Darius knocked, then entered his younger sister's room. He smiled at the sight of her, she looked absolutely stunning in her light blue day dress that brought out her eyes. Perfect, he thought as he walked towards her. Her brown hair was pinned back and a natural layer of make up had been expertly applied to her face. She sat in front of her vanity desk, scrolling through her phone. Without warning, Darius snatched it from her.

"I was using that." Elizabeth said as she crossed her arms.

"We need to have a chat, little sister," Darius said. He sat on her desk and glanced down at her, "You need to be perfect today."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Why? It's not like she's going to pick me."

"You're right, she won't." He agreed as he stood and grabbed her chin, he forced her to look him in the eyes. "But I don't care, all eyes will be on you and you will not embarrass me."

"Whatever," Elizabeth said as she pushed his hand away.

"Not that it matters, you could perform poorly, and all those buffoons would be lining up to dance with you tonight, you are the king's daughter, after all."

"Bastard daughter," Elizabeth corrected sharply.

Darius shrugged, "Father favours us, everyone knows this. Don't screw it up tonight, or there will be hell to pay, dear Lizzie."

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulder, "I don't see why I have to go, it's a stupid antiquated tradition."

"Because you need to get married, but don't worry, I will be arranging that." Darius said as he crossed the room and peeked outside of the window. He ran a hand through his brown hair.

"Excuse me?" Elizabeth questioned as she turned in her seat to face him. "What century do you think this is?"

Darius chuckled, as if amused, "You really thought I'd let you choose your own husband? When I have so much to gain from your marriage. No, no, dear sister, I will be choosing your husband for you. Do you have a problem with that?" the twenty-five-year-old questioned as he flexed his muscles.

Elizabeth tensed as her eyes flickered towards the floor, "No."

Darius grinned as he turned back to face his sister, "There's a good girl!" he exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. "Everything is going according to plan."

"You'll never be king," Elizabeth said dryly.

Darius's expression darkened and he stalked towards his sister and grabbed her arm in a painful grip, "I will be king! That boorish, brainless Kieran is nothing compared to the leader I can and will be for our great nation!"

Elizabeth gasped in pain and tried to pry her brother's hand off her arm, but it was no use, he was much stronger than she was.

"Do you understand me?" Darius hissed as he further tightened his grip.

"Y-yes," Elizabeth breathed out.

"Good," Darius said. He released his hold on her, then kissed her on the head. "You best be off, better not keep the Queen waiting."

Darius grabbed the matching shawl from her chair and held it out for her. If you didn't hurt me so much, I wouldn't need this, Elizabeth thought as took the shawl and put it on, covering the bruises that lined her upper arms.

"Be perfect, or you won't like what happens," Darius warned.

Elizabeth nodded and stared at the floor as she made her way out of the room. She knew Adele wouldn't pick her as the sapphire of the season, she knew she would be publicly snubbed even though her appearance was impeccable, but still she knew she had to go. It was expected of her, she was a member of high society, even if she was illegitimate. She wished desperately that she could stay home and work on songs, but no, she had to waste her evening on men that weren't even worth her time. She sighed as she opened the door to her room, here goes nothing, she thought.

Adele Schreave walked into her daughter's room and smiled at the sight of her eighteen-year-old daughter. She was dressed in a stunning brown dress which matched her light brown eyes. Annabeth smiled at her mother and twirled around in her dress. The tall, pale girl's red hair was worn loose in curls that reached her waist.

"I'm so excited!" Annabeth exclaimed as she rushed towards her mother and grabbed her hands. "My first social season!"

Adele smiled at her daughter and pulled her into a hug, "It's also Elizabeth's debut into society."

Annabeth's face fell, "You're seriously letting that bastard into the season?! She'll spoil it for me!"

"I'm sorry, my dear, but your father insists upon it," Adele said soothingly. She had vehemently opposed it, but Kyron had overruled her.

Annabeth sighed as fell onto a chair, "This isn't fair, Darius was the darling of his season, what if she steals the show from me? I'm the princess aside from the sapphire, I should be the envy of all!" She knew that she couldn't be named sapphire, everyone would object and claim foul play on the part of the Queen. But she didn't need that advantage, she was the Princess of Illéa, her title alone would draw in plenty of suitors.

"She won't spoil it for you, you're the princess, she's just one of your father's many mistakes." Adele assured her daughter as she took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I can't believe he's doing this to you as well!" Annabeth exclaimed. "It's bad enough he had her, now he's rubbing our noses in it."

"I'm not happy with it either but promise me you won't do anything to ruin her, your father will not be happy if he senses any foul play," Adele warned.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" Annabeth asked with a pout. "Welcome her with open arms?"

"No, but you will be civil, am I understood?" Adele asked sternly.

"Yes, mom," Annabeth said, a slight whine to her voice. She could easily sabotage that wretched Elizabeth if only she had the chance.

"Just focus on yourself and finding the perfect suitor, this is a very exciting opportunity for you," Adele said. She smiled at her daughter and kissed her on the head. "I have to go, but I'll see you at the presentation."

Annabeth nodded and watched as her mother left the room. She sighed and went to Kieran's room, were she found him standing in front of his mirror fixing his bowtie. Her twin brother, older than her by mere minutes was dressed in a black tuxedo. He had inherited their father's brown hair ,which he had gelled back for the occasion. He was tall and rather muscular.

"Whoa, you look amazing!" Kieran said with a smile. "You're gonna have to beat your suitors off with a stick."

"That's if Lizzie doesn't steal them first," Annabeth said as she crossed her arms. "Dad's making mom let her into the season!"

"I was afraid of that," Kieran said. "Look, I know it sucks, but it doesn't really come as a surprise, he likes Lucia more than mother, if they had met before his season, she would probably have been crowned queen and we would never have been born."

Annabeth sighed, "It's not fair, she's prettier than me and dad likes her more! For what? Being a bastard? That's not something to be proud of!"

"She's still his daughter," Kieran reminded his sister. "And technically our sister."

"Half sister!" Annabeth corrected angrily; she ran her hands through her hair. "This is so unfair to mother, how can she just sit by and let him treat her like this?"

"What else can she do?" Kieran asked.

Annabeth sighed, "I won't play nice with her." She said stubbornly as she crossed her arms.

"Then don't, and have dad mad at you, now if you'll excuse me, I have to finished getting ready. And you might want to practice, you don't want to make a fool out of yourself in front of everyone."

"Fine," Annabeth huffed. She crossed her arms as she left the room. Sure, she couldn't torment Elizabeth, but that didn't mean that her friends couldn't. Her eyes lit up at the idea of watching Elizabeth become a social pariah, she would do whatever it took to take her half sister down a notch.

Welcome to my SYOC, as you can probably tell it's inspired by Bridgerton. In this story instead of the Selection, the social season is brought back from the past and implemented in modern day society. All of the lords and ladies in the capital of Angeles (threes and above) partake in the social season to help them find suitable spouses. So, to clarify, this is not a Selection. I will be accepting both males and females. Instead of people being the "Lord of blank" or "Lady of blank" they simply have the title of lord/lady based purely on their caste.

Form and character information is on my profile. Happy submitting! If you have any questions please PM me. All forms must be submitted in a PM with the story name and the character name in the subject line.