Having nothing better to do I spent a whole afternoon in the Women's Room staring at each of the selected in turn. Some came and went, Kit had even taken one on a date. I had wanted to go spy on him but I stopped because whether I acted like it or not, I respected my brother.

I was just about to go back to my room to get ready for dinner when one of the girls came running in. She whispered into another girl's ear, and soon the whole room was abuzz.

"What is it?" I finally snapped at a girl I knew to be named Amelia.

"Prince Kit has made his first elimination." Amelia looked neither happy nor saddened at the news. It made sense though, none of the girls had really had time to bond yet, and the only ones who would be happy were the cutthroats.

Not bothering to try and get more information out of them, I walked out the door. I really should have gone back to my room to get ready for dinner, but instead I found my legs taking me to the parlour in the east wing of the castle.

Coming around a corner I ran straight into Ella.

"Liv! There you are, ready to do some burning?" She waved a folder in the air and grabbed my arm with her other hand. "You heard already I presume?"

"Not the details, just that one was eliminated."

Ella opened the folder and showed it to me. "Colby Lonan from Paloma. Kit was talking to her, and he says he just knew. Some feeling in his gut told him that she wasn't the one."

"That's good I guess. It would be pointless to keep her around if nothing was ever going to happen." I pulled open the door to the parlour and followed Ella inside.

Most of my extended family was already gathered. Jules was always absent to these impromptu get-togethers, she was too busy with her work. Today though, she made an appearance.

We'd worked out the details already, every time Kit eliminated a girl we would burn her file. It sounded a bit odd but it was our way of eliminating each girl.

I took the folder from Ella and handed it to Jules. "Why don't you do the honours," she looked a little shocked but I just shrugged. "We'll be burning thirty-four of these, you're the oldest; you should start us off."

Deciding not to question me Jules accepted the folder and walked up to the crackling colours that inhabited the fireplace. "To Colby Lonan, age twenty," she looked at each of us in turn, "the first of many." Placing the folder delicately on top of the burning wood, Jules smiled at Ren. "She's fair game now little brother."

"I'm not that bad," Ren cried out.

Ren was right, he really wasn't the playboy that we all made him out to be. He just had bad luck with love, and everyone teased him about it. We couldn't help it, the rest of us, with the exception of Jules, had been single our whole lives.

"Liv," I snapped out of my train of thought when I heard Sydney saying my name. Once she saw she had my attention she continued, "we're all heading out." She gestured to Hannah, Ren, and Sage. "Tell Kit I wish him luck tonight." She gave me a quick hug and then left the room with the others.

Jules had gone back to work leaving only Ella with me, as Agnes wandered out of the room.

"So," Ella sat cross-legged on one of the couches. "Now that this Selection is officially started, am I wrong to assume that there will be a lot more of the family hanging around?"

I shrugged, sitting down across from her. "Alexa was planning on coming at the end of August anyway." I paused, thinking back to the last time Alexa Simmons was in Angeles. "You were here two summers ago, weren't you Elle? That would've been the last time she was here, I swear you must have met her."

"Oh, the one with the gorgeous hair, and two sisters?" I nodded. "Yeah I remember her," Ella continued, "how are you two related again?"

I rolled my eyes at Ella, she knew how complicated my family tree was. "Alexa's dad is cousins with the Schreaves." I paused, trying to make sure I'd gotten the connection right. "Speaking of them," I went on, "they'll no doubt turn up this summer."

My mother was half Schreave, but the name had very nearly died out. Most of the Schreaves were girls, or had daughters, leaving only a few distant relatives of mine with the name. They liked to show up every once in a while and remind everyone that they were still relevant; remind us that they still carried the name that had carried the monarchy for generations.

"Didn't Hadley get married recently?" Ella asked, flipping through a magazine that housed articles on all of the selected.

I nodded, "she still goes by Schreave though."

Ella looked up from her article of choice, Danielle Pratt, the title read. "Why is that? I always had her pegged for the traditional type."

"She doesn't want to be the next Rorie."

"Who?" Ella asked, her nose scrunching up in confusion.

"Exactly," I replied laughing at the irony. "Rorie Schreave, she was mom's cousin," I elaborated. "She changed her name when she got married and suddenly no one cared who she was. It was perfect for Rorie, she got to raise her sons in peace, but I can't imagine Hadley ever volunteering to leave the spotlight."

Ella smiled, tossing the magazine onto the coffee table. "I'd like that. I mean I'd never give up the extended family, but it would be so nice to just fade into the background."

"Who knows," I said getting up and following Ella out into the hallway. "You and I might still have a chance. Once our brothers have kids we'll no longer be the spares."

"I swear Chris has never even talked to a girl, I doubt he'll be having kids anytime soon."

I shrugged, "I would have said the same thing about Kit last year."

We rounded a corner and Ella let out an exasperated sigh. "How do I get that to happen though? I've waited nineteen years, and yet I haven't seen anything."

"The world waits until you're not looking, and then it throws a curveball." I stopped, and after a couple of steps Ella turned around. I searched her eyes and found only strain, so I pleaded with her. "Stop looking."

I heard the clicking of heals and turned to my left to see a brunette girl in a sapphire dress coming down the hallway. I'd seen her in the Women's Room earlier but I couldn't quite place her name.

She didn't seem to notice us until the last second. "Your Highness'," she hurriedly curtsied. "I'm so sorry I interrupted you."

"I didn't catch your name," Ella said, saving me the trouble of asking.

"Ruby Reynolds," the girl replied sheepishly.

Ella, not always the friendliest made an effort to smile. She knew as well as I that some of the selected would no doubt spook at the slightest bit of hostility on our part.

"I was just wandering aimlessly," Ruby went on, trying to explain the circumstances that had brought her to the hallway. "All the other girls are still getting ready for dinner, so I found myself alone."

"Why don't you walk with us," I offered. "Ella and I were just headed up to change ourselves, but there's no reason we can't have a good conversation on our way."

Ruby nodded, and Ella placed a hand on the girl's back, as if to usher her forward. "So Ruby, how are you finding the palace thus far?"

Ella sounded like she legitimately cared, but I knew better, so when Ruby wasn't looking I glared at her.

"I'm quite enjoying it," Ruby finally said moments later. "It's a big change from what I'm used to, but it's a good one."

"Where are you from?" I found myself asking before Ella had the chance to speak. For some reason my cousin had decided that she didn't like Ruby, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why.

"Allens," the girl smiled, I assumed due to the thought of her home. "I thought I'd never get out."

I stared at her, in minor shock. "What do you mean?"

"Allens is a," she paused, thinking through her choice of words, "deathtrap. Every terrible thing that's ever happened to me happened there."

"What about all the good?" I found myself asking.

"What about it?" She sighed, "I needed to get out so I could stop fixating on the bad, because there are good things. All I saw were the flaws, but life is so much better when you can see the full picture."

Ella stopped as we reached the door to her room. "What if you hadn't gotten selected? What would you have done then?"

Ruby smiled sadly, "stayed."

Nodding Ella turned the knob on her door. "Well it's been very nice meeting you Ruby, but I'm afraid I must go get ready." Not waiting for a reply from either of us, Ella slammed the door.

"She can be a bit of a handful," I said turning to Ruby. "I try not to take her for granted though because at the end of the summer she's due back to England. It'll be so strange not having her around." I continued down the hallway to my room with Ruby following a few steps behind me.

"I get the feeling that she doesn't like me."

I laughed, "I often get the feeling that Ella doesn't like anyone. Don't take it personally, I know her well enough to know that she was at least trying there. Now," I said once in front of my familiar door. "I've got to get ready in record time, think you can find your way down to the dining room without getting lost?"

Ruby nodded and curtsied. "Thank you so much for the chat Princess Liv."

"It was my pleasure," I called out as she walked away.

A/N

Happy last day of March! Sorry this chapter took so long, I had intended to write more but decided that it might be nice to change perspectives for the dinner. Another delay was the fact that I am still waiting on more selected, so please submit, it would mean the world to me! Colby Lonan was a throwaway character, and I'm happy to make a few more so no reader submissions get eliminated right away, but believe me when I say there is still plenty of room for submissions. Also, if anyone is interested in collaborating/creating a character that is not one of the selected, please message me. I have some ideas for characters I might need but not a lot of time to figure out all of their details. Anyway, this has been a long enough speech from me so the last thing I'll say is check out the boards on my Pinterest shaelynnsophia, that way you can put faces to the names of the selected and the royals.

Friendly reminder that tomorrow is April Fools' Day

Shaelynn