Disclaimer: I don't own the Selection series, all rights go to Kiera Cass.

CHAPTER IV: Two surprises

Summer Lee Brooks, Five, Zuni

"And... it's done," she stated with a huge grin. "You can open your eyes now, sis," she stated and Everly did what she asked. Summer moved away from the chair knowing her sister too well, she would never stay seated a second longer than needed – no, she couldn't stay still, period. Everly jumped up and she hugged her with such a quick movement that it was surprising Summer didn't lose her balance. "You are beautiful."

"You just complemented yourself, it's all your work after all," her sister pointed out with a smile after she let go of Summer. The older girl opened her mouth to respond, but maybe her younger sister was the only in the World who could talk even more than her, she didn't even let anyone breath, let alone talk. "Though, just between the two of us, you really are great. It's a bit unfair if you think about it, I mean, I can sing, but so can you, and you are good in bunch of other stuff as well. I'm sure that you make the most beautiful braids in whole Zuni, no, wait, in the entire country!" Everly started spinning around their bedroom with outstretched arms, while Summer was trying to guess what that had to do with her work as a hairdresser (or hair artist, really).

Everly let out a chuckle, and Summer's smile widened. She started mimicking her sister, and she closed her eyes. The world was spinning, but she felt in control. She opened her eyes when she felt her sister grabbing her hand. Everly looked at her with a smile that suggested mischief.

"I have something for you," she started casually, but her tone didn't fool Summer, she knew her too well – something was up, something big. "But I will only give it to you, if you come with me for my next performance. It's kind of stupid really, because you can't do anything, but to come, because Mom was asked personally to go to a place at the same time, but I know that you wouldn't want, because he might be there..."

"You know I can't and I know that you simply never go to the Taylor's, so why is it different now? I mean, if you can say no to them, then you can say the same to others if this is about that party at the Miller's," Summer responded stopping her sister, knowing that her sister could ramble on and on. In any other situation she would have left her sister to do exactly that, but not when it came to him. She automatically raised her right hand and touched the sunflower pedant on her throat. Lucas...

"He is the son of the freaking governor, Sum, he knows pretty much all our clients, mine and yours as well and if he is anything pre-Summer than he attends all parties. You will meet him one time or another sooner and later, and it would help you get over him, or maybe you could just talk to him, tell him why you have broken up with him, anything would be better than taking a look at the magazines at every newspaper stand." Everly was someone very dramatic, so Summer just watched her overenthusiastic gestures while speaking, hardly understanding what her sister has said. Her mind was on the boy she wanted to forget so much, but she couldn't.

Just as she was ready to answer, to tell her sister that she would get over him in the foreseeable future and she would once again become the Sunny Summer her sister wanted, their door opened and their little sister, the baby of the family, Amber was standing in the door frame with a big smile on her face and a letter high in her right hand.

Everly's eyes widened at the sight, which Summer automatically found strange, because this was quite a frequent situation. As the youngest Amber has been always doted on and some rules didn't quite seem to apply to her – like the need for knocking. The oldest herself couldn't quite ever be angry with her little sister who with one look melted her heart.

"Summie! Mom told me to give this to you; she said that you have been waiting for it!" Amber said enthusiastically, but before she could give it to Summer Everly reached out for it.

"Amber, that was my way for Summer to agree," Everly stated when Amber's grip tightened on the envelope and she refused to give it to the middle sister.

"Mom told me to only give it to Summer." Summer herself reached out for it and wasn't surprised to see the crest of Illéa on the front. She really has been waiting for it ever since it was announced that Prince Royce was having a Selection and that she fit in the range of age restrictions.

"Will you be the next princess, Summer?" Amber looked at her with hopeful eyes. Both of her sister were quite like her, both were girly girls and Amber was still at the age where she wanted to be a princess. (Okay, that might not have much to do with an actual age, because Summer had to admit, she still liked the idea of being one.)

She shared a look with Everly. "You know, sweetie, I first have to be Selected. But don't worry; I will try to be the next princess if that would make you happy," Summer told her baby sister who nodded happily. Everly crossed her arms and pretended to be angered – probably simply because for one second she was being ignored, that was like the end of the world for her.

Amber urged Summer to open the envelope, and Summer did exactly that with pounding heart. It wasn't exactly a glorious moment or something and the form itself wasn't anything special, but it was a mean for something unique – a chance to be that princess she wanted to be just like her baby sister and meeting Prince Royce, maybe falling in love with him did sound extremely romantic to her. Who better to make her forget the heartbreak she has live through than real-life Prince Charming himself?

"Will you continue to ignore me?" Summer rolled her eyes good naturedly, but she got quite frustrated with her sister. Amber didn't know about anything and while she loved her little sister, she wanted it to stay that way – she couldn't quite imagine what would happen if her mother, ever the social ladder climber, would hear about her history with the Lucas Taylor. Plus, Amber was young to hear about disastrous love stories, let's just give her some more time to believe in fairytales.

"You know that I have a client to attend to," Summer stated once she checked the clock in the room. She stuffed the letter in her pocket and looked at her sisters. She hugged both of them quickly and she ignored Everly's complaining of 'ignoring her'.

"It was enough Lucas-talk for one day," she murmured to Everly as she left the room after picking up the staff she needed to take with her. She turned back to just once again check her sister's hair on which she was practicing her client's future hair creation. Perfect. Yes, everything was perfect, she told herself and smiled. She wasn't one to brood and she didn't want to start it right now. She walked the streets of city with her usual cheeriness, forgetting about the conversation she has had with Everly. She greeted everyone happily, not once stopping to make some small talk with local shopkeepers.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" she asked when she noticed an old lady with many shopping bags. The lady looked at her with calculating eyes, but she nodded. Summer picked up two of the bags, only to trip over a crack. She didn't fall, she regained her balance, but she dropped one of the bags that landed on the ground with a cracking noise. She sobered at sound and the lady started shrieking the same moment.

"You indolent girl, how dare you! Did you do that on purpose? What are you, a good-for-nothing Seven or Six?" Summer found that uncalled for, she was pretty sure that the incident had nothing to do with her caste.

"I'm really sorry ma'am, but it was just an accident, I really wanted to help you. However, I find your accusations hurting and uncalled for. If you truly want to know I'm a Five, but the only way my family has anything to do with this, is that I learned to be helpful," she stated and she didn't even wait for an answer, she simply left not caring about the shouting of the old woman. If this lady (not that she behaved lady-like) were her customer she would have put bobby pins in her hair in where they were just a bit too tight and she would have a killer headache from them all night – she would have deserved it.

Summer decided though, the moment she left the house that nothing would ruin her day, so a rude old woman was not enough to stop her from smiling (other than the mention of her ex-boyfriend, hardly anything was ever enough after all). The neighbourhood she entered was a beautiful one full of houses of Twos and rich and successful Threes. She loved exploring these streets, she appreciated the beauty of her surroundings – she was an artist after all, through and through.

She ringed the bell on the house her clients supposedly lived. She was to do the hair and the makeup of a bridal party for a wedding taking place that afternoon. She was standing patiently, but it seemed that no one was opening the door for her. When she decided that she needed to ring again the door opened, but both parties' were muted by the sight. No other than Lucas, Lucas The Ex-Boyfriend Taylor was standing in the door in a freaking suite and for a moment she thought that she was dreaming.

"Did you open the door, Lucas? I hope they came from the salon, my sister is freaking out that she won't be ready in time," a voice broke the awkward silence Summer practically hated, but it wasn't hers and certainly not Lucas's. A girl a bit older than Summer appeared in the door next to Summer, and she automatically recognized as the girl from the magazines – Lucas's fiancée. Well, her smile did disappear at that moment, the one that was frozen on her face when she noticed the boy she has dated for more than a year.

Her hand slipped into her pocket and she felt the envelope crumple in her grip. She wanted to enter the Selection before, but at that moment, she needed it.

Viktória Farkas, Six, Angeles

She picked up a paper from the table, but dropped it the moment she heard the panicking voice of her best friend. "You know that we can't move anything, and we certainly can't read the royals' documents." Rose was one to worry, not being quite as easy going as Vikki, who just shrugged with a small smile. The paper only had a few words on it, tasks Prince Royce had to finish, no state secret or something.

"Lighten up a bit, Rose," she stated and continued the dusting. She paused once again to pick up another paper and she recognized as the copy of a Selection form. She has just received one as well, once again Rose was about to open her mouth Vikki knew well, so she raised the paper and showed it to her friend, who obviously changed her mind after realizing that it certainly didn't contain anything new.

"Could you imagine being Selected? Instead of being a maid, being dressed by maids?" Rosalinde's soft spoken voice was full of hope and longing. She has never known anything different, not like Vikki who wasn't even born in Illéa. She knew that there was more to life than being a maid, but Rose didn't and for a moment she even hoped that her friend would be chosen, not caring about her own problems and reasons.

"You know that my life before Illéa wasn't like this, though I assure you I wasn't dressed by maids," she joked and even winked at her. "Though, maybe you are in the presence of the Crown Princess of Austria-Hungary and you just don't know it," she said with a solemn expression, but she herself laughed at her own joke, while Rose chuckled. Her friend sobered up sooner and she looked like she was thinking hard.

"Dyvia asked me to take over her shift, because she isn't feeling well. Would you check on His and Her Majesties' guests? I should be heading there now, but between the rest of my work and Dyvia's schedule it's just too much," she asked and Vikki automatically nodded. She had her afternoon off and the only thing she planned was visiting her brother, but she didn't say an exact time to Éliás, so it wasn't like she couldn't help out her friends.

"Of course. Do we know who they are?" she asked curiously. She was surprised that everyone seemed tight-lipped about the two girls she has caught sight of once since they have arrived a few days prior.

"If we weren't told obviously it's not important for us to know," Rose stated. While Vikki dearly loved her best friend, Rose was very proper and always did what she was told – let's just say that Vikki was different in that department. She wasn't liked to be told what she could do and what she couldn't.

"Well, how to address them then? Are they royals? Should I use the style Royal Highness?" She didn't like arguing; especially not with someone she loved so dearly as Rose, but something about the way everyone was pretending that there weren't even guests in the palace was somewhat fishy. She watched as Rose obviously hesitated, her bright blue eyes were filled with doubt.

"I-I think they might be royals, they surely have that air. Also, I've heard them speak between the two of them; they didn't speak in English, but in a language I didn't recognize, but it was familiar," she stated and the way she looked at Vikki implied that there was more to the story than she shared, but the brunette didn't want to push her friend, who seemed to have a hard time sharing even that.

"It's okay, then I will be extremely polite, but I won't try to use any styles," she stated simply with a smile, trying to calm her friend down. She didn't want to upset Rose who always tried to be a perfect labour. They hardly talked in the next few minutes and when they were ready they said their goodbyes to each other. The palace was buzzing with life just as it has ever since the Selection was announced. Vikki couldn't imagine what would be here once the girls would actually come.

She entered the room she was told to check out after knocking on the door. "Enter," the word was soft-spoken and Vikki just did what she was told. When she opened the door the two guests were sitting on the edge of the bed even though they had two adjoining rooms with separate king-sized beds. Both were brunette's like Vikki herself, but theirs were a lighter shade, and Vikki thought them to be around her own age. There was something about them that was familiar to her, but she couldn't point out what until she met the eyes of one of them. Bright blue ones.

She curtsied and turned toward the unknown girls. "Excuse me, my ladies, I was asked to check if you need anything," she stated politely hoping that she didn't make a big mistake. She needed the job, the money, so she quickly learned at the palace to behave perfectly when speaking with someone (according to the strange caste system in Illéa) better than she was.

"No, not that I can think of now, but thank you," the bright-blue eyed stated and the other nodded as well. Vikki curtsied again and left the room quietly. However, she heard something that made her stop. She heard the voices of the guests, but what made her freeze was the unmistakable sound of the language they spoke. It was her mother tongue (or literally her father tongue, because her mother was from Illéa, but this language was closest to her heart), Hungarian. Austria-Hungary wasn't a small country, nor was it without any influence, but it was far away and Hungarian was only spoken in that one country. If someone just wanted to get by learning German was a lot more logical – so, they had to be from her birthplace. Of course, Vikki's mind wondered in directions it shouldn't have. Putting two and two together wasn't that hard, especially as she has only moved to Illéa seven years ago. She knew why the girls looked familiar – she has seen them before, not in person but on pictures. Those striking blue eyes were quite common in the royal family in Austria-Hungary. Yes, these had to be the twin princesses – Crown Princess Regina and Princess Kinga.

She straightened and after looking around quickly she started walking down the corridor. Any other time if royals came to visit there would have been big reception, big words and even bigger luxury. She scolded herself, though, she probably read too much in the situation, her imagination was just too great and the every days of the place got to her. She had to admit that in a way she was looking forward for the Selection even if she didn't become a Selected, because she loved the buzz of it, all the thrill of it.

"Hey, sis, I was just looking for you," Éliás was walking down the corridor with a grin on his face. When they were in open spaces they mostly spoke English, so that was how he greeted her. If they were home she would have just run into his arms, but they both worked here, so she just continued the easy pace of walking. She gave him a quick hug even though they practically saw each other at least once a day.

"Weren't you looking for another maid, maybe? Last I heard you have already charmed practically all of them," she said with a grin and his expression matched hers.

"Well, I can't help how amazing I am," he said with an easy shrug and he took her right hand. He started pulling her and she automatically followed him. She wasn't surprised to see that he took her to his living quarters. Though he was a guard only, working for the royal family just as she was, he was now considered a Two while she was stuck as a Six, so there was a difference between their living quarters.

They sat down on the edge of his bed. She leaned against him just as she did when she was small. It was great to have him so close to her.

"Are you still going to apply for the Selection?" he asked, switching to Hungarian while there was clear disdain in his voice. Not that it was something new to Vikki; he didn't want her in the palace in the first place because of the rebels.

"You know that it would help Dad, he is worrying too much, not to mention working far more than he should. Plus, I would automatically become a Three if I was Selected, you need to see the many advantages it would come with," she stated probably for the thousandth time. She dearly loved her brother and she couldn't have asked for a better one, but he was a bit too overprotective sometimes – poor boys who ever wanted anything from her.

She let out a laugh at that thought and Éliás looked at her with a strange expression, probably surprised why she was so amused when their original conversation was serious.

"If I am Selected, imagine, you would have to warn and scare away the Crown Prince just like you did with Jax," she said with a teasing grin and she laughed with her brother, who shared her love for a good laugh.

"If you are Selected, Tori, the rebels would have a reason to hurt you. Now you are no one, but then..." he started, but she stopped him effectively.

"Hey, then I will be someone worth to be protected," she said somewhat venomously, because she didn't like how things went in Illéa. He nodded in understanding and patted her back awkwardly.

"Take care, sis, just take care," he said softly and she looked into his eyes.

"Well, you are always going to be here to protect me, won't you?" she said teasingly, but both of them knew that she meant more than a joke. He just nodded. Vikki thought of sharing her suspicions about the so called guests with her brother, but the moment was just so tender, she didn't want to ruin in. No, there would be a time for that though, she decided.

Author's note:

Yuy, I'm back! Sorry for dissapearing a bit - studying and Easter (travelling abroad) kept me from updating. The system remains the same - until they meet the Prince all Selected will have a POV (except for the throw aways that were created for the purpose of not being on screen). So, if your character(s) hasn't/haven't had a point of view so far, don't worry. I simply want to give the girls fitting parts. For example the flight attendant will have a POV of the travelling, while Vikki who is already in the palace obviously had to have one sooner. If you can, please read and review even if your character doesn't appear in the chapter, because I haven't done anything similar yet (my main fandom is Harry Potter), so I would like to improve and you to be happy as well, and because getting some reaction is quite encouraging :3

Question of the chapter: What do you think about Summer and Vikki? What do you think of their 'surprises'? Who would Royce like? :D

Olivia :)