Lady Maria, 6

Most people you come across with a stepfamily would say that they didn't get along with them. But that was not the case with me.

I was born into an upper middle class family, we were Twos. That was until my father my father got a bullet in the back of his head by rebels. This happened right before my eyes. I was a young child, but I still remember everything vividly and I still had nightmares about it. Mom and I were downgraded to caste Six. This was a huge blow for my mom as she used to be a successful model, but she was long forgotten about.

She settled for a man two years her junior, Antonio Rockwell. A Hispanic man who was rather average, being a lower class restaurant owner who owned a lounge called 'Shadow Lounge Theatre'. He already had two children from a previous marriage, Germaine and Liliana. Germaine was one year older and Liliana was two years younger than me. I got along very well with my step siblings. As a child, I was mostly alone in the house with Liliana so we developed a powerful, sisterly bond that nobody could come between. Germaine used to be a waiter at the restaurant, along with me, but he decided to quit and become a palace guard. Everyone thought this would be a better choice for him than a waiter, as he didn't quite prove himself in the latter occupation.

I was laying on the couch after a very long shift at the restaurant, still dressed in my uniform and not even bothering to take it off. Liliana was on the other side of the couch with my legs on her lap, and we were watching a very old classic black and white movie, one of my favorites.

''Have you filled in the form for the Selection yet?'' Liliana asked as she threw a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

Antonio had been encouraging me to enter, as the benefits I would get as a Selected would benefit our family greatly. I didn't see why I shouldn't enter. My family deserved only the best, and if I could help in providing that, I would gladly do it.

I shifted a bit, snatching some popcorn from the bowl in Liliana's lap. ''Yeah, I have.''

Liliana started giggling, ''Imagine if you were the Princess. We would have an airhead as the future Queen.''

''Hey!'' I threw popcorn at her head, fake insulted. This resulted in a full blown popcorn fight, only stopping when all the popcorn was littered on the floor instead of in the bowl.

We quickly cleaned up the mess before one of our parents came home, and I smiled to myself, thinking of how much I would miss my best friend if I had to move to the Palace. But that wasn't even certain yet, so we resumed our little movie night together, focusing on the positive.

Lady April, 3

There was so much stress surrounding me. I felt my hands slightly itching and my anxiety coming to surface. My job as a genetic scientist at a high-tech genetics lab was one of the factors of my anxiety. Combine that with a home where anything less than perfect could be considered a crime, and you got yourself a girl with anxiety. My family was extremely successful and intelligent, and thankfully I didn't lack in that department but there was a lot of pressure on me and my siblings. My mother was a highly esteemed surgeon and my father the owner and head of the biggest hospital in Illéa. They expected their children to excel at everything. My sister Tess was a doctor at the same hospital our parents work at and here I was.

I could read and do math from the age of three. In short, I was considered a genius. It may seem like a gift, but this also meant that my parents set the bar even higher for me. I completeled high school at a young age and started working at this lab. You would think I had everything figured out, and was extremely content with my life, but it wasn't that simple.

Just a few days ago, my parents broke the news to me. I had to marry the son of one of their friends or they would kick me out, take away my financial fund and get my science degree demolished. The boy in question was Carter Greene, the son of two high ranking political figures in Illéa. My parents were probably very surprised that I didn't just agree with this ridiculous plan, as I had previously dated other rich, smart guys, carefully handpicked by my parents. But this was different. This was marriage.

So I had hatched a plan. The white envelope that was going to help me with this plan was carefully tucked away in my bag. I was going to enter the Selection. I wasn't going to marry someone I didn't love and the Selection seemed like a good way to go. It felt so good to finally stand up to my parents and do something for myself. Of course, I would be kind of screwed if I didn't get picked, but I would cross that bridge when I got there. For now, I just had to keep my focus on work and stall my parent's plan until the Selected were announced. I couldn't wait to see their faces.

Lady Rowan, 2

The light of the camera was flashing, as the photographer was instructing me on how to pose. It felt great to be in front of the camera, whether it was while acting or modelling. Being in the spotlight was what I did best. I smiled flirtatiously to the camera, working every angle. The smile immediately fell from my face when the photographer signaled that we would have a break, and I quickly walked off the set.

I sat down next to my personal assistant who was filling in a form. It was the Selection form. I instructed her on what to fill in, as I started dreaming away about a life of Royalty. I would be such a great Princess. A fashionable one too. Who wouldn't want a chance at Royalty, with a dreamy prince on her arm? Not entering would just be stupid. I was already thinking about what my strategy would be, because how could I not be Selected?, when the photographer ordered my back on set.

More camera lights flashed at me when I walked out of the studio. I waved and blew kisses at the paparazzi, making sure they got me from my best side, before I stepped into my limousine.

I took out my phone from my bag and pressed on speed dial. It immediately connected me to my dad. When he picked up the phone, I instantly began blabbing of about my day and about how I was going to win the Selection. He laughed at my enthusiasm and didn't even mind that I was calling him while he was still at work. I was your typical daddy's girl. My dad adored me and I adored my dad. I was his pride and joy. I had a much better relationship with him than with my mother, who was always busy with my 14-year-old sister Isobel, and didn't have much time for me. We didn't hate each other, our relationship was just kind of non-existent.

Dad was actually the one who got me into acting. When I was three, dad took me to one of his meetings and I had to pretend to be interested. I grew fond of pretending to be or feel some way I wasn't. In my freshman year of high school, a modeling gig showed up at my front door and I snatched it up with both eager hands. I loved being in the spotlight, and what better occupation was there for a girl like me than being an actress and a model?

And hopefully soon, if everything went according to plan, I could also call myself a princess.

Yay, I'm finally done with all the introductions! Now I can get started with the real story and the Selection. Sorry if this chapter and the introductions were shorter than usual, I just really wanted to get it up and get all the introductions done by the end of the week like I promised you guys. Which girl did you like best?

So, like I told you guys earlier I made a polyvore account. I posted all the faceclaims for all the Selected, as well as the faceclaim for Princess Yasmin. I will be posting most of their outfits on there, and of Yasmin as well, so please check that out so I won't feel like I'm doing it for nothing! And let me know if you saw it and if you agree with the way your girl looks. I couldn't find exact replica's of course so hairstyles etc. may differ, but I tried my best to find good lookalikes. Please PM if you don't agree with the way your girl looks!
Here's my polyvore: wolfofstark . /?filter=collections (I had to insert space in the link so FF will let it appear, just remove those). There's two collections; The Selected and The Royals. Please check out both. And let me know if you can see everything and like the way polyvore works, or if you perhaps prefer Pinterest? I like polyvore since it's not as messy as Pinterest and you can pick and compose outfits without a model in them.

Lastly, no one has guessed my age yet! Last chance, guys. I think it will be easy now since a lot of ages have already been mentioned.

And now I will conclude this long message. Keep reading and reviewing!

~wolfofstark