Author's Note: The first chapter with all of the Selected! Thanks to everyone who submitted, I had incredible guys and some hard choices to make. I think I'm obsessed with every character I chose, so this is going to be challenging. Enjoy this chapter, and let me know who your faves are :D
One of Lydia's favorite things about having a sister had always been helping Naomi get ready for events. Lydia had always believed her sister was the most beautiful person in the world—even more so than their stunning Aunt Avery, a well-known model herself. She would lounge on Naomi's bed in awe as her sister dressed in whatever custom-made gown had been commissioned for her that night, or suggest pieces from the extensive collection of crown jewels that was always available for the princesses. They would giggle and gossip until Naomi disappeared in a cloud of glamour and elegance. And the following morning, the entire world would join Lydia in agreement as papers and news programs lauded their lovely crown princess.
But now, Lydia was the crown princess, and there was no Naomi to help her. She was usually joined by at least one of the fairies or her mother—today she had a whole entourage that included Bex, Mrs. Hannigan, and Aunt Avery in addition to the usual crowd—but whenever Lydia was getting ready to play her role on a large, public stage, she could've been surrounded by an army of people and still would have felt Naomi's absence ardently.
"You look so beautiful, Lydia," Avery Schreave complimented her niece.
Lydia studied her reflection. Bex had helped her pick a cerulean top and a coordinating floral patterned skirt that showed the slightest hint of her torso, and Lydia had liked it when they picked it. But now, all she could think of was how much better it would have looked on Naomi. Having an older sister certainly hadn't been without its drawbacks. She forced a smile though. "Thanks, Aunt Avery."
Hazel saw through Lydia's mask of confidence. "It's true, you know," she noted as she joined the princess in front of the mirror, offering the pair of yellow diamond earrings that Lydia had picked from the royal jewel vault for the day. She spoke softly, so the others wouldn't take notice. "You look so much like your Grandmother Helen."
The grandmother that Hazel referenced was actually Lydia's great-great-grandmother, a testament to just how long Hazel had been with the royal family. Queen Helen had been lauded for her beauty as well as her skill as a ruler, and even though Lydia didn't agree anytime she was compared, she'd often heard that she reminded people of the queen. For Hazel, it was a bit of a comfort, since she'd been particularly close with Helen.
"Thanks, Hazel," Lydia replied, feeling a little better. If Hazel could know her darkest secrets and still see the resemblance to someone as admirable as Queen Helen, things couldn't all be bad, Lydia reasoned.
Just as she'd finished securing her earrings, the door to her bedroom swung open. Bex strode in with her mother and Iris trailing behind her. Today, Bex had picked a figure-hugging dress with a pattern of fans on it. She towered over Lydia even more so than usual in a pair of red heels. "Oh my sweet and merciful Lord, Lydia," Bex sighed as she dramatically threw herself onto Lydia's bed.
Lydia crossed her arms, her eyebrows raised in amusement. "Did you go spy on them even though I'm positive I told you not to?"
"It was for your own good!" Bex declared, "We had to be prepared!"
"We are prepared, Bex," Lydia pointed out as she picked one of the Seleced's files up from her desk.
"But now we're even more prepared, and it's a good thing to, because I've found your husband," Bex declared.
Lydia exchanged an exasperated look with Hazel. "Oh, yeah?"
"He's six feet, three inches of strong, muscled, Viking goodness!" Bex declared, flopping back onto the bed again and putting a hand to her heart. "He's hot, Lydia."
"You must be talking about Leif Wolff," Lydia laughed with a roll of her eyes. "And he's a Viking researcher, not an actual Viking. And, for the record, you've already labeled many of them as 'hot'—"
Bex sat up, her face deadly serious. "No, I mean he's hot," she emphasized. "Like might as well send everyone else home, drop your panties right now kind of hot—"
"Rebecca!" Collette and Fiona Hannigan squawked in unison.
Bex rolled her eyes. "Mother, you called him a 'specimen', so chill," she ordered. She returned her attention to Lydia. "I'm just saying, Lyds, if your first date with this man doesn't include him taking his shirt off, you're doing the world a disservice."
"Leif Wolff is the one that's brought his daughter, isn't he?" Avery asked. She'd returned to the palace to serve as the Selection coordinator at Ezra's request, so she was the only other person who'd studied the files as much as Lydia. Lydia nodded in confirmation. "How do you feel about that?" Avery continued.
"It can be a difficult situation, from what I've heard," Collette added.
"I'm pretty sure the Selection is the definition of 'difficult situation'," Lydia chuckled. "We'll just see how it goes. He might not even like me, so I'm not going to discount him immediately for something like that."
"They're fools if they don't all love you," Tallulah declared as she appeared at Lydia's side. She held out a glass. "Here, for the nerves." As the water fairy, any kind of liquid magic usually fell within Tallulah's specialty. As Lydia swallowed the drink, she felt an instant sense of calm flood her, and she sent Tallulah an appreciative look.
One of Lydia's maids answered a knock at the door to reveal Ezra, who looked like he needed one of Tallulah's calming draughts himself. "It's just about time," he declared, "Are you sure you don't want your mother and I to come with you?"
Lydia laughed. "Dad, I love you, but you and Mom are inherently intimidating," she pointed out, "I don't want to scare them too much until I know that they'll at least be making it past the first day."
"Fair," Ezra sighed, though he didn't seem pleased by it. "Can I at least walk you downstairs?"
"That I would love," Lydia beamed as she took her dad's arm. She glanced back at those who weren't joining them. "Wish me luck?"
"You don't need any," Hazel insisted, her confidence giving Lydia a small boost herself.
Avery and Bex, who would be helping Lydia with the afternoon, joined them as they started down the stairs towards the dining room that had been designated for the official commencement of the Selection. Lydia was grateful for Tallulah's drink, because she noticed that everyone around her seemed to be anxiously chattering on the small walk. She remained silent and calm herself.
"You sure you're ready for this?" Ezra asked when they stopped outside the wooden doors.
"I think so," Lydia nodded.
"If you want to call it off at any point, just let me know," Ezra insisted. "Just because the Selection is a tradition doesn't mean you have to do it."
Lydia smiled up at her dad, studying his stoic face. Although he tended to let the public view him as more serious, it was rare that he wasn't laidback and easy-going with his family. When he was solemn at home, he meant business, as he did now. Lydia tried not to think of the last time she'd seen such a grave expression on his face, when she'd told him what had happened to Naomi…
She forced a smile. "Thanks, Dad. I love you."
"I love you, too, Lyds," Ezra sighed as he hugged her. "Always."
She chewed her lip as she considered how always didn't necessarily mean always. As she had for the last three years, she curtailed her hug with her father, letting him embrace her for only a few seconds before either of their powers could take over and cause Ezra to remember her deepest regret.
Before Ezra departed, Avery called him back. "You forgot to take your necklace off, Lydie." She pointed to the silver starfish. "Doesn't exactly go with rare diamonds."
"Oh, right," Lydia laughed as she unclasped the starfish necklace. She handed it to Avery, who started to hold it out to Ezra to return to Lydia's room.
As Lydia watched the dangling starfish lower towards Ezra's outstretched hand, it was like the world slowed down. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, her breathing paused, and panic flooded every nerve in her body. If her psychometric father touched the necklace that had been gifted to her by Naomi and Ben, that held so many strong memories of her sister—
"No!"
Lydia snatched the necklace frantically, startling both her aunt and father. They turned confused faces towards her, and Lydia noticed that even Bex seemed caught off guard. "I'm sorry," she muttered as she re-fastened it around her neck. "It's just that Bex gave it to me, and it's sort of a lucky thing, and if I've ever needed luck, it's probably today, and I know it doesn't match, but—"
Avery put a hand on her shoulder. "Lyd, calm down," she laughed. "It's fine. It was just a suggestion."
"Right," Lydia muttered, her skin still feeling clammy from the near-miss.
As Avery instructed the butlers to announce Lydia, Bex sidled up to her friend. "Why did you lie to your Avery and your dad? I didn't give you that necklace."
In that moment, Lydia realized that Cohen was right, and she needed to work on her deception skills. "Tell you later?" she asked, hoping that the excitement of the day would cause Bex to forget. Her friended tended to have a one-track mind. Bex nodded.
The doors to the dining room swung open, and Lydia took in the scene before her with slightly shocked eyes. The preparation for the Selection had been more than Lydia had anticipated, and when she had complained about it to Hazel, Iris, and Tallulah, the three had offered to take care of the first day reception. Now, their marks were evident all over the room.
It looked more like they'd stepped into a forest than a dining room. Lush greenery decorated the archway of the door and hung from the ceiling. It was better than any florist could have provided—fluttering with life and a vibrant green that only an earth fairy like Hazel could achieve. Soft white lights had been hunt across the ceiling, and mason jars of candles floated in the air thanks to Iris. There were stacked fountains of champagne, water, and teas, all carefully contained with Tallulah's control so that they looked impressive but didn't slosh liquid anywhere.
But the most startling part was the thirty-five faces that tuned to meet her. Lydia swallowed deeply. "Uh, hello," she tried. "I just… wanted to thank you all for being here." She chewed her lip. Not that they really had a choice, she reminded herself.
"I know that the Selection is kind of weird," she admitted with a small laugh, "but I really want this process to be enjoyable for you guys as well. I'm going to take some time to try to get to know each of you a little bit today, and I thought it would be fun if we did something instead of just a lot of small talk, so I organized a scavenger hunt. You each have three numbers in different colors. The yellow number is for me, the pink is for Bex, and the blue is for my brother Cohen, who is either using his aggravating power right now or will be here shortly. It's going to be a bit of a competition, but it's also just a good way for some of the people closest to me to get to know you." There was some nervous chatter at this.
"We have five minutes to complete our scavenger hunt tasks, so whenever the person who has the yellow number 1 is ready, just meet me outside." The room broke into a hum of conversation as she departed out the doors.
The scavenger hunt turned out to be a good plan. It gave Lydia something to discuss with the men, instead of the usual small talk and background info that she could easily read in their forms. It carried her through her first few interactions well.
She met Shivaay Armstrong, a barista with culinary dreams, who made her what he called a sweet Lassi when they realized—due to Lydia's vegetarianism and Queen Collette's dietary restrictions—they couldn't fulfill their task because they hadn't eaten the same thing in the last week aside from water. They didn't finish in their allotted five minutes, but Lydia figured the delicious drink was worth it, which Shiv agreed about.
There was also a fellow cat person, Charlie Donnell. Their task had been to photograph something fluffy, so the search for Vito had begun. She found out that Charlie was actually more of an all-animals person than strictly a cat person, but it was still close enough for her.
Some of their scavenger hunt endeavors also turned out remarkably well. She was pretty pleased when she met Rowan Dagwood, an herbalist, and he suggested that they use a poison berry to fulfill their 'a food neither of you have eaten' task. She figured it'd be more original than anything that Bex or Cohen could come up with and had enthusiastically agreed. Another amusing highlight was when Ozzie—Dijon Oswald, who staunchly introduced himself by his nickname—suggested they take a picture of Cohen, since they had been assigned with the job of finding a toy they both had as children, and Ozzie had a brother as well.
There were also a few disappointments. One of the men hugged Lydia instead of bowing—too tightly and for far too long—which resulted in her apologizing but requesting that he return to his room to pack his bags. Some she just instantly knew that she wouldn't be able to develop a connection with for one reason or another. She didn't ask many to leave immediately, but she did make mental notes of the men who wouldn't make it through their first night at the palace.
But before she could get too downcast, her savior arrived dressed in a black blazer with white feathers, a neat decorative bar stuck through the collar of his shirt. He was taller than she was—it wasn't difficult, given Lydia was only 5'3"—and had the brightest smile, the kind that made you want to partake just by looking at it. His skin was a warm brown, his bone structure unfairly sharp, and he had a curly black pompadour. One of the other things that caught Lydia's eye was a tattoo of a lily that took up the back of his left hand.
As if he didn't already stand out enough, he executed a bow that he punctuated with an unconventional flourish of his arm. "Pascal Somerset, at your service, Your Highness."
"Lydia, please," she countered. "Thank you for being here, Pascal."
"Man, thank you," he retorted. "This is nuts."
Lydia laughed at his casualness, but she appreciated it. She didn't like it when people treated her uniquely because of her family. "It is," she agreed, thinking back to how much her life had changed when she'd woken up the heir after Naomi's accident. She'd never realized what a monumental difference there was between being a princess and being the heir. Her parents could say they loved their children all equally, but there was some truth to the idea that the heir mattered more.
Pascal waved a hand in front of her face, making Lydia jump and realize that she'd gotten lost in her thoughts. "Earth to Lydia," he tried.
"Sorry," she sighed with a giggle, "I just… spaced I guess."
"Oh man," Pascal remarked, "Was my beauty that distracting?"
"That must've been it," she agreed. "We should probably do this scavenger thing before it distracts me again." She scanned the page. "So, we have to find something that you would take on a picnic."
Pascal's face lit up. "I got this." Without any further explanation, he shrugged his feather print jacket off and began to unbutton the cuff of his right sleeve.
Lydia's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, or we could just go to the kitchen…"
"No, don't worry," Pascal assured her, "This is always a crowd pleaser."
Lydia chewed her lip nervously. "Pascal, please keep your clothes on," she requested. It was just her luck that one of the Selected would try to strip in their first meeting.
But then Pascal rolled his shirt up to reveal a tiny tattoo on his arm. "Ta-da!"
Lydia's brow furrowed as she examined it. "Is that a…"
"Pizza!" Pascal declared. "Perfect for picnics, parties, and pretty much anything else."
As her concern subsided, all Lydia could do was laugh, though she wasn't sure if it was at herself for being worried in the first place or Pascal for having a slice pizza inked on his skin. "I forgot you were the pizza delivery extraordinaire," she admitted.
"Oooh, I like that," Pascal remarked, "Usually I settle for 'pizza delivery man', but after today, never again."
She and Pascal took a selfie with the tattoo on his arm to fulfill their task and spent the rest of their time discussing his other tattoos. He had five—the lily that she'd noticed on his hand that connected to a larger forest scene on his arm, the names of his mother and aunt, and a quote from his favorite book. He didn't show them all to her, since it would've genuinely required taking his shirt off, and Lydia wasn't quite prepared for that, but he described them and gave explanations as to why he'd chosen such things.
Pascal was one of the group that she'd firmly decided would be staying after their first meetings, which Lydia was glad about. She'd been worried that there'd be no discernible connections the first day, and she'd wind up muddling through the decisions about who should stay and go. But Pascal was sassy and outgoing and fun, and Lydia liked that. The smile that he'd evoked was still lingering when she nodded to the guards to allow the next Selected forward.
Even if she hadn't seen his picture with his submission form, Lydia would have known that the man that walked out of the dining room was Leif Wolff instantly for a couple reasons. The first was that he had a tall and muscular build, curly blonde hair that was cropped close in the back but fell to his ears in the front, and a sharp, defined jawline. Clearly, this was the Viking Bex had been referring to.
But the other reason was that clasped in one of his enormous hands was a child's tiny, delicate one. She wore a beigey gold dress adorned with butterflies, and the resemblance between the little girl and the large man was evident from their curly blonde hair to their bright green eyes. The chubby, childish hand that wasn't wrapped in her father's clasped a bright bouquet of flowers, and while Leif stopped a safe distance from Lydia, Skadi shook herself free to present the flowers to the princess.
"Oh, my goodness," Lydia praised as she bent down—no easy feat in her skirt—to accept the flowers. "These are beautiful! Thank you so much."
Skadi stared at the princess unabashedly for a minute before she frowned. "Where's your crown?"
Leif's eyes bulged, while Lydia laughed. "I don't wear it all the time," the princess explained.
"Why?" Skadi continued.
"Well, they're not always very comfortable," Lydia admitted.
Skadi still wasn't satisfied. "Why?"
A slight furrow developed in Lydia's forehead. "Uh, some of them are very old," she tried, "so we can't really adjust them or change them too much to make them more comfortable."
Just when Lydia thought that her explanation was acceptable, Skadi's nose wrinkled. "Why?" she asked once more.
"Okay," laughed Leif as he took Skadi's hand. "What did I tell you about harassing people?"
"But, Pappa, I thought she was going to have a crown," Skadi whined. She sighed in disappointment as she returned to Leif's side but was soon distracted by the intricate, gold butterflies on her dress.
"Sorry," Leif chuckled. "She's in the inquisitive stage."
"It's fine," Lydia smiled, "Sorry I've been a disappointment."
"You'd be shocked how quickly kids bounce back," shrugged Leif, "By dinner, she'll remember we're in a palace and be over the moon again." His cheeks reddened. "Uh—if we're still here by dinner. I'm not implying—"
Lydia cut him off with a wave of her hand. "I know what you meant," she assured him. To avoid any other discomfort, she brandished the scavenger hunt. "So, we have to find something that you buy once a month."
Skadi gasped dramatically and jumped up and down. "I know!"
Amused, Lydia turned her attention to the little girl. "What are you thinking?"
"A crown!" Skadi exclaimed delightedly. When Leif gave her a "really?" expression, she argued seriously, "Princesses get new crowns all the time, Pappa."
Although the Schreaves truthfully hadn't gotten a new tiara since the British royal family had gifted them one for Naomi's christening, Lydia didn't want to let Skadi down further, so she reasoned, "What a creative idea, Skadi. There's one in my room that we can use for our picture, but we have to hurry since we only have five minutes." She paused before she directed her attention to Leif. "And we have to be quiet, because technically, you guys aren't allowed on the royal family's floor."
Leif scooped Skadi into his muscular arms and put a finger to his mouth to encourage her to comply with Lydia's instruction. Lydia led them to the third floor through a servant's entrance, and after a quick glance to make sure none of the guards were paying too much attention, she grabbed Leif's free hand and rushed the pair towards her room.
After Lydia slammed the door securely behind them, she headed to her closet to collect the tiara in question from atop her bureau. When she returned to her bedroom, Leif stood awkwardly near the drawer while Skadi marveled at her surroundings. "Here it is," Lydia offered.
Skadi looked like she was about to cry from happiness as she stared at the all-diamond tiara with its large, rectangular stones and foliage motifs. "Put it on, put it on!" she cheered.
She bent so that she was eyelevel with Skadi again. "Why don't you put it on?" she suggested. "Then we can use a picture of you with it for the scavenger hunt."
Skadi's eye and mouth were all round with shock as she glanced at Leif for approval. "Please, Pappa?"
Leif hesitated and cast a look at Lydia. "Uh, are you sure…?"
"Of course," Lydia insisted, settling the tiara on Skadi's soft blonde curls herself. It was too big for Skadi's child sized head, but this didn't bother the little girl at all, even as she had to reach up to steady it. "Beautiful!" Lydia championed, "You look just like a princess."
Skadi excitedly bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "Pappa, take a picture of me and Princess Lydia!" she pleaded, one of her hands still circled around the diamond ornament she wore.
"What do you say?" Leif cautioned his daughter as he reached for the camera that Lydia held out to her.
"Please, please, please," Skadi amended. The happiness shone right out of the child's face, like there was nothing on the planet that could have possibly made her happier. When Lydia kneeled beside her, Skadi wasted no time in putting a small arm around the princess's shoulders.
After Lydia had returned the tiara to her closet, the trio made their way back downstairs. Skadi clutched the photo like it was her most prized possession, and Lydia had a feeling that she wasn't going to be able to bring herself to collect it from the child as part of their scavenger hunt. When Skadi scurried back into the dining room, Leif hung back for a moment.
"Thank you," he said.
"For?" Lydia replied, perplexed.
"I entered because Skadi wanted me to," he confessed, and Lydia's heart sank a little to discover that beautiful Leif Wolff wasn't there for her. "But I think you just made today the best day of her life, so even if you send me home—"
Lydia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Who said anything about sending you home?"
Leif nervously raked a hand through his hair. "I'm a single dad. I know it's not… ideal."
"And I'm a princess," shrugged Lydia, "Also not exactly ideal." Leif's face was contemplative, like he hadn't considered her obligations as much as his own. "Let's just see how this goes," suggested Lydia, "Skadi is so sweet, and you seem like a really great dad, so I think I'd be pretty lucky to get to know the both of you better, if you're interested in staying."
There was a moment of consideration in which Lydia thought he might ask to leave, but finally, Leif gave a slow nod. "Thanks. For being… you know, understanding."
Lydia gave a tight smile as she briefly wondered if the men would be equally as understanding if they knew what she'd done to Naomi and how hard she'd worked to conceal it since. But Leif disappeared into the dining room, and she tried to shake the feeling off as the next man emerged.
Luckily, the new arrival definitely provided a distraction. It was an interaction that Lydia had been both nervous and excited about all morning, but now, she only smiled as he shuffled forward, clearly uncomfortable in his navy slacks and cream jacket. He still had the limp that she'd noticed a week ago, which made Lydia wonder if it was a more permanent injury. "How's it going, Suits?" she asked with a teasing grin.
He stopped before her, his jaw tensed like he was trying to repress either a grin or a grimace at the nickname she'd employed. "Your Highness." He bowed shortly at the waist, not entirely proper but a good attempt, in Lydia's opinion.
"No 'Moneybags' or 'Dollar Signs' today?" she teased.
Joey Price's face flushed. "Look, I'm sorry about the thing at the barn," he began.
Lydia crossed her arms. "Because you were rude or because I ended up being the princess?" she pressed. She really wasn't as mad as she pretended to be, but she figured he deserved a bit of harrying after the way he'd treated her and Bex.
"Uh… sort of both?" Joey tried. Lydia had a strong suspicion that it was mostly the latter, but she decided to wave it off.
"It's alright," she relented kindly. "Though I have to admit—I am a little curious as to why you decided to enter something like the Selection if you hate people like me and Bex so much?"
"Not hate," Joey countered, "Just…"
She had a feeling that there was something deeper there that he wasn't ready to discuss, so she gave a facetiously dramatic sigh. "I'll give you a pass today since we only have five minutes, and we still have to find something…" She consulted her list. "Ah—an item used in battle."
"Can't be hard in a museum like this," Joey remarked as he glanced around. He paused when he realized that he maybe shouldn't be insulting Lydia's home. "Uh—sorry." Lydia waved him off and suggested that there was a sword hung above the fireplace in a nearby library.
They set off in silence, and Lydia noticed Joey wince a few times as he kept up with her pace so they could complete their task in under five minutes. When they reached the library, Lydia had a maid take a photo of her pretending to chase Joey with the sword. While it wasn't the warmest interaction she'd had, they didn't snark at each other much more for the rest of their five minutes, which she decided to mark down as a win. She wished him good luck with Bex, who she had a feeling would be a lot more unforgiving, as he shuffled back into the dining room. The grimace that he gave her in return made her wonder if he was wishing she'd send him home instead of subjecting him to her best friend again.
Lydia supposed she should have stopped being surprised by how attractive the men were in person, but that didn't mean the next guy's appearance failed to make her smile. He had curly dark brown hair, tan skin, a muscular build, and was dressed in gray slacks and a coordinating vest sans the jacket. His sleeves were rolled up, as though he'd gotten bored or uncomfortable or something similar during his wait.
But the thing about him that made Lydia's stomach flutter instantly was the way he was looking at her. As soon as the doors opened and he saw her, his warm brown eyes had lit up, and his white teeth shone at her. He looked genuinely happy to see her—Lydia, not the princess—like they were reuniting rather than meeting for the first time.
He stopped at a respectful distance, his face still a little star-struck. Instead of introducing himself or bowing, he began, "Wow. You look…" His chest heaved with a big exhale as he struggled for a way to end his sentence.
"Think carefully," Lydia suggested with a playful smile, "I've heard twenty-some variations so far."
He laughed and seemed to relax. "Of course you have," he said, a little like he was scolding himself for almost being so cliché. "Well, since I don't want to repeat anyone else's well-thought out adjectives, let me say that I could not be happier to be meeting you right now."
He appeared so genuine that Lydia couldn't help but smile too. "I'm glad to hear that," she admitted, "It's nice to meet you, Gabriel."
An eyebrow quirked at her use of his name, since he hadn't provided it yet. "Oh, sorry," laughed Lydia, "haven't you heard that I'm psychic?"
The surprise was evident on his face. "Uh, no," he confessed, "I'd just heard about the healing thing, but that's actually really awesome."
"It would be awesome," nodded Lydia, "if it wasn't a joke."
Gabriel's shoulders sagged. "Well, this introduction is just getting more impressive by the minute, isn't it?" he laughed at himself. "It's fitting, though. Abuela always says that 'crédulo' should be my middle name."
"Gabriel Gullible Alba," Lydia tried. "It has potential."
"Thanks," he chuckled. "I'll take it under consideration if I ever feel like a name change. You can call me Gabe, by the way."
"And you may call me Lydia," she offered. "Glad we got that out of the way before we started sounding ridiculous with things like 'Sir Gabriel' or 'Princess Lydia.'"
"You don't like being called princess?" he asked.
Lydia paused. After a moment of consideration, she shrugged. "It's okay," she admitted, "but I like being Lydia more."
He didn't make a big deal of the admission, which Lydia appreciated. He simply nodded and declared, "Lydia it is then."
When she realized she'd been smiling perhaps too long in response to his statement, Lydia unfolded the battle-worn scavenger hunt list. "So, our scavenger hunt task is to find something with wheels," she informed him. "I know Bex will use the Rolls Royce, because she's obsessed with it, and Cohen will probably use something dorky like one of his model cars. Got any ideas?"
Gabe considered it for a few seconds before he suggested, "What about a bike?"
Lydia's face lit up. "Luckily for you, I happen to love bike rides and have the perfect, most photogenic bicycle ever." She grabbed his hand and caught him off guard as she started to jog towards the palace doors. They only had around four minutes left, after all.
Her bike was kept in a shed near the gardens, built specifically because Collette had grown weary of the tendency that Lydia had possessed since childhood to just dump the bicycle in the palace driveway. It was a little difficult to climb over the random things shoved into the shed in her skirt and heels, but Lydia managed it. When she wheeled the bike onto the gravel, Gabe gave it an appreciative nod. "This works."
"You're going to have to ride it while I take the picture," Lydia explained as she handed it off to him. Gabe accepted it, and Lydia held up her yellow camera. "Smile!" She snapped the photo as Gabe rode her too-small-for-him, turquoise and white bicycle a few feet down the long driveway.
When they'd both approved the picture, Lydia handed it to Gabe to put in his pocket since her skirt lacked any. Gabe didn't move to abandon the bicycle. "You said you liked bike rides," he recalled. "Wanna go for a spin?"
She wanted to say yes immediately, but her excitement was dashed when she thought of their time limit. "We won't get back in time to get the scavenger hunt item."
Gabe gave a relaxed shrug of his shoulders. "I think this would be a worthy forfeiture," he admitted, "but it's up to you."
There was a small pause before Lydia hooked her camera onto her wrist and hopped onto the handlebars, almost tumbling backwards due to the restriction of her legs by her skirt. After making sure that she was steady, Gabe started to pedal forward.
There was something about bike rides that had always felt freeing and exciting to Lydia. Even if she knew she wasn't leaving the palace grounds, it felt like she could, and sometimes, that was enough. Being delicately perched on the handlebars only added to the excitement. She could tumble into the gravel at any second, as the tilt of the bicycle against Gabe's efforts reminded her. But it didn't matter. She could scrape the entire length of her body in against the stones of the driveway, and it wouldn't matter, because she'd be healed in minutes.
She released the handlebars, holding her arms out like she was about to take flight. "Careful," Gabe cautioned with a chuckle.
"This is great," she sighed into the wind. For a moment, she felt like the Lydia of three years ago, who didn't have the weight of her sister's life and a job she'd never wanted stacked on her shoulders.
But then they'd lapped the palace all too quickly, and the bike slowed to a standstill. Lydia sighed as she returned to the ground. "Thank you," she smiled as she turned to face Gabe. "That was really fun."
He gave her an easy smile. "I had a good time too."
They returned to the castle, and soon, Gabe was replaced by a charming guy named Alistair Lockwood. Lydia had heard of his family—who hadn't, really—the owners of popular wine company, Wine O'Clock. Alistair didn't seem too interested in discussing the family business and even seemed a little cold when Lydia brought it up, but he redeemed himself when he suggested they just use her to fulfill their 'something that smells good' mission for the scavenger hunt.
Alistair was succeeded by Creed Rosario, an assistant cruise director. He seemed so young to have worked his way up to a management position, but when Lydia realized how charismatic he was, it made sense. He also seemed ready for any kind of adventure, being the one to lead Lydia off on their search for 'something you wear in the water' even though he didn't know his way around the palace at all and took wrong turns galore that made Lydia laugh.
After Creed came Nathaniel Hendricks, who was a little quieter than the other men but impossibly polite. He was a butler, so his extreme manner and sense of decorum made sense once Lydia discussed his job with him. He called her 'Your Highness' the whole time, even though she offered her first name many times.
Nathaniel was replaced by a tall and lanky figure, but the thing that stood out most to Lydia were the dimples that complimented the slightly nervous smile he gave her. After he bowed, he introduced himself, "Logan Wyatt, Your Highness."
"Lydia, please," she countered, a little wearied by having to make the constant amendment. Naomi had always been more gracious at taking her title in stride than Lydia was. "It's nice to meet you, Logan."
"You too," he smiled sincerely, "I've already met your brother and Bex, but I've been excited to get to meet you."
Lydia laughed. "Well, I'm glad that they didn't scare you away," she noted, "It's an unfortunate talent that Cohen and Bex both happen to share."
"They are a handful," Logan agreed with a chuckle. "So, what's our scavenger hunt thing?"
"'A movie neither of you have seen,'" Lydia read. "Which should be easy, because honestly, I'm terrible about watching movies. Come on, there's tons in the theater."
"What do you mean?" Logan asked.
Lydia shrugged. "I just never find time for them or I fall asleep or something like that," she admitted, "Aunt Avery took me to a premiere last year, and I was sitting right next to the star, and I fell asleep—it was mortifying."
To his credit, he tried to swallow his laughter. "So, Hollywood events aren't really your thing?"
"No," Lydia snorted instantly, "They were always Nao—" She froze when she realized what she was about to say. Logan didn't notice and walked a few steps until he realized she wasn't at his side. When he looked back at her, Lydia forced a smile. "Sorry, tripped. Anyway, I was just saying they never appealed to me. Come on, theater's this way!" She hurried ahead, unsettled by the way she'd almost slipped and said Naomi's name. Logan seemed like the type she could talk to about anything—except Naomi, of course, so she mentally berated herself the rest of the way to the theater to be more careful.
When they reached the room, Lydia stepped into the darkness, her hand feeling over the wall for the light switch. When she finally found it, she turned around to find Logan hadn't followed her in. He was firmly rooted in the hallway, his face ashen. "You can come in," Lydia assured him.
Only once the lights had all come to life did he step in, which Lydia took little notice of. She'd already bent in front of the cabinet where all of their movies were kept. "Okay, let's see… Star Wars?"
"Don't let Fallon catch you saying you haven't seen that one," snorted Logan, in reference to one of the Selected that Lydia hadn't met yet. She stored the information away for future use.
"Hm… Titanic?"
"You really don't watch movies, do you?" Logan chortled. He joined her in front of the cabinet. "Man, this one is my favorite," he noted as he tapped a movie called She's the Man. "I love any cheesy rom com," he added a little sheepishly.
"Never seen it, unsurprisingly," Lydia remarked. "Maybe we could watch it sometime?"
Logan's face lit up. "Definitely."
They finally decided on one of the X-Men movies, as neither had seen any of them. After their photo was procured, they returned to the dining room and said their goodbyes before the next Selected took Logan's place.
Finally, after over three hours, Lydia realized that they'd reached the final Selected. But any exhaustion instantly disappeared when the man emerged. Unlike the others, who'd been in various styles of suits, he wore the formal dress blues of a member of the Illéan army. He had impeccable posture and a serious face, though he didn't seem as nervous as some of the others. But he'd also brought a spotlight stealer: clasped in his left hand the leather leash of a beautiful, sedate German Shepherd.
Before any introductions could be made, Lydia bent to greet the dog. She paused before she reached her hand out though, as she recalled Fallon Tybee's file. "Is he working?" she frowned up at the soldier.
Fallon hesitated for a moment before he offered, "Go ahead. It's fine."
Lydia beamed as she held her hand out for the dog to sniff. When he tentatively licked her fingers, she gave him a scratch behind his large ears. "Hi, Baloo!" she beamed. "It's so good to meet you." The dog seemed to like her, which made Lydia happy.
She stood and held a hand out to Fallon. "It's also very nice to meet you, Fallon," she continued, "and on behalf of the royal family, I wanted to thank you for your service to Illéa."
Something unreadable flashed across Fallon's face, but Lydia could tell how proud he was of his military background. Lydia had read in his file that he'd been honorably discharged due to an injury, and Ezra had encouraged her to be careful about discussing his military service, as forced dismissal was often difficult for soldiers to accept. "Thank you, Your Highness," Fallon replied as he shook her hand. His was much larger, his grip firm.
"Sorry this day has been so long," Lydia remarked when she stepped away. "I guess even five minutes with thirty-five people adds up."
"It's fine," Fallon assured her calmly. "There have been a lot of people to meet between all of the different Selected and your family."
"Watch out," Lydia warned him, "Aunt Avery loves a man in uniform."
For the first time since he'd stepped into the hall, Fallon's face twitched into a genuine smile. "She mentioned something like that."
Lydia gave an overly dramatic, exasperated roll of her eyes. "Poaching my Selected already. I knew she was going to be trouble." She remembered the list in her hand and added, "I think our task is to find something with a sports team logo."
Fallon nodded but didn't offer any suggestions. A thought popped into Lydia's mind, and she asked, "Can I show you something kind of top secret?"
The soldier before her hesitated. "Uh… I don't want to break any rules."
"It's fine," she assured him, "Come on."
She led him on a windy path through the palace before they stopped outside of a room that Collette hated. "You can't tell anyone about this though, or my Dad might kill me, and then you'll all be here for Cohen's Selection, which would probably be awkward."
"Scout's honor," Fallon promised.
She opened the door to reveal a small den. It was pretty standard with some couches and a television mounted over the fireplace, but it was the decoration that made the room unique: everything, from the throw pillows on the couch to the lamps to the end tables was a vibrant blue and yellow, all stamped with the lightning bolt logo of the Angeles Chargers football team.
"Wow," Fallon commented as he took in the room. "The King has a mancave?"
Lydia nodded. "Isn't it ugly?"
"I mean, it'd be better if it were the Baffin Bengals, but what are you gonna do, I guess?" he shrugged.
Lydia snapped a candid picture of him and Baloo surrounded by all the Chargers stuff. "Do you like sports?" she asked.
Fallon hesitated before he shrugged. "I used to like them a lot more," he admitted.
"Well, maybe my Dad will reconvert you by the time football season rolls around," she commented. "He really makes it clear why the term 'fan' is a shortened form of 'fanatic.'"
Armed with the final task of the scavenger hunt, the trio returned, and Lydia walked into the dining room with them to thank the Selected for a great afternoon. She asked the men she planned on sending home to stay behind and forced Bex and Aunt Avery to wait outside the door in case anything got dicey. For the most part, the men went graciously, although there was one who decided to remark that Lydia wasn't that pretty anyway, which she declared was the most interesting thing he'd said that day.
When it was all finished, she was down to twenty-nine Selected remaining. She also found out that she lost the scavenger hunt to Bex, since many of her tasks hadn't been completed in the time limit. But all in all, the day felt like a success, which she relayed to Naomi as she sat by her sister's bed later that night.