"The Royal Family of Ethica invites you for a morning meal."

Julia didn't have to change. After all, she had to spring into action whenever danger arose — she couldn't be in her nightgown if Annalisa's life was at stake. Not like she had any nightgowns. She simply tied up her hair and sprung out of her bed, only for a messenger to arrive at her door with an elaborate envelope.

"Uh, thank you," she said, taking it. The messenger nodded and scurried off, probably to run more errands.

Julia opened the envelope — which was covered with the dark blue seal of the Aetux family — and read the simple words on the sheet of paper.

Please join us for a morning meal at the third-floor dining room.

- His Royal Majesty King Eadger the Second

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.

She was going to get in trouble. She'll be made fun of-

But no. Annalisa was going to be there, wouldn't she? They wouldn't bring her there to humiliate her if the Princess was in attendance. Annalisa would blow up the entire palace if anyone ever hurt Julia (emotionally, of course. Julia took care of the physical part.)

But... why did she have a bad feeling about this?

Julia rushed to the third-floor dining room. It was one of the smaller dining rooms, mainly because it was usually used only for the royal family and not for guests. Of course, it still displayed much splendor. Golden pillars lined the perimeter and the marble floor was as shiny as the sun itself. Not really. That was a simile. That wasn't really accurate. Nevermind.

"Your Highnesses… Your Majesties…" She curtsied to each one of them, which was around six people. Six times she had to raise her head and lower it again. Six times she had to sweep her skirt backwards. If she were older, her back would definitely be hurting by now.

"Miss Ares!" Princess Royal Alexandra exclaimed. She gave her a welcoming smile. "It's a pleasure to have you join us today."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Julia said, taking an empty seat next to Annalisa.

"JULIA!" Annalisa cried. She looked like she was about to hug her, but then again, this was breakfast, and she could not hug her for it would be improper etiquette. So she instead took her hand and shook it.

Julia smiled at her best friend and principal. "Good morning, your Highness."

"Good morning to you, too," Annalisa smiled, then immediately turned away to dig into her food.

"I thank Your Majesties for inviting us today."

Julia paled. That was her father's voice.

"Of course!" Queen Elaina said. She was wearing her splendid green earrings and emerald gown. "We just wanted to chat!"

She eyed Julia. Julia averted her gaze.

Joseph Ares, of course, noticed the subtle gesture and said. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, it was nothing! Quite cute, actually," King Eadger said, laughing. He used his hand to make a dismissive gesture. "Your daughter had an amusing dream yesterday. Something about Gysterf. Then she came running to me! I suppose she thought I was her father?"

Julia could feel her father's stare. She decided to train her eyes on the food in front of her, which was steak. Of course it was steak. Of course it was.

"That's interesting," Joseph said smoothly. Too smoothly. "How is your Selection going, Prince Alexander?"

"I'm announcing it today!" Alexander said, beaming. "Your daughter is welcome to apply if she likes."

"Of course she would like it!" Annalisa cried. Everyone ignored her.

"And what of Princess Alexandra?" Joseph asked, turning to the King. "Have you found a suitable husband for her yet?"

"We're trying," King Eadger said. "But all of her suitors are either terrible people personally, or terrible nobles politically."

"What a shame," Joseph said. "Her Highness and his Highness are nearing twenty-three years of age now, yes?"

"Yes," Princess Elaina said. "Their birthday is next month."

"Well, there's plenty of time," Joseph smiled. "I'm sure you'll find a suitable match soon, Your Highness."

Princess Alexandra smiled, but did not reply. She merely placed a perfectly cut piece of steak in her mouth and chewed.

There was a great silence as the nobles ate. Then Princess Annalisa spoke. "So you're going to marry a commoner, Alex?"

"Well," Alexander paused. "There'll be a mix of commoners and nobles. To please the populace. As Julia said last night, some rebels are going to kill us all, hm?" he smirked.

Now, Julia knew he was teasing, but her father was sitting right there, and would absolutely get the wrong idea.

Ah… if only she could melt into a puddle and evaporate away.

"It's unlike her," her father said, chewing on a piece of parsley. "Must have been a very terrifying dream."

Julia wasn't scared when a literal rebel had attacked her last night, but this? This was scary.

"It wasn't a dream," Julia blurted. The royal family turned to her, surprised. "There was a rebel. He attacked me and said…"

Her father glared at her. "An Ares would never allow a mere commoner attack them first, hm? And why isn't said rebel, if they existed, dead or in the dungeons?"

Julia ducked her head. Mission aborted mission aborted mission aborted…

Then her father turned to the King. "I assure you, your majesty, I train my children to their fullest potential. I'll punish her for her behavior soon."

Julia bit her lip. She didn't want to eat anymore.

"I…" she gulped. "I need to go."

"You haven't finished your food, Julia," Queen Elaina remarked.

"I… I know. I'm not hungry." Her stomach rumbled. "I'm going to go on patrol," Julia said, putting her fork gently on the plate. "The House of Ares will always ensure your safety." She bowed her head.

"And our amusement!" King Eadger teased, laughing. He looked at the rest of his family and they followed suit, albeit only politely.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Your Majesty," Julia said. "But I would like to take my leave."

"You're dismissed," Prince Alexander said. He gave Julia a sympathetic look.

Julia stood up, smiled at Alexander, and bolted out of the door.

She stood on a balcony, in front of twenty-something scribes and a crowd of thousands. The crowd babbled continuously while the scribes scrambled to write on their books as fast as they could. The chorus of quills dipping into the ink and the excited chatter of the commoners could almost be a song.

Prince Alexander emerged from the curtains. The crowd went wild.

"Hello, people of Ethica," he said. He waited for the writers to finish writing exactly how he walked or how the curtain moved when he emerged from them. "I come forth with an announcement."

The sounds of quills flying across paper could not have been more obnoxious.

"As you all know, I am turning twenty-three in a matter of weeks," the prince said. "And I have yet to find a suitable Queen for our wonderful kingdom."

Julia covered her ears to block out the sound of the scribes, but soon realized that she couldn't hear Alexander now, either. Welp, better hear too much than too little.

"... And so I've decided to invite thirty-five girls from our very own country in a competition for my hand in marriage, and to become Queen."

A murmur rose among the crowd. The scribbling became even louder.

Would someone PLEASE invent something less noisy?

"Yes, nobles and commoners alike — it will be quite interesting, hm?" Alexander shot a glance at Julia. About twenty of the girls in the crowd swooned, making googly eyes at the Prince.

"We will be sending each governor envelopes marked with the royal seal to distribute across Ethica." Alexander pulled out a golden envelope. Fancy. "If you wish to apply, you must be eighteen to twenty-five years of age. Then you'd simply write your name on a piece of paper, put it inside, and bring it to your governor's office. We'll report the Selected after the deadline listed on the envelope and, if you are Selected, please make your way to the royal palace and we'll go from there!"

About fifty hands raised from the crowd. Geez. Alexander picked one of the scribes.

"What if a girl is illiterate and can't write her name?" he asked.

Alexander paused and his face fell. "I… well, we can't have an illiterate queen, can we?"

More hands. Alexander picked a girl with red hair.

"What if we can't afford a writing utensil or paper?" she asked.

Alexander looked shocked. "Well, you can't expect someone who can't even afford paper to become queen!"

"But seventeen-percent of the population can't even buy bread!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"Where did you get that information?" Alexander demanded, but the damage had already been done.

"How is this a chance for us to have a voice if most of us can't even apply?!" someone else shouted.

The crowd exploded into chatter and Alexander sighed. He glanced at Julia and she rushed next to him. Alexander plastered on a charming smile.

"Now we will have an example-" he tried to say over the chaos. "From Julia Ares here…"

"Yes!" Julia shouted. The crowd quieted. "Yes, I am the example!"

Not exactly smooth, but it worked. Everyone's eyes were trained on her once more.

Alexander handed her a golden envelope and she raised it over her head for all to see. Then she took it apart and a maid handed her a piece of paper and a quill. Julia wrote her name, put the paper in the envelope, and handed it to Alexander.

Alexander took it and smiled at her. "Thank you, Julia."

He continued speaking, answering frantic questions from the audience before Julia saw him-

Luke.

She gasped as he leaped over roof to roof, then stopped, waved at her, and raised a bow.

Julia felt her body freeze as he nocked an arrow. She glanced at Alexander, but he was still busy speaking. She looked around, for anyone, a guard may- oh right. She was the guard.

Zip

"ALEXANDER!"

She tackled him to the ground just as an arrow zipped past them, landing squarely on the wood of the walls of the palace.

Alexander frowned. "Wh-"

"What is the meaning of this?!"

The writing noises of the scribes could not have been louder as the King marched into the chaos.

"Your Majesty!" Julia scrambled up from Alexander's chest. "It's not what you think it is-"

"She was demonstrating her love for the Prince!" an idiot said in the crowd.

Julia's mouth opened and closed. "No, I- there was the rebel and he shot an arrow there-"

She looked at the arrow, but it was gone.

The King looked to where she was staring. "I don't see an arrow."

"No, no it was there, I just don't know-"

"Julia, that's enough," The King raised up a hand, but Julia kept talking.

"No, no, there- it- where's Alexei?! He's supposed to be protecting-"

"I think you're quite tired, Julia," The King said politely, though she was sure his teeth were clenched. "Would you retire back to the palace, please?"

Julia's face fell. She looked at the floor. "... As you wish, Your Majesty."

She stumbled away from the balcony, her face red, and of course her father was there to drive the nail into her coffin.

"What was that, Julia?" Joseph snapped.

"Father-"

"I need to have a serious conversation with you, young lady," he sneered. "You have ruined our reputation! What were you thinking?!"

Julia stepped back, but her father followed.

"Barging into the King's room like an uneducated peasant? Tackling the Crown Prince in broad daylight?" Julia hated how her father enunciated every single word. "Do you know what you've done?"

She stayed silent. She had been through her father's lectures many times before, and it was never wise to argue back to him when he was angry.

"You even entered the Selection!" Joseph slammed his hand into the wall. She flinched. "Are you serious? What were you thinking?!"

"I did it for-"

"I don't CARE who you did it for!" her father snapped. "You have a job, Julia! And it is to protect Princess Annalisa! That's ALL you should do and that's ALL you should care about! You keep a watch on her at all times. You protect her from any danger. Not run around with the Crown Prince and disrespect royalty!"

Julia lowered her head.

"I want you to go to the King and Crown Prince," he said. "And apologize."

"Yes, father," Julia said.

The Lord of the House of Ares glared at her, then marched away, like the trained soldier he was.

Like the soldier Julia would never be.

Julia slid down against the wall and to the floor. She stared at her hand as it fidgeted with the fabric of her shirt.

Maybe it was best not to say anything. There was no one in the world that would listen to her now, not after the King had ridiculed her in front of literally the entire nation.

"Julia?" Annalisa's voice said. It was uncharacteristically quiet. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," Julia said. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Julia looked up. Annalisa's head was tilted to the side, slightly confused but intrigued at the same time.

"Yeah," Julia smiled. "Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself. As long as you're fine, I'm fine. And that's quite literal, actually."

Annalisa laughed. "Oh, you're funny! Are you sad because you didn't get to kiss Alex?"

"Uh…" Julia let out a small laugh. "Yeah. I didn't get to kiss him. What a bummer."

Annalisa elbowed her, then skipped away. Julia let go of her smile as soon as she was out of sight.

She should probably retire back to her room. Maybe she would feel better after being alone for a little while.

"I'm not saying that you're just imagining things, Julia."

A mother and her daughter sat on the latter's bed. The mother placed her hands on her daughter's.

"Everyone thinks I am," Julia said.

"I know," Lady Heather Ares said, placing her hand on Julia's shoulder. "But I think it'll be best if you keep quiet for now, am I right? Don't let them know that you know. Then, strike them when they're least expe-"

"I know, mother!" Julia groaned, flopping down on her bed. "But the thing is, they want me to know!"

Her mother sighed. "Julia, please-"

"Miss Ares!"

One of Julia's guards, Sunny, came running into her room.

"Yes, Officer Sunny?"

"We found a potential passageway the rebel could have passed through," Sunny reported, standing straight, her hands behind her back. "Horace-"

"Is Horace still guarding Annalisa?!"

Sunny grimaced. "Of course, Miss Ares. I just finished my shift. He told me to report this to you."

Julia stood up. "Show me."

Only then did Sunny notice Lady Heather sitting next to her commander. She curtsied. "My lady."

Heather nodded, though her lips tightened into a thin line. "Go on."

Julia gave her mother a thankful smile before accompanying Sunny down the hall to where she had met Luke last night. She opened a flap underneath the ground.

"Yeah, that's the main 'secret' passageway that everyone knows about," Julia said.

Sunny shook her head. "Look."

The two women hopped down into the tunnel and Sunny clawed at the wall, suddenly opening another hidden passageway.

Julia stopped short. "Where does this lead to?"

"I don't know," Sunny said. "Horace just told me he found this."

Julia looked at Sunny. Sunny nodded.

They climbed into the hidden tunnel. It seemed newly built, as there was little to no moss or signs of wear. Julia grabbed her lantern, but realized that she had no fire to light it.

"Stay close," she ordered.

They crept through the tunnel, making sure each step was perfectly silent. Well, to human ears.

Suddenly she fell backwards, landing on the floor with a loud thump. She grimaced, waiting for the footsteps of soldiers…

Silence.

"It's a dead end," Sunny said.

"What?" Julia stood, feeling the stone wall in front of them, trying to make sense of the pitch black darkness. "No… there has to be something-"

They felt the wall in front of them, feeling every corner for something, anything, that could hint to Luke or the rebellion or…

"All I see- err, feel is cave," Sunny whimpered. "We should go back."

"You're afraid of the dark?" Julia asked.

If Sunny nodded, she wouldn't be able to see, because of the lack of light.

"... Alright. Let's come back when we have more people and torches."

Julia turned and immediately bumped into the dead end.

"... The other way."

A/N Hey, all! I've decided that the deadline for the SYOC form should be Feb 18th, 2022! Hopefully, that would be enough time for submissions, and if you feel like you need an extension, please alert me beforehand.

I think we need a bit more clarification for the time setting of this story, I want to go with a more fantasy vibe, hence the swords and lack of modern technology! I didn't want to have to say it outright, I kinda wanted to show that through the story, but there is no television or anything, there will just be a bunch of annoying scribes, as seen in this chapter. There isn't really a set time frame and I'm not going for 100% historical accuracy (as this is fantasy, anyway) so when submitting just don't mention screens and refrigerators and stuff and we'll be good to go!

Oh yeah and I forgot to say in the first chapter: I don't own The Selection :)

Thank you all for reading once again!