"Alexandra's gone?"

"The Prince had her thrown out of the Palace," said the guard.

"Not executed?" Julia frowned. That wasn't… right.

"No. I witnessed them drag her away myself."

Julia cursed under her breath. Stupid Alex…

"Do you know where she went?" Julia asked him, narrowing her eyes.

The guard paused, then shook his head. "I don't know."

"Hm." She turned around, giving him a dismissive wave. "Alright. Thank you."

The guard saluted her and she walked past the cells of the dungeons, ready to climb back up the steps to the beautiful Palace above them-

"Help me…"

Julia stopped abruptly, spinning around to find a little girl.

She was thin, malnourished, her eyes just as sunken and deathlike as any of the other prisoners of the dungeon. She looked around the age of 3-4, just like the girl in the funeral…

Oh.

Julia crouched, trying to get down to her level. The little girl was shivering in her cell. "You're that little girl who spoke at the funeral, right? For your auntie Fiona?"

The girl nodded. Julia gave her a bitter smile, holding out a hand through the iron bars. "What's your name?"

"Olympia," the girl said.

"Are you okay, Olympia?"

She shook her little head. "It hurts…"

She motioned to the chains binding her to the floor.

Julia sighed. "It's okay. You'll be let out soon."

"Do you really believe that?" a raspy voice said behind her. Julia turned to see an old, withered woman that resembled a dead rose; her entire body was wreathed in black grime and dirt.

She didn't respond.

"She's set to die," said the woman. "Because she spoke out of turn."

"What?!" Julia whipped around to her. "Why?!"

"I just told'ya. She spoke out of turn."

"That isn't dungeon material-"

"They questioned her about everything her family has done. Making sure they aren't rebels. Children are especially susceptible, you see." The old woman let out a ragged laugh.

Julia stared at her. She was merely a shadow in the dark, a demon writhing in the light.

"That's not true," Julia said, at last. She stood up, facing the woman. "King Eadger wouldn't order such a thing."

"Hm… maybe not, but he did allow it."

Julia felt her eyebrows furrow. "What?"

"A lovely, beautiful woman did," she said, grabbing the bars of her cell. "I can tell you more if you set me free."

Julia took a step back into the bars of Olympia's cell. "No."

"Hm… oh, alright. If you'd just give me a coin…"

"No," Julia said flatly.

"Oh, I guess you'll never know!" The woman cackled. She waited, perhaps, for Julia to respond, but when she didn't, she slunk back into the eerie darkness of her cell.

Julia turned back to Olympia, who nodded slightly.

"I think she was His Majesty's mistress," Olympia said. Julia stopped. "She told him to kill me."

"What?!" Julia gasped. "And he agreed?"

Olympia gave a small, terrified nod, and Julia stepped back.

The King had only two mistresses. Lady Amquora, the sweet aunt that always gave gifts to everyone wherever she went, and Lady Domanshee.

Lady Amquora didn't seem the type to order someone's death.

"I'll… I'll save you, okay?" Julia said. Olympia's tired round eyes lit up. "I'll go talk to the King. He'll listen to me."

"Really?" Olympia squeaked. Julia felt a pit in her stomach.

She didn't like making promises she couldn't keep.

"I promise," she said.

Olympia beamed, but in her heart Julia knew that it was in vain.

With that, Julia walked out of the dungeon, nodding to the guard that stood watch in front of the winding stairs, and made her journey back up to the most beautiful place in the world.

"I guess you realize how messed up they really are."

Julia jumped as soon as she heard a girl's voice behind her. She whipped out her knife and spun around, only to see a young girl, probably even younger than her, staring into her eyes. Her dark brown hair flowed down her body, almost like a river. Freckles dotted her entire heart-shaped face, her eyes eerily resembling Julia's. She wore a dark blue cloak that covered her entire body, a bright brown button holding it together.

"Wh- who are-"

"I'm Madeline," the girl said, holding out a hand to shake. "Madeline Ares. A second cousin of yours."

Second cousin... that would mean the descendant of her great-grandfather. She took her hand and shook it.

"What are you doing here today?" Julia asked cordially.

"Looking for work," Madeline replied smoothly. "I heard you need a guard?"

Julia blinked, frowning. "Work? Aren't you my second cousin? If you were further down the bloodline, that could make sense, but usually second cousins of Lord Ares are quite sought after."

She let out a long, labored sigh, sarcasm oozing from her breath. "Not me," she chirped, a bitter grin on her face. "My parents sent a whole essay to your dad about how I'm unfit to work."

Julia scratched her neck. "Oh. Okay. Sorry about that."

"So? Do I have the job yet?"

The nerve of this girl was astounding. She came here looking for work from her, told her just how terrible she would be at the job, and then automatically assumed that she was qualified to be the guard of Princess Annalisa?

"Just because you're my second cousin doesn't mean I'm going to hire you," Julia said, crossing her arms. "That's nepotism."

"You're acting like this whole thing isn't nepotism."

"Excuse me?"

Madeline laughed, her dark brown hair swaying behind her shoulders. "Isn't Lord Ares-ship passed down genetically? Not the best of the best. Just the kids of the previous Lord Ares."

"Well," Julia stammered, taking a step back. "We've been trained our whole lives. How would anyone else compete? Besides, it's not like we go by primogeniture. We choose the next Lord Ares from his children."

"And you think you have a chance, even though you weren't born first?" Madeline raised an eyebrow.

Julia's eyes narrowed. "I'm not hiring you. Get out."

"Alright, alright!" Madeline took a step back, raising her arms in surrender. "You won't find a better guard, you know. There's a reason why you haven't hired anyone yet, huh?"

Julia grabbed her sword and swung it at her, ready to arrest the little loudmouth.

She dodged, to Julia's surprise, and grabbed the hilt, swinging it out of Julia's grasp and leaping away so that she couldn't snatch it back.

Julia's jaw dropped.

"I thought you said you weren't good," she said.

"I never said that," Madeline said smugly. She twirled the sword around her hand like a mere toy. "I just said that my parents thought I was unable to work. I don't have one of my arms, you see."

How didn't Julia notice it before? She gasped as Madeline swept back her cloak, revealing an empty space where her other arm should have been.

"Then why are you here if you aren't supposed to work?" Julia asked.

"I got tired of them," she said simply. Julia decided not to inquire further.

This was too much information to process. Julia was still reeling from just how smoothly Madeline fought, even without a weapon.

"Very well, then," Julia said, trying not to explode with relief that there was at last a competent applicant. "You're hired."

A large smile emerged on Madeline's face. Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Uh... Find Annalisa. If you're truly qualified for the job, you'd be able to." Julia didn't tell her that even she couldn't find that pesky Princess sometimes. "Horace will be there. He'll tell you everything you need to know."

"Great!" Madeline saluted her. "Pleasure doing business with you, Miss Julia Ares."

Julia was about to respond before the girl leaped away and off into the distance.

She tried not to let her jaw drop even further. How could anyone had judged her to be anything but fit? That girl was surely... something.

In a good way, of course.

Julia's morning routine goes like this:

She wakes up, stands up, makes her bed, ties her hair, changes, and voila, done.

Today… was different.

"Would you like your hair down, Miss Ares?" a maid asked, brushing her brown locks.

"Uh… up. As always?"

"I heard Prince Alexander likes your hair down, though!" another maid said, fixing her light mahogany lace sleeves. Julia decided that she didn't really like lace. It grated against her skin, and the last thing she wanted was a big red rash on her arm.

"But… I really don't prefer having hair blow into my face when I'm working…"

"Oh, don't worry!" said the maid. "You'll look beautiful."

Seriously? Did she even listen to what she had just said?

"Maybe we can try something new?" Winter pushed the other maids aside and looked at Julia through the mirror. "Hm. Try a low ponytail. Easy to manage and technically 'down' at the same time."

Julia gave Winter a grateful smile and watched her tie her hair into a simple ponytail that dropped to her shoulders.

"See? Beautiful."

"You even added a little bow!" Julia turned her head, looking at the small red bow in her hair.

She laughed. "You look splendid with a new hairstyle, Miss Ares."

Julia stood, admiring herself. "This is perfect. I'll be going."

"You don't want make-up?" A maid was carrying an entire bucket of eyeliner colors.

"She doesn't need all of that. It'll take the attention away from… well, her," Winter said, pushing Julia towards the door. "Go. Good luck."

Julia smiled. "Thank you. Again."

"It's only my job," she said warmly. Julia stepped out of her room and into the main area. "Hope to see you soon."

Juli nodded, walking over to the other Selected. They sat next to a gleaming window, talking about who knows what, their voices and laughter audible for miles.

They stopped when she approached, staring at her.

"Hey, Julia," Amaya said, waving.

They all gave her suspicious side glances. She sighed.

"Don't tell me you believe Eva's lies," Julia said quite bluntly, since she knew she was bad at oracy, so it wouldn't make sense for her to beat around the bush.

Thalia whimpered. Which wasn't much of a surprise.

Mary opened her mouth, about to say something, before Natasha pulled her back down, glaring at Julia as if she had just seen her murder someone.

Julia sighed and sat down with them. A cold silence swept the previously loud group.

After a few moments, trumpets blared, and they all stood, running into a perfect line, just as Lady Domanshee had instructed them.

Alexander walked in, a charming smile on his face that seemed to quicken their heartbeats…

Their? Including her? Or just the other Selected?

"Hello, girls!" he said as scribes piled in, taking a seat on the various velvet couches scattered around the room. "I will be announcing our Elite! If you do not hear your name, then you are unfortunately eliminated."

All of the girls stood in awesome anticipation. Except for Julia.

"First, Julia Ares…"

Exactly. That was why. Though Julia did have some anticipation for who else he had chosen.

"Eva Paula Schmidt…"

Eva breathed a quite audible sigh of relief. If Julia were a cat, her ears would definitely flicker.

"Giavanna Rebecca Hu…"

"Yes!" she cried, cackling like an evil witch. "Ha!"

Alexander smirked. Julia rolled her eyes. Those two people were practically made for eachother.

Now for the less obvious ones.

"Thalia White…"

Now that was a surprise. Julia looked to Thalia, whose eyes were shining with tears. Did Alexander know just how unfit this girl was to even be considered?

"Pearl Jayla Cohen…"

Julia had no idea who that girl was. She looked to her side, where a girl with sparkling platinum blonde hair and bright, icy blue eyes squealed with delight.

"Amaya Fiona Trenton…"

Julia felt Mary shake beside her. She reached over to grab her hand, making sure to squeeze it tightly, sending shots of bravery and hope into her. Mary smiled up at her, hesitant at first but grateful at last.

Alexander eyed them, but didn't say anything.

"Natasha Lopez-Kim…"

How did Julia, with seven names in, just notice that the reason why Alexander was talking so tastelessly was because he was reading off of a small slip of paper?

Apparently, she wasn't good at observation at all.

"Sandra Grace…"

Everyone blinked, confused. A servant ran up to him and whispered something into his ear.

He sighed. "Oh. Okay. I guess it'll be nine girls instead of ten, then. I'll have to tell that Domanshee woman to stop eliminating my girls."

Exactly! It was so senseless to ruin all of those girls' dreams like that. It was funny, though—with all the power she had, why didn't Lady Domanshee just eliminate Julia, if she didn't like her so much? Of course, she couldn't as Alexander would probably throw a fit, but why not throw away Eva? Or Giavanna? Why stick to the unimportant ones who barely stood a chance?

"Undersea Walker…"

It took Julia a second to process that. Her name was literally Undersea? And her last name was Walker? So… that was strange.

Seemed like the only other girl besides Pearl that Julia hadn't spoken to was this dark-skinned, curly-haired… pickle? Because she looked kind of like a pickle. In a good way.

Wow, she must eat a lot of Sea Cucumbers.

Get it?

Okay. Julia wasn't exactly the best at cracking jokes, even inside her head.

There was one more spot left. All held their breaths in anticipation.

"... And Mercedes Kim."

Julia felt relieved? Why did she feel relieved? Because if she were eliminated, she'd never see her again? But why did she care about her anyway?

Mary gasped, a huge smile on her face. She ran into Natasha, who accepted her hug dubiously, and began sobbing uncontrollably onto her shoulder.

Alexander glanced at them and shrugged, though, strangely, Julia noticed that his eyes twinkled.

"Alright. That's done. Pretty anticlimactic."

Well... that was debatable.

"I'll get to know Giavanna next," Alexander announced. Giavanna's already smug smile grew wider. "See me tomorrow morning?"

"I'd like to see you tonight, actually," she said, batting her eyelashes.

"Oh." Alexander blinked, surprised. "Oh, sure. Let's go now, then."

Giavanna strutted past them, quite blatantly pushing past Julia and Eva (even though Eva was all the way across the room) and looking lovingly—no, obsessively into Alexander's eyes.

"It would be my pleasure." Giavanna licked her lips. Julia grimaced.

They walked out together, leaving the rest of the girls staring after them like they were dead fish looking up into the sky, helplessly wishing for another chance.

A light knock sounded from her door (obviously, where else?) and Julia sat up from her bed. She looked at the clock. It was 2 AM.

Who was up at this time? Why would they be at her door?

"Julia?"

Her mother.

Julia sprung up from her bed, feeling her hair flutter gracefully behind her, and went to the door, clicking the door open. Her mother stood, wearing a light magenta nightdress, her hands clasped together.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?" she asked gently. Julia nodded, and she stepped in, closing the door behind her and looking around at her room.

"How have you been doing?"

"Quit the smalltalk," Julia snapped. She stopped, noticing the hurt look on her mother's face. "Sorry. Just… Why are you here? It's the middle of the night."

She stared at her and let out a long, labored sigh. "Your father has fallen ill."

Julia felt her heart drop, to her surprise. "With what?"

"The doctors aren't sure yet," she said, her voice shaking ever so slightly. Julia stared at her. "He was lying on the bed when I found him… he couldn't move, and his speech was slurred…"

"Oh," Julia said.

"They're not sure if he'll wake…"

"Oh," Julia said.

"You can visit him if you like."

"Oh," Julia said.

Her mother gave her a curt nod, turning back towards the door.

"I know you and your father don't have the best relationship," she said, her hand on the handle. "But… please try to visit? For me?"

"I've been busy," Julia said. "I won't be free until… tomorrow."

"Then I hope to see you tomorrow," she said. "Now, I haven't slept in a few days, and would like to have a good night's sleep for once, so excuse me…"

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and opened the door, stepping out.

"I love you, darling."

"Love you too, mom."

She smiled.

"No matter what happens," she said. Julia frowned in confusion. "You are still my daughter. Always."

Then she shut the door.

That morning, the girls gathered around the room. Maids rushed around, serving breakfast to the Selected as they chatted.

Of course, Julia sat in the corner. Everyone else seemed to avoid her after the whole debacle with Eva, even Mary. It wasn't much of a surprise, and honestly, Julia didn't really care. She had no time to waste running around trying to get the approval of a bunch of nosy commoners.

"Where's Giavanna?" Amaya asked, looking around. The rest of the girls followed her lead. Indeed, Giavanna wasn't present.

"That's strange," Eva said. "She's usually here in the morning."

"Well, I, for one, don't miss her," Natasha said, leaning back on her couch. "It's nice to have a bit of peace and quiet for once."

"When was the last time anyone saw her?" Mary asked, her eyebrows furrowing. "Maybe she got eliminated."

"Nah. Alexander wouldn't."

"I think they went on a date last night," Thalia squeaked, munching on a bright yellow banana. "If anything-"

"Suuuurprise!"

In came Giavanna, slamming the door open. She curtsied dramatically and fanned herself, a smug grin on her face coupled with a bright red blush. So bright, in fact, that Julia worried for her health. Was it even humanly possible to blush so much? Surely it was just makeup... right?

"And where were you?" Natasha crossed her arms.

"In Prince Alexander's bedroom," she said, strutting to Natasha's couch. She eyed her and made a shooing motion with her hand. Natasha didn't budge.

"Wait... you did it with him?" Thalia's jaw dropped.

"Yes. Now move out of my way, peasant-scum."

Natasha glared at her.

"Do we have a problem?" Giavanna sneered.

Natasha opened her mouth, about to fire back a retort, before Giavanna's eyes moved ever so slightly towards Mary, who was sitting next to her. There must have been some kind of conversation that the two had had before, because that was enough for Natasha to stand.

"No, Miss Hu," Natasha said through clenched teeth. "I'll be out of your hair."

Giavanna's pitch-black eyes brightened with sadistic glee and she plopped down on Natasha's spot, popping a grape into her mouth.

"What was it like?" Pearl asked.

"His Majesty was-"

"His Highness," Julia corrected. Giavanna turned to glare at her. "Unless you slept with the King."

"And who are you to talk?" Giavanna snapped. "Aren't you the traitor girl? Since when did you respect our dear royal family?"

"Since I was born," Julia retorted. She regretted the words immediately. Giavanna burst into laughter.

"Since you were born? Oh, please. We all know you've wanted to kill them since you were born. All an Ares wants is power."

"Can you please shut up?" Julia shot back. Giavanna rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Anyway, he's so handsome... His muscles aren't so awfully huge like some commoner guys who have to work all day, which is so appealing. And his skin is, like, so smooth! It wasn't cluttered like my third boyfriend was. He's also so warm! When I touched his-"

Julia gagged.

"... And his chest is like, so chiseled..."

Why, why did she have to sit through this? This was worse than the kisses.

"Oh, and I've kissed him one-hundred-and-twenty-two times now!" Giavanna cooed. The girls gasped. "I even kissed his lovely pe-"

Julia stood up abruptly, trying not to vomit her entire breakfast onto the floor.

"It's very big, y'know, just as big as his power... and mine, when I marry him..."

She bolted towards the door, slamming it shut behind her, her heart pounding against her chest. Good. She needed something to block out Giavanna's voice.

She slid down the door, burying her head on her lap, covering her ears with her hands.

Was it too late to back out of the competition? She could just tell Annalisa to never go near the Selected Quarters and she'd never have to see Giavanna again. Although, without her, that one-third chance of Giavanna becoming Queen and Julia having to see her every day would turn into a one-half...

So, statistically speaking, running back to Annalisa would increase the amount of interactions with Giavanna Julia had to suffer through.

...

Gosh, what was wrong with her? Giavanna had messed up her mind so much that Julia had to calculate to best route to minimize Giavanna in her life. Did it really have to come to this?

Yes, a voice in Julia's mind called.

She slapped herself in the face.