Chapter 22- Princess Calliope

The palace was in chaos.

Everybody was reeling over the newspaper article. I don't know how that paparazzi photographer got into the palace gardens, but he had captured Theo kissing one of the Selected girls- Ainslin, I think- and decided it was okay to publish it without royal permission. I hadn't read the article in depth- I was Theo's sister, after all- but I was really angry for Theo's sake. I also kind of wanted to laugh, though. I mean, the whole situation was ridiculous. No one would care about almost any other two people in the country kissing. Also, a small part of me laughed at Theo's stupidity- why didn't he choose a more secluded spot? It was practically in the spotlight of the paparazzi's flashing cameras. I would know, I thought bitterly. I had successfully hidden my love of swimming for years, though it hadn't been easy. And now I was hiding Asher. I made a mental note to give Theo a lesson on avoiding the press, chuckling to myself.

My thoughts sobered a little, though, as I realized what this meant for me. If Theo didn't have any privacy, I probably wouldn't have much more, only due to the fact that I wasn't the royal heir. Small comfort, though. I would have to go through this, too, when I was the one hosting my Selection. I started to daydream about what things would be like during my Selection in three years. Maybe Theo and his princess (there would be a new princess!) would have a baby by then, and Mom would have more streaks of white in her hair, and Dad more lines by his eyes. Maybe Theo would even be king by then. But I had more trouble when I tried to imagine my Selected guys. I had no idea what they would be like. It scared me a little, but I was also excited to meet so many new people. There was also one question that scared me the most- would Asher be among those Selected guys? Would he even be still in my life by then? Three years was a long time, especially if we dated in secret. The Selection was romantic and exciting, but it seemed like far down the road. Asher was here, now. I huffed in frustration. I had to think about something else.

I strode purposefully down the main palace hallway towards the Women's Room. I hadn't been going in there much lately because I didn't want to interfere in Theo's Selection or get too attached to certain girls, but I wondered what the atmosphere was like among the Selected girls. I paused at the door, hearing raised voices in the Women's Room. It sounded like there was some kind of argument among the girls. I gave the guards a meaningful look to keep them quiet, and put my ear to the door.

"... just don't think it's fair for him to give out a kiss when he hasn't even really talked to me!"

"Well, maybe you're not really his type! We don't know-"

"Excuse me? What's wrong with me that I wouldn't be his type?"

"No, that's not what I meant!- I-"

"I just think this is just so embarrassing for the rest of us. How am I supposed to answer press questions about why I haven't been kissed yet?"

"Maybe he's kissed someone else and the press didn't catch it."

"Why, have you kissed him? Tell us!"

"What are you suggesting?! Even if I had, I wouldn't tell you!"

The room dissolved into a mess of voices gradually growing louder and angrier. They were fighting- over my stupid brother! I had heard enough. I mustered as much elegance and pride as I could, and told the guards to open the door.

The double doors banged as they opened, causing all the arguing Selected girls to stop mid-sentence. They all immediately snapped to attention and curtsied. I felt kind of bad pulling rank, but I needed to have some kind of power. They were all older than me, and I technically wasn't really involved in this.

"Good afternoon, ladies," I said evenly, surveying the room. They looked pretty uneasy. "I hope you're all getting along. It was always my dream as a little girl to have a sister, and now you all have each other. No one expects you to be friends, but we do expect civility here at the palace. I'm sure my brother would agree." I made eye contact with all of them. Some of them immediately looked at the floor, embarrassed or still angry, while others met my eyes and nodded in agreement. "Now, if you don't mind, let's have some tea together. It might be nice for me to get to know you all. Would you please bring us some refreshments?" I added, to a maid. She nodded, curtsied, and left. "Wonderful. Now let's sit together, shall we?" I added an encouraging smile, thinking I had been a little too imperious before. The girls gathered and sat in a circle, including my favorite armchair. I sat there comfortably, eschewing royal posture rules as a last-minute decision. Some of the girls looked surprised, but didn't comment on it. "I think we all have something to gain by being in each other's company. It's very likely that there is someone in this room who will give you a new perspective on life, someone who has taught you something you didn't know, or maybe had never even seen." Maybe it was my imagination, but I noticed some of the girls smiling to themselves, or making eye contact with someone else. "So let's play a game! What are your stories? I'm interested, too, you know. I don't get to meet a whole lot of girls close to my age." Some of the girls laughed a little at that. "When someone is done speaking, you can chime in with something you have in common, or something you don't have in common. That's the beauty of being in the palace- you can decide the rules!" I was really starting to lighten up now. I hadn't planned this, but it was fun, talking with the girls spontaneously.

"I can start," a girl with a sheet of beautiful jet-black hair and wispy bangs said. "I'm Ayano, a Four from Columbia. I'm nineteen, and I fish for a living on the Pacific Coast. I just came to Illéa recently from the region of Japan in New Asia. I am very glad to be here at the royal Illéan palace." Ayano seemed sunny without being too bubbly- she seemed like she would have no problems socially or with the palace protocols. I also noticed a few other girls' heads perked up as she talked about herself. One girl raised her hand uncertainly, looking at me.

"Oh! You don't need my permission to talk. Go ahead, Lady…?"

"Anna." I nodded. "Um, I'm also in the fishing business, I'm a fisherwoman's daughter." Ayano smiled at that.

The girl sitting next to Anna spoke up. "I'm Vesna, and I'm also an immigrant."

Ayano lit up. "From where?"

"I came here from Serbia when I was six."

"Did you find it hard to learn English?" Ayano asked.

Vesna shrugged. "It was mostly all right, though I was annoyed at how hard it was to learn math in English. It's my favorite subject."

Yet another girl perked up. "You like math too? What kind is your favorite?" This one had green eyes and freckles.

Vesna smiled. "I love geometry."

"Ah, I'm more of a calculus person. I'd love to teach someday, though, if I don't become a princess! Oh, and my name is Kaitlyn, but you can call me Katy. And this is my twin sister, Kat. We're the 'lucky picks' from Whites," she rambled, gesturing energetically towards her look-alike on her left.

"And do you like winter sports… Katy?" I tested the name.

"Yes! I love skiing, even though Kat is far better at it than me," she rattled off, turning red from the attention but clearly overjoyed to elicit interest from me. I still thought it was so strange how these girls were treating me like a celebrity, even though they were all older than me. I guess I kind of was, in a way, but Theo had and would always have way more celebrity status than me.

"I also enjoy time in the snow when I get the chance, though that's not very often here in Angeles. Usually we have to travel north for that," I laughed. They could not know my true love of sports, I reminded myself. That would have to wait at least until there were much fewer of them, and maybe even never.

By then, a few side conversations had split off as the Selected found things they had in common and formed little groups. I surveyed my work, satisfied. I turned to the girls sitting on either side of me. I didn't know the one on my left, a Black girl with a jaded expression but who had hope in her eyes, but the girl on my right looked familiar. It was her, the girl Theo had kissed- Ainslin. I internally panicked. I wasn't ready to face her- how could I talk to someone my brother had kissed? I hurriedly turned away from her, hoping she wouldn't notice, and started talking to the girl on my left instead, who had been quiet during the larger group conversation.

"Hello," I offered. She started a little, and I cringed at my suddenness. Sometimes conversation didn't come naturally to me. "What's your name?"

"Tasha, Your Highness. I'm a car mechanic from St. George, and yes, I enjoy the work. I like working with my hands," she said, as if she knew what I was about to ask next. Now I was the one who was surprised.

"How did you-"

"Oh, it's fairly easy to predict the pattern of these conversations. Normally I would ask about you, but you're the princess, so," she finished, ending with a little shrug.

"Wh-what?" It had been a while since I didn't know what to say. Knowing what to say was part of being a princess, of looking the part. Tasha had thrown me off balance, but it was refreshing. I felt a smile break my face, and I saw a small one break hers, too.

"Sorry, Your Highness. I tend to have this kind of effect on people." I just laughed. She certainly was an engaging conversationalist.

"It's quite all right, Lady Tasha. In fact, I kind of appreciate it. Many people tread too carefully around me just because, as you said, I'm the princess. It's not as easy as you might think."

"Is that so?" Her jaded expression was back. I mentally cursed myself. If she was a car mechanic, that made her a Seven. She probably thought I was a spoiled little princess complaining about how hard life was while she probably struggled to get by. In some ways, I probably was spoiled, but I planned to do big things with my life, especially with my position of power. I had to make this right.

"Oh, that's not what I meant-"

I was interrupted by the arrival of a maid. I broke off, frustrated.

"A letter for you, Your Highness." A letter with Theo's stationery sat on the silver tray. Theo? What did he want? And we never communicated by letters- that was so stuffy, we had both agreed. I wondered if there had been some kind of mistake. Still, though, I took the letter off the tray, not wanting to draw too much attention to it. The other girls had already paused in their conversations at the maid's arrival.

"Would you excuse me, ladies? My brother needs me," I said politely, holding up the letter. They all nodded. I turned to leave, then remembered. "One more thing… please try not to fight over my brother. There are still thirteen of you here, and I think it's not worth it at this point." I mentally cursed myself again. I had made it sound like they didn't matter because Theo hadn't chosen his Elite yet. That would probably still be a ways off, knowing him. "Try to remember the connections you've made here today. You are all amazing women, and I know no matter what happens in the Selection, you will lead good lives." There, that was better. They smiled and curtsied, and I left the room, generally satisfied with my work. I had stopped the fighting, which was my goal, and I had heard from some interesting people. I was still annoyed with myself over the incident with Tasha, but I vowed to fix it. Right now, though, I had to see what was in this letter. It seemed so strange that Theo would write to me when we lived in the same (albeit quite large) building.

I broke the seal and unfolded the letter. As I started reading, though, I realized something unsettling.

The letter wasn't from Theo.