Lady Jia

After a long day of tedious lessons by Miss Arabella, we finally had time to relax in the Women's Room. Friendships were slowly forming between the Selected. There was an obvious rift between Alondra, Aurelia and Rowan and all the rest of the girls. 'The Plastics', as we called them, enjoyed spending their time in a corner of the room, gossiping and plotting to take us all down. We payed as little attention to them as possible. Our nickname for them was actually created by Evelaine.

''Have you guys ever seen the movie Mean Girls?'' Evelaine had asked one day, while we were out of earshot from the three bitches.

Everyone kept a blank expression, which made Evelaine sigh in frustration. ''My mother once forced me to watch it. She said that every girl should see this movie at least once in their lives. Anyway, there was this clique of nasty girls who called themselves 'The Plastics'. I think we have our own Plastics right here in this Selection.''

And thus, The Plastics were born.

I didn't expect to get along with the girls so well, but I did. There were a few who liked to keep to themselves, like Aenwyn, Viollca, Alicia and Maria. The rest of us were getting along with each other pretty well.

Rania, Evelaine, Olympia, Arizona, April, Sawyer, Monroe and I were all huddled around the television, watching a broadcast about the Selection. On the screen, Olympia and Prince Killian were waving to the cameras as the sailboat they were on got further away from sight.

''You still haven't told us anything about your date,'' Sawyer remarked, turning to face Olympia.

The brunette shrugged. ''It was fun. We watched the sunset and returned. That was it.''

''Well, I think Alondra is under the assumption that he has already chosen you as his One because she has been glaring daggers at you ever since you went on the first date,'' April said, her bright green eyes on Alondra, trying to read her.

At this, Olympia sat up straight, carefully avoiding Alondra's gaze. ''She's scary,'' she muttered.

Rania nodded in agreement. ''Very scary.''

I saw Rowan leaning in, whispering something in Alondra's ear. Alondra seemed about ready to burst with anger. She stood up, straightened her dress and stalked over to Viollca who was sitting in a corner in the far end of the room. The poor girl was so busy drawing that she had no idea that Alondra was approaching, about ready to eat her alive.

She snatched the sheets Viollca was working on off the small desk. The comic book artist finally snapped out of it and looked up to Alondra with a frown on her face. The singer smiled down at her. I had to admit, Alondra was gorgeous. Her facial features seemed perfect and symmetrical, and if it weren't for her personality, she would have been a beautiful person. But she wasn't. She might have been smiling but her ochre brown eyes had a devilish glint to them.

''Such nice materials. I heard the Prince gifted these to you,'' Alondra said, her tone seemingly nice.

Viollca nodded, and I saw her fingers nervously playing with the edge of her dress. We were all staring at the pair, wondering what Alondra was getting at.

''What did you do?'' Alondra asked.

''W-what do you mean?'' Viollca stuttered, unsuccessful at hiding her nerves.

''What I mean is, what did you do to get him to give you a present? Did you sleep with him? Is that it? Did you promise him something? Why would he give a lowly Five like you something?'' Alondra hissed. She looked at the drawings she was holding in her hands and shook her head. ''You're not even good at what you do. These are horrible.'' And with that, she slowly tore up the sheets.

I jumped to my feet and marched over to the two. Viollca had been working on those drawings for hours, if not days. The poor girl was staring at the torn up pieces by Alondra's feet, who was grinning at her disgusting act.

''Why the hell would you do that?!'' I barked, bending down to pick up the pieces. I stood up straight and handed the torn up drawings to Viollca, before turning around to face Alondra. ''Are you that miserable that the Prince hasn't even paid a minute of his attention to you? Must hurt, huh, that girls who are 'lower' than you have had more attention from him?''

Alondra's face contorted in anger, and she opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped by the doors to the Women's Room opening. We all turned around to see Princess Yasmin and Princess Beatrice-Alida entering the room.

''What is going on here?'' Yasmin asked, a smile on her face and a curious look in her blue eyes as she watched me, Alondra and Viollca.

We all quickly curtsied, and Alondra was the first to speak up. ''Oh nothing, Your Highness. We were just helping Lady Viollca here clean up her papers.'' She smiled sweetly, and the Princess nodded, having no reason not to believe her.

I was fuming from the inside, but Viollca looked at me and shook her head. It was no use. Alondra was a famous singer and loved by all. Who would believe us over her?

I rubbed Viollca's arm in an attempt to make things right, and walked back to my place on the couch with the others. Viollca got back to her drawing as if nothing happened, and Alondra went back to her other Plastics.

''So, ladies, are we enjoying ourselves?'' Princess Yasmin asked as she and the English Princess joined me and the others. This was the first time that the Princess had joined us in the Women's Room, and a lot of the Selected seemed excited.

''I, for one, am. This place is amazing,'' Monroe grinned.

Evelaine nodded in agreement, and looked at the English Princess in wonder. ''Excuse me, Your Highness, but I feel like I've seen you before.''

I laughed. ''Well, she is a Princess.''

Evelaine shot me one of her deadpan looks. ''Not like that. I mean, in the Illéan media. More than other Royals.''

The Princess grinned a bit, ''Maybe you remember me from my high-profile relationship with Prince Killian? Oh, and please, you don't have to call me your Highness or Princess. It's Bea.''

Everyone went quiet, and nobody seemed to listen anymore after she casually mentioned her relationship with the Prince. I could see everyone's brain making over hours. The ex of the guy we were pursuing was here?

Bea seemed to sense our reluctance towards her. ''Oh don't worry. I'm not interested in Killian anymore. I'm not here to win him back or anything. He's too much work, I'll leave that up to one of you.''

Princess Yasmin giggled at this, but she seemed to be the only one who found humor in her statement.

Sawyer coughed, seemingly the first one who got over the initial shock. ''Too much work?''

''Oh Bea loves to exaggerate, don't mind her. And you girls can just call me Yasmin. Your Highness is too formal for someone who will be the sister in law of one of you.'' Yasmin smiled, and her sunny disposition made all of us relax.

Yasmin and Bea continued asking us questions about our lives before the Selection, and soon, we were having a lively conversation with the two Princesses. Even The Plastics joined us, and I tried my best not to look disgusted as I watched them suck up to Yasmin.

I watched all the others as they conversed with Yasmin, and I couldn't help but notice some of the admiring looks to her. Rania couldn't seem to keep her eyes off Yasmin's tiara, and the Princess seemed to notice. ''Would you like to try it on?''

Rania looked shocked, and her cheeks grew red as she was caught. She quickly shook her head. ''N-no! I couldn't..''

''Oh, come on! Who knows, maybe you will be the Princess one day. You should at least know how it feels.'' Yasmin was almost bouncing in her chair as she took her tiara off her brown hair. The tiara was silver, adorned with glimmering rhinestones in a floral design and a row of pearls alongside the stones. It looked very expensive and valuable, fit for a Princess.

Yasmin took Rania's hand and dragged her to the nearest mirror, us following in suit. She positioned her in front of the mirror and carefully placed the tiara on Rania's dark brown hair. She enthusiastically clasped her hands together. ''You look beautiful!''

Rania stared at herself in the mirror, and I could see tears forming in her eyes. She had told us about her experiences being bullied, and she always seemed like a very insecure girl. Seeing herself with a tiara on her head had to be emotional for her. She finally smiled, blinking away the tears, and gave Yasmin an appreciative look. ''Thank you.''

Yasmin looked at the rest of us. ''Who else wants to try?''

Nobody dared to speak up, afraid they would be laughed at, but I knew that most of the girls wanted to feel the tiara on their head. Yasmin didn't seem to have the patience to wait and she pulled Aenwyn forward. Another quiet girl. Aenwyn never really socialized with the rest of us, and she liked to keep to herself. She seemed frightened but also excited by Yasmin's enthusiasm, as she also tried on the tiara.

This went on for a few minutes as everyone took a turn. The Plastics, especially Alondra, seemed a bit annoyed at Yasmin but when the tiara was placed on Alondra's head, this immediately disappeared. She smiled, looking like the perfect Princess. She was getting a bit too comfortable for my liking, and I quickly snatched the tiara off her head as it was my turn. This earned me a deadly look by Alondra, but I gladly ignored her.

Yasmin and Bea stayed with us until it was time for everyone to get dressed for dinner. I wasn't looking forward to having to hoist myself in yet another uncomfortable dress, but at least the past hours had been fun.

Prince Killian

I had been in my office for the entire day. Dad was giving me more responsibilities each day, which meant more work. It wasn't too much, as I still had The Selection to focus on, but it was enough to slowly ease me in what soon would be my new position. The King of Illéa.

I stared at our family picture that was positioned on my desk. We looked like such a perfect family. So loving. Dad had his arm wrapped around mom's waist, and they looked completely in love. A couple everyone aspired to be like. But I knew that it was all a show.

It was four years ago. I had walked to the stables at a very early hour. The sun hadn't set yet and I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to go riding. I knew no one would be at the stables yet so I could clear my head in peace. Upon entering, I heard faint noises of a woman giggling and a man's low voice. I grew curious and approached the back of the stables, where a blonde woman and a dark haired man were laying in the hay, limbs entangled with one another. When the woman looked up and our eyes met, I realized in shock that it was the Queen of Illéa whose dress was hiked up to her thighs. And her companion wasn't the King.

Dundundunnnn. Yup, so that's what happened in the stables. And you can probably guess, but that's why Killian doesn't believe in true love and why he became such a playboy. I hope it didn't disappoint!

So, the result from the Crowd Favorite poll I put on my profile is the following:
Number 1: Aenwyn
Number 2: Monroe, Arizona and April
Number 3: Rania, Viollca and Olympia
I refreshed the poll so now you can vote again! Please do so.

Also, I pinned the tiara that went around in this chapter in Yasmin's board, so check that out! I had so much fun writing that little bonding between Yasmin and the Selected. I hope you liked it as well.

Lastly, I have a question for you guys: Would you like to read more about Trismin? I know they're loved so let me know if you want to see more of them!

As always, thank you soooo much for reviewing and thanks for reading!

~wolfofstark