Chapter 2

Zachariah rang the bell on the very elegant mahogany door, just a few floors below the palace. Usually, someone would open it right away, since the luxurious apartment was filled with staff working day and night to ensure the residents had everything they needed every hour. Absolutely normal for Two's.

But this time, the door stayed closed and Zach stood there, like an idiot, waiting.

"Fine," he mumbled. "I'll use the backdoor." He opened the digital entrance box and let the machine scan his right hand and his right eye before he heard a click and the door opened slightly. Now all he had to do was to push it open and walk inside like a burglar.

Only this was his best friend's residence, so he was on the list of people who could just walk in uninvited anyway. One look around and he knew something was wrong: there was no staff, the air smelled of staleness, but mostly the smell of various wines and strong alcohols permeated the air, and empty bottles pretty much occupied every horizontal surface.

"Aaron?" Zach said loudly. He was hoping his friend was still alive. After his wife and baby boy had been violently killed during his last political campaign by a zealot who was backing his opponent, Aaron Sinclair had lost all sense of life. "Aaron, man? Where are you?" he said again. He should have been a better friend and come check on him sooner and more often, but he was selfish. He thought Aaron would have bounced back already: it had been six months.

Zach was careful not to kick a bottle or make noise in case he heard Aaron, and thank God he did just a minute or two later: a grunt that was coming from the living room. He looked over at one of the white leather couches and there he was, sprawled on filthy cushions, dressed in a suit that he had probably been wearing for weeks.

"Wake up," Zach said a little too harshly, but sometimes people needed a good shaking to get back up. "Aw man, you reek!"

"Hello to you, too," Aaron grumbled, pulling himself up, but failing. He seemed to be weak.

Zach helped him to a sitting position and looked at his friend: his blue eyes were glazed over, empty of the spark they used to have, and his blond hair was a mess. He had never seen him with a beard this thick before, and he didn't like it. "You need a shower. And a shave. And new clothes."

Aaron looked around the apartment and slouched on the couch. "No thanks."

The prince rolled his eyes and placed a quick call to his personal valet to come to join them in the Sinclair Jr. apartment. Asap. Before Aaron could argue, Zach had looped the man's arms around his neck and took him to the bathroom. That place, too, looked like a wreckage, but it would have to do. While Aaron was in the shower, Zach's valet arrived and it took both of them to find him a wearable outfit in his closet. They ordered Chinese food and waited for the young politician to come out of the shower. While the valet worked on shaving the blond beard and giving Aaron a presentable haircut, Zach forced some food into him.

"Okay, so now that you don't reek, that you look like yourself again, and that you've eaten a bit, I have some good news."

"Good news?" Aaron said between two forkfuls of noodles. "If it's not that science found a way to resuscitate dead people, I don't want to hear it."

"Nah, only God can do that, apparently," Zach said, only half serious. "But since He's ignoring us, then who cares about Him, right?"

Aaron shot him a look. Before his wife died, he was a very devout and pious man, at least on the outside. "Then what's your amazing news?" he asked, not showing any sign of interest. Small talk was one of his strong suits.

"I'm gonna hold a Selection."

Aaron stopped chewing and stared at the prince. "You what?" He snorted.

"I just wanted to let you know before I announce it on the Report tonight.

"Tonight? Dude. This is all going too fast," he said. "Who? How? Why? When? Where?"

"Pretty sure it was the Archbishop's idea," Zach said, answering the questions one after the other. "It's mandatory; apparently I need to repent from my sins and settle down?" Aaron laughed at that. "I know right? Ridiculous. Names will be called in a week, and it should take place soon-ish, at the Palace. I think? Not sure about that one."

Aaron simply shook his head. "This is the most absurd thing I've ever heard." They finished their food in silence until their bellies were full. "Does your father know about this?"

"Of course."

"It's like he doesn't even know you."

Zach shrugged. "The Archbishop said that as long as I repent from my sins, I can do whatever I want." He fished something out of his pocket, holding it up between his fingers. "You know I never part with my SinCard."

Aaron snorted and shook his head, but he patted his pocket. "So do I," he said. "We just don't repent from the same sins." He downed the last of his wine. "Your sins are of the flesh."

"And yours of the mind, you snake." They both laughed, but it was short-lived. Aaron opened another bottle of wine, but Zach stopped him.

"Okay, you know what? Margot might be the Selection Coordinator, but I'm naming you my personal assistant on this thing."

"Me? But why?"

Because I don't want to risk losing you after your loss; I've been a shitty friend, but that's gonna change. "Because you're an excellent people reader, and you need something to change your mind, these days," he said instead.

/ / /

Later that evening, on the Report Stage.

"I pledge allegiance to the King and the Church of Illéa and to the Kingdom for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with salvation and redeeming for all."

Everyone in the theatre sat back down after being led in the pledge with the Report Host as the event was going live, like every Friday, from the Royal Theatre located three-quarters up the Royal Tower.

David Alderidge took the stage, dressed in his usual black and white tuxedo with a little red rose on his lapel. His dark brown hair was neatly combed and his four-day stubble was precisely shaved.

"Good evening Illéa," he said through his mic pinned on his chest somewhere. "It is an honor to be with you all tonight. But before we start, Archbishop, will you guide us and bless us in prayer?"

Abraham Solace stood from his luxurious chair right next to the king himself and joined David in the middle of the grand stage. "Of course. Please bow your heads with me." The Man of God, dressed in his traditional Ceremonial dress, raised his arms to the heavens and prayed loud and clear for everyone to hear. "Oh, God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac; may you guide and bless your children all over Illéa, and may you, in your glorious justice, punish those who turn away from you. Amen."

"Amen," answered the whole audience made essentially of Ones, Twos, and some rich Threes and Fours who lived in the tower. The Church Man went back to his seat, his head high and his back straight. He loved the spotlight, be it in the Church or on the Report.

"Tonight, Ladies and Gentlemen," David Aldridge, the Report Host, said in his soothing baritone voice, "the Royal family has a very important announcement to make." He turned around to invite the king over, but it was actually Prince Zachariah who got up and joined him on the plush seats that had been brought in while the camera was filming the royals. "Your Royal Highness," David said. "I hope you are doing well today."

"Yes, thank you," Zach said. The spotlight didn't bother him in the slightest. "And you, David?"

The host nodded once. "I heard you had an announcement to do?" he asked, even though he knew exactly what it was already, of course.

"I won't beat around the bush," Zach said putting his left ankle on his right knee and slouching in the armchair without a care in the world. "Next week, I'll be selecting thirty-five girls for my Selection."

"Congratulation," David said, keeping his calm, because he never showed too much excitement, on or off the stage. That's why the King liked him so much: he was dependable and reliable, trustworthy in his demeanor. The whole country liked him, to be honest, and he had very few enemies. "Any particular requirement for the Selection?"

"None, apart from being in the right age range, because the King made it mandatory." He looked for the camera with a little green light, the one currently filming him, and he said: "So as long as you're engaged or married, you're good." He winked at the camera and turned back to face the host. He hoped that as many people out there would get engaged or elope because he also knew that most everyone out there hated him, and he was actually giving them a way out of this. Lord knew it was going to be a Holy mess, and everyone was going to hell after it.

"I see," David said. "Well then, we will see next week who the lucky thirty-five girls are selected." He shifted his position again to ask his next question. He asked when and where it was going to take place, and if he was looking for something in particular in a future wife and queen.

"Honestly," Zach said, "as long as she's good in bed, I don't really care." He knew his answer would piss off the right people, and since this was going live for everyone to see and hear, he grinned to himself, knowing that they could not erase that. "Oh, and a devout and pious woman, as well," he added sarcastically. With that, he stood, saluted the audience, and walked away, not caring that they were all still in shock at the announcement and at his scandalous statement.

David was left alone to end and close the Report and then the cameras turned off, the curtains closed and everyone went back to their homes to discuss what had just happened.

Hi! wouhou chapter 2! sorry it took so long! these past couple of months were hard and I have less and less time for myself, and when I do, I have to chose between chores, tv shows, reading, writing, or some other things... so yeah...

anyway! thank you for reading and for sending me your OCs! if possible, please send the ones that still need to be sent by the end of the month ;) I would like to introduce them in the next chapter (whenever that's gonna be lol^^').

I promise that the ones that I received but have not yet put up on the website will get there in due time. As I said, I don't have a lot of me-time these days, so it's taking more time than I anticipated.

See you next time! (and if you want to meet Aaron and David, check the Pinterest board and/or the website) ;)