chapter 1, scene 1—cleo's bedroom
Cleo was late for breakfast.
Being late for breakfast normally wasn't a big deal, as most normal young men and women Cleo's age often slept in way later than eight o'clock. They could wake up whenever they wanted, not having to worry about disapproving mothers and smug older sisters. Normal people Cleo's age didn't still live with their mother (although that's probably somewhat debatable). But most normal people also weren't a princess of Illéa.
By the time Cleo had even noticed the time (a half hour past the time she was supposed to be seated at the dining table), she was still in her pajamas and her untamed mess of hair was in no shape to be seen by anyone (Cleo was a heavy, fitful sleeper and had been told many times by her sisters and best friend Jase she kicked in her sleep—she didn't really know if that was true, but she supposed she had to take their word for it).
Cleo groaned and reluctantly pulled herself out of bed and into her bathroom where she began her attempt at brushing her tangled hair.
"Why the fuck are you up so goddamn early?" a voice slurred from the end of the bed Cleo had just pulled herself out of.
Jase Mercer, Cleo's best friend since diapers, sat up and reached over to grab Cleo's phone to check the time and groaned.
"Ugh, it's 8:30, it's practically still dawn."
Cleo scoffed at that, glancing at Jase from the corner of her eye.
"Your version of dawn and everyone else's are very different," she said with a wry smile. Turning to focus on her reflection in the mirror, she let out an annoyed sigh as she gave up on trying to tame her hair and began to braid it.
"You never answered my question though." Jase said, lounging back on her bed, scrolling through his own phone now. Cleo turned away from the mirror to look at him and felt the stirrings of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Every time she looked at him, she was reminded of just how beautiful he was. He was so gorgeous it actually hurt her to look at him sometimes.
"Helloooo, earth to Cleo."
Cleo snapped back to the present and met Jase's gaze. "Huh?"
Jase rolled his eyes and moved to get out of bed. "I asked you why you're up so early anyway. Even eight is a bit early for you."
This was true. While Cleo was a bit of a morning person, she was usually up by no earlier than nine o'clock and off to do her princess duties by ten.
"Attendance at breakfast is mandatory today. Mom said she had something important she wanted to discuss with us. No idea what that means," Cleo muttered, turning off the light in her bathroom and moving to her closet. "Anyways, shouldn't you be getting back to your dad right now? You ignored, like, all of his calls last night."
Jase scowled in her direction—though she couldn't even see it—and looked through his notifications.
18 missed calls from Warren.
Fuck.
Jase threw his phone onto the pillow and rolled over onto his stomach, smashing his face into the soft, warm, cotton comforter. Jase's relationship with his father was...complicated to say the least. Things between them had not been good for a long time, and with Lucie on vacation in France for two weeks unable to play peacemaker, Jase had no energy to even be in the same house as Warren.
"Jase?" Cleo was used to him clamming up whenever she mentioned his father. She walked out of her closet, now clothed in a simple lavender dress that probably cost well over what most Illéans make in a year, and sat down on her bed by Jase's feet.
"Come on, you can't hide from me. You know I was always the best seeker in the business." Jase sat up suddenly and looked at her accusingly.
"That is so not true, I beat you at hide and seek way more times than the other way around," he said with an amused half smile, causing the butterflies in Cleo's stomach to flutter harder than they'd ever fluttered before.
"Okay, fine, you were better at me than hide and seek. But I always did find you eventually." The two friends grinned at each other for a beat before simultaneously looking away. Cleo tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and reached behind herself to grab her phone and looked down at the time.
8:41 AM
"Oh god, mom is gonna kill me," she said, standing up abruptly, and digging under the piles of clothes on her floor to look for her shoes. Her room was a constant mess, which irritated her older sister Esmé to no end.
"Somebody's gonna be in troubleee," Jase sang just as Cleo found her shoes and was putting them on. Cleo narrowed her eyes and gave Jase what he thought was supposed to be a withering stare.
"Somebody needs to go home and talk to their father," she mimicked back, causing Jase to frown and stick his tongue at her. "I hope your mom has bad news for you."
Cleo rolled her eyes. "I'm serious, Jason. You know I love you, and you can stay as here as long as you want, but you have to go home and talk to him at some point."
Jase sighed and nodded his head. "I know, I know, I'll go today."
Cleo smiled. "Good. Now I actually have to go or else my mother may actually murder me."
chapter 1, scene 2—breakfast
Matilda quietly reached across the table to grab another piece of bacon, moving super slow as to not attract her mother's attention. Olympia, the mother in question, sat at the head of the table, silently fuming. The rest of her daughters sat in awkward silence as they collectively avoided their mother's gaze. Matilda thought she saw her mother's eye actually twitch.
Matilda turned her head to the sister next to her, Esmé, and muttered softly, "I give her about five more minutes before her head pops off completely."
Esmé let out a slight huff of what Matilda thought was laughter. "I give her three," she replied.
"I'll take that bet."
The two settled back into the tense silence, glancing at their mother every so often. Three minutes passed.
"Where is that insufferable girl? It's been nearly an hour! I swear when she gets here, that girl is going to get a piece of my mind," Olympia trailed off, muttering angrily, her eyes flashing with indignancy. As if on cue, Cleo rushed into the dining hall, looking slightly disheveled as she took her spot next to Irene, the eldest, avoiding her mother's sharp glare.
"Happy that you could join us. I'm so glad you were able to fit us into your busy schedule." Cleo met Olympia's gaze and shrank back into herself.
"I'm sorry, I must have missed my alarms. It won't happen again," Cleo said, lowering her eyes from her mother's stare timidly.
As Olympia continued to chastise Cleo, Matilda glanced at Esmé from the corner of her eye and saw a tiny, smug grin form, that had she not known Esmé, she would've missed. Matilda huffed and crossed her arms.
"How do you always do that?" Matilda questioned. Esmé grinned down at her youngest sister.
"It's because I'm psychic," she teased, gesturing to her temple as if she were actually clairvoyant. Matilda rolled her eyes good-naturedly, and returned to her neglected plate of food (that was mostly just bacon).
"Girls," Olympia began, Matilda and her sisters all stopping what they were doing to listen, "I've called you all here to share some important news."
Olympia paused, mostly for dramatic effect, as her daughters all stared at her, waiting for her to finish.
"I have just received word from the Swendish king."
At that, Irene perked up even more. She and the youngest Swendish prince, Andrey, had been smitten with each other for about a year and a half, and the two had been hoping to get their parents' blessing and approval to get engaged. She reached over grab Cleo's hand, squeezing tightly. Cleo squeezed back comfortingly, reaching over to hold Irene's hand in both of hers.
"We have decided mutually...to give Prince Andrey's blessing to propose to Irene." Queen Olympia, looked over proudly at her eldest daughter, who was smiling elatedly and practically jumping for joy in her seat, squeezing Cleo's hand so tight that it actually hurt.
Esmé grinned at her older sister, happy for her, while Matilda had practically launched herself across the table to hug Irene. At that point, Queen Olympia, held up her hand to settle the girls.
"Alright, alright that's enough. Honestly, Matilda, show some decorum. One would think you'd be raised in a barn." Matilda sat back down in her seat sheepishly, her sisters hiding their amused smiles. "There's more news, anyway."
Olympia waited as four pairs of eyes landed on her expectantly, waiting for the information that would affect them the most.
"Since Irene is now practically engaged to be married, I've decided it's high time for the rest of you to find husbands as well."
Silence filled the dining hall. Matilda's mouth hung open agape, Cleo looked positively terrified, and Esmé was more icy than usual. As if some spell had been broken, all three younger Renaldis began to object at once.
"I am eighteen years old, I don't need to be getting engaged—"
"—I don't even have a driver's license, I can't get married!—"
"—even if I wanted to get married soon, which I don't, I am more than capable of deciding for myself—"
Queen Olympia held her hand up, silencing the princesses, ignoring the shocked, terrified (in Matilda and Cleo's case), and icy (in Esmé's case) stares.
"I do not want to hear your protests. As you all know, I was once married as well, to my dear Alphonso, may he rest in peace, and I will have all my daughters settled and married before I die," Queen Olympia said stubbornly, "and I got married when I was eighteen, so Matilda I don't want to hear it."
Matilda threw her hands up silently in exasperation and stared at the ceiling.
"I have already sent out a decree that any and all eligible bachelors and bachelorettes of well-bred families may come to live at the palace for one year. During that time, you will get to know these bachelors, and you will be engaged to one of them. Do I make myself clear?"
The three younger girls stiffly nodded, each with their own look of contempt and disdain. Matilda looked down at her unfinished plate and found that she had lost her appetite. She was barely even adult—how could her mother expect her to get engaged within a year's time? How could she expect any of them to get engaged?
Esmé was the first to speak, her voice dripping with derision. "If that's all, may we be excused?"
Olympia bowed her head, "You may."
And before the Queen had even finished her reply, Esmé was out of her seat and storming out of the dining hall, Cleo and Matilda not far behind.
that's it for the first chapter! welcome to my selection syoc, young elites! all information and the form are on my profile, so if you are interested in submitting an oc, please check it out!
i'm really not much of a writer myself, but i've had this idea for an syoc for a long time now and i've finally had the courage to write and publish it. i'm really excited for it and i really hope it goes somewhere, so if you liked this chapter, feel free to leave even just a small review! i'm hoping to attempt semi-regular updates, maybe twice a month, as i am still in college and i tend to get so busy during this time in the semester. but, the next update should be sometime soon, so look out for that as well if you're interested!
~leah