I continued eating as the camera men began to circle us like sharks at feeding time. Céline was completely enthralled by them and tried standing on my lap in order to reach them. One of them entertained her by letting her play with her nails while I ate. In between bites, Connor chuckled at the sight.

"Okay Céline," I switched the camera woman's hand with my own. "It's time to let Brandy go back to filming." When I set her back on my lap, she reached and played with my resting wrist.

Why do I never remember to bring toys for her? I thought.

My attention averted to Maxon, who seemed to be doing well after the sudden elimination. He had to be putting on a mask. It must have been hard on him to send eight women who thought that they had a future with him home on the first day. But he knew from the start that he couldn't keep them all here forever. He had one heart and he couldn't waste it.

I turned to my right and began to hear miniscule sighs. The girls, even the Twos, were clearly enjoying their food. While the Twos were used to similar dishes, their private chefs' ways of preparing the food differed greatly from the way that the palace chefs did it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the ladies reach for the plate of tarts.

The only redhead is that… Lady America? Well finally someone has the sense to go for the tarts! I watched her bite into it and a tiny moan escaped her lips. Maxon's ears seemed to perk up at the sound.

"Lady America?" He asked.

She turned to us, shocked that my brother had addressed her. She covered her still-full mouth and tried to force the rest of the tart down as hastily as she could. The rest of the girls were staring at her, most being curious with a few being smug.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" She asked.

"How are you enjoying the food?" I turned my head back to him. If it weren't for Dad's watchful eye, all of us would be busting out in laughter right now.

"It's excellent, Your Majesty. This strawberry tart… Well, I have a sister who loves sweets more than I do. I think she'd cry if she tasted this. It's perfect."

I remembered when we were planning our wedding and we were cake testing. Mom, Maxon and my future-in-laws were with us and the image of Connor's family, specifically his mother, Lilia's, reaction played over and over in my mind. She immediately fell in love with the vanilla bean. Then she fell in love with the red velvet, then the tiramisu...

Maxon took another bit of bacon and swallowed it. He leaned back in his chair and raised a brow. "Do you really think she would cry?"

"Yes, actually, I do. She doesn't have much of a filter when it comes to her emotions."

"Would you wager money on it?" I noticed that the girls' heads were going back and forth like a pendulum in a clock. They were clearly wanting to see how this played out.

"If I had any to bet, I certainly would."

"What would you be willing to barter instead? You seem to be very good at striking deals."

"Well, what do you want?" Lady America challenged.

"What do you want?" He replied coolly.

She thought about it for a moment. "If she cries, I want to wear pants for a week."

I nearly spit out my orange juice at the request. Pants? In this house? I heard Mom's delicate laugh from beside me.

"Done. And if she doesn't, you owe me a walk around the grounds tomorrow afternoon."

"You drive a hard bargain, sir, but I accept." I've taught him well. I smiled proudly while taking another sip.

"Justin?" Maxon's butler stepped out of the shadows. "Go make a parcel of strawberry tarts and send it to the lady's family. Have someone wait while her sister tastes it, and let us know if she does, in fact, cry. I'm most curious about this." From the look on Connor's face, he was too.

"You should write a note to send with it, and tell your family you're safe. In fact, you all should. After breakfast, write a letter to your families, and we'll make sure they receive them today." Maxon instructed.

We finished out the meal in complete silence with the exception of little conversations here and there. Much like everyone else, I was very excited to hear the conclusion of the tart bet. After breakfast ended, Maxon left to go and do some paperwork in his office. When the rest of the ladies and our family filtered out to do their own tasks, I slipped in the direction of his office.

"That was pretty ingenious, Maxi." I said as I locked the door behind me.

My brother jumped at the sound of my voice. He whirled around in his chair, only to be relieved to see that it was just me.

"Really Linnie?" He sighed.

"I'm just saying that the years and years of gambling lessons I've taught you finally worked! They usually fail horrifically! You might even have a date after lunch!" My voice's pitch flew higher and higher as I kept going. He laughed as I kept singing my praises.

Silence overtook us soon after and we stared at each other for a few moments. Maybe I had boosted his ego too much… What would happen if America's sister cried and she won the bet? Maxon knows nothing about womenswear. He noticed the look in my eyes and said,

"I've been thinking about that. Guess I'll need some help then…" A mischievous smile overtook his handsome face.

I shot up off the couch and brushed the wrinkles and creases out of my skirts. "Give me ten minutes to draw up some plans."

~~~~...~~~~

No more than eleven minutes passed before I heard two staccato knocks on my door. Perfect timing! I set my pencil in its place in my supply case and cleared off the clutter of alcohol markers and various papers I needed to work on.

"Come in!" I put my reading glasses on the top of my hair and shoved my pencil into the back of my ponytail.

I gestured for him to sit down on the couch so I could spread the sketches out onto the coffee table. Somehow, I managed to draw up six pairs of pants in ten minutes and organize them into three categories. The look on Maxon's face vocalized my thoughts.

"How did you…?"

"My pencils and I have the same relationship that you have with your camera. We're so intertwined as we know each other so well, we just know what each other is thinking. Does that make sense?"

"I see," He nodded and looked at the sketches. "So, what do you have for me?"

"I took into consideration her caste and her current position." I pushed them to his field of vision. "I've got some jeans- something she's probably used to, and some more tailored options."

"What are these?" He picked up one of the sketches.

"Those are dress pants," I told him. "I wear them to meetings sometime, usually in correlation with a blouse and some jewelry." He nodded and I picked up another sketch.

"Now this is what I call "the marriage of dress pants and pajamas". They're looser and usually made out of linen. They're quite comfortable, especially when you're pregnant."

"I wouldn't know." A smile crept onto his lips.

"The linen would still make her look classy and like she belongs here, but the looser silhouette would provide comfort and familiarity." I picked up the last two sketches. "And then we have what she's used to- jeans."

"They don't look very comfortable…" He said, looking at the sketches.

"Jeans are worn by most of the castes, but they're a necessity for a Five, Six or Seven due to the durability of denim. Don't you remember that I wear jeans down at the stables. Although," I smirked. "The ones I wear are old and faded, with rips at the knees and hem."

"Jackie, they're only like that because they're Mom's old jeans from when she was our age!"

"I only wear them because they fit nicely."

He rolled his eyes. I watched him flip through the sketches over and over again, getting faster and faster after every round. It was almost as if he thought that he had to memorize the images before I took them away again. Even though he tried to hide it, his anxiety grew more and more as he stared at the sketches.

"Jackie, in all honesty, what pants are good for women?" He pleaded.

"Maxi, she's one of your twenty-seven girlfriends. You'll get to know them better than I will." I patted his hand sympathetically. He looked down again.

"Wait… you like her." I laughed to myself.

"What?"

"You're planning on giving her the pants whether the sister cries or not!" I pointed my finger accusingly at him. "Maxon Calix Schreave, I think you have a crush!"

"No I don't!"

"Then tell me why you were making eyes at each other at breakfast."

"We weren't making eyes, Linnie! Ugh, I should've gone to Mom…"

"We both know that she wouldn't really be of help since she hasn't worn pants in so long."

"True…" He took the sketches again and flipped through them. "I think that I'll go with these three." He handed me half, and put the other half on the table.

"Should I run these to Elizabeth?"

"I'll do it." He said insistently and stood up. Maxon pecked my cheek and slipped out.

Now it was just a matter of time and fate to see who won the first battle. I sat there for a few minutes, relishing in the silence before leaving for the stables.

The horse noises welcomed me into the stables. Ever since I was a little girl this had been my favorite place in the entire palace, much to the dismay of my father. Something about the happy whinnies and snorts with the aroma of hay in the background enticed me.

"Good morning, Your Highness." Jack, the head of the stables, addressed me. "Would you like me to bring out Outlaw, Poppy, or Fira for you?"

"Could you bring me Outlaw for today, then tomorrow I'll bring Céline to see Fira." I adjusted my riding jacket.

"Are you preparing for the charity event at the end of September?" He asked while escorting me into the barn.

"No, unfortunately not due to the unstable circumstances. It'll be fine though. We've got the Selection going on. That'll take the public's minds off of the war and the rebels.

"That is quite a shame. Remember that year you jumped through the flaming ring of roses?"

"And my mother almost had a heart attack? How could I forget!" He chuckled.

"Wait right here, Your Highness. Outlaw will be out shortly."

"Thank you."

While Jack disappeared around the corner, I began petting the other horses and began to wonder if Maxon would ever bring one or more of the girls out here for a date. In my opinion it would be quite a suitable date, but not every girl liked to spend her weekends training with horses.

"Hi Star," I whispered to Maxon's mare. "How have you been doing with that foal of yours?" I stared at her stout belly.

She nudged my shoulder, wondering if I had a treat for her today. I reached into my back pocket, where I'd managed to stuff two small packets of sugar cubes before I left. I opened it and put two on my palm and let her tongue scoop them out of my hand.

"There's a good girl." I stroked the star on her forehead. Star licked my face affectionately.

"Star has been a little snippy lately, so it's quite surprising to see that she's responding to you so well, Your Highness." Jack came back with Outlaw, who was completely saddled up and ready to go.

"It's from one mother to another." I kissed her nose and scratched her forelock. I turned back to Jack and Outlaw.

"Thank you for saddling him up." I put my foot in the stirrup and swung my other leg over.

"No problem, Your Highness."

I began guiding Outlaw to the entrance of the stables where the brightness of the sunlight hit me with its entire fervor. It was the beginning of September, so the Angeles air would still feel like flames for another few weeks or so. I began to question my earlier decision of going for a ride, but changed my mind once we began trotting.

"Come on, boy." I kicked my legs against his sides and our trots turned into canters. That's the spirit!

I didn't give Outlaw directions, I just let him take me wherever he wanted to go. Outlaw's canter soon turned into a gallop once he saw the entrance of the forest at the back end of the palace. With the amount of structural thought that Silvia put into my everyday life, it felt freeing to not know anything for once. Not be expected to know anything.

Thanks to the amount of upkeep and visibility by the entrance, it was easy to see where you were going unlike most of the forest. When we were young, Maxon and I could only go as far as the point where Outlaw was passing due to the unknown that lay beyond that point. We later discovered that the center of these woods were very fertile hunting grounds. Deer, otters, and beavers could be found if you knew just where to look.

Leaves were rustling thanks to late summer winds and the birds were chirping. I looked over my shoulder, feeling like I was being watched. Outlaw's ears were flipping back and forth, curious to know what was going on.

"It's nothing boy," I snapped the reins lightly against his neck and we continued deeper into the forest.

The moment I arrived back at the palace, Silvia immediately sent me to my mother's office, and then she recommended that I take a shower. I knew that the smell of the stables lingered on me, but I didn't care, and neither did my mother. The smell reminded her of fond childhood memories.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked, peeking in behind the door.

"Jackie!" Her face lit up once she saw me. Mom gestured hastily for me to enter. I came in and stood on the expensive tapestry rug hesitantly. I just hoped that I didn't have mud on my boots.

"Have you heard the news?" She asked coily.

"No; I've been out in the woods for the past hour-and-a-half. What's so exciting?"

"Lady America's sister didn't cry." Mom grinned. The realization hit me a moment later.

"Maxon's got a date." She nodded enthusiastically. "Do you know what time it will be tomorrow?" She shook her head. "Well then what good are you?" She chuckled.

"I told him that I wouldn't…" Mom leaned back in her desk chair and fiddled with one of her earrings.

Interfere. Not until we have the Elite. My mind finished the sentence. After me, there were supposed to be more of us. One would be a son, the others left to fate. They would've had Mom's sun kissed skin and Dad's deep blue eyes… I blinked back a few rising tears and shakily sighed.

While Mom continued to fiddle with her earring and read the paper in front of her, I studied her sweet, serene face. She wants another daughter so damn badly… It would shatter her like a glass bottle if she got too close to one that Maxon didn't like. She doesn't deserve that. I began pacing.

"So when did we get the news?"

"Excuse me?" She looked up.

"About Maxon winning the bet."

"A little under twenty-five minutes ago." She sighed. "Clarkson won't like that his first date is with…" She chewed the inside of her mouth nervously.

The last remaining Five. My mind completed her sentence. "It's his Selection, he chooses whoever the hell he wants whether it be her or one of the Twos. It doesn't matter to me who wins. Just as long as he's happy."

I leaned against the edge of her desk and began tapping my fingers against my riding jacket. My mother got up out of her chair and stood beside me, resting her head on my shoulder. Even though she was wearing heels at the moment, I was still a good three inches taller than she was. She ran her dainty fingers through the ends of my ponytail.

I stared at our reflections in the mirror beside her desk. Growing up, the media told me that my features were like a marriage between hers and my paternal grandmother's. I only saw the resemblance between me and Abby in a few features, like my eyes (both color and shape), nose, lips and eyebrows. The flawlessness of my hair and skin were all thanks to my mother. My coloring came from her as well, although the shades of my hair and skin were slightly lighter. What I wanted, but unfortunately didn't have, was the light dusting of freckles on her cheeks and nose. They added a certain playfulness to her otherwise regal face.

"Who's going to talk to him before the date?" I began pacing again.

"It should be you, Jackie." Mom said. "You've been through a similar situation that resulted in a good outcome."

"Mom," I replied patiently. "What he needs is advice from the girl who went through the Selection and knows what they're feeling. You know what's going through their minds, what they're feeling…"

She sighed. Another moment of silence passed before we heard the doorknob twist. Maxon walked in a moment later.

He immediately noticed the tension in our body language. "What were you two fighting about?" He joked.

Mom and I turned to each other and gave each other our secret smile. We rarely had legitimate fights, but we did have a lot of minor disagreements. Thankfully, they usually didn't last more than a day or two.

"We were discussing your first date." I straightened my jacket and smiled.

"Oh… that…" He replied nervously. Mom and I looked at each other. My brother wiped his sweaty palms off on his jacket.

"As much as I would like to stay and have a friendly chat, I really need to go up and shower because I smell like stables and hay. Besides, I've got a baby who needs to see her mother."

"Oh yes! Céline probably wants to see you." Mom ushered me towards the door.

"Report back." I whispered in her ear. She nodded.

Silvia had warned me that the Women's Room would be chaotic today. She was right. Chaos and instability flowed throughout the room. Girls were whispering back and forth, gossip traveling faster than the papers could print it out. I could hear words of envy about Lady America escape the lips of the girls that were closest to me.

They were all huddled together in groups, sorted either by caste or who they had traveled with to get here. Depending on the number of girls in each caste, the size of the groups varied. Lady Celeste was sitting by the window. She was talking to the platinum-blonde Lady Bariel, who's figure defined the word "hourglass". Lady Emmica, Lady Anna, and Lady Zoe were talking in a corner far away from them.

From what I could tell, all the groups seemed to be faring quite well with each other, though the conversations of the girls who were from lower castes flowed better. They somewhat saw each other as friends, though they were both competing for the same thing. The Twos, however, saw them as nothing more than competition.

None of them had talked to me yet. What the hell, none of them had even approached me yet. I guess that was the one thing that they could agree on: Don't approach the older sister. It's not like I would bite their heads off if they got too close!

They're still figuring everything out, Jackie. They only know you from the mask you put on once a week for the entire nation. Give them time.

I sighed and focused my attention back to the paperwork in front of me. Budgets. They were always more of Mom's thing than it was mine. She had grown up budgeting and saving, meanwhile I had to just pull a few strings. As I stared at it more, all of the words seemed to just blur together.

I placed the stack of papers on the ground next to my chair and put my pen on top of it. I opened the book that rested on the desk. Rebecca, one of my favorites from pre-Illéan publishing. It was a classic that most in my opinion, did not appreciate enough.

Oh Sweetheart… I thought while my eyes skimmed the page. Why… just why? I shook my head and turned the page.

"Excuse me?" A high-pitched voice asked.

I turned to see two girls standing before me. One was a little thing with dark hair and the other was Lady Kriss. It didn't take long for the other girl's name to come to me. Tiny Lee. Three. Home province is Dakota. True to her name, everything about her was dainty and slender. Compared to Lady Kriss, who was average in terms of height, Lady Tiny looked like a doll.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to keep my tone friendly. I had never been able to speak to girls from lower castes before, so this was quite an unusual feeling.

"I- er, we were wondering what book that is, Your Highness." Kriss said. Both of them seemed to be anxious, but Lady Tiny looked like she was about to collapse in my presence.

"Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca." I showed them the cover. "Have either of you read it?" They shook their heads. "I'm surprised that you haven't. It's one of the classics!"

"Pre-Illéan published books are very hard to obtain, Your Highness." Kriss said to me. "If we do find them, they're usually put in the restricted section of libraries."

Right, Dad's afraid that they'll "spark a rebellion". I non-noticeably rolled my eyes and formed a response.

"Hopefully you'll be able to enjoy it while you're here. It's one of mine and my mother's personal favorites." The mention of my mother seemed to spark their interest.

"What's the book about?" Lady Kriss gathered her skirts and sat in the chair across from mine. The gesture shocked me.

"It's about a woman who marries a man whose wife had recently died, only to discover some sinister secrets. There's a lot of drama surrounding the marriage since the previous wife, who's name was Rebecca, was so well loved."

They took in my words like they were water. Lady Kriss seemed fascinated while Lady Tiny nodded and sat at Kriss' feet. My eyes briefly flitted to the other girls, who seemed to be interested in what we were talking about. I placed my bookmark in the spine and pushed the book aside.

"So," The social circuit of my brain started to work. "How has a few days of palace life been treating you?"

"Wonderfully!" Lady Kriss exclaimed slightly too enthusiastically. "The dresses, the food…"

"The prince." Tiny added. I chuckled.

"Ah, yes, him. He's a good kid, even though he's hardly a child anymore." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girls look at each other and then turned back to us.

"What was your childhood like?" A voice asked.

"Excuse me?" I thought that I heard the statement wrong. Did one of the girls just ask…?

"What was it like to grow up here?" Kriss reiterated the question to me. "What's it like having the king and queen as parents?"

"And not to mention being this close to power." Bariel flicked her hair to the side. I rolled my eyes while some of the girls giggled. Some moved closer in order to hear me better.

Lie Jackie… My intuition told me. I twisted my earring and sighed.

"Well, compared to yours, it's most likely that our childhoods differ extremely. While you were around five or six and in school with your friends, I was eleven or twelve and on the Illèa Capital Report."

"What's it like filming the Report?" A blonde with brown eyes said.

I was thankful to her for moving the conversation away from me. "It's… utter chaos…" I chose my words carefully.

"What do you mean?" Lady Tiny asked.

"In the beginning, when we're preparing to film, makeup artists are rushing back and forth, trying to get us ready. Silvia's ushering people left and right…" I twisted my wedding band.

"She's good at that, isn't she?" Another girl asked.

"Yes," I smiled. "She is. Once all the cameras are set up, that's when the pressure arrives. The feeling of all those lights, and then Gavril addresses you. I mean- I've been doing this my entire life and it still feels so surreal…" I blinked, releasing the nostalgia from my eyes. "So many memories."

"So… we'll be on camera…?" One of the girls asked, anxiety evident in her voice.

"No, no," I assured her. "You'll be in the audience. Though the cameras will pan down to you occasionally. And let me just say, the twenty-seven of you will be the hot topic of the Report." Some of them groaned while others remained neutral.

"Don't worry, it's not like they'll have anything bad to say. Illéa is very ecstatic for her next queen."

"Jackie, are you coming to bed?" Connor brushed his fingers against my neck.

"One last thing, and then I'll be there. Promise."

"Always one last thing with you." He smiled, our eyes meeting. "You need to take some time off someday."

"As long as there's a war going on and rebels coming at us left and right I can't rest. I want our little girl to grow up in a different world than we did." I sighed.

"Well okay..." He pouted. "No more than thirty minutes of work or else I'm dragging you to bed."

"Don't worry, this won't take more than five." He nodded and kissed my head. I watched his reflection in my vanity mirror head towards our bed.

I pulled out my monogrammed stationary from the top right drawer and began writing a note.

Dearest Brother,

Why have you not enlightened me on the events of your first official date? I know you were practically whisked off to a meeting after you and Lady America got back, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you haven't told me the details yet! Not to mention the other ladies, Maxon! They're starving for information!

If I don't have answers by noon tomorrow, I have no choice other to pummel you in your sleep.

Love, Jackie.

Cautiously, I began to open our bedroom door and slipped out. I closed it gingerly in fear of waking up with Connor or Céline and began walking down the hall. I was freezing. The hallway was so unusually cold for this time of year, usually we were still pretty humid. I pulled my ivory muslin nightgown closer to my body and opened Maxon's door. His maid, Cecelia, saw me and curtseyed. She was used to me coming in without notice.

"I just have this one thing to drop off for him." I told her. She nodded and retreated into the bathroom. I walked over to his desk and placed amongst the many cameras he had and walked out.

AN: Sorry for not updating! Finals got the best of me, and I couldn't carve out time. I've got only 1 day of school left, and I'll be more active.