Chapter 11: Little Talks
"Sigrid." Nils didn't look up from the sketch he was working on, but he could hear his sister's breath behind him.
"Va?"
"I know you're there." He still didn't look up, focusing instead on the vase of flowers sitting on the desk in front of him.
"So?" She rested her chin on his shoulder, her hair tickling his neck.
"Are you going to leave me alone?"
"Nej. I need to talk to you." She stood and walked over to lounge on his couch.
Nils sighed and put down his pencil, turning on his stool to face her. When she didn't say anything, he raised his eyebrows at her. "Well?"
"It's Dad."
"What else is new? It's always Dad."
"Okay, but this time it's really bad," Sigrid said, sitting up straight.
"Are you going to tell me…?"
"He's making me have a Selection, Nils."
"Um…I know? You know? You've known for a month?"
"No. He's making me have a Selection now."
That caught Nils's attention. He leaned forward on his elbows. "Wait what? He's making you do it now? Why? I thought you weren't going to have it for at least another year."
"So did I! After the engagement with Sachin fell through, he said he would give me a year to figure things out. Apparently the Privy Council doesn't agree with that decision."
"So what? He is King, it's not up to them."
"You know as well as I do that's not how it works."
"Okay, but still. There's nothing he can do?"
Sigrid sighed, laying back on the couch. "Apparently not."
"Sigrid, I'm so sorry." Nils stood up, walking over to sit next to his twin. "You were supposed to have time to travel, live your life for a while."
"I know! I was supposed to go to Italy and Greece and Turkey. I was supposed to have one year where I wasn't the heir apparent. Just one. But no, now I have to do the one thing I dread about being the Crown Princess. I have to have a fucking Selection. Who decided the Selection was a good idea? How are you supposed to find someone who would make a good ruler in a group of random people? Let alone find love. Not that love has ever been an option."
"Sigrid. Don't say that. You know people find love in Selections."
"Ya. People do. Not me."
...o0o...
Joan slowed to a walk as she arrived back at the etched glass doors that led back into the palace. She smiled and nodded her greeting to the guard who opened the door, humming along with Brendon Urie. She considered stopping in to see if anyone was in the Yellow Room or the Women's room but decided against it. They would all be down there for the first official elimination in an hour anyway. She did bump into a few Selected on the way up to her room, all friendly but none enough so to stop and chat. No doubt she would get to know them well enough in the coming weeks. If she made it past the elimination, that is.
Her maids were gone when she got back to her room, but there was a towel and bathrobe hanging on the bathroom door for her. She disconnected her earbuds and rifled through the bag she had brought to find her speaker. Vader, her cat, was sitting on her bed, so she tossed him a treat before heading into her bathroom.
Once she had turned on some good old fashioned Panic! at the Disco, she stepped into the hot shower. The water felt good on her face, her thoughts drifting to the night before. Nils had surprised her. She had been so sure she wouldn't like him. This was, after all, never her idea. She had never wanted to join the Selection. But here she was, letting the idea grow on her. He had been nice. He had been fun, more so than she would have expected. They all were. The royal family, the other Selected, they were all so much more fun than she had expected. Somewhere, deep down, there was a part of her that hoped her name would not be on the list of those to be eliminated today.
As she was putting her hair up in a towel to dry, Joan could hear the quiet voices of her maids getting her outfit ready for the elimination. They must have come in while she was in the shower. She brushed her teeth, put on some moisturizer, and pulled on the bathrobe before heading out of the bathroom to greet her maids.
"Beth, Lily, good morning."
Her two maids looked up from the dress they were laying out on her bed.
"Good morning, My Lady," Lily said, curtsying before pulling out the chair at Joan's vanity for her to sit down. "I hope you enjoyed your run?"
Joan sat down, letting Beth pull the towel off her damp hair. "Yes, it was nice to get some fresh air. Especially today."
"Don't worry, my lady," Lily smiled, "I'm sure the prince loved you."
Joan didn't answer, just flashed a quick smile to the maid. She closed her eyes, letting them tease and tug her hair into a bun on top of her head. Her thoughts drifted again to the night before, sitting outside the ballroom with Nils. No. She didn't want to be here. She was just here to appease her grandfather. She was here so she could continue to follow her own dream, not become a princess.
Beth pulled her from her thoughts, putting a finger under her chin to lift her face so she could do Joan's makeup. The soft feeling of brushes and blenders moving across her face relaxed Joan, bringing her back to the present. It was out of her control now. Whatever happened would happen, and that was that.
Once her hair and makeup was done, her maids helped her into her black chemise and sheer dress. She picked out a simple necklace and pair of earrings. Just before she left her room, she slipped on a pair of black heels and waved goodbye to Lily and Beth.
The hall outside her room was mostly empty, she was a bit early, but a few other girls were making their way down to the Yellow Room. Many of them seemed nervous, but a few seemed indifferent, closer to how Joan felt. She waved to them, smiled too, but, again, didn't stop to chat. She was early, there would be time to talk in the Yellow Room.
Only a few girls were in the Yellow Room when Joan arrived, and it seemed all the boys were still getting ready. She recognized Xiu Li, the girl with pale pink hair, from the night before. She had meant to introduce herself, but had never gotten around to it. She grabbed a glass of water and an orange from the refreshments table at the back before heading over to the table Xiu was sitting at.
"Hey, I'm Joan. Mind if I sit with you?"
"Ya, of course. I'm Xiu, by the way"
Joan pulled out a chair, taking a seat across the table from Xiu. "Ya, I remember you from last night. I meant to introduce myself. I love your hair!"
"Oh, thanks. Usually people don't really like it."
"No, it's awesome. I've dyed my hair a lot. Guess I'm just feeling the black right now. Although, you're kind of making me miss the bright colors."
"I know the feeling. At this point I just kind of feel naked without it."
"Ya. Well, what do you think of all of this so far?" Joan gestured around her at the giant parlor and all the Selected who were starting to trickle in.
"It's all pretty crazy. Lots of people to people watch though."
"I completely agree. It's like my whole life was turned upside down overnight."
Xiu was about to say something, but the telltale sounds of the doors closing, conversations stopping, and heels on the hardwood floor meant things were about to begin.
They moved to the rows of chairs at the front of the room, the same ones they sat in for lessons the past few days, and waited for Evelyn to begin.
"Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. I hope you all slept well after last night's banquet. As you know, today is the first official elimination. The staff has already been made aware of those who will be eliminated, and they are packing your things now. You will have the rest of the day to get your things in order; flights will leave in the late evening. I ask that once His Majesty is finished, those who will be staying make your way to either the Men's or Women's rooms. We will be conducting our lessons separately today."
Once Evelyn had finished, she nodded to the page standing at the door.
"His Majesty, King Nils of Illéa."
The doors opened, and Nils, tall and regal in his black suit, strode into the room. He cleared his throat before looking out at his Selected and speaking.
"Good morning to all of you. I hope you are well. Before we begin, I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed meeting each and every one of you last night. You are all incredible people, and I know you will go on to do great things, whether they be here, at the palace, or far and wide across the world. I truly thank you for choosing to take a chance on me, and it pains me to part with some of you so soon. However, it must be done. Please know that I do not think any less of you if I eliminate you. It is not a statement on your character, simply the fact that I don't see a future with you. Some people don't click.
"With that, we will begin. If I call your name, please come stand with Ben, our footman. Once we are finished and those who are staying have left, you will each receive a gift as a show of my gratitude." He paused, cleared his throat again, and began reading names off a slip of paper in his hand. "Caroline Montgomery."
A tall girl with bright red hair stood and walked across the room to the footman, holding her head high.
"Jared O'Hare… Sage Briggs… Reagan Miller… Andrew Mattingly… Sarah Allen… Molly Scoggin… Stuart Rinehart… Iris Williams… and Bonnie Woods."
All those who had heard their name called now stood in a line next to the footman. Some looked unphased, clearly feeling the same way Nils had, while others were clearly holding back tears. Joan felt for them. She was sure many who entered the Selection truly hoped for a fairytale love story. However, there was a part of her that was glad. Her name had not been called. Somehow, despite the circumstances, that small fact brought her joy. She would not be going home, at least not yet.
Nils said a few final words of thanks before nodding to Evelyn, who stood and took his place.
"Those of you who were not called, please proceed to the Men's Room or Women's Room, your lessons, taught today by Their Highnesses, Prince Gunnar and Princess Katarina, will begin shortly."
"Well, I suppose we live to see another day," Xiu said, walking with Joan towards the door.
"I suppose so," Joan laughed.
They made their way to the Women's Room, a room Joan had not spent much time in since she arrived at the palace. It was an airy room, but like the Yellow Room, but seemingly cozier. There were couches and lounge chairs spread around and, today, a row of chairs facing the left wall.
Princess Katarina was already standing in front of the chairs, rifling a stack of papers. Joan had to remind herself to talk to her later, she really wanted to get to know her.
"Please, come in and take a seat. We will begin in a moment."
Joan and Xiu sat down, taking two chairs on the end of the front row.
The rest of the girls who remained filtered in and took their seats, chatting with the people next to them.
"Alright, let's begin. Today we will be discussing what your role will be if you become Queen. Of course, this will just be the basics. If you make it to the Elite, you will be given a much more in depth explanation. Until then, this will be enough." The princess began writing on the board in front of them, and one of the footmen handed out stacks of paper to each Selected.
Joan was about to look through the pile of papers when the now familiar sound of a page's staff on the floor echoed through the room.
"His Majesty, King Nils."
Joan looked up, as did the rest of the room. None of them had expected to see the king again that day.
He walked across the room quickly, shooting the girls a quick smile. He whispered something in his sister's ear, causing her to give him a quizzical look. Nonetheless, she nodded and turned to the girls.
"Joan Son?"
Joan shifted in her seat and raised her hand.
"Please follow my brother."
Joan was confused. What did Nils want with her? Nevertheless, she stood and walked over to him. He gave her a genuine smile. He began walking out of the room, and Joan looked back over her shoulder ad Xiu before following him. As she left the room, she could hear all the other girls whispering, wondering what was going on. Joan was just as curious.
Nils led her down the hall a bit, stopping at a window seat just past the Men's Room. He sat down, indicating for her to do the same.
Joan sat, still confused as to what she was doing there.
"Joan, it's good to see you again."
"Um, you too? What is going on?"
Nils smiled, looking down at his hands. "Joan, I really enjoyed the brief time we had together last night."
"Oh. So did I. It was nice to have a drinking buddy," Joan laughed, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"Well, I was wondering if you would like to spend some more time together. Maybe sans the alcohol this time. Unless, of course, you want to go get drinks or something."
"Nils, are you asking me on a date?" Joan looked him in the eye, serious now.
"Ya, I guess I am."
"Okay."
"'Okay,' you want to?" Nils asked, sounding a bit nervous.
"Yes, yes, I would love to."
Nils's face lit up, something Joan found quite endearing. "Perfect. Does, uh, does Wednesday sound okay?"
"Wednesday sounds perfect. What, may I ask, will we be doing?"
"For that, you'll just have to wait and see."
Joan laughed, "I suppose that's fair enough."
Nils stood, extending a hand to help Joan up. "I have some business to attend to, but it has been a pleasure." He brought her hand to his lips, not breaking eye contact.
Despite her efforts, she blushed. "Of course. I should probably be going too. Princess lessons and all." Joan gestured back towards the Women's Room.
He dropped her hand, smiled one last time, and turned away.
Joan watched him go, running her fingers over the place he had kissed her hand. She looked down at her feet, thinking about what had just happened. She was the first date. She, Joan Son, was the first date in Nils's Selection. Who would have guessed?
For those of you asking, Gunnar is the Crown Prince because he is the heir apparent. If Nils died, Gunnar would be King. If Nils had a child, that child would be Crown Prince or Princess, but, until that happens, Gunnar is the Crown Prince. I know this isn't how it works in our world, but this is what I believe would make sense in Illéa. This is fiction, after all, not real life! Sorry for any confusion that caused!