Prince Killian

The breeze was playing with my hair was I looked over the rippling waters of the lake. I had sent Arizona a message that I would like it if she could join me for breakfast. I told her I would pick her up and escort her to the site, but I got a message back that she could make her way there herself. And so here I was.

I had opted for something simple, wearing a striped sweater and khaki colored pants. A simple blanket was spread out on the dock, and it was littered with all sorts of breakfast foods.

''That looks good.'' I heard a feminine voice say, and to my surprise Arizona was standing, well, sitting right before the blanket. I quickly hurried to my feet.

''Lady Arizona. I didn't notice you there,'' I said as I approached her and took her hand in mine, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

She was wearing a pastel sleeved dress, with cap sleeves and a fitted bodice that was covered with tiny ruffles and petite flowers of organza and sparkling beads. The skirt of her dress floated down the seat of her wheelchair. At her waist, a matching corsage-style broach was secured. She wore her golden blonde hair down, and she had a gentle smile on her freckled face.

''You look beautiful this morning.''

''Why thankyou. You don't look that bad yourself, although I do feel slightly overdressed,'' she replied.

''You have met my sister, right? You will never be overdressed next to her, what with a tiara plastered on her head all the time.''

Arizona chuckled, ''She is lovely.''

I nodded in agreement, before stretching my arms out to her, preparing to lift her out of her chair. Arizona held up her hand and looked at me, ''What do you think you're doing?''

''Carrying you out of your chair.. so you can sit with me?'' I questioned, a bit anxious that I had done something wrong. I had never dealt with anyone in a wheelchair and I didn't know what to do at all.

Arizona didn't seem to appreciate me just lifting her up without asking. ''Well, don't surprise me like that next time.''

Well, damn. This wasn't a very good start to our date. I felt embarrassed and foolish that I had acted so rashly, as I scooped her out of her chair and down onto the blanket. She seemed discontented that she needed me to help her with that, but what else was I going to do? Let her fall out of her chair and onto the blanket?

I cleared my throat as I started opening up various cheeses. ''May I ask.. What happened to your legs?''

Lady Arizona

I was preparing for him to ask me that question.

I didn't look me in the eye as I spread some cheese on a toast. ''I was eight years old. I was living in a trailer and a few boys in the neighborhood thought it would be funny to light off fireworks near it. I was outside, and one of the fireworks went directly into the grill that was also outside and it blew up. My legs were crushed by a piece of metal flying from it. My legs weren't salvageable so the doctor was forced to amputate.''

''Oh.. I'm so sorry.''

''Don't be. This is who I am now,'' I smiled at him to make him feel more at ease. I could tell that this made him quite uncomfortable. Of course he would be. Look at him. He was a Prince, the Crown Prince, and he lived in a Palace. He had everything he could ever ask for. And here I was. On a date with said Prince. A girl with no legs, an Eight, who lived in a trailer. How was it fair?

I tried to push my feelings of injustice aside as I took a bite of my toast. I was here now, and I was in Killian's Selection. I couldn't hate him just because he was born in Royalty. I had to keep an open mind.

I needed to change the subject. ''Do you have any museums in Angeles?''

Killian gave me a curious look. ''We do, actually. It's the museum of America. It's about the country Illéa was before it, well, became Illéa. Why? Do you like museums?''

I beamed at his question. ''I love museums. I find them so interesting, there's a whole other world to discover, you know? And libraries too.''

He chuckled at my enthusiasm. ''If I had known, I would have taken you there for our first date.''

''Oh, but I love this too. I loved to swim when I was a baby. I still really like being near the water, especially lakes and beaches.''

''Oh really? It's like I'm hearing myself speak. I love the water too. I try to swim every morning before I start the day. The indoor pool was actually built for me,'' he grinned.

Of course. Having a pool built for you was easy as a Prince. I tried to shake the feeling off again, and smiled back at Killian. ''I would love to see it some day.''

''And I would love to take you there.''

We spent the rest of the morning talking as we ate up all the cheeses. I learnt that he didn't exaggerate when he said that he loved the water. He told me about how he dreamt of being a merman when he was a child, and I laughed and told him that I had wanted to be a mermaid.

He cleaned up all the empty packages when we were done, and carried me back to my wheelchair. I saw him look at the handles, and I was certain that he wanted to push me, so I started wheeling myself towards the Palace without waiting for him.

He jogged after me, and slowed his paced when he caught up. ''Eager to get away from me?''

I shook my head, ''No, but I saw the way you were looking. I can wheel myself.''

He grinned as he also shook his head. ''You are quite stubborn.''

''I know,'' I smiled.

Killian's expression suddenly turned serious. ''Before you leave, I have to ask you something.''

I halted my wheelchair, turning around to face him. ''Yes?''

''Is everyone treating you right?'' he asked, trying to hide his obvious concern. It was kind of endearing, but not necessary. I could look out for myself, and it wasn't my place to blab about the other Selected.

''Yes. Everyone is very kind,'' I assured him. He seemed to relax at this and I couldn't help but feel slightly bad for him.

''I hope you enjoyed our morning as much as I did.''

I nodded, ''I did.'' It was nice to know the other side of the Prince, as he seemed a lot more relaxed and sincere when there weren't as many girls around him.

….

Lady Aenwyn

The Prince had asked me to go on a date with him. I knew, from listening in and observing the other Selected's conversations that he had been on a date with Lady Arizona this morning. He took her out to the lake for breakfast, and from his note, he wanted to have a private dinner with me, away from all the others. My maids had immediately pulled me from The Women's Room when they received the note.

''Are you nervous, miss?'' Eisley asked, as she carefully lined my eyes with black eyeliner. I just nodded. Of course I was nervous! Here I was, out of the orphanage where my life had, quite literally, been hell, in a Palace where I fell completely out of place. And now the Prince wanted to dine with me. What would I even say to him? What could we talk about? My hands were trembling slightly as Hylee took my hands and helped me slip on my shoes.

I was dressed in a long, sleeveless blue gown with a tight bodice and bellowing skirt. The bodice was adorned with glimmering, floral details and was sheer on some places at the top. My red hair was curled, a thick braid encircling my head, and the rest of my locks were parted to one side. To top it all off, Beatrice placed a thin flower band just above my braid.

Beatrice smiled, a warm expression on her motherly face, ''Beautiful. He'll love it.''

I managed to give them a small smile, my nerves raking through my body as the clock ticked closer to six. ''Thank you.''

That was when a knock came at the door.

''It's him!'' Eisley yelped. She dashed over to the door, and after glancing behind her to make sure that I was ready, opened it.

''Ladies,'' the Prince smiled as he bowed.

Eisley giggled at this and gestured at me to come closer. ''She's all ready, Your Highness.''

The Prince's light green eyes shifted to me, and his smile grew as he extended his arm to me. ''Lady Aenwyn.''

I managed a somewhat elegant curtsy before taking his arm. ''Your Highness,'' I breathed, still getting used to using my voice. I was mostly very quiet at the orphanage.

It was quite a walk through the grand Palace to get to our destination, which gave me time to observe him. He had changed his clothes from when I saw him at lunch. He was now wearing grey pants, a white and red checkered shirt with a grey tie. Above this he had thrown on a burgundy sweater, making the outfit more casual, but still fitting for a Prince.

He caught me staring at him and chuckled, which made me hastily turn my head as I felt a blush spreading on my cheeks. That was embarrassing.

''We're here.''

I hadn't even realized that we had stopped walking. We were in what seemed to be a salon. The room was nearly half the size of the Dining Room, and against its walls were rows of bookcases. The colors of the room were warm and creamy, with large chandeliers bathing the room in a pleasant light. In the middle of the space was a small round table with two chairs opposing each other.

We sat down and a pair of butlers came in, setting down our plates of food. The smell reached my nose and my stomach started growling. Killian looked a bit startled but then a laugh broke out into his face.

''Hungry?''

I nodded, eagerly watching Killian. I had learnt from Arabella that I couldn't just dive into my food, even though I really wanted to. I had to wait.

Luckily for me, Killian saw my hungry gaze and picked up his utensils. ''Enjoy.''

That was all I needed to hear. I started eating and had to contain myself to not declare my love for this meal. The food at this place was so damn good.

Dinner passed by swiftly and rather quietly. Killian asked me some questions about myself, and I gave him short answers. It was unnerving to have his eyes on me as I ate, I wasn't used to this at all. Dressing up, eating fancy food, 'dating'. He seemed to sense my discomfort and my lack of speaking skills, and gave up after a while.

I set down my dessert fork and sighed in content. Having dinner away from all the Selected girls was actually quite nice. While I didn't have anything against them, it could be quite intimidating and busy.

I let my eyes wander to the bookcases, squinting my eyes and trying to make out the letters on their spines.

''Do you like to read?'' Killian asked.

''I.. can't read.''

Prince Killian

That caught me completely off guard. She couldn't read? I had expected that from an Eight, but she was a Six. But then realization hit me. She was an orphan. And I had heard stories off the orphanages throughout Illéa. They weren't pretty.

I could see her embarrassment at her confession, and I set down my dessert fork as well. ''Come,'' I said as I extended my hand to her. She seemed hesitant to comply, but did so anyway. I walked her to the plush loveseat in the corner of the room. As she took her seat, I scanned the shelves until I found Yasmin's favorite book.

''Ah, Wuthering Heights.'' I grabbed the old, leather bound classic and took my seat next to her. ''This is Yasmin's favorite. She describes it as an 'epic romance'. Seems like a good one to start with.''

She seemed even more nervous as I sat closely next to her, and I did my very best to not come off as intimidating. When I had my date with Olympia, I let the charmer in me through. She was the one who I could easily read, and I knew from the start that she had a crush on me. This one was very different though.

''Start with what?'' Aenwyn asked, a questioning look in her pale turquoise eyes.

I was taken aback a bit as I stared into her eyes. They seemed to be rimmed with gold, which along with her hair color really made her look outstanding. I cleared my throat and sat up straight, tearing my gaze off her eyes.

''I'm going to teach you how to read.''

And so we started. I wasn't a teacher, not by far, but Aenwyn was satisfied with me reading to her. After I read her a chapter, I took a notebook that was sitting on a small desk and wrote out the entire alphabet for her. I showed her which letter was which, and sat back as I watched her study the letters.

She had a slight frown on her face and she bit her lip in concentration. Her pale skin was specked with freckles, which a lot of the Selected seemed to have. I didn't mind, I liked them. I saw her posture relax, probably without her even noticing, and the nerves also seemed to disappear. I was glad that I didn't seem to scare her out of her wits anymore.

She put aside the notebook when she had the letter memorized. ''Can you read some more?''

''Of course,'' I replied as I reached for the book and started the next chapter.

…

It was well over nine when I walked Aenwyn back to her room. I had noticed her growing sleepy after I started the fifth chapter, and I decided to call it a day. She seemed disappointed when I closed the book, but I promised her that we would continue some other day. This earned me a genuine smile in return.

''I had a great night, Aenwyn. I hope you did too.''

She nodded. ''Thank you. For the reading and teaching me. It means a lot.''

I smiled and took her hand in mine. She seemed to flinch, so I quickly dropped it. I had wanted to kiss her knuckles but it didn't seem right now. ''You're very welcome. Sleep well.''

She dropped into a low curtsy. ''You too.'' And with that, Aenwyn turned around and walked back into her room.

So Killian actually went on two dates, yay! I hope you liked them. I switched between the POVs of Killian and the Selected, because I think it's nice to get both of their sides during the date. Did you like it this way or would you rather I stick to one POV?

Both Killian's date outfits and Arizona and Aenwyn's date dresses are on their pinterest boards, so check that out! ALSO I keep forgetting to mention this, I finally settled on a faceclaim for Killian: David Giuntoli (without the beard, haha) and imagine him younger. But yeah, that's what our Killian looks like, you can also see it on his pinterest board.

So the next two chapters will be the Halloween ball. Not everyone has sent me their Halloween outfits yet. Please do, because I'm planning on having Killian interact with each and every girl during the ball. But I can't incorporate your girl if I don't have her outfit.

To everyone who celebrates: Merry Christmas! And to who doesn't: Happy Holidays! I belong to the second group haha.

Thanks for reading as always and keep reviewing!

~wolfofstark