After that day, Julia was never really quite the same.

Mercedes couldn't make sense of it—what had happened? How was she different? It wasn't like her behavior had changed, no, it was just her demeanor, her aura, the very essence of her changed somehow. Well… okay, fine. Maybe Mary was overthinking. But it was still so very jarring how Julia had changed so suddenly.

"I heard Alexander rejected her," one of the other Selected whispered into her ear.

"Really?" Amaya frowned, sitting on the floor, her legs crossed. "She doesn't come across as someone who would be bothered by a boy."

"Oh, come on!" another Selected said. "It's not like she's a robot. She must feel love and heartbreak!"

"Is she lesbian?" another girl said. Everyone turned to her and slapped their foreheads.

"Might be a bit far-fetched, but I don't think anyone in this Selection is." Natasha deadpanned.

"Wait, why?"

Everyone groaned.

"Anyway, how was your date, Natasha?" Sandra asked, sitting down next to Amaya on the floor.

"I assume it went well, considering that you're still here," Mercedes teased.

Over the course of the last few days, two more girls had been eliminated, but the other ones had better luck. Natasha was one of those girls who had survived the "dates of death", as the other Selected called it.

As for Mary? She tried not to think about it, but her fate was still uncertain. And seeing that all of the other Selected had been on dates with Alexander already, it was but a matter of time before she was face to face with the Prince's handsome face, ready for his judgment…

"Where did you go?" Thalia asked.

"We went apple-picking."

"Oh!" Mercedes gasped. "His Highness doesn't seem like the type of person to do physical labor."

Natasha scoffed. "Yeah. He was just standing there the whole time. I think the only reason why I'm still here is that I never actually talked to him the entire date."

"Was it romantic?" Sandra sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

"The only thing romantic about it was me giving an apple to him. He smiled at me. That was it."

"I wouldn't count that as romantic," Mary said. Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Literally anything could be romantic these days. I wouldn't get my hopes up."

"Did your heart flutter? Did you blush? Did you hold hands?"

Natasha stared at her. Mary shrugged.

"What?"

"Ew. No." She turned back to the book she was reading and left the earth off to… How To Make Good Cookies. Man, that was a bestseller lately!

"Mercedes Kim?"

Mary froze.

"It's my turn, isn't it?" Mary laughed nervously. "Heh. Heh. Ha."

The servant nodded. Mary grimaced, taking a step forward.

"Good luck, Mary!" Sandra yelled. Amaya nodded.

"If he eliminates you, I'm joining the rebels!"

"Don't joke about that, Amaya."

"Sorry! I thought it was funny!"

Mercedes walked out of the room, her breath hitched in her throat as she shut the door and turned. There stood Prince Alexander in all his glory, his hazel brown hair swept in breathtaking locks, his eyes shining with an almost unreal light.

"Your Highness," she said, curtsying. Her eyes never left his.

"Mercedes, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh… call me Mary!"

"Mary," he said, nodding. "Follow me."

She followed his lead as they walked through the empty halls. In their introduction… didn't Mary already tell him her nickname? Or maybe he had just forgotten. There were thirty-five girls, after all.

They arrived in a lavish carriage, lined with gold and various jewels. Mercedes stared in awe at the intricate designs, though Alexander seemed unfazed.

"After you, Miss Kim." He motioned for a doorman to open the carriage door.

Mercedes picked up her silk baby blue dress. It was her favorite dress, ever since her servants had displayed a room's worth of various dresses and jewelry. Maybe, if she got eliminated, she could ask the Prince if she could bring it back home?

Inside the carriage were velvet cushions, which Mercedes sat on happily. Of course, there were velvet cushions in the palace, but this was just her and the Prince. She was singled out, worthy, special. She felt truly like a Princess, at that moment.

Prince Alexander brought himself up the steps, and the carriage started moving.

"Where are we going?" Mary asked.

"The beach," he said. She glanced at him. He was looking out of the window.

"Oh. That sounds fun!"

"Hm."

She watched as the city went by, the horses trodding along the streets. She attempted to strike up a conversation with Alexander.

"Do you go to the beach often?"

"Not really," Alexander replied coolly. "The sand is a nuisance."

Mary nodded. "Yeah! But it's still fun. I like swimming the most… oh, are we going swimming? My dress isn't really made for water…"

"I'd rather not."

"That's fine, then! What do you want to do when we get there, then?"

No response. Okay. Fair.

"So… what made you chose the beach as our date?"

He shrugged. "It's not too hot, not too cold today. A nice weather for the beach."

"Huh. You would've thought you go to the beach when it's hot."

He glared at her. Mary grimaced. "That sounds like torture. Where are you from?"

"Oh…" Mary sat up straighter. She looked away. "I… uh… I don't go to beaches a lot, so I guess-"

"Exactly."

Well… that wasn't exactly the best start to their date.

After a few more moments, a bright lake came into view, beaches with pearly white sand and water as beautiful as those fairytale enchanted lakes.

Of course, this may have looked like a fairytale, but it certainly didnt feel like one.

Mary gave Alexander a side glance as they boarded off the carriage and onto the road, where they crossed the empty street and to the sand.

"Empty today, huh?" Mary said, looking up hopefully at him.

"There's not supposed to be anyone here. This is my family's private lake."

Mary blinked. "Oh. You're rich."

Then she slapped her own forehead. Of course he was rich! Why did she suddenly lose all social skills when she was talking to him, especially when she needed them most?

He gave her a weird look, then smirked. She felt slightly relieved that he was—enjoying? Patronizing? Reacting?—to her idiocy.

"I guess you peasants haven't seen such beauty, hm?"

She felt like she had been slapped in the face. She forced a smile on her face.

"Heh. Yeah?"

"I'll take you for the best day of your life, then," he said. "Let you have a little fun before you go home. After all, I can't just give you an opportunity and leave you hanging."

Her heart sank. "What? Go home?"

"Yeah. Look. You're not anything special, really. You're not pretty like Giavanna or endlessly talkative like Amaya. You're just… bland. And the Crown doesn't have space for cookie-cutter commoners without a shred of personality. Look at my mom—she's pretty, smart, and a noble. It's pretty rare to find someone who checks all three of them these days. And you? You don't check off any of them." He stopped, then sighed. "No offense."

Mary stood there, frozen in shock, her mouth hanging open.

He rolled his eyes. "Exactly. Look at you. You're the equivalent of a stone column."

Her heart raced. "No! I mean… I… well…"

"Come on. Let's go build a sandcastle. Don't want you to leave with a bad taste in your mouth." He turned towards the waves.

She blinked, then came to her senses. "No, wait! You have no idea if I'm smart or not, you haven't even had a proper conversation with me before! A-and I know I'm worse off in terms of money, but a lot of people are like that! We can't control it-"

"Please," Alexander said, clapping his hands. A couple of servants rushed forward to place down a picnic blanket on top of the sand. "Let's just have some fun. Like we're supposed to."

Fun? How could Mary have fun when she knew she was going to be sent home?

She felt tears gather in her eyes, but she nodded. "Okay."

No… it was alright. At least he had told her beforehand, instead of misleading her into thinking he actually liked her. At least he gave her a warning.

So why did it still hurt?

She sat down next to him and a servant handed them a platter of cheese. She gasped.

"Whoaaa…"

"We have everything, from Brie to Cheddar to Pepper." He picked up a slice and popped it into his mouth. "Do you like goat cheese?"

Mary reached for the same cheese as Alexander had taken and bit into it. She grimaced. It was… sour, of some sorts. Like a mixture of limes and oranges and… well, cheese.

"It's… nice."

"Meh. It feels like rip-off foie gras."

"I've never eaten foie gras."

He shrugged. "Trust me. Cake is so much better. Just because something is rare doesn't mean it's good."

"… I haven't eaten cake that much, either."

"Oh, right." He clapped his hands again, and a servant arrived with a HUGE white cake. She gasped, admiring the beauty of the perfectly crafted pink frosting roses that decorated each layer.

"It's my personal favorite. Try a piece!" He handed her a small knife.

She stalled. "Oh… uh…"

"Cut it!"

Okay. This was just like cutting a piece of cardboard open, right? She just had to make a clean slice.

"Come on. It's not that hard."

Her hand shook. Alexander groaned.

"I'll help you."

He placed his hand on top of hers. She barely had any time to register that before he slammed the knife down, and she followed suit, the force of both arms bringing the knife down to the porcelain plate. She heard a great shattering noise and grimaced as the cake flopped sideways onto the floor, covering the entire picnic blanket with frosting.

Alexander inhaled and glared at her. "Seriously?"

Mary stood, trying to get the frosting off of her favorite dress, but her attempts merely smeared the frosting all over her, soaking into the silk.

"I- I-"

"You got cake all over me!" Alexander cried, raising a hand to touch his now frosting-covered locks.

Mary grimaced. "Well… uh…"

"You dirty-blooded snake-"

"Wait!" Mary protested, trying to sludge her way through the frosting. "Look, I know date has been hard for both of us, but we can make this work-"

He stopped. Mary smiled, though it seemed more crazed and desperate than composed.

"And I think you look cute like this-"

"Are you serious?!" Alexander stood, his eyes shooting lasers into her chest and piercing her heart. "You can't be that stupid!"

"Well-"

"I'm covered in… icing! Frosting! You think I look cute?!"

"Yeah!" Mary said. She flinched as Alexander threw a piece of cake at her. "It's fun! It doesn't have to be per-"

"You- I'm ruined! This won't come off in days! And you have the audacity to-"

"YOU LOOK AMAZING!" Mary yelled. Alexander's eyes widened. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "Sometimes, things are going to go wrong, and that's okay! It's actually more fun that way. You're getting too caught up in things that don't matter. So... let's just calm down, and... well, have fun."

They both sat still, digesting her words. Some servants ran towards them to clean, but Alexander raised a hand, motioning for them to leave.

Mary looked at the floor. "Do you want to go swimming? Our clothes are already ruined, anyway."

Alexander looked into the rolling waves. "Fine."

The water was cool and strangely comforting. It tingled her skin as she waddled into knee-deep water.

"Can you swim?" she asked, looking back at him, who stood at the shore with hesitation.

He scoffed, though Mary heard a hint of fear in his voice. "Of course."

"Then come on!"

"I don't want to get wet."

"Technically you're already wet and sticky," Mary pointed out.

"I can just take a bath later. It's alright."

"I thought you wanted to swim."

"I never said that!"

"Yeah, you did. You said 'fine' when I asked if you wanted to swim."

He sighed and walked in. Just like that. No questions asked.

"I bet you can't catch me!"

Mary dove into the waves, feeling the bits of cake and frosting fly off of her and into the lake, her silk dress sticking to her skin as she emerged from the waters.

"What are you waiting for?"

To her surprise, Alexander was smiling. He let go of it as soon as he caught Mary looking, though.

"I don't wait," he said. She watched as he dove in.

He wasn't brave enough to take off his shirt, huh? Who knew the Prince was such a chicken?

He emerged from the waves, coughing. "How are you able to swim in silk?!"

"I don't know. I probably just ruined my already-ruined-dress."

"How are you so calm?!"

Mary giggled and splashed him. He yelped.

"I just go with the flow!"

Alexander reached his hand into the water.

He splashed her back.

"Oh," Mary said, narrowing her eyes. "It is on."

They both splashed each other at the same time, laughing as they avoided each other's attacks and dove into the water, trying to get them from below. Mercedes avoided his vicious attacks with ease, diving into the water every time he tried to get her.

Soon, she dove into him, pinning him down onto the sand as the waves splashed into them. They both shook with laughter.

"That was fun," Mary said breathlessly. She rolled off of him, trying not to think of the distant future where she will have to wash all of the sand off of her hair.

"I think all the frosting is gone," Alexander said, looking down at his suit and grimacing. "And I think I'm all wet."

"Hm."

They made their way back to the picnic blanket, where servants had already fixed up with various fruits such as grapes or peaches. "Want one?"

Mary took a peach in her hand. "Thank you."

The servant blinked, surprised that she had said anything, then bowed her head, scurrying off.

Alexander took a peach from the basket, too, and bit into it.

"It's sweet," Mary said, chewing.

"It is," he agreed.

They sat in silence, eating their peaches and finishing almost simultaneously. Then they looked at eachother.

"What do you like?" Mary asked.

Alexander seemed confused. "Huh?"

"Your hobbies and stuff."

He paused. "Oh. I guess I like women."

She stared.

"... I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Mary burst into laughter, rolling onto the sand, her entire body shaking.

"Hey, don't make fun of me!"

She couldn't help but notice that his tone had changed. It was ever so subtle, but it almost seemed that Alexander was warming up to her. It almost seemed like they were more than strangers, now. Acquaintances? Friends, perhaps?

"I mean." Mary noticed that Alexander was laughing too. She couldn't help but laugh even more. "Women like me. So it would be natural for me to like them back, right?" They both snorted, which was quite undignified for a girl and the future King. "Why did I say 'them'? It should be 'you', since you're a girl… It would be natural for me to like you, right?"

Then he stopped, realizing what he just said, and Mary just found herself in an infinite loop of laughter, where she just couldn't stop, no matter how hard she tried.

"Was that-" She caught her breath, heaving in oxygen after losing so much to her giggles. Who knew that laughing, of all things, could be so painful? "Was that an attempt at flirting?"

His cheeks were beet red. "Uh..."

"I've seen you come up with better pick-up lines for other girls. That's not the best you can do, right?" Mary inched closer to him. Maybe a bit too close, but Alexander didn't seem to notice.

This was the first time she had seen him flustered. His eyes darted to the side.

"Well…" He scratched the back of his neck.

"Or are you saving your best for the girls who you aren't going to eliminate?" She batted her eyelashes cringely. It reminded her of Giavanna... Well, in defense, at least she was self-aware.

It was official. She had broken the Crown Prince of Ethica. Betty would explode when she told her. He simply stared, opening and closing his mouth.

Then he stuttered: "N-no! You're just trying to get me to un-eliminate you, aren't you?"

She only smirked, crossing her arms.

"W-w-well that's not how it works!"

He turned away, pretending to be more interested in the waves than her.

She leaned over his shoulder, whispering into his ear like an evil witch. "You're regretting it, aren't you?"

"What?! No!"

"You're regretting it," she said in the most ominous, creepy voice she could muster. It took all of her energy to suppress her laughter. "You're regretting eliminating me."

"You're just in denial." But Mary could see a small smile forming on his face.

"You can still reverse it, you know." She lowered her voice. "No one knows yet. Just you and I."

He took his arm and elbowed her. She yelped and stumbled back, grimacing. "Hey!"

"Personal space," he said. Mary rolled her eyes.

"You want personal space?" She pushed him to the ground and laid down next to him, basking in the sunlight that enveloped them both in warmth, like a loving embrace.

Commoner and Prince laid as equals, their eyes closed. Mary could feel the soft breeze blow across the beach. She could feel each individual grain of sand that she laid upon there in that wet dress that clung onto her skin.

Most importantly, though, she could feel the change in heart in the boy that laid next to her.

A/N I felt like this chapter tried too hard to be romantic, LOL. I had to delete SO MUCH cringy romantic stuff while editing.