Eva didn't want to see her parents again. No, she wanted to avoid them as much as she could, but her parents seemed to creep ever nearer and nearer whenever she tried to escape them. They popped up like annoying whack-a-moles, refusing to truly leave.

"Eva! How's your relationship with the Prince going?"

"Darling, you need to wash your hair more!"

"How can you possibly stand that dress?!" her mother exclaimed, aghast.

"It's mandatory, mother," Eva replied, trying her best to hide the exasperation in her voice. "For the funeral."

"Well, I don't like it!" Mrs. Schmidt yelled. Several other people sitting next to them turned their heads. "We're in the palace, for goodness sake! Our girls need high-quality dresses this instant!"

"Well, it's already made out of expensive fabrics…" Eva tried to say, but her mother cut her off.

"No, no, no! Eva, to be beautiful, we must be able to get the best of the best! Get the Prince, right now, and explain that we need better outfits!"

Even Natasha seemed to be on Eva's side. "It's a funeral," she deadpanned, looking straight at Eva's mom with undisguised disgust.

"Exactly! Now get the Prince!"

Eva had even gone to Alexandra in desperation.

"Please kick my parents out of here," Eva said, groaning. "Even if you can't, at least my mom?"

"Sorry, Eva." Alexandra shook her head, looking sympathetically at her. "I can't. Relax, it's only for one day."

"It's not fair!" Eva slammed her fist onto the table. "Why me?! Mary's parents aren't here! Thalia's parents aren't here!"

Alexandra only sighed and turned away.

At least Julia and Giavanna seemed to be having the same problem with their parents'. Giavanna had been arguing with her mother the whole way to the graveyard and Julia's father was… Julia's father.

Finally, they arrived at the site of the funeral. The girls piled around the road, waiting.

"Where's Thalia?" Sandra asked.

"She was crying. I don't think she's going to be here," Mary replied.

"Good riddance," both Giavanna and Natasha said at the same time. They turned and glared at each other.

BOOM

Eva jumped as a flurry of drums and trumpets sounded behind her. She turned her head, greeted immediately by a band of instruments, playing traditional Ethican songs.

"It's like…" Mary sniffed. "It's like music to my ears!"

"Because it is music to your ears," Natasha snapped.

"Well excuse me for-"

BAAAAAAAAAAA-

The trumpets began playing a single note. For a second. Then another second. Eva waited anxiously. Surely they were losing oxygen? They weren't stopping…

"When are they going to stop?" Sandra complained.

"My ears are ringing!" Mary cringed, covering her ears. "This is way too loud."

-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

"WHEN WILL THEY STOP PLAYING THIS ONE NOTE?!" Natasha screamed over the noise.

"IT'S AN F# BY THE WAY!" Eva shouted back. She, too, covered her ears as they were starting to throb.

"WAIT, HOW DO YOU KNOW?!" Mary shouted.

-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

"MY MOM MADE ME-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT NOTE IT IS, WHY ARE THEY PLAYING IT SO LONG?!" Natasha replied rather calmly, despite still screaming at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly, a trumpet player collapsed to the ground. Eva noted that his face was slightly blue.

"THEY'RE GOING TO KILL THEMSELVES AT THIS RATE!" Mary exclaimed, her hands clasped over her mouth in horror. Which was a mistake, as she immediately pulled them back to her ears.

-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

"You don't know why?" Julia muttered behind Eva, though no one else could hear because of the ringing of the trumpets.

"Why?!" Eva asked.

"It's a display of power."

Mary screamed as two more trumpet players thumped to the grounds, their trumpets clattering to the floor.

-AAAAAAAAaaaaaaa-

One by one they fell, until there was only one trumpet left, his face sweaty and his entire body trembling.

Eva looked around at the other girls. They were all shaking in shock and terror, staring at the pile of unmoving bodies on the floor.

The remaining trumpet swayed, and then collapsed, gasping for air.

-aaaaaaaaaaaa… thump.

Silence fell on the crowd as they digested what had happened. They all stood frozen, like ice cubes melting in the sun.

Then King Eadger and Prince Alexander emerged behind the trumpets, their hands waving graciously at them, paying no mind that their subjects all looked like they had seen a ghost.

"His Majesty," the herald announced. "King Eadger the Second, and His Highness, Prince Alexander!"

Polite applause befell the crowd. Some coughed, looking down on the floor.

"That was quite an entrance," Natasha said with a slight shudder. Eva raised her eyebrows.

The King and his son sauntered up to the stage, their citizens bowing or curtsying as they passed.

"Today," King Eadger said. "We celebrate the life of Fiona O'Connor."

Silence.

"Apparently she was a great soul, even though I never knew her so we can't say for sure," Alexander said with a grin.

A group of people on the side, presumably Fiona's family, started crying.

King Eadger gave Alexander a hearty laugh. "She was born to two peasant farmers who owned a small strawberry farm. After we gave their beautiful daughter a chance to become family, they were floored! That is why her parents today decided to donate their entire farm to the crown!"

Fiona's family froze, their eyes wide with horror.

"Decided?" Natasha glared at the King.

"Oh, never fear!" Alexander flashed a charming smile at the clump of Fiona's relatives, though it didn't work because there were no other eligible woman in the family. "We will be providing them a special chance to live in the capital, away from their disgusting farmland! We've already bought a lovely home with a splendid view of the palace, where they'd be able to thank us for the rest of their lives!"

"But-" a little girl yelled, but her mother shushed her.

"Anyway," King Eadger gently pushed Alexander away. "Fiona's death was a terrible accident, and we offer our sincerest condolences to her family."

The chorus of applause filled the crowd, though Eva was a bit hesitant.

"Without further ado… Fiona's family."

A middle-aged woman stumbled onto the stage, her cane wobbling with each step. It seemed like an eternity before she finally arrived at the middle of the stage and started speaking.

"Hello," she said. Her cane gave out underneath her and snapped into two. She yelped and grabbed the podium for balance, her entire body trembling. "Oh… ahem. My daughter, Fiona, was wonderful. She was so strong…" The woman sniffed. "So strong… Even as I lost my health, she worked hard to take care of me… I am forever grateful to have had a daughter like her."

Then she dissolved into sobs, grief carrying her to the floor. A younger man, presumably Fiona's brother, rushed to her, helping her up and off the stage.

Then the man came back on, holding a little girl at the age of 3-4 in his arms. He smiled softly. "Fiona was a great sister. We always got into a ton of fights, but I love… loved her, and she loved me. She was very romantic and often talked about the boys at school, and," a laugh bubbled from his lips. "We would often joke about how many boys she had set her eyes on and got brutally rejected…"

A few chuckles emerged from the crowd.

"But-"

"But she fell in love with the wrong person!"

Everyone stared at the toddler in his arms, looking up at him with terrifying indignation.

"Auntie Fiona fell in love with Prince," she said, her squeaky voice echoing through the crowd. "She wanted to be Princess, right?"

"Yes, Olympia," the man said softly, almost as if in warning. "Your auntie was going to be a beautiful Princess. And so were you. But a tragic accident happened and she didn't get her happily ever after."

"But it wasn't an accident." Her round eyes stared up innocently at her father. "Mommy said the Prince killed her, like the Witch who tried to kill Snow White."

The man froze. He gulped.

"Excuse me," he said, rushing off the stage and grabbing his daughter by the hair.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him arguing with someone, though she couldn't tell who.

"Is that all?" Prince Alexander asked, frowning.

Silence.

"I see…" King Eadger sighed. "Guards."

Joseph Ares and his guards stood, saluting him.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Escort the O'Connors to their new home."

"Yes, sir!" Joseph Ares motioned for two of his guards to fulfill his orders.

"Oh." The King put a hand up, stopping the guards. They pulled into a halt. "Detain the girl for me, please? She might be useful."

"Yes, sir."

Then they marched off, to the O'Connor family's dismay.

There was a great silence among the crowd, akin to the one after the debacle with the trumpets. Some of the musicians had woken up, writhing in or on top of the pile of bodies.

Eva was having second thoughts about marrying this guy.

"I can't believe my parents are still here," Eva groaned, sitting back on her velvet settee. "The funeral is over."

"It's only been one day," Mary said. "Maybe they'll leave tomorrow."

"Why are your parents here, anyway?" Natasha yawned. "They don't have confidence in you and want to help, right?"

Eva flushed pink. "I-"

"Alexander rejected you so many times," Giavanna snickered. "I was there. I saw it."

"YOUR MOM WAS HERE TOO, YOU-"

"At least my momma didn't embarrass me," Giavanna said, shrugging. "She even bought me a diamond necklace to wow the Prince with! I love her."

"You probably only love her for that diamond necklace, don't you?" Natasha said.

Giavanna shrugged. "Guilty as charged."

"Well, not everyone here is rich, Giavanna," Julia said, inching closer to the conversation. She ignored the dubious glances around her. "A lot of them don't have the same privileges."

"Oh, come on! The Prince is smitten with me. I'll have the Selection record in no time—three weeks, maybe? Has anyone had such a quick Selection?"

"The Selection is a Thelonian tradition," Sandra pointed out. "Thelonians are known for their… fiery nature."

"I'll be the fastest in Ethica, then!"

"This is the first Selection in Ethica." Natasha slapped her forehead.

"Oh, stop being jealous! Are you the one who kissed him fifty-three times?"

Murmurs of "fifty-three? She kissed him again?" rose in the crowd.

Natasha sighed. "I'm not going to waste my breath on you."

"Good!"

"Julia!"

A maid hurried to her, sweat dripping from her forehead, panting.

"Karen? What's going on?" Julia leaned forward.

"Annalisa, it's-" The maid shivered. "Sunny and Horace are waiting for you-"

"Sunny and Horace?!" Julia looked around wildly at the other girls. She gulped, her face paling. "Excuse me."

She tore her way past Giavanna, who scoffed, and rushed to the door.

Princess Annalisa was not happy.

That was an understatement. She was absolutely devastated, completely ruined. She had been scarred beyond belief, and she, of all people, had been to blame.

She strolled along the cobbled streets of the capital, her eyes wide in wonder as she passed each food stall, each building. She had seen the streets on trips, or outside her window, but she had never really placed her dainty little feet in the commoner's shoes like this.

Sure, this would probably give Julia a heart attack. But once she calmed down, she'll return to the palace, and it would all be fine.

"Oranges, oranges imported from Gysterf!" a peddler yelled. "Fresh and juicy!"

"Mama!" A little girl pointed to the oranges excitedly. "Oranges! From Gysterf! Jesse said that Gysterf has the best oranges!"

The woman holding her sighed. "We… we can't afford that, Sophie. Look at that price tag… Gysterf is really making a profit. Come on, let's go."

Annalisa's heart shattered at the way the girl bit her lip, looking down at the floor. She just had to do something!"

"Hey," Annalisa approached her and grabbed her. The girl screamed. "Let's get you-"

"Hey! Miss!" The girl's mother glared at her, grabbing her sleeve. "Let go of my daughter, you thief!"

Annalisa laughed. "No worries! I just wanted to get her some oranges for you!"

The mother didn't seem to listen and punched her. Annalisa yelped, dropping down to the floor. The mother grabbed her daughter, whose eyes were open wide in fear, and growled.

"You." She wagged her finger at her. "You tried to kidnap my child!"

"No!" Annalisa protested, scrambling to get to her feet. She looked at her dress, now covered in dirt and grime. Ew. "I just wanted to-"

"And right in public, too!" the woman cried. "You fools are getting bolder and bolder! First my son, and now her?! When will you rebels be satisfied, pretending to fight for the good of the people when all you've done is violence! You've already kidnapped so many children, all with the police on your side!"

"No, no, no, this is just a misunderstanding!" Annalisa cried. She grabbed an orange and handed it to Sophie. "Here!"

"Hey!" The peddler was yelling, now. "You stole my-"

"Oh, right. Payment." How could Annalisa have forgotten? She grabbed one of her golden bracelets and handed it to him. "Here. I don't have money, but this should be worth a few hundred-"

"Lies!" The peddler threw the bracelet onto the floor, sending it clattering on the stones before a little boy soon swooped in to pick it up and run with it. "I've been selling for ten years, young lady. I know what is fake and what's not. You young folk think you can trick me with golden-colored jewelry, and inside is just wood!"

"But it is real gold!"

"Ha! And next time you'll tell me it's from the palace! Now pay up!"

"I…" she scrambled to offer him several pieces of jewelry, to the peddler's anger.

"Alright, missy. I know you can't pay for that. I'll have to arrest you-"

"No need, Mr. Winston," someone said behind her. "She's with me."

Annalisa turned to see a teenage boy, his head held high.

"Well why didn't you tell me earlier, Luke?" Mr. Winston's demeanor went from dangerous to mild. "Why would you need this pretty little thing?"

"She's a friend, Mr. Winston." Luke walked over to him and handed him a couple of coins. "Here's to pay her dues. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

Mr. Winston looked at the coins and laughed. "Luke, son! This is worth much more than an orange!"

Luke shrugged. "I have more money on my hands now. Better distribute it than hoard it all myself."

"Virtuous as always," Mr. Winston said, serving another customer with an orange. "Ever since you joined that…" he paused. "… group, you've become more and more responsible. You're no longer that little boy starving on the streets!"

Luke smiled. "One day I'll be the one feeding you, sir. Now if you excuse me…"

He led her away from the bustling street and into a nearby restaurant.

"Here again, Luke?" said an old lady at the door. "The usual, I presume?"

"Yes, please!" He glanced at Annalisa. "… and for her too."

The old lady nodded and motioned for a waiter.

"What's your name?" Luke asked her, sitting down on a chiseled wooden chair. Annalisa followed.

The restaurant was small, smaller than anything Annalisa had ever seen. It was tight and warm and… cozy, surprisingly. The wooden walls seemed to insulate them like a warm blanket.

To a Princess who had rarely been in such cheap wooden buildings, she was very impressed.

"Call me Anna," she said, looking back towards him. "You're Luke, I suppose?"

"The one and only." He paused. "Well, not really. I'm sure there are other Luke's out there."

Annalisa laughed. "Why'd you help me?"

"A noble like you shouldn't be wandering the streets like this," Luke said as two fresh bowls of salad arrived on their plates. Annalisa gasped. They weren't… salads! Where were the olives and the oils and the creams? "I wanted to help you get back home."

"I don't want to go back," Annalisa said shortly. She picked up her fork and dug into the salad before eyeing Luke, who was using some sort of razor to cut up the salad. "What are you doing?"

"It's a commoner thing," Luke said. "It brings out the flavor of the fruits in the salad. Makes it a lot better. But you nobles don't have fruity salads because it's too cheap for you."

"Wait," Annalisa raised her eyebrows. "How did you know I was a noble?"

"Simple. You have no clue how to act common."

Annalisa wanted to question him more, but he averted his gaze.

She picked up the razor-thing and dug it into the meat of a fruit with great caution. She had no idea how to cut it… she never needed to.

She looked up at Luke and copied his movements, placing a bite into her mouth.

An explosion of flavor followed. It was simple, yet exquisite. It was cool, yet warm. It was everything Annalisa had never tasted before, and she was glad she did.

They sat in silence, eating their salads among the din of the restaurant, laughter and shouts echoing through the small, cramped room.

"You're very quiet," he finally said, scooping up the last bits of his salad.

"Oh, really?" Annalisa smiled. "Everyone usually says I talk too much."

"Really?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… I just… Well, I don't know. Nothing seems right anymore."

Luke waited patiently for her to continue, and she took a deep breath.

"Someone… Someone called me spoiled. And just then that woman called me a fool." Tears began to well up in her eyes. She sniffed. "Am I really a fool?"

"Yeah. You probably are." Luke sighed. "But it's not your fault."

"What?"

"Look… you've probably never known anything more than luxury and privilege. And that's not your fault. But now that you know, you can improve on it."

She was astounded by how quickly he had understood her. "Do you get nobles around here a lot?"

Luke smirked. "Let's just say this isn't the first time I've encountered a clueless rich girl with a conscience."

She processed his words. "… How do I improve on it?"

"Well, you can educate yourself."

"Like… reading books? You know, I actually just read a book recently, it's called Garry Dotter! Or was it Froggy Hopper? I don't know, but you know, he needed to defeat this villain called Lady Soldermort…"

She told him all about the book she had read and he listened, laughing just when she did, gasping just when she knew he would. She had never talked to someone who actually listened to her stories, and it was a … freeing feeling. Like she actually mattered.

"No way!" Luke cried, slamming the table. "Garry should have forgiven Lady Soldermort!"

"I know!" Annalisa cried. "She just wanted to not be sold!"

"It's so unfair," Luke groaned. "Lady Soldemort was just a person. He treated her like trash."

"Even though she was an evil Lady?" Annalisa raised an eyebrow.

"She had a title, sure." Luke reached over to clasp her hand. It was strangely warm, just like the ragged wood of the restaurant. She smiled. "And she was misled. But she had a good heart."

She stared into his eyes, and he stared back.

Then he let go of her, a small smile on his face.

"Come on, Anna," he said, standing. "I'll follow you home. To make sure you don't get into more trouble."

"She just disappeared!"

Julia arrived to her room and saw a sobbing Sunny and a yelling Horace.

"How could you let her out of your sight?!"

"I'm sorry!" Sunny sobbed. Julia was taken aback. She had never seen her like this! "I just… she said…"

"What will Miss Ares say?!" Horace turned and blinked. "Ah. Miss Ares!"

"What happened?" Julia rushed to Sunny, patting her gently on her back, trying to calm her.

"S-she disappeared," Sunny said in between sobs. "I was watching her and she disappeared…"

"Do you know where she went?" Julia asked. Sunny shook her head.

"I… I don't know… we were in the ball and she was talking with some Selected and… she ran out suddenly and I could catch up and I lost her…" Sunny wailed. "Now you're going to fire me and I'll lose my job and my parents, they're-"

"Relax," Julia said softly. "I'm not going to fire you. You couldn't do anything."

"That's not true! I could've been faster and maybe-"

"Any chance it might be a kidnapping?" Julia looked up at Horace.

He shook his head grimly. "I'm not sure. Given the chances…"

"Do a security sweep. Now," she ordered. Horace nodded, saluted her, and rushed out.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Julia grimaced, facing her father, who glanced at Horace, who was running out of the room. "Oh, father, I…"

"I… I lost her…" Sunny mumbled, her entire body shaking.

Joseph Ares glared at Julia. "I see."

She stood, facing her father, her entire body trembling, too… but with fear. "Father, I… I was in the Selection! You know I didn't-"

He raised a hand to silence her. She obliged.

"I know exactly why this happened," he said with a terrifying apathy. "Julia."

She gulped. "Yeah?"

"Fire Sunny. She is clearly not capable of her job."

"What?!" Julia shook her head frantically. Sunny only cried louder. "No! Father, you can't do this-"

"Julia," he said, walking towards her. "You know perfectly well that this is your fault."

"What?!"

"If you were there to assist your own guards," he raised an eyebrow, his arms behind his back. "We wouldn't be having this problem, would we?"

She fell silent, looking at the floor.

"I don't know why you wanted to be in the Selection, Julia. But we cannot have our security lax because of it. You can't have mediocre guards anymore."

She didn't react. She merely hung her head.

Her father nodded. "Sunny. You are officially relieved from your duties."

She froze, looking up at her boss' father, one of the only people Julia was helpless against.

"Okay," she said in the smallest, most pitiful, quietest voice Julia could ever imagine.

Then she bolted out of the room, tears streaming down her face and falling with each step onto the floor, creating a trail of tears behind her.

It was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

"Find the Princess," he said. "Before I relieve you of your duties too."

"The palace?" Luke seemed very confused. "Are you sure?"

"Hey!" Annalisa shouted to a guard. "Let me in!"

The guard just glanced at her, then glanced back into the distance.

"Please!"

"Uhhh…" Luke blinked.

Annalisa mustered up her cutest puppy dog eyes. "Pwetty please with a cherry on top?"

"Leave," said the guard. "Before I kill you and display your heads to the royal family."

"Annalisa!"

Annalisa was so relieved that she wouldn't be murdered and displayed in front of her family when she saw Julia running towards her, her eyes wild with fear and anger and confusion.

"Anna… Lisa?" Luke said.

"Oh yeah, that's my full name!" Annalisa responded cheerfully. Luke seemed to shrivel like a raisin in the sun.

"Where were you?!" Julia shouted, finally within comfortable earshot.

"Taking a break," Annalisa retorted as Luke backed away, his face paling.

"Who's that?" Julia leaned towards Luke.

"A friend! Julia, meet-"

"I have to go," Luke muttered. She turned to him and frowned. His eyes were darting from side to side, his face white.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't belong here… Your Highness." Annalisa didn't really know what to make of his wording. Why was he emphasizing her title all of the sudden? "I need to go. Goodbye."

"Wait-"

But he had already disappeared into thin air.

Annalisa was thoroughly confused, but she pushed the questions away. "That was Luke! I wish you could've met him. He's a pretty cool guy!"

"Luke?" Julia paused.

"What?"

"No…" she laughed. "No, don't worry about it. It's too much of a coincidence. I'm just happy that you're back."

"You missed me, didn't you?" Annalisa teased as they started back into the palace. Julia bit her lip.

"Something like that." She glanced at her dirtied dress. "Come on. Let's get you back to your room and washed up."

"You're such a bore!"

"Love you too, Anna."