I DO NOT OWN THE SELECTION SERIES. SHOUTOUT TO AVA NAVA AND ABIZEAU FOR CREATING THESE CHARACTERS.

Schreave Palace. Province Of Angeles. 25 days into the selection.

Teddy Madden sighed as he changed into his swimsuit. It was nothing particularly fancy, it was just a pair of black swim trunks with white luau flowers on them. He and the remaining 22 selected were being taken to the private beach that was owned by the royal family. While he prepared himself for a day of sand and surf, Teddy was still horribly frustrated with himself. He had been there for over 3 weeks and somehow, he had still not been eliminated. Teddy had not gone out of his way to bond with Princess Melody. Truth be told, he had not really gone out of his way to bond with anyone. The only meaningful interaction he'd had so far was with Rana Bhattachan, but that was just one conversation to pass the time. Teddy looked in the mirror and was seemingly satisfied with his appearance. He exited his room and made his way to the main foyer where the other selected were already present in similar swimming attire that had been provided for them by the palace stylists. Teddy did not see princess Melody in the crowd, but he did see Rana who offered him a small wave. On cue, Benvolio Jackson: personal secretary to the King and resident slime, motioned for everyone to listen up and shut up.

"All right everyone, your king wishes for you to enjoy yourselves while you compete for the hand of his only daughter in marriage." Benvolio explained as the selected gave him their undivided attention. "Therefore, he has allowed you the use of the royal family's private beach this day." Everyone was excited by this news. No one had been allowed off the palace grounds since the day they arrived over 3 weeks ago.

"Maybe this won't be so bad." Teddy said to himself as he tried to think positively.

"Now, before we go...I have to ask if there are any among you who do not know how to swim?" Mr. Jackson inquired. A few moments passed before 3 of the selected stepped forward. Teddy saw that it was the boy from Paloma.

"This ought to be good." Teddy said as he shook his head at Benvolio. He knew what was coming next.

"Thank you for your honesty, you are eliminated from this selection; you may go back to your rooms and pack." Jackson replied as the 3 uttered complaints before being forcibly escorted away. Instead of feeling bad for them, Teddy felt nothing but envy because they were done with the whole royal charade. He promptly cursed the day that he took swimming lessons.

Schreave family private beach. Province of Angeles.

Rana strolled along the beach as she watched the other selected fawning over Melody. She had decided to wear a simple grey colored bikini for this excursion. Rana didn't even try to move closer to the princess, it was as clear as day that she wouldn't get very far. Thus, the hiking guide contended to look for seashells on the sea shore. However, she was not only in her attempts to avoid the love struck mob.

"You're not even going to try to get close to princess Melody?" Teddy asked as he moved to walk alongside her.

"How far would I get?" Rana asked in return.

"Fair enough." he relented as he kicked some sand.

"Do you see the way everyone throws themselves at that blonde baby, it's outrageous!" she remarked as he picked up a sand dollar.

"Yeah, should someone who still had a nanny be next in line for the throne? It would be political suicide and the king knows it."

"I don't give a damn about politics, just as long as no one or nothing gets between me and my mountains." Teddy nodded as he sat down in the surf. He motioned for Rana to sit next to him and she did.

"Did you hear the real reason we're here?" Teddy inquired.

"I thought that the king was trying to be nice?" Rana asked as Teddy shook his head.

"Nope, I overheard some of the servants talking and they said that there's a big protest planned for today in front of the palace gates and the king wanted to get us and Melody out before he crushes it." he replied as Rana shook her head.

"Damn...Maxon II is good looking but he is such a hard ass!" she exclaimed as Teddy cooled his toes in the water.

"Rightly or wrongly, he cuts a strong figure and that is what the country needs." he insisted. "I just hope that for everyone's sake, the Queen is still alive when he dies because if Melody becomes Queen...God help us all."

"You really hate the princess, don't you?" Rana teased as Teddy rolled his eyes.

"It's nothing personal against her but she just doesn't have the backbone that her parents have." he insisted. "She's good as a figure head, cutting ribbons and kissing sick kids, but she's not the right person to run a country." Rana got tired of the political talk and pulled Teddy up off his ass.

"Come on." she said as she pulled him into the waves.

"OK!" Teddy exclaimed as the two began to swim in the crystal clear water. He had to admit that it was fun; swimming with Rana and forgetting the fact that he was still trapped in Princess Melody Schreave's royal selection. It wouldn't help that at the end of the day, Melody herself would eliminate two more selected which were not Rana or Teddy.

THE TIDES ARE TURNING, LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.