Disclaimer: I don't own the Selection series, all rights go to Kiera Cass.
CHAPTER I: TWO BROTHERS
Prince Royce
He heard his footsteps before he noticed him. When you grew up with someone you could easily recognize them even from the sound of their steps – especially if it was your sometimes rather annoying little brother.
"Roy! ROY!" He turned sharply in the direction of his quickly approaching brother, Justin. He was met by his brother's light eyes which shone brightly the moment he laid eyes on him. Oh, no, the look on his brother's face meant trouble. He was patiently standing in the middle of the corridor while Justin closed the space between them. A young maid threw them a fleeting look, but she quickly looked away, realizing that she shouldn't even be noticed, and she most certainly shouldn't be prying on the conversation of the two princes.
"Yes, Justin," he started calmly knowing that the best way to calm his brother down was not to notice his obvious enthusiasm, "what can I do for you today, brother?" His words were calm and soothing, and slow, really slow which made Justin impatient, he hardly let him finish the sentence.
"Dad wants me to marry a princess!" he exclaimed quite loudly. Roy turned towards the direction in which he last saw the blonde maid, but he was happy to notice that the corridor was empty except for them, she has obviously already left. He grabbed his brother's hand, and started pulling him in the direction of his bedroom. As much as he loved his brother, Justin didn't know what the word discretion meant which was not beneficial for a prince who was born to a palace full of servants.
"Hey, Roy, I'm not two, I'm capable of walking on my own," he complained, but Roy didn't loosen his grip on his brother's arm. If Justin wanted to fight his grip, he could have easily done, but while he was irritated, he wasn't exactly mad about being pulled around.
"In," he ordered the moment they arrived in his door. Justin grimaced and he raised his eyebrows, but he went in anyway. With a sigh Royce followed him and he was happy to notice that no maid was busy cleaning his bedroom. He made sure to lock the door and then he gestured towards the sofa in the back of the room. Not that Justin needed it; he jumped on the bed instead, which made Roy incredibly mad.
"JUSTIN!" he roared. Was his brother really seventeen? He surely behaved like a five-year-old ninety percent of the time.
"Chill out bro, I'm desperate and upset, I need some consolation and your bed seems to help my obvious distress," he said theatrically. Royce didn't notice Justin's obvious distress, but he just nodded along not really caring about his brother's words. Justin has already ruined his bed, he would have to ask one of the maids to adjust the cover again once his brother left, and so he let him stay where he was. Royce picked up a chair and put it right next to the bed. He sat down and looked at his brother with crossed arms.
"What happened?" he asked in an exhausted tone already knowing that his brother will exhaust and wore him out completely. He watched as Justin leaned back on his bed ruining the bedcover even more and he threw his shoes away. He missed a lamp by an inch.
"I am seventeen years old," Justin stated and Royce looked at his little brother checking that he didn't have a big bump on his head – he must have hit it to say something so stupid. He obviously knew how old Justin was after all.
"Thanks, mate, I never knew," he answered his brother who shot him an irritated look.
"I was just about to continue and you have ruined the serious mood," his brother told him while sitting up. He crossed his arms as well and turned entirely in Royce's direction.
"Then continue, please." He didn't have time for Justin just now. He was just told a day ago that thirty-five girls were to invade his personal space in a few weeks. If he was to seek out his perfect future wife he needed to have the work done and that meant working extra hard until the Selected arrived. Not that Justin could understand that, he was just the spare to the heir with close to no work at all, but the same luxury he had.
"I'm to marry an heir," he stated slowly emphasizing every word. Royce stilled not knowing where this conversation was going. He always assumed that Justin would have at least a chance to fall in love on his own, marry a girl in good station, but a simple girl anyway. He thought that he would become an ambassador, maybe his wife would be even a foreigner, but somehow he didn't consider Justin marrying a princess. It crossed his mind once or twice, but as his father's brother died before he could have inherited there never was an example to follow, there was always just one prince.
"And be a prince consort?" Royce asked curiously. So, not only the princesses of Illéa were shipped off to other countries, but the younger princes as well. It seemed such a strange idea – his little brother in an entirely different country walking five steps behind a girl. He watched as Justin nodded not exactly enthusiastically.
"Yeah, but I don't even have many choices – you can imagine that there aren't many countries where a girl can be the heir apparent or where there is no prince to inherit," he said sadly and for the first time that day Royce felt sorry for his brother. He always thought that he had it bad with the whole Selection fiasco, but at least he would have thirty-five girls to choose from. Justin had like two or three, he wasn't even sure though he had to memorize the family tree and the order of inheritance of every monarchy.
"Well, there is always Ally," he said jokingly, which just showed how sorry he felt for Justin – Royce joked quite rarely. Justin grimaced and pretended to puke at the idea of marrying Antonella, which was of course what his brother wanted. While there was a time when marrying one's first cousin was considered normal, things have changed. Also, Ally was more like a sister to them than a cousin.
"Way to make me feel better, brother." Royce just shrugged and he leaned closer to Justin.
"Isn't the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire a real beauty?" he asked remembering seeing the princess once. She was around Justin's age with blonde-brown hair and mesmerizing blue eyes. He tried to remember her name, but she knew that there were two of them, twins if he remembered well. Was the older named Kinga or Regina? He wasn't sure. One of them, he supposed.
"Pretty much my only choice, isn't it?" Justin let out a dry laugh which was not like him. He was always laughing carelessly like nothing could bother him and in a way it was like that – he was a One with pretty much everything and everyone before his feet. "If I don't want to marry my own cousin, first cousin to be precise, Aunt Kat's daughter..."
"Jus..." he started, but he was stopped by his brother raising his hand.
"Stop, Roy, don't try to make me feel better, because this is a shitty situation. They are arriving tomorrow by the way," he stated and Royce stilled. He slowly leaned back and looked in the eyes of his brother. The same eyes which have stared at him for the last seventeen years but at that moment seemed completely foreign to him.
"They? Who will arrive?" he questioned softly, but with authority in his voice. He hardly ever talked in that way to Justin, who was only a step behind him in position and who as long as he didn't have a son was his heir.
"Oh, I haven't mentioned that part yet? I was sure that I haven't left out the best part," he said mockingly, obviously trying to get on his brother's nerves, and as always he was succeeding.
"What the hell are you talking about Justin?" he raised his voice which rarely happened. Their father often thought that it was the way to go, so Roy always tried to keep it down. However, his little brother was someone especially annoying. Justin flinched obviously not expecting Royce to lose his control and he must have reminded him of their father as well.
"The princesses of Austria-Hungary are staying here until I get to know the older and we are ready to marry," he stated without any emotion in his voice as if he was ready to accept his fate. The blood drained from Royce's face and he paled. So, not only were thirty-five female commoners coming to fight for his crown, two princesses were to join them as well to bond with his brother. Wait, why two princesses?
"Why would both come? You can only marry one and you will obviously have to marry the older princess, the one to inherit. Why would her sister come?" he asked in confusion. One princess was bad, two was even worse. Then add thirty-five other girls and the situation was so bad it could be hardly described. He watched as Justin shrugged lazily and tried to guess what was on his brother's mind, what was he thinking. It has hardly happened before, because Justin was the type to simply say what he wanted even when no one was interested in his opinion.
"Something about being twins and liking to do everything together. I don't know and to be honest I don't even care, not at all. I will just marry that chick and Father can be happy. Just as you will find a Two with some political importance, great beauty and closed mouth, you will just marry that chick and Father can be happy," he said simply like he was talking about the weather. Yeah, how foggy it was outside... He leaned back and started ruffling Royce's pillow and then he became more and more violent. He hit the pillow again and again, but Royce didn't even say a word. He got up from the chair and sat down on the side of his bed. He watched as streaks of tears ran down on his younger brother's face. He reached out once, but as he was nearly hit by Justin he drew back his hand.
"Why?" Justin asked when he finished hitting the pillow. He fell back in exhaustion. Royce with great care took off his shoes and after putting them next to each other on the floor he laid down on the king-sized bed as well.
"Because you are an Illéa, you are a prince," he answered softly. It might not have been the best answer, but it was the truth. Maybe it was unfair that Justin was forced to marry a girl their parents have chosen for him, but he could have had worse than Princess Kinga/Regina (he should look the names up before they arrived, he noted).
"You could choose two girls from the Selected and give one to me," he said with a forced grin and Royce hit him on the head. He received a "Hey!" as an answer to the assault.
"They are girls, not some playthings, Justin," he reminded his brother. Not that he needed it, but if he was to marry a girl in the near future he should start to grow up and behave like an adult, which he rarely did. Plus, while the princess had no choice either than marry Justin if the two pair of monarchs have decided it, but he could at least try to impress the girl.
"Why now? I'm only seventeen and the princess can't be much older than that either." It seemed pretty logical to Royce, but he was ready to point it out to his brother.
"I'm nineteen," Roy answered. Justin seemed confused by that piece of information; it didn't seem like an answer to him based on his expression.
"This palace might be big, but you are a seventeen-year-old boy who will be surrounded by thirty-five girls, the same thirty-five girls who are completely off limits to you. Father wants you to pay attention to our royal guests, particularly to the older one, while I entertain our commoner guests," he explained. Justin paled and then he jumped up from the bed and started pacing. His arms were behind his back and he looked down to the floor while sometimes he ran his hand through his blonde hair.
"The Selected come to become the next Queen, I could never give them the Crown, why would they even care about me?" His voice was shaky. It was a question Roy wasn't sure how to answer. So far that was what he thought as well, but obviously their father had other ideas. Maybe not all girls who entered the Selection wished only to get their hand on his crown? It was a scary thought as he knew what to look for in a business partner, but he had no idea what to do with girls who wanted feelings as well. Slowly Royce stood up as well, standing a few steps in front of his brother.
"Maybe that's not all they want," he stated quietly, not entirely believing it himself. Who would look for love in a palace? As far as he knew this place never knew that feeling.
"Then is falling for me such a bad thing?" Justin asked with wide eyes. He stopped pacing all together. Royce stilled, this conversation wasn't turning out as he wanted.
"These girls come for me, not you," he emphasized and Justin let out a dry chuckle.
"Yes, and Princess Regina comes for me. You can have her if you want." Ah, so Regina was the Crown Princess, at least now he didn't need to look that up. Not like that was the most important information in his brother's sentence.
"You do your duty and I do mine. You marry Princess Regina and I marry the best of the Selected girls, it's easy like that." He took a step closer to his brother and looked in his eyes hoping to see if his brother accepted what he has just said. Justin tilted his head and a small smile was playing on his lips.
"Is it?" he challenged him, though Royce wasn't sure what they were even talking about anymore - Justin was confusing like that.
"Why are the princesses coming here and not you going there? If you marry you will live there so why not check out Austria-Hungary?" he asked curiously. It made no sense to him. His father obviously asked the princesses to come to make sure that Justin was kept in line and wasn't found with one of the Selected, so why not just send him off until the competition was over?
"I thought you are the one with all the answers, dear older brother, the Big Heir," Justin mocked him, but it didn't bother him at all, his father's plan on the other hand did.
"Don't you have something better to do than wasting my time? Like getting ready to meet your future wife?" Justin just shrugged easily and shot him an amused look.
"And shouldn't you be getting ready to meet your future wife?" he asked him with a satisfied grin. The boy who has nearly torn a pillow which is now tear-drenched was nowhere; instead his little brother was in front of him. The same little brother who was careless, easy-going and relaxed – it was strange how easily he changed his mood. So moody...
"Oh, that's what I was doing exactly until you distracted me and you ruined my pillow," he said easily and he picked up the mentioned item and then with some force he threw it at his brother, who at the last moment stepped aside, so the pillow fell on the floor without making any noise.
"Just remember, maybe the Selected are off limits to me, but the same goes for you big brother. Both of the princesses are out of reach for you," Justin said while raising his eyebrows and with a small smile on the edge of his mouth.
"The younger one is off limits for you as well," Roy pointed out the obvious mistake his brother has made. Not that he cared – thirty-five girls were to come and pretty much worship him, girls who didn't have much and needed him to achieve their goals, why would he care about princesses who had everything? They wouldn't care about him either.
"Princess Kinga was pretty taken by you when you two met," his brother teased him. He knew that Justin was lying, he hardly remembered the younger girl, and he hardly spent any time with her. Hell, he couldn't even remember her name; he only knew who his brother was talking about because Justin obviously did know which twin was which. Plus, even without remembering their names he knew that the older girl was more beautiful – why would he care about the younger, then?
"I do hope Princess Regina was quite taken by you, little brother or you will have some pretty bad years in front of you as her husband." He knew that it was a low blow and he very nearly regretted it and asked for forgiveness when his brother stilled, but as he looked at him with anger in his light eyes, Roy himself became angrier. Justin was playing just as dirtily as he did – why would he say sorry? No, he didn't feel sorry at all.
"The game is on, you know, Roy. The question is who will win?" he asked with a wicked grin.
"And what does the winner get?" he questioned his brother once again not completely understanding where Justin was going with their conversation.
"Wrong question brother, what you should have asked is, what will the loser get?" Without another word Justin left the room closing the door behind him silently. Roy wasn't sure what the answer was to Justin's question, but he had a feeling he wouldn't like it.
Author's note:
I hope you liked this chapter. From now on I will update a lot more frequently as I have received a lot of girls, so I will be able to get to their parts. Sorry for those who hoped to see their characters already, but you will have to wait a bit longer for that. In the next chapter I think we will meet the princesses. I hope you don't mind them, but I wanted some subplots and with Justin (a canon character) living in the castle at the same time as his brother is having a Selection it seemed like a good idea. I hope you liked the insight on the personality of the two characters. I think most chapters will be around the length of this chapter (so, 3k maybe 4), though if I will be working with more girls than it might be a bit longer than that.
After hearing some opinions I decided that I will write from the point of view of the Selected as well (though in third person the same way as with Prince Royce), but I will state now that some girls might be bigger point of view characters than others - simply, because it might be easily to write in her point of view. Also, I think I won't wait until 35 girls, mainly because a lot of them would be thrown out of the competition in the beginning and I don't want to dissapoint anyone, so the 'throw-aways' may be my own characters, who will be pretty much no more than a name and a number.
I'm interested in your opinion on both the chapter and what you would like to see. Should I write a chapter in one character's point of view? Should I change point of view more times in a chapter? Should I select 5 to 10 girls as point of view characters? I would be happy to receive many opinions - here in review or in PM as well. :3
Question of the chapter: Who do you like more, Royce or Justin?
Olivia :)