TW: Mention of suicide

The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 8th, 10:11am

Florida Smith, 2, Midston

Flo sat in a corner of the Women's Room, laptop sitting on the table in front of her. She wasn't writing, not yet, just observing the other girls, trying to work out which one was the lizard.

Off in one corner Adelynn, Thea, Lydie, and Marlee had gathered. Adelynn was clearly not the lizard, since she was a Six. Thea and Lydie were Fours, and Marlee was a Three. They were most likely all safe.

She turned her attention to Angelique, who was sitting alone, looking rather lonely. She was a Two, and an actress, so she was a definite possibility. But the potential that she might just be an actress to distract from the real lizard was always there. Same for Brielle.

Cassandra was another strong possibility, as was Wilhelmina, who, being German royalty, was actually guaranteed to be a lizard. Perhaps there was even more than one lizard in the group. There were so many strong candidates, after all. She considered that possibility for a moment. Yes, that was highly possible, and definitely would have to go in her blog post.

Helena, who was sitting near Wilhelmina and Brielle, appearing to hang on to Wilhelmina's every word, was out, since she had previously been a five. Zenya and Violet, the two actual fives, were also out.

Calista, a Three and a nurse, could be a lizard, but Flo thought it was unlikely. She just didn't look the type. Elaine was a preschool teacher, so Flo knew it wasn't her. Why would a lizard become a preschool teacher? Unless they wanted to brainwash children in the public schools. She hurriedly typed that out in her open document. She'd have to collect more evidence and make a blog post on the potential that lizards might have taken over the schools. Something like that just couldn't be ignored.

Gemma and Isla were both Twos from wealthy families, making them obvious potential lizards. She noted their names, and sighed in irritation. There were so many possible lizards. How was she ever supposed to work out who it was so she could reveal the truth?

Ixchel and her twin sister, who's name Flo couldn't remember, were probably not lizards, although their father was a lawyer, and everybody knew lizards were all over the justice system. She sighed, and noted their names down.

Lennox was a Six, so she was clearly not a lizard, even though she had refused to believe Flo that the earth was flat. She blamed it on the public school system. It poisoned the minds of the lower castes against the truth. Wait… The fact that Lennox had refused to believe her was clearly evidence for the school system being run by lizards! She hurriedly noted that down as well, as evidence for the post she was now planning.

Liath was a Two, but Flo didn't think it was likely that she was the lizard. A lizard would choose a job with more influence than climbing buildings and taking pictures. Although her family was involved in the movie industry, and Hollywood was swarming with them. Therefore she had to go on the list, and couldn't just be dismissed outright.

Flo knew that Nefertiti worked for a news station, making her a strong candidate. The lizards controlled the news, of course, since they couldn't have word of their existence getting out. She noted her name down on the list.

None of the other Selected were practically likely to be lizards, so Flo started ranking her list in order of likelihood. She wanted to get her blog post out by the next afternoon, to make sure Illéa's people stayed informed. She couldn't have them buying into misinformation!


The Selected's Wing, The Palace, Angeles, July 9th, 1:27pm

Angelique "Jade" West, 2, Waverly

Jade wandered down the hall, heels clacking on the floor. She had worried after her slightly awkward first meeting with Prince Elijah that she would be eliminated right away, but she hadn't been. In fact, nobody had been. Lindsey had told the Selected that the first elimination would take place after the Report on Friday, which was still several days away. So that meant she had at least a few more days in the palace, and she intended to take advantage of her freedom, no matter how temporary it was.

Several rooms other than the Women's Room had been opened up for the Selected to use. Jade hadn't been down the corridor to explore, but she knew some of the other girls had, even though she hardly spoke to them. They were all giving her judging looks, and she couldn't stand it. It was better to just not talk to them. So she'd have to go see for herself what was down there. The Selected got a little bit of free time after lunch every day, and they were allowed to wander anywhere in the approved areas, under the watchful eye of the guards.

Jade peeked into a room to the left, and saw that it was a library. Ixchel was at a table against the back wall, reading a book. Jade was tempted to go in and have a look at all the books, and see if there was anything she wanted to read, but there were still other rooms that she wanted to peek inside.

The sound of someone playing piano seeped out of a room across the hall. Jade guessed it was a music room, and didn't bother to peek in. She was free here, she didn't need to spend any time practicing if she didn't want to.

She felt kind of bad about lying to Prince Elijah about her hobbies on Sunday, but there was nothing she could do about it now. It just meant that she'd have to pretend to enjoy things she hated on their dates. Which was nothing new. Pretending to enjoy things she hated was just her life. She had a reputation to uphold, for the sake of her career.

She stepped into another room, just to see what was inside. It appeared to be a game room, with glass-doored cabinets full of games along one wall, a few tables for card games or board games, an obviously expensive leather couch facing a fireplace, and a billiards table in the center of the room.

One of the other Selected was already in the room. She was looking through a cabinet where the cues and balls for the billiards table were kept. She turned when Jade stepped in. "Hey. I don't think we've met." byShe turned from the cabinet and held out a hand. "I'm Isla."

She looked friendly enough, so Jade stepped forward and reached out to shake her hand. "I'm Jade. It's nice to meet you," she said politely. She could use a friend in the palace. Someone who wouldn't judge her like everyone else seemed to.

Isla nodded. "It's nice to meet you too." She picked up a pool cue. "Do you want to play?"

Jade nodded. Very few people knew it, but she loved to play pool when she got the chance. "Sure." She would always take a chance to be herself.


The Selected's Wing?, The Palace, Angeles, July 9th, 2:11pm

Yunuen Hamilton, 3, Tammins

Yunuen was hopelessly lost. She had intended to get the lay of the land, since she had nothing better to do. The Selected were given free time to socialize after lunch, but Yunuen wanted to soak up the luxury of the palace more than she wanted to get to know some of the higher caste Selected.

She had set out from the Women's Room after lunch, wandering through the palace, taking in the beauty of the ornate decor and the views of the gardens out the windows. She imagined what her own life might be like if she lived in a place like this. She would be on the very top of the social ladder in Illea. She would finally prove that she was better than her sister, better than all the other people who had looked down on her.

Caught up in that happy fantasy, she had wandered farther than she had realized. An elaborate clock she had never seen before hung on the wall, stating the time. She was eleven minutes late for lessons, and she didn't even know how to get back to the Women's Room from here. She wasn't even sure she was still in the Selected's Wing. She glanced around, looking for a guard. Lindsey had told all the Selected on the first night that if they ever got lost all they had to do was seek out a guard for an escort back to where they were supposed to be.

There were none nearby, however. That was a little bit odd. Yunuen would have thought there would be guards all over the palace.

A door opened at the end of the hallway, and Yunuen turned to see who was there. A man, the least formally dressed man Yunuen had seen during her time in the palace, stepped through the doorway. She wondered what he was even doing there. He had full sleeve tattoos on both arms, and wore extremely ripped jeans with a t-shirt with a logo so faded it couldn't be read. Surely someone who looked like that had no valid reason to be visiting the palace. He closed the door behind him, and turned towards Yunuen. He spotted her almost immediately, and was clearly surprised to see another person. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

She smoothed her skirt, and glanced around for the guards again. He looked very suspicious, surely she ought to report him to somebody. "Just looking around."

He walked down the hall towards her. "You're out of bounds. If you're one of the Selected, that is."

How did he know where the boundaries for the Selected were? Maybe he did have a reason to be in the palace after all. "I'm one of the Selected, yes. I got lost."

He laughed. "Sure. Lost."

She shot him an offended glare. "What do you think I am? A thief? A spy?"

He shook his head. "No, I just think you're nosy."

He wasn't entirely wrong, but she was lost. "Maybe I'm just lost. Like I said I was." She folded her arms, still glaring.

"If you were lost, I'd offer to take you back to where you ought to be."

"And since I am lost, I'll accept." He was rude, but she didn't see anyone else who could help her find her way back to the Selected's Wing. She uncrossed her arms, in order to appear slightly more friendly.

"Alright then. Let's go." He started down the corridor, gesturing for her to follow. She followed. She was already late, she didn't have any other choice.

"What's your name?" She asked as they walked. She could still report him to the guards later to make sure he actually was supposed to be in the palace.

"Jay," he answered. "Yours?"

"Yunuen." She might as well just ask what he was doing there. It was already probably too late to be friendly. "What brings you to the palace?"

"I'm a friend of Eli's." Jay continued walking. "I'd ask you what brings you here, but we've already been over that."

She nodded. A friend of Prince Elijah's. Appearances were most likely deceiving, then. If he was a friend of Prince Elijah's, he was most likely a Two.

He led her in a direction she didn't recognize. She didn't know the layout of the palace, but she was sure this wasn't the way she had come. "Are you sure this is the right direction?"

"Yeah, of course." He made a turn, seemingly at random, and Yunuen followed. He might not be going the correct direction, but she didn't have any options other than following him.

"Are you sure?" She asked again as he made a few more confusing turns.

"Yes," he answered, with slightly less confidence than he had before. She was now convinced that he didn't have a clue where he was going, but she kept following him anyway.

A few turns later, they stood outside the doors to the Selected's rooms. He raised his eyebrows at her. "I don't know where I'm going, huh?"

Maybe he had known after all. "Oh. Well. Thank you."

He nodded. "No problem. See you around." He turned and headed down the corridor, in the direction they had come.

She hurried towards the Women's Room, knowing she was already late for lessons. Fortunately, even though she was twenty minutes late, they hadn't yet begun. A group of girls had gathered around Brielle, asking her for details about her lunch date.

Of course a Two had gotten the first date. Yunuen had held out hope that she would get the first date, even though she hadn't made the best impression possible on him, but apparently she wasn't good enough. Wasn't pretty enough. Wasn't rich enough. Not high caste enough. She sat down in her seat with a scowl.

From the front of the room, Lindsey gave her a stern look, clearly having noticed that she had walked in late, compounding Yunuen's feeling that she wasn't good enough. She couldn't even manage to show up to lessons on time. She would never be able to reach the top. She would never be able to prove herself, never show everyone that she was worth something after all.


The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 10th, 1:21pm

Elaine Walton, 3, Carolina

The door to the women's room opened suddenly, and Mel came sprinting in, sliding on the freshly polished floor in her tights. "Lainey," she shrieked, dark brown hair flying wildly behind her as she sprinted in.

Brea followed behind her, holding a pair of children's dress shoes. "Princess Melody Edwina Louisa Shreave! Inside voice, please. And no running."

Mel leapt up on the couch next to Lainey. "Hi Lainey." She threw her arms around her. "I haven't seen you in ages."

Lainey smiled at her. It had been too long since she had last seen Mel. "Hi Mel." She hugged her back. "How are you?"

"I'm sick of school. It sucks."

"Be polite, Melody," Brea chastised.

Mel made a face at her, and looked around the room at the other Selected. It was free time, so there weren't very many others around. Brielle, Cali, Gemma, Thea, and Violet occupied various couches and chairs throughout the room. "Hi guys. I'm Mel."

They all introduced themselves to her, and Brielle moved to sit closer. "Do you like princess songs?" She asked. "I know a lot of princess songs."

Mel shook her head. "I'm already a princess, I don't need to pretend. Do you know any songs about superheroes?"

Brielle looked kind of shocked. "No, I'm afraid I don't."

"That's okay. I'll learn one and teach you, and then you will."

"Are you sure you don't want to hear one of the songs I do know? I know lots of songs about mermaids," Brielle offered.

Mel thought about it for a moment, and shook her head. "Nope. How was your date with my brother yesterday? Are you going to fall in love?"

"How did you know I went on a date with Prin— Eli?"

"Oh, I was listening to him and Micah talk about it yesterday. He's on a date with Isla right now, did you know that?"

Lainey had not known that. It suddenly occurred to her that Mel could be a fount of knowledge about Eli for anyone who cared to listen. What if someone tried to befriend her just to gain an advantage? Lainey would have to keep an eye out. She didn't want that to happen.

Mel glared at Brielle, hard. Lainey knew Mel, so it wasn't a shock, but it was still a rather vicious glare for a seven year old. "You never did answer the question."

"Oh! Well. It was nice," she said diplomatically.

"That's good." Mel leapt up from her seat. "Anyone want to play hide and seek?"

Most of the others in the room, including Lainey, agreed. On their way to play, they picked up a few extra players, including Lydie, Jade, and Lena.

Mel announced the rules and boundaries, and immediately declared that Lainey was the first seeker. Lainey was not one to deny Mel, so she agreed, and went back into the Women's Room to count to thirty while the group hid.

She found Lena and Jade first, and they joined her in looking for the others. Thea was beneath the billiards table in the game room, and Calista was in a corner behind a potted plant in a hallway. Gemma was concealed behind a curtain in the music room, and Brielle was found underneath a table in the library. Lydie was behind the open door to the library, out of sheer luck more than anything else, and Violet was standing behind a potted plant, in a darkened sitting room, up against wallpaper with a similar pattern to that of her dress.

There was only one more person to be found. Mel. The group searched high and low, but couldn't find her anywhere, and Lainey was starting to think that they might get in trouble for somehow losing a princess, when she spotted Micah down the hall. Talking to a potted plant.

"If you're playing hide and seek with the Selected, you're out of bounds."

"No I'm not," the potted plant said, in Mel's voice. Lainey smiled. That was just like Mel, to hide somewhere out of bounds.

"Yeah, you are. By like five feet, but still."

"Hmph." The leaves of the potted plant shook, and Mel climbed out from in between them, not bothering to smooth her rumpled skirt.

They both turned, and spotted Lainey just down the hall. "Looking for this?" Micah said with a grin, pointing down at Mel.

Lainey nodded. "I am." She crouched down to get on Mel's level. "Found you!"

Mel came sprinting down the hall. "Am I the last found?" She asked enthusiastically.

"You are." Lainey smiled at her, straightening up.

"Awesome! That means I get to seek next round." She continued sprinting down the hall, back to the group of the Selected.

"You're Lainey, right?" Micah asked as Mel sprinted back towards the group

"Yes, that's me. Why?"

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "You're the one who spoke to the Queen on the first night."

"Yes," she said nervously, not sure where this was going.

"What did she want?"

"She's friends with my stepmother. She just wanted to ask how she and the rest of my family are doing."

Micah nodded. "Oh. Okay. That's alright then." He turned away, and Lainey got the distinct feeling that he had come to the Selected's Wing with the express intention of asking her that question. And since he was Prince Elijah's friend, it was more than likely that he had sent Micah to ask.

She hoped this wasn't a signal of the end of her time in the Selection.\


Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 11th, 4:03pm

Wilhelmina von Schmidt, 2, Labrador

Lindsey walked into the Women's Room three minutes late, Jenn following behind her. Wilhelmina felt a sudden rush of nerves at the sight of her, but Jenn didn't even look Wilhelmina's way.

Jenn had changed a lot in five years. Her hair was shorter now, and she had changed how she styled it. Now, instead of the elaborate braids she had kept her hair in as a teenager, it was down, and just barely past her shoulders. She was dressed in a knee length navy blue dress with a white blazer over it, and white flats. That was familiar. Jenn had always worn flats as a teenager, even though she probably could have used the extra few inches. She was nearly six inches shorter than her older brother.

Lindsey reached the front of the room, and turned to address the group of the Selected. "Today we will be discussing the history of the royal family of Illéa. I've brought Princess Jenevieve in to help me today."

Jenn gave the group a wave, still not looking in Wilhelmina's direction, and Lindsey continued talking. "Does anybody know who founded Illéa as we know it today?"

Cassandra's hand shot up in the front row, and Lindsey pointed at her. "Gregory Illéa."

"That is correct, Cassandra." Lindsey wrote his name on the top of a whiteboard, and drew a line connecting his name to another name. "He married Bethany Shreave, the sister of his closest friend, Brenton Shreave." She wrote Brenton's name on the top of the other side of the whiteboard, and connected it to Bethany's name.

"Gregory Illéa had three children, does anyone know their names?"

Cassandra raised her hand again, but Lindsey didn't call on her, instead scanning the room to see if there was anyone else. Wilhelmina knew the answer, but she didn't say anything. She didn't want to call attention to herself.

Ixchel raised her hand, and Lindsey nodded to her. "Katherine, Spencer, and Damon."

"Correct." Lindsey drew lines from Gregory and Bethany, and wrote those three names there. "Kathrine married into the royal family of Swendway, and Spencer sadly passed away far too young, leaving Damon as the heir to the throne." She drew in more details of Brenton Shreave's children. "Brenton Shreave had two children, and his oldest went on to have a son, named Porter. We'll come back to that in a moment."

She returned to the Illéa half of the family tree. "As I was saying before, Damon was the only heir to the throne. During the very first Selection, he chose Grace Lowell as his queen, and they went on to have a son, Justin Illéa. Now, this isn't often discussed outside of the family, but during Justin's Selection, the second one ever, he chose Abby Tamblin, who went on to betray him by falling in love with Porter Shreave, his cousin. Justin committed suicide, and Abby married Porter to continue the family line."

She sketched all that out on the family tree before continuing. "They had one son, named Louis, who chose Emily Blair during his Selection. Louis had three children, Victoria, Bartholomew, and Edward."

"While Victoria was officially the heir, she chose to give up her position in the line of succession to join a religious order. Edward joined the military, and died in his late thirties due to complications related to an injury sustained there." She drew all that out, and continued. "Bartholomew held a Selection, where he married a woman named Miriam. They had two children together, Hadrian and Clarence. There was a nearly ten year age gap between the two siblings."

"Hadrian served in the military for some time, and so did not hold his Selection until he was thirty-five." Lindsey added his and his brother's name to the family tree. "He chose Edwina, but shortly after their engagement was announced Hadrian died in a hunting accident. Clarence immediately stepped up to fill his brother's place, and rather than having a Selection of his own, just proposed to Edwina." She drew that out.

Jenn cut in. "Clarence and Edwina had three children, Richard, Andrea, and Anthony. As the oldest, Richard had a Selection, and chose Amelia as his queen. Andrea married into the German royal family and had two children, and she still visits Illéa to see her nephew every year in October. Her son currently sits on the German throne, and her daughter married into the Italian royal family. Anthony married a minor British princess, and had two children."

Wilhelmina was quite familiar with Queen Mother Andrea, even though she was quite a distant relation, and by marriage rather than blood. She had always been a kind and caring figure.

Lindsey picked up where Jenn left off. "Richard and Amelia had only one son, King William, who is currently on the throne, and has been for the past twenty-one years, after Richard stepped down after his wife passed from a heart attack. He chose Evelyn during his Selection, and they had three children together. Prince Elijah, who's Selection you are all participants in, Princess Jenevieve, who is right here with me, and Prince Charles." Lindsey moved back to the whiteboard to add the most recent generation to the family tree.

Jenn took over again. "Evelyn divorced King William eleven years ago, and he remarried four years later, to Queen Melissa. They had one child together, Princess Melody. I think she's been in here already."

There were a few enthusiastic nods throughout the room. Wilhelmina had unfortunately missed the time Mel had spent with the Selected, which was a shame. She would have liked to see her again.

"And that's the Illéan royal family," Jenn finished. "Does anyone have any questions?"

Flo's hand shot up, and Wilhelmina sighed. Flo had quickly picked up a reputation among the Selected for believing some absolutely insane things, so there was no way she wasn't about to ask something crazy. "Why did Porter Shreave inherit the throne after Justin Illéa died?"

That was a shockingly reasonable question for Flo. Huh. Now Wilhelmina wanted to know the answer herself.

"Well, Porter was the closest family member of the Illéas who wasn't part of the line of succession of another throne, so he was the default choice. He was also directly endorsed by Gregory Illéa, who was on his deathbed at the time."

Another girl raised her hand, in the back of the room. "What does the current line of succession of Illéa look like?"

"Good question," Jenn said. "Eli is first in line, and I am directly after him. Charles is next, and Melody comes after him. Anthony's children, Lyla and Wyatt, are fifth and sixth, and Wyatt's four children come after him. When Eli has children, they will come directly after him in the line of succession, my children will come directly after me, and so on."

There were a few more questions, which either Jenn or Lindsey answered, and then the lesson ended. Jenn hurried out of the room, and Wilhelmina followed. She wanted a chance to talk, a chance to apologize.

She just barely managed to catch Jenn before she made it into an area that was out of bounds for the Selection. "Hey, Jenn, wait up."

Jenn turned, arms folded. "What do you want, Mina?"

"I just want to talk."

Jenn turned away. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not interested in rehashing ancient history."

"I just want to say that I'm sorry, and that I didn't know."

"I know you didn't."

That was a surprise. Wilhelmina had expected that Jenn would still be angry with her. "You do?"

"Yup." Jenn turned around again. "Look, I can't play favorites, okay? Eli is relying on me."

"Since when does he rely on you?" The Eli and Jenn she remembered had been constantly at odds.

"You might have grown up here, but there's a lot you don't know, and you don't know as much about me as you think. I'm sorry, Mina, but I'm attending a formal dinner tonight, and I need to be ready."

"You kept secrets from me?" Wilhelmina asked. She had thought they had shared everything as children.

"This place is full of filthy secrets, Mina, and nobody in this damn family is honest."

"You can trust me." Like you used to, Wilhelmina wanted to add, but apparently that had never been true. "I never told anybody any of the things you told me."

Jenn's face softened for a moment, as if she too was remembering the good times that were now long past, but eventually she shook her head. "It's better for all of us if I take some things with me to the grave." She turned away. "Good luck with my brother, I suppose."


AN: As Jenn said, the palace is full of filthy secrets, and we all know that Justin Illéa didn't commit suicide… Make of this what you will.

Thank you to BagsyB for beta reading for me!