CHAPTER 34
Why did it have to be morning already?
It wasn't fair. It seemed like Luke had gone to sleep only a few minutes ago, and now a butler was knocking on the door. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to go stand in front of the cameras for hours on end. He didn't want to propose with dozens of people watching. He didn't want to go up there and publicly break the hearts of two girls.
Yet he didn't have a choice though.
He supposed he should be relieved that it was finally over. He didn't have to equally divide his attention between a bunch of jealous girls anymore. There would be no more speed dates with different women. He was done.
In a way, despite how stressful today would be and the guilt he would feel as he looked at the two faces of the girls he was sending home, Luke was happy. He was proposing to the woman he loved in a few short hours, cameras be damned.
"Come in." He called to the butler.
"Your suit for today." The man said, carefully placing down a garment bag.
Luke glanced at it. He hadn't picked out the suit himself, he was fairly sure his mother had, but from what he could see it was a navy blue. There was also a yellow tie in the bag, and he was supposed to wear his dress shoes. "Thank you." He said dismissively. He didn't need someone to help him get dressed. There would be a stylist downstairs to do his hair for the ceremony so the butler didn't need to do that either.
"Of course, Your Highness." He bowed. "I wish you the best." Luke bit his lip he didn't even know the man's name and here he was wishing him luck on his engagement.
"Thanks." Luke told him. "I'm hoping that for myself too." He muttered the last part under his breath, but the butler clearly heard. He smiled, bowing one last time before exiting the room, leaving Luke alone with the suit.
It took him a few minutes to get dressed. He knew he had to get downstairs early, before any of the guests and media started to arrive. The families of the final three had been invited for the ceremony and -Luke suspected- to comfort the losers. They were supposed to come with the rest of the guests around 11 and the ceremony would be broadcasted at 12. That meant that the entire country would tune in to watch the event. It was a bit nerve wracking. The whole thing was live too, so he couldn't exactly mess up.
The second floor was just as deserted as the third. The first however, was bustling with life. Camera crews were doing test shots, decorators were running around putting the finishing touches on the set. There was a stack of gift bags in the corner of the foyer for the more important guests who came to watch. Calliope's Candy Court had catered the event, and the ceo of the company was standing there watching her workers haul in bags of sweets. Luke's mother was in the center of it all, directing the flow of traffic, her husband standing by her side.
"Luke!" Allyson said beconing him over. "To the left."
"What?" Luke asked, confused.
"No. Not you. Those flower arrangements go to the left." Allyson called to a maid before turning her attention back to her son. "Good, your suit isn't wrinkled yet. Make sure one of the maids steam it before the filming starts."
"I thought it wasn't wrinkled." Luke said slowly.
"Just go along with it." Bennet told him. "So, today's the big day. Do you know what you're going to say?" He asked.
Luke nodded, "Yeah. I do. I have it all figured out." Maybe that was a slight lie, but to be fair, he did figure out what he was going to say. He just wasn't sure how to deal with the aftermath of his speech. That would be the worst part. The tears from the losers, the criticism from the media, from individual people. Not to mention the glares the losers families would surely send his way.
"There'll be a teleprompter if you need it." Bennet said.
"That's good."
Allyson turned her attention from the poor florist, "Did you eat yet today Luke? You shouldn't do this on an empty stomach."
"No." Luke wasn't sure he would be able to keep down any food judging by how the nerves coiled in his stomach. He didn't even want to eat till he got this whole mess over with.
"Why don't you have breakfast and then go get your hair done?" Allyson suggested.
"I'm not hungry." Luke said quickly.
"I wasn't asking you. The carpet is on a diagonal!" Allyson called out loudly. "No. Just start over. Bennet, can you take him?" She asked, before going off to acost the man in charge of the carpet. How Luke pitied him.
"I'm not hungry." Luke repeated to his father.
"Yes, you are. Come on Luke, I know what today is like for you. Just have something small. There's no need for you to be nervous and hungry." Bennet pulled him to a small table that had been set up with croissants, juices, coffee and fresh fruit. An actual buffet would be put out for the guests later, this was just for the people working on the set up.
"Fine." Luke relented. He didn't feel like being force fed. "I'll have a croissant."
"Good. Have you seen the ring yet?" Bennet asked as he handed Luke a croissant. Luke shook his head. Ridiculous. Only he could be proposing to someone in an hour and not even have seen the ring yet. He hoped it was nice.
"Oh. Well, it's really quite beautiful. I think it was your great-grandmother's. Of course it can be altered to fit your bride's finger." Bennet said.
"Okay. I'm sure it will fit." Luke replied. He didn't care to make small talk right now. What he really wanted was to go wallow in his own nerves in the corner. Somehow, he didn't think his parents would find that as an acceptable answer.
"Your mother was very nervous today too." Bennet told him. He must have picked up on Luke's unwillingness to give actual answers. "I was as well, for that matter. I never particularly liked the sercey surrounding the final one. I always thought it would be better to tell the girls beforehand. It's cruel really. No one wants to watch their boyfriend propose to someone else with them standing right there, let alone a camera filming their reaction."
Luke looked up at his father. He understood what he was saying, but he didn't get the point in telling him this now. "So what? There's nothing I can do about that now dad."
Bennet shrugged. "I thought you might want to hear that. And you're right, there's nothing you can do about it. Sometimes it's just better to know that others have gone through what you're feeling."
"You were the king." Luke said suddenly. "Why didn't you change it when you had the chance?" It would have been a lot easier if he had. Luke wouldn't have had to get up at the crack of dawn to break a few girls hearts.
"Because that's not how life works. Sometimes you just have to endure it. It's going to be forty minutes of your life, Lukie. It's nothing in the grand scheme of things. Besides, think of how happy the country is watching it."
"Maybe they can find entertainment that doesn't have a lasting impact on my life." Luke grumbled.
"That would probably be better for everyone, but that's not going to happen anytime soon." Bennet said. "You know who you're going to pick don't you?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Anything you want to share?" Bennet asked.
"No. You'll find out when everyone else does." Luke told him. "Did you tell anyone that you were choosing mom?"
'Fair point. Why don't you go get your hair done now?" Bennet pointed out a row of stylist chairs in the distance. They would be cleared out in a few hours, but right now Esme was sitting at one of them getting her hair blown out..
"I will." Luke said. He threw his half-eaten croissant in the garbage before turning to his dad. Luke hugged him tightly, something he hadn't done in years. "I'm scared." He whispered quietly.
"I know you are. "You'll be fine." Bennet said.
Luke nodded. He took a deep breath as he walked over to the stylist station. "Hi." He greeted the woman standing there, a black apron slung around her outfit.
"Your Highness." She said curtsying. "Sit down. Do you want me to get you anything?" She asked quickly. "Magazine? Some refreshments?"
"No, I'm good." Luke said, raising his voice to be heard over the breathy scream of the hair dryer that the man was using on Esme. Esme turned at the sound of his voice, waving instead of talking. He probably wouldn't have heard her anyway.
"Alright then." The woman said, rubbing some gel on her hands. Luke stared at himself at the mirror for a good ten minutes, until finally, Esme's stylist shut the hair dryer off.
"I can't believe this is actually happening." Esme said to Luke, as they were finally able to hear each other. She kept her head facing forwards as she spoke, so that the curling wand the man was now using on her wouldn't be distured.
That makes two of us Luke thought to himself. "I don't know, I always assumed this would happen sooner or later."
"Still though. It's all so exciting." Esme smoothed out her dress, a golden gown with different embroidered flowers on it. A halter strap wrapped around her neck, the bodice was tight fitting before loosening at her waist. A matching golden necklace laid on her chest, an amber jewel set into the middle.
"It is." Luke agreed. "You look nice."
Esme blushed. "Thanks. We all got to pick our dresses out from these catalogs. I swear, it took hours to look through them all."
"I wouldn't know. My mom packed out my suit for me." Luke told her.
"I wish I had someone to do that stuff for me." Esme grumbled.
"I promise you, it's not as great as it seems." Luke said. "I would much rather be on a paid vacation here instead of whatever it is that I was supposed to be doing."
"You mean picking a wife?" Esme asked.
"Exactly!"
"Hey, Luke. Do you know what you're going to do for your wedding? Like the honeymoon?" Esme managed to lock eyes with him in the mirror as she spoke. Luke took a deep breath. He knew where Esme was heading with this, and he really wasn't sure how to answer it without either breaking her heart or confirming their marriage.
It was such a fine line he had to walk in these conversations.
The girls knew that one of them would stay and that the other two would go home. Luke wasn't sure if any of the ladies assumed they would be the one he chose, but they all at least had to be hopeful. Luke however, knew who he was choosing, and the girls were aware of that. Which meant he had to put on the charade for another few hours. It wouldn't do any good to have a girl already crying on live television. Not only would it take down the ratings, it would decrease the suspense.
Plus, Luke wasn't positive that the journalists would look too fondly on that.
"I think it depends on what my wife wants to do." Luke muttered quickly, hoping that the stylist would start using the blow dryer again.
Esme frowned slightly. "Yeah. You're right. It does depend."
Luke ducked his head. Maybe, in hindsight, he should have taken thoe magazines the stylist offered him. If only he could fast forward through the day to when all this was over. Where were superpowers when you needed them? Luckily, Luke's stylist tapped him on the shoulder, "You're all set sir. I would suggest heading over to the makeup station."
"Make up?" Esme echoed, confused.
"So my face doesn't shine on camera." Luke explained quickly.
"Oh. That makes sense."
Luke gave the stylist a grateful style, patted Esme on the back and headed off to the makeup stations. Esme's hair was taking a lot longer to do then Luke's. He was no hair dresser but he figured it would take another hour at least. The makeup stations were set up near the hair ones, only they contained mirrors surrounded by lights and makeup caddies instead of hair brushes, clips, and curling wands.
Farrah and Sydney were getting their makeup done when Luke approached. "Your maid isn't doing it for you?" Luke asked Farrah as he sat down.
She shrugged, "I figured it was better to have a professional do it."
She was probably right. Not that Luke would tell her that. "If you say so." He told her, before turning his attention to Sydney. She must have had her hair done already, because her usual curls were flat as a pin, lying straight down her head. The front sections of her hair had been weaved into a braid, tied with a pink ribbon that matched her pink gown. The gown in question was puffy and full, layers of tulle falling to the floor. Small sleeves fluttered on her shoulders, rhinestones bedazzling the bodice.
"You look different with straight hair." Luke said to her.
Sydney giggled, her cheeks flushing a deeper red. "I wanted something different for today. I mean, you only live once right?"
"That's what I always say." Luke joked. He tried not to wince as the makeup artist applied a cold cream to his face. "That's freezing." Luke complained loudly.
"I apologize, Your Highness." The artist said hurriedly. "It needs to be kept refrigerated in order to work properly."
"You need to put makeup in the refrigerator?" Luke wondered out loud.
"Not all of it." Sydney informed him. "Usually just the liquid products. Some of them can spoil and that's disgusting. Especially spoiled lip gloss." Ew. Luke did not want to picture that right now. He personally never used lip gloss but he's seen the advertisements. Damn it Sydney. Now he was nervous, slightly hungry and disgusted!
Farrah seemed to be thinking the same thing as Luke. "Please, Sarah. I don't want to picture that right now."
"It's Sydney, not Sarah." Sydney said dumbfounded. "Your Majesty." She added as an afterthought.
"I'm so sorry. I must have forgotten." Somehow Luke doubted that. More likely that Farrah was just upset at her. " So, Sydney, tell me, is your family coming for the event?" Farrah said, her voice sweet.
"Yeah. My sister was excited. Her school ended last week so now she gets to post about her vacation to Angeles and the palace."
"Remind me, what's her name?"
"It's Alexandra." Luke spoke up. He remembered meeting her, and though he was never good with names, her's seemed to stick with him. Most of the remaining girl's families did for that matter. Quinn's dads were named Jackson and Ethan. Esme's brother was called Altair.
Farrah looked at Sydney for confirmation. "It is." Sydney told her.
"Oh. Well, I'm looking forward to meeting her again. She was the softball player right?"
"You remembered that Sydney's sister plays softball but you didn't even remember the name of the girl who lives in the palace with you?" Luke asked, scoffing slightly.
"It's okay, really." Sydney said. "It's not a big deal."
Farrah turned to Sydney. "I apologized, besides, Sydney doesn't mind. Do you?"
"Of course not." Sydney said quickly. Luke knew that she minded, but he also knew that Sydney was smart enough to try and diffuse the situation. Sydney was never one for conflict, even with her fellow selected, she always tried to mediate the discussions.
"See." Farrah shrugged, smiling at Sydney.
Max came up to the three of them, stopping first to kiss his wife on the cheek. "The guests are starting to arrive. We should probably start clearing away the different prep stations." He said the three of them, though his words were clearly more aimed at Farrah and Luke then Sydney.
"I thought the invitations said 11 am." Farrah checked the time on her phone. "It's only 10 in the morning."
"They do. Everyone likes to show up early to the palace though. We can't exactly turn them away, so they're being held in the foyer." Max explained. It was a problem with these types of events. People never took the time printed on the card to be correct, they always assumed that they needed to show up an hour early. As if that meant they would actually be allowed in early. More often than not they ended up sitting in their cars, though Luke supposed that today Max had taken pity on them.
"Morons." Farrah muttered under her breath. "Sydney, I think your makeup is done. Can you go run along and see if anything can be done to speed up the Monroe girl's hair?"
Sydney nodded quickly, obviously not used to being directly spoken to by the Queen. Let alone having the Queen call her by the right name.
Farrah watched her go satisfied. "Why'd you do that?" Luke asked, confused.
"Oh. She was annoying me."
"So I guess this is the part where you tell me not to choose Sydney?" Luke was annoyed by his family prying into this to say the least. They had given him plenty of space up until now, why was today the day that everyone chose to be up in his business?
"I don't mind her. I don't mind any of the girls left honestly. I wasn't going to say anything, but I was hoping for Lucy to win. Obviously that ship sunk a while ago though."
"Obviously." Luke repeated.
"They're all nice in their own ways." Max said to the group.
"I thought you wanted Esme to win." Farrah turned to him. "With her being in pre-med and all that. You could bond over horrible med school stories."
"I wasn't going to say that till later."
"Oops." Farrah shook her head. "Luke, can you go find Quinn and tell her to go sit in the front row with the other two until we're ready for all of them on set?"
"And her name you remember." Luke said. "I guess you do have a favorite."
Farrah didn't confirm or deny his statement, instead pushing him away to go look for Quinn. She wasn't by the food tables which were now being cleared. Oh how Luke wished he had listened to his father and eaten something more substantial. His stomach was starting to grumble. Why did parents always have to be right? Luke checked by the floral arrangements too, even though he doubted that she would be there. Finally, after asking a friendly member of the tech crew for help, he came across her taking pictures of the great hall, her expression wistful.
"I don't think you have permission to take those photos." Luke said coming up behind her.
She jumped slightly. "Don't do that again. You scared me."
"Sorry about that."
"And you're right, I don't have permission to take these photos, but I'm hoping that you won't snitch on me." Quinn smiled.
"Only if you tell me why you're taking them."
"Promise you won't laugh at me?" Quinn asked, looking at him.
"Promise." Luke said, crossing his fingers behind his back.
"I can tell you're crossing your fingers." Quinn said. "Promise me again."
"Fine." Luke held his hands up so Quinn could see. "I promise on my title of Prince of Illéa that I will not laugh at whatever you say."
"Okay. I figured that if I go home later today, I want photos of this that I can look back on to remind myself that this wasn't all a fever dream. That it and I was at the palace for three months and three days." Quinn admitted.
"That's really cool." Luke said. "I think there's more than enough camera footage to remind you that it's real though. For all three of you, there's really no escaping the limelight after this. At least for a few years after." He knew it was true. The girls he sent home earlier in the selection wouldn't be as famous as the later ones. His elite would all be well known. The two girls who left today though, that would be a completely different story. He knew the media would follow them around for a while. That they would be launched into a stardom that Luke knew none of them ever really wanted. It would cool down after a while, maybe five year or so, but they would still always be in the public eye. No matter what they did or where they went.
"You think so?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah. I wish I'd thought of it sooner. I could have made scrapbooks or something for all of you as a going away present."
"You would've?"
"Fine. I probably would have had someone else work on the, but it's the thought that counts," Luke held his hands up in defense.
"You're right. I might do that anyway." Quinn said considering.
"What, making a scrapbook?"
"Yeah. Maybe I could plan a get-together with Sydney and Esme. We could work on the scrapbooks." Quinn suggested.
"That sounds awesome, but we should probably head over to the seats. They need to start clearing up the room for the ceremony." Luke gently steered her towards the seats where Esme and Sydney were currently sitting. He greeted both of the other girls with smiles, and let the three of them talk. He didn't have the energy to be part of the discussion right now. He was just watching the clock tick down, waiting for it to finally be go time.
When the families were let in along with the other guests, Luke almost couldn't believe how fast he was left by himself. Fine, maybe the people who raised the young women took precedence over him, but it still didn't feel right. He couldn't blame them though, if it had been months without seeing his parents Luke would do the same exact thing.
At exactly 12 pm the cameras started rolling. Luke took a deep breath, surveying the crowd of socialites, aristocrats, journalists and the other members of the Angeles elite. He didn't want to do this.
He had to.
The last few months of the selection were all leading up to this. This was what he signed up for. So it was time to get the show on the road.
Luke turned the velvet box that he had been given over and over in his hand. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore. He lifted the cover, peeking at the ring inside. It was a silver band, small diamonds set around the ring. The jewel in the center really stole the show though. It was a beautiful diamond, a clear crystal that was probably enough to feed three families for the rest of their life. Soon, it would sit on the hand of his wife.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit excited for it. The host finished his introductions, and a nod at Luke was all it took for him to know that it was his turn in front of the camera.
No turning back now
Luke spotted his mother in the front, tearing up already. His father had his arm around her, but he looked like he was barely keeping the tears back as well.
"Citizens of Illéa, you all know what today means for me. I'd wager you'd also know that this is the culmination of the selection, a process so rooted in our country's history that I'm going to spare everyone the long and boring history." That got a few laughs from the crowd, and Luke knew that it got even more from the people at home.
"Long story short, the selection has always been used to find a consort for the country, a spouse and someone to co-rule with the royal heir. Up until now that is. I suppose you could say that we're making history here. Me, my family, the selected girls who volunteered for this process, and you. The people of Illéa who allowed me to hold a selection and supported me during these daunting times. To everyone who's tuned into watch or even who refrained from making a joke at my expense, thank you. A country is made up of its people, and I'm proud to be part of Illéa today and everyday."
"Now though, I know I'm dragging this on, so why don't we get to the real stars of the show. Lady Esme Monroe." Esme smiled and waved to the applause. "Lady Quincy Fraser." Quinn did the same, blushing slightly at the applause. "And finally, Lady Sydney Foster-Winston."
"Over these past few months I've had the pleasure of getting to know each and everyone of my selected ladies, but these are the final three. The only question left is who I'll marry."
Luke looked directly at the camera, "Between the country and me, I've known for a long time who I was going to marry. I love this woman. She's strong, confident, and one of the nicest people I've ever met. Though, I guess I could be describing anybody here,"
This was it. His life was about to change forever. The nerves that had been coiling in his stomach for hours got even worse. It felt like a stampede of buffalo were stomping around inside him. What if she said no? That would be so embarrassing
What if she said yes?
Luke would be married to the woman he loved. His other half. He was about to get everything he ever wanted and some that he didn't even know he wanted.
He took the bock out of his pocket, opening it, before kneeling in front of the girl. "Lady Quincy Willow Fraser, would you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?"
The second before Quinn responded was perhaps the scariest time in Luke's life. Then, she broke out into a huge smile, clapping her hands in front of her chest. "Yes. A thousand times yes."
Oh Thank God.
Luke barely noticed the rest of the ceremony. He barely listened to everything that came after. He was floating on cloud nine.
Of course, he couldn't help but see Esme's forced grin and the few tears that slipped down Sydney's cheel before she could stop herself. He felt horrible, sure. He had just broken their hearts in front of the entire country. He didn't know how much pain they were in, but it had to be bad. Luke didn't want to imagine what they were going through.
After the cameras cut he turned to them, "I guess I owe you both an explanation." He said slowly.
Sydney didn't answer, the tears now flowing freely down her face. Esme, however nodded. "Yeah you do." She said firmly. Her eyes were narrowed, but luke could hear the heartache in her voice almost as if it was a palpable thing.
Luke turned to Esme first. Her's was far easier then Sydney's to explain. "You wanted to be a doctor." He said simply. "You want to help people. You might have said that you're okay with not being one, with volunteering, but I know that won't be true. In 20 years you're going to be bitter about the restraints placed on you." He explained.
Esme pursed her lips. "I don't think you're right,but thank you for telling me."
"Of Sydney." He paused, he knew his explanation would hurt. "I like you. I really do, Syd. I just…"
"Love someone else." She finished for him. "Whatever." Her makeup was smudged from tears,mascara running down her cheeks. "I should go find my parents. Make plan for going home."
Luke nodded. "You can keep the clothes if you want. The jewelry too. It's all costume though."
"I figured." Esme said.
Unable to keep up this conversation Luke bid them both farewell. He hoped he would see them again, but right now he had more pressing matters to deal with.
"Quinn." He breathed in her ear, wrapping her in a hug.
Quinn turned to him, the ring already on her finger. "I should have said this sooner, but Lucas Schreave, I love you.
A/N: Oh my God, it's finally over. I literally can't believe it. This is my first SYOC I've ever written, and now it's done. This was such a fun story to write, and it was the first story I've ever actually completed. Of course, I couldn't have done all of this without the support of all my readers. First of all, thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a character to this story. One of my biggest fears was that I would get no submissions, but obviously that didn't come to pass. Second, thank you to all my reviewers. Sloth, Cookiedoodles, and BradiLain thank you for reviewing every single chapter without fail. Those alway made my day.
So, that's it. I will have a sequel coming so be prepared for hat, and of course there will be an epilogue so stay tuned.
For the last time, Thanks for reading.
