Chapter 21 – Jesse Flynn
Silas woke up with a start when his alarm clock rang. Doug licked his face and snuggled closer to his master. Silas had slept for only a few hours, giving that his brain was hard to shut off, especially after his little chat with Nevaeh the previous morning. First, she had called him a stalker so he had added a few pictures on his Instagram page, just in case. He had followed 5 people: Val, Nate, Nevaeh, Yuna, and the official Selection account, just so that he could keep up with what Jesse was saying to the world. Nevaeh and Val had followed him back.
Second, he needed to do something about Yuna, because he knew keeping her around was not a good idea, and seeing her at the Palace was just going to make things worse. Ever since his first decision to ask her to stay so he'd have a 'friend' in the Selection, it was bound to be a mess, and he needed to fix it.
He took his phone and typed a message in the group chat with his brothers:
Silas: We need to talk. Breakfast in my room in fifteen minutes.
Valerian: ok! :D
Nathan: dud. ur scaring did i do rong now?
Nathan: also, its too erly.
Valerian: shut up, nate, and bring your butt here.
Silas cringed at the number of mistakes in Nathan's replies. And it wasn't just that he was typing fast or anything. He was always writing like that. This was the best he could do. He also texted his valet to bring breakfast for three to his room and told his mother that they wouldn't be joining them in the dining room.
Silas pushed the covers away, filled one of Doug's bowls with fresh water, and the other one with breakfast dog-cookies. He placed a kiss on his god's head while he drank and slipped into the shower. When he was done, he quickly put on the suit his valet had taken out for him the previous evening but left the jacket and the tie on the hanger.
A few minutes later, Valerian walked in after knocking, followed by a maid with a three-tier trolley with three breakfast trays she laid out on the table.
"Good morning," Silas said to Val.
"So, what's the big deal?" Val asked, sitting down in front of one of the trays. "It seemed pretty urgent."
Silas nodded as he poured his black coffee in the mug. "Let's wait for Nathan."
Val nodded and prepared his own latte before buttering some toast. A couple of minutes later, Nate walked in, rubbing his eyes.
"Damn, it's too bright in here." He plonked down in front of the last tray.
"You're hungover," Valerian stated. "What did you do last night?"
"We don't want to know who you slept with," Silas quickly cut in, his cheeks burning at the thought. "But we need to discuss who we're going to eliminate today."
Nathan snorted. "Since when do you care about eliminations?" He downed his orange juice in one gulp. "I mean, you've only given out one black rose, and it was because Jesse begged you to."
Silas shot him a look. "Mom was surprised no one was eliminated last week, and she said we should eliminate at least one or two women every week, until the Elite."
"Speaking of the Elite," Valerian piped in. "How are we going to do that?" He bit into his toast. "Are we doing one group for all three of us? Or three groups?"
"Three groups," Nathan and Silas said at the same time. For once in their life, they were on the same page, which surprised everyone.
"But we discuss these groups and we can't have the Selected in more than one group," Silas said.
"Fine, whatever you say, Your Majesty." Nathan waved the issue away and leaned back on his chair.
"What is wrong with you, Nate?" Valerian asked. "Bad sex last night?"
Nathan barked out a laugh, which startled Doug who came to sit by Silas. "As if you'd know the difference between good and bad sex, little brother." He tutted and continued laughing and just before Valerian could say something to that, Nathan continued. "No, I'm just hungover and I'm way too sober for this shit. So, get down to the point Silas. Who do you want to eliminate?"
He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the bomb he was about to drop. "We need to eliminate Yuna."
Nathan spitted out his coffee. "I'm sorry. What?"
"Wait, are you sure about this?" Valerian asked. "She's your best friend. And our friend, too."
"That's why we can't keep her here. It was a mistake from the beginning anyway." He forked some strawberries from the bowl and waited for his brothers to add something. They didn't, at least not right away.
"Well, if we're in this elimination anyway," Nathan said, "might as well pick one or two more to make up for last week." He ate some pancakes and continued talking with his mouth full, which made Silas wrinkle his nose and push up his glasses. How this guy was from the same parents as him was a mystery.
"I haven't finished dating all of them," Valerian said. "So I'm not taking anyone off my list."
"Same for me, except for Yuna." Silas drank some coffee.
Nathan looked at his two brothers in turn. "Oh. So it falls unto me to do the dirty work again. Is that it?"
"Something like that," Valerian said. "But you're used to it, no? You've been eliminating people since the beginning of the Selection." He buttered another toast.
"Maybe, but I didn't know them then. Now I know them and– You know what? Fuck this shit." He forked some more pancakes dripping with maple syrup. "Just eliminate Jacinta and Anastasia. Jacinta's weird, and Ana's no fun: she's a cop."
"No, not Anastasia," Silas said.
"She's not on your list," Nathan countered, stating the truth.
"I know." He drank some more coffee. "But Parker and Anastasia have a thing going on, and I'm not going to stand in the middle of it." He paused. "We can eliminate her, but not officially. At least not yet." He chuckled. "You know, if you get to know her, she is kind of funny."
Nathan and Val exchanged a look. "Since when did you spend time with her? She's not on your list and you're not one to stray from your duties. You have 9 favorites. Not 10."
Silas finished his coffee and sat back on his chair. "True. But I went walking Doug with Parker, and Ana was there, too."
"Ha! So you were third-wheeling them?" Nathan laughed, slapping his thigh. "You're third-wheeling in your own Selection. Is everything okay in there?" He poked his brother's forehead and Silas grabbed Nathan's wrist, shooting him a look. "Sorry…" Nathan said, backing away. "Okay fine. Not Ana."
They talked a bit more and then Val and Nate went back to their room to change and brush their teeth before the Report while Silas walked down to the second floor, to the Selected's floor. He walked down the hall to find Yuna's room and he knocked, knowing that breakfast was over for them as well.
When she opened the door, her face fell and her shoulders slumped.
"Hi," he said, trying with all his might to meet her eyes. "Can I come in?"
She nodded and stepped aside to let him in. He checked the time on his watch – only 15 minutes left before it was time to leave – and he slipped his hands in his pockets. He walked around the room, smiling. She had decorated it with so many things that were 'Yuna': polaroid pictures on the wall of friends and family; fairy lights; flowers in vases on every horizontal surface of the room; and all her collection of plush berries. He smiled and then stood in the middle of her room. He turned around to look at her.
"I'm sorry… for everything," he said. He ran a hand through his hair. "I've been a huge jerk, and asking you to stay was so very selfish of me. I-"
"No, it was my fault for signing up in the first place," she blurted out, not looking at him.
They just stood there, in silence, not looking at each other for a long time. It was awkward. Very awkward.
"Anyway, I just came to tell you that you're going to get a black rose during the Report." He paused, hoping he was doing the right thing. "You're going home, Yuna."
"Thank you," she said, forcing out a smile. "I think it's best this way." She took a step closer to him and put her hand on his arm. He looked down at her and tried a smile, too. "I'm sorry I put you through this," she said.
"I'm sorry, too." He put his much larger hand on hers and that was it. What was there more to say? They headed outside together to the waiting limos, and some of the Selected saw them. Most of the young women didn't pay attention to them, but one or two were confused seeing them together like that. What was Silas doing in Yuna's room this early in the morning?
-o-0-o-
After having a quick chat with Prince Val – because, let's not lie to ourselves, Val was the easiest to talk to – about eliminations and what would be happening during the Report, Jesse was ready. He was pumping his leg up and down, going over his cards to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.
On the side of the stage, the girls were talking among themselves, a little bit nervous since the princes had decided not to tell them who would be eliminated, though they knew there would be more than one. Even Jesse didn't know who it was, he wanted a genuine reaction from everyone. Even himself.
"Everyone in place, starting in 2 minutes!" Bill Mason called. "Jesse, you're ready to go?"
"Yep!" He went over his cards one last time, making sure not to stumble on the easiest things.
"Okay, filming in five, four," Bill Mason said, continuing the countdown silently with his fingers. "Action."
"Goodeveningladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls!" Jesse boomed, jumping from behind the heavy curtain. "Tonight, we are together here to talk mostly about the Selection, and let me tell you, there is drama coming up…" He wiggled his eyebrows. "Okay, so first off, let's have a little chat with the brothers, shall we?"
The curtain opened a little revealing the three brothers sitting on couches and armchairs. There was a small coffee table in front of them with glasses of water and a fancy pitcher. Between the couch and armchairs was a huge floral arrangement made of pink, orange, red, and black roses with lots of eucalypti and other nice foliage. Sydney had really outdone herself this time.
"Good evening, your highnesses!" Jesse said, taking a seat on the remaining armchair. Silas and Valerian were sharing the couch and Nathan was sprawled on the armchair, smiling and as charming as ever.
"Good evening to you too, Jesse," Nathan replied. "It's good to be back."
Jesse noticed that Silas wanted to shake his head and facepalm at the cheesiness of his brother, but it was nice that at least one of them was responding and active on the Report. "Before we talk about the specifics, let's just watch a little recap of the week, shall we?"
The brothers all turned around to pretend to watch the footage edited by Jesse and Otis on the big screen behind them – which would be added to the final Report later –, and when Bill Mason called out "Cut!", everyone sat normally again and the curtains opened all the way to reveal the girls.
When they started filming again, Jesse bantered a bit more with the three brothers before getting down to business: the eliminations… "So, now that we've covered your week's activities, shall we talk about what we're all waiting for?" he trailed off, holding on the suspense for the audience. "The eliminations, of course!"
"You say that as if it's something nice," Valerian said in, making a face. "Sending someone home is always painful."
"You're right," Jesse conceded. "But the more eliminations there are, the closer you are to finding the One! Each of you!"
Nathan laughed. "That's very true, Jesse. Especially Silas. Right, Silas?" He nudged his brother's knee. "I mean, I've never seen him dating or anything before the Selection, but now Mister Crown Prince is out there, breaking hearts."
"Nate- can we just-" Val said.
"No, we're talking about eliminations, here," Nathan said, keeping his ever-charming face.
Jesse wasn't sure what he was doing, but he was going completely off-script and he wasn't sure he liked the idea. At least they were not live. "Can you elaborate?" Jesse asked cautiously.
"Don't blame me for the Eliminations, this time," Nathan continued. "It's all on him."
"No, just one," Valerian said, defending Silas. "The other one is on you because she was only on your list alone."
Silas stayed silent, staring at his glass of water on the table in front of him. Jesse could feel the anxiety building up in Silas since he hated to be put on the spot like that.
Nathan shot a glare at Val, but Jesse was sure no camera had gotten it. "Okay fine, make me the bad guy, as always."
"Cut!" Jesse called out. He made sure the little red lights on the cameras were all gone before he continued. "Nathan, with all due respect, man, what is going on with you this morning? You're so aggressive. Is something wrong?"
"I'm absolutely fine," Nathan said, grabbing his glass of water and downing it.
"He's hungover," Val explained in a hushed voice. "He's been like that since breakfast."
"Did you take an Aspirin?" Jesse asked.
"Of course, I did." Nathan yawned. "Look, can we just finish this thing?" he asked with his perfect smile and no one was sure anymore if it was genuine or not.
"Sure," Jesse said. "But maybe this morning we'll let Silas and Valerian handle the eliminations, alright?"
Nathan snorted. "Whatever."
Jesse looked at the three brothers and then at the nervous girls, silent on their seats. They knew now there would be at least two eliminations, and they were anxious to know who it would be. "Okay, Bill," Jesse said. "I think we're ready to roll again."
"And, action!"
"So, the moment we've all been anxiously waiting for," Jesse continued where they had stopped. "This week's eliminations!" He turned around on his armchair and grabbed two black roses that were patiently waiting in a vase, hidden by his seat. "Who will it be?" He gave one rose to Val and one to Silas and they exchanged a look before standing up and walking towards the ladies who crossing their fingers.
Valerian took a deep breath and looked for the woman in the group. When his eyes fell on her he smiled a sad smile. "Jacinta Bazán-Murillo," he said. "I'm sorry, but we're going to have to say goodbye today…" he trailed off.
Jacinta stood up from the middle of the group of girls and both Val and Silas turned beet red when they saw the outfit she was wearing. It was a completely see-through glittery white fishnet ensemble – halter top and high-waist pants – with just a bandeau to hide her boobs and a beige-colored thong. It was the most outrageous monstrosity of an outfit and Jesse wanted to hear Nevaeh's thoughts on it, ASAP. Alas, he would have to wait for it.
Silas quickly looked at the black rose in his hands while Valerian had to be the one to eliminate one of Nathan's girls.
Jacinta kept a smile on her face all along, but Jesse could clearly see it was forced, and then she was on the brink of tears. She took the rose Valerian was holding out for her and in her overly confident personality, she hugged Valerian. Then, she stood in front of Silas, making him look at her. "You know," she said, "you were my favorite and the one I came here for, but you didn't even give me a chance." She forced a smile, stood on her toes despite her extremely high heels, and planted a kiss on Silas' cheek, making him blush even more.
Jesse heard Silas' sharp intake of breath when she kissed him, and then she was gone. Just like that. Clearly, she was one of the most misunderstood women of the Selection and he knew that behind all her brave façade and outrageous showy outfits, there was a girl who wanted to be loved. Jesse almost wanted to run after her and make sure she was okay, but he had a job to do. He'd check up on her afterward.
It took Silas some time to recover from that fishnet kiss episode, but when he was ready, he took a deep breath. "Yuna Anders-Caswell, I know this whole thing was not what either one of us expected, but I think it's time for you to go home…"
He met her eyes in the group of girls and by the serene look on her face and the surprised look on the others, Yuna knew about this. Since she was at the end of the line of girls, it was easy for her to walk out and join Silas. She took the black rose from him and, without a word, hugged him. Jesse was surprised to see him hugging her back. She said something that Jesse didn't hear and then walked off the stage, following Jacinta outside.
The remaining girls were much more relaxed now, and the anxious cloud that had hovered above them earlier was slowly dissipating. No one was expecting Yuna to leave this soon.
"I don't understand," Jesse said as they sat back on the plush seats. "A couple of weeks ago you told me that Yuna was more than just your best friend…" He frowned fiddling with his cards. "Did something happen between you two?"
Silas sipped some water. "We had a little chat."
Jesse expected more, but nothing came. How surprising. "Okay… well, now that we got that hard part out of the way, let's focus on the Selection again. Today is the first of August, exactly a month since they 35 young women arrived here, and now only nineteen ladies remain…"
The boys nodded and the girls focused their attention on Jesse again, breathing a little easier.
"Ever since you three handsome boys decided to show your lists of favorites publicly, people have been going crazy over them and started voting for their favorites! And some even started doing fanart of you and their chosen Ones!" He laughed and took out a folder with all the juicy fanart that he had collected to show them to the boys.
Otis would add them in the final edit for the viewers. The girls would see them on the big screen at the back of the stage.
"Okay, so first off," Jesse said, handing over the first image to Valerian, "we have a fanart drawing of Malia and Valerian as merpeople!" Malia was drawn with an orange tail with an orange flower in her long dark brown hair, and she was holding hands with Valerian, who had silver hair, of course, and a silvery-blue tail. The details were amazing and Jesse suddenly felt stupid for not knowing how to draw.
Valerian laughed. "This is amazing!" he said. "And it really looks like me and Malia, there!"
Behind them, the girls were whispering among themselves and pointing at the drawing on the screen.
"What do you think of it, Malia?" Jesse asked.
"It's incredible!" she exclaimed. "You almost got my tail right!" She giggled. "I absolutely love it!"
"The next one is a picture edit of Nathan and Jenissa as Anakin and Padmé," he said, handing the drawing to Nathan. "Though I'm not sure Anakin is a picture of Nathan… it looks so much alike!"
Nathan chuckled. "Yes, we all know the dude who played Anakin looks a lot like me. But that's me in the picture, I know it." He grinned. "I'm much better looking than that dude, anyway."
The girls giggled and then Jesse showed a few more fanarts: Morrigan as Rosalind Dawson with Nathan – which made Nathan very happy for some reason – as well as a short fanfic about them, a very flowery aesthetic of Valerian with Odessa, a collage of Roni and Silas and Doug – the Dog Family –, a painting of Silas and Ximena in the Renaissance style, and many more.
"There is also an official Poll that was up on the Illéa Daily Blog website for all of you to vote for your favorites, these past couple of weeks," he said, "and here are the top three favorite girls for each prince…" He trailed off, building the suspense a little. "The top three for Prince Nathan are: in third place, Pallas Ramirez!" People in the high spheres of Illéa knew her, Pallas being a well-known Socialite and popular girl in her university, so it wasn't surprising.
The audience applauded and the girls congratulated Pallas. They knew this poll was not the real thing, they were just the people's favorites.
"In second place, Jenissa Stark!" She was not as known as Pallas, but her first meeting interview had hit millions of views on YouTube and all the Star Wars fans had pitched in. the audience applauded as well.
"And in first place, Morrigan Ventura!" Of course, she would be in the top three, since she already had a large fanbase all across Illéa.
The crowd erupted in cheers and Jesse applauded as well. "But remember, this is just the nation's vote. The most important decision will be made by Nathan himself!" He laughed and continued on with Valerian. "Now, for Valerian, it was a little more widespread and indecisive. People have seen you practically only going on group dates, so the three top-favorites are not as definite as Nathan's…" He paused for suspense, again. "Ladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls, in third place for prince Valerian, we have Laelia Castano!" Lots of people knew her, and her book had doubled its sales since the beginning of the Selection: she was now a Number One Best Selling Author and people were even more anxious for the second book. "How's that second book coming, Laelia?" Jesse asked.
"Uhm, it's coming," she replied. "I have some ideas."
"Good! I'm sure lots of people are waiting for it!" He winked at her and continued on with his list. "In second place, we have Odessa Fan!" Jesse thought it was because of the first dance of the ball since she wasn't one of the most popular girls before the Selection – unless one counted Fan Enterprises. Odessa blushed in her pink dress and the girls around her congratulated her. "And in first place for Valerian, we have Evelyne Mia Williams!"
Which wasn't a surprise, considering she was the Selected on Val's list with the most followers on Instagram, the one who volunteered the most around the country, and she was French royalty: the people loved a royal who gave back to the people. Mia smiled broadly and thanked her followers through the camera filming her.
"And now, Ladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls, the people's top three favorites for the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Prince Silas!"
Everyone held their breaths, even Silas. Jesse loved it when everyone was hooked like that to his words because it made him the King of the World, just for a little while.
"In third place, we have Leigh Altman!" Jesse was surprised at that because the girl hadn't had a date with the prince yet, and the dance she had shared with him at the Ball had been private – Jesse had only learned of it after interviewing the lady. Why was she on the top three favorites of the nation? Even she seemed surprised by that, but not unhappy at all.
"In second place comes the queen of fashion herself, the Rainha of body positivity, Ximena Oliveira!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. Clearly, she was a favorite among the Report Live Audience as well. But it wasn't surprising. Her followers had practically tripled since the beginning of the Selection. As well as her haters. Jesse noticed many fat-shaming comments on her posts, but either she ignored them, or she replied in a very lady-like manner. Maybe it was those comments that had gotten to her and why she was more distant these past couple of weeks?
"And in first place, the Nation has made its choice…" he trailed off and looked at his paper. He hoped his smile hadn't faltered because that name was the least convenient of the names. "Yuna Anders-Caswell!"
Silence met his words as everyone realized that Silas had just eliminated the nation's top favorite girl for him…
-o-0-o-
After that crazy Report and a substantial lunch, Nathan arrived at dessert with three orange roses. Jesse chuckled. Another group date? Couldn't the prince just man up and do some normal one-on-one dates, like everyone else? Well, like Silas, since Valerian seemed to also prefer group dates, apparently. It was odd. Out of the three of them, Jesse was the most surprised about Silas: though not consistent in his dating schedule, he had been only on one-on-one dates...
"Ladies," Nathan said after giving the roses to Evangeline, Leigh, and Phoebe, "would you like to accompany me to a bowling date this afternoon?"
"I'd love to," Phoebe said. Evangeline nodded as well, and so did Leigh, albeit a bit more reluctantly. Clearly, she would have preferred a date with the crown prince instead of the Playboy prince.
"With pleasure," she finally said. She was a lawyer, after all, she knew how to bluff and say things to appeal.
Nathan grinned. "Excellent. I'll meet you in half an hour in the Limo, outside." With that, he went back to his seat and gobbled down his dessert and chatted with Valerian.
When the whole meal was done, Jesse was about to get ready for a bowling reporting afternoon when he saw Silas coming down the stairs with a red rose. Damnit. He couldn't be in two places at once! Of course, the crown prince would pick this afternoon at the same time as Nate to have his date.
"Silas!" Jesse said smiling, walking over. "You have plans for this afternoon?"
"Yes."
"May I ask who this is for? One of the top three favorites of the nation?" He wiggled his eyebrows. With Yuna gone and Leigh on a date with Nate, it could only be Ximena. And he needed more of the 'Renaissance couple'.
"Actually, no," Silas said. "A lady I haven't been on a date with, yet."
Jesse frowned, thinking hard. "Let me guess: Jenissa?"
"No."
"Leigh's on a date with Nathan, so uhm... Malia?"
"No."
"Brandy?"
"Yes."
Damnit. Why did he always have to talk in one-word answers all the time? It was driving him crazy. "Excellent! And what did you have in mind?" If it was more interesting than bowling, he'd come with them and send Sydney with Nate.
"I don't know yet, but we are leaving the palace grounds, that's for sure."
"Huh." Jesse suspected it would be a random walk with Doug. "Okay then. I'll send Sydney with you if you don't mind."
Silas shook his head. "I don't mind." With that, he headed towards the Women's Room where the girls had gone to spend some time since the weather outside was not great for lounging in the sun: it was cloudy and the wind was rather strong. Another storm on the way? Jesse hoped not.
He went to quickly change into some more comfortable clothes. He wasn't planning on playing himself, but reporting would be more complicated in a crisp, shiny suit. A pair of fancy jeans and a dress shirt with a bow tie and rolled up sleeves would be just perfect: a nice balance between fancy and casual.
He was the first one in the limo, not wanting to miss anything as he had in Valerian's date to the beach. He prepared his phone and his camera and wrote down a few photo ideas he would shoot during the game.
"Hey, my man!" Nathan said climbing into the car.
"Nathan," Jesse greeted him. "Better mood than this morning?"
"Yes," the prince replied. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. I don't know what got into me. Probably one of your nosy questions that made me tense, I don't know."
Jesse raised a surprised eyebrow. "I didn't know my questions made you uneasy, your highness, I'll be more careful in the future." Jesse knew he could use sarcasm with Nate, and when he laughed, he knew he had done the right thing.
"Normally not, but I don't know. Maybe I was just hungover..."
"Yeah, maybe," Jesse conceded. Just then, Evangeline and Phoebe arrived. They climbed into the car and sat across from Nathan, next to Jesse. "Hey, you two are always together, aren't you?" Jesse said.
"Yes, well we're friends," Evangeline said.
"Besides, Nathan invited both of us on this date," Phoebe added, and both girls giggled.
"Did you know they were friends?" Jesse asked Nate. "That's why you invited them together?"
Nathan shrugged. "I didn't even notice. But I'm glad the Selection created some friendships." He grinned at them and Jesse was surprised to hear Nathan talk like that. Usually, he was just very focused on himself and his well-being and didn't really care about what others did, unless it touched him personally. Either he was just being his charming self and saying what everyone wanted to hear, of he was being genuine. And at this point, Jesse didn't really know what to think. Nathan was in one of his moods since morning and he kind of regretted not going with Silas and sending Sydney instead.
"Sorry, I'm late," Leigh said, coming into the car. "I had a last-minute problem with my hair."
"It's okay," Nathan said. "We have all the time in the world, today: I reserved the whole bowling house just for us."
"Oh, that's nice!" Phoebe said. "I can't wait to play. I haven't done that in years!"
"I've never tried it, to be honest," Eve said, looking outside as the palace disappeared behind the line of trees.
"Don't worry," the prince said. "I'll teach you how to do it." He winked at her and then turned to Leigh. "What about you, Leigh? Are you a bowling expert or a novitiate?"
"Expert, if I have to say so myself," she replied. "I go all the time with some friends. It's kind of our thing whenever we want to celebrate something or just spend some time together."
"Ooh nice, competition," he said rubbing his hand together. "I like that."
Jesse took a few pictures in the car and while Nathan chatted with the girls, he zoned out a little, looking at the city go by. When was the last time he had gone on a date? He couldn't even remember. But when he thought of the word 'date', only one beautiful face came to mind: blonde, green eyes, a rueful smile... the Duchess de Montignac was always filling his thoughts during the Selection, and he wondered if he would ever get further with her than just her replying more or less politely to him.
"Okay, we're here, ladies," Nathan said climbing out of the car and helping them one after the other. "Let's get some bowling going on!" He walked towards the entrance and the three girls followed him.
Jesse snapped a picture of them before they entered the building. The manager welcomed them, gave them bowling shoes to their size, and showed them which lane they would be using. He offered them drinks as well and came back a few minutes later with their orders.
Nathan suggested the girls start playing and that he would go last. Jesse snapped pictures along the way and also sipped on his Coca Cola – he didn't want to drink on the job – and chatted with the girls.
"Do you have any idea how one gets off one of the lists?" Leigh asked Jesse as she sat next to him.
"Uhm, ask him?"
Leigh snorted. "As if he's going to let me go." She shook her head and grabbed her glass of wine on the table. "I should have ordered something stronger to get through this afternoon."
"That bad, huh?" Jesse chuckled, sipping his drink through the straw.
She shrugged. "I mean, if you want the tea, I've had a one-night stand with him a year ago. I don't think he remembers me, though."
"You what?" Jesse almost choked on his drink. "That is tea if there's been any. Damn." He chuckled and snapped a picture of Nathan showing Eve how to hold the heavy ball and throw it correctly. "What changed?"
Leigh titled her head. "I don't know…" she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I mean, normally I'm a 'no-strings-attached' kind of girl, you know? And Nathan would be the safest option for me; but when my mother made me sign up for the selection, she had Silas in mind for me." She paused when Nathan called her to play since it was her turn. "I'll be right back," she told Jesse, who nodded. She played her part and then came back.
"You were saying your mother had Silas in mind…?"
"Yes." She sipped her red wine. "And honestly, when I came here, I really didn't care which prince I'd prefer because I had no preference." Again, she paused. "But then I met them all, and Nathan is really not my type, romantically. I mean, I'd be open for another one-night stand, but that's all."
"But Silas…? You haven't had a date yet, right?"
"Nope. And I was really hoping for one soon since I was the third top favorite this morning." She chuckled. "But I'm stuck here playing bowling when I could be having a nice conversation with his brother."
Jesse laughed. "Hey, the Selection is not over. You'll still get your date with Silas." He sipped his Coke. "You're on his list, so I don't see why not."
"Will I, though?" she asked. "It's pretty clear to everyone that Xi is a favorite from the nation and the Prince."
"Says who?" Jesse countered. "From what I've noticed, they haven't really interacted these past couple of weeks."
"Which is weird," she said, frowning. "Oh, I gotta go play. I'll be right back."
Jesse watched the New Asian girl play halfheartedly – though she was winning – and come sit back down next to him. She was really nice to talk to, and he suspected the wine helped a bit.
"Where were we?"
"We were talking about the past couple of weeks…"
"Right. I don't know, something's off with Xi. She's my friend and all, but she won't even talk to me. Or to anyone else! It's like she completely closed herself out from the Selection. And I have no idea what happened."
"When did that start?" Jesse asked, wondering out loud.
"After the beach, I think. I don't know." She shrugged.
"You know, you don't have to wait for him to ask as you on a date," Jesse said. "I mean, if you do that, you'd be the first Selected to ask one of the boys on a date."
"Wait. Seriously? I can do that?" She brightened up and put her glass on the table.
"Sure," Jesse said. "That's good publicity for you, it means you know what you want and you're ready to fight for it. I'm sure the people would support that, you being in third place. Well, second, since the first one is gone, I guess."
Leigh nodded and went to play her part again. She was much more relaxed and focused after that, and she won the first game. They played another game – which Leigh won again – before ordering ice creams and then a third game. This time, Leigh tried to play badly to let the others win, and Nathan won, but only by a few points above Leigh.
-o-0-o-
Silas knocked on the open door of the Woman's Room and stayed just on the threshold, knowing well enough that men were not really supposed to be in that room. He looked around the room, searching for his date. His eyes fell on Ximena, but she quickly looked away. His shoulders fell and instead of standing there searching for Brandy, he simply said: "I'm looking for Brandy?"
Said young woman stood from the plush armchair she was in. "I'm right here," she said.
"Would you like to come with me on a… uhm… date?"
Brandy nodded and smiled. She walked towards the Prince and they both left the others to their own devices.
"So, what are we doing this afternoon?" Brandy asked as Silas gave her the red rose he had brought. "Thanks," she added, with a bright smile
"Actually, I was hoping you would help me out with that," he said. "I wanted to get away from here, and since the weather is not that great for a walk with Doug, I was hoping you'd have an idea. I was thinking of a museum, maybe?"
"Oh yes!" Brandy said. "The LACMA would be amazing!"
"I'm sorry, the what?"
She laughed. "The Los Angeles County Museum of Art," she explained. "It's the biggest art museum in the Western part of Illéa and I think it has like more than 100 thousand pieces of art from every period and part of the world."
"How do you know that?" he asked, surprised.
She shrugged and looked at the red rose in her hands. "I've always wanted to visit it, but I never got out of Fennley, so…"
"Okay, the Los Angeles Art Museum of something or whatever… it is." He invited her to join him outside and they climbed in the small black car waiting for them.
The ride wasn't that long – with Parker and Sydney sitting in the front – and Silas was glad Brandy was up to talking the whole time and he could just listen. He preferred it that way, anyway. He was a better listener than he was a talker. Brandy talked about how she had been wanting to come to this museum for ages and that she loved that this one had oh so many different artists and that everyone always found at least one thing they liked.
Silas was careful not to tell her that he had never set foot in an art museum before. He didn't understand art and couldn't draw to save his life – except stick figures, but even that was wobbly. So he was happy to listen to her. In all honesty, it was Nevaeh who had suggested he do something a little different this time and when he had no idea what to do, she had suggested a museum. The idea had not enthralled him at first, but now that Brandy was talking so animatedly about it, he was kind of excited to go.
The car stopped in front of the huge building and they waited for Timothy Parker to go ahead first, buy tickets, and secure a side entrance for the couple. The dark windows hid them from the outside world and when Timothy came back, Silas put on his sunglasses and they headed towards a side entrance.
"Okay, here we go!" Brandy said, the excitement clear in her voice, her eyes, and her smile. They started their visit with 'The Grand Tour', seeing art from the late 16th century to the early 19th, and Brandy dropped fun and random facts from the art pieces, which made Silas genuinely laugh.
After 'The Grand Tour', they went to different areas with different art collections, and though Silas could not comprehend anything, despite the explanations of the museum and Brandy, he was entertained by Brandy herself.
"Did you know that the Starry Night Painting by Van Gogh was painted while he was in an asylum?" she said as they walked by a copy of the painting. Silas stood in front of it and stared at it for a full minute without a word.
"You know, I think I actually have this painting on a pair of socks–" he stopped short, realizing what he was he was about to say.
"That's so cool! I have a notebook with that painting, back home," she replied, already going on to the next piece of art. "It's a fairly common painting and everyone uses it on many things." She stopped in front of the next one. "Oh, come look at this one: The Mona Lisa." She waited for him to join her. People were looking at them and taking pictures, but Timothy Parker stood behind them, making it harder for them. "People used to think the Mona Lisa was a self-portrait of Da Vinci dressed as a woman, but it's not. Oh, and he was such a perfectionist that he destroyed any painting of his that wasn't flawless." She chuckled. "We only have 15 paintings of him left."
"Really?" he asked. He himself was a perfectionist, but he didn't destroy what was not flawless. Well, unless you count the pages of speech that went in the trash because he wasn't happy about them? Okay, yes. He was a bit like Leonardo Da Vinci. Just not with paintings. "Interesting."
When Brandy went to the next painting, Silas quickly checked the time. He caught Timothy's eye and his bodyguard laughed.
"Just a couple more hours, Silas," he whispered.
Silas sighed and braced himself for the next painting and the next fun fact Brandy would drop. How she knew all these details was beyond his comprehension. Silas lost track of the different paintings and facts, and all looked the same to him. He tried to focus and remember some things, but it was way too much information for one day.
When the tour was finally finished and they were headed to the car, Silas was famished. "What do say we go eat something?"
"Ugh, yes," she said. "All this art made me hungry!"
Silas nodded and they both climbed into the car. "Parker, do you know any place for something to eat without too many people?" – museum visitors had asked to take selfies with the couple and have them sign their picture on the latest Illéa Weekly Magazine.
"Sure. Would a Gelateria be okay?"
"Yes."
Timothy drove them to an ice cream shop near the shore, where he went ahead of them again to secure the place and ask for a private table. Silas and Brandy followed him at the far back of the small shop, against the wall. Everything was done in pastel colors and Silas didn't feel very comfortable. But they both ordered their ice cream – Silas a pecan, caramel, and lemon ice cream, while Brandy ordered a chocolate, stracciatella, and Nutella ice cream.
"Wow, that's very chocolate-y," Silas said, eying her ice cream.
"Yes. Nothing better than an old fashioned chocolate gelato," she said taking a huge spoonful. "Ow, brain freeze," she said, holding her forehead.
Silas chuckled. And though the art museum in itself had not been his favorite activity of all time, he found that Brandy was funny to be around and very casual about everything, which made him feel a little awkward and out of his comfort zone, but it wasn't all that bad. He couldn't even remember the last time he had spent casual time with people. These past few years had only been formal events, and shadowing his mother, and making sure the New Asian Alliance would work out as expected. Leisure time came very low on his list. Before the Selection.
"How do you know all these facts about those art pieces?" he heard himself ask.
"I'm just passionate about art and art history," she said. "But please don't tell anyone…" she trailed off and ate another spoonful of Nutella ice cream. "And I remember many more things when I'm passionate about something," she added. "I'm sure you know loads of things of the stuff you're passionate about, right?" she looked at him expectantly. Silas didn't answer, he merely nodded. "Wait. You do have things you like, right?"
"Sure," he said. "Coffee, wine, …" he trailed off.
"There. I bet you can find what wine you're drinking just by swirling it in your glass and tasting in, right?"
Silas chuckled. "I guess so. Yes. I can do that." He scooped some pecan ice cream. "Though I'm not always right in my guesses."
"It'll come with practice," she said. "You have no idea how many books I have on art history, back home, with so many anecdotes and I end up reading those and remembering them because they're funny or unusual."
"Hm, maybe," he conceded. "But if I start drinking more wine just to practice my taste buds and my knowledge of oenology, people will think I'm a drunkard."
Brandy burst out laughing. "You're supposed to spit it out, not drink it!"
Silas feigned surprised. "Then what's the point in tasting it if you can't even drink it?"
Both laughed and continued chatting while eating their ice creams. When that was done, it was time to head back to the Palace to get ready for dinner. But after a huge snack like that, they weren't sure they'd be hungry enough for a real meal.
"Thank you for the museum experience," Silas said before dropping her at her room and going on to the next floor. "I learned many things." He wasn't sure he'd be able to remember them all in the morning, but it was the best he could offer her at the moment.
"It was my pleasure," she replied with a wide smile. "I had lots of fun! I'll see you at dinner!" With that, she went into her room and Silas went upstairs.
-o-0-o-
After dinner, Jesse and Sydney met up in the office to exchange the afternoon's stories still fresh in their minds. Until there was a soft knock on the door, much softer than the princes' usual knock.
"Come in?" Jesse said. The door opened, revealing one of the Selected dressed in a very pretty crystal-embroidered knee-length grey-blue dress.
"Leigh! Come in, come in," Jesse said. "What can I do for you?"
Leigh laughed nervously and showed him the bottle of wine and the two glasses she was holding behind her back. "I was going to follow your advice from earlier, actually. Do you think I could have a red rose, so I can give it to Silas?"
Sydney's jaw dropped and she looked at Jesse. "Oh. My. God. You told her to ask Silas on a date?"
Leigh was suddenly anxious. "Uhm, is that not, uh, right?"
"Are you kidding?" Sydney said, standing up and getting a red rose from the vase they had in the room. "On the contrary. It's genius!" She laughed. "Why didn't I think of that?"
Jesse smirked. "Because you're the aesthetic genius, Otis is the tech genius, and I'm the mastermind behind it all."
"Yes, well, thank you for your advice, Mastermind Genius," Leigh said, "but I have a prince to find." She saluted them with the bottle of wine and was on her way.
"Sydney, keep an eye around and snap some picture of them when you find them," Jesse ordered. "This is good material to show to the nation: the girls are finally taking it upon themselves to ask the princes on a date, and Silas no less…"
Sydney didn't have to be asked twice. She took her camera, saluted Jesse, and ran after Leigh, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible…
-.-
All during dinner, Silas couldn't keep his eyes off the girl who filled his thoughts. She had been wearing a burgundy skirt with a lace top with long sleeves and the color was just so beautiful with her eyes that he couldn't look elsewhere. At some point, she looked up in his direction and their gazes met. Two seconds. It was all it took for Silas' to decide to go talk to her after dinner. He needed to know what he had said or done wrong for her to be this distant with him.
He didn't run after her after dinner, because he didn't want to look desperate, so he waited. He went to his room to check on Doug and give him food, and then he went downstairs to the Women's Room, where he was sure he'd find her, among her friends.
He knocked on the double doors and waited for someone to invite him in or open the door. It was Malia who opened the door, and she blushed a bright pink.
"Good evening, Your Highness," she said, bobbing into a quick curtsy.
"Good evening, Malia," he said. He looked over her head for the woman he was expecting to see, but couldn't find her. "I was hoping to find Ximena, actually," he said, trying to keep all his pride intact and his voice from cracking.
"She went back to her room," Laelia said from a seat at the table where she had started a card game with some of the girls. "She said she was tired or something."
"Thank you," Silas said. "Good evening to you all." He turned around on his heels and headed towards the grand staircase.
"Ah, there you are, Silas," a young woman in a shiny grey-blue dress said, walking down the stairs. "I was looking for you."
"Good evening, Leigh," Silas said, smiling at the New Asian woman. "How may I assist you?"
Leigh offered him a warm smile and handed him the red rose. "I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me."
"Now?" he asked, surprised. He had not been expecting that. At all. He took the red rose between his fingers, having no idea what to do with it. What did one do with a rose, anyway?
"Yes." She showed him the bottle of red wine and the two glasses she was carrying. "I thought maybe you'd join me for a glass of wine. I know this morning has been rough on you with Yuna going home and all, so I thought you'd like a drink."
Silas took a deep breath and thought for a moment. He looked at the stairs, in the direction where he knew Ximena's room was and decided that talking to Ximena could wait for the next day. Who was he to say no to Leigh who had gone against all the rules – were there actually rules for dating during the Selection? – to ask him on a date: that would be rude.
"I'd like that very much," he finally said. He noticed that Leigh's shoulders relax a little bit and he offered her his arm. "Do you want me to carry that bottle?"
"Oh, no, it's fine," she said, looping her arm in his. "I was thinking we could go outside? It's not raining, and the air is fresher than normal."
"Not raining, yet," he corrected. But he thought that no one would be outside to disturb them. They walked in silence towards the garden and they sat on the terrace couch. Leigh put the bottle and the glasses on the coffee table.
"I brought a corkscrew," she said. "Do you mind opening the bottle?"
"Sure." He expertly opened it and poured two glasses, way above the regulatory height and they clinked their glasses. "Cheers."
"Cheers."
They sipped in silence and let the outside noises envelop them: there was the rustling wind in the trees, at the edge of the manicured garden; there were the crickets who were still singing before the storm; there was the gurgling water of the fountain; and there were the distant laughs of the girls in the Women's Room, those who were not with Val or Nate for the evening.
"Can I ask you something?" she suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes."
"What would you do if you weren't a prince? Or The prince?" She sipped her wine and looked at Silas, genuinely curious.
Silas let out a small snort. This was already his second glass of the evening – his first one had been during dinner – and he was already feeling the warmth of the alcohol in his chest, and the filter between his mind and his mouth was slowly fading away. Leigh knew that was the best way to make him less nervous and maybe talk a bit more. "I honestly have no idea," he said. "I've never thought about it because it was never a possibility."
"True," she said. "But think like this: You receive ten thousand dollars tonight and you can leave on the spot. What do you do and where do you go?"
Silas stared at the beautiful young woman next to him, and she was smirking, waiting. "I, uhm, take Doug of course, and then call Parker because I need a driver – I don't have a driver's license – and… I don't know…" he trailed off.
"Yeah, okay, that's a good start. Where do you go to first?"
"With only ten thousand dollars?"
"That's a lot of money," she countered.
"Maybe, but I can't buy a house with that."
"You can rent a mobile home. Fine. What Province do you choose?"
"Carolina," he replied without hesitation. "It's pretty, there."
"Okay, go for Carolina. What do you do? Is there anything you can do to earn money?"
Silas thought for a moment because he had never fantasized about something like that. It was way too off-road for him: he had been born to do one thing and one thing only, and he had never strayed left or right from that path. Almost. Save that one time when he was sixteen and he wanted to run away. He had made it to the Palace gate before turning around because he had nowhere to go.
"Piano bar," he finally said. "I'd play the piano in a bar and that's it. All night long."
"You play the piano?" she asked, surprised. "I didn't know that."
"Very few people know about it," he replied. "What about you? What would you do with ten thousand dollars?"
Leigh giggled. "I'd book a flight for Carolina, rent a small cottage on the shore, and open my own lawyer's office. I'd help local people with their everyday life problems, and just enjoy my time by the ocean. In the evening, I'd go to this pub where they have live music every night. And there's this dude playing the piano. He's handsome but shy. He seems to play only for himself." She paused and looked at Silas who was smiling at the story she was telling. "After several nights, I decide to offer him a drink."
"Well, he can't accept because he's working," he said, continuing the story. "But he offers to buy you a drink later, when his shift is over."
"That was smooth," she said, giggling. "I accept and wait until much later in the evening. I'd be reading a book, and I wouldn't even notice him coming over with a bottle of wine and two glasses."
They both chuckled and exchanged a glance.
"Do people really do that? Walk up to strangers and offer to buy them a drink?"
"Ugh, yes. Most of the time it's creepers who do that. But once in a while, you can find a good soul, out there."
They continued sipping their wine until their glasses were empty. "What shall we do?" he asked. "Drink another glass, or take a walk before the rain comes?"
"Hmm… let's take a walk. The wine can wait and be taken inside."
"True." They stood and headed towards the gravel path in the garden. They walked slowly, enjoying the fresh breeze just before the storm. The gravel crackled under their steps and the wind blew Leigh's hair in her face. She shivered in the cool air and Silas gave her his suit jacket.
"Thanks," she said. And suddenly she was shy. The jacket was way too big for her, but it smelled of him. His cologne was woodsy and lemony, and she instantly loved it. Without thinking, she looped her arm in his and she was happy. For the first time in the Selection, she knew why she was here, and this time it was not for her mother: she liked Silas, and she would make sure she became not only the number one of the nation's choice but his number one as well.
Big, fat raindrops started falling from the sky, slowly at first.
"I think we should head back inside," Silas said, looking at the dark clouds above them and feeling the rain on his hand. Leigh nodded and they walked back towards the palace, taking up the pace a little.
A light turned on in a window on the second floor and Silas' eyes reflexively went up there: at the window was Ximena, looking at him and Leigh in the garden, hurrying up before the rain got worse. A pang of guilt stabbed him in the chest, and he hurried them inside. The moment they stepped under the threshold, the clouds opened up at once and a downpour crashed down. They laughed at their luck in still being dry and forgot to bring back the bottle of wine from outside.
It was getting late and Silas bid Leigh goodnight. She stood on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight," she said softly before walking away.
Silas just stood there, watching her walk towards her room. What the hell was going on in his heart? He stuffed his hands in his pockets and headed to his room. Thank goodness it was Saturday the next day, he would be able to sleep in.
That, or he would wake up at dawn as usual – with a headache this time – and he'd just go for a run to clear his mind. Right now? He needed a warm shower and a soft bed.
Hi! wow, thanks for reading and making it all the way through... 10k words is a lot, and I'm sorry! LOL
anyway, the first two OCs have been eliminated. Thank you Nikt for Jacinta (idk if you're reading this or not at this point) she was fun to write, but not fit for either of the Princes. Thank you Milly for Yuna, you wanted heartbreak, you got heartbreak ;) it was fun writing her as well, and though she is out of the Selection, she may be coming back later on :eyes: anyways...
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that the dates were fun! Silas got 2 dates on the same day :eyes: and now his heart is balancing. is it, though? let me know what you think!
I can't believe this story is already 127k words long! thanks for your support, for your reviews, and for reading! I'll see you next week with (I hope) a shorter chapter... (but we never know)... BYEEE!