Chapter 4 – Details

"I'm going to kill him," Zeke said. He kept repeating that during the whole way back to the Palace, after the Report.

"Zeke, calm down," his father said. "I'm sure there's a plausible explanation to this."

"Who exactly are you talking about?" Matty interjected. "Because we just heard 35 names?"

Zeke shot his little brother a dark look. He loved him, but he could be so annoying sometimes. So he ignored him and thought, instead, about all the different ways he would like to kill him. How could he do that?

The drive couldn't go any faster, could it? Zeke tapped his fingers on his leg, staring outside. But then they were finally back home and Zeke leaped out of the car before any footman could come open the door, marching into the Palace, furious.

"WESTON. FUCKING. CARTER!" he yelled, running up the steps four-by-four.

"Sir?" his valet said, appearing at the top of the stairs, innocent.

"How could you?" Zeke yelled. "In my room, now," he added in a lower tone. The whole Palace was silent, listening to the furious prince. He made Weston walk in first and he bolted the door behind him. "Why?" he asked, standing in front of the door, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm sorry, sir? I don't understand?" Carter replied his hands behind his back. If Zeke had looked at him, then, he would have noticed the crimson blush coloring his neck and ears. But Zeke was pinching the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.

"Did you seriously not watch the Report, right now?"

A pause. "I did, sir," he replied.

"And?" Zeke asked, looking up again. "How could you do this to me, Carter? All this time? You had a– a crush? On my sister?"

Weston Carter had the decency to look ashamed. "I don't think applying to the Selection has anything to do with one having a crush on the Princess, sir."

"It hasn't?" Zeke replied, incredulous. "Then why, pray tell, did you fucking apply in the first place? I told you so many things," he continued, without even letting Weston defend himself, "about her and now you betray me like that! Fuck it, Carter! You were the only valet I have ever remotely liked. You understood me and I shared my heart and soul with you about things I would never have shared with anyone else. I even considered you my friend!" He huffed and ran his hands in his dark brown hair, pacing the floor as he did. He couldn't even look at Weston Carter.

"Sir, if I may?" Weston said.

"Go ahead." Zeke sighed and gestured for him to go on. At this point anyway, he was too tired to even care. And he was already late for dinner, anyway.

"I know you told me many things about your sister, sir. But whatever happens, I'm not going to betray your trust." He paused, and then let out a small unamused snort. "The way I see it and how she reacted on the Report, I doubt she's going to keep me for long, anyway."

Zeke shot him a look. "You'd be surprised," he said. "She would keep you until the end just to get back at me." He paused and rounded back on his valet. "The day the Selection starts, you're fired." He flashed him the fakest smile he could and then stormed out of the room, bumping right into his sister.

"Willow?" he gasped, putting his glasses straight. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"No?" She took a step away from the door and smiled at him. "I'm waiting for my turn to have a little chat with Weston Carter, actually."

Zeke crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm listening."

"Didn't you just fire him?" she asked.

"He got a two-week notice. Until then, he's still my valet. Now say what you have to say, I'm hungry."

Willow rolled her eyes at her brother but then looked at Weston. "You and I will have to have a little chat… in private," she added, narrowing her eyes at her brother.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, bowing, and offering her a little smile. "I'm looking forward to it."

Zeke huffed and walked away. "Come on, Willy, we're gonna be late for dinner!" he called out, knowing very well that she hated above all else that nickname. Boys in school used to call her that, for Willy the Killer Whale. He always thought it was absolutely genius, and he used that name when he really wanted to hurt her or get back at her. This was all her fault in the first place for wanting to do a stupid-ass Selection. Couldn't she just find herself a boyfriend like everyone else?

"Ah! There she is!" Jesse said when Zeke and Willow arrived in the room. "Oh, is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, everything is perfectly fine," Zeke retorted, sitting down. "This is great! Everything is great!" He whipped his napkin in the air and laid it down on his lap.

There was a moment of silence as the footmen came in with the dishes and laid them down on the table in front of each person. And it took some time since everyone had come to celebrate the Calling of the names: Uncle Nate with Jen and the girls; Uncle Val with Essie and their kids; even Jesse and Nevaeh with Charlie were here.

"So," Uncle Nathan started, breaking the silence once everyone was served and somewhat calmed down. "Just– How many of these boys do you already know?"

Zeke shot his uncle a dark look, but he was looking at Willow, who was drinking her glass of wine in one gulp.

"Three," she said. "It almost feels like this is rigged," she added, addressing no one in particular. "The programming could have gone wrong at some point."

"Not possible," Charlie interjected, forking some food. "I personally tested the randomizer and I got a different name all three times. Amélie did a good work on the program, she walked me through her process."

"But that's still… what? 5 percent of–"

"8 percent," Zeke cut in.

"8 percent of the Selected that I know. What are the odds of that?" Willow sighed.

"I have to admit that it seems a little far-fetched," Jenissa said. "But see it this way: that's at least three you won't have to get to know since you already know them! 8 percent of the job already done."

"Actually," Charlie said, "you know six of them".

Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "Besides Mikey, Carter, and Julian, you know Prince Fredrik, for one," he said. "You met him at a Royal Summit 3 years ago. The same one Ezekiel and Patricia met." He paused, chewing on some food. "The second one is Haakon Prospero Thornton," he continued. "He's the son of the Governor of Bankston. And finally, Domenico Montero, the Spanish Prince." He paused. "I mean– I assume you know him since he's royalty.

"I knew I had already heard that name somewhere!" Nathan said. "Okay, so that makes 10 percent?"

"16 percent of 36, if you count the Swendish prince," Zeke mumbled. He was a living calculator, and he knew it.

"Fine, 16 percent of the job is already done."

Willow sighed. "I've never met this Thornton guy," she said. "And even if I did, I have absolutely no memory of him."

/ / /

King Silas had let the weekend pass after Willow's Selected were announced. Right now, he was sitting in his office, alone apart from his Bernese Mountain dog, Bingo. He was absentmindedly scratching the animal behind his ears while it had its fluffy head resting on the King's lap, breathing softly with his pink tongue out. Silas was thinking, waiting for his morning appointment, rubbing his beard.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded on his door.

"Come in."

Connor Howard, his Personal Assistant, and Valet walked in and bowed his head. "Mr. Parker is here, sir."

"Father or son?" Silas asked, hoping it was the latter since he'd been anxiously waiting to talk to him.

"The son, sir."

"Good, let him in." Silas sat back on his chair, leaning on the high backrest.

The silver-haired young man bowed his head to the king, as was the protocol. Then he looked up. "You asked to see me, Uncle Silas? I mean– Your Majesty?"

Silas smiled softly. This kid had been calling him Uncle Silas for years, to everyone's horror, but he secretly liked it. "Mikhail Parker," Silas said slowly, testing his name on his tongue. "Sit down."

Mikey sat on one of the smaller leather chairs across from the king, the giant mahogany desk between them. Silas looked at him for a few silent seconds. "I'm not going to talk to you as the King, but as Willow's dad. So you can drop the Majesty thing."

"Yes, Sir– I mean, Uncle Silas," he said. This was not the first time he called Mikey into his office, and he knew it wouldn't be the last time, either. Mikey was not a troublemaker on purpose, he just… did things without thinking, sometimes. Like taking the Princess on a drive for hours on end without telling anyone, which had been considered kidnapping.

"Good," Silas said. "Why did you apply for the Selection?" he asked. "I thought your father had specifically asked you to join the security team during that time."

"That's right," Mikey said. "And I honestly didn't think I'd be selected. It was a one in a million chance."

"I understand that," Silas replied. "But why did you apply?"

Mikey was silent for a few seconds, debating how to say this. "Because Mina asked me to," he finally blurted out. "Seven years ago." He had mumbled that last part, but Silas had heard him just right.

"Seven?" He frowned, doing the math. "That's when she was eighteen– Why on earth would she talk about a Selection at eighteen years old?" Silas asked. He had never talked about this with her before she had suggested it a couple of months back.

Mikey took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Because she was upset. She and Julian had just broken up, and she was sad, and she asked me if I'd join her Selection if she ever had one. I just couldn't say no!"

"And of course, you remembered that detail from seven years ago," Silas retorted. "Look," he said, leaning his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers together. "There's nothing we can do about this now: your name has been called out on Live TV, and everyone's expecting you to show up." He paused. "And I doubt Willow will eliminate you any time soon. So, this is the deal I propose."

Mikey nodded, waiting, and looked at the king in the eyes.

"You are going to be my eyes and ears among the boys coming to compete. You report to me, and no one else if you feel something is not right concerning the Selected. I know for a fact that some are going to be rude and disrespectful towards her because of her body." He paused. "You report to me. But under no circumstances do you start taking matters into your own hands and start distributing punches, do you understand? Neither Willow nor I will be able to keep you here if you fight."

Mikey chuckled nervously. "I'm not the fighting type, you know that, right?"

"I know that, Mikey," Silas said. "But I also know you're a bouncer, you can break someone's arm, and that you know how to land a good punch," Silas remembered how well-placed that punch in Zeke's face was, some ten years ago. And from the spark in Mikey's eyes, he remembered, too.

"I don't mean any disrespect," Mikey started, "but Mina is stronger, now. She doesn't need anyone to defend her."

"I do know that," Silas said, leaning on the backrest. "But it doesn't hurt to have someone watching her back. She doesn't have to know."

"I always have her back," Mikey said, then paused. "But unless it's something she or I can't handle, then I can report back to you…" Silas agreed, nodding, but didn't say anything "What's in it for me?" Mikey said. "You said it was a deal…"

"You have my full blessing," Silas replied. "I like you, and I know you love Willow– I'm not saying you Love her love her… yet," he quickly added, "but let's keep our options open, alright? If by the end of the Selection you both realize that it was you two all along, then you have my blessing." He paused. "I hope this is not Yuna all over again, though…"

"Yuna?" Mikey frowned. "Mom mentioned her the other day. Who was that?"

Silas took a deep breath. He didn't necessarily want to go back to that specific episode, but he had been the one to bring it up in the first place. "She was my best friend. We had grown up together, just like you and Willow. One of her dads was my mother's political advisor, and she applied for the Selection and was selected." He paused. "Turned out she had had a crush on me the whole time."

"Shoot. What happened?"

"Since she was a good friend of the family, we all took her on our lists of favored ladies," Silas continued his story. "I went on a couple of dates with her, but by then, I had already pretty much fallen for Ximena… not that I knew it myself, but I couldn't imagine falling in love with Yuna." He paused, lacing his fingers together. "I sent her home and she was heartbroken. She left for several months to Switzerland until Nevaeh asked her to be a bridesmaid at her wedding, in February."

"And now?" Mikey asked. "Are you still in contact with her? Yuna, I mean."

"Not, really, no," Silas said. "Look, I don't want to scare you or anything, and I really hope for your sake that you don't end up with a broken heart. I'm just– I just wanted to warn you that it's a possibility."

Mikey nodded but didn't say anything. Silas had given him lots to think about, for now.

"Right, I think we went over everything," the King said. "Thank you for coming, Mikey." Silas gathered some papers, giving Mikey time to gather his wits before leaving. He noticed him bowing and walking away, then he remembered something. "Oh, and Mikey?"

"Yes, sir?" he replied, stopping and turning around.

"This conversation stays between you and me."

"Of course." Mikey nodded, bowed his head one last time, and was out of the door. Silas sighed, relieved that that was over. He really hoped it wouldn't be Yuna all over again. What was she even doing, right now? He hadn't seen her since Nathan's wedding. She was still single, back then.

Oh, well, Silas thought. That was once upon a time.

He finished putting away everything on his desk the exact right way they must be – parallel, straight, and in their place – before making himself a coffee from the fancy coffee machine Ximena had offered him for Christmas some years earlier. Now, he could have one whenever he wanted and he didn't have to ring Howard every time.

/ / /

Charles Finley had spent the next two weeks after the Calling of the names digging for information and whatever he could find on the contenders through their applications forms – some had been generous in their information, others not so much – and social media. Now, Saturday afternoon, four days before the Selected arrived, he had asked Willow to join him in one of the smaller conference rooms of the palace, on the first floor.

He had been preparing his little presentation for over an hour, making sure that they had enough snacks and drinks to get them through a few hours together. On one side of the table, he had his computer and was making sure that the PowerPoint was working on the big screen on the wall. On the other side, there was a precariously tall pile of 36 folders, organized by alphabetical order of the Selected's first names.

Spotty, his Dalmatian, was chewing on a bone on the floor, ignoring everything else. He checked his watch: Willow would be arriving soon so he prepared two coffees and set them on the table.

The door opened and Willow walked in dressed in the most casual outfit she could find: high-waist pink short with a bow as a belt, a white tank top, and a three-quarter sleeve jeans jacket on top. She had gathered her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head and was wearing the most uncomfortable shoes – at least in Charlie's opinion: some suede light pink platform stilettoes. Yes, Charlie knew the terms; Willow had spent hours teaching him and correcting his shoe vocabulary over the years.

"Ah, there you are," he said, not commenting on her choice of outfit. Hadn't she been wearing something else all morning? "Coffee?"

"Ugh, yes please," she said, grabbing the mug. "Sugar?"

"I already added some," he said. "So, are you ready?"

"Yeah," Willow said. "But please don't tell me too much about them, I don't want to go in with too much information. Just the basics. Like, something I really need to know so I don't put my foot in it."

Charlie nodded. "Alright. I'll keep it to the basics. But if you need more information, I have… stuff… on them." He gestured at the pile of folders on his right and Willow laughed.

"FBI, huh?"

"Yes." Charlie cleared his throat and clicked on a small remote control he was holding in his hand. "So, in alphabetical order, our– your first contender is Abeigh Garcia." A blond man with blue-grey eyes and full lips appeared on the screen, his name written above. "He's 27 years old and has described his occupation as Fanfic Writer."

"As in Fanfiction?" Willow asked. "That's– does that pay well?"

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "No. I believe he lives with his parents."

"Oh."

"I scoured the internet and I found out he is actually quite the famous fanfic writer on fanfiction, AO3, and Wattpad. He has thousands of followers on all three sites and writes under the name of AbeighGarcia69, I'm afraid," he added, clicking on the remote and adding that small information next to the picture.

"Huh. What fandom does he write for?" Willow asked. Charlie knew the princess didn't have much time for reading, let alone fanfiction, but she was in several fandoms on Instagram.

"Pretty much anything," Charlie replied. "He, uhm– it's not considered as uhm, porn, per se, but he does write… hum… smut fanfics."

Willow burst into laughter. "Did you read some?" she asked, a mischievous spark in her eyes.

Charlie felt his cheeks get noticeably warm and he ran a finger between his neck and his collar. "I… skimmed some, just to have an idea of the man." He clicked again on the remote and a big green stamp appeared over his face with the words SEXY-MINDED in the middle. "I gave them all a nickname to help remember them," he explained, not meeting her eyes.

"That's smart," Willow said. "I just hope I won't just remember the nicknames and completely forget their names."

"We'll use name tags on the first few days," he said.

He passed the next slide, revealing another guy whose name was Aidyn Teho Song. He was New Asian, that was clear from his pictures, and both Charlie and Willow had to admit that he was cute.

"Okay, so for this one, he put his Instagram handle on the form, and I've checked it out: it's mainly pictures of him in various high society parties, selfies, and anything that looks remotely aesthetically pleasing. From what I could gather, he's a huge flirt, and apparently, he's a Fashion Designer working with Antonio Florentino, also known as the Silk Master." He pressed on the remote again and another green stamp appeared on his face with the word FLIRT. The next one was also a New Asian guy by the name of Archer Niu. And while Aidyn was cute, Willow blurted out that Archer was hot. Charlie had to agree to that.

"I didn't find much about him and he wasn't very generous with his information in his application form, but what I did find out was that his parents are divorced and that his father owns a company that Archer helps run. As in, he's the COO, Chief Operating Officer."

"I see," Willow said. "Let me guess: you dubbed him the Business Man?"

"…No." He clicked on the remote, revealing the name he had come up with for this one.

"The ASSHOLE?" Willow said. "But why?"

"I don't know," Charlie replied, looking at the man on the screen. "Though I have to admit he is handsome, he also has this bitch-face that makes me think he's arrogant and proud, thus the asshole."

The next one was dubbed the INFLUENCER – and Willow already followed him on Instagram.

"Okay now this one is a little tricky," Charlie said, going on to the fifth Selected. "Callan Aurum Vanidestine," he read the name. "From his application form and his Instagram, there is no denying he's a Bartender."

"But?" Willow said. "I feel like there's a But coming."

Charlie turned towards her and nodded. "You know there was a medical history question on the application form, and he mentions he has Dysphonia," – he clicked on the remote and that word came up on the screen, along with the definition – "which is a really deep and raspy voice. He also says here that he's allergic to dogs."

"Dogs?!" Willow said, laughing. "Good luck with that. There are like four or five dogs in this place at any given time."

"Yes, I know," Charlie said. "But that's not all."

"Oh. What else?"

"You see the sunglasses he's wearing?" he asked, and Willow nodded. So he pressed on the remote and his nickname appeared in green on his face. BLIND.

"Oh. Oh!" Willow said. "But– how can he be a bartender, then?"

"That's something you'll have to ask him. Also," he added, "I've hired a specialized valet for him, someone who has been working with blind people for several years. He'll be arriving a couple of days before the Selected so he can get adjusted to the Palace and know exactly how to lead Callan around."

"Wow," Willow said, taking her first cookie from the fancy charcuterie board the cooks had made for them. "You really thought of everything."

Charlie looked away. He knew he was good at his job, but that didn't mean he liked the compliments. The next three boys were dubbed the DICTATOR – because Comoe Seigh Lama was the Dictator and Admin of the "Willow Fanclub" Discord Server –, the BULGE – because Connor Dominic Adventis was known as such in the Calvin Klein modeling industry –, and the SCIENTIST – because Cyrus Black was a Junior Chemist in the Pharmaceutic world.

Charlie clicked again on the remote, showing the next boy on the list. "Domenico Montero, from Sonage," he said. "Now this one is very tricky, too. I found lots of information on him, but he has absolutely no social media I could find."

"Then what did you find?"

Charlie clicked on his little remote control, making newspaper articles appear on the screen over the man's face. "He was married to Lara Travino–"

"Oh, that's him?" Willow said. "I remember that story. Felix's daughter had died mysteriously."

"Yes. Domenico was not charged with the murder of his wife though he was taken to the precinct with his wife's blood all over his hands." He looked at Willow. "The public was dubious about his innocence, but no evidence was found one way or the other, so they let him go."

Willow nodded, thoughtful. "Why isn't it written HRH or something before his name?"

"Because he gave up his title as a prince to marry the Trevino girl." Charlie pressed the button again, making another picture appear on the screen. "I also found this in the archives…" He paused, letting Willow take in the picture on the screen: it was a picture of their eloped wedding on a snowy mountain top in Sonage. Three people were there, other than the priest, and the newlyweds: the helicopter pilot, a man Willow did not recognize, and–

"Is that Lolly?" Willow said, squinting.

"Yes. She and Domenico's brother, the Infante Hugo of Spain, witnessed the wedding."

"How long ago was that?"

"Their wedding? About two years ago, and she died eight months later."

"Wow… okay, let me guess how you dubbed him… The Widow?"

Charlie chuckled. "Nope. The MURDERER."

"But I thought–"

"Anyway, moving on," Charlie said, clicking on the button for the next Selected. "Easton Alexander Divenre," he said, "Though I'm not sure on the last name pronunciation."

"He's hot," Willow said, quickly forgetting the previous one and focusing on the new man on the screen. "Sorry. I promised myself I wouldn't judge them based on their looks."

Charlie chuckled. "Yes, well. I guess it will be hard not to." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, you may have heard of him, he's a model and an actor, and he starred in–"

"Romeo and Juliet – Back to Back!" Willow said, pointing at the screen. "I knew his face was familiar though I definitely couldn't have placed his name."

"Yes, that's right." He nodded. "Anyway, he said on his application form that if he ever was Selected, he'd bring his daughter along."

"Daughter? As in, his kid?"

Another picture appeared on the screen, next to Easton's: a little girl with brown hair, brown eyes with mischievous sparks in them, and a sly but adorable smile. "That's Liliana Divenre. According to my research, she is four and half years old and will be five in November."

"What about her mom?"

"Nothing," Charlie said. "I couldn't find a thing about her. He's dated many women in the past, and he's always been very private about who the girl's mother is." He paused, took a sip of his now-cold coffee, and clicked on the remote again. "I've dubbed him the DAD."

"Obviously."

"My question is, though," he said, "is what are you going to do about the girl? Should we accept her here or not?"

Willow thought for a moment, sipping on water. "I mean– We can't just eliminate him because he came with a kid. Whatever his story is, I want to hear it before I do anything drastic. And if he said that his daughter was coming with him, I don't see why not. I'm sure Jyn will be happy to have a new friend!"

"I'm not sure Nathan and his family will be around often, but I get your other point."

And on and on it went, boy after boy, all with a different stamped nickname on their face.

"Ah, now this is still a mystery," he said when the picture of a cat appeared on the screen.

"Oh, yeah, the cat," Willow snorted. She took some other cookies and poured herself some water. "What do you know about them?"

"Cats?"

"No. This Jaylen Jackson dude. Person. Whatever."

Charlie sat on the chair – he had been standing for the good part of an hour. "I've done some research. Now, hear me out, okay?" Willow shrugged, so Charlie took that as a yes and continued. "I searched the name, and I've had 23 Jaylen Jacksons over all of Illéa, ranging from zero to 99 years old, men and women alike."

"That's a lot of Jaylen Jacksons," Willow said, nibbling on an apple.

"Yes," he agreed. "Then I narrowed it down to Kent, and there were only five left. I then narrowed it down more to the age range of the Selection, and there were only three left in Kent. And since this person didn't give anything else on their form but their name, their province, and this cat picture – the rest of the form was filled will spaces, going around the computer program to have filled-in answers." He paused and turned around to look at the screen, where three pictures came up: two men with dark skin and one woman who seemed to be of mixed African-Illéan and Caucasian descent.

"I think you can take out the girl," Willow said.

"That's the thing," Charlie replied. "One of the guys is a College student and basketball player, the other one is a professional football player. The woman is a psychologist."

"So? What's your point?"

"All three have sent their application to the Selection," he said. He took a folder from the pile and took out two papers. "These are the printed versions of the basketball player and the football player. So the only other option is the woman." He clicked on the remote and two big red X's appeared on the guys' faces.

Willow stared at Charlie for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "But why? Why would a girl sign up for this Selection?"

Charlie shrugged and rubbed his face with both hands, messing up his hair in the process. He sighed deeply. "I have no idea." He paused. "This is beyond anything that has ever happened before, and I'm seriously at a loss here." He looked at his cousin through his fingers. "Should I call one of the other guys? Her face was not shown on the Report, so no one will know the difference, anyway."

"Hell, no," Willow said. "If this woman had enough balls to sign up for this Selection and got called on national TV, I definitely want to meet her. I'll decide afterward what I do with her."

"Okay," Charlie said. "There are huge speculations on social media about who this cat person might be." He pushed his phone across the table for her. "Top three guesses are 1) a serial killer, 2) a guy too ugly to show his picture, or 3) someone who was unknowingly volunteered for the Selection." He chuckled. "I think it will be a huge buzz when we reveal the Mystery Cat Person is actually a woman."

Willow laughed. "Maybe that's what she's looking for?"

"Maybe." He shrugged and took the phone that she had pushed across the table back to him. "Anyway. I dubbed her the GIRL. Shall we go to the next one?"

Willow stood and stretched like a feline. "Ugh. Do we have to? I honestly feel like this is cheating. Like I know things about them beforehand, but they don't know anything about me."

"That's why they're here for," Charlie said. "They're here to find love as much as you are. Most of them, at least," he added. "And you'll figure out those who aren't and send them home."

Willow sighed but nodded. "Fine. On to the next one, then." He clicked on the remote and another very familiar face appeared on the screen. "Oh." Charlie looked at Willow who was staring at the screen, some of the color in her cheeks had gone. Julian Alistair Monroe, one of Willow's ex-boyfriends; the one she had spent almost 2 years with; the one she had been most devastated after their breakup; the one Charlie guessed she still had lingering feelings for. "You want to talk about him…?"

"No. Go to the next one."

"Right." Charlie clicked for the next one, but instead, Julian's stamped nickname appeared on his face in green: the EX-BOYFRIEND. Charlie quickly went to the next one, but he figured that Willow was not focused anymore. "Should we take a break?" he asked. "We're more or less in the middle of the list, anyway."

Willow nodded and went outside, leaving Charlie alone. But he figured they both needed that break now, anyway.

/ / /

Willow had gone through only half of the list of guys, but she was already tired. Too many people, too many faces, too many names, and too many stories. And she didn't even know half of those.

Since it was Saturday afternoon, she had nothing too important to do, so she went outside for a walk in the gardens. She knew Salima Aziz was somewhere behind her, giving her privacy, so she just walked around, with no particular destination in mind. The gardens were big enough to wander around without thinking but not too big to get lost – she took off her shoes pretty quickly, though, and hooked them in her fingers, sticking to walking on the grass. She wanted to talk to someone about all this: the boys, the upcoming selection, and her very mixed-up feeling about… stuff. People. Everything.

She would have talked it out with her mom, but she and her dad were on a weekend in their vacation house in Clermont before the Selection started and they would be coming back only the next evening. Lolly? No, she didn't want to burden her with that. Zeke? Hell, no. Matty? He wouldn't understand. Charlie? No, she had already been spending two hours with him going over half of the boys. Mikey?

Mikey was an option, but he hadn't been answering her calls or replying to her texts since the Calling of the names. Where was he? She has asked Tim and Ana about her best friend's whereabouts, but they had no idea either, and he was not answering their calls either. She had even tried going to his beach house, but it was empty. The only thing she had noticed was that his black Cadillac was gone, so he must have gone on a road trip or something. She hoped he would show up for the Selection, at least.

So, Mikey was not an option.

Without even realizing it, she arrived at the lake. The waters were shining in the afternoon sun and she walked over to the pier. She sat down and leaned on her hands and exposed her face to the sun, closing her eyes. After a moment like this, she lay down with her feet dangling over the water that was gently lapping at the pier polls.

She took out her phone and started going through old pictures on her Instagram account. Pictures she had archived but couldn't bring herself to delete completely; pictures that dated from 7 or 8 years ago with Julian; pictures that were taken during some of her best years. She had come out of the Hospital a year and a half before they had started dating, but he had been the one to help her get back on track. And seeing his picture on the screen just now made so many old feelings resurface again.

Sure, she had already seen his face during the Calling of the names, but she had been able to not think about him in the past week or so, since there had been lots of things to do before the Selection – like new outfits fittings, going over programs, talking things out with Charlie, date ideas to come up with, and so on. But now?

She went through her contacts and scrolled down to the J section. He was still there, and she wondered if he still had the same number. She sent him a text message, half-hoping he had changed his number.

Willow: Hey. [17:07]

She put her phone on her belly, upside down, and put both hands under her head, enjoying the sun on her skin. She closed her eyes and reveled at this moment completely alone – there weren't much of those, these days – and thought that she should have taken a bottle of champagne with her, just to celebrate that.

Bzzzz

Willow jumped at the vibration on her belly and looked at the new notification she just got: A text from him. Julian, not Mikey. So he hadn't changed his number. Should she go read his message? With trembling hands, she unlocked her phone and clicked on the messaging app.

Jules: Hey ;) long time no see… [17:18]

What was she supposed to say now? It had been almost seven years since they had last talked! Sure, they still followed each other on Facebook and Instagram and liked each other's posts from time to time, but that didn't really count as keeping contact, right?

Willow: yeah. I didn't know you were back in Illéa (?) [17:21]

Julian wrote something – (Jules is writing…) – for the longest time. How long was his text going to be? Was he going to explain 7 years of absence in a single text message? Then the writing stopped and all she got from him was:

Jules: can I call u? :) [17:25]

Willow's heart skipped a beat. Call her? And then what? What did you say to your ex-boyfriend you hadn't talked to in seven years?!

Willow: uh sure [17:27]

Not ten seconds later, her phone rang. Not only was Julian calling her, but he was video-calling her? "Shit shit shit," she mumbled, sitting back up and making her hair look presentable. No use showing him her double chin, lying on the ground. The last time he had seen her in real life, she was practically 60 pounds lighter.

She sat up straight and answered the call, making sure her camera was at a good angle.

"Hhh, thank God," he said when he saw her through his phone. "I thought you'd refuse the video call."

"Of course not!" she said, forcing a relaxed smile. "So…"

"So…" he echoed. "To answer your question, I arrived in Illéa six months ago, in January." He paused, looking away, and Willow thought that he was even more good-looking than when they were eighteen years old. His jawline was more defined, his stubble was fuller, and his teal eyes had taken on several years, but his smile was still the same.

"Oh," she said. "What made you come back here?"

"An internship," he replied. "I'm working with my dad, now."

"What? But why haven't I seen you around, then? I'm pretty sure the South African Ambassador came to the Palace at least once in the last six months."

Julian nodded and shrugged at the same time. "You know how my dad is," he said with a little chuckle. "He's not going to give me any special treatment just because I'm his son. And going to the Palace is not in my job specifications. I'm just the intern."

Willow laughed at that. Yes, she knew his dad alright, and she knew he was not one to give out special treatment, either. "Can I ask you something?"

A small smirk played on his lips as he looked at her through the camera. "Why do I have the feeling you're going to ask me why I applied?"

That honestly made Willow's heart race and heat get to her face. Was she that easy to read or did Julian still know how to read her? "Among other things," she replied. "But you can answer that, first."

Julian nodded again and took a deep breath. "I've been putting off for so long to text or call you, ever since I came back," he said, not looking at her but playing with something off-camera on his lap. A pet? A pencil? "So when I saw you were announcing the Selection, I thought why not? If I got Selected, I'd get to see you again, and I wouldn't have to go through Palace protocol to ask for an audience with my ex-girlfriend, which would have been… awkward?"

"Oh, because you think seeing your face and hearing your name Live on the Report was not awkward?" she snapped back a little more violently than she intended. "Sorry."

"No, I guess you can be angry at me–"

"I'm not angry."

"But you didn't seem happy to see me on that screen, either." Now he looked at her, trying to search her eyes.

"I was surprised," she defended herself. "What did you want me to do? Leap with joy and call off the Selection before it was even started and have only you come here?" Okay, now she was a little angry at him for dropping back into her life like that when she had tried so hard not to think about him.

Julian didn't reply right away, but he still had his eyes on her. "No, I don't want you to do that," he simply said. "Just– can you give me a chance, at least?" he asked softly. "I know this is all weird and all, but–" He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Please?"

Willow looked away. The view of the shining waters of the Lake soothed her a bit. But it also sent back fresh memories from her time dating Julian. How many times had they come to the Lake to get away from everything and just be together? Finally, she nodded. "Yeah, I can do that." Then she smiled and used the back camera of her phone, filming the Lake. "You remember this place?"

She saw him smile and chuckle softly. "How can I forget?"

Then she used the front camera again and they stayed like this, silent, just remembering for a moment. "I have to go," he said softly. "My dad is calling me. But I'll see you in four days?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you in four days…" With that, she ended the call and lay back down on the pier, suddenly feeling exhausted. She wondered if he had changed a lot in seven years. Did he still like the same things? The same food? Had he had any girlfriends during that time? She quickly kicked that thought away: that was a very selfish thing to ask because she had had two boyfriends since then. Not nearly as long as with Jules and not nearly as good as him, but there, nonetheless.

hi! Thanks for reading! I promise, if you haven't seen your boys in this chapter and what Charlie found on them, you'll see them in the next chapter ;)

what did you think of this chapter? Zeke's reaction? Silas's deal with Mikey? Willow's call with Julian? Charlie's FBI talents? :eyes: anyways, lots of things happened LOL. Camp Nano has just started, and I hope to write 100k on Sisters this month :eyes:

so see ya next week! byeee