I was already halfway out the door when the bell rang. Usually I'd hang around and talk to my friends, but lately all they did was gossip about the Selection. They saw me only as a means to get inside knowledge on the selected.

That was my curse, the curse of being Hannah Carrington. I don't recommend going to public high school if you're the daughter of an English Prince, and especially not if your house is the Illéan palace. It was my last day though, now I only had to get through exams and then I'd officially be done grade twelve.

Walking out the school doors into the warm Angeles air, I couldn't help but grin. It was going to be a great summer, I could feel it already. Then, when the August days faded away, I would fly across the country to Allens and begin university. I'd finally get to step out from the shadow my relatives cast on me.

I made it to the parking lot and was just about to unlock my car when I felt an arm wrap around me tightly.

"Carrington, you weren't planning on leaving without saying goodbye, were you?"

I looked up at the tall boy who was notorious for his messy hair. "We said our goodbyes in Calculus, Mason. I beat you one last time on that exam so you'd have something good to remember me by."

He rolled his eyes and then winked at me as he backed away. "It's a good thing I'll see you at the physics final, this would be a terrible way to leave things Princess."

I was about to yell back at him not to call me that, but I knew I wouldn't win the argument. I'd been fighting with Mason Dougray for four years, and somehow I had lost every battle.

Instead, I simply unlocked my car and got in. The first thing I did when the air conditioning hit my skin was turn the radio on incredibly loud. As I pulled out onto the road I took a quick glance at the school. I saw a group of my friends walking out together, talking and laughing. They fit so well together, I'd always been on the outside. Until they needed me of course, then they'd drag me around and pretend that everything was normal. I wasn't going to miss that one bit.

I also wouldn't miss the drive, I hated how long it was. It used to be okay. When I was in middle school and Sage was still in high school, she'd drive Sydney and me. Sage wasn't related to us but she always treated us like family. We'd sometimes go get ice cream after school or leave home early to go watch the sunrise on the beach. I'd give anything to be back there.

What may have been an eternity later I arrived at the palace. I always used the back entrance to avoid making a scene. Especially considering I never knew when a foreign dignitary might be arriving at the front. Pulling into my designated spot I sat still for a moment but then I heard joyous screaming.

I opened the door and swung my legs out, reaching over to the passenger seat to pull my bag with me. The second I stood up I was engulfed in a hug.

"Hanny, God I missed you." I took in a deep breath as my sister squeezed tighter. Her hair smelled like pear as it always had. I wanted to believe she hadn't changed a bit.

"I didn't think your flight got in until tonight," I said as she loosened her grip.

"It was supposed to, but Kit wanted to come back early. He's having a big ball tonight to welcome the selected to the palace. It's pretty last minute, but are you up for it?"

I laughed. "Of course I am, especially if you'll let me raid your closet." I swung the door of my car shut and hit the lock button. "My first exam isn't until Wednesday, and even if it wasn't, I think I deserve a night off studying."

Sydney looped her arm through mine as we walked into the palace. "The younger family members are all in the east parlour, Kit won't stop grilling everyone about the girls."

"He's waiting to meet them all at the ball I presume?"

Sydney nodded. "The idea was he'd spend the afternoon sleeping off the jetlag, but he's too on edge. Have you met any of them?" She asked as we rounded a corner.

"A few," I replied. "I only really talked to Charise though. The rest seemed to be making an effort to avoid me."

Sydney tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "How is she? I don't think I've spoken with her since we were seventeen."

I shrugged. "Good, I suppose. I mean lovely as always, but I think some of the other girls are giving her a hard time. They think she's got an unfair advantage because her dad is Conte Borghese."

My sister let out a laugh. "She really doesn't. I haven't pressed the matter, but Kit hasn't mentioned her at all. You'd think if he remembered her he would have brought it up."

I didn't doubt my sister. Kit was quite possibly the most oblivious person I had ever met. He meant well though, and that would hopefully serve him well in the Selection.

As we arrived at the parlour the doors were opened by two guards whose names I felt bad for forgetting.

"Agnes?" I called out in surprise when my eyes locked with my cousin's.

Agnes was a Princess of Sweden, one of Swendway's provinces. Really it was only a title, one her grandfather had given to her mother years before. She held no actual power over the country, all control belonged to King Viktor.

"Hey Han," she said getting up to hug me. "I think you've grown two feet since I last saw you."

Sydney rolled her eyes as she fell into a chair next to Liv. "Well Aggie, that would be because the last time you saw Hannah she was ten."

Agnes took my hand and dragged me over to the sofa she had been sitting on when I had arrived. "Can you blame me? I've had three more kids in that time."

"How are the little monsters?" Kit asked. He'd spent a couple of weeks in Sweden during his recent travels.

"Anton and Ivar scared off another tutor, I think that's the third one this year. Then last week Elvira managed to get her hands on hair dye, so Tage is now a ginger."

Kit burst out laughing, causing my cousin Ella to smack him. "I see my brothers managed to teach you no manners while you were in England. What a big surprise," she said sarcastically.

Kit shook his head. "Elle it's a miracle they haven't made Chris abdicate in favor of you. The day he takes the thrown is going to be a scary day indeed."

Ella shrugged, "Mom will just have to live forever, because there is no way anyone is getting me to sit on that throne."

Liv raised her glass in the air. "Long live Queen Jane."

A/N

Sorry for another chapter with a lack of Kit! The next chapter will be the "ball" so we'll definitely get to know him better. However, I can't write the next chapter until I get more submissions. I forgot to mention in my last author's note that the castes have been destroyed, another important note, the provinces Lakedon, Angeles, Columbia, Dominica, and Waverly have already been taken, but you are welcome to choose any other province.

Since I like to make things confusing, Swendway is made up of three provinces, which are actually just the three countries that Kiera created Swendway out of. Agnes' grandfather had four kids, the first was the heir to Swendway (Viktor), and the other three children he put in charge of each of the three provinces. Agnes' mom, Kristina, was "given" Sweden, so as her eldest child, Agnes is then the heir to Sweden. Bonus fact, Agnes' dad is an English Prince, meaning one of his brothers is Sydney and Hannah's dad.

If you didn't get confused by that you have impressed me!

Shaelynn