Chapter 16 – Picnics

Willow woke up excited because her uncle Val and his wife, Auntie Essie, would be coming for the weekend! They wanted to come to say hi and see the Selected for themselves before going on vacation in Hawaii for a few weeks. Willow quickly got dressed on her own, since Nerissa Summers had her weekend off.

She put on a long-puff-sleeve white off-the-shoulder blouse with short light blue denim overalls, as well as a pair of white thick-heeled pumps and pearl earrings. She quickly tied her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head – it was honestly the only hairstyle she could do perfectly well on her own – and hurried downstairs. They would be arriving around 10 o'clock, just in time for the Brunch Buffet.

When she arrived outside where the brunch was laid out in the gardens, near the fountain, most of the Selected were already there, waiting in small groups of 2 or 3, sometimes more, as the royal family joined them.

"Good morning, Princess," Aidyn said, bowing elegantly. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yes!" she replied, smiling. "I just love these summer mornings." She looked at the small group gathered around her. There were Cal and Mikey, Easton and Liliana, and also, Fredrick and Xander.

"Is it true that Prince Valerian is coming today?" Lil' asked, stars in her eyes.

"Yes, it's true, Bunny," Willow said. She loved calling kids with cute animal names. "Odessa is coming too, as well as my cousins."

"What are their names, again?" Xander asked. "I don't remember seeing them much on Social Media?"

"That's because they're not very active there," Willow said. "They're more around Lolly and Matty's age, though. Oli's in medical school and Cami is training to be a Kindergarten teacher."

"Oh!" Easton said. "So they're like– regular people?"

Willow laughed. "Yes. Val and Essie wanted their kids to have 'regular lives', as you call it." She smiled. "They're the softest people on earth, you'll see."

"Oli and Cami?" Fredrick asked. "Are those nicknames?"

"Oliver and Camelia," Mikey said. "They're pretty cool."

"Dude," Cal said. "How do you know everyone around here?"

"Uh, because I grew up here, remember?"

"Right."

"You're so luckyyyy," Liliana said. "I would love living here!" She turned to Willow. "Can't you just marry my dad, already?"

Willow laughed and cast a quick glance at Easton, who was pinching the bridge of his nose, biting his lip trying not to laugh.

"They're here!" Aidyn said, gesturing with his chin. Willow whirled around just as they walked out of the Palace and into the garden. She ran – in high heels, yes – towards them and was met by her uncle's warmest hug.

"Hey, Willow!" he said, hugging her tightly. "How are you?"

"Great!" she said. She then hugged Essie, Cami, and Oli in turn. "I'm just so glad you're here! I can't wait for you to meet everyone!"

"Any cute guys you'd recommend?" Cami asked, giggling, and her family laughed.

"She's joking," Essie said. "But do you?"

Willow laughed with them and she guided them to the Selected waiting. Some more courageous ones approached on their own, wanting to meet the Soft Prince – that was how he had always been portrayed in the media – and his family. A few moments later, the King and Queen came out as well and they greeted each other warmly. Zeke came out too to come to say hi to the newcomers before heading to the table where he just sat, waiting. Lolly and Matty arrived shortly after, and the young prince was overly excited to have them here for the weekend. He had spent several years with them when Willow was going through her darkest years, so they were his second closest family.

"Let's eat!" Willow said, inviting everyone to fill their plates and find a seat around the long table. She found herself in line between Hayes and Julian, and they chatted until they arrived at the table.

"When's the next group date planned?" Hayes asked.

"Why?" Willow asked. He had been on the first one. Maybe he was finding it a long wait until she was done?

"Just curious," he said.

"I think we're all wondering when the solo dates are gonna start," Julian said with a smirk, elbowing her playfully. They headed together to the table and she sat between them.

"I see," she said. "You guys gotta learn some patience." She giggled. "But there are only two left, and the next one is probably going to be tomorrow, and the last one on Monday." She paused. "Also, I was wondering," she said. "For the solo dates, what would be the best: that I organize them? Or that I let you guys organize them?"

"Hmm," Hayes said. "That's actually a good question." He forked some pancakes into his mouth. "From what I heard the guys talk about, some would be excited to actually organize something for you. You know, to impress you or something." He paused, drinking some coffee. "Others don't care what they do as long as they're with you…"

"Interesting," Willow said, leaning back on her chair. "Jules? What do you think?"

Julian's lips curled into a smile. "I'd personally like to organize it myself. But I'm going to go with what you decide, of course."

"What about you guys?" she asked the three across from them, which were Weston, Lysander, and Haakon, assuming they had followed the conversation. They had.

Weston shrugged. "I think I wouldn't mind either way," he said. "It would depend on how much time we'd have to plan it, I guess?"

"Hm, yeah," Lysander said. "Though I think it would be nice if we could do something for you," he said with a small smile which sent butterflies going crazy in Willow's stomach.

"Haakon?"

"Princess," he said. "I'd do anything for you, and you know that. Whatever you decide, I'd be on board." He paused. "Though I wouldn't mind organizing the most romantic date ever."

Willow nodded. "Thanks for your input," she said. "I'll think about it."

The guys nodded and continued eating. Around the table, Willow started to see patterns in the groups, like new friend groups or people who avoided each other. She noticed Lolly talking with Domenico and Matty including Fredrik in his conversation with Oliver and Camelia. Charlie was talking with a few Selected as well, though Willow was sure he was only gathering information on them. Annie and Jaylen were talking with Archer and some others, and Pierce was talking animatedly with Henry.

"What do you think?" Julian said, leaning towards Willow.

"Hm?" She looked at her ex-boyfriend's amazing teal eyes and smiled. "Oh, yeah, absolutely."

Julian chuckled. "You weren't listening, were you?" he said, smiling.

"No."

"Haakon said that it would be interesting to organize a talent show for all the Selected so we could show off our skills," he said. "You'd be the judge with some others– like Annie and your sister? I don't know. And we were discussing the pros and cons of such an event."

"What do you think?" Haakon asked, leaning over the table on his elbows.

Willow raised an eyebrow. "Uhm… I mean, why not? But maybe when there are less Selected left? I'm not sure I'm ready to go through a whole day of that."

"Hmm, true," Haakon said.

"We could call it Selecteds Got Talent?" Aidyn suggested with a grin. "In reference to Illéa's Got Talent, obviously."

"Yeah, okay, I like that title," Willow said. "I'll keep that in mind."

/ / /

On Sunday morning, as everyone was still sleeping in late, Willow met with a small group of Selected in the entrance hall, all ready for a day at the beach.

"I hope it wasn't too hard to get up, this morning," she said, joining them.

"Of course not," Jaylen replied for all of them. "One can do so much sleeping in..."

Weston chuckled as he shouldered his bag. "I feel like I'm getting soft. I used to wake up every day at the crack of dawn."

"Eeh, I don't mind sleeping in," Leonardo said. "It's nice from time to time. But don't get me wrong! I'm super excited for this group date!"

"Same here, sweetheart," Ricardo said winking at her. He was wearing a very tight white t-shirt that was accentuating his muscles and Willow quickly looked away. She hadn't interacted with him much besides the first meeting, but she was curious to see if he was different from the LATINO LOVER Charlie had nicknamed him.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Leonardo asked. "Are we waiting for someone else?"
"We're waiting for the food, actually," Willow replied. Just then, two footmen arrived with two heavy cool boxes, one filled with food for the whole day and the other with enough water bottles and drinks. "Ah, perfect," she said. "Thank you so much!"

The footmen bowed. "Breakfast is packed on top, lunch below, and dinner at the bottom if you decided to stay all day," one of them said. "Have an enjoyable day, Highness." They bowed one more time before walking away, back to their daily chores.

"Alright," she said, grabbing one of the bags. "Oof! It didn't think it would be that heavy," she said putting it back down.

"Here, allow me," Weston offered. He grabbed the one she had tried lifting and Ricardo picked up the other one before they all headed outside and piled into the
Range Rover. Salima Aziz was sitting in the front, next to the chauffeur, and she had already sent a team to the beach to secure the area, even if it was the Schreave beach. There had sometimes been people trespassing.

The ride there wasn't long, only fifteen minutes, and they didn't even have time to start a conversation.

"Oh, wow!" Jaylen said as she stepped out of the car. "This beach is gorgeous!"

"I know, right?" Willow replied, grinning. "Unfortunately, we don't come here as often as I'd like..." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What do you guys say we settle down somewhere and then eat breakfast?"

"Yup," Leonardo said, pulling out three fancy white parasols from the trunk of the car. Willow helped him carry one of them while Jaylen took the princess's bag and Weston and Ricardo took the food and drinks. They hobbled on the hot sand, hissing as the sand filed into their sandals and flip-flops. They chose a random place on the beach and laid out their towels; the guys worked on setting up the parasols while Jay and Willow took the breakfast sandwiches out of the bag.

"Ooh, this is neat," Willow said, analyzing one of them. "Bread, omelette, bacon, and cilantro sandwiches."

"And fruit salad!" Jaylen exclaimed, pulling out a big plastique box along with plastic bowls and spoons. "This is really cool."

Willow nodded just as the guys joined them. The princess handed out the sandwiches and they devoured them.

"I have to admit that I've never had a breakfast picnic," Weston said and everyone laughed because it certainly wasn't common. Except for Leonardo.

"Dude, I eat a picnic everything, every single day," he said. "I practically live in my taxi, so this is a nice change." He dug his toes in the sand and inhales the beachy air, taking it all in.

"So this is a real vacay, for you, then?" Ricardo asked.

"Yeah, not you guys?" Leo said, confused.

Weston nodded. "It is for me– I was working until the last day before the Selection…" He shrugged, and Willow knew that this was maybe his first long-ish vacation: working as Zeke's valet mustn't have been a walk in the park. And he probably wouldn't have his job back if he didn't marry her, which made her feel horrible.

"Jaylen? What about you?" Leo asked.

"Oh, I'm on vacay, alright," she said. "I can't even remember the last time I had a real break, to be honest…"

"Princess?" Ricardo said in his light Spanish accent. "What about you? Are you often on vacation?"

Willow snorted. "Do I look like I'm always on vacation?" she said, a little put off. Sure, not everyone knew what her days were made of and if they looked only on social media, then yes, she was only going to events, trying on new outfits, and supporting charities. But that was work.

"No, of course not," he said, trying to justify himself. "It's just–"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but this Selection is not really a whole Vacation for me." She looked at the blinding sky and ocean behind Ricardo, squinting a little. "For one, I spend most of my mornings in my office, working. Paperwork, reading stuff, signing stuff, commenting stuff. Second, this whole Selection might look like a summer camp, but it's actually really important to me and I put my whole focus into it."

"I know," Ricardo said. "I was just asking–"

"No, you don't." Willow huffed and rubbed her forehead with her fingers. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to snap– I just– I hate it when people think being a princess and the heir to the throne is easy like it's just tiaras, gowns, and parties. It's not." She couldn't tell them about what had been discussed in the meeting the other day, how she might have sparked the European war by inviting Fredrik here and by taking him to the Amusement Park. She might have a whole war on her shoulders because of some stupid idea and– "I'm sorry– please excuse me," she mumbled as she stood, leaving her half-eaten sandwich behind and walking towards the water. She needed some space to breathe, space to think, and just… space. The ocean in front of her provided that; and for a while, she was alone as the waves lapped at her feet and calves.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jaylen said, standing next to her. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No…" she sighed. "I wish I could, but I can't."

"Oh." Jaylen crossed her arms over her chest. "I imagine being the Princess is not that easy, then."

"Nope…" The two young women just stood there, not talking, staring at the ocean. Willow really wanted to talk to someone about all that was bothering her, but she couldn't. It was top secret state and international matter. How could she say anything? Would Jaylen even understand? Of course, she wouldn't understand. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If only she could talk about it with someone who would understand. She could with her father, but he had more important things to take care of. Her mom? Maybe, but she had her Rainha Premiere show the next day. Zeke? Pfff. He would just make fun of her. Maybe if they weren't fighting all the time, she could. But not anymore.

"Hey," Jaylen said softly, bumping her shoulder with hers. "I think the guys are wondering what's going on right now…"

Willow turned around and saw the boys playing with sand or just looking at her and Jay, but not talking. "You're right." They walked back to the parasols and towels and Willow sat down. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm dealing with some stuff at the moment, and–"

"Hey, it's okay," Weston said, offering her a smile. "You've got a huge burden on your shoulders."

"Thanks," Willow nodded. To be honest, Weston might actually be the one who would understand the best: he had heard a lot of things from Zeke, and he understood how the system worked… "It has nothing to do with the Selection or with any of you, I promise." She paused. "Anyone wants to go swim?" she asked, wanting to change the subject and the direction of the conversation. Maybe if they did something fun, it would take her mind off things for a while?

Everyone nodded and stood, and Ricardo even offered her a hand to stand up, and she took it. He had this annoying little flirty smile on his face, but she welcomed it; anything to distract her, really, even if it was a smile, abs, or splashing around in the water.

The small group headed to the water's edge and–

"The last one in the water is a loser!" Leonardo said, running.

Everyone ran after him, and the last one in the water was… Jaylen.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to run in like that," she said. "We've just eaten, and it might be super cold, which could give us a stroke. So, no thank you."

"Pffft, that's just a myth," Leo said. "You're the loser, though."

Jaylen shrugged and walked in carefully, putting water on her neck and arms, and walked in slowly while everyone was already splashing around like kids.

"Hey!" Willow said as she was lifted out of the water, perched on Ricardo's shoulders. "What are you doing? Put me down!" She was not used to being carried like that. Every time someone had tried to carry her, she had run away. She always thought she was too heavy for them and didn't want them to sprain a muscle or end up flat like a pancake on the floor. But maybe she had always underestimated them…?

"Nope," he said, holding her legs tightly against his torso. "Leo or Weston, take Jay, and we fight. The first one in the water loses."

Weston and Leo shared a glance, but Weston seemed a little reticent to obey. So Leo grinned at Jaylen, already paddling towards her.

"Hell, no," Jaylen said, walking away from him. She splashed him in the face, but Leo didn't stop. "Leo, stop! I'm not letting you pick me up and–"

"Come on, Jay," Willow said. "It could be fun."

"Hear, hear," Ricardo said, laughing. "Just once, Jay."

"Fine– hey where's Leo– Ah!" she yelped as Leo stood from the water with her on his shoulders.

"Weston, you're the referee," Leo said, wiping the water from his face so he could see where he was going. Ricardo and he stood face to face, holding on to the ladies on their shoulders while Weston watched, a few steps away.

"Okay," Willow said. "Let's do this…"

"I'm not gonna hold," Jaylen mumbled to Leo. "You better be ready to let me fall; I don't want to break something– either on me or you."

"Yes ma'am," he said.

"Are you guys ready?" Weston said, slowly getting wrapped into the excitement of the game. The four players nodded so Weston did a countdown. "Hands behind your back," he said. "Three, two, one, go!"

Willow took Jaylen by the shoulders just as Jaylen grabbed her arms. They struggled to pull the other down, laughing and screaming as they did. But before long, Willow made Jaylen fall into the water, to everyone's laughs.

"You know, I grew up with a brother, two guy best friends, and my two girl best friends are either Military or Cop," Willow said, her hands on her hips, still sitting on Ricardo's shoulders. "I have some practice with wrestling."

Jaylen laughed. "Yeah, I'm not doing that again," she said. Then she looked at Weston. "Be my guest."

"Uh, no," he said.

"Okay, fine; put me down, then," Willow said to Ricardo, thinking that he was slowly going to let her into the water. Instead, he flipped her backward and she fell into the water with a yelp. She gasped as she came out of the water.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," Ricardo said. "I used to do that all the time with my sister– I wasn't thinking– I –"

"Calm down," Willow said, wringing her hair to get the water out. "It was kinda funny."

"Are you sure?" Ricardo asked again. This time, he came closer and took her hand in his.

"I'm sure," she said. And she was also sure that he was way too hot for his own good. Crap. At least she was distracted from her worries. It was working. Kinda.

They stayed a while longer in the water but everyone had had enough of splashing around so they went back to the towels. Willow took out a UNO game and they played until lunchtime, inventing rules as they went. It was really fun until everyone's bellies started grumbling for food, and they discovered what the cooks had packed for them for lunch: chicken salad wraps and apples for dessert. During the afternoon, they went back into the water to cool off before coming back and doing a sandcastle contest without anything but their hands and their breakfast bowls. Willow found some seashells and some feathers to decorate it, but it was Ricardo's castle that won the contest, hands down.

And it was also one of Willow's favorites activities for a group date...

Heyaaa! thanks for reading, reviewing, and still being here :) I hope you liked this chapter, let me know! see ya next week!

(and thanks Pocket for reminding me today was Friday... again. XD)