Hey, guys!
Man, this chapter took forever to write. xD It'll be funny when NaNo is over and forever isn't two or three days. xD
I hope y'all enjoy!
Chapter seventeen.
Eli Vaughn walked into the great hall. All of the other selected were already lounging around in there as it was the best place to hang out while they waited for breakfast to be ready.
He held up his letter, the envelope was made of thick, white paper that didn't even have a single blemish on it. On the end was an unbroken wax seal. It was so beautiful and mysterious that he couldn't help but wonder if he was actually in the middle of a movie.
"Hey, Eli!" Sebastian shouted from his normal corner spot, and Eli looked over at him. "I have one of those too!"
At the sudden shouting, Kotori looked around as well, and then held up his envelope too. "Me too," he said.
Eli looked around at the other selected. "Hey, did anyone else get a letter?" He asked, his loud voice carried itself easily through the room.
Milo nodded, and then held up one as well. "I did," he said, and then looked around. "Should we open them?"
Eli shrugged. What if the letters were filled with poison and they all died? Or what if it was just a prank? But who would prank four selected out of the thirty two selected that resided in the palace.
At the thought of the number of the selected, Eli looked around the room. There seemed to be significantly less people in the room than thirty two.
"Hey, where are the other selected?" Eli asked, and then did a head count. There were eleven missing selected.
"Oh, Princess Brinley came and asked for them earlier," Ari said, and then scowled when they all looked at him, their faces all mirroring the same emotion. Shock. "Okay, rude! I know that I normally keep my nose stuck in a book, or notebook, but I do actually pay attention sometimes."
"But not when it comes to taking off your shoes before you jump into a lake," Peter chimed in, and Iskander, Ignotus, and Levy all began to laugh.
Ari groaned as he blushed a red that Eli was convinced only tomatoes had been able to achieve, and then threw the pillow behind him at Peter. "Shut up, you ass," he said.
Eli shook his head. He had no idea what he had missed yesterday, but he wasn't really sure if he wanted to find out. All he knew is that it sounded very wet.
"But what are these letters for?" Milo asked as he looked around, and Eli had the feeling that Milo was also wondering what the hell was going on between those selected. What had they missed yesterday?
Sebastian shrugged, and then walked over to the middle of the group. "Maybe we should open them," he said.
Iskander looked up from where he was laughing with Ari, or maybe at Ari. "Yeah, you guys should definitely open them," he said. "They're safe. Trust me."
"I'll open mine," Eli said, as he began to rip into the thick envelope. "And then we can see if they all match after I read mine."
He pulled out the letter and began to read.
Dearest Elijah Vaughn,
You have been chosen to participate in a group activity this afternoon with three other selected and yours truly. Please come into the great hall at 3:15 p.m.
Your job is to think of your favorite food from your childhood, or a food that you have a good memory tied to. More will be explained later, I promise.
I recommend forgoing your normal daily attire of a suit, and instead, wear clothes that can be potentially destroyed. For example, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
I can't wait to see you!
Yours truly,
Princess Brinley Schreave.
Eli looked over at the other selected who had been chosen for this activity, and then shrugged as he noticed that they looked as confused as he felt. "I dunno, guys," he said. "But hey, at least the letter didn't have poison in it, right?"
"Why do we need to come up with our favorite foods?" Kotori asked as he looked around the room.
"Trust me, we're just as confused as you are," Sebastian said as he crossed his arms and leaned back.
Eli smiled, and then placed his letter back in its envelope. He wanted to keep it, just in case he was eliminated. It was a keepsake. "Well, I guess we'll find out later."
Brinley ran her hands through her hair, and sighed as she looked at the eleven selected who she had ushered into a small room just outside of the dining hall. Although, it was probably only small in her opinion.
She cleared her throat, and then straightened her posture. She was a princess, she must look regal at every moment. "I want to thank you all for entering into my selection," she said to them. "But you've all been eliminated."
She watched as their faces fell, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for them. "Go pack your things," she said. "The staff will help you."
Before any of them could protest, she left the room. It wasn't just because she didn't want to hear them talk about how much of an outrage it was that they were being eliminated, but because she knew she would begin to break down if she stayed any longer.
"Bryn?"
Brinley turned around, and then threw herself into her sister's arms.
Constance stumbled at the impact, but wrapped her arms around her without a second of hesitation. "Hey, hey, hey," she cooed at her older sister. "Shhh…. Deep breaths."
Brinley shuddered as she curled into her sister's touch. "It was the right thing, but it still feels so wrong, what if I made a mistake and I sent home the man I'm supposed to marry?" She rambled. The words left her mouth so quick that they barely made sense. "A-and I guess that it's good because they won't be killed by the curse, but Connie, it doesn't feel right."
Constance sighed, and then rubbed Brinley's back. "Bryn," she began, and then paused as she tried to figure out the right words. "You're smart and you follow your heart nine times out of ten. If you don't think those boys were right for you, then they weren't. I get that you're scared, but there's no reason to be."
Brinley pulled away, and then looked up at her sister. "Promise?" She asked. She twisted the purple tulle fabric of her skirt in her hands, a habit she had started when she was a child and was now unable to break it.
Constance smiled at her. The smile reminded Brinley of her mother's smile. It was as warm as spring and as bright as day. Even though Brinley normally found herself associating her twin with the night.
"Only if you promise never to eliminate another selected before breakfast," she answered, and her smile turned to a cheeky grin. "You haven't even had your coffee yet. You have to take care of your addiction before you make big decisions."
Brinley frowned at her. Constance could be such an ass some days, but then again, so could she. "Ha ha," she said. "What about your own addiction to fruit tarts, sister dear?"
Constance rolled her eyes at her, and Brinley could help but giggle. Constance always made her laugh. Even when she was being an ass. "Shut up," she said. "Anyways, we should go eat, and get you your coffee. We would hate for the selected to have to deal with an under-caffeinated Princess Brinley."
Brinley pushed Constance, not a hard push, but just one that made her stumble slightly. "C'mon, let's go eat."
Right before they entered, Brinley grabbed Constance's arm. "Hey, I need your help with something later," she said. "Can you and Isaiah meet me in the Great Hall at 3:15? I need some judges for a group activity later."
Connie shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She said, and then frowned. "Two judges? You need to have at least three!"
Brinley sighed. Who else would she choose? Her parents were always busy, and even if they weren't she couldn't imagine having them judge this. "But who?" She asked. "I'm not sure if you've noticed this, but I'm pretty reclusive."
Constance hummed for a second, and then grinned. "What about Remus?" She suggested. "He's still off of work because of his concussion, and he lives here at the castle too, so we wouldn't have to spend any money on transportation."
Brinley smiled as she remembered the young guard. "Okay, then," she said. "You, Isaiah, and Remus will be the judges."
Sebastian arrived at the Great Hall early. He knew that he didn't have to be in here for another twenty minutes, but he prefered to be early. It made him look better. It was bad enough that he had been kicked out of the classes, the last thing he needed was people thinking that he didn't care or wasn't punctual.
In his arms, he held one of the books that Princess Constance had given him to read and study. She had told him that it would be an easy, and maybe even enjoyable read for him, especially since he liked biographies. So far, it was boring as hell.
He was so thankful for Princess Constance's offer to tutor him though. He knew that he would have been kicked out after leaving Mr. Umbridge's class, just because he supposedly wasn't smart enough. He wanted to show the world that he could win, even though he was an Eight, but more importantly, he wanted to win the heart of the princess.
He smiled as he thought of their dance. The feeling had been nothing less than magical. The way her red curls swished around her face and reflected the purple tinted lighting, and her eyes had shown with a happiness that Sebastian longed to see again. In the moment of their dance, they had connected. Both of them in tune to each other's movements and each other. Sebastian wasn't sure if he would ever feel that way again.
He opened his book, and began to read. He let himself be absorbed in the words, and relax into the world of past kings and queens that he didn't actually care about. He was doing this for the people he truly cared about. His family, the Eights who had lived too long in the hell of the lowest caste, and Princess Brinley, the royal who, no matter how hard tried, he couldn't get his mind off of.
He brushed his hair out of his eyes as it obscured his view of the book in his hands. His raven black hair normally stayed up, but he guessed that there hadn't been enough gel put in it when he had done his hair that morning.
"Hey, Sebastian," Eli greeted as he walked in, and Sebastian looked down at his watch. It was still fifteen minutes before they were all supposed to be gathered, but apparently Eli had the same idea about getting to places early. "Whatcha readin'?"
Sebastian looked up at him, and studied him for a minute before clearing his throat. "A history book," he said.
Eli nodded, and then sat down on the sofa across from him. "No offense," he began, and Sebastian had to hold back a sigh. He knew that whatever he said was probably about to be pretty offensive. "But who's teaching you? Didn't you get kicked out of Mr. Umbridge's class?"
Sebastian hummed for a second before looking back down at his book, but he couldn't focus. "Someone who thinks that even lowly Eights should have an even chance offered to teach me," he said.
Eli winced and then looked down at his hands. "I didn't mean it like that, dude," he said. "I think that you deserve just as much of a chance as the rest of us, and it was wrong of Mr. Umbridge to kick you out."
Sebastian shrugged, and looked down at his book again.
King Maxon Schreave tried to abolish the caste system during his reign, but the castes never fully dissolved and by the time that his grandchildren were on the throne, the caste system was readopted by the people and the monarchy.
Sebastian scoffed. Yeah right, there was no way that Eights would willingly go back to the hell that they had been stuck in only two generations later. He was certain that it had been the stuck-up Twos or the ignorant Threes and Fours who also lived the perfect lives.
Sebastian knew that if he was given the choice, he would never willingly go back to being an Eight. He shuddered as he remembered the cold nights in the winter when he would sleep on the floor of their rundown shack and shiver because being the second oldest in the family meant forgoing his own comfort for his younger siblings. He remembered putting on his largest and softest sweater and reminding himself that it was for the little ones who would need the blankets. The sweater was little more than a rag, and had done little to help him, but his younger siblings had slept peacefully that night under the thin blankets given to them by Sebastian and his older brother Julian.
And then there was a lack of food. If he could count every time he had skipped a meal because there just wasn't enough food, he was sure it would be well over five years. And it was always worse in the winter, when every other person in the world decided to stock up on food in case there was a theoretical snow storm that kept them all inside for thirty years. He would just sit at the table, and talk with them as they ate.
No one would ever willingly become an Eight. The caste system might have been readopted, but Sebastian doubted that it was "by the people" as much as it was by the monarchs at the time and the Twos that were breathing down their necks.
"What?" Eli asked as he leaned forward and propped on his elbows. "You scoffed at whatever it is you were reading.
Sebastian looked up at Eli, and then sighed. "I'm just disagreeing with the fact that the people agreed to bring back the caste system after King Maxon almost abolished it while he was on the throne," he said. "Maybe if the people meant the monarchs and aristocrats. Trust me when I say that no Eight would willingly go back to being hated and treated like garbage."
Eli shrugged, and Sebastian looked back down at his book, but once again, reading seemed impossible.
The doors opened, and Milo and Kotori walked in. Behind them were Princess Brinley, Princess Constance, a guard who Sebastian knew he had seen around the castle, and someone else who also seemed familiar.
Princess Brinley looked over at him, and then grinned. Her grin was brighter and warmer than the core of the sun, and just by looking at it, Sebastian felt his cheeks warm.
"So, I believe you probably all have some questions," Brinley said. "But first, I think I need to introduce our judges."
Sebastian frowned. Judges? What kind of group activity was this? Why would they be judged?
Princess Brinley turned to Princess Constance, and then grinned. "Well, you probably all know my sister by this point, and if not, have you been living under a rock?" She said. Her tone was playful and teasing, and Sebastian wasn't sure if it was aimed at the selected or at her sister, who had been finding her way into the spotlight more and more these days.
She then turned to the other two men. She gestured to the first one, and then shared a small smile with him. "This is Officer Isaiah Grant, one of the guards here at the castle and one of my best friends," she said before turning to the other. "And this is Remus Rosenburg, he's a guard in training and one of Constance's friends."
"Excuse me, Princess," Sebastian began, and then looked around the room. "Why do we have judges? What are we doing exactly?"
She smiled at him again, and then cleared her throat. "We're going to have a cooking competition," she said. "In my letter, I requested that you all came up with your favorite meal as a child. We're all going to cook our meal and then our judges will decide a winner."
Sebastian frowned. His favorite meal from his childhood was a bit… Lackluster. It happened when people were barred from making a decent amount of money to support such a large family.
"How will we be judged?" He asked as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Will it be by the food or by the way it is presented and cooked? Because I'm an Eight, Princess. My favorite meal from my childhood might not be as exciting or lavish as a meal from a Two or a Three."
Brinley hummed for a second. "They will be judged on presentation, taste, and technique," she said. "This is all for fun, Mr. Seek, there's not going to be any judgement on our parts about your favorite meal."
He nodded, but he didn't believe what she had said. There might not be any obvious or aloud judging, but he had yet to meet a person who didn't judge him at least mentally. Why wouldn't they? He was a scrawny, underfed, unemployed Eight. He knew that they felt disgusted by even looking at him because they were, in their own opinions, better than the dirty Eight.
"C'mon, let's go!" Brinley said.
Sebastian looked over at the other guys, and then shrugged before following her out of the room and into the kitchen.
Kotori looked around the kitchen in amazement. On one side it was filled with colorful fruits and vegetables of all kinds, and things like fresh bread and pastries on a different side. In the middle were huge refrigerators filled with dairy products and meats. He had never seen so much food in his life.
"Do you have any idea about what you're making?" Milo asked him as he also looked around the room, although he seemed more shocked and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food than amazed.
Kotori pushed his hair away from his eyes, and then nodded. The movement was quick, just a small bounce. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so," he said as his eyes landed on the fresh fish in one of the fridges. Normally he would refuse fish that hadn't been caught by him, since he had been taught to catch them at a very young age, but he would make an exception for this little activity.
"Are you guys ready?" Princess Constance asked as she walked in with Isaiah and Remus. Her hips swayed as she walked, and she looked like the perfect judge from a cooking competition.
Brinley grinned at her. "What are the rules?" She asked. "Since I assume that that's what was taking you so long."
Isaiah looked at them all, and then cleared his throat. "You all have forty five minutes to create your favorite food from your childhood. You're welcome to use anything in the kitchen that you would like," he said. "All we ask is that you don't cut or burn yourselves as none of us judges are very good at first aid."
Kotori watched as Remus looked at the two judges, a wide smile on his face as he faced them. "Ready?" He said. "Three… Two…. One… GO!"
Right off the bat, Kotori almost ran into someone. "Sorry!" He squeaked, and then continued to run. The last thing he needed was to spend the next forty five minutes being yelled at by the person, or apologizing to them.
He opened the fridge and grinned when he saw the sheer amount of fish. It was like there was every kind in existence in there.
He grabbed a couple of tilapia, and brought them to his counter. Afterwards, he grabbed various spices and asparagus and a container of rice.
He quickly relaxed into the familiar rhythm of cooking, a skill he had learned at a young age that he would never regret. He put a pot of water on for the rice, and then began to cut the fish into pieces that he could pan fry.
Milo smiled as he mixed his batter and hummed to himself. He had to admit, the idea to make the selected cook some of their favorite meals was genius. For starters, there was food involved, and it allowed them to open up and share why it was their favorite.
"How's it going, Milo?" Princess Constance asked as she walked over, and Milo could help but think that she seemed just as excited as he was.
He grinned at her, and she smiled back. "It's going great, Princess!" He said. "I'm making waffles."
"Waffles?" She said. "Yum."
He nodded. "Yeah, I hope so," he said, and then looked down at his batter. It seemed like the right consistency. "I'm not really the best cook."
She shrugged. "That's okay," she said and then smiled again. "I know that we're judges, but we're only judging the food, not whether or not you're a good cook."
He chuckled and then looked down at his batter again. "Thanks," he said.
"Of course," she said. "Good luck!"
He looked up at her and smiled, but before he could thank her she had walked off to talk to Sebastian. She was so nice. He remembered when he was younger that he had heard stories of her causing trouble at events, but it seemed like she had grown up.
To Brinley, forty five minutes had never gone by so quickly, but in front of her were three plates of fried rice. Sure, it wasn't the fancy meal that the selected probably expected, but it had always been her favorite meal.
"Okay, c'mon up," Constance said as she sat down beside Isaiah and Remus.
"Who's first?" Remus asked, and then looked at all of them.
"I'll go first!" Brinley offered, and then grabbed two of the three plates of fried rice. She tried to shuffle around the two plates so she could carry all three, but Sebastian stopped her.
"I've got it," he said as he grabbed the last plate. He smiled at her, and Brinley couldn't keep her cheeks from tinting a light pink. Normally, small acts like that didn't mean much to her, but this one felt different to her.
"Thank you, Mr. Seek," she said softly as she looked away. Her cheeks only felt hotter, and she knew it wasn't because of the light sunburn she had acquired the day before.
Sebastian smiled at her, and then began to follow her as she walked. "Of course, your highness," he said. "And please, call me Sebastian."
She looked over at him, and then accidentally locked eyes with him. They were blue, but it seemed like too boring of a way to describe them. They were uncertain, but for what reason, she had no idea. Sparkling in the light of the kitchen, Brinley couldn't help but think of the lake she had been down at the other day. Beautiful and refreshing. They weren't just blue, because the word could never describe the way they flickered with life and so many emotions. That wasn't blue. It was magic. It was Sebastian.
"Okay, Sebastian," she said. The name rolled off of her tongue as she tested it out. The sound was like music, like the hum of a quiet violin in the background of a movie. There was something about it that just struck her as beautiful, but she didn't know what.
Constance raised her eyebrows when she saw the plate of rice, and then looked up Brinley. "Really?" She asked. "This is your favorite meal?"
Brinley shrugged. "Yeah, I guess," she said. "I mean, I know you probably think it should be steak, but fried rice is comfort food."
Remus closed his eyes in what seemed like bliss after he took a bite. "Now I understand why this is your favorite, your highness," he said, and then began piling more of it into his mouth.
Isaiah and Constance stayed quiet, and after Brinley took her plates away, Sebastian walked up holding three bowls.
"Macaroni and cheese?" Remus asked, and Sebastian nodded.
"Yeah," he said. He looked down at the plates, and Brinley couldn't help but think it was to mask whatever emotion had come over him. "I ate it a lot as a kid, and then made it for my siblings when my parents weren't around."
Brinley tilted her head. Siblings? He had never mentioned them. "You have siblings, Sebastian?" She asked, and then walked up to the judge's table. "How many?"
Sebastian cleared his throat, and then crossed his arms. It didn't look defiant, but instead looked as if he was covering his chest from a blow. She noticed that he seemed to burrow into his thick, gray, cable-knit sweater.
"I have ten siblings, your highness. There are thirteen of us in total," he said, and even though he had seemed to curl into himself, his voice was unwavering and strong. "I'm the second oldest."
"Wow," Constance said, and Brinley looked over at her. She didn't seem to be judging him or his family, but she knew that there was something that her sister was thinking that she wasn't saying. "Isn't that expensive? Food for thirteen people must be a lot of money even for a family of a higher caste…"
Sebastian shifted, and then swallowed. It may have been an accident, but Brinley was pretty sure that her sister had accidentally crossed a line.
"How about you guys try the food?" Brinley suggested. She could feel in the air that the vibe of the room had suddenly tensed, and that the center of the tension was Sebastian.
Isaiah nodded, and then grabbed a bowl. "C'mon, guys, lets eat," he said, and Brinley breathed a sigh in relief as the others nodded and began to eat. Thank god for Isaiah.
Milo yawned as he walked back to his room. Kotori had won the competition with his plate of fish, and after the competition was over, they all sat around and ate the rest of the food.
He was exhausted now though, not because it was late. No, they hadn't even had a proper dinner yet, but because he had eaten so much and now was in desperate need of a nap.
Valka squawked at him as he walked in, and he sighed.
"Val, I'm sorry," he said. "But I couldn't just take you to the kitchen with me! Imagine what people would do if they found a live bird in there…"
Milo sighed, and then began to take off his shoes. He still wasn't used to wearing dress shoes everyday, and his feet made sure that he knew this. They throbbed from the tips of his toes to the back of his heel. They were blistered on the sides and he couldn't help but wish that he could just go barefoot around the castle.
Valka cooed something, and Milo looked up at her. He raised his eyes, and then looked away.
"I am trying to win the princess over!" He said. "It doesn't help that Sebastian is always around! They've had weird chemistry since the beginning!"
Milo watched as Valka started to preen her feathers, but not before she chirped something to him.
He sighed, and then leaned back against his bed. "Val, you're crazy," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap."
Valka looked over at him with her normal glare-like expression, and then continued to preen her feathers as her owner and best friend fell into a peaceful sleep.
Sorry if this chapter looks choppy... I just couldn't seem to stay in one pov for very long, so this happened. xD Please follow, fave, and review! I would love to know what you thought!
Thanks for reading! Love y'all!
