tutted his tongue. "See, I was thinking I could help you out. A favor for a favor, eh? But if you're bein' so rude..." he trailed off, raising one eyebrow. Emmaline was quiet for a moment. "A favor?"

He nodded. "A favor," he repeated, standing up and approaching her until his face was level with hers, his breath hot on her cheeks. " You see, me an' my boys...we don't get much women round here, know what I mean?" Emmaline's heart was beating fast in her chest, all her instincts begging for her to run, but she planted her feet and stood her ground. If he could just let her out for one moment, she could run fast enough...

"I get where you're going," she said, attempting to be seductive despite the fact that her tongue was glue in her was terrified. She'd heard way too many stories about girls getting raped in prison. She saw his pupils dialate and prayed desperately that she was strong enough, that she was fast enough, because, oh, God, what had she gotten herself into? He licked his lips, causing Emmaline to cringe, ever so slightly. He fumbled with his keys eagerly, unlocking her cell and grabbing her by the waist. Emmaline's thoughts were but a string of curses, she was trapped now, and the only way to escape was to play along. She slung her arms around his neck and nuzzled his neck, kissing his flabby skin as she threw up inside her mouth. He moaned and pawed at Emmaline's curvy waist. She moved her mouth higher, to his lips, and felt his grip on her softening. Almost there, she thought. She was so scared. She was desperate that someone would help her; she'd even settle for those Twos. But no such help came and the guard showed no signs of stopping. He sucked on her lip, sticking his tongue down her throat with no hestitation, while she toyed carefully with his belt. He slung her down on the desk, pulling off her shoes and deepening their kiss. She tugged harder on his belt, hoping it would be enough to loosen his grip completely, but he only began to undo her bra straps. Emmaline took a careful breath and pushed the guard back a little, edging them ever-so-closer to the doorway. His eyes were burning with lust. She pushed him backwards onto a chair and he only tightened his grip. She straddled him, his face aligned with her collarbone, as she undid her braid. Maybe, just maybe, she could tie his hands together. While he was busy with unbuttoning her teal dress, she moaned loudly, leaning forward farther and grabbing his hands. She tried to slip her hairband onto his wrists, but he snapped it easily and became fiercer with her, more ruthless. Emmaline was crying now, all pretenses gone. She wasn't trying to get free now, she just wanted him to stop. He flipped them over, onto the ground, his weight crushing Emmaline as his hands slid up her thighs. She shivered. His hands crawled farther up and he weakened his grip just enough for Emmaline to stretch out and grab her heels, under the guise of exposing her breast. She grabbed the silver stiletto and slammed it down on his groin with a vengeance. She hit him again and again and again. She pummeled his face with her fists while he screamed in pain and curled over, whimpering helplessly on the floor as Emmaline stood up, burst through the doors, and ran. Her makeup was smeared, her hair wild, and her dress was torn, which earned her many strange looks, but she ran faster and faster, only putting on speed with time. She slammed the door of her apartment closed, leaning against the door, finally safe. Her time in prison had felt like forever-that man was the most disgusting person she'd ever seen- when, in reality, it had barely been an hour.

And then the storm hit. Erica came storming into the foyer screaming about "Seriously, Em? What the hell did you do this time, you're almost and hour late! An hour, Em!"

Emmaline only shook her head and mumbled a feeble "sorry." Then Erica noticed the state she was in.

"Emmaline Mary Anchor, what happened to you?"

Em was barely able to tell her best friend a few sentences before she broke down in tears.

…

emmaline anchor, 18, atlin, a five. (two days before the deadline for submissions to enter the Selection.)

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Emmaline had barely escaped being raped in prison. She hadn't left the house in two weeks. Erica was helping, of course, by working extra houra to pay for both of their needs. Every night she arrived home, it was with a new treat. Maybe a cupcake or ice cream. A stuffed animal. Some sunflowers- Emmaline's favorite. But Emmaline was still suffering from the terror that had fueled her that evening. She tried to convince Erica that she couldn't go outside anyway; she was probably a wanted criminal or something. Erica calmly replied that,"No, babe, you aren't a wanted criminal, and no one would know about your escape, because the man would have had to confess that he tried to rape you. It's more likely that he just reported some edited version of the story where you're the villain and he's innocent, so get your arse off the ground cause we gonna take you to the Tammins Services and sign you up for the Selection."

"No!" Emmaline protested.

"Yes," Erica argued, dragging Emmaline by the foot to the dining room table (really just a coffee table in the living room) and shoved a handful of papers into her arms. Emmaline scowled, but begrudgingly sat up and picked up a pencil, grumbling as Erica reminded her that if she didn't fill out that form, she wouldn't get any apple pie. And, by all means, Emmaline was going to get that pie if it was the last thing she ever did.

Name: Emmaline Mary Anchor

Caste: Five

Age: 18

Birthday: June 5th

Skin tone: light tan

Eye color: blue

Hair color: dirty blonde

Hair type: wavy

It took Emmaline over an hour to complete, and then another hour until Erica deemed her suitable enough to have her picture taken. And then two more hours until her picture was finally taken. But it was all worth it when she saw her face flash across the screen. She wasn't some background Five anymore. She was a Three, and, if she tried hard enough, a One. And when you were a One? You had power. Emmaline would certainly need some power if she was going to do what she had planned out.

Catriona elion, 19, Tammins, a three (the night of the announcement of the Selected girls)

Catriona had lost track of exactly how much time she'd spent at the school. A few hours with the science class, a few hours with the math class. Time really flew by quickly when you were having fun- in Catriona's case, teaching and learning, or really anything along those lines. She had, many times, lost herself to a project she'd been working on. Then someone, usually Adelia or Grandma Inessa, would tell her that she needed to take a break. Grandma Inessa would always be the kindest, gently rubbing her back and handing her a bowl of noodles and a drink. But no one had been with her at the school to remind her to eat, so it was almost dinner-time and she was starving. She hadn't had anything to eat today besides a bowl of cereal about twelve hours ago. That, and an apple seven hours ago. Also, it was freezing. Today was not turning out so well.

Cat pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders, for once wishing she had gone less artsy and grabbed a bigger jacket. But, alas, she had been in a hurry. The thing was, she was always in a hurry. It actually wasn't uncommon for this to happen. In fact, she could clearly recall Jasmine calling her nine times before Catriona was un-busy enough to answer, and all Jasmine had meekly was, "You forgot your jacket, Cat. Again. You're going to freeze to death! I don't want a block of ice as my girlfriend; I can't snuggle with ice!"

At the memory, Catriona already felt warmer. She smiled fondly, remembering the years she and Jasmine had spent together. Then the smile faded off her lips. Not because of their breakup, no, they had both confirmed that they were over each other and had no hard feelings over the breakup, but because they had had a recent fight. About the Selection. Catriona had entered, thinking that she could at least try to become queen. Of course, there was no guarantee that she'd be picked, but if she had even just a sliver of hope that she could change Illea for the better, she'd reach out on her tipee-toes and grab it firmly. She was just like that. Not afraid to speak out about what she wanted. She'd rant about tens of hundreds of things for hours- but there was one thing she never told anyone about. She wanted the caste system gone. She had written an entire novella about it, but, of course, she kept it hidden away in her room. She's not even sure where it is now. She probably could find it if she wanted to. She could do anything she put her mind to. That was her motto. She considered that, if she ever was Selected (she knew it was pretty much impossible, but that had never stopped her) she might be able to bring the papers with her and do something, anything, to change Illea. But she figured she would rather that she and her family stayed alive. Maybe one day. Maybe...

Cat shook away the rebellious thoughts with a toss of her brown and pink locks and, still shivering, checked her watch. Crap. It was 7:45, 15 minutes before the Report began, and she was over 30 minutes away from home. If I want to be queen, I should probably at least watch the Report that might change my life! Catriona cursed again.

Well, she thought grimly, time to put all the exercise and training to use. She took off like a shot, rushing past confused citizens while she mentally congratulated herself on her speed. She had no idea she could run like this. Maybe it was time to change her career... but no. She'd spent far too long studying, and it was one of the only things that could hold her attention for long periods of time.

When she finally reached home, it was 7:59. She burst through the door, panting, just as the seal of Illea appeared on screen. Grandma Theodora made a disapproving noise in the back of her throat, but Catriona ignored her and plopped down onto the floor next to Desmond, her favorite ( and only) little brother. Jayden was just now appearing on screen, and announcing Angeles, so Catriona was glad hadn't missed Tammins. She worried like that sometimes. Just useless fretting. She hated it, but she couldn't do much about it, instead turning her focus back to the television just as she appeared on screen.

In the chaotic moments that followed, she was pretty sure Adelia (her -somewhat- annoying older sister) fainted. Of course, she couldn't really know, because the family had all shrieked so loud- well, that was mainly Desmond- that she almost blacked out. She was immediately after incased in a hug which included her entire family, with the exeption of Grandma Inessa and Grandma Theodora. Inessa was too old, afraid of being crushed by seven people, and simply hugged and congratulated her after everyone had calmed down. Honestly, Catriona was surprised that her family was so excited. They had all discouraged her from entering, saying it was too dangerous in the city and that she'd have a target on her back. Only Grandma Inessa had told her too follow her heart. Grandma Theodora stood by her discouragements, not even hugging her or glancing in Cat's directions. That was fine; they had never gotten along. And Cat would not let her grumpy grandmother ruin this moment.

A/N: thank you all so much for reading! In this chapter, we're introduced to Emmaline Anchor and Catriona Elion! {special thanks to LightFlair for creating the innovative and intresting Cat! let me know what you think of her ;)}

So, there's two things you may have noticed during this chapter. the first being that Olivia didn't get a section. That's because I made Olivia as one of the side characters in here. I don't want to have to pick which one of your beautiful girls to favor and another to throw away, so I simply made the characters who won't be featured. Secondly, the times and characters are completely random. I'll just pick two or three characters to write about, and then, once the chapter is more fully formed, I'll add the dates. These dates are all random. I just kinda write what I think best showcases these girls. the faceclaims are: Finn Wolfhard as Prince Jayden Schreave, Natalie Dormer as Emmaline Anchor, and Lily-Rose Depp as Catriona Elion!

if there's any grammatical mistakes, please let me know! I proofread this about 7 times, lol. Constructive criticism is always great! and go ahead and leave a review if you like this, too!

see you soon,

sirena !

{ps. you can check out my pinterest board if you want, too! my name is the same there as it is here, so it should be easy to find.}