Chapter 9
Jolene could feel her father staring at her. After last night with Endra she was exhausted. She hadn't slept as she worried about what might happen during her Selection. Her father was already hiring more guards and putting more chains on her than ever. Meanwhile she was sure Damon was still able to sneak out just fine.
However, her father had wanted her to start going on more small dates to weed out more people. Jolene sat at the lunch table, gazing out at her Selected. She knew she had to take one out on an official date. So far she'd had Chad ask her out, and Martin...well, did it count? She would have to talk to him about it. But she looked around for her next date. Her eyes landed on the singer from Belcourt.
Jacob James, famous singer and songwriter. Well, she didn't listen to his music much, but she knew he had quite the fan base. After everyone stood to leave, she called him over. "Sir Jacob!"
He stopped, glancing over his shoulder. He sighed, raising his head and walked over, "Your HIghness?"
Jolene chose to ignore his hesitance- could she even go so far as to call it annoyance?- and asked, "Would you like to join me exploring the castle?"
"Exploring? It's-it's not really my thing."
Jolene sighed, "Look, we can't really go out, my father is taking a lot of precautions right now. So we have to be in here, and we just ate. So, care to explore?"
Again he seemed to hesitate, but he nodded. "Of course."
Jolene stood, and walked forward, indicating for him to follow. They made their way up the main staircase, and she led him through a side door.
"Now," she spoke, leading the way down a darkened stone corridor. "Rumor has it a few Selected actually explored these rooms during my father's Selection."
She led them further up until the hallway went from dim, to dark, and dust covered. The doors went from smooth wood to splintered ancient looking oak. She made her way down the hall, and stopped before the furthest door.
She turned to face him, "Supposedly they found some dark family secret they told my father years later. My dad says it has to do with my estranged aunt."
"Whatever happened to her?" Jacob asked, tilting his head. He too had only heard the stories, and while Jolene couldn't quite tell the truth, she did give him an answer.
"She's elsewhere, far away from us. She betrayed my family, and she's paying the price."
Jacob hummed, and Jolene pushed open the door. Dust flew up from the room, sending allergen snowflakes all around them. Jacob waved a hand in front of his face and stepped into the room. He looked around, and Jolene followed. Not much light was in the room, but she found a small window with boards over it. She pried one off, and chuckled.
Jacob opened a chest and stood back as a moth flew out and into his face. He sputtered, and shot Jolene a playful glare as she laughed. He dug through it and gasped.
"Oh yeah, family secrets!"
Jolene looked to see what he was admiring and snorted upon seeing the old dress stuffed in there. "Oh yeah, for sure."
"Oh come on! Clearly this is the dress you're great great grandfather wore and never told anyone about." He rolled his eyes and shut the chest.
Jolene shook her head, "Sorry this isn't exciting enough for you."
Jacob shrugged, "I'm only teasing."
Jolene looked to a shelf and walked over, blowing a layer of dust off of books and parchment. She tilted her head to read the delicate golden titles. Jacob was ruffling in something again, but something caught her eye folded up in the back of a shelf between two books.
She removed the books and pulled out the document. She set the books down, and quickly unfolded the paper. Her eyes scanned the words, and her eyes widened. Wait- this couldn't be real.
What was she looking at? A list of names, a family tree, dating back more than a dozen generations. But it wasn't just that. No. She spotted her grandfather on the list, and his father. And- there….a name. Crossed out.
Why would a name be crossed out? If someone had died surely they'd have been given a death date. But this was just a scribble through the name. Based on the birth year that child was older than her ancestor. So...did that mean…?
She stuffed the paper into her chest, the tanktop holding it steady. She searched for more papers to try and puzzle this out, and by now Jacob had seen her searching.
"What are you looking for?" Jacob asked, eyeing the shelves. He looked back down at her, and she sighed.
"Just stuff."
"Now that sounds like family secrets." Jacob suggested, raising his brows. He smiled, but it quickly faded as she didn't smile back.
"It is, and it's too important to share if it's true I'm afraid." Jolene sighed, leaning against the shelf. Jacob looked to the shelf, but nodded.
"So, should we go?" He asked, nodding to the door.
Jolene nodded grimly, "Yes, I think so."
Jacob nodded and led the way to the door, but as Jolene stepped away from the shelf, the wood creaked, no, groaned as it sunk below her. The wood gave way and she fell through the floor onto several wooden beams below her. Jolene shrieked and Jacob couldn't even process she'd fallen before she was gone.
Jolene clung to the beams, and looked on either side of her. Far below there was more wood, but she was sure she'd break something if she fell. She stood on shaky legs and looked up to where she fell from.
Jacob was staring at her, eyes horrified. "Your Highness!"
Jolene's voice was even shakier than her legs, "Sir Jacob, help me back up, please!"
Jacob looked around, "There's no way I can! You're too far down! I-"
"Sir Jacob-"
"Oh your father is going to kill me when he discovers I've practically dropped you down a hole."
"What are you-"
"I- I have to go."
"To get help?" Jolene asked, panic rising inside her. He seriously couldn't be suggesting leaving her here! No one had been to this room in decades!
"I-I'm sorry, I'll tell them I saw you come up here after our date."
Jolene wanted to throw up, she felt her throat restricting, "Sir Jacob! JACOB! Don't you dare-!"
His head disappeared and Jolene gasped, her head spinning. She yelled after him, and when she was sure he had truly left her, she started calling for help in general. She knew eventually someone would find her, but for a moment she felt as though she was truly hopeless. How could the Crown Princess get herself into this mess? A broken floorboard and a jerk of a Selected later and she was stuck, her options broken ankles or waiting, hoping someone could find a way to get her out.
She was tempted to sit and wait, but she didn't want to jostle the boards just in case….She groaned, "Help! Help!"
To her surprise a face appeared above her. Jolene was surprised to see Rustin looking down at her. He tilted his head, not quite surprised to see her, but still confused.
"Your Highness? What are you doing down there?"
"I fell, what does it look like?" Jolene asked, her hands on her hips.
"What were you doing in here?" Rustin asked, looking around the old room.
"Exploring."
"Hmm, valid." Rustin replied, he rested on his elbows, gazing down at her. "Did you see anything odd up here? I was hunting a ghost and it disappeared."
Jolene shook her head, "No-" she scoffed, "wait, not to be rude but can you help me out of here already?"
"Oh, sure, why didn't you say so?" Rustin replied, and stood up. He looked around and she heard him treading surprisingly carefully across the floor. She couldn't tell if he always walked like that or if he had learned his lesson seeing her in the floor.
He came back over and asked, "How heavy are you?"
Jolene let out a shocked chuckle, "Excuse me?"
Rustin reworded, but not in a better way. "How much do you weigh?"
Jolene sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "106"
Rustin raised his brows, "Really?"
"Yes."
Rustin chuckled ever so slightly and then walked away, returning with a long satin curtain. He lowered it, "Grab on."
"What? Are you crazy? There's no way you can pull me up from that angle." She looked at how he was practically right above her. He shrugged.
"Do you trust me?"
"Not particularly."
"Just grab on, I'll pull you up." Rustin replied, rolling his eyes.
Jolene looked to the curtain, then the wood far below her. She looked up to Rustin and sighed, she supposed she might as well give it a go. Worst case scenario she falls, is bed bound, and does her work from her room, and the Selected go home, safe from rebels or her aunt, or a broken heart.
She grabbed the curtain, taking a deep breath, and hopped on. Using momentum to swing to the wall and try to get a foot-hold. Rustin grunted, but he held relatively still. Jolene took a couple more steadying breaths, and started climbing as Rustin pulled the curtain up.
She could practically reach the top, and as she reached the ledge, Rustin offered a hand to her, holding tight to the curtain with the other. She accepted the help, and he pulled her up, letting the curtain fall far below.
She looked after it, and then to Rustin, "Where'd you find it?"
"By the window over there." He nodded across the room, and Jolene saw a curtain missing its partner.
She chuckled, "You ripped an old ass curtain off the rod and didn't think it might rip?"
Rustin shrugged, "It worked, didn't it?" He then turned and started walking out of the room. Jolene quickly followed, and she didn't miss the fact that he was watching her from his peripheral vision, just in case.
They walked back to the main floor together, and Jolene let out a sigh of relief, "Well, there goes all my will to explore this castle."
"No! This castle is amazing! You have to explore!" Rustin's voice raised with excitement. "Don't you wanna know all the secrets in your home?"
"Some secrets aren't worth risking your life."
Rustin blinked at her, "Wow, I thought I was supposed to be the dramatic one."
Jolene scoffed, "Why is that?"
"Because I'm obviously more dramatic." He flipped a non-existent wave of long hair, and struck a pose.
Jolene snorted, "Okay, sure. You obviously haven't met Marcus, he'll put you in your place."
Rustin raised a brow, and whispered, "Kinky."
Jolene gasped, "No!"
Rustin then burst out laughing, "I'm kidding, I've seen him, maybe we can have a drama competition."
Jolene rolled her eyes, "I look forward to it."
Rustin grinned at the sarcasm in her voice, but bowed dramatically- of course. "Well, until we meet again,"
Jolene was going to let him go, but then she grabbed his arm, "Wait! Wait, erm-" she let go of him, and brushed her hand on her skirt, clearing her throat, "Um, thank you. For helping me."
"You're welcome, Your Highness, I'll save your life any day."
"I don't think you necessarily saved-"
"I saved your life, can I at least guarantee I'll have a date later?" Rustin asked.
Jolene hummed, "Not later today, but yes, you'll get an individual date."
Rustin sighed, "As you wish."
Jolene chuckled, "Was that a reference?"
"You'll never know. But I know something valuable now." Rustin replied, wiking. "Gotta fly, got more ghosts to hunt, but this was fun. We should do it again some time. Maybe I'll fall in a hole next."
Jolene was going to reply, but he jogged away. He could be heard shouting "Show yourself you ghouly cowards!" as he disappeared around the corner. Jolene shook her head fondly, maybe his sense of humor and boldness wouldn't be too annoying after all.
Then Jolene remembered Jacob, and scowled. Time to eliminate another Selected.
Jolene marched into the men's room, and they jumped in surprise. Marcus looked up at her, and was about to question what she was doing, but she glared around, and Marcus seemed to know she had her target set.
She spotted Jacob in the back of the room, talking to two other guys. She scowled, "Sir Jacob!"
The anger in her voice made all the boys hush, and some of their eyes even widened in shock. Jacob froze, then slowly turned to face her.
"Your Highness-"
"Out. Now."
"Your Highness-"
"Get out of this room. You are no longer a Selected. Pack your things. A guard will be along to escort you out. By force if necessary." She commanded, hands in fists at her hips.
The boys remained silent as Jacob sighed, his head hanging low. He sulked out of the room like a child being sent to the principal's office. The other Selected wisely made no move to question this, and Jolene glared at the other boys before her.
"And if any of you-" she began, making eye contact with each of them. "Ever think that you can put my life at risk, or abandon me, you are devastatingly wrong."
Jolene turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, her skirt swishing around her knees fiercely. Her boots clicked as she walked across the marble, and she knew what the boys must be saying. Surely they were insanely curious, but she wasn't about to tell them what happened, not yet. And- oh god- hopefully Rustin wouldn't tell them….
But she had other matters to worry about. She had to speak to her father.
She knocked on her father's door. Nothing. She knocked again. This time the door opened and Ray peeked out. Jolene tilted her head, raising a brow.
"Dad?"
"Jolene, come in." Jolene walked in, and Ray shut the door behind her, glancing out after her before he did so.
"Dad? What are you doing?"
"I got news someone had been on the top floors of the castle, a part of the floor was broken. We're keeping an eye on things in case it's rebels."
Jolene sighed, rolling her eyes, "Dad, that was me. I fell through the floor on a date and I eliminated them and then I met another Selected who helped me out."
Ray blinked at her, "Wait, you fell through a floor?!" His eyes widened, and he rushed over to her, inspecting her arms and face. "Follow my finger with your eyes-"
"Dad I'm fine! Really. I fell onto a board."
"Oh." He still seemed jittery, but he moved to grab a walkie talkie and spoke into it, a voice responding back. "Guess we don't need to be looking out for rebels inside then."
"But speaking of that….Dad...I found something."
"Oh, did you? I'm sure there's plenty of old treasures up there."
Jolene shook her head, "No, Dad, I found a piece of paper, and I was hoping you could tell me what it means."
Ray blinked, tilting his head, "I can try…"
Jolene pulled the paper out of her shirt and laid it out. Ray grimaced, "Your skirts have pockets, you know."
"Not this one. But anyway, I found this paper. It looks like a timeline of the royal family, but here-" she pointed to the scratched out name. "See? It looks like someone tried to get rid of them. And they didn't die, because the others have death dates. So- why is this crossed out?"
Ray's face was hard as stone as he looked at the paper. Jolene knew he was probably biting his cheek, and more importantly she knew he knew something. But he wasn't saying it.
"Dad? What does it mean?"
"I don't know."
"But you do. I can tell. Otherwise you'd have said that in the first place."
"Fine, then I can't tell you."
Jolene blinked, snatching the paper, "What do you mean you can't tell me?"
"I'm just trying to protect you-" he reached for the paper, and Jolene held it away from him, her stubborn gaze meeting his.
"From what?! What could possibly be so dangerous?" She paused, "Wait, wait does this have anything to do with the rebels? Why they want to kill me?"
"They don't want to kill you, Jo."
"Endra herself threatened me and my Selection. She threatened you! This has to be why!"
"Jo-"
"Tell me! I'm your daughter! I'm the Crown Princess! I have the right to know what goes on in my country! What happened to our past!" She was sure she was red in the face by now. And Ray seemed equally as outraged, but he exhaled and ran a hand through his hair, and down his face.
"Jo, listen, our ancestor...he overthrew his brother and scratched out his name." Jolene looked at the paper in her hand. "He banished him, and no one ever heard from him again."
Ray paused, pinching the bridge of his nose, and for a moment Jolene felt bad for yelling at him. He was always so exhausted and overworked. But then she remembered that he'd kep this secret, this legacy hidden from her.
Ray continued, "The rebels- they claim to be descendants of that man. They- they want to restore the rightful heir to the throne."
"And- how does Endra play into this? Wasn't she a rebel?" Jolene asked, glancing back up to him.
Ray let out a bitter, dark laugh, "She tried to kill me. She got so many killed. So many lies. Betrayal. Our mother, your uncle's eye, countless staff and guards, and even Selected."
Jolene gasped, she knew it had been bad, but he'd never told her a Selected had died. Jolene felt a wave of nausea roll over her, but Ray wasn't done.
"Then she had made plans to marry the heir, and tie the families together to rule. Then no one would question it. But now that she's locked away the rebels are returning, and I suspect she has informants outside to tell her what's happening."
"And now they want to stop my Selection, kill me?"
"We don't know that for sure. But- you have to be careful, Jo. You don't know who you can trust."
"What about the Selected?"
"Not even them." Ray replied, grimacing, "I only trusted your Dad, and Aunt Kara."
Jolene nodded, "And what about dates? How do I date them if I don't even trust them?"
Ray shrugged, "Weed them out early. Take as many on dates as you can and eliminate them once you're sure they won't win your heart."
Jolene nodded, looking back down at the paper. Just looking at it made her sick. She held it out, and Ray took it, folding it carefully.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Ray sighed, "I didn't want you to feel the weight of that knowledge. Ever."
"I'm going to be Queen one day. It's my duty to feel that weight." Jolene replied, shaking her head. "I understand why you did it, but it doesn't make it okay. I can't forgive you, not yet. You put my life, in my eyes, at risk over this!"
Ray's eyes widened, "No, Jo, I was protecting you."
"You blinded me! If I knew Endra and the rebels had this motive I could know what they were going to try and do. Know what they want. Maybe even how to be more careful."
Ray sighed, "Jo, there's more to this than you know."
"Only because you refuse to tell me."
"Jo-" Jolene shook her head, turning around to leave. "Jo!" Ray called after her but Jolene opened the door. "Jolene Marie Roxanne Schreave!"
Jolene froze, and raised her chin, "Bye, Dad, keep that paper safe."
And she walked out, shutting the door gently behind her.
Jolene sighed as she sat on a cushioned bench in the hallway outside of the classroom Ian was teaching the boys in. They were going over history of the royal family, which Jolene found to be extremely ironic given her current turmoil.
The door opened, and she stood eagerly. The boys filed out, surprised to see her, and dipped their heads as they walked by. Chad and Rustin smiled at her, and she bit her cheek to keep from smiling. She had to focus on the issue at hand.
She wrung her hands together, and when she was sure all the boys were gone, she stepped into the room. Her boots clicked, and Ian looked up from a stack of papers.
"Your Highness! The boys just finished their essays. Care to read the highlights after I grade them?"
"Uh, no, thank you. Can I talk to you?" Jolene asked, biting her lip, her heart was racing. But she needed to tell someone her concerns for the Selected. And who better than their teacher? Maybe he could give them a few safety tips during lessons. She could never handle the guilt of a Selected being hurt or worse during her Selection.
Ian's smile fell, and he nodded, "Of course, always." His voice was soft, and she felt her nerves calming by the second.
She sighed, leaning against one of the tables before his desk. "It's just that-well, I was hoping you could maybe teach the boys a few tricks on how to stay safe? Self defense? Anything? Or hire someone?"
Ian chuckled nervously, "Why, if I may ask?"
Jolene grimaced, "I'm afraid there may be more danger here than we thought. And it could be coming sooner than we know."
Ian titled his head, "Your Highness, what sort of danger?"
"The rebels."
"Rebels? Aren't they more passive than ever with your father as King?"
"I thought so, but apparently they're targeting the Selection again. I can't lose any of these boys. I can't have that on my conscience." Jolene replied, twirling a strand of hair in her fingers.
"Hey, hey, I'm sure it'll be okay. Your father is adding a lot of security, and the rebels haven't even shown signs of being near the castle. You're safe. The boys are safe. But I- I'm not sure I can give them much. I don't know all that much about self-defense."
Jolene whimpered, and started listing off to herself, she was so distressed she wasn't even sure real flavors were coming to mind- sugar cookie, gingerbread, strawberry jelled-.
"But I'll do my best to look into it. After all, I'm here to serve you and the Selected. I have to do my job." Ian continued, offering a small smile.
Jolene exhaled shakily, "Thank you." Ian nodded and packed up his bag, walking her out of the room.
"Well, thank you for warning me, Your Highness. I will look into it, I promise." He dipped into a small bow, then started to walk away.
"Mr. Miller- er, Ian." Ian stopped, turning to look back at Jolene. She offered him a small smile, "Thank you for your help. I really do appreciate it."
Ian nodded, then turned and walked away.
The Selected would be safe. She felt certain Ian would provide only the best for them. After all, one of these boys' best case scenarios seemed to be becoming prince consort. Not that she was in love with any of them.
But she did think that maybe she could find an attraction to someone after all…
Hello everyone! Okayy so we got a lot going on here hehe. We got an elimination! And also a kind of date? 2 kind of dates? But we also have secrets and drama in the family! *gasp* and sweet Ian, always there for Jolene. Let me know what you thought of this chapter!
See you in the next one~~!
