Cedric paced outside of the parlor his parents shared. They were probably sitting together, fretting over the news. The media had created a frenzy around his newest Selection, it was all they were talking about. Will Prince Cedric find the one? Or will history repeat itself? He really hoped the former was true, he couldn't handle another heartbreak. He sighed as he ran his hands through his hair, was inviting Helene a mistake? Should he have simply just checked in on how she was doing? It was too late now; he had already sent the letter and to his surprise she had accepted. He was thrilled, but he wasn't sure how seeing her again would go. Would old feelings resurface? For him? For her? For both of them? It was hard to say, but he did want to see his former flame and he hoped that she was happy, whatever it was that she was doing. He supposed he should have asked her, but the thought hadn't crossed his mind. Eventually, he gained the courage to tell his parents, so he knocked once at the door so as not to startle them, then entered the parlor. His parents sat on the couch, cuddled up with one another and Cedric smiled at the sight. He loved that after so many years his parents were so in love, he just hoped that he could find the same kind of love for himself.
"Hey mom, hey dad…" Cedric trailed off nervously as he stepped into the large parlor. "I need to talk to you about something."
"Of course, sweetie." Antoinette said as she pressed a button on the remote, muting the television. "What is it?"
Cedric took a breath before he faced his parents, "I've invited Helene to the Selection." He said, then at their raised eyebrows, clarified, "Not to compete, we've both agreed that the limelight isn't for her…but I've invited her to…act as a consultant, a mentor to the Selected. Mom, as I'm sure you know well enough the Selection is a difficult process and I thought it might do the Selected some good to have a chance to talk to someone who basically won for advice and for help."
Regan took a breath; how could his son do this without so much as consulting him? The repercussions of Helene coming back to the palace were hard to say, but it would not reflect well on his son. "That's what your mother's here for, Cedric." Regan said as he stood. "As well as the royal planner, there are many people for the Selected to turn to for advice."
"But they can't go to mom about issues they're having without the possibility of mom coming to me or treating them differently because of it. As much as they're here to impress me, they're also here to impress you two as well, after all one of them will become your daughter-in-law. I'm not saying that she'll stay throughout the duration of the Selection, just for a day or two." Cedric countered.
Antoinette sighed, "Have you even thought about the press? They'll eat this up."
Cedric waved a hand, "My reputation is already shot at this point, I know I'll never live my rejection down, so let them say what they want to say, I want someone to be able to help the Selected in a way that's never been done before."
Antoinette pursed her lips in thought, "It's not a terrible idea, to hear from someone recently seasoned…"
"You're on board with this?" Regan asked, stunned. "Shouldn't we be trying to keep the talk about Helene to a minimum? Bringing her here will only fuel the flames."
"Anyone he takes a liking to will be compared to Helene no matter what we do," Antoinette pointed out. "She's still so fresh in their minds. I doubt that Helene showing her support in the project will do more harm than good, it may actually help. I think we should let him do this, Regan."
Regan ran a hand through his hair, "Fine, but we will hand pick the reporters present during her stay and she will put a positive spin on anything relating to you, your relationship with her, and your breakup. We can't have another scandal."
Cedric grinned, "So, it's okay? She can come?"
Regan and Antoinette exchanged a look, then nodded.
"Yes, it's your Selection, if you're okay with this then so are we," Antoinette answered for the both of them. "Just remember, it's been two years and people change, she may not be the Helene that you remember."
"Thank you, mom, dad." Cedric said with a smile. He just wasn't sure how Everett would take the news. Everett was overly protective of his siblings, and although that normally was a good thing it led to him sometimes having an explosive temper. Cedric decided to put off telling him as long as possible.
"Have you told your brother?" Regan asked, as if reading Cedric's mind.
Cedric shook his head, "No, of course not."
Antoinette smiled at that as Regan took his seat and wrapped an arm around his wife.
"I would hold off on telling him as long as possible," Antoinette cautioned. "And make sure you do so privately."
"Right, of course." Cedric agreed with a nod. "I'll let you two get back to your show."
"Just…be careful with Helene, we can't have you breaking you into pieces in the midst of your new Selection," Regan cautioned.
"I wouldn't have invited her if I wasn't ready to see her again," Cedric said. With that, he made his way out of the room. He felt immense relief, he thought for sure that his parents would have been against it, sure they were a little apprehensive about the whole thing, but that was better than them opposing it, besides, they were just looking out for him.
Jaqueline Schreave sat on her skateboard, it was the weekend which meant she was off from her royal duties and free to dress and do as she pleased. She was dressed in a pair of ripped, black skinny jeans, a black t-shirt and a plaid over shirt with white converse. She moved back and forth on the pavement, normally she would be skating in the makeshift skate park that had been constructed for her use, but truth be told she wasn't in the mood.
"Why so glum chum?" Everett asked casually as he approached his fourteen-year-old sister.
Jaqueline let out a sigh, "Mom's making me start my own charity project."
Everett's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Isn't that a good thing? Think about all the good you can do for the country."
"It would be good, if it was something I actually wanted me to do, but she wants me to pick from a list of preapproved projects…" Jaqueline tailed off.
"Come on, Jacks, they can't be that bad, scoot over." Everett said as he crouched down. Jacqueline scooted on her skateboard and her older brother sat beside her, it was cramped, but they made it work.
"They are!" Jaqueline exclaimed, resting her hand on her chin. "And they all require a heavy media presence. Why are they so set on me stepping into the limelight? All I want to do is skate and be like everyone else."
"Hmm, well, what project would you want to do? If you could pick anything?" Everett asked.
Jaqueline thought for a moment, "Probably set up a skate park in an inner city, something nice for the kids of low income families, somewhere for them to go and to belong, with seasoned staff who can teach those that need it, as well as help others improve and learn new tricks and skills. It would be great for them and could serve as an after-school club for kids who have nowhere else to go."
"That's…actually a great idea, Jacks," Everett said, shocked that his sister could combine their mother's least favourite of her hobbies with Jacqueline's least favourite thing, public service. "Did you ask her about doing that?"
"Of course I did," Jacqueline said, a hint of annoyance in her tone. "She said it was unladylike, and that I'm lucky enough that she lets me skateboard at all!"
Everett sighed and wrapped an arm around his sister. His mother did have a point, but come on, it was the twenty-first century, did everything really have to be so prim and proper? "I'm sorry, Jacks. What's on the list of approved charity projects?"
Jaqueline shrugged, "Stuff to help the sick, the poor, animals…I'm leaning towards animals because there's less people involved."
"Animals don't sound so bad, and hey, maybe you could adopt one." He teased, nudging her in the ribs.
Jaqueline chuckled, "Like mom and dad would ever allow that."
"All I'm saying is that if you're preaching adopt, don't shop and don't even adopt one critter, you're a part of the problem." Everett said with his hands in the air. "Now come on, quit sulking and show me some of your sick moves."
The pair stood and Everett took a step back from the skateboard. He watched his sister tear up the skatepark and wondered how on earth she had convinced their uptight mother to even allow her to partake in the sport in the first place. Jaqueline finished showing off and stopped just in front of Everett. She hopped off her skateboard, panting slightly.
"That was so cool!" Everett exclaimed, holding out his hand for a high five. Jaqueline slapped his hand with a grin.
A servant approached the pair and bowed, "Pardon the interruption, Your Highnesses," the servant began. "But Her Majesty would like to see Princess Jaqueline in the Women's Room."
What now? Jaqueline thought. She abandoned her skateboard and followed the servant inside of the palace. Once inside the palace she went straight to the Women's Room and was surprised to see both of her parents inside. What is going on? Jacqueline thought.
Antoinette smiled widely at the sight of her daughter, "Come on in, sweetheart," She said in a pleasant tone.
Jaqueline nodded and approached her parents, her mother sat on a sofa with her father standing behind her, resting his hands on his wife's shoulders.
"Did I do something wrong?" Jaqueline asked.
"Absolutely not," Antoinette replied. "Have you chosen a charity yet?"
Jaqueline shook her head, "Not yet…. I was thinking a lot about the wildlife one though."
"I thought you'd like that." Antoinette said, smiling even wider. "However, that's not why we're here."
"As you know, New England has been one of our closest allies and dearest friends for years, in fact you're rather well acquainted with Prince Austin, aren't you?" Regan began and continued after Jaqueline nodded. "Well, we have decided that it is time to join our families. When you turn eighteen you are to marry Prince Austin and when he comes of age you will become Queen of New England."
"I'm sorry, what?" Jaqueline asked, taking a step back from her parents. This wasn't fair, Cedric got a Selection, Everett was in the midst of a relationship with the Italian Princess, but she got an arranged marriage?
Antoinette patted the seat beside her, and Jaqueline reluctantly took it.
"I know this is all very sudden, and a lot to take in, but King Charles proposed this to me last night, and after much deliberation and discussion with your mother, we have decided that this is for the best," Regan said. "Prince Austin is a wonderful young man and I'm sure that even if your relationship doesn't blossom into love, you'll still remain close friends."
"But you didn't discuss it with me," Jaqueline pointed out. She should have expected it one day, princesses in Illéa were sold off for alliances, she just expected that it wouldn't happen until much later, if at all considering how liberal her parents were.
"If you are opposed to the match for valid reasons, we will reconsider," Antoinette said kindly. "But we see no reason not to go through with this. A princess has a duty to her people, and with tensions rising between Russia everyday we need to solidify our alliances anyway we can. Illéa is still fragile, we will not survive another land invasion."
"Fine," Jaqueline said quietly. There was nothing else to say, her parents were ecstatic about the match, and Prince Austin was handsome, and nice enough, she supposed she could do worse. What she really wanted was to retire from royal life and live as a commoner, but she was too famous and too well known for that to ever truly work out.
"Thank you," Antoinette said. She gave her daughter's arm a light squeeze. "I know this is asking a lot of you, but we wouldn't be arranging this if we were sure that this was the right move."
"May I go now?" Jaqueline asked.
"Of course, enjoy the rest of your day," Antoinette said with a kind smile.
Jaqueline stood and quickly made her way from the room. She wasn't sure how she felt about her engagement, she wasn't upset, maybe just a little disappointed that her parents hadn't thought to consult her. I don't want to be Queen, Jaqueline thought. She made her way to her room, not in the mood to be around her brothers who seemed to be living the lives they were made for. It's so easy for them, why isn't it this easy for me? Jacqueline thought. She sat at her window seat and brought her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. She glanced outside and watched as her brothers play fought in the gardens, without a care in the world. She sighed, she supposed she ought to write to Prince Austin, but decided that she would wait until he wrote her first, it would be easier to simply reply to his letter. It won't be so bad, she told herself, Austin is nice.