CHAPTER 32

After Sable left, Luke cooled off on the eliminations for the next few weeks. At this point, he was getting so close to his final ceremony that he really did need to run it by his parents and the event coordinator before he eliminated another girl. Though the ceremony didn't have to be immediate once he reached the final three, the public would start to complain if the wait became too long. It was better to have everything in order so it wasn't a mad rush that led to the event being haphazardly thrown together for the sake of time constraints.

The other thing that had changed with Sable's departure was the attitude of the ladies. Though Luke hadn't realized it until now, she must have been fueling the rivalries and competition between them. Able must have been the cause of the tension he had felt whenever they had all been together. Without her, the girls seemed to relax into a more mellow type of relationship. Luke still wouldn't necessarily classify them as friends, but they were much more pleasant to each other.

How Sable had created the feuds between the girls was beyond him. He had never been one for understanding the mind games girls seemed to play.

Now, a week and a half later, Luke was getting ready to go look at houses with his parents. His mother had told him they were going a few days prior and asked about what order he wanted to see the houses in, probably in an attempt to include him in the discussions. Luke appreciated the effort, but he really wasn't referring to organizing an open house when he said he wanted to actually partake in the discussions.

He would have much preferred if Allyson had done it herself rather than make him sit there and help.

Maybe in hindsight he shouldn't have thrown that fit. Maybe it really was easier being told what to do instead of actually having to help come up with ideas.

Ah well. He made his bed and now he would have to lie in it.

After changing into a simple blue t-shirt and a pair of gray shorts, Luke went to meet his parents in the foyer. Well, that was the plan when he left the room at least. Halfway down, Lke realized that he probably wouldn't be able to stomach his mom remarking on "How nice this tile is," or "The pantry is so large," for hours on end.

It got boring, alright? Especially when Luke had little interest in tiles, pantries, or houses in general.

And so he decided to stop by Quinn's bedroom.

"Luke?" She asked, opening the door. "What's up."

Luke walked into her room, "Hey. Where's your maid?" he asked, the thought suddenly occurring to him.

"She's getting me an iced coffee." Quinn shot him a quizzical look, "Why?"

Luke shrugged. "I was just wondering."

Quinn seemed to accept this as an answer, because she changed the topic quickly. "Not to pressure you, but why did you come here at..." She checked the clock on her bedside table quickly, "Nine-thirty in the morning. I mean, I'm still half-asleep."

Looking at her, Luke wouldn't have guessed that. She was already dressed for the day in a checkered yellow and white dress, her pastel hair was clipped behind her ears. She must have had make-up on, because he couldn't see any under eye bags. Also another reason why she had to have make-up on: her face was slightly gilittery.

That definitely didn't happen naturally.

"Well, I'm-" Come on Luke, spit it out. "I'm supposed to go look at houses with my parents today, and I was wondering if you wanted to come." Luke said quickly, not even stopping for a breath in between words.

Quinn beamed. "Of course!" She paused for a second, confused. "Wait, why are you looking at houses anyway?" She asked.

"I don't know, my parents think I should move out. Let Farrah have the palace for her family." Luke said casually, trying to downplay how much the words hurt him to say.

"That makes sense." Quinn said, nodding. "You and your wife will live there then." The second part was said almost to herself, but Luke heard it anyway.

"Yup. That'll be fun." He responded drily.

"It might be." Quinn told him. "When I moved to San Francisco, I had lots of fun. It was nice being on my own, you know?" She asked. Luke actually didn't know. He had never had to function by himself, and even though he would still probably have some staff in his house, he knew it wouldn't be the same. He wasn't sure he was looking forward to that.

"It's kinda scary." Luke admitted, looking down as he did.

Quinn considered his words for a second. "Yeah it is," She conceded. "But you have to do it eventually. I cried for a few hours the day I moved. It all worked out in the end though. Everything does."

"That's awfully optimistic."

Quinn laughed. "I'm not usually an optimist, but I really do think you'll like it. Besides, isn't it annoying having a ton of people you don't even know the names of living in your house? Not to mention the advisors and politicians who have offices here. I would be relieved."

"Oh yeah. It sucks having that many people in and out of the palace every day, but what can you do?" Luke asked, shrugging.

"You can always move away. Which is exactly what you're doing." Quinn pointed out.

"For the first time, you might actually be right." Luke agreed.

"First time?" Quinn looked mildly offended. "I thought the understanding was that I'm almost always right." She teased.

"Key word almost." Luke pointed out. Maybe he wasn't exactly fair. Quinn was right more times than she was wrong. That was more than Luke could say for himself and his pitiful record of understanding euphemisms

"Oh fine. Come on, let's go down stairs." Quinn said, leading the way out of her bedroom. Luke trailed behind her as he waited for her to step out the door. Ladies first, of course. Then he took her hand as they walked down to the foyer.

Luke was only a tad bit late, which was better than he usually managed. Still, Allyson looked relieved when she saw him, almost as if she hadn't expected him to actually show up. Fair enough. Luke had considered not showing up himself.

Allyson's relief turned into a slight frown as she took in Quinn. She nudged Bennet, who had been looking at something on his phone. What she had found to be upset about was beyond Luke. Hadn't his mother been the one who said he needed to be more serious?

"Hey." Luke said as he walked up to his parents. Quinn gave a little curtsy, not saying anything.

That was probably for the best, as the smile Allyson gave her was icy at best. "Luke. Lady Fraser," Bennet greeted for the both of them as Allyson seemed reluctant to speak to Quinn. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting company."

Quinn flushed a bit. "I wasn't expecting either. Luke invited me maybe two minutes ago." She told them seriously.

Bennet chuckled. "Yes, that seems a lot like him."

"I'm right here!" Luke exclaimed. He didn't appreciate being talked about in the third person when he was an active participant of the discussion. It was just embarrassing.

"Next time, it's polite to invite people ahead of time." Allyson chastised, speaking for the first time. "So that they actually have time to get ready." Luke wrinkled his nose, trying to figure out what his mother meant by that. He was fairly sure that it was supposed to imply something negative about Quinn, he just didn't know what.

"Right. The car is out front if everyone is ready." Bennet said, trying to change the topic. Quinn looked rather bitter about what Allyson had said. Luke couldn't blame her.

As Bennet and Quinn headed out to the car, Allyson slowed her pace and whispered in Luke's ear. "Her, of all people?" She asked. It wasn't really a question though, she was just mad.

"Yeah, why? What's wrong with her?" Luke asked, his voice as quiet as his mother's. He didn't want Quinn to overhear this discussion.

Allyson pursed her lips. She sighed for a moment before speaking, " Her hair is four different colors Lucas! You can't seriously be thinking about marrying her?" Allyson pointed out. Luke frowned for a moment. Why did she think she had a say in who he decided to marry? Yeah, she might be his mom, but the last time Allyson had tried to organize his marriage, it hadn't ended so well.

She should just let him pick at this point. It would be easier for everyone involved.

Still though, Luke knew she had a point. The public might have found her hair amusing during the selection, but they wouldn't approve of it if she was royalty. "It's just hair dye." Luke insisted. "She can dye it back right?"

"It doesn't exactly work like that." Allyson told him.

"Oh. How does it work then?"

Allyson clearly didn't want to be explaining the world of hair dye to her son instead of discouraging him from choosing Quinn. Still though, she answered his question. "It can either grow out or you can get a single-process done. That only lasts for a few months though."

"See! The hair color can be changed. There's nothing to worry about Mom!" Luke said earnestly. He might not listen to who Allyson said he should marry, but he did still want her to approve. She was his mother.

"Still...it's just so vulgar." Allyson practically spat out the word vulgar. Personally, Luke didn't see anything wrong with it. It was just hair dye for goodness sake, it wasn't like Quinn was on some trashy reality show.

Luke decided right then that he wouldn't be mentioning Quinn's tattoo on her ankle to anyone. Somehow, Luke had a feeling that it would just make the whole situation worse.

"How is it vulgar?" Luke questioned.

"It's not proper for a girl in her situation. I don't know what stylist let it through the makeover period, but if I did…" Allyson's voice trailed off, letting the words hand unspoken in the air. Luke shuddered for a moment before speaking.

"I like it." He insisted.

"You would." What was that supposed to mean? "Well, I suppose you're right. Her hair color can be changed rather easily. A few hours and some bleach would solve the problem. It would be like none of this ever happened." Allyson shook her head. "Now, come. Your father is waiting for us."

The fact that she left Quinn out of the statement didn't escape Luke's notice.

Still he decided to ignore it, "Okay then. Let's go."

Bennet and Quinn had already entered the limo when Luke and his mother arrived. Of course since his parents were going, Luke was taking the limo to go look at the houses. It was stupid that he only ever go to take the limo when he was with his family or someone else needed the towncar, but those were the downsides of being the spare.

It was probably worth taking the town car every once in a while instead of being in charge of a country. Luke wasn't a mathematician, but the odds were definitely stacked in his favor.

That didn't help the feeling that came when he was delegated to the simple black town cars though. As much as he reasoned it out in his head, the rest of him never quite got the message to stop being bitter about it.

"-so you've done murals?" Luke heard the tail end of Bennet's question as he sat in the soft leather seats. He settles himself next to Quinn while Allyson sat next to Bennet.

"Yes, I've worked on a few for the Anaheim foundation as well as The Francisco's Time." Quinn told him.

Bennet nodded, "I've heard that they have a massive campaign to end paper produced advertisements. I suppose you helped with that."

"Yeah, they put a new mural up every so often." Quinn said. "They usually hire me to work on it."

"That's so cool." Luke said. "I wish I could do murals."

"I'm sure you could." Quinn told him. "They're really not that hard."

Bennet winced slightly, "I take it you haven't seen his artwork?"

"No...why?"

"It's not what anyone would call good." Bennet said. Luke pouted for a moment. His dad had always told him that he liked Luke's drawings! Damn it. Luke's whole life had been a lie. Here he thought he was at least decent at drawing.

"What do you mean? I think I'm a great artist." Luke crossed his arms in front of his chest as he spoke.

"Your artwork is very...creative."

"I want to see this!" Quinn piped up. "I've never even seen you draw a stick figure, let alone an actual painting."

"There's a reason for that." Bennet told her. "Believe me, you're not missing anything."

"You just don't get my concept. I'm sre Quinn would like it better than you would." Luke said. "I'll show you when we get back to the palace." He directed the last part of his sentence at Quinn, who seemed happy that he had invited her to a second part of the date. Being a selected must be so precarious, Luke mused. You always had to make sure that the prince liked you. If Luke was on the other end of this process, he couldn't imagine how anxious he would be.

"I didn't say I was going to like it. I said I wanted to see it." Quinn clarified, giggling slightly. "Whether I like it or not depends on the talent."

The rest of the car ride to the first house was spent like this. Bennet would ask Quinn a question, she would respond to said question. The three of them would discuss her answer to said question. Allyson didn't speak for the entire car ride. She spent it staring out the window, her features fixed in an emotionless expression. She must have been listening though. She was sitting next to them, and last Luke checked, his mother wasn't hard of hearing.

When the limo finally pulled to a stop in front of the first house, Luke had to say he was impressed. The exterior was far more modern than the palace. It was essentially a white cube with different cutouts and other cubes stacked on top of it. The exterior was mostly glass, though Luke was fairly sure there were heavy curtains.

He also didn't miss the two feet thick wall that surrounded the entire property, but...details.

Once the guard secured the premise, Luke followed his parents out, holding Quinn's hand. "Wow." She breathed, looking up at it.

Luke nodded in agreement, "It is really nice."

"I didn't mean that it was nice. I mean, it is, but do you know how expensive this must be?" Quinn asked. Oh. She hadn't been referring to the large house's manicured lawns or sprawlings gardens. She had been complaining that Luke, or more accurately, his parents had seen fit to spend all this money on a house for him when there was a palace maybe 20 minutes away.

"No." Luke said.

"This is ridiculous." Quinn grumbled. "I can't believe you're willing to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on a house for yourself."

Luke flushed. What did he say to that? "Sorry." He whispered, his voice barely audible.

Quinn sighed, "I don't even understand what you need this big a house for." Luke shrugged in response.

"I don't know. To live in, I guess."

"I don't even want to know what the price is." Quinn commented.

"Me neither." Luke said. It was true. Even in his head he couldn't justify spending millions of dollars on a house. So he would just pretend to not know the price. What was that old saying, ignorance is bliss? Well, he was planning on putting that to the test right here.

"Well, if we're overlooking the fact that this house probably costs more than my family could make in 25 years, it is rather stunning." Quinn admitted.

Luke looked up at her in surprise, "So you're not mad?" He double-checked.

"Oh no. I am. There's just nothing I can do about it so I'm going to just try to enjoy the day." Quinn amended. It was more than Luke had hoped for, and though she was right; it was a waste of money, he was happy she was willing to drop the matter for now. "I think they're waiting for us." Quinn said, nodding her head to where Allyson and Bennet stood with another man.

The smiling man in the pinstriped suit greeted them. He introduced himself quickly, "Carson Michels. I'm the seller's realtor agent."

"Pleasure to meet you." Allyson said. "You're giving us the tour?"

"Of course Your Majesties." He said. "Right this way."

The tour started in the foyer. The high ceiling afforded plenty of light, not to mention the spectacular windows that opened the space up. Or at least that was what Carson Michels said.

"How long do you think it took him to learn all these words?" Luke muttered to Quinn.

"I don't know. They probably taught them in real estate agent school." She said.

"Is that a thing?" Luke asked, wrinkling his nose.

Quinn shrugged. "Probably. I mean, it's definitely not called that, but I know that real estate agents need a license so they probably have to go to school for it." That made sense. Though Luke wasn't sure what the qualifications were for being a real estate agent, he doubted that just anyone was allowed to do it. People trusted them to help sell their house, they needed to be reassured that their agent was fully trained. After all, they must have been paying through the nose for it to be staged and listed.

"Do you think it's hard to get a license?" Luke asked.

Quinn gave Carson an appraising look, "No way. I bet it's pretty easy." She decided.

"I'm going to see what you need to do to be a real estate agent." Luke told her. "I think I'll get myself a license. I'll be the first royal real estate agent in the history of Illéa."

Quinn giggled, "You do that. Now shush, I'm trying to listen. Did you know that this is seventeenth century marble imported from morocco with crystal fragments that let it shine in the sunlight?" She asked, quoting the man.

Luke laughed, "No, but did you know this wood was taken from the forests in Belgium and painted with a hand-made blend of white clay, finished with a high-polish sheen?" He retorted.

"You were actually listening?" Quinn asked seriously, "I'm impressed."

Luke flushed, maybe had been complaining about the man all day, but it hadn't stopped him from listening to what he was saying. This was his potential house. The least he could do is listen to what the varnish on the banister was. "It's kinda hard to ignore him. Do you hear how loud he's being? I mean, he's practically echoing off the walls."

"At least volume isn't an issue for him." Quinn said.

"He really missed his calling as a professional yodeler." Luke joked.

"Oh please. I think he would have been much better suited as a haunted house narrator." Quinn contradicted.

"That's not a thing."

"Yes it is." Quinn insisted.

"Aren't they recorded ahead of time? I don't think that's a profession."

"There are some live haunted house tours. There was one in the old Fort Motten that I used to go to every year with my dads. There was always a man who showed us around the haunted house." Quinn told him. Luke wished he had been allowed to do things like that, sure he could go to the occasional amusement park where there were haunted houses, but he always had to be home before dark so the guards could keep track of him.

"That sounds awesome."

"I don't know what he would do the other ten months of the year though, when no one wants to go to a haunted house." Quinn frowned slightly at the dilemma.

"Newscaster?" Luke offered. "Not nearly as fun, but people get news every day, not just in October."

"You should recommend him to a news company. I'm sure he would land the job." Quinn said.

"Oh I'm sure. He's a natural-born newscaster if I've ever seen one." Luke agreed, "I think we finished the tour." He realized, looking around the now empty guest bedroom. His parents and Carson Michels must have left while he and Quinn were talking. "Where do you think everyone went."

Quinn seemed unfazed by this new development. "They probably went into that absurd foyer. I have no clue why anyone would need a chandelier that big."

Ignoring Quinn's grumbling, Luke took her hand and led them out to the foyer where sure enough, Allyson and Bennet were waiting for them. It was only after they were all back in the limo did Allyson ask the question. "So what did you think?"

Luke didn't really know what his mother wanted to hear. He wasn't even sure he had an opinion on the house. It was nice yes, even a fool would realize that. He just couldn't envision himself living anywhere that wasn't the palace. The whole concept was foriegn to him. Still, he gave the required answer, "It was nice. I liked it. The windows were cool."

Allyson nodded, satisfied, "How about you, Lady Fraser? What did you think of the house?"

Quinn bit her lip before answering, "Honestly, I think it's a waste of money. It's really big. Other than that though, it is a nice house. I think that anyone would love to live there if they could afford it." She answered truthfully. The fact that she said she wouldn't want to live there didn't escape his notice. Quinn clearly wasn't happy at all the expensive houses they were considering. Still, Luke was grateful that she was at least keeping somewhat of an open mind.

Maybe somewhat is a bit of an exaggeration. Barely or miniscule would be a better substitute.

Nothing that could be done about that now though.

The next house they saw was the one that Bennet said he had liked. The tudor style house with the stone exterior. It stuck out like a sore thumb around the ultra-modern houses that dominated the streets. It just didn't fit in. The house itself was beautiful, with windows affording sweeping views of the city and a large pool in the back. That had to be Luke's favorite part by far. He had always wanted a pool in his house. Now was his chance.

Quinn didn't seem any happier at the sight of the second house either. She might not have known the exact price for this one either, but it was obviously expensive. Probably more expensive than the first one. Though her face remained in an almost-frown for most of the tour, she did still talk to Luke about what she liked in it.

Of course, all her sentences were prefaced by the words "This is too much money…" or "It's a waste, but…"

There was nothing that could be done about that though. That was just who Quinn was and Luke wasn't going to try and change her. Maybe, on a subconscious level he even agreed with her. Yeah, it was a waste of money and he had no need for such a large house. Luke though, was more than happy to put his personal worries aside. If he couldn't live in the palace, then at least he'd get a mansion for all his troubles.

The third and final house they saw seemed to appeal to Quinn more. It was smaller than the first two, only containing five bedrooms where all the other ones had more than seven. It was a great house, there was no denying that, it was just more modest than Luke would expect. Compared to the palace, it looked positively middle-class. That was a startling concept to Luke. Middle-Class.

Still though, there was a pool in the back. That was what really mattered right?

Yeah. That was what mattered. In all honesty, Luke would probably be happy at any one of these three houses.

"Do you know where you want to live?" Bennet asked tentatively as they stepped out of the limo once they arrived back at the palace.

Luke shrugged. He didn't want to commit to any of the houses right now. He needed time to think about this. His parents seriously couldn't expect an answer from him now, could then? It was too soon. "I don't know. I need to think about it more." Luke said evenly.

"If it's any help, I liked the third one best." Quinn chimed in. Clearly. Luke hadn't missed her delight at seeing a house that was more normal person with a normal job and less I invented phones. Well, maybe Luke hadn't invented phones, but with the amount of money he had, he might as well have the patent for phones. Their incomes were probably similar.

"That one was nice." Allyson commented. "You might want something with a bit more space though. You never know."

"If there's no need for extra space, isn't it just a pure waste of money?" Quinn asked, keeping her face pleasant.

Allyson considered her words for a moment. To Luke's surprise, instead of getting aggravated by Quinn's brashness, she smiled, "I suppose you're right. We'll have to see what we end up doing." She replied. Luke raised an eyebrow. She was probably just being nice to Quinn because she was a selected. That made sense. Allyson might dislike Quinn because of her hair color, but she had been the queen of Illéa for many years. She knew what was worth getting upset over and what wasn't. Like Luke had said earlier, hair color was changeable. Allyson must have moved past that sometime in the last few hours.

"On that note, we need to speak to our son." Bennet said to Quinn. "It was lovely having you join us today, and I hope to get to know you further in the future."

Quinn realized she was being dismissed and took it in stride, bobbing a curtsy before leaving. "I'll talk to you later." Luke murmured to her as she passed. Quinn gave a little nod in response, smiling slightly. Luke really hoped she had enjoyed the day.

Once Quinn was out of earshot, Bennet spoke again. "You have only four girls left Lukie." He pointed out.

"I know." Luke answered.

"Do you think it's time to announce the winner? This has been going on for nearly three months after all, I think it would be best if we start to wrap things up." Bennet told him. Wrap things up? Luke didn't want to wrap things up. He wanted to have more time to make his decision. Another month or tow at the very least.

Did he really need it though?

The thought startled him, but it was true. Luke knew who he wanted in his final three, and aside from the occasional moment of doubt, he knew who he wanted to marry. He didn't need more time. There was no sense in prolonging the spectacle.

"I guess so." Luke agreed, the words leaving his mouth out of their own accord. He meant them though, more than he thought he would.

"Are you sure?" Allyson asked.

Was he?

Luke nodded, "I am."

"If you say so. Would June third work for you?" Allyson asked.

"Work for what?"

"For the final ceremony, Lucas. You know, the one where you pick your wife?" Allyson said exasperated.

Oh right.

That.

There was no going back now. "Sure."

Bennet nodded, "Alright then. If you could narrow it down to the final three either today or tomorrow would work, then over the next few days you could go on the final dates. Give the media something to look at before you announce the winner." He explained.

Luke sighed. Was he really going to do this? "I'll...I'll eliminate the fourth girl today. The final dates can be organized later." He said, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Who are you eliminating?" Allyson asked. Luke just shrugged. He didn't feel like saying her name out loud yet. "Fine. If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. What do you want to do for your final dates next week?"

Now that was a good question. God, coming up with ideas for dates is ridiculously hard. If only there was some handbook he could use. A Guide To Speed-Dating: Selection Style. Now that would sell a lot of copies. "I don't know yet. I'll come up with stuff later."

"Just let us know and we'll handle it."

"That's what I always do."

Luke stood outside the poor girl's door who was being eliminated later, regret flooding his body. Eliminations had been so much easier when he didn't actually have feelings for the ladies. Now that months had passed and he had gotten to know all of them, it was hard to send one away. Especially when she was so close to the final three.

Of course, going in he knew that eliminations came with the selection. They could be upsetting, but it came with the package. Besides, the other two girls would be leaving barely a week and a half later. He was doing her a favor really. At least her heart wasn't going to be broken on national television. Luke would be the only one who ever witnessed her reaction.

Still, doing a favor had never been so hard before.

Why did he have to be like this? Why couldn't he just be cold and heartless. Life would be so much easier. He wouldn't regret any of his decisions. He wouldn't care about what people thought of him. He wouldn't even have to get married.

Actually, he would probably still have to get married. Duty to his country and all that jazz.

Enough dawdling. He had to get this over with. The sooner the better.

The quicker he finished this, the quicker the girl could move on with her life, start a new chapter doing whatever her heart desired. This was better for both of them. It would be like pulling off a bandage, a moment of pain and then it's never thought about again.

With that thought in mind, he knocked on the door. It was only a second before the girl answered, her eyes bright. "Hello." She said, looking at him.

Luke swallowed a lump in his throat, "Hey Faye. Can I come in?" He asked cautiously.

Faye glanced inside her room. "Sure, did you want to join the party? We have lemon cookies and some different drinks. We're watching Blue. I think we were planning on painting our nails later, but I doubt you would want to join in on that."

"Party?" Luke echoed weakly. He really was having some bad luck. So much for a nice, quiet, private elimination.

"Yes. Sydney, Esme, and Quinn are all here." Faye said brightly. Great. Just what he wanted. Why was the universe constantly set on making life for him as difficult as possible?

'Uh...sure, but I needed to talk to you." Luke said quietly, entering the room. Sure enough the rest of the selected girls were there, sprawled out on pillows and blankets in front of a large television. There were trays of miniature cookies and cupcakes, a pitcher of lemonade sat on the table. Just as Faye had said, the television was in the middle of the shark scene from the animated movie everyone watched as kids.

"Hey." Sydney called, in the middle of braiding Esme's hair. She twisted her body to look at him, causing Esme to yelp.

"Oww." She complained.

"Sorry." Sydney blushed. "You know, your hair is much easier to braid then mine." Did hair texture actually make a difference with braiding hair? Huh. Talk about learning something new everyday. Today's lesson not only included how to be a real estate agent, but the effect of hair texture on braids.

"Well, yeah." Esme giggled. "Your hair is really curly. Quinn's would probably be easy to braid."

Quinn grabbed the nearest pillow and smushed it on top of her head. "Oh no. No way. You are not braiding my hair." She insisted loudly.

As refreshing as it was to see the women actually getting along, Luke had to get down to business. "I'm uh...sorry to intrude, but I uh, need to talk to Faye. Privately." He added hurriedly at the end.

"Okay." Sydney sighed. "We'll wait outside." With that the three other girls troped out, chatting loudly.

Faye turned to look at Luke, fear filling her eyes. "Did something happen with my father?" She asked, worry plain on her face. "That's why everyone had to leave isn't it?" She genuinely looked scared that something had happened. How was he going to do this?

"No, nothing like that." He assured her.

"Okay." She said, her relief was almost palpable. Then, it seemed something occurred to her, because she cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong then, I mean, something must be if you didn't want any of the other girls to hear."

Luke took a deep breath, "Can I have a cupcake?" He asked, stalling for time.

"Yeah, try the red velvet ones." Faye offered.

Luke took one, finishing it in three bites. It was good, all the food in the palace was. It wasn't enough to calm himself though. His stomach was still writhing with guilt.

Like a bandage he reminded himself.

"I'meliminatingyoufromtheselection." Luke said inaudibly.

Faye looked confused, "What did you say? I couldn't understand you." She told him, puzzled.

"I'm eliminating you from the selection. Faye. I...I like you." Luke said, "But I-"

Faye finished for him. "Like someone else more." Her sadness bleed into her voice. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Luke had been expecting that, but it still hurt all the same. He didn't want to cause Faye this pain, but he didn't have a choice.

"I'm sorry." he whispered quietly.

"What did I do wrong?" She asked urgently. "I know I'm a bit odd, but I don't understand why this is happening. I really liked you. You were the first person I've ever felt this way about." He hadn't known that. Damn it. Why did life have to be so cruel?

"It's not that. I'm sure there's someone out there who's perfect for you. It's not me though." Luke said. It was a bit cheesy, something he had heard on an old sitcom from the late 90's, but it seemed to do the trick.

"I wish I wasn't leaving." She said slowly. "But it's your choice. Good luck with everything. If you didn't want me, I hope you can at least get someone you really love. Someone who loves you."

Has Luke ever mentioned how much he hated the selection and the fool who had come up with it in the first place?

A/N: This chapter we say goodbye to Faye. She was definitely one of my favorite characters, but sadly, Luke didn't reciprocate her feelings. Faye was a really fun character to write, just because of how genuinely weird she was, but also how nice she was. Literally, I want a Faye in my life. I'll be accepting applications starting later.

Also, the final three :Eyes: Guys, this is literally so exciting. We're almost at the end of the story, Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Again, if your character has been eliminated or even if they haven't (because only one girl out of the three we have left can win) send me what you'd like them to be doing after the selection and I'll do my best to include it in the epilogue.

Joke: What has ears but cannot hear?

A cornfield!