A/N: MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU ALL!
Keeping this upper a/n short since we've got a really long chapter ahead of us so let's get down to business, and no it's not to defeat the huns.
Thank you so much to the following for reviewing the last chapter : New Prussia, CoolFortheSummer, The Lady Cloudy, wolfofstark, Cookiedoodles168, GreenWithAwesome , alexiaroosenhaan, Headless Gummy Bear, Guest (Sky), thedaffodilqueen, Hikaru Leach, Scarlett Brinnley Brookson, and wazowskis!
My apologies for the slightly delayed update! I kinda spent some of my writing time devoted to reading The Crown and watching GoT! And uh reading some really good *cough* GoT fanfics *cough*. My Apologies again. (also, another set of apologies if you get multiple emails of me updating this Chapter)
Enjoy the chapter, it's the longest yet~ :D
Shaelyn Amory Creed, 18, Atlin, Caste 2, Fashion Designer
Today was one of the craziest days she's ever experienced.
First, she had finally sketched out the closing dress for her Fall/Winter collection for her design line. (Well, 10 gowns down, 4 more gowns to work on)
Second, some wonderfully crazy two had purchased ten different gowns from her spring/summer collection (what she'd do with the gowns remained to be seen).
Third, one of her gowns from the Spring/Summer of the year had received a lot of praise- it did help that the starlet who wore it to one of those super snooty award shows was the current darling of the media.
Shaelyn was too excited when she saw a fashion critic show had featured the actress - Chanel Heralds- whose stylist had asked to borrow one particular lilac dress for the actress just the other day. Shae was literally jumping with glee when the critics praised the actress for her choice of dress, even one of them mentioning that they had seen HER Spring/Summer show and adored the collection. She couldn't have felt any happier.
Recovering from her shock from the praise of the fashion critics, she had to go back to her work bench as she continued trying to embroider one of the many details she planned to place on an ombre pink to wine dress. It was actually getting late back in her studio and only two seamstresses she had hired was there finishing on one dress together. Somewhere in the background, there was the noise of the tv rambling on. What was it? Friday?
"Miss Shaelyn, do you think we could watch the Report tonight?" one of her seamstresses had asked. She was one of the newer ones she had hired- still really young- around 16, and probably one of the hopefuls who dreamed of getting Selected, even the seamstress beside her looked excited.
Shae had looked up from her dress and smiled, "Of course, Winnie.", Shae then had gotten the remote and changed the channel as the host was already reading up the names- thankfully she was currently interviewing the Queen. Shae's jaw dropped when she saw not only the Queen but the Princess were in her gowns. The Queen and the Princess were wearing HER gowns. THE QUEEN AND THE PRINCESS WERE WEARING HER GOWNS.
Shae knew that the Queen and her wife liked her designs- even asking her to work on custom gowns for them to wear for special events for the past year. She was more than happy to oblige- being able to visit the palace and speak to each woman, amazed at how nice both of them were to her.
Queen Hanna Beth preferred to wear dark, striking, and simple kinds of dresses- usually in black and navy blue and her dress during the Report was no different. Princess Elsa, on the other hand, loved to wear light sparkly and flowy kinds of dresses. The dresses she wore did reflect the Princess' easy-going nature. Elsa was always the more talkative one with Shaelyn, often calling up Shae when she needed a new dress design - or asking Shae what she thought would look well with one specific dress or another. Shae thought that Elsa was like a good acquaintance to her.
The host, Sophronisca Prada, then turned to speak with the Prince, hearing a sigh from both of her seamstresses. The Prince was attractive, even Shae could see that. On the occassions she had seen him in person (usually because of a function her father had brought her to or when Elsa had invited her for a fitting and tea), she'd usually see him standing behind pillars trying to avoid large crowds or people trying to get on his good side.
"Isn't he dreamy?" Winnie asked, as the seamstress working beside her, Jojo, gave a nod, a slight blush on her. "Can you just imagine getting Selected?" Winnie added.
"It would do so much for me and my family. Even if I do get sent home right away, I could be able to study to be a designer-Ow!" Jojo wistfully spoke until she accidentally pricked herself with the needle she was working with. Jojo then stuck her finger in her mouth to dull the pain. "Miss Shaelyn, did you apply for the Selection?" she said as she nursed her pricked finger.
She did apply, just one of those spur of the moment things on one of her less inspired days. She's been working on her Fall/Winter collection for the past three months, and she's never felt any more tired. Shae was no stranger to hard work, but in all honesty, she needed a break. Maybe the Selection could be the long-awaited break she needed.
"Miss Julchen Maria Ackerman, Angeles, A Two." Sophronisca spoke as a picture of one of the most unusual looking girls Shae has ever seen had appeared on the screen. Shae took a mental note in to ask if the girl modeled since her look was unusually pretty.
"She looks a bit frightening." Jojo said as she was back to work on the dress she was embroidering.
"Well, she actually looks like some of the models that we hired in the last collection." Winnie spoke up, looking up at the screen when she realized that their province was next. Shae just shook her head jokingly and focused back on embroidering the dress, forgetting that Atlin was the next province to be announced.
"From Atlin, Miss Shaelyn Amory Creed, a Two." Did she just say Shaelyn? Amory? CREED? Shaelyn had looked up, stabbing herself with the needle she was working with. "Ow!" Jojo and Winnie screamed and ran to her when Shae's name was announced and her picture flashed on the screen on the TV. "Don't forget us when you're in the Palace Miss Shaelyn!" Jojo shrieked as they both gave her a hug. A knock on the door and the loud ring of her cellphone- names flashing on the screen- several people calling her at the same time, and texts popping up every second or so, not to mention her studio's landline ringing along with the noise.
Shae decided to pick up the landline, and let her cellphone ring. Anyway, she could just call people back once she's seen the missed calls. "Hello, Is this Lady Shaelyn Creed? My name is Zayn, and I'm from the palace." Oh boy, this day was definitely the craziest.
Percival Finnley Lombard
Percy took an audible gulp as Sophronisca continued reading the names of the Selected.
"For Baffin, Miss Katerina Mae Theodopolis, A Three!" The picture of the girl did not seem so striking, her wheat-colored hair tied in a low pony tail while her dull grey eyes were covered by a pair of glasses.
"From Bankston, Miss Francesca Jane Kelsey, A Two." Sophronisca practically sang out as she announced the name. Francesca's picture popped up on the small screen, Percy's eyebrows raised slightly. Francesca had caramel blonde hair, pulled into a messy bun, and greyish-blue eyes. However her beauty was slightly distorted by the dark circles under her eyes and the tired look she possessed.
"Next, from Belcourt, Miss Aliah Jay Michone, A Two." The audience gave another gasp (what's new?) when the name was announced. There a picture of a girl with dark skin and white patches appeared, she was gorgeous with an edge with her hair in a dark maroon color. Percy thought he heard that name before, on the tv or on the radio but he wasn't exactly sure why.
"From Bonita, Miss Stephanie Reine Romilly, A Seven." Percy heard another audible gasp from the crowd, probably due to the case of the girl. Couldn't the crowd stop gasping at every girl announced? The girl in the picture didn't even look like a Seven. Her blonde hair was in a simple French braid, and Percy could tell that she was tiny, as she looked like she was standing on a box to reach the camera's height. Her smile was cheerful with a small glint in her brown eyes.
"And from Calgary, we have Miss Sofia Maria Moretti, a Four." Percy nodded along as the picture flashed on screen. Sofia's wavy dark hair and eyes complimented her creamy skin tone. Percy noted the agreeable smile she had resembled Zam's in a way, with the small crinkle in her eyes and the wideness it had.
"From Carolina, Miss Matisse Grace Aguilar, another Four." Matisse was notably very pretty, her brown hair looked reddish and her hooked nose seemed to complement her oblong face.
"Clermont is represented by Miss Celeste May, A Three" The picture flashed and a girl with definite New Asian roots appeared with her small almond eyes and long black hair. Percy's face started to ache as he tried to maintain an interested smile.
"From Columbia, Miss Jasmine Willow Yang, another Three." Another New Asian girl appeared on the screen, though in her picture she looked willowy and easy to break.
"From Dakota, we have Miss Emma Castwell, A Six." Percy's eyebrows raised again as her picture appeared on the screen, another girl with New Asian roots appeared for the third time in a row, though she looked slightly different with her eyes being green.
"Representing Denbeigh is Miss Rylise Meredith Hopkins, A Five" Rylise's picture appeared on screen and Percy gave a soft smile. Rylise was one of the prettiest girls he's seen so far, not to say the rest weren't but Rylise did possess a smile that drew him to her. He noted her blonde hair in a messy bun and the pink lipstick she wore, and made a mental note to read her file ahead of some of the others.
"From Dominica, Let's congratulate Miss Isla Caballero, A Four." Sophronisca's voice began to sound monotonous as she read the 14th? 15th? name on the Selected List. Isla 's hair was in loose waves in her picture, and her smile just exuded a vibrant spirit.
"Onto Fennley, Miss Elizabeth Annika Woodson, A Three!" Tired blue eyes stared back at Percy. The girl in the picture- Elizabeth- had long blonde hair that hung down like a curtain, and her tired expression made Percy wonder what kind of job would she have if she looked this tired and was a Three? Another mental note was made by Percy, to also make checking Elizabeth's profile a priority.
"From Hansport, Miss Hillary Jewel Tulips, A Six" The girl appeared on screen looked too washed out- with her overly pale skin, shocking platinum blonde hair, and pale blue eyes. Percy wondered if she melted if she was exposed in the sun, for she looked like an ice sculpture brought to life.
"Miss Yasmeen Darise Maroun of Honduragua, A Four" Yasmeen's picture contrasted Hillary's a lot, despite the two having similar features. Yasmeen's hair was blonde, but looked like the sun had lightened it. Her skin was sun kissed, making her blue? Green? Blue-Green eyes pop out. "She's quite pretty." He heard Elsa whisper to him. Percy simply nodded in reply.
"From Hundson, Miss Tallulah Taylor Trump, A Two" Percy tried not to roll his eyes at the sound of Tallulah's name. How could Percy possibly describe Miss Trump? They say she's done Hair commercials in Spain. One time, Percy met her in a charity gala and she told him he was "hot" and would "definitely want to bang him.". Overall, the strawberry blonde girl was the epitome of annoying to him. Hanna Beth leaned to Percy whispering "I want that girl gone, immediately." . He simply smiled at the thought of getting rid of her.
"Miss Lysette Jan Antigua of Kent, A Two." If Percy could recall, he believed that Lysette was a famous Beauty Queen in Illea, coming from a win from Miss Earth. Her picture definitely could support his theory. She looked like one with her wide smile and her hand on a hip pose (he could even tell she was posing that way by the posture she had on the picture).
"For Labrador, we have Miss Ella Blaire Dehmle, A Four." The girl in the picture was quite pretty, most especially her blue eyes which were matched by wavy chestnut brown hair and pale skin. However, Percy thought that Ella looked a little bit on the overly thin side. "She's a little too thin, don't you think?" Elsa had whispered through a smile, masking her own concern over the girl. "I'll see to ask the aids to check on her health." Percy replied as he leaned towards Elsa.
"Lakedon is represented by Miss Jolie Lourd Fisher, A Seven." Percy wasn't impressed by Jolie's looks. She had shoulder length red hair that couldn't be naturally that color, the blonde roots peeking already, her nose looked crooked as if it's been broken several times before., and she looked like one of her teeth was knocked out of her mouth.
"Next, we have Miss Hayley Mei Vaughan of Likely,A Three." Hayley's extremely long brown hair was tied into a ponytail, her smile was bright. She looked a little tired, however her effervescent smile did draw more attention. Percy simply gave a tiny smile.
"Coming from Midston, Miss Davina LaRue, A Five." Davina was yet another brunette, her brown eyes possessed a mix of strength and dreaminess, as if she were determined to look for something that wasn't there before.
Sophronisca had to take a breath and take a sip of water as she continued reading out the names. Percy had to sympathize with her, she was reading a pretty lengthy list.
"Miss Billy Sarah Driver of Ottaro, A Six" Percy thought she had a forgettable face, nothing that stood out from the pool of brunettes already announced.
"Miss Isadora Fanchon LaRoux of Paloma, A Seven." Percy's eyes were immediately drawn to her hair. Apart from the other girls, Isadora wore purple flowers in her hair. Zam wore flowers in her hair too, he thought. He had to shake his head a little as he scolded himself for thinking of her again. Before he knew it, Isadora's picture had faded from the screen as Sophronisca had announced the next girl.
"Miss Daniella Fernanda Cortéz of Panama, A Three" Daniella had a dreamy look about her, and like most people from her province, she had tanned skin. Percy definitely felt something draw him to her, but he wasn't exactly sure why. "Very pretty." Elsa had spoken as she nodded in approval.
"Miss Honey Vera Bouvier of Sonage, A Two" Honey definitely lived up to her namesake, her hair was honey blonde but she remained to fade into the background besides the other girls.
"From Sota, Miss Willow Susan Jones, A Two"
"From St. George, Miss Kaya Rose Seabrooks, a Five." Percy found Kaya's hair the prettiest aspect of her, it was a beautiful shade of red, much prettier than what's her name... Jolie?
"Onwards to Sumner, Miss Esther Marcia Jameniez, A Three" Percy didn't really see anything that caught his attention about Esther- other than her use of red lipstick.
"Miss Thema Kaur of Tammins, A Two." Thema definitely had an interesting appearance. Her dark skin was contrasted by her green eyes, steely with a look of determination. She had the shortest hair among the Selected, and that, together with her crooked nose, Percy could bet one of his crowns that the girl was an athlete.
"Miss Gemma Dreama Germain of Waverly, A Two." Percy smiled at the picture of the Gemma. Nobody really knew that one of his guilty pleasures was watching different reality TV Shows, and Gemma was one of stars of Dance Stars (Hanna Beth's favorite show), a tv show that featured students of a crazy dance teacher and her even more crazily talented students. Gemma was easily recognizable since she was one of the stars of the show, however it was odd to see the blonde smile since her character in the show was like the ice queen among the students.
"From Whites, we have Miss Delilah Kings, a Five." Delilah had peculiar blue eyes, standing out from the others due to them looking purple before Percy squinted a little bit to realize they were blue.
"From Yukon, Miss Daisy Garnet Thatcher, A Seven." Sophronisca's voice had slightly cracked as she announced Daisy's name.
"Finally, from Zuni, let's congratulate Miss Gwendolyn Mae Bailey, a Four!" Gwendolyn was another red head, but her hair was possibly the deepest red among the Selected. Percy couldn't really tell how long it was since her hair was pulled back in a french braid. Her eyes were another pair which he had to squint to determine the color, they looked hazel but not quite, and they had little wrinkles around it from the way she was smiling. Percy thought she had the prettiest smile, dazzling really.
"Let's have another round of applause for our chosen Daughters of Illea!" Sophronisca announced as she finally moved from her spot on the podium towards the center of the set.
"We'll have many opportunities to broadcast to you content about everything and anything to do with the Selection, so stay tuned for updates in the official Royal Family social media accounts! For those of you who don't know, Our Selection also has different social media accounts, and you can see exclusive content brought to you from the palace by following ' ThePercelection' you heard it right! Follow ' ThePercelection' on Barker to see exclusive content for this Selection!" Sophronisca wrapped up, doing some shameless social media plugging for the Selection.
In all honesty, Percy was not surprised with the username given to his Selection, for there was only one person her knew who was capable of making a pun that horrible, and that was Patrick Mcfreakin Mcdonough. Hanna Beth, on the other hand, gave another boisterous laugh before covering her mouth and suppressing her laughter at the ridiculous username. "Did you know about that?" Percy whispered to her.
"Yes, Patrick and Quincy made it up. It's genius and I quite like it, Percival." she spoke through giggles.
"That's about it for this week Illea, and make sure to catch the Pre-Selection special airing next week. We're going to give all of you sneak peeks of our Selected! Good Night Illea, and long live the Queen!"
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I don't have much to say for this A/N other than... OMG I NEED SOMEONE TO TALK ABOUT THE CROWN WITH aaaaand that we'll be seeing how some of the other characters had reacted to being Selected and some meeting their aids and them getting interviewed Pre-Selection wise.
Aight, that's it guys. Next update would probably be on Saturday or Sunday~
~*Sparky out*~
