as always, i do not own the selection nor hetalia. these belong to kiera cass and himaruya hidekaz respectively.

Before Arthur had scarcely noticed it, ten days had passed in the palace.

That is not to say it wasn't uneventful, but between all the meals, the prep, the various clothes fittings he'd had to undergo, the exhausting group dates, everything...it had somehow all blended together.

Though it felt as if he himself had been slowing down, everything else in the palace had been doing the opposite. The competition was moving as it usually did, speeding up in the beginning, with the number of Chosen being cut down to twenty five.

A schedule had fallen into the place the first Monday after they had all arrived. Breakfast at nine, an hour of downtime before they were scheduled to meet at the Drawing Room at ten, then the first half of an assigned group would go on a group date with the prince. The other half were allowed to take some time off in the meantime. Lunch would be served at one, hour of downtime, group two would go out at two on the dot, then refreshments at five, an hour of press engagements, dinner at seven, and finally they were allowed to what they reasonably wished until curfew.

There would always be a nerve wracking section at the end of each date that consisted of Prince Alfred gently asking three or four people to remain behind with the touch of a shoulder, cameras trained on every tap. He was either too kind or too cruel to tell them explicitly that they were dismissed from the palace, but from the expressions on their faces, not to mention the fear coiling in everyone's stomachs every time the cinema lights came back on or Prince Alfred checked his watch and announced 'hey, time's up, everyone,' all of the Chosen knew exactly what that request meant.

For his part, Arthur had not done the following: upset the prince, angered the prince, upset or angered anyone, done anything illegal, said anything insulting, or caused property damage. He hadn't stood out particularly, either. Painfully aware that it was near impossible to garner one person's attention when thirty odd others were vying for it, he hadn't thought it appropriate to deliberately stage an accident, or do something outrageous for his attention. As a result, his efforts rarely went past cracking sarcastic jokes or looking just a little at him. Very little. Extremely little. A very scarce occurrence.

So when his maid Anna had come up with the usual paper slip that contained their schedule, Arthur was surprised to see that all the group dates had neatly been scrubbed clean, with only one being replaced with the timeslot 'Broadcast attendance' starting on Sunday, and the breakfast slot being rerouted to the Chosen's bedrooms.

"Good morning, Sir Arthur," she said in way of greeting, curtseying once. "Are you doing well this morning?"

"Yes, thank you, Anna." he said, dipping his head a little in reply. Even though they hadn't been spending too much time getting to know one another, it was good to get along with someone that was in a way disconnected from the competition.

"The Jack's requested us maids deliver the breakfast to you starting today, so what would you want?" she asked. "You may have the usual menu, it's just the change of location."

Arthur pulled his gaze away from the schedule. "Have you been told why we're moving to the bedrooms? Is it permanent?"

"I don't think so. Jack Yao says that the advisorship and the royals are using the room to prepare for the annual meeting in two months, not to mention prepare in case of a Joker rebel assault. His Highness stated that were reports of a raid on a Diamonds holding facility last night, so they're taking extra precautions." Anna said. "I believe he's written it on the schedule, but I wanted to make sure. Now, can I get your breakfast, Sir Arthur?"

"Apologies...scones, jam, clotted cream, mint tea?" Arthur rattled off; though as soon as she left he started to ponder the explanation she'd given him.

Raids by the Joker rebels weren't unheard of. Even though their presence had only started to be known since last year, their operations had ramped up massively. Arthur remembered the flurry of rumours in his holding facility that the Diamonds coast guards – the one border that Cards shared with the Joker rebel hideout the Drift – had been having daily encounters with rebels attempting to cross illegally into Cards.

What had started out as bloody skirmishes and fruitless raids had turned into an active effort to repeal the First Law, the foundation that supported the fact that there couldn't be more than two Jokers wielding their full power at any given time. It had been drilled into Arthur's head from the week he'd stepped into those holding facilities, and it seemed as if the same applied to every other citizen in Cards.

Legitimate claims or not, their tactics had ramped up the past few months, so it would easily explain why their schedule had shifted so early in the process. Besides, Arthur, with a little bit of guilt, would admit to himself that he did prefer his own company than with nineteen strangers.

Once breakfast was over, Anna perched expectantly to take away his plate. As soon as it was loaded onto her serving tray, though, she bent down to whisper something in his ear.

"I don't think I'm supposed to know, but the prince asked Lady Clare and Sir Thomas out on private dates today. I thought you would just like to know that it's going on, though I'm a bit worried." she hissed, cupping her mouth with one hand.

Arthur's eyes widened – he hadn't expected the prince to start spending one on one time officially with the Chosen so soon, especially after the schedule change. Even though he wasn't familiar with either of them, he couldn't help his own inquisitiveness. "Anna, can I know – how did you find out?"

She made sure that the door was locked behind them before she continued. "He came down to the servants' quarters shortly whilst we were preparing to serve all the Chosen breakfast, and then asked for their maids. His Highness then gave them two blue envelopes before leaving. They were warned to not open it under any circumstances."

"Well, if His Highness did it in the servants' quarters, I'm sure that word has spread around by now," Arthur said, attempting to soothe her. "At least, to the other Chosen. I'm sure that there are other maids that aren't as kind as you."

In his own way, he'd given her a compliment, and to his relief it seemed to reach her. "I'll let you know as soon as possible when he invites you to your first one on one date, Sir Arthur, then! Good day," she said cheerfully, taking his tea set and plate out of the room, leaving Arthur to continue writing his letter to Kiku. He'd already finished a letter to his family, so it sat patiently on top of his already cluttered desk.

Well, I did promise to keep a secret, Arthur thought to himself, uncapping his pen. He'd already written the unpleasant thing about not being able to both meet up with Ace Matthew, nor being able to have a chance to secure Heracles's possible pardon, so what else could he possibly tell his best friend? There was no news to rejoice at, other than his entrance into the Deciding.

Suffice to say, he was relieved that he hadn't been asked to go a date today as writing that letter took upwards of an hour to complete, wringing out as many apologies and regrets that he could fit in. Once it had, though, he decided it would probably be a better idea to make his own way to the palace post marked on the map, instead of giving Anna a letter sent to the Hearts palace.

"Did you hear? He's going to take him out to the stables after lunch."

"Who told you? I only heard it from the others."

There was a smugness in his voice as he responded to her. "Oh...did your maid not tell you? That's a shame, I thought the two of you were getting on well, Gabrielle."

"What? Why would your maid do that?" she demanded, their voices sounding closer as soon as Arthur turned right. "That's unfair, Ian. Isn't that cheating?"

"Of course not, when half the palace's already heard about it, even the kids from the holding facilities. Not to mention the other date he's having tonight."

There was a stamping noise, and then Arthur heard the sharp intake of breath. "I swear, Ian – Sir Ian, if you don't tell me who it is I'll drag you to the chapel in the palace and sacrifice you to the Spades Fate myself."

"Jeez, calm down..." he started to retort back, though the two of them quickly quietened down as soon as Arthur walked past them, turning away haughtily.

Anna had been right, after all. Even though he wasn't one to eavesdrop, it was interesting to gauge who he shouldn't and should associate with. From what he guessed, several feathers had been ruffled. All the more reason to keep shut about that night in the gardens.

Examining his map one more time, he descended down a flight of stairs until he came to the palace post office. It was a quaint establishment with an unlit fireplace, letter chute, and two out of four steel desks occupied, an unsteady rhythm of stamping and typing on the computers. Arthur had only seen the administrators in the holding facilities use them and hadn't had the chance to even touch one, so he couldn't help but look longingly at them through the glass panes that partitioned the post office from the rest of the palace.

He knocked once before opening the door, and was about to let it close before a familiar voice called out behind him.

It was Leon, his face slightly pink, clutching a white envelope in his hand. "Thanks for waiting up," he panted, entering the room behind Arthur.

"Anytime," Arthur replied, remembering to nod once in a friendly gesture before giving the envelope to the first clerk on the left. He lowered his voice. "The Hearts kingdom, if that's all right? I'm not sure about the exact address to send it to."

Her expression betrayed disbelief, turning the letter over a few times before looking directly back at him. Feeling self conscious, he quickly mumbled a reply. "I'm writing to a friend in the Hearts Deciding, you see."

"Very well," she said after a moment, neatly inscribing the address of the other palace, licking off a stamp then placing it inside the letter chute next to the large two doors serving as the exit. "Is there any other mail you'd like me to process," she took a gander at his pin, "Sir Arthur?"

"Yes," Arthur said, quickly remembering he'd stuffed his letter to his family in the pocket of his windbreaker. "Here, the address has been filled in already."

"Thank you. Have a good day, Sir Arthur." she said after she'd examined the letter and placed it on a small pile on top of her desk. "If there's anything else you need, do not hesitate to come to the post office."

As soon as he had turned to leave, she began typing as if she were a demon possessed on the computer. Allowing himself to savour the crisp noise, he went outside to find to his pleasant surprise Leon still waiting outside for him, even though he was speaking to a fair haired guard in training attire with a bird of sorts.

"...named him Puffin. I'd seen a photo of the bird in a book once, but it's not a very interesting story," he was speaking with a particularly lilting corner to his voice. "But thank you for asking, Sir...Leon."

"No, it's totally interesting, I don't know what you mean." Leon exclaimed, peering forward to stare closer at the bird. The guard's cheeks pinked, clearly not sure how to deal with a Chosen being so close. "Look at that beak! It's, like, the height of fashion. Not even joking, I've never seen anything like it."

Noticing Arthur standing uncertainly at the doorway of the post office, the guard seemed to take the opportunity. "Sir Leon, sorry but...I believe your friend's waiting for you."

Arthur gave a small, noncommittal wave in his direction, though at Leon's gesture to go over to him he decided to comply with his acquaintance's request. "Sorry about the wait, Leon."

"Don't mind it, I was just repaying you. This is Officer Steillson," Leon introduced, and the guard gave a weak smile in return. "He owns this exotic bird! I've seen him around the hallways, but haven't seen the bird until just now."

"His name is Puffin," he said, bowing in greeting, one arm holding the bird aloft. "It's good to meet you, Sir Arthur."

Leon's cheerful tone turned a little regretful when they heard the stomping of boots outside; probably the guards on training. "Sorry if I disturbed your schedule, though." he said, "Have a good day, Officer Steillson. Thanks for showing me your beautiful bird!"

Officer Steillson began to thank him, though he was overshadowed by the loud squawking of the bird, as if Puffin knew exactly when he was being complimented. Sighing once, he bowed once more. "Y-You're welcome, Sir Leon, Sir Arthur. Have a good day as well."

"It's possibly because you spend too much time in your room. I haven't seen you in the Drawing Room since we got here. Though I'm not there that much either." Leon said whilst the two of them were walking back to their floor. "And it's almost been, like, two weeks. Outside of the group dates, Emma and Sakura haven't seen you either, I think."

"You would be right," Arthur said. "I don't know. I'm not very good with being social. I've just managed to not make anyone angry with me."

Leon pressed his lips into a thin line, suppressing a smirk. "I suppose you should put it this way. You're still here after the Great Pruning happened, and I guess that should, like, count for something. Right?"

"Right. What's the Great..."

"Oh. Erm, we came up with it after the group baking date on Thursday morning." Right, the group dates were split into two. Thankfully, Arthur had been part of the group that had went outside to play a faux game of croquet. Not even Kiku had been positive about his baking, though he was sure it wasn't that bad at all. "Four people were sent home. It wasn't a pretty sight."

"I can imagine," Arthur said, thinking back to the anguished sob of the girl that had been sent home after the croquet date, coupled with an awful camera behind them. "I understand that it's also for television, but you can't help but think about the chance that it's you. And not everyone's in love with the prince...at least, not yet."

He raised his eyebrows a little, tipping his head to one side inquisitively. "You included?"

Another loaded question. "It's been two weeks, as you said." Arthur said, shrugging once and trying his best to seem indifferent. "I don't think it's possible to fall in love with someone that you've only known as a historical figure your entire life in the holding facilities. So even if there's that off chance, it wouldn't come that soon. His Highness probably is keeping those that he sees a chance with later on."

"I guess." Leon sounded as if he were satisfied with the answer. "I won't lie, I kinda feel the same. There are people who have been in love with the guy since they knew what love is, and there are people who want to be a queen more than a husband or wife. In a way, there's, like, no way to tell which one he values more. It's totally confusing, especially since we haven't had much time to bond at all."

"You're right, we're all here for different things – though..." Arthur seemed embarrassed to Leon's surprise, his mouth slightly hanging open. "You just..."

"Hm?"

"You just called His Highness 'the guy'," he spluttered. Leon couldn't help his laugh his time, catching it behind his mouth. "Wait, is that, like, a problem? You've heard how he talks, Arthur, surely?"

"...Yes, but well, you know." Feeling incredibly self conscious, he wasn't sure how to respond, thinking back to the offhand comments about the holding facilities. "I suppose the concept is too ingrained in my consciousness from being in the holding facilities, as others have said. And it's odd, how he speaks. As if he's just a teenager, like the rest of us."

"He's just a teenager in his own ways," Leon said. "We're not as different as some other people think. Besides, wasn't the original idea, like, to give others the opportunity to partake in the education of the wealthy?"

"I suppose."

Leon nudged him gently, causing Arthur's eyes to shift from the floor to his acquaintance. "Yes, so...I dunno what it's like in there for you, but you're in the palace now. Things are different. So you totally shouldn't put yourself in a box you've made for yourself. Right?"

Arthur let his guard down one more time in the palace, and returned his light gesture. "Right."

That was how Arthur found himself walking to the Drawing Room after dinner with Leon instead of instantly retiring to his room.

"Is it always as busy as this?" Arthur asked, barely able to see past the sea of twenty people in front of them. "It seems as if almost everyone is here."

"No," Leon said, turning the corner coolly with everyone else. Arthur tried to not look at his exquisite footwork, even without the cameras watching. "There's, like, usually half, but there's that date that happened earlier today as well as the one tonight. I'm assuming you've heard."

"That, at least, I've been able to hear about," Arthur said, whispering a little to keep their voices down. "My maid was the one who notified me. I thought everyone heard about it?"

"Not from their maids, no," Leon said back, taking the cue. "One of the girls, Marianne, I think she's called, got the news from Clare herself. She wasn't very happy, you can imagine. Before I went to deliver my mail, I heard a total commotion from the floor above us, where the girls keep their rooms. Doesn't need to be spelled out."

Frowning, he entered the room slightly behind Leon, following him to another seat. "There must be a reason."

Before Leon could respond though, the two of them noticed a gaggle of people had formed around a dark haired boy with an impressive physique, not cosying up to him but rather more like an interrogation. Emma was among them, so the two of them decided to listen in.

"How was it like, Thomas?"

"What was the date like?"

"What did you two do?"

With a hint of admiration, Arthur noticed that Thomas didn't seem fazed, his eyes sparkling, excitement revealing a deep bronze glow in his cheeks. "It was quite a nice date," he said, his well pressed shoes tapping on the floor as he spoke quickly. "We went to the gym inside the palace and lifted weights. He's really good with his fists, surprisingly, so we had a mock boxing match. Afterwards we talked about the workout routines we followed, since we talked about it when we first met. Then we got a bite to eat. That's it!"

Judging by the bewildered looks on some of the other Chosen's faces, Arthur wasn't sure that jealousy was the first thing they were thinking about in that moment. Thomas seemed to take this into stride though, chuckling at their reactions. The boy sitting next to him – Sir Alfonso, Arthur made out on his badge – laughed with him, mirth reaching past the mole next to his right eye. "Not what you guys expected, yeah?"

One of the girls shook her head rapidly, though quickly followed up with a question. "Was he cute in his sportswear?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. He was really nice afterwards as well," Thomas continued, "Saying I could use the sports equipment while I'm here. They're not nearly as nice as the ones in the Clubs holding facilities, so..."

"As expected from a holding facility kid. I mean, lifting weights? How unrefined," a voice rose out of the din. Heads turned around, searching for the voice, and Arthur couldn't help but bristle.

Sir Alfonso's green eyes darkened, standing up and attracting the attention of the others that didn't pay attention to Thomas's recollection. "Who said that?" he challenged in the general direction of the voice, ignoring Thomas's attempt to pull him back down. "If you're so brave to call out the majority of the people who enter the Deciding successfully, why not reveal who you are?"

Not particularly liking the bead of admiration that wormed its way into Arthur's stomach, he and Leon looked around, following the suit of the group. When no one confessed, Alfonso sat down to the again gentle chiding of his friend. "Whatever, Thomas. Forget it. Everyone knows you got that first date, and they're just jealous."

Arthur bit nervously at his inner cheek. He'd made a promise, and he wasn't going to blurt it out to anyone. Especially not in the dragon's den.

Before the charged conversation could continue, there was a sound of a pair of footsteps coming towards the Drawing Room. Arthur and Leon could only watch the stampede – the Jack, the Ace, the prince, someone else? Who could it be?

Surprisingly, the prince's voice came over the door, and for some odd reason Arthur wanted to join the stampede to see him. "...Are you sure we can part here tonight?"

"Of course, Your Highness," that was Clare, "Thank you so much for inviting me to the stables tonight. I thoroughly enjoyed our date."

"Me as well," Prince Alfred said. She pushed open the door, and then gave him a winning smile as he kissed her hand. "Have a good night, Lady Clare."

"You as well, Your Highness!" she sang, curtseying once more before reuniting with her friends. The prince, for his part, waved at the other Chosen, while being met with adoring cries of 'Your Highness', 'Prince Alfred' and 'Goodnight' when he turned to leave.

As if it were clockwork, the same group that had clustered around Thomas did the same to a smug Clare, who had already fanned out her skirts and nestled herself in between two of her friends.

"How did the date go?"

"I mean," Leon muttered under his breath as he and Arthur stayed put, "It's totally obvious why she asked him to drop her off here. It's not so it's convenient for her, she just wants to show it off."

Arthur nodded, he'd guessed it was the case but it was reassuring to have him confirm his suspicions. "Though Alfonso did have a point. Thomas did have the first date with His Highness, after all." The other boy was clearly unfazed, though with the varying expressions of the girls and boys clustered around Clare it was obvious that not everyone shared his comfort.

"Now we're moving onto one to one dates, let's see who goes home." Leon said, folding his arms and looking disinterestedly at the group. "Let the games begin, I guess."

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