Chapter 22 – Nevaeh de Montignac
Nevaeh threw her morning workout out of the window the moment her alarm clock went off. She turned it off and went back to sleep because she needed her beauty sleep more than she needed her workout. Well, no, that was a lie, but she wanted to sleep more. Besides, it was still raining since the previous evening so there was no use in getting out of bed, anyway. Rainy days made her sad and moody, and that was it.
She cuddled with one of her numerous pillows and went back to sleep. If only no one came to tell her to get up and get her job done. She would give anything for just one day off. Was that too much to ask for? One whole month into the Selection and she regretted even saying yes in the first place.
A soft knock startled her from dreamland, but she ignored it. Then she heard the door open and close softly and soft steps pit-patted on the carpet.
"Nevaeh? Is everything alright?" Hanna asked in French, bending over the bed to look at the sleeping duchess.
"Mmh?" Nevaeh opened one eye and looked at the brunette staring down at her with a concerned face.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. Why?" She pulled the covers over her face, not wanting to get up in the least.
"You've overslept a lot…" Hanna said, going to the curtains to draw them open.
"It can't be later than 8 o'clock, Hanna. And it's Saturday."
"Actually, it's almost noon," her maid corrected. "You've slept all morning, and everyone's worried about you."
Nevaeh snorted. Then she laughed. "You have to be kidding. Noon?"
Hanna nodded and waited for Nevaeh to get out of bed. Nevaeh took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She rubbed her eyes and slipped out of bed, looking outside. "Great weather, today," she said sarcastically. I wonder what we should do. The beach, maybe?"
Hanna chuckled softly. "You know, the Selected and your cousins are not babies. They can take care of themselves for the weekend. Why don't you take a couple of days for yourself?"
Nevaeh eyed Hanna suspiciously and laughed. "Clearly you don't know my cousins, then." She wrapped her dressing gown around her and stood by the window. "Seriously, though. What are they going to do today?"
"Watch movies? Make out?" Hanna suggested, joining Nevaeh by the window. "Visit museums? Spa day? They'll find something to do, don't worry." She paused. "And maybe they also want a day or two off, you know? So they can just hang out in their pajamas and drink cocktails and do face masks."
"Ugh, that would be the dream…" Nevaeh just stared at the circles the rain was doing in the fountain and then shook herself from her daze and went to take a long, hot shower. When she came out, she put on a long-pants-and-three-quarter-sleeve jumpsuit, slipped on some comfortable heels, and headed downstairs to the dining room.
She was surprised to find the room practically empty: the brunch buffet was almost intact and the tables, silverware, and dishes unused. The only person in the room was Silas, oblivious to her arrival, reading the latest Saturday Illéa!, one of the few newspapers that came out during the weekend.
"What happened? The Apocalypse?" she asked, sitting down next to him.
"Huh?" he looked up from his reading and pushed up his glasses.
"Where is everyone?"
Silas looked around, suddenly aware that there was no one. "I have no idea." Then went back to his reading.
Neveah shook her head at her cousin and went to the buffet to fill herself a plate of comfort foods since it was a rainy day and it made her sad: two waffles with whipped cream, blueberries with whipped cream, and a latte. When she put the plate on the table Silas eyed it and smirked.
"Cheat day, today?"
"No. Yes. I don't know," she replied. "I just need a day off from everything, you know?"
He nodded. "It seems everyone did, as well…" he trailed off and went back to his reading. Nevaeh quickly looked at the article he was reading and it was something about riots in Carolina, something to do with the Nuclear power plants, there. She sipped her latte in silence, enjoying the quiet of the dining room.
"Do you have news from Yuna?" Silas asked, breaking the peace. "I haven't talked to her since yesterday…"
"I texted her to see how she was feeling last night, and she just said she needed some time off from Angeles and everything. I think she's going to go away for a few weeks until her elimination dies down…"
Silas nodded. "You think I should text her, too?
"No." She popped a whipped-cream covered Blueberry in her mouth. "Too soon, Silas. Way too soon." She paused, chewing. "Focus on the girls who are here. How many are left to go on a date with?"
"Two."
"Look who's counting." She smirked and continued eating. I hear your date with Leigh last night wasn't planned and that she asked you out."
"True."
"And? How did that feel? Being asked out?"
Silas frowned, folded the newspaper away since Nevaeh wasn't letting him read it anyway, and thought for a moment. "It felt nice not to take things in hand for once," he admitted.
Nevaeh laughed. "I can understand that." After she finished her second waffle, she sipped the last drops of her latte. "Did you figure out what was going on with your girl?"
Silas frowned. "My girl? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The one you were stalking on Instagram."
"First of all, I wasn't stalking. Second, no, I haven't talked to her yet."
"Oh come on!" Nevaeh said, throwing her hands in the air. "You've got to man up, Silas."
He shot her an annoyed look but didn't reply anything. They both stayed there for a long time, but no one came down to eat. Either they were all dead in their beds, they weren't hungry, or aliens had abducted everyone but them.
"I'll see you later," Silas said, standing up from the table. He walked away, calling Doug who had fallen asleep under the table. The dog shook the sleep away and followed his master out of the room. Nevaeh was all alone now, and it really felt like they were the only ones left.
-o-0-o-
Silas went to his room, glad to have the day to himself. He took off his suit jacket and his tie and rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt. The storm had brought in some very heavy air and maybe that was why everyone was just tired and wanted to be alone. It sometimes did that to people.
Silas sat at his desk and took out a brand-new sheet of paper. He looked for his favorite fountain pen and then took a deep breath before putting the words down. It was always easier to write than to just speak the words. Silas needed time to think through each word he was writing down.
'Dear Ximena,'
Okay, that was easy. But still, Silas had to rethink those two words over and over again. Was that too forward? Not forward enough? He decided it would have to do. What did one write to start a letter to a woman you liked, anyway?
'I keep wondering what I said or did wrong, that day on the beach.'
He stopped writing. Should he get right to it or do some small talk before? He was tempted to take the paper, crunch it, and throw it in the trash. But no. He kept it and decided to use this sheet as a practice letter and he would rewrite it afterward.
'I liked to think there was something between you and me. When I had you in my arms, it was suddenly the best feeling in the world, and I didn't want to let go of you. If I could have taken your pain away, I would have done it. In a heartbeat.'
Was that too straight-forward? Should he write poetry instead? Then again, he was telling her what he had on his heart and there was nothing better than honesty, right? He bent down over his paper to continue writing.
'When I look into a room, you are the first person I look for and when I meet your eyes and you are already looking my way, it always sends tingles down my spine–'
Silas looked up and strained his ear. Was that music? Who was listening to music this loudly that he would hear it too? He put his pen down and went to the door, ready to go tell whoever it was to turn down the volume: people were trying to concentrate, for crying out loud!
When he walked out into the corridor, he realized it wasn't coming from the third floor, so he went downstairs, bracing himself to knock on a door and give them a piece of his mind. He went down the west wing, walking by the Selected's room, but no music came from there. He came back on his steps and went down the east wing, passing by the other half of the rooms. But still, the music didn't come from there, either. It was coming from downstairs.
He walked down the grand staircase, tip-toeing despite himself, and followed the music. It became louder and louder as he came closer, and then he realized it was coming from the music room. He never used that room and no one in his family did either. So it could only be one of the Selected. How had he never heard the music before? Was it their first time there? From what he could hear, it was the piano, and he didn't know the piece.
He stood behind the door that had been left ajar a little and through the crack, he recognized Jenissa Stark, the music composer. Of course, it would be her. He stood there, listening without moving or breathing, he didn't want to disturb her. And that was why he only played for himself: he didn't want people creeping up on him like he was doing now.
Then out of nowhere, she looked up and she smiled, though she didn't stop playing. "You can come in, you know…" She continued playing and Silas accepted the invitation after a brief hesitation.
He walked over to the grand piano and stood behind her, trying to see if he at least knew the composer of the piece she was playing. Then he chuckled. "You wrote that piece?" he asked. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and then realized that he wasn't wearing his tie or his suit jacket.
Jenissa looked at him under her long, dark lashes and nodded. "Yup."
Silas quickly found where she was on the score and was ready to turn the page when it was the time. They went on like that for a few more pages until the piece was finished.
"This was beautiful," Silas said.
"Thanks!" she said, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. "Ever heard of the movie 'To the Sky'?" she asked.
"No, I'm not really into movies…" he admitted. He carried a chair form the nearby table to the piano and sat next to Jenissa.
"Oh. Well, it was my first solo composing job, actually. The movie came out just a few weeks before the Selection, and that was the soundtrack for the ending scene and the generic of the film."
Silas nodded appreciatively. "That's actually really amazing," he said. "I can't compose."
"No, but you can play," she said with a smirk.
"Who told you?" he asked, frowning and pushing up his glasses.
"A little bird told me. Can you sight-read?"
"Fairly well, yes. Why?"
"Good." She stood and went to get the violin waiting in its bag on the table. "Because this piece is for piano and violin, and I can only play one at a time, unfortunately."
"Oh…" he stared as she tuned the violin. "You can play the violin, too?"
"Yes," she replied, running the bow on one of the strings and tuning it. "As well as the viola and the trumpet." She grinned at him when her violin was tuned. "Oh, and I have perfect pitch."
Silas let out a small undignified snort. "Is there anything you can't do, musically speaking?"
She shrugged thinking. "I don't know, I haven't tried every instrument there is, but I can pretty much figure out how to play most of them." She pointed at the piano and the score with her bow. "Turn the pages to the first one and play."
Silas was not used being ordered around, but he obeyed, impressed. He sat at the piano, opened the first page, and quickly read the score. This wasn't too difficult, at least not as complex as 'Gaspard de la Nuit' by Ravel or an Étude from Chopin. He took a deep breath, bracing himself. This would be the first time in a long time he would play with someone other than Amy Watanabe.
He looked at Jenissa who nodded back at him. "Whenever you're ready, your Highness."
Silas nodded and ran his fingers on the black and white keys. The first chord surprised him but then he continued playing and Jenissa joined him after a few bars. While he was playing what looked like the theme base of the movie, Jenissa embellished the music with melodies that went far and beyond. He could actually picture epic scenes as they played.
When it was finished, Jenissa sat next to him on the piano stool. "You're a really good sight-reader," she said. "It's like you'd already practiced it before, though it's impossible." She looked at Silas under a brand-new light. "You could have been an amazing virtuoso had you not been a prince, you know that?"
Silas rubbed the back of his neck while a small smile curled his lips. "It helped that I heard you play it just before."
"Maybe. But I haven't met many people who can sight-read like that. I'm really impressed." She stood and grabbed some other music sheets from her bag. "Would you like to do another one?"
"Uhm, sure," he said. "Why not. From your movie again?"
"Or you can choose something from this pile of scores." She dropped the pile of papers in his lap.
Silas looked through the pages of music while Jenissa tightened her bow. Most of them where familiar pieces he had learned and played over the years. But for some reason, this woman challenged him in a way that made him feel alive when he played. Even more alive than when he played on his own.
"This one," he said handing the multi-page sheet to her. "It's from your movie, too, right?"
Jen took one look at the title and nodded. "Yes. That's the part when the main character takes his first mission in the sky, in a real aircraft. He only did simulations, and this time he felt more alive than ever before." She positioned the violin under her chin. "Let me know if this piece also makes you feel alive." She winked at him – which made him blush – and then nodded, indicating that she was ready.
Silas quickly went over the first page, reading the music and hearing it in his head. Yes, he could do this. She said he was a good sight-reader, so he could do it, right? The only difference was that he hadn't heard it before... He placed his fingers on the keys and started playing. Not too fast at first, but since it was fairly easy – to a well-taught pianist like him – he gained a tiny bit of speed after saying so to Jen. The music was enthralling and epic and he had to admit that Jen was right: he did feel more alive than ever before.
When the seven pages were done, cheers and claps coming from near the door startled them both. Silas looked up and felt his face burn. How embarrassing! Half the selected girls were there with Val and Jesse was filming with his phone.
"Thank you, thank you!" Jenissa said, doing a little flurry of a bow. "And I present to you, his Royal Highness, Prince Silas at the piano!"
Silas didn't have a choice, being put on the spot like that and he quickly dipped his head in a tiny bow.
"Another one!" Val said. "We haven't heard you play in such a long time..." He trailed off when Silas shot him a look. "Please...?"
"Why, of course!" Jenissa said. She turned toward the pianist. "What do you say?"
When Silas didn't answer that second, the girls started chanting his name to encourage him – "Silas! Silas! Silas!" – which embarrassed him even more. More people arrived at the door with Nathan, attracted by the music and the noise. They joined the chanting and pushed the first group inside the room. They quickly found seats around the room and when Silas looked up, he saw Ximena and Leigh standing side by side, looking at him. For the first time in two weeks, Ximena didn't look away and she smiled and nodded, encouraging him to play, the exact same way he had encouraged her at the ball when Jesse was interviewing her. Leigh encouraged him, as well, and that's when he realized that both were friends and very good options for his heart. Crap.
He took a deep breath and nodded once. Cheers erupted from the group of spectators and Jenissa gave a new piece to Silas – another piece from the movie that was eight pages long – and everyone fell silent, waiting.
They played together again and everyone listened with rapt attention. At some point during the piece, even the queen and her husband arrived to listen to their son.
After the applause, Silas stood and closed the lid over the keyboard. "I think that's going to be enough for one day." He bowed his head to Jen. "Thank you for the musical company." He paused and added in a softer voice for just her to hear: "Let's do it again some time."
"With pleasure, Your Highness." She dipped in a practiced curtsy and smiled at the prince who walked away. The selected parted in two as he passed through the door.
Silas felt a hand on his arm. He looked at who was touching him. "Mom." He offered a shy smile to the queen and she smiled back at him, pride written all over her face.
"That was beautiful," she said. "I'm so happy I got to listen to you play again." She squeezed his arm. "I hope you'll continue to grace us with your music."
Silas shrugged but a small smile curved his lips. "Maybe." He placed his hand on his mother's, squeezed once, and then walked away to his room. He had a letter to finish writing…
-o-0-o-
When everyone woke up on Sunday morning, the sun was shining brightly and most everyone forgot about the rainy day before. Nevaeh had much more energy and she even woke up quite early – 8 a.m. – and decided to go for a run outside, on the track going around the Palace grounds. Before leaving, she tied her hair in a tight bun on the top of her head and headed outside.
She smiled and took a deep breath of fresh morning air – though it was still warm. She always loved the feeling of the sun on her skin, and that was not going to change whether she was in the south of France, or in Los Angeles: it was the same sun.
She did some warmup exercises, rolling her shoulders, turning her ankles, and pulling her feet towards her backside before starting on the track. When she was ready, she took a deep breath and started running. When Nevaeh ran, it always cleared her mind and she really needed some clarity after one month of the Selection.
Nevaeh had been running for a few minutes – yes, the Palace grounds were that big – when she saw a girl sitting on the side of the track. When she came closer, she noticed it was one of the Selected. Unmistakable in her two long braids, Nevaeh recognized Dyani.
"Hi!" she said, stopping right next to her. "Are you okay?"
Dyani shook her head. "No, I twisted my ankle, actually."
"Oh." She paused, looking around. "And you've been sitting here for how long?"
"I don't know, a few minutes, maybe." Her left leg was held straight in front of her but the ankle had doubled its size.
"Does it hurt?"
"Yes," she said. Dyani winced when Nevaeh touched her ankle. "Can you help me back to the Palace?" she asked.
"Of course, come on," the Duchess said, helping the young woman stand up. She tried putting some weight on her foot, but she hissed in pain. "Here, lean on me." She wrapped an arm around the girl's waist and Dyani put her arm around Nevaeh's shoulders.
Slowly, they made their way back to the Palace. But before they had reached the terrace, Valerian had run outside.
"Oh, my God, are you okay?" he asked. "I saw you two from my room and I came right away."
Nevaeh smiled. Of course, her baby cousin would be the first to run to the woman's aid. Her heart swelled with love for the kind boy she loved so much.
"Here, let me carry you to the infirmary." He expertly lifted her off the ground and carried her bridal style to the infirmary while Nevaeh followed close behind. This little encounter had stopped her will to run, anyway.
Nevaeh held the door open as her cousin walked in the infirmary with the Selected in his arms. The red-haired nurse was quickly by their side.
"Hi, I'm Nurse Gummy," she said to Dyani as she took her shoe and sock off. "Can you tell me what happened?"
Dyani winced as the nurse held on to her ankle. "I was just running, and I wasn't looking where I was going, I was thinking of other things, and my foot just got caught in a small hole. And I fell down." She also showed her knees, but under the jogging pants, they couldn't see anything.
"Ouch," Valerian said, understanding her pain. He sat on the bed next to her and watched as Nurse Gummy checked the ankle. When he saw Dyani's pain on her face, he grabbed her hand. "Here, you can squeeze it if you want."
Dyani didn't have to be told twice. She held on to his hand but didn't pipe a sound, despite the discomfort.
"Okay, so you didn't break anything, it's just badly twisted," the redhead said. "I'm going to give you some anti-inflammatory agent, and wrap your ankle in a splint for the next few days." Dyani nodded and took a deep breath. The nurse went to the large cabinet on the wall, searched for what she needed, and came back. "Here, drink this, and I'm going to put the splint."
"Will I be needing crutches?"
"I'm afraid so, yes, because I don't want you to put pressure on it," she replied. "But I also know for a fact that there will be three princes who won't hesitate to help you around." She smirked and Valerian nodded.
"She's right," he said. "Well, at least two. I don't what Silas is going to do, but yeah."
Nevaeh chuckled. She knew Silas could be the Knight in Shining Armor and carry girls around if he wanted; he had done that on the beach. But she was still curious if he'd do that with a lady who wasn't on his list…
"Alright, all set," Nurse Gummy said. "Let me just check your knees as well." She rolled up her pants and quickly went back to the cabinet to get some disinfectant, some cotton, and some band-aids. When that was done, Valerian helped Dyani down the bed and made sure she could walk with her crutches.
"Did you already have breakfast?" he asked.
"No. But I'm kind of hungry now," she said with a smile. "Did you already have breakfast?"
"Nope. Let's go get us some breakfast, shall we?" He offered her his best smile and Nevaeh watched them head towards the dining room where the brunch buffet was laid out.
"This boy is way too sweet for his own good," the nurse said, standing next to Nevaeh.
"Oh, yes," Nevaeh said. "Much too sweet."
"Pardon me for asking, and it's probably not my place," Nurse Gummy continued, "but he seems to be kind and sweet to all the girls… do you think he's going to find love, too?"
Nevaeh didn't reply right away, thinking. "I honestly have no idea. I hope he does, though." She paused. "He deserves to be happy."
-o-0-o-
Nevaeh didn't know Nathan was planning another group date with some girls until she saw three of them coming down the stairs in beach-wear and flip-flops. She was confused because these three girls were the oddest group there could be: Mia, Odessa, and Ximena. Nevaeh almost went to talk to Nathan about that odd group of girls, but she decided against it; she really didn't want to get in the middle of the whole thing because organizing the Selection was enough for her.
"Can I ask you something?" Mia said with her ever-present slight French accent, coming over Nevaeh who was watching them. The two other girls slowed down to listen because they had probably been discussing something before.
"Sure," Nevaeh said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Mia looked at the two others who nodded. "If one of the princes asks us on a date, do we absolutely have to say yes?"
Nevaeh tried not to laugh. She really did. But then she let out a chuckled. "I'm sorry." She tried to focus on doing her serious face again. "I guess you have to. At least until the first round of first dates is over. Then I guess you can talk it out with them."
"Damnit," Ximena said. "I mean, I love the beach and all, but Nathan is just–"
"Fantastic? Yeah, I know," Nathan said with a sly grin, walking into the main entrance. "Are you all ready to go?"
The girls nodded and headed towards the door with one last pleading look at Nevaeh.
"Nathan, a word, please?" she said stopping her cousin.
"Yeah, what?"
"Okay, uhm, how do I put this…" she shuffled her feet and tucked a stray strand of hair that had fallen from her bun behind her ear. "Let's just say Val and Silas are their favorite princes… So just– just don't do anything stupid and please don't flirt too hard."
"Don't worry," Nathan said, tapping gently his cousin on the head as one would do with a puppy. "They're not my favorite girls either, though I do like them, and I know Silas has his eye on Xi."
"How do you know that?" Nevaeh asked, surprised.
"Anyone who has eyes can see it." He rolled his eyes. "Now can I please go on a relaxing Sunday afternoon at the beach? Thank you." He took Nevaeh's hand, kissed the back of it, and was on his way.
-.-
Nathan climbed into the car where the three girls were waiting for him, a bit anxious.
"Hello, Ladies," he said wiggling his eyebrows. "So. Shall we?"
They nodded and the engines came to life. The whole ride was silent as everyone looked out their window. Nathan was on his phone, scrolling through Instagram – he hadn't taken the time to do that in days – and he saw he had lots of new followers. He quickly went through them – most of them were fangirls or some other accounts – and one stood out to him. He paused in his scrolling and clicked on the name that sounded familiar: "s . caleb . s" He clicked on the account.
"Oh. My. God." He barked out a laugh
"What is so funny?" Mia asked.
Nathan continued to laugh. "I can't believe it. Silas has an Instagram account!"
Odessa and Mia looked at each other, not understanding. "So?"
"Don't you get it?" he said. "He's the last person on earth that I would have expected to have an account. This is too hilarious." He laughed some more.
"Really?" Ximena asked. "What's his handle?"
Nathan clicked on the five people Silas was following. "I believe he's following you already," he said with a smirk. "As well as Nev, Val, Yuna, and Jesse's official account for the Selection."
"Oh." Ximena typed something on her phone and Nathan watched her as a smile and blush crept on her cheeks. "It's private, though," she said.
"Just follow him back and wait for him to accept it," Nathan said. "I'm pretty sure he'd be glad to have more than two followers who are Nev and Val…"
Ximena nodded and Nathan saw that she was now waiting to be accepted by the Prince. Odessa and Mia also both followed him. But of course, Silas was not glued to his phone like most people were so none of them got accepted by him in the next minute. They arrived at the beach, laid out their towels, bags, and parasols like adults with manners and not like kids – like the other times – and Ximena was the first one in a bathing suit, followed closely by Nathan, and then the two other girls.
They all went towards the water to soak in a little before coming back to the towels where they all just lay down and worked on their tanning. Odessa came back to the towels before everyone, though, after only putting her toes in the water. She claimed it was too cold.
Mia had taken a book to read; Ximena was drawing some new outfits; Odessa was also reading a book – poetry, it seemed; and Nathan was still scrolling on his phone.
"Ha!" he said. "Silas accepted me on Instagram."
"Ooh, let me check." Mia put her book away and took her phone. "Me too!"
"Same," Odessa added. "Aw, Doug is so cute in that first picture!"
Ximena didn't say anything but she smiled.
"You know, Xi," Nathan said. "It doesn't take an idiot to see you like him and he likes you."
"Huh?" she looked up from her phone. "What do you mean?"
"Look, I know my brother. And I've never seen him looking at anyone like that. I mean, you know the heart-eyes emoji?" Ximena nodded. "That's him when he's looking at you."
Ximena laughed. "No way."
"Yes," Odessa said. "Nathan's right. We've all seen it."
"Just– Be careful of Leigh," Mia said, unintentionally stirring up some drama.
"Leigh?" Ximena chuckled. "Leigh's my friend. Why should I be wary of her?" But Nathan and the other girls shared a look. "I know she had a date with him the other night… so?"
"You didn't hear?" Nathan asked, genuinely curious.
"…No? Stop being so mysterious! What's going on?" Ximena sat up on her towel and pulled her knees against her chest, looking from one to the other and suddenly very self-conscious.
"Well, she was the one to ask him out. She gave him a rose and brought the wine." Nathan didn't want to be the one to deliver this news, but oh, how entertaining it was. He loved gossip and this was the hottest gossip of the moment. Jesse would literally kill to hear this. Good thing he was discretely filming the whole conversation, right?
Ximena's face fell. "Really?"
"Yeah. I think she's fighting for her Prince Charming." Nathan paused. "You should, too."
"I don't know," she said after an awkward silence. "Maybe she'd be more adequate for the role of Queen than me…" she trailed off. "I mean. She's a lawyer, she knows how to speak in public and her dad's a Governor. I'm just–"
"You're a queen, already," Mia said, putting a hand on Ximena's arm. "That's what 'Rainha' means, right?"
Ximena nodded. "Yes. But that doesn't mean that–"
"Like hell it doesn't," Nathan said. "Look. If you want your Prince, you'd better start fighting for him. Because if not, someone else is going to get to him first." And if he had to be honest, though he would never say that out loud and especially not while he was filming, he definitely preferred Ximena over Leigh, and he thought Silas and her would be a very hot couple. "And you're now number One of the people's choice. Own it."
Ximena took a deep breath and then went for a walk – with her shoes – along the waterline, claiming that she needed some time to think.
"What about you guys?" Nathan said to the two other girls. "Are you into Val?"
Odessa blushed a bright pink and Mia laughed. "Is Valerian even into the Selected?" Mia asked. "He only goes on group dates and he doesn't seem to have any favorites, yet…"
"Yes, it seems like he just wants to have fun…" Odessa added.
"True," Nathan said. "I'm sure he's just taking his time." He paused and grabbed the cool box where there were some cookies. "Cookies?" he asked and everyone took one. "It's not my story to tell," he continued, "but his last relationship wasn't the best, and he dumped her."
"Oh." Odessa frowned. "What happened?"
"Well," Nathan said – and he had stopped filming when Ximena had left to take a walk – with a grin, "I think his girlfriend only wanted the fame or something. She was also seeing someone else on the side."
"That's awful!" Mia said. "I understand if he doesn't want to rush things, then."
"But the girl who he's gonna fall in love with is gonna be very lucky," Nate said. "He's the cutest guy in a relationship."
"Aww," Odessa said, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "What about you? Any favorites, yet?"
Nathan chuckled. "Nah. I'm just winging this whole thing, to be honest." He typed something on his phone. "Besides, the statistics have spoken: I'm the least likely to find myself a girlfriend, let alone a wife. Look." He handed them his phone: He was at the bottom of the list with a 12.6% chance of ending up with a Selected, Valerian had an 87% chance, and Silas an 84% chance.
"Why do you think that is?" Mia asked.
Nathan shrugged. "I've never had a girlfriend before. I only do one-night-stands, no strings attached." He paused. "I'm not a relationship kinda guy." He snorted. "People say I'm heartless." He air-quoted that last word.
"But are you really?" Odessa asked. "Because you're a nice guy when you're not being horny and flirting hardcore."
Nathan burst out laughing. "Well, thank you." He looked at the statistics again. "I think the reason why Val has the highest number is that he's the only one who had a two-year relationship before, even though it didn't end that well."
"But why did they put Silas that high since he never had a girlfriend – that I know of – before?" Mia asked.
"Eh… Probably because he's the Crown Prince and he's supposed to end up with someone… I don't know…" Nathan shrugged and put his phone away. "Anyway," he said, changing the subject. "Who's into Star Wars?"
-o-0-o-
It was late in the afternoon and close to dinner time when Nevaeh saw Nathan coming back from the beach with his three dates. From what she could see through the window, they seemed to have had a good time and the girls were less nervous than before. Maybe Nathan heeded her words and wasn't too forward with them? She hoped so.
"Do you think Prince Nathan is ever going to settle down one day?" Hanna asked, standing next to Nevaeh at the window. Nathan was talking with Ximena but they couldn't hear anything.
"Lord knows," Nevaeh replied. "Maybe when he's like 50 years old?" she laughed. "Honestly, I can't even imagine him with a serious girlfriend let alone a wife or kids."
Hanna chuckled, too. "He'd be looking at all the women even with one on his arm."
"Yes." She paused. "Unless it's a woman who can hold him by the balls. Someone who can match him in every way, and especially sex."
Hanna nodded. "I don't envy her, to be honest, whoever it is." She sighed.
"Me neither." Nevaeh went back to the mirror to finish fixing her hair and then headed downstairs. On her way to the second floor, she met a group of Selected – Ashia, Malia, and Veronica.
"Good evening, Ladies," she said, walking with them. "Did you have a nice afternoon?"
"Oh yes!" Malia said. "I was just telling Ashia and Roni that the Make a Wish Foundation contacted me for a wish!"
"Oh, nice!" Nevaeh said. "What's the wish?"
"Yes, it's really awesome," Malia replied. "But I wanted to see with you if it was possible before saying anything, actually." She grinned. "It's a little girl who only has a few weeks left to live – they didn't tell me the specifics of her illness – and she wanted to swim with a mermaid and a mermaid Prince." She squealed. "I knew people would want to meet Val as a merman!"
Nevaeh chuckled. "Well, as far as I'm concerned, I don't think it would be a problem with the Selection… You'd have to ask Valerian, first." She paused. "When would that be?"
"Well, it would have to be soon," Malia said. "Maybe a week or two?"
Nevaeh nodded. "That could work. Can you give me the contact information after dinner?"
"Of course!" Malia giggled. "Thank you so much for doing this!"
The Duchess smiled. "You're welcome. You know, I'm not always a monster."
"We know," Roni said. "And we also know that we're not always easy to handle…" she trailed off and laughed and Ashia joined in.
Nevaeh nodded. "That's very true." Just then, they stepped into the dining room and she wished them a bon appétit before heading to her own table with her family. "Auntie Lena," she greeted the queen with a quick dip of the head. "How was your day?"
"Quite good, actually," Helena replied. "I took the longest nap ever, and though I am still a bit groggy now, I think I'm going to be okay." She chuckled.
"You should have seen her when she woke up," Uncle Toby said, taking his wife's hand. "She asked what day it was."
Nevaeh laughed. "Yes, that happens when one takes a nap."
Next to her, Silas was a nervous wreck, his fingers playing restlessly with his fork and already sipping on his wine. He kept pushing up his glasses and keeping his eyes on his empty plate. When all the Selected were seated, the footmen brought in the first dish and everyone started eating.
"Silas, are you okay?" she whispered.
"Hm? Oh, uhm. Yes. Yes. I'm fine." He pushed the food around his plate before eating.
Nevaeh didn't comment any further, but she knew he was a nervous wreck right now and she had no idea why. She also knew that if she pushed him, he would clam up. So she didn't say anything. There was a time for tough love – and she had already done that – and a time for patience: now was the time.
It took several dishes and more than one glass of wine for Silas to finally talk. "I wrote her a letter," he said out of the blue. Nathan and Valerian were talking with their father about something or another and Nevaeh was only half-listening to them.
"Oh? What kind of letter?" She had an idea who he was talking about, but she wasn't 100% sure.
"A letter."
"Yes, but a love letter? A break-up letter? Poetry?"
Silas stared at her over the rim of his glasses. "Are you serious? A break-up letter? I'm not even dating anyone."
"Did I hear dating?" Nathan said, leaning towards them with a sly grin. "You're dating 9 girls at the same time, dude. Of course, you're dating people."
Silas sent his brother a very deadly glare and Nevaeh did not want to be at the other end of that glare. She tried to make him continue his conversation with his other brother with no words but Nathan ignored her. And she hadn't even known Nathan had the brain capacity to listen to two conversations at the same time…
Nevaeh sighed. "Nathan, please, now is not the time–"
"No, no, no, this is actually very interesting," he said. "My big brother is finally falling in love and I never thought I'd see this day." He grinned and stared at Silas for a whole minute without saying a word. "It doesn't really change you, but I would never have thought it'd be this quick."
Silas didn't know where to look, so he kept his eyes on his empty dessert plate.
"Oh, and just so you know, she definitely likes you, too." He chuckled and went back to his conversation with Val and his dad.
"He doesn't even know who I'm talking about!" he hissed to Nevaeh.
"Maybe not," she replied, "but he knows something…"
Silas shook his head and sighed. "I'm out. See you later." He pushed his chair away and walked out of the dining room without looking at anyone. At least dinner was over and he just didn't run out in the middle of it. The queen officially ended dinner with a quick word and the girls either stayed to chat, headed to their rooms for some girl time, or to the Women's room for games or TV.
-.-
With Doug on his heels, Silas headed outside. He needed some air and he needed to be away from Nathan. He loved his brother, he really did. But these past few days, Nathan had been impossible. Always putting his nose everywhere, commenting on everything, and just being an annoying brat. It wasn't so much different than usual, but under normal circumstances – a.k.a. not the Selection –, Nathan was usually out partying across Illéa, Valerian was in college, and Silas had the quiet Palace all to himself. As it was, there were way too many people here, and he needed some space. Having Nathan under the same roof for the past month 24 hours a day and 7 days a week was tiring. Very tiring.
Without thinking, he followed Doug who went directly to the Gazebo, since it was their favorite place after the Lake, but that was too far away. Silas sat down on the steps of the small gazebo and waited for Doug to bring him a stick or something else he could throw for him. It didn't take long for Doug to find the perfect stick, and Silas threw it hard. They played like that for some time and Silas was slowly relaxing. He was laughing out loud, something he only did with Doug and when no one else was around.
"That's a good boy!" he said, taking the stick from his mouth. He rubbed him behind the ears and Doug let out a content Woof at all the attention his Master was giving him. "You've had lots of people taking care of you these past few weeks, right?" he said. "Well tonight, it's just you and me, big boy."
Doug jumped around and ran away so that Silas could throw the stick again. Silas smiled at his silly dog and then jumped in surprise when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He should have left his phone in his room. He took it out and saw that it was Nathan that has sent him a text.
Nathan: incoming, dude!
"What the –" Silas didn't even have time to finish his sentence when he heard Doug barking happily up the road. He looked up and saw Doug playing with one of the Selected. His heart did a little jump in his chest and his hands suddenly became a bit clammy. He cleared his throat and watched as Ximena walked over to him with Doug on her heels, jumping around her like a madman – or a mad-dog?
"Good evening," he said, standing up from the steps.
"Hi," she said, tucking a long strand of brown hair behind her ear. She was wearing a long strapless dress with a sequin-covered top and high heels he couldn't see under the skirt. Her hair was down, split on the side, and her lips a deep red, the same red as the roses he gave out to his dates. She was breath-taking.
They stood facing each other for a few awkward seconds before they both sat down on the steps. Doug placed the stick at Silas' feet and he absentmindedly threw it away.
"I got your letter," she said taking out the envelope from a pocket in her skirt.
Silas didn't move. Had it been too much? Had he been too straight-forward? Should he not have written it in the first place? Should he–
"I loved it, and I think you deserve an answer…" she trailed off. Silas was silent, listening, ready to hear whatever she had to say. He kept his gaze on her dark-brown eyes and her long eye-lashes. "You know, that day on the beach, I've never felt so comfortable with anyone, walking by your side and talking and laughing with you." She paused, thinking of the right words to use. She didn't look at him but kept her eyes on the envelope in her lap. "Until I cut my foot and you had to carry me back to the towels." She chuckled nervously. "It was the most humiliating thing ever. No one had ever carried me that way and on one hand, I felt tiny and safe in your arms, but on the other, I knew you were breathing hard and that I was way too heavy for my own good and–"
"I was breathing hard because it was like 95 degrees outside, and my heart was beating too fast because you were so close to me." There, he said it, and thanks only to the two or three glasses of wine he had had during dinner.
"Maybe," she conceded, "but it didn't help with my self-confidence." She paused. "You've seen my Instagram posts and you heard me talk to Jesse about them…" She fiddled with the black silky fabric of her skirt, clearly nervous. Silas took her hand in his and she looked up at him. "You know I preach body-positivity and self-confidence at the top of my lungs. But that day, it all went away. Just like that. And all these negative thoughts came into my mind; I didn't think I'd be the right person for you, I thought you'd hate me after that, and..." She paused, breathed in, and then breathed out slowly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that–"
But Silas didn't let her finish. He was not going to let her talk down on herself like that. Instead, he simply leaned in and pressed ever so lightly his lips against hers. And Oh. My. God. They were so soft. He pressed a little harder – he had never done that in his entire life – and then backed away, suddenly embarrassed and very self-conscious about the whole thing.
Ximena had a surprised look on her face, but then she broke into the most dazzling smile he had seen on her and she leaned in, too, and kissed him. She tasted of wine and strawberries – thanks to the strawberry dessert earlier – and her lips were so soft and firm at the same time and it made his stomach do summersaults and his heart was beating in his chest so hard that he was suddenly terrified that it would leap out of him. Of course, that was impossible, but right now, his head couldn't think straight.
Only his lips were doing their job; one of his hand found its way through her hair, and the other was still holding on to her hand from before.
There could have been fireworks going on in the sky behind them, he wouldn't have noticed them. She kissed him deeply and he didn't know what else to do or think and just tried to kiss her back. Then they both backed away for some air and stared at each other. Silas broke into a wide grin, as well.
"What were you trying to say?" he asked. "I'm sorry it was rude to cut you like that…"
"I'm glad you did," she replied. "I don't remember what I was going to say, anyway." They both giggled and just sat there, still holding hands. He linked his fingers with hers and then they heard a buzzing sound near them, like a huge mosquito or something similar.
Silas looked up to see where the noise was coming from and it was none other than one of Jesse's drones.
"Are you serious?" he mumbled.
Ximena looked up as well. "Jesse really knows where to find a good story, doesn't he…"
"Pretty sure Nathan told him something," he added.
"Well, in that case, let's give them something to look at," she said with the dazzling smile she hadn't been able to brush off her face. Before Silas could ask her what she was talking about, she kissed him again. Silas didn't object and he knew that he would never hear the end of it. But he grinned while kissing her and the buzzing sound of the drone became louder and louder until it was just a few feet away from them, staring at them with its single-eyed camera lens.
heyy! oof I didn't think I'd be able to finish this chapter in time lol. I hope you enjoyed it... :eyes: please let me know what you thought of it! I can't wait to read your reactions hehe *smirk*
What did you think of Silas finally playing his music in front of everyone, of Nathan being the matchmaker, of Nurse Gummy making a cameo, and of that last scene :eyes:?
Anyhow, I won't be posting a chapter next week because I'll be on vacation, but I'll take this time to either write ahead, plan the second part of the story (chapter by chapter), or do literally nothing... we'll see... *shrug*
If you guys have any ideas for the second dates or anything you want to see in the rest of the story (scenes, dialogues, or whatnot), let me know! I'm always open to suggestions (that I may or may not use depending on the feasibility lol)!
see ya soon!