Thankyou all for submitting your characters! I have mostly gotten girls from the lower castes, so please also submit some upper caste girls. And I would love some bitchy girls, mean girls, sassy girls etc etc. Most of the girls I have gotten until now are sweet girls but I want some diversity! Makes it more interesting, don't you think? Oh and I forgot to say this in my first chapter, but the Royal Family will hide the King's illness as long as they can, especially the fact that he's dying, because you know, a weak king makes for a weak monarchy. Maybe Killian will share this secret with some of the Selected but the public knowledge is that there is nothing wrong with the King. This will stay that way until his medicine can't keep up the charade anymore.

I also made a polyvore account (account name is the same one as here, wolfofstark) where I will post the outfits of the Selected when I start writing them. For now, I have published the outfits of the Queen and Princess from this chapter, and I published what Prince Killian looks like (isn't he dreamy?). So please check that out (at ''sets'') and let me know what you think!
Without further ado, please enjoy this chapter!

I walked out of the Report with my sister in tow. I had just announced the Selection to the whole country. My charming smile and mischievous light green eyes would be plastered on tv screens in every household. I immediately let my mind wonder to all the girls who were probably very excited to have a chance at living in the palace with their Prince. I mean, who wouldn't be excited to be near me 24/7? Just look at me.

I got snapped back to reality by my sister's annoyed voice. ''Killian! Are you daydreaming about yourself again?''

I flashed her a grin. ''You know me so well.''

Yasmin huffed out a sigh, the chestnut brown curls around her face bouncing around. Yasmin looked absolutely beautiful, as she always did. She was a true princess who could have stepped out of a fairytale book. She was wearing a sleeveless light pink and gold dress with quite a cleavage, but she managed to make it look classy and elegant. On her elaborately braided updo she wore on of her favorite tiaras adorned with pink jewels.

Yasmin loved her tiaras and had a whole collection of them. While my mother hated wearing her heavy crown and only did so on official occasions like the Report, Yasmin wore her tiaras every chance she got. She even sometimes wore it around the palace when we had no visitors, and I bet that with the Selection coming around, her tiaras would always be on her head.

I motioned for Yasmin to follow me and walked through the long hallway up the main staircase, heading for the Royal wing. I acknowledged the guard stationed by my room as I held the door open for Yasmin. I shut the door behind us when she was inside, and I immediately sunk down on my comfortable leather lounge chair. Yasmin and I were extremely close, and she didn't even have to ask me what was going on for her to know what was bothering me. She walked over to my mirror and straightened her tiara, while her aquamarine blue eyes looked at me through the mirror.

Yasmin and I both looked like a perfect mix between our parents. We had my father's chestnut brown hair and his long legs, while my mother was a short blonde with light coloring. Yasmin had her blue eyes, and I had my father's green eyes. We both inherited her light skin.

''You will make a good king, you know that, right?'' Yasmin started. She turned around to face me, her dress dancing around her legs.

I didn't answer as I crossed my arms and stared out my window. ''Father is a very beloved king. How can I ever be as good as him?''

Yasmin crossed the room and sunk to her knees on the ground besides my chair. She took my hand and held it firmly. ''Listen to me, Ian,'' she was the only one who could call me that, ''while it is true that father is exceptional at his job, you will be too. You are kind, compassionate, intelligent and charming. What other qualities can a king wish for? Just because you have weaknesses doesn't mean you will fail. You have been trained your whole life to do this. You have had a good example in father. You will make him proud. You will make us all proud.'' I smiled at her words. While she could be a bit shallow sometimes, Yasmin always knew the right words to say. She was my precious little sister and I greatly appreciated her.

She let go of my hand and stood up. ''Now suck it up, big boy. You will be the king in a year and you can't doubt yourself. And while you don't seem worried about those 15 girls coming to the palace in two weeks, I will help you with them. I will infiltrate them and learn every little thing there is to know, and I will help you decide who is fit for you and who is not.'' She had an exciting smile on her face when talking about the Selection, and I knew that she not only saw it as a fun game for her to participate in, she also saw it as an opportunity to make friends and hopefully gain a sister.

''Why should I worry about the Selection? You know me. The ladies love me. I know the way to a ladies' heart.''

Yasmin rolled her eyes. ''Just wait until the palace is swarmed with girls trying to win your heart, or just the crown. It won't be easy, trust me.''

I ignored her attempts at making me nervous for the Selection and called my butler over. My mouth had been dry since the Report ended and I needed a refreshment. I contemplated having the butler bringing me a strong drink, but I wanted to stay away from alcohol. Sometime last year I went a little too overboard with the partying and was on the brink of alcohol poisoning. My parents and advisors did a good job at hiding this from the press, and my father threatened to send me to rehab if I didn't get my act together. Alcohol was my weakness, and I couldn't let it drag me back into that dark hole again. I asked the butler for some water and sent him away.

I was proud of myself for this little accomplishment, as staying on the right path was a lot easier when my parents weren't around to watch my every move.

The preparations for the Selection had been in full swing, and for the next few days all I did was sample food, pick out fabrics for the rooms for the Selected, and more tedious tasks. Luckily I had my mother helping me. I could sense that it was a welcome distraction for her, even my father came in to help when he was on a break from his kingly duties.

My father was spending a lot more time with Yasmin and I since we found out about his illness, and while it was a bit too late, I was glad for it. I knew my father would have wanted nothing more than to be more present in our lives growing up and I never resented him for being absent most of the time.

I caught myself letting my eyes linger on my father more than a few times, and thankfully he didn't notice. I wanted to remember him like this. Still the strong and proud man I knew. Not yet defeated by his illness. I knew it was the medicine, and I knew he wouldn't stay like this for long, but I needed this picture imprinted on my mind. Because when the time would eventually come and he was no longer with us, I would never want to forget the man he used to be.

Thanks for all the sweet reviews on my previous chapter! I'm glad you guys liked it. Please keep reviewing and following.

So my exams are starting next week so I don't know when I'll update again. I'll try to update next week but I really want to start introducing the girls and I want to wait until I have all 15 girls. So maybe next chapter will be another prologue. We'll see! I do promise the next chapters will be longer. I'm just so busy with studying.