Previously: A mother and her young daughter flee from a castle at war, leaving behind their whole life. Thirteen years later, they built their new life in Illéa. Katy is 21 and works as a teacher of language and history of Hestéi. Her mother, Grace, works as a maid at the Royal Palace. When the heir of Illéa, Prince Henry, 23, unexpectedly announced he would have a Selection, Katy thought this decision would not affect her life... until her name is called at the lucky draw! It's a whole new beginning for her, but most importantly, she has a secret that must be kept at any cost.

The next two weeks passed in a blur. The day after the lucky draw, an infinite number of officials came to my place, asked a thousand questions, and left straight afterward. I got called by other officials and someone came to take my measures from head to toe.

Do they ever stop working? I thought.

They authorized me to keep working only if I used the car with driver and was escorted by guards. It was crazy. Just crazy. Goodbye my simple life...

When the day of the Selection great opening arrived, I was brought to the Palace in a limo, alone. Many people in the streets had my name on signs. I guess there were so many because I was the local candidate, but I also spotted many signs for the other girls.

When I arrived at the Palace, I was led to the Women's Room. Mrs. Michelle, the royal planner, was giving all kinds of orders. When she saw us, she shouted other orders and we all were taken to a mini-studio for our 'before' picture. This is the moment I realized I was so focused on finding a way to hide my secret that I totally forgot to learn all of the girls' names. I promised myself I'd better learn everyone's name out of politeness.

After the pictures, I was taken to a makeover booth and a hyperactive hairdresser took away my hairpin and flower, even before saying hello. He was wide-eyed when my hairs unfolded. They were reaching my hips, and I may say they looked quite nice. He fully supported me when I asked not to cut them too short... or to color them, I added as I saw a girl with light purple ends.

It took a "re-birth" haircut, a face scrub, and a make-up session for me to finally be ready. I looked cuter to be true. They managed to make my hairs look lighter, they were reaching my waist now and brushed into my natural wavy style. The make-up was amazing, not heavy, and very natural. I had a line of dark brown eyeliner and a thinner golden one above it, mascara, and a cherry red lipstick. The Selection wasn't so bad until now.

I quickly changed my mind when they told me to change clothes. I was petrified. My secret was about to be discovered even before the official beginning.

They showed me a black dress, modern but sober, and sandals... and I felt so relieved. My secret would be safe for a few more hours at least. The heels were a bit too high for my liking when I walked to the mini-studio for the 'after' picture and a short interview.

I only had a short moment's rest when Mrs. Michelle took us to our rooms after a quick tour of the Palace. I stayed alone the whole time, as most of the candidates already met during their travel and formed little groups. I have never been good to make friends anyway. One friendly soul here is all I need.

Our rooms were on the first floor at the end of a long corridor in an L shape. Lucky me, my room was after the corner and my small balcony overlooked the gardens.

"Hello, Lady Catherine," I heard behind me. I turned and saw a young woman. "My name is Margaret, but you can call my Maggie. I'll be your chambermaid during the Selection!"

"Nice to meet you, Maggie. Please, call me Katy, I'm not used to be called Catherine... or lady," I said.

"As you like, but you do have to get used to being called lady, Lady Katy," she said, smiling of my embarrassment. "Your bag is over here, and the bathroom's here. I think you already found the balcony," she said, grinning. "This door is a closet. The secret emergency exit is in the bottom of it, here," she said, showing me where to push on the wall.

"Wow, thanks," I said.

My room was way bigger than my small flat in the city center. The bathroom only was larger than my living room! It really was a nice place. The old and modern furniture were well-balanced which gave the room a comfy look.

I didn't even have the time to unpack my bag or talk a bit more with Maggie that Mrs. Michelle gathered us for dinner. We were all wearing a simple black dress, but the shape and style were different. In the dining hall, two long tables were facing each other, and further away, the royal family's table.

Tonight, we will dine alone... as alone as 35 girls can be. I found my seat in between Tatiana and Sarah. Tatiana was short with long black hair and blue eyes, all the opposite of Sarah. She was the definition of an African beauty queen with her short hair and elegant silhouette. I might have starred too long because she glared at me when she sat.

"Sorry," I said when I sat too. "You look stunning," I added, smiling.

"Oh, thank you," she answered. "I thought you were trying to find a way to make a fool out of me," she added after a hesitation.

"Do I look this bitchy?"

"Well, you were staring at her, not saying anything."

Next to me, Tatiana joined our conversation. She was hiding her smile behind her hand.

"You do look amazing Sarah," she added.

We smiled and introduced ourselves, talking all dinner long. Oh, sweet lord, the food was a wonder, and the girls were soo nice.

When we came back to our room, I was quite happy to tell Maggie all about it. She was a great listener, and it was easy to talk to her. I managed to bath alone even though she insisted she had to help to scrub me all over. She "night-routined" me in a blink of an eye... or maybe I just fell asleep in the middle on it, it was so relaxing. Maggie left and told me she'd come back tomorrow morning at 7 sharp.

As I sneaked in my bed, I barely started to review the speech I prepared to convince the Prince to let me go home that I fell into Morpheus' arms.