Chapter 19 – Jesse Flynn
After a very relaxed weekend, Jesse was ready to tackle the new week. But right now, he was working on editing some of the weekend footage of the selection while the girls were in their morning lesson with Nevaeh and the princes were doing their own thing. They deserved some time alone, away from the girls. Well, Silas didn't really have a choice since he had his weekly conference with the Queen and the advisors.
Sydney and Otis were nowhere to be seen and Jesse was content to be on his own, with some music blaring into his headphones while he went over some footage and pictures of the beach: there were some nice things to keep and he was super happy about those Sydney had taken for the Instagram page. Very aesthetically pleasing. Very 'Sydney'.
The summer heat was getting to him, now, but he was glad he had been able to find a large fan to keep his body temperature to a normal state. Had there been papers on the table, everything would have been blown away. It was a good thing he was working with cables and computers.
He was in the middle of an Adele song – yes, don't judge him, the woman knew how to sing, okay? – when his phone buzzed on the table next to him, making him jump. It was just a text from Sydney.
DUDE. WHERE. ARE. YOU. everyone's waiting for you in the dining room. lunchtime? ring a bell?
"Oh crap!" he said, standing up in a hurry and making for the door, only to be tugged by the cable on his headphones connected to the computer. He quickly took them off and promised himself to buy wireless headphones, next time. Maybe some of his Selection pay would get into that.
When he arrived in the dining room, everyone looked at him. Some of the girls sniggered and Nevaeh just smirked.
"Please do apologize for my late arrival, Your Majesty," Jesse said, bowing in front of his queen. "I seem to have lost track of time."
Queen Helena chuckled. "It's alright, Mr. Finley. As long as it was for the Selection."
"It was," he replied.
She nodded, dismissing him so he could go sit at his seat among the Selected girls. This time, the girls had reserved him a seat in the middle of Brandy, Leigh, Laelia, and Ximena, who, to his surprise, was wearing a random t-shirt dress instead of her usual very fashionable outfits. But he didn't comment on it.
"So," he said, starting a conversation with these four ladies. "What did you do this morning with Neveah in class?
"We went over the different political parties and then talked about each of our provinces and what our Governors followed," Leigh said. "It was kind of boring." She shrugged and sipped on her red wine. Next to her, Ximena was being silent and keeping her eyes on her food.
"Xi are you okay?" Laelia asked, elbowing her neighbor gently. "You've been silent since this morning."
Leigh frowned. "More like since after the beach." She paused. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, right! How's your foot?" Jesse asked. He had completely forgotten about that little accident.
"Oh, it's fine now," Ximena said. "I had three stitches and I can't put any pressure on it at the moment, so I'm hobbling around with crutches." She chuckled. "But it should be better in a couple of weeks."
"Oh, I hope you'll be okay, then," Jesse said.
They continued chatting about random things until dessert came and the footmen brought fancy looking cupcakes with white flowery icings on top that were way too pretty to eat. A little further down the table, Yuna got a cupcake with a red rose icing and no one missed that detail.
"Ooh, Yuna!" Jacinta said with a smirk. "Is that what I think it is?"
Yuna's face turned pink and she looked up at the Crown Prince at his table who was looking at her as well. He nodded.
"I believe it is," Yuna replied. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and delicately took off the red buttercream rose from the cupcake and laid it down in her plate before taking a bite into the white fluffy pastry.
"Are you going to eat that rose or not?" Jacinta asked from across the table. "Because if you're not, I'm sure someone would be interested in eating it."
"I'll eat it, thank you," Yuna replied. "I like to finish with the frosting."
"Whatever," the other girl replied, her own cupcake already long gone.
"Hey, Yuna," Gail called out from her seat. "I'm curious: Is this your first date ever with your crush? Or…"
Yuna became even pinker than before. Surely, she had gone on different outings with the Prince, growing up around the Palace and all that weren't quite dates, right? But Jesse wanted to see what she would say. "Yes, first date," she replied, keeping her chin high and her dignity intact. Jesse had noticed that the other girls were a bit jealous of the girl who had had a crush on Silas all her life, and who had grown up with him and went to school with him.
When dessert was over, the girls lingered at the table, talking among themselves. The crown prince stood from his seat, walked toward the selected's table with Doug on his heels, and stopped right next to Yuna.
"Would you like to come now?" he asked her softly. Doug was already putting his head in Yuna's lap and being petted by her, his tail wagging. "We'd be going for a walk with Doug…"
"Sure," she replied with a sweet smile. "Let me just go get my things and change my shoes." She scratched the yellow dog's head. "I'll meet you in five minutes?"
Silas nodded and headed outside. "Come on, Doug!" he said to his dog, tapping his thigh so catch the animal's attention.
Jesse scrambled to his feet and followed the prince. "Hey, Silas," he said, catching up with the young man's long strides. "Do you mind if I join you guys? I mean, not as a third wheel or anything, just for some pictures. Then I'll leave you two alone, I'm pretty sure you have lots of things to talk about." It took all of Jesse's will to say that because if he had it his way, he would go the whole date with them.
Silas took out a small glasses box from his breast pocket in his suit and changed his glasses for some sunglasses. "Fifteen minutes," he agreed. "Then you're right, we have many things to discuss."
Jesse nodded. "Fifteen minutes," he repeated. "That should be enough for some nice pictures and footage." He paused. "Are you going to walk around the Palace or are you going someplace else?"
Silas shrugged and looked at the perfectly manicured gardens around him. "I think this place is big enough for everyone." He then shot a glance at Jesse. "But don't you dare ask Otis to follow us with the drone after the fifteen minutes are up."
"No, sir," Jesse said. "I'll tell him to follow your brothers and the other girls."
"Thank you."
A couple of minutes later, Yuna arrived in a brand-new outfit and shoes, a red modest short-sleeve top with an A-line checkered red and white skirt and a pair of flat sandals. She was also wearing big round sunglasses with her hair down, and a rather large light brown leather bag over the shoulder.
"Hey," Silas said, offering her a smile, and Jesse didn't miss it: it was one of the first times he actually witnessed a real smile coming from the crown prince.
"Hey, yourself," she replied.
"Ready?"
"Yes." She dug for something in her handbag and Doug immediately came sniffing around her hands. "Here you go, buddy," she said, using that voice one used only with dogs.
"Please tell me those aren't dog-bone cookies with the sprinkles on them," Silas said, amused.
Yuna chuckled softly. "Only the best for my buddy," she replied as Doug cracked a bone-shaped cookie between his teeth, wagging his tail in total bliss.
"You spoil him," Silas countered as they started to walk down the gravel path between the perfectly cut lawn areas. Jesse wondered how the Prince could tolerate a full suit with the heat, but he didn't comment on it and followed a few paces behind with his camera. He hoped they would talk a little louder so he could get the ultimate tea from the Selected and her crush, but alas, that was not to be.
For fifteen minutes, Jesse followed them or walked around them to take pictures, but they didn't seem to be very willing to be themselves with Jesse around. So after his time was up, he left them alone as promised. He did have some nice pictures, but he didn't get the tea he wanted.
"Jesse is finally gone," Silas said, looking over his shoulder. By that time, they had circled three times around the Palace and he was getting anxious: everyone was looking at them, and he needed some privacy to talk to his best friend.
Yuna didn't say anything and simply nodded. "So, what do we do now?" she asked.
"First, we get as far from here as possible," he replied. "What do you think about the Lake?"
Yuna grinned. "We used to go there all the time, didn't we?" she laughed as Doug started running around: he had recognized the word 'lake', that was for sure. He barked a couple of times and jumped around Silas who just crouched and rubbed the dog behind its ears, avoiding just in time one super big lick, which made Yuna laugh.
They continued down the path, putting more distance between them and the Palace by the minute. At some point, Silas couldn't bear the heat anymore and he dropped the jacket, holding it over his shoulder. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing muscled forearms.
"You still work out a lot?" Yuna asked him.
"Yes." He paused. "But with the Selection, it's a little harder."
"Please, as if it's taking most of your time," she teased him. "You're avoiding everyone all of the time."
Silas looked at her with a fake hurt expression. "I'll have you know that you're my fifth date, whereas Nate only went on three for now, and Valerian two."
"Look who's counting," she said giggling. She sighed as they arrived at the top of the tiny mound of terrain that hid the lake from the Palace's view. It was a large pond, really, but the Schreaves and Anders-Caswells called it The Lake. They stopped counting the number of times they spent the afternoon there, swimming and climbing trees, or just talking for hours on end, hiding from everyone else. Lots of memories had been made there, and Yuna didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry.
"Look," she said, trying to push away the bittersweet thoughts that had filled her mind just moments ago. "That's the tree where I fell and broke my arm."
Silas nodded. "Yeah. I rescued you, remember?"
Yuna laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'd say you 'helped' me get back on my feet and walk to the Palace." She looked up at him. "You didn't carry me bridal style back home…" she trailed off.
"Yuna, we were like seven years old. I couldn't have carried you."
Yuna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had seen how Silas had carried the other girl at the beach, the other day, and she wished it had been her who had walked on a shard of glass. Silas had never carried her, and she had always tried to imagine what it would be like to be against him, feeling his heartbeat through his dress shirt.
Yuna looked away, pretty sure her cheeks were becoming pink.
"No, Doug! Come back here, boy!" Silas said, not seeing that she was being miserable on her own. Doug had run after a dragonfly flying over the water and now he was all wet. Doug tried to follow the bug but quickly abandoned when he lost sight of it and paddled back to the shore. He shook himself roughly, spraying water drops all over Silas and Yuna, who groaned but then laughed. Doug hadn't changed in all the years they'd come to the Lake with him.
Yuna followed Silas to the wooden pier and they sat down at the end, their legs dangling over the water. They were silent for a long moment, and neither one of them knew how to broach the subject. Before the Selection, they would have just talked about whatever came to their minds – well, especially Yuna, Silas was content to just listen – and their silences were comfortable. Before. Now? Not so much. It wasn't as if there was electricity in the air per se, more like an indescribable awkwardness and no one wanted to admit it.
"I saw you dancing with Robin at the Ball," Yuna suddenly blurted out, out of the blue.
"I danced with many women."
"Yes, but Robin." Yuna kept her eyes on her hands in her lap. "She's not one of your Selected."
"I know," Silas replied. "And I'm glad about that."
"What?"
"What."
"What do you mean you're glad about it?" This time, Yuna looked at her best friend sitting right next to her: too far for their arms to touch, but too close to be 'just friends', at least to anyone watching.
"It's a long story." Silas avoided meeting her eyes. "And I don't want to talk about it."
Yuna nodded. She wouldn't press him about anything. Maybe she should ask her sister about it? Maybe she had something to say to lighten up the mystery? But no. Yuna didn't have the energy to look into that, right now. She had other things to do.
"Silas, there's…" she trailed off a little. "There's something I want to show you."
The prince nodded and looked at Yuna as she opened her purse and took out a bundle of letters tied together with a pink ribbon. There was also a stem with pink dried flowers inserted in the bow. She held on to the envelopes and kept them in her lap.
"What is this?" he asked. He may have guessed what these letters contained, but he needed to know to be sure.
"Letters."
"That seems pretty obvious," he stated.
"I wrote them over the years," Yuna explained, fiddling with the delicate flowers. "But I never sent them." She paused. "But I don't know what to do with them," she admitted. "Should I keep them hidden in a box forever? Should I burn them? Do you want to read them?" she added at the end of her list of options, still not looking at him. Oh, how she wished she could look at him. His soft brown eyes were never judgmental and it was always a safe place for her. Up until now.
Silas didn't know what to tell her and it was breaking his heart. He had always been so open with her, but now? What could he tell her? If he told her to keep them hidden, that meant he might give her hope. If he told her to burn them, it would crush her. And if he accepted to read them, then what? Give her more hope?
When he didn't reply right away, Yuna put them back in her bag. "I'm sorry, that was a stupid idea," she said. "I shouldn't have taken them here."
"Wait." He held out his hand. "Let me read at least one."
"Which one?"
"Choose one." Maybe he would understand what she felt for him and why she hadn't said anything all these years. Would he have accepted her feelings, before the Selection? Would he have been able to avoid the whole Selection-thing? It was too late, anyway: he was doing a Selection, she was telling her about her feelings, and he could end everything now, one way or the other. Because one's best friend always had a place in one's heart, and it was his decision to make, to give her more space than she already held. Would he, though?
Without a word, Yuna took out an envelope from the bundle and handed it to him. Silas took it and delicately opened the wax seal without breaking it. He slipped the paper out and read the date at the top.
"This dates from our last high school year," he said.
Yuna nodded. "We spent so much time together in school and we talked a lot, but this was just before you graduated, the same year as Robin."
Silas nodded and read the letter silently. In it, she talked about how every girl in the school had eyes for him, but none of them actually knew him. She said she would be the first one to sign up for his Selection and that she would wait as long as it took for it to come. And even if he fell in love with someone else, she would always support him. Because that's what best friends were for. It went on and on about what she loved about him and how she would wait for him.
But Silas stopped midway and folded the paper, unable to read more. He slipped it back inside the envelope and handed it back to Yuna. "I wish I could love you back the way you love me," he said softly. "I really wish I could." He kept his gaze away, looking at the shimmering water of the Lake. Doug was jumping after a butterfly, completely oblivious to his master and his master's friend.
Yuna took the envelope back and slipped it in her bag. "You've already fallen in love with someone, haven't you?" she asked, looking at the brunet boy with the glasses. She knew him better than he thought. She knew him inside and out. She had never seen him being in love before, but someone, she knew.
"I don't know." He fiddled with a dried leaf he had found. "I'm not even sure what love is supposed to feel like," he admitted. Never in his life had he talked about this out loud with someone. But that was what best friends were for, right?
"Does she make you smile when you see her?"
He nodded.
"Does your heart race when she's around?"
He nodded.
"Does your skin tingle when you touch her hand?"
Again, he nodded.
"Is she the first person you look for when you step into a room?"
"Is that what you felt around me?" he asked, instead of answering.
This time, she nodded.
But to be honest, the answers to those questions referred to more than one person for Silas. Because of this damn Selection.
"I think we should go back," Silas suddenly said. He didn't want to continue talking about her feelings, or his own for that matter. Not with her. Not when she was not the object of his feelings. Who was, really? He didn't want to make quick decisions. Maybe he should wait until he'd gone on a date with all nine girls on his list: only 4 left. Then, he would decide. And maybe he shouldn't have dismissed Evangeline and Odessa this fast. Yes, he hadn't felt a romantic connection with either of them, but maybe it was too soon to feel it?
No. Not when he had felt something rather quickly with Ximena. And with Leigh: that moment with her on the balcony as they talked about her family and then danced? That was a very good memory, as well. Silas decided he would wait until he had dated them all to start crossing names off his list.
He was making his way down the wooden pier but then realized Yuna was not following him. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"I think I'm going to burn those letters," she admitted, standing up.
"No, don't do that." He grabbed the bundle of letters from her hands before she did anything stupid with them, and walked away. Yuna followed him.
"What are you going to do with them, then?" she asked.
The prince shrugged. "Let's go bury them under our tree," he said, pointing with his chin to the tree where Yuna had fallen and broken her arm. Yuna nodded and they walked around the Lake. Silas found a stick and started digging a hole. Doug wanted to be part of that, too, and he helped dig out a big hole in the dirt, just under a protruding root. Silas put the bundle in it then they put the dirt over it. "Promise me you'll never come looking for them," Silas said, searching her eyes.
Yuna knew she was burying her love for Silas at the same time. Twenty years of loving the same boy who had turned into a man, the man who would be her King one day. She nodded. "I promise." It broke her heart and she wanted to cry, but she held her tears in, waiting to be alone to do so. She didn't want to show him how badly it hurt her to turn her back on so many years of love.
Silas and Yuna walked back to the Palace in silence and they went separate ways to their own rooms. Yuna to cry, and Silas to shut the world out and play some piano.
-o-0-o-
When Jesse came back from following Silas and Yuna for a few minutes, he went back towards the Palace in search of some other things to film and follow. Maybe he would find the tea elsewhere? Most of the girls were around the swimming pool in small groups of friends – Jesse had noticed they always hung out with the same selected – with Valerian and Nathan around, either playing games or just talking on their towels after some time in the water. It really wasn't that interesting. Sydney and Otis were also there, chatting with some of the girls or just taking pictures from the side and Jesse knew that the Selection was covered. He could do something else – like take a nap?
There was one woman who was not present in the garden with the others, and he would go in search of her. He went to the Women's Room; maybe she was preparing a lesson or something? Nope.
Then he went to the Drawing room – though he had no idea why it was called like that in the first place – she wasn't there either. He tried many more doors, but Nevaeh de Montignac was nowhere to be found. Not even in her bedroom, where Jesse had knocked. Maybe she was having tea with the Queen? If that was the case, he couldn't disturb them.
Jesse yawned: clearly, he still hadn't caught up on his lack of sleep from the Ball and decided to go lie down a little while. He found an empty boudoir with comfortable-looking couches and sat on the one near the window. He kicked off his shoes and lay down on the cushions, crossed his ankles on the opposite armrest, and put an arm behind his head. With his free hand, he took out his phone and scrolled through his social media – his personal and the ones he had created for the Selection – and noticed that many people had sent Val some late birthday wishes. He also read Sydney's article – he hadn't found the time to do so yet – and chuckled as he read it.
He yawned again and his vision became blurry. He blinked a couple of times to clear his eyes and continued going through Instagram, Twitter, and some other gossip blogs: people were already making predictions on the Selection and the potential winners. Jesse laughed. They didn't know half of what was happening behind closed doors. And neither did he, though he knew a bit more than the public.
After scrolling for some time, he fell asleep. His phone fell on his belly and he was completely out of the living world.
It was bliss.
Jesse Flynn had never taken a nap like that in the middle of the day since he had been a kid.
Jesse was dreaming of nice things–
"Jesse, wake up!" His shoulders were shaking hard and Jesse woke up with a start only to look up in the most beautiful green eyes, the ones he loved the most.
"I'm up, I'm up," he said, rubbing his eyes.
"Jeeze, Jesse," Nevaeh said. "I thought you were dead. You were not answering your phone, which was vibrating and blaring that stupid Adele song right next to you. How could you not hear it?"
Jesse sat up, a little disoriented. "I'm not dead. And that's not a stupid Adele song." He ran a hand through his dark curls to make sure they were still in place.
"You were drooling, by the way," Nevaeh said with a sly grin. "Absolutely gross."
Jesse quickly wiped his face. "Thanks for the heads up. What time is it?"
"You missed dinner."
"Oh." And at the word 'dinner', Jesse's belly grumbled. "Well, crap."
"There should be something left for you," she said. "If you go beg the cook in the kitchen."
"Oh please," Jesse said. "Jesse Flynn does not beg."
Nevaeh raised an eyebrow. "Whatever." She turned towards the door. "And by the way, you missed Jenissa vomiting all her dinner on poor Ashia's feet." She paused. "It was funny, but not for her."
"Oh, no, what happened?" Jesse asked. "Food poisoning?"
"No, I think it was just a sunstroke. She went to her room to sleep it off until tomorrow."
"Huh. Poor girl," Jesse said.
With that, Nevaeh walked away and left him alone on his couch. He rubbed his face, trying to push away the sleepiness he still felt and put his shoes back on. On his way out, he met a maid coming out of a room with a tray.
"Uhm, miss?" Jesse said, sorry he didn't know her name like Val knew all the staff's names.
"Yes, sir?" she said, stopping in her tracks.
"I'm afraid I overslept while napping and missed dinner," he explained. "Do you think it'd be possible to have dinner sent to my room? Whatever is left of it."
The maid nodded. "I'll have a tray sent to your room."
"Thanks!" He offered her his best smile, the one he used on camera, the one everyone loved. The maid blushed and hurried away with her own tray. On his way to his room, he saw Nathan coming down the steps to the second floor with a huge box and an orange rose perched on top of it. "Wow, who's that for?" he asked him, ready for some tea.
Nathan grinned. "I thought it would nice to take care of the sick girl– you've heard Jen was sick, right?"
Jesse nodded. "That's really nice of you. What's in the box?"
Nathan grinned. "One of my personal collections." He wiggled his eyebrows and walked passed Jesse and towards the end of the Selected's hall. Jesse saw him knocking on a door and then opening it with his elbow a few seconds later. Jesse wondered what his 'collection' was and hoped it wasn't a collection of condoms. Though if it was, he wouldn't be surprised. Jesse headed to his room and waited for the food to be brought up.
"Come in!" Jenissa said from inside her room, and probably from under her covers, considering how muffled the sound was. Nathan pushed the handle down with his elbow and walked into the room with a wide grin on his face.
"Well hello, there," he said with a big smile. "I'm your new nurse for the evening and I've brought many things to brighten up your day." He wiggled his eyebrows and plonked the big box on her bed.
"What's all that?" she asked, a bit groggy. Her skin was a bit greenish, mixed with the sunburn on her face and shoulders, and her eyes a little glossy.
"Woah, you really don't look well," Nathan said, sitting on the bed. "But I've got just what you need." He patted the box with his hand. "But first, you need to drink this." He handed over the untouched glass of water that was waiting on her nightstand.
"Oh, no, please don't make me eat or drink anything: it's going to come right back up."
"Ooookay…" he said, putting the glass back on the small table. "We don't want that." He made himself comfortable at the foot of the bed, sitting cross-legged and facing her. He took the box and placed it in front of him. "Okay, so look what I have…" One after the other, he took out the objects from his box: all the Star WarsDVDs – movies and series –, all the comics, the books, and the soundtrack CDs. "I mean, I also have everything on a hard drive, but anything can happen to a hard drive. At least I still have everything in case I lose it." He paused. "Oh, and it's much more impressive like this than one small machine, right?"
Jenissa laughed. "Sure is." She went through the objects. "That's it? A big fan like you?"
Nathan feigned offense. "Of course, not! I have more stuff in my room, but that doesn't leave my room, unfortunately."
"Huh. Like what?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he said suggestively.
"I mean, beside lightsaber condoms."
Nathan barked out a laugh. "You have no idea what things I hide in my room, related to Star Wars, Jen."
"Enlighten me, then," she said, snuggling under her covers.
"That's a story for some other time." He took a DVD case. "What do you say we binge-watch the first season of The Mandalorian? It's the best season of the series anyway."
Jen nodded. "Okay." She yawned, too, and while Nathan organized his computer with the first episode, Jen managed to take just one sip of the water. Maybe by the end of the evening, she would have finished it. The redhead nurse did say she needed to finish the whole glass to stay hydrated, especially with the heat.
The beginning generic started and Nathan sat next to her, his legs over the covers and his back against the fancy quilted headboard. He crossed his ankles and just relaxed. He loved that spin-off series – just not as much as the originals.
"You know, you can come under the covers," she said.
"No, I don't take advantage of drunk, sick, or sad girls," he replied. "It's in my policy."
Jen snorted. "I'm not asking you to have sex with me. Just to make yourself comfortable for viewing the thing." When Nathan didn't move, she shrugged. "Suit yourself." After a few minutes, she added: "We were both drunk our first time: we both don't remember."
"I don't take advantage of drunk, sick, or sad girls when I'm sober, healthy, or happy," he corrected with a mischievous grin.
"… that's fair," Jen replied. But by the end of the first episode, Jenissa was fast asleep, her head on Nathan's shoulder. The Prince looked at the brunette sleeping next to him and smiled. He didn't want to move because she seemed so peaceful, but the blood is his arm was kind of cut off, and he needed to move.
As gently as he could, Nathan slipped off the bed and made sure Jen was in a good position to sleep and wouldn't wake up with a stiff neck. He packed all his DVDs, books, comics, and CDs with as little noise as possible in the box and started heading for the door. But before he was out he put the box on the floor and walked back towards the bed, standing right next to the sleeping young woman.
Nathan smiled. Despite her heatstroke and her being sick earlier, she seemed peaceful. A smile curled her lips in her sleep and Nathan gently pushed a strand of dark brown hair away from her face. He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Until next time," he whispered. Because as much as it was against his rules to take advantage of a sick woman, it didn't mean he didn't want to make love to her.
Before he could do anything stupid – like fall in love with her, heaven forbid – he walked out of the room with his box and went to watch a few more episodes on his own. He fell asleep on the sixth one, drooling on his pillow.
-o-0-o-
On Tuesday morning, the girls had another dancing lesson with Glenna Griffin and Harry Higgins – only once a week, now, but it was mandatory – and Jesse let Sydney cover the whole thing while he and Otis ordered some new fun tech to work with. The Report tickets were selling really well, and the Queen had given them a little extra money to cover the Selection ever better: she wanted the people of Illéa to start rooting for some of the girls. Not that she wanted to put her three sons' love lives at the forefront of everything, but she thought it would be a good distraction for the people.
"A distraction?" Jesse had asked. "Pardon me for asking this, Your Majesty, but what are we distracting the people from?"
"Their daily lives," she had simply answered. "Look, Mr. Finley. The Selection happens every 20 or 25 years depending on the Heir, and they all wait for it expectantly. I want to give them something to remember for the next generation." She had paused, then, eyeing Jesse from her big chair behind her mahogany desk. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, your Majesty," Jesse had replied, bowing deeply. So now he was ordering new tech – underwater cameras, drones with more battery and that could film in the dark, and many other things – at the Cortez Tech company, back in Hudson, one of the best companies of the country, and the company who sold all its tech to the Royal family.
Jesse had done his research about that company: it turned out it was actually Ximena's father who owned the whole thing. And after even more investigation, he found out that the Hudson girl didn't have any contact with her father, who didn't seem to care about his daughter. He wondered if they'd make amends – or fix whatever happened between them – now that she was in the Selection?
Both Jesse and Otis were lost in their own technological worlds when a knock sounded on the door, making them jump.
"Come in!" Jesse said, taking off his earphones.
The silver-haired prince walked in with a grin on his face. "Hey, Jesse!"
"Valerian!" he replied. "Come in, come in. Have a seat!"
"Thanks." Val sat on one of the only free chairs of the conference-room-turned-Jesse's-office.
"So, what's up?" Jesse asked, marveling at how easy it was to talk to the princes versus their mother.
"Uhm, I'm gonna go on a date this afternoon with three girls," he said. "I looked it over with Nev, and she said it was okay, so…"
"Sure, what did you have in mind?"
"I booked an escape room in LA. And I'd like you to come, too, so you can film and take pictures and all."
Jesse nodded, impressed. "That's, actually really cool," Jesse said. "I've done several in the past few years." He paused. "What's the theme of the game?"
"Alice in Wonderland." Val took out his phone and typed something in it. "Look, it sounds really cool, right?"
Jesse looked at the Instagram post of the Escape Game and nodded. "Who are you going with?"
"Eve, Phoebe, and Mia. I'm going to give them the roses during lunch."
After chatting a bit more with the Prince, time went by fast and it was time for lunch, during which Valerian gave out three pink roses to the girls he had chosen for his fun date. They all got ready and by 2:30 p.m., all four plus Jesse were in the unmarked black car taking them downtown. Sydney and Otis had stayed behind to cover whatever was happening at the Palace with the remaining girls and the two other princes.
When the car stopped, they found themselves in front of a random building, and the only thing that told you it was the right place was the White Rabbit statue in front of a tiny door where one had to crawl in to get inside.
"Way to go to put in the Wonderland mood," Phoebe said, pointing at the small pink door.
"We have to crawl through that?" Mia asked.
Val looked around. "Unless there's a hidden bigger door somewhere?"
"Nope," Jesse said, scrolling through the website. "That seems to be the only way in, I'm afraid."
Evangeline chuckled. "That's actually very smart. I already feel like Alice." She paused. "Shall we?"
Val nodded. "Yes. Come on!" He walked to the tiny pink door and crouched down on the floor. He opened it and crawled through it. Eve, Phoebe, and Mia followed after him, and finally, Jesse crawled in, too. He had not expected the giant room around him, once inside. The desk and the chair were so big that their heads arrived at the seat.
"Hello and welcome to Wonderland!" a guy dressed as the Mad Hatter said from behind the ginormous desk with a forced British accent. Everyone had to look up to see him. "It's an honor to have Your Highness and Miladies with us today." He paused and saw Jesse. "Oh! And Mr. Flynn as well! Welcome!"
The group smiled at the weird guy and he explained to them that they had 60 minutes – not one more – to find Alice and get out of the Maze before the Queen of Hearts found them and beheaded them.
They were all given either crazy hats or bunny ears and Jesse took a picture of the group before they went inside, planning on taking one after they came out, just to see if there would be any differences.
The Mad Hatter opened the door for them and let them inside. "You have one hour, starting now!" He slammed the door behind them and Jesse and the group of Selected and Selector found themselves locked in what seemed to be a ginormous room. Well, at least the furniture was huge.
"We only have 60 minutes to find clues in this giant room?" Phoebe asked, looking around.
"Come on, it can't be that complicated," Evangeline, the group's engineer said, going to the closest chest of drawers, pulling them out one at a time. Each one was full of knick-knacks on the theme – mirrors, teacups, plush bunnies, clocks, hats, and so on – and she took out a small bottle with a rolled paper inside. "I think I found something." The group huddled around her as she read the clue. "Curiosity often leads to trouble," she read out loud.
"That's not even a clue," Mia said, frowning.
"Maybe we should be more curious," Val said. "I mean, we probably have to go through the maze to find Alice, right?"
Phoebe took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this." She led the small group through the fake hedge maze – which looked very real – and they found other clues amid playing cards, mirrors, and teacups.
"Time is running out," Mia suddenly said, looking up at the countdown on the wall. "We should hurry."
"Hey," Phoebe said. "Can you see above the Maze?"
Mia brightened at the suggestion. "Not like this. But if I climb on a chair or something, I might be able to see something…" she looked around for something to climb on, but since there wasn't anything, Val gave her a leg up. Mia rested her other foot on his thigh. "I see Alice!" she said, pointing ahead of her.
"Good," Eve said. "Can you guide us through the maze from there?"
"Uhm, yes, I think." She hoisted herself up on the plastic hedge and sat there, her feet dangling above the others. "Okay so go straight ahead, and then turn left when I tell you."
The group followed Mia's instructions all the way to Alice, who was in fact a small doll. Very alike the Disney character, but a doll nonetheless. Jesse took pictures along the way and wanted to help them go through the clues they found along the way even though Mia was guiding them from above. He was itching to try some answers, but he reminded himself he was just the Reporter, and nothing else.
But when Phoebe took the doll in her arms, it triggered a door right behind them, trapping them where the doll had been.
"You've got to be kidding me," Valerian said, turning around as the metal grate door blocked their way.
"But that was our only way out!" Phoebe said, looking around. "Please let there be another way out…"
"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Val said, wrapping his arm around Phoebe. He looked up at the countdown on the wall. "We still have nine minutes left."
"What's going on?" Mia said, coming over, walking on the plastic hedge. When she saw the new development of the door, she looked around, trying to see if there was another way out.
"I found something," Evangeline said, rummaging through the toy chest where the doll was sitting just a moment ago. "Look." It was a paper rolled up in a toy teacup. "Mirrors should think longer before they reflect." She paused. "Look if there's a mirror somewhere…"
Everyone obeyed – even Jesse because he was getting anxious to get out of the maze before being beheaded by the Queen – and they looked around for a mirror. Mia climbed down the hedge on their side of the door and she looked too.
"Here!" Valerian said, pulling the heavy red curtain that was behind the toy chest. He reached out and touched it, and everyone thought he would pass through as if it were a puddle of water, but of course not. This was real life, though this Wonderland had started to mess with their minds a little.
Instead, the mirror rotated and Valerian disappeared on the other side.
"Uhm, Valerian?" Mia called out.
"Come through the mirror," he called, chuckling. "This place is amazing!"
One after the other, the girls walked through the rotating mirror/door and Jesse followed them as well. The room they arrived in was adorned with party decorations, and in the middle sat a long table covered with tea, desserts, and many more goodies; there were also chairs all around it. There were little signs saying EAT ME or DRINK ME and Phoebe was about to take a macaron and eat it when Val stopped her.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, looking around. "We're still in the game. Remember what happened to Alice when she ate something that said EAT ME?"
Phoebe put the treat back on the plate. "Right."
"How much time do we have left?" Eve asked. They all looked around but couldn't see any countdown around the room.
"Only two minutes," Mia said.
"How'd you know that?" Valerian asked, and Mia pointed to a clock that was going backward.
"Crap. Where's the door?"
The group – Jesse included – frantically looked around for the door that would take them to safety from the Queen of Hearts, and five seconds before the time was up, Jesse found a hidden door through the panel. He stumbled outside with the four others following him, and they were met by all the characters – staff members dressed up – from Alice in Wonderland: The Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, and many others. They applauded and congratulated them, and an official photographer was there to take a picture of the group who had made it out of Wonderland, still with their heads on their shoulders. Jesse also took a picture of the daters and they looked tired, a little paler, but happy to be out.
"It was an honor to have you try out our Escape Room, Your Highness," the Mad Hatter said. "Thank you for coming here with your delightful lady friends." He smiled maniacally at Val, but they all knew it was part of his characters. Right?
"Thanks to you, it was really fun, right?" he asked his dates.
The girls nodded. "Do all the groups make it through in less than an hour?" Eve asked.
"There is a 67.8% success rate," he replied. "But you were the first group to go above the maze to figure out your way…" he trailed off. "That was smart."
The girls looked at each other and congratulated Mia on guiding them to Alice. Valerian bid the 'characters' goodbye, thanked them one more time, and then they headed back to the waiting car. It was really warm outside, and he suggested they head to the beach for some ice cream before heading back to the palace, which they did.
Hiii! thanks for reading this huge chapter^^ I hope you enjoyed it! writing Silas' date made me sad and emotional... but oh well. I guess it's part of the character development, right?
anyhow! don't forget to check out the beach aesthetics on Pinterest ("random aesthetic" section) and on IG for last week's chapter ;) thanks for reading, for reviewing, and for your support. Please let me know what you thought of these three dates! There will be more posts this week on IG to illustrate the 3 dates ;)
see ya next week, byeeee!