Thank you so much to my reviewers—Sora Kalopsia, Nameless, Miss Kaydence, canifindtheone, alexiaroosenhaan, Shannaenae, Jcuret98, fivesauce'n'YAbooks (x3!) and my guest reviewers!

The next chapter, in a week! And one month into this story! My only announcement is if you haven't, please please please send in the rest of your forms as soon as possible (I am still accepting new characters as well) because they need to be in the next chapter for "interviews" with Wesley!

-shades

…

While her six-year-old charges were bouncing off the walls with excitement, to Lissa, today seemed like the last shred of hope.

While her first day as the royal governess had been terrible, it hadn't taken long for the little princesses, Evangeline and Sophie, to love her. Now, it seemed like they couldn't wait for her to get to their nursery after breakfast, and never wanted her to leave, even though she technically wasn't responsible for them after six.

Being back at the palace after six years was a change, but all in all, it wasn't very different. She had her own, beautiful room, and a maid presumably came and cleaned up every day while she was at work. She had weekends off, and had spent the first two with Gracie and Damian in their apartment. She had lunch with Evie and Sophie, and the rest of the royal family who could be spared from their work. She ate breakfast and dinner with the other upper servants in their own dining room on the fourth floor, when she wasn't invited elsewhere. Though she hadn't attended another dinner with the royal family, Adele had already had all the girls from Ethan's Selection who were still at the palace over to her home twice, and she had visited Gracie countless times.

There were other things, of course. Joseph continued his ceaseless, shameless flirting with her, and while she had managed to get the rest of the upper staff to call her Lissa, Joanna still insisted on a last-name basis with her. Wesley had also managed to evade her, though she wanted to speak with him now that their initial shock of finding each other at the palace had worn off.

Today, though—today was different. After today, there would be no reason for her to speak with him.

Lissa wasn't paying attention to Evie and Sophie talking excitedly as they walked hand-in-hand with her down to the hallway of the third floor to the stairs. Her stomach tightened, though there was nothing to be nervous about, she tried to tell herself. Since she didn't have a uniform like the rest of the upper staff, she had chosen today to wear her most professional outfit, fitted white pants, a blush blazer and nude pumps, with her hair in a bun. This would set her apart from the rest of the woman in attendance.

Evie, the blonde twin, squeezed Lissa's hand as Sophie, the brunette, practically dragged Lissa down the hall by her other hand.

"Hurry, Miss Lissa, hurry!" Sophie cried.

"It's okay, we won't be late. They aren't due to start arriving for ten more minutes, Evie," Lissa told the little princess. Her voice sounded less confident than usual, but it would pass.

"I can't wait to meet the new princesses," Evie said, smiling up at Lissa as they walked. "I bet they're beautiful."

"Only one of them will be a princess, Evie. Your uncle just has to pick one first." Lissa smiled until her cheeks hurt. Hopefully the girls would be fooled.

When they arrived in the Main Hall, everything was chaos. This was the last Selection for a while and everyone was milking it. Lissa scanned the crowd for Wesley, but didn't see him. In fact, none of the Council was here, with Andrew, Ethan, Colin, Ben, Elvira, and Connelly being absent as well.

She spotted Nicole standing with Nat, the twins giggling over something. Nicole looked every bit a princess in her ice blue day dress, her hair in soft curls. Nat, as usual, rebelled against the standard in her sleeveless white top and black jeans, with a messy braid. Queen Christine hurried over to Lissa and the two small princesses, dressed in a light pink fitted dress with white heels.

"Hello, Lissa. Is everything going okay today?" she asked as her two daughters let go of Lissa's hand and ran to hug their mother, as if they hadn't just seen her a few hours ago at breakfast.

"They're pretty excited, with good reason though. Other than that, they've been fine," Lissa told her. Despite being her boss, Christine was always nice to everyone, and never treated Lissa like an employee.

"Of course, they are! It's not every day a Selection begins!" Christine said, more to her daughters than to Lissa. "Anyway, I needed to tell you that for this Selection, the only meal the ladies will attend with us is dinner, for the sake of the children. So, your routine shouldn't change too much."

Lissa smiled, "that will certainly be less intimidating! I remember being terrified the first time we ate breakfast with the royal family."

"Oh, believe me, I remember it too," Christine laughed. She bent down level with the little princesses and put an arm around them.

While she spoke to them, Lissa seized the opportunity to look around for the mayhem that was the arrival of the Selected.

She remembered coming into the palace for the first time during Ethan's Selection had been nothing like this—she had been met on the drive by the Selection coordinator, Sophia, who she hadn't seen or heard about since she had come back to the palace. The girls from her plane along with her had been given a tour so quick she didn't have any memory of her first impressions of the palace, before being whisked off to get a makeover.

This time, it would be different. She remembered camera crews everywhere, which was also the case now, but to Lissa, it seemed like every servant was clustered in the Main Hall, all wearing their nicest uniforms, in addition to many of the guests. Joanna hadn't been at breakfast, but Lissa spotted the redhead in her standard black dress and heels, today paired with a blazer. She was running around madly, trying to get everything ready. Joseph was leaning against one of the pillars talking to his friends, but he caught her eye and gave her a wink, which she ignored.

Christine said her final goodbyes to her girls and then stood. "If you would bring them up to my office after the ceremony, and then join Nicole and I for tea. We have some things we need to discuss."

"Sure, of course." Lissa said. Christine nodded at Lissa, before hurrying over to Joanna.

Lissa took the princesses hands again, before they got lost in all the chaos. The ladies were due to arrive soon, and she didn't want to be missing her charges then. Aidan and Jamie were with their respective nannies, so she took Evie and Sophie over to them. They had all been instructed on their positions yesterday, so she knew this was where she would stand for the actual ceremony.

She felt eyes boring into her, and turned to find Queen Mother Francesca staring—glaring, actually- at her. The auburn-haired dowager lifted the hem of her floor-length black and gold peplum gown, strikingly formal for late morning but not different for her, and approached Lissa.

So far, Lissa had managed to avoid her, as their track record wasn't the best, and Christine had been the one to hire her. The then-queen had found out about Wesley and Lissa's affection for each other, and had been resilient in her efforts to stop their fling. She had threatened Lissa, and after Wesley was injured in a rebel attack saving Lissa, Queen Francesca had lied to Wesley about Lissa, telling him she had not come to see him, and even stole her letters to him while he recovered.

She felt a chill go up her spine now, as the woman came to a stop in front of her. Lissa forced her knees to bend into a curtsey, but the Queen Mother didn't address her. She greeted her granddaughters first before turning to Lissa.

"Miss Dove, I take it you are adjusting to your new position back at the palace?"

Lissa nodded. "Yes, I am, Your Majesty," she said.

Francesca raised her chin into the air. "Good. We wouldn't want you to feel like it was the same as before."

With that, she smiled slightly, and then left Lissa alone, with the clear intent of her words ringing in her ears. Lissa swallowed, and took a deep breath. Of course, she was right. It wasn't the same as before. She needed to get that into her head.

She saw Gracie at the end of the main hall, close to the west wing, in a bright yellow dress, trying her hardest and failing not to flirt with Damian, who was in the ranks of the guards, dressed in his uniform as the head of security for the Prime Minister. Speaking of the Prime Minister, Adele was herding her three kids, Juliet, Gideon, and Holly over to them. As always, she looked stunning in a high collared white dress with red stilettos to match her red lipstick.

"Hi, Adele!" Lissa said, letting go of Evie and Sophie so they could greet Juliet, who also at six, was their best friend.

Adele scooped up her youngest, Holly, before she toddled off. "I get that they're the Prime Minister's kids and I'm his wife, and Nicole and Christine wanted us to be here, but this is still a bad idea," she deadpanned, trying to hold Gideon's hand with one hand and hold Holly at the same time.

Lissa laughed. "I'll help you out, don't worry. Juliet can stay here with us."

"Oh, thank God. Whenever we come to the palace, they become different kids, I swear," Adele joked, shaking her head. "It was pretty different when we came, wasn't it?" she said, nodding to all the goings-on. "If you ask me, this is a little creepy."

"Yeah, we'll all just be staring at them as they walk down the hall past all of the servants to the Woman's Room. I would have died on the spot from nerves."

"At least Wesley and Andrew and Ethan won't be here. That would terrify them even more," Adele said. "And Colin. Can't forget him."

Lissa smiled, "It all seems so long ago that we were in their shoes, doesn't it?"

Nat and Nicole walked up and joined them. "A lot sure has changed," Nicole said as she took Jamie from his nanny.

"So, how's the new us?" Nat asked as she ruffled Evie's brown curls, before elbowing her twin. "Get it? Because they're twins too?"

Nicole playfully rolled her eyes. "I get it, idiot."

"So, no Selection coordinator this time?" Lissa asked.

"No, we figured there would be less of a need for one, since one of the ladies will be marrying a third prince, and not it direct line for the throne anymore," Nicole explained, her words thudding painfully into Lissa's heart, though she had told Nicole it wouldn't bother her.

"Besides, Michelle and Christine helped out a lot with Ethan's Selection, so now I get to help out. Actually, I may need your help on that one, so if you wouldn't mind, Christine set up a tea in her rooms after this, and I have a few things to discuss with you guys. Gracie too, if she ever leaves Damian for five seconds," Nicole smirked.

The three of them gave their agreement, just as Joanna approached.

"Your highness, five minutes," she told Nicole, before rushing off.

All around the room, everyone was getting into place. Nearly all of the staff, from the ladies maids and valets to the house maids and footmen, were lining up according to their ranks. Lissa followed Nicole, Nat, and Adele with Evie and Sophie, Adele's kids, Aidan, Jamie, and the nannies following. Through the windows she saw guards moving into position for extra security, which meant the ladies were to arrive any moment now.

The Main Hall was packed with all the servants. By the entrance, Francesca, Nicole, and Christine stationed themselves. Next to them stood Adele and Nat. Lissa stood behind the royal women, sort of off to the side so they wouldn't be seen first by the arriving ladies, with the children and the nannies and Gracie. She didn't recognize many of the other non-servants, but assumed they were of some importance. The servants who were not assigned to the ladies or did not have duties stood in their ranks on the other side of the hall, led by Joanna, Joseph, the head butler, and the first footman.

The camera crews were set up everywhere, and she could see them outside. Lissa remembered getting off the plane at the airport back when she was a Selected, the shouting and cheering of the crowds, the light bulbs flashing and the videos filming their every move, people clamoring for her autograph even though she hadn't done anything at all, and two of the girls on her plane had been famous Twos, Cordelia Whitney and Sirena Mastrano.

The footmen opened both of the doors to the outside, and she watched as a black SUV pulled up the driveway. Even now, she could hear cheering of crowds that had gathered outside the walls of the palace, feel the excitement in the room. Joanna left her position, and crossed the hall to stand by Christine and Nicole, and Lissa was close enough to hear what she was saying.

"In this car should be Lady Veyra, Lady Nikoli, Lady Isabella, and Lady Jennie, from Calgary, Dakota, Likely, and Belcourt, Your Majesty," Joanna said.

Despite her heels, Lissa still stood on her tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse of the girls, one of whom would win Wesley's heart. Guards had opened the car doors, and the footmen were stepping forward to help the ladies out and get their things as they were escorted up the steps and inside the palace. Lissa watched Christine, Nicole, and Francesca personally welcome all four of the girls to the palace, and one of them, she was pretty sure was Lady Isabella, looked like she might faint.

She had seen their photographs on the Report when they had been announced, and along with all of the staff, had been given a sheet of paper to match names with faces so they would know all the girls, but it was still difficult.

Lady Veyra was easy enough, since she was a secret agent and Lissa remembered her. With light bronze skin, black hair and dark eyes, she stood out with her no-nonsense manner, and carried herself through the doors like she feared nothing. She wore a smile like a loaded gun, and even from further away, Lissa could see her taking in every detail of the palace.

As Nicole escorted them to the Woman's Room, Lady Nikoli waved timidly at the children, before hurrying to catch up with the children. Nicole reappeared a few moments later, and returned to her post as the next car pulled up, and Joanna told them that these girls were more local, with Lady Iris from Angeles, Lady Darcy from Fennley, and two girls whose provinces and names she didn't remember.

Lady Iris pushed back her hair, beaming. She was practically bouncing on her toes as she met Christine, though a blush stained her pale skin. She gasped when she saw Gracie standing with Lissa, and turned to Lady Darcy, who was nearly Gracie's twin, with her blonde hair. Darcy only scowled, probably nervous, Lissa guessed.

"I think she recognized you, Gracie," Lissa murmured to her friend.

"Oh my goodness, did she?" Gracie all but squealed, her mouth dropping open. "I can't believe it!"

They quickly quieted down so not to miss Joanna's next announcement that came with two extra guards by the doors, and a increase in booing from the crowds outside.

"These girls are all from secessionist provinces, we have Lady Valette from Whites, Lady Georgia from Yukon, Lady Fallon from Atlin, and Lady Reese from Bankston," Joanna explained.

"And we will treat them like any of the others," Christine said firmly, glaring at the guards. "Please resume your original positions."

The guards stepped back, and the car pulled up. The four girls that got out acted different than the previous, looking around nervously, as if someone was going to attack them. Lady Fallon was looking back at the crowd outside the gates, that had just been cheering moments ago, and had her arms wrapped around herself, her dark hair covering her face.

Lady Georgia, on the other hand, walked straight ahead and didn't look back, only gave her honey blonde hair a toss as she walked up the steps, her lips set into a determined smile. Lissa watched her extend her hand out to Christine to shake, oozing confidence. Her face was a face that everyone had seen before, being a poster girl for rebel propaganda, and it was rather chilling to see it in person, here at the palace. Lissa could see Nicole, Christine, and Francesca being gracious to her, and there seemed to be no trace of her past here.

Lady Valette hesitated as the royals greeted her, and Lissa saw her tense up, though she couldn't hear their conversation, and she could see Georgia glaring daggers into the back of Valette's head. Lady Reese managed to pull off sneakers with her Selection uniform of the white blouse and black skirt, and her dirty-blonde hair was gathered in a messy ponytail, reminding Lissa that she was a personal trainer, as if the muscle definition in her arms and legs wasn't enough. Lady Fallon carried herself like a model, and smiled warmly at the royals as she greeted them professionally.

After the girls from the secessionist provinces left, the rest of the cars came very quickly, with the ladies arriving almost too quick for Lissa to keep track of. The only other girl from province that had seceded, St. George, got booed but other than that, the crowd outside the palace was very excited, almost matching Evie and Sophie. The little princesses kept tugging Lissa down to their level to whisper something to her about how pretty they were or that this one looked like a princess.

They were especially fond of Lady Lillian, from Ottaro, whose golden blonde hair and air of confidence really did come of as princess qualities. Lissa also noticed the Four looking around in amazement at the grounds as she got out of the car, which she thought was endearing, as she recalled the girl was a forestry worker.

Maybe it was just because their mom was blonde and a queen, but the twins seemed to like the blonde girls the most. Having Adele and sometimes Nicole, when the mood suited her, be blonde probably didn't help. They also liked Lady Alyexandria, a tall willowy Three with blondish-brown hair and blue-green eyes, who waved to them and even stopped when she passed them to curtsey to the little princesses. She also was the only girl to acknowledge that Lissa was there, with a smile and a nod.

There was also two girls Lissa made a mental note to avoid, because they probably killed someone or if they hadn't, could. Lady Dresden seemed cold, almost hostile, and Lady Callista made Christine take a step back when she welcomed her. She never smiled, except when she saw the kids, and even then, only barely.

Lady Piper, another blonde who Evie and Sophie quite liked, didn't say a single word, only smiled as she was welcomed, even though Nat broke her chill and introduced herself along with Nicole to the exercise rider from Clermont. Lady Ophelia was striking, with her golden-olive toned skin, dark hair, and tall frame, and the Broadway actress carried herself like a star.

By the time the last of the girls had arrived from Honduragua, Panama, and Dominica, the first groups who were done with makeovers were being led on tours of the palace, and to their rooms.

As the ceremony broke up, and the servants went onto other duties—namely to prepare for the introductory dinner that would be given for them tonight—Lissa was dragged by both sets up twins and Gracie to go see how the makeovers were going. Nicole, of course, had to go because that was her job, and Nat was going to tag along with her. Evie and Sophie were dying to see more of their new idols, so Lissa ended up coming too.

It was pretty much exactly how she remembered, all the chaos of cameras taking pictures and videos, with some girls freaking out and others being drama queens as they changed their appearances. Luckily, as Nat and Nicole made the rounds, the little twins were content to take in the girls from some couches set up for any of the girls who were done, and whisper to each other and Lissa, as they picked out their favorites.

Christine came in a little later, this time with Aidan in tow, who caused havoc running around and hiding in the racks of dresses and shoes, and succeeded in breaking a bottle of nail polish before Christine managed to subdue him and leave with him and her apologies.

After a while, Gracie came and plunked herself down on the couch next to Lissa. "Remember how exciting all of this was?"

"I remember it was too exciting for you—you fainted the first time you met Ethan," Lissa teased her, barely recognizing Lady Iris who debuted a new chic black bob as she made her way over to the fitting rooms.

"And you didn't fall for him at all," Gracie poked Lissa in the ribs, and then gave her a look.

"What? What's that look for?"

"Come on, Lissa, you know. Are you okay, I mean with all of this? These girls are in Wesley's Selection now, and-"

"Gracie," Lissa cut her off, a little sharper than necessary. "I'm fine. You were infatuated with Ethan, and even you turned him down. People change," Lissa nodded forcefully, trying to convince herself of her own words, her hand going instinctively to her necklace.

Gracie, of course, noticed, but thankfully, didn't mention it, and changed the subject to Lady Alyexandria's new curls and blonde highlights, which inevitably turned to Damian eventually.

In some respects, it was good to be back. But it still hurt, and she wasn't sure if that would ever go away.

…