I DO NOT OWN THE SELECTED SERIES. SHOUTOUT TO FAIRYSECRET01 AND LOGANMCDONNELL FOR CREATING THESE CHARACTERS.
Schreave Palace. Province of Angeles. 4 weeks into selection.
Sarah Gavalas smiled to herself as she walked into one of the parlour rooms wearing a simple but classy turquoise dress. Benvolio Jackson had announced to the remaining 19 selected that there would a tea party held that day. Sarah was enthusiastic to put those etiquette lessons she'd taken to good use.
As everyone filed into the parlour, she got an eyeful of Princess Melody Schreave who was wear a very pretty pink dress adorned with jewels and pearls. Sarah had never seen anyone looking as beautiful as the princess did in that moment and it actually made her feel shabby in her own turquoise gown.
"Hello everyone." Melody said with her signature grin as everyone came in. "Thank you so so much for coming, we have 3 different flavors of tea and a whole smorgasbord of cakes, so let's politely dig in!" Sarah did not need to be told twice. Everyone got a tea cup and saucer with their name on it. Sarah found hers and was poured a glass of lemon tea by one of the servants on hand. She also took several different cakes.
"Oh my God...this is so freaking delicious!" Sarah muttered to herself as she took a big bite of a red velvet cupcake. The University of Bankston student was so absorbed in the deliciousness of the cake that she did not see who was coming up behind her.
"I absolutely love red velvet cake." Princess Melody replied as Sarah turned to her in shock.
"Your highness!" Sarah exclaimed as she gave the crown princess the best curtsy she could manage.
"It's all right, just call me Melody." She said with a slight giggle as Sarah tried to hide the fact that she felt embarrassed.
"I trust you are enjoying the refreshments." Melody replied as she took a red velvet cupcake and began to nibble on it.
"Oh yes, they are absolutely delectable." Sarah stated as she kept eating. "The royal chef is excellent."
"I know, we've had chef Bruce ever since I was born and his culinary creations are so divine." Melody said with a chuckle.
"So, has anyone caught your eye?" Sarah asked nervously as Melody nodded.
"A few...but I have to figure out which ones haven't My father wants to eliminate 3 more selected today." the princess replied wistfully. Sarah felt bad for Melody and also a tad nervous because she knew that one of the eliminated could be her.
"I'm sorry Melody." the university student replied as the princess offered her a weak smile.
"It has to happen...no matter how much it stings." Melody replied as she finished her cupcake, hoping the red velvet could calm her enough to make a decision.
After the tea party came to a close, Rosa Quinton was taking a walk by herself. At the end of the tea party, Princess Melody Schreave had announced that she was going to eliminate the boy from Sota, the girl from St. George, and the boy from Sumner. There were tears, curses, and even threats. The royal guards eventually escorted the 3 selected to their rooms to pack their bags and get on a flight to their respective provinces. The party had basically broke up after that and the other selected went back to their rooms; thankful that they themselves had survived another elimination. Rosa decided that she needed some air, so she went out to the balcony overlooking the royal garden. She stood there, still wearing her grey long sleeved dress and the grey flats to go with it. As she walked outside, she found that to her surprise, the crown princess herself had already claimed the spot for herself in order to unwind.
"It's a good spot." Rosa said softly as Melody turned around to see her.
"Yeah...I usually come here to get away from it all." the princess replied as the law school student moved towards her.
"You seemed pretty distressed after the tea party, do you want to talk about it?" Rosa inquired as Melody took a deep breath.
"It's just that...the more selected that get eliminated, eventually I am going to have to start eliminating the ones that I really like and it's just so overwhelming for me." she whined as Rosa gently squeezed her hand.
"I can't imagine what you're going though and it must suck to have to build up all these connections with people and then having to break them off because you can only have one, but I think that if you really go out of your way to know everyone here...you'll figure out who or what it is that you really want." she assured the princess. Rosa's words did manage to squeeze a small smile out of princess Melody; so that was progress.
"Thank you Rosa...that really means a lot." she said as Rosa nodded respectfully. Melody was silent for a moment before she leaned in and gave Rosa a quick kiss on the lips. The law student was stunned, to say the least.
"Wow...that was..." Rosa stuttered as Melody blushed.
"You said to figure out what I want." she replied with a wink as she went back into the palace. Rosa on the other hand, chose to wait until every bit of red was off her face.
ROMANCE IS BLOOMING IN THE SCHREAVE PALACE. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.