Freya was a ball of nervous energy in the morning. She found herself pacing her room, unable to settle down. Today was the day she met Niklaus's Selected. She had rarely been around other people and now she was going to be in a room full of them. Niklaus had eliminated ten Selected already, which meant there were only twenty five left. She glanced at her door as it opened to reveal Estra. Estra gave her younger sister a smile.
"Are you ready?" Estra asked.
Freya shook her head, "I'm scared, what if they don't like me?" She questioned in a small voice.
"Don't be silly, what's not to like?" Estra said as she approached her sister. "I need you to remember to keep an eye on them, like father said."
Freya nodded, she really didn't want to spy, but what choice did she have? "I will." she promised.
Estra nodded, she didn't want Freya to spy on the girls either, it was something she didn't want to do herself but if their father wanted them to they didn't have a choice. Besides, she needed to ensure Niklaus selected the right girl, someone whose goals aligned with her own. She felt bad for the pressure Niklaus was under and would have to find a subtle way to manipulate him.
"We should get going, Freya," Estra said. "Aunt Cara won't be there, it will be just you."
"Why won't she be there?" Freya asked in a panicked voice.
"You're old enough to do this on your own, Freya," Estra said harshly. "It's about time you grow up. What happens when you get married and you have to be around your husband's friends and their wives? Hmm?"
Freya sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm just nervous."
"It doesn't matter, you need to get to know these girls, Freya. One of them will be marrying Klaus. Don't you want to help him make a good decision?"
"I do." Freya insisted as she fidgeted with her fingers.
"Then let's go." Estra said sternly as she walked towards the door. Freya obediently followed, trying to ignore the nervous knot in her stomach.
They arrived at the Women's Room where the contestants were already gathered. Freya inched closer towards Estra as she looked around the large now occupied room. She sighed, she was so used to it being just herself in there or being there with Aunt Cara that this was a huge adjustment for her. She didn't know what to do or who to talk to.
Estra cleared her throat, "Ladies, I would like you to meet my younger sister, Freya." Estra said in her authoritative voice as she motioned to the fifteen year old standing beside her.
Freya tucked her hair behind her ear and waved at the Selected who all either waved a murmured "hello" in return.
Estra had already gone over the expectations of the Selected, they were to remain in either the Women's Room or their own bedrooms if they preferred until Niklaus was ready to spend time with them. She couldn't very well have twenty five women exploring the palace of their own accord, and who knows what they could get up to in that time?
"Behave yourself." Estra reminded Freya, then left the room.
Freya sighed, what was she supposed to do? Most of the girls were already talking amongst themselves or wrapped up in an activity and she felt too shy to ask to join them. She sighed, they had overtaken her own little sanctuary. Freya walked towards one of the couches near the windows and glanced around the room. She was confused and intrigued when she saw a woman with short mousy brown hair, with a little boy standing next to her. The boy looked no older than two and was clutching the tan woman's hand. She has a son? Freya thought to herself, shocked. The boy locked eyes with her and held out his hand with a smile, waving at Freya. Freya smiled and waved back, but quickly ducked her head when the mother looked over. Suddenly, she was standing in front of her.
"Good morning, you're Freya, right?" The woman asked. "Julian, say hi to Freya."
"Hi!" Julian exclaimed excitedly.
"Hi," Freya said with a small smile, she had never been around children before, and she wasn't quite sure what to do.
"My name's Sutton, and this is my son." The woman explained. "Could you do me a favor and help me keep him occupied? He gets bored easily."
"Of course." Freya said, excited to have something to do.
"Thank you, Freya." Sutton said with a smile. "I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome," Freya said. "What do I do, exactly?"
Sutton grinned, "Well, you just need to play with him, that's all. I'm sure you know the palace better than I do and know where he'll have the most fun."
"Is it okay if I take him to the gardens?" Freya asked.
"I'm sure he would love that," Sutton replied.
"I need to ask Nik first, I'm sure he'll say yes," Freya said. "Would you like to come?"
"I would love to." Sutton answered with a smile.
"Let me send a message to Nik." Freya said as she stood, excited to have something to do other than sit around all day.
Sutton was surprised when Niklaus entered the Women's Room. Of course, he knocked and announced his presence first. He gave greetings to the Selected as he made his way through the crowd until he reached Sutton, Freya and Julian.
"Hi little guy." Niklaus said as he knelt down to Julian's level. "Someone tells me that you want to go play in the gardens. Do you?"
"Yeah!" Julian exclaimed excitedly.
"Then let's go." Niklaus said as he offered his arm to Sutton. "Would you like to come as well? I need to keep an eye on Freya.
Sutton was confused, surely Freya was old enough to go to the gardens by herself? But she didn't question it as she took Niklaus's arm, "I would love to."
"I was hoping you would say that. Let's go." Niklaus said with a warm smile. Sutton glanced around the room and her smile faltered when she saw the curious and sometimes jealous looks on the faces of the other Selected. It was bound to happen, she thought to herself. It wasn't her fault that she was the first one Niklaus chose for a date. She was just excited to get some alone time in with him and to have someone else occupy her son's time for once.
When they arrived at the gardens Freya took Julian's hand and walked ahead of Niklaus and Sutton, which Sutton was grateful for. She was glad to have some alone time with Niklaus, despite the looks that she got from the other girls.
"They look like they're having fun." Niklaus said as he pointed towards Freya and Julian running ahead of them.
Sutton smiled, "Julian has wanted to explore since he got here, he loves wandering around and meeting new people."
"I would just like to say, I am terribly sorry about the loss of your husband. Although I'm glad you could be here I just hate that it's at the cost of another's life," Niklaus said.
"Thank you," Sutton said quietly. "I still miss him, but I'm ready to move on and start fresh. It does no good to dwell on the past."
"I understand, I still miss my mother from time to time but I try not to think about it too much," Niklaus said, his eyes flickering from Freya to Sutton. "I hope that Freya will be a help with your son, I daresay having him here might make it harder for you to compete."
"Freya seemed excited to spend time with him," Sutton agreed. "He's a good kid, he shouldn't give her any problems. Right now his favorite word is 'no', although I'm not quite sure he knows what it means. He says no to everything and then gets mad at you for misunderstanding."
Niklaus laughed, "How old is he?"
"He's two, he's still learning how to talk, but he's catching on fast," Sutton answered.
"Well, he's very cute, he looks a lot like you," Niklaus observed.
"Thank you." Sutton said with a smile.
"You're very welcome," Niklaus said.
"She's doing a good job with him." Sutton commented as she watched Freya hold her son's hand as he explored the gardens.
"She is," Niklaus agreed. "I was a little worried, she's never really been around other people before."
"I see," Sutton said. She knew better than to pry further than that. It seemed unfair to her but she didn't want to push the issue. "I think the Selection will be good for her as well."
"I hope it will be," Niklaus said. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"
"I have five younger brothers," Sutton answered. "They're a bit of a handful, they like to keep my parents busy."
"I bet," Niklaus said. "I always wished that I had a brother, don't get me wrong I love my sisters dearly but I always felt a little outnumbered."
Sutton smiled, "You seem like a good older brother, very protective."
"Thank you, I do my best to take care of them," Niklaus said as his eyes flickered to Freya again. He found he had grown more protective over her since the incident with Blaise, he didn't want to admit it to himself but she was growing up, which meant that men would become more interested in her.
"I can tell that you care a lot about them," Sutton said.
"I do," Niklaus agreed. "I wish I could do more to protect them, soon Freya will be married and I'm not sure how she feels about that."
"I can help her with that," Sutton offered. "It can be nerve wracking having your marriage arranged, but I'm sure the Enforcers will find a good match for her, like they did for me."
"They are good at what they do," Niklaus agreed. "Tell me about your brothers."
Sutton smiled as she launched into a rant about her brothers, "Matthew is the oldest, he's only sixteen and working on the winery already. He's very determined to make our family name mean something again. Harry couldn't be more different, he just wants to have fun. Then there's Jacob, he's very studious and almost always found with a book or playing some new video game. Andrew, he's eight and a little prankster already then there's Louis, he's the youngest, he's very cheerful and curious and has an affinity for looking at bugs."
"They sound interesting, I hope to meet them someday." Niklaus said as they stopped near a bench. They sat down beside each other and continued their conversation while Freya and Julian continued to play in the gardens. An hour later a servant came from the palace to collect them for lunch. Julian protested play time ending, and Niklaus wasted no time scooping him into his arms and carrying the toddler inside. Sutton smiled at that, Niklaus seemed like a natural with kids.
"How did I do?" Freya asked Sutton nervously.
"You did well, Julian seems to like you," Sutton replied.
"Thanks," Freya said with a smile. "Did you have fun with Nik?"
Sutton nodded, "I did."
She was telling the truth, Niklaus seemed like a decent person and she could see no better life for herself and her son than as his wife and stepson, but it was too early to tell if she would develop feelings for him.