So, I'm back...

Thanks for the reviews everyone

As for update schedule; I will be updating on weekends, but will not be able to have a regular schedule as my laptop needs to go for service and I will be out of country on vacation. To keep up with updates, follow the story...

With out further wait... here's chap 7:

Edward's POV:

So, I finally meet the girls. I am nervous, as nervous as the yesterday. Nazia is here, trying to calm me. I have chosen a navy blue dress, but am second guessing myself. I am a ball of nerves.

"Nazia, how are the girls?" I ask her, knowing she has already seen them.

"Great, though I can say some will be after you," she says. "Mom told me to go and visit with them in the Women's Room, see you later Ed." With these words, she walks away and I wonder what to do.

"Edward, nervous?" someone says, and I turn to see mom enter in. "Even I was a bit, even though I did not want a selection."

"Really, mom?"

"Yes, your grandparents forced me, but I had dozens of plans to drive them away."

"What happened then?"

"Nothing. I met your father and..."

"Mom, did you eliminate any of them on the first day?"

"No dear, I thought that every one deserved one day..."

"She did eliminate one-third the next day though," someone says, and we turn to see Uncle Ahren, who lives in France with Aunt Camille, the Queen of France.

"Uncle, what a surprise! But what do you mean?"

"Ahren, wonderful that you could come," mom says before turning to me. "He is right, however your grandfather did eliminate around six girls on the first day. The thing is, it's your choice. You can eliminate someone for nothing more than a feeling."

"Really, who said that?" Uncle Ahren asks.

"General Ledger. See you later son." With that, mom leaves the room.

"Uncle Ahren, what does she mean?" I ask confused.

"She means that if you are sure that you will not fall in love with someone, you can eliminate them on the spot."

"How's Liza?" I asked him.

"Fine," another voice floated to my ears. I turned to see cousin Elisabeth, the heir of France. "Where's Nazia?"

"Women's Room, keeping an eye on the girls."

"Great, off I go." Liza leaves the room and I turn to Uncle.

"You will do great Ed, you won't fail. You have the same determination as your mother and grandmother. Now I have to go to your aunt, she is waiting for me," Uncle Ahren leaves, too, and I am alone.

You can do this Edward. You won't fail. They're just girls who are here for you, not someone dangerous. Not someone with evil plans. They are just options, not binding.

With that, I leave my room, ready to meet the girls.

Nazia's POV:

Edward is so scared at times, I just can't do anything. Anyways, here I am walking towards the Women's Room, where my future sister-in-law is sure to be.

"Nazia."

I turn to see my eighteen year old cousin, Liza from France, coming towards me. If she is here, then Uncle Ahren and Aunt Camille will be, too. "Ed told me you were going to the Women's Room."

"Yes Liza, come along." Together, we enter the room and the thirty five ladies stand and curtsy to us. We go and sit on a couch and look at them. Rosita leaves the girls as soon as we enter.

"Haven't we met her before?" Liza muses. "The one with reddish-gold hair."

"Yes, you're right," I say before noticing that she is coming towards us.

"Your Highnesses," she greets.

"Welcome Lady Rowena," I say. "Haven't we met before?"

"Indeed, Princess Nazia, I have visited once before with my family. My father is in the parliament," she explains.

"Lawrence Russell?" Liza asks, recognizing her once I mention her name.

"Yes," she replies.

"Please join us," I say. What better way to get to know her? It was a long time ago since she had visited and what I remember of her might be wrong. And, it will be fun to know her.

Rowena's POV:

Seeing both princesses enter, I decide to approach them. Jo is busy talking to others and I am alone. Both of them recognize me as they had met me when we had come here before with mom and dad as they both had work. This reminds me of the promise I had made to mom. I knew I had to be careful around the princesses. When they recognize me, I don't tell about mom, but attribute that visit to dad.

"Please join us," Princess Nazia says, and I sit with them.

"How is your family, Lady Rowena?" Princess Elizabeth asks.

"They are fine," I reply. "What about yours, Princess Elizabeth?"

"Please call me Liza," she says. "They are well, too."

"Is Sofia still the same?" Princess Nazia asks. "I remember her being easily excitable and wanting to play all the time."

"Yes. She hasn't changed at all. In fact, I think that it has increased."

"She is ten years old, right?" Liza asks.

"Yes," I reply, turning to see the door open and Queen Eadlyn walked in. I curtsy like the others, before turning towards the Princesses.

"How are you, Rowena?" Queen Eadlyn asks, joining us on the couch.

"Quite well, Your Majesty," I reply.

"And your family?"

"They are well, too."

"That is great," she says.

"Is Prince Edward nervous?" I ask, curious about his moods.

"Was, as I last saw him. You may think he has never been around girls, the way he acts," Nazia laughs. Liza and Queen Eadlyn laugh along with her.

"Rowe!"

I turn to see Jo waving me over.

"Excuse me," I say before getting up to join her.

"Talk to you later," Queen Eadlyn says and I nod in reply.

"Hey," Jo says. "Look what we are thinking." She was with Ladies Adara, Karma, Shelby, Everly and Zoraya. Ever since we first met, we have been together. Any one would say we were one group, seeing us together.

"What?"

"We were wondering how the prince is feeling?" Shelby speaks up.

"You were talking to his sister and cousin. Did they say anything?" Lady Scarlett joins us.

"Yes, he is very, extremely nervous, according to them," I reply with a laugh.

"Have you been here before?" Lady Roxanne asks.

"Yes, with my father. He used to be mayor of Calgary, but did not take part in the last election. He needed a break." I reply.

"Oh, by the way, call me Roxy," she says.

"Sure, but call me Bella," Lady Melina joins us. "I prefer that."

"Me too, but call me Bell, to differ," Lady Isabella says.

"Sure, but you have to call me Rowe, then," I say.

"And I am Jo," Jo says.

"Looks like a nickname announcement," Lady Theodosia laughs, as she joins us. "If that is going on, call me Tess." We all start laughing and nearly miss seeing the prince enter and the queen disappear along with the princesses.

Edward's POV:

I am inside the Women's Room. Mother, Nazia and Liza leave the room, leaving me alone with the girls. I look at them and recognize one face. Well, I recognize most faces from the pictures I have studied, but one is beyond pictures, reaching memories. Thank goodness I remembered her name. Maybe I should start with her.

"Good afternoon, ladies," I say in what I hoped was a welcoming tone. "I will call each one of you and we will have a discussion, before the next girl comes. Please continue your conversations, in the meantime. It will be a random order. Lady Russell?"

I see her get up and wave to her friends, before she joins me.

"Your Highness," she curtsies.

"Lady Rowena," I say and we sit down. "I remember seeing you here once before..."

"That was 6 years ago, Edward," she laughs. "I came with my dad, he is in the parliament."

"Oh, thank goodness, I recognized you," I say. I see her chuckle and wonder what it is about.

"Derek recently joined, too," she says. "Nazia told me about your nervousness," she explains.

"Oh, well, what do you want to do? I am supposed to be getting to know you."

"But, we have less time for that."

"I know, let's meet later. Maybe at night. I can come to your room, as you all are forbidden to enter the third floor."

"Sure, but..." Rowena stops right in the middle of her sentence and chuckles again. "I just realized that you invited me on a date," she explains, seeing my confused look.

"What will others think when they learn that the first to meet you is the one to get the first date?"

"Why do they need to know?"

"I will tell them," she laughs.

"As I was saying, I can come to your room, too," she continues. "I just need to say that I am Lady Russell, daughter of Laurence Russell and the guards won't stop me."

"True," I realize. "But, I will come to you. Say, after dinner?"

"Sure, I have no problem." She stops, takes a breath and looks around. "Well, you still need to know me."

"True."

"Well, I am Lady Rowena, but call me Rowe. I am from Calgary and..." she stops speaking and starts laughing.

"What?" I ask, confused. If she is acting like this, how will the others act? Maybe it is because we have met before.

"All the girls will introduce themselves like this. I am sure the others are wondering what is taking me so long. See you later." With that, she gets up and turns to leave.

"Wait," I call softly trying not to attract attention. "One, call me Ed. You always did when we last met. Second, after I am done with all, and completed the first eliminations, meet me outside the door."

"I don't think that will be possible. What about after breakfast?"

"Oh, sure. That will be fine, too."

She leaves and I look for the next girl.

Jo's POV:

Well, Rowe did take a lot of time. But she is laughing and the prince laughs, too. It must be going well for her. Lucky she knew him from before. She returns and Lady Zoya took her place.

"How was it?" Adara asks.

"Great, he asked me out," she replies.

"Are you the first date?" Zoraya asks, bewildered.

"Yup, I knew you all would react this way," she laughs.

"Oh, is that why you laughed?" I ask. Seeing her nod, I wonder how my meeting will go.

Nazia's POV:

Well, I hope his meeting goes well. Liza drags me to her room, where she brought lots of things for me.

"Wow," I say as I see the things she brought for all of us.

"Yes, I thought that I should do this."

"Great idea, Liza."

"I wonder how is he doing. I hope they don't make him nervous."

"Well, Rowena is there. She might boost his confidence."

"Hmm..."

Edward's POV:

Lady Riza approaches me. She is the last girl, before I announce those who will leave. We discuss about things but nothing clicks. She seems so blank.

"Lady Riza, would you mind staying back after the others leave the room for a few minutes?" I asked.

"Not at all, Your Highness," she replies sweetly, surely pleased even though she did not know what would happen. Only Rowena knows. I had told only to her that after meeting with everyone, I'd make the first eliminations. I found many girls with a common interest, but few hardly made an impression.

Riza rises and returns to her seat. I turn to face the girls.

"Those of you who I have asked to stay behind, please remain seated. The rest of you can go to the dinning hall and have breakfast. I will join you shortly."

With that, many girls get up and leave, but ten remain behind.

"Thank you for joining the Selection. However, I have to be honest," I start. "I have felt nothing between us and so you all are free to return home."

Many girls start crying. Some glare at me. Lady Jane, Lady Josia and Lady Zara approach me. They are the only ones brave enough to do so.

"Thank you for this opportunity, Your Highness," they start speaking. "We wish you luck in finding a wife, a great queen."

"Thank you, ladies. I wish all of you luck in your future endeavors, as well," I reply.

The girls leave and I sigh. Time to join the rest. I walk down the hall to the dining-room and walk in. Many of the girls rise.

"Please remain seated," I say as I join my family at the head table.

Sitting down, I catch the eye of Rowena and I mouth "later" to her. All I get in response is a wink, as she focuses back on her meal. The girls are tough, but maybe with Rowena around, it might be easy. Nazia, as well as Liza, can also help. Well, I'll see.

Isabella's POV:

Ten girls remain seated as we get up and leave. My interview went well and I'm glad that I'm still here. I have a feeling that these girls are being eliminated.

We reach the dining room and the guards open the doors. The royal family is already seated. I suddenly feel out of place. We aren't told what to do in this situation. I see Rowena walk in front. She has probably understood the problem. She is laughing as she reached the front, where some of the girls are. At least her eyes are showing that she is amused. She stands at the front. Then, silently slips into a neat and graceful curtsy. We all follow her, not wanting to make bad impressions. She rises and smiles at the royal family. They, too, are smiling. The princesses are laughing. Queen Eadlyn, Queen Camille, and Prince Consort Ahren are trying their best to hide their laughter. Only Prince Consort Eikko manages to keep a straight face. Rowena does some subtle signal. I do not understand what it is. At that, Queen Eadlyn speaks.

"Welcome, ladies," she smiles at us. "Please find your seats. Breakfast will soon be served."

Rowena takes her cue at that, and walks to one side of the head table. She sits near the royal family, and we follow her lead. I read my name on a paper and I know this was where I sit. Rosita just enters then and sees us seated. She is shocked at it.

"Did they follow the protocol, Your Majesty?" she asks.

"Yes," Prince Consort Eikko answers. She is surprised, but sees Rowena laugh at her situation. She seems to understand what happened.

"Ladies, we had not reached this point when the princesses had entered," Rosita says. "Looks like you are lucky having Lady Rowena here amongst you. She knows the protocols well. Next time you enter a room where royals are present, remember to curtsy." With that she leaves the room.

Prince Edward soon enters. We were about to rise – well, almost all of us remaining girls except Rowena – when he stops us. She probably knew that he would do that.

Well, finally the girls have met the prince. Wonderful.

No eliminated girls are yours. These were just throwaways. Thanks to Abi for helping me out in that.

Please review, favorite and follow.

One more thing, my updates will not be frequent for now. Laptop battery is creating problems, and here I write. I will try to update sooner, but follow for updates.

Thanks to Abizeau for beta-ing.

Hmm, do I need to add something?

Seems like not.

Signing off for now

See you next time

Rowena