Prince Noah's POV

I paced my room thinking about who I would take on my first date while Imogene was just sprawled out on my bed. She was reading some gossip magazine that had my face plastered on the front with the headline 'Our Favorite Selected.' I had no clue who I wanted to spend some time with first. I had barely spoken to any of them yet, really.

Imogene glanced up at me pacing from her magazine, "Do you need any advice?" I halted and turned to her, "Yes." She snorted and sat up, "Well I would suggest you take your favorite of the fan-favorites on your first date to please the people, and then a girl of similar interests with you on your second." I nodded taking in her advice.

"Alright, but who are the fan favorites?" She flipped through the pages of the magazine before landing on the page. "Here's a few. And this is more so among the higher castes. You have Lady Cassidy high up there on the list. The article says: Lady Cassidy is sure to capture our prince's attention. She's a beautiful girl and she's very successful. We all love our STYLIA founder, and we think that Prince Noah will too."

I tilted my head in thought, "Who are the others?" Imogene continued, "Lady Serenity will surely hit it off with our prince. She's been in so many movies and she's adored by many. We would love to have her as our future queen." I closed my eyes and pressed a hand to my head, this was going to be harder to choose than I anticipated. "Any others?"

She moved on to the next one, "Now who wouldn't love our favorite party planner? She's just a bubbly ball of fun and we love her. That's right, she's our favorite, Lady Claretta. With her fun personality as of now she's topping the charts as Illéa's favorite. It makes sense to us. She can plan amazing parties, she's beautiful, and she's got the personality to top it off. We would love to see our prince with her. Good luck to all the Selected!"

"Lady Claretta it is. She does have a wonderful personality. So did the other two girls but I need to make a decision somehow." Imogene smiled at me, "Atta boy. Taking charge and making decisions." I chuckled, "That's only one decision. Now who am I going to take on my second date?"

Claretta's POV

We were all led to the women's room when breakfast was finished. None of us were quite sure what the nine girls who stayed behind were doing. Suggestions were flying around the room but no one was positive.

I made my way over to a seat by a window where Alissa Dawson was already seated. "Hello," I greeted and she smiled at me. "Hi." I sat down on a seat across from her, "So this is crazy right? I can't believe we're here." She laughed, "You're telling me. I can't believe I was actually selected." "Did you want to be?" She had to think for a moment, "To be honest I'm not sure. I'm here because it was one of my father's last wishes."

Now I tilted my head, "What do you mean?" Alissa looked down at her hands folded in her lap, "He past away when I was fourteen, and he always wanted me to be in the Selection." My mouth formed an 'o'. "Oh I didn't mean to-" She waved her hand, "Don't worry about it. There's nothing you could do."

Of course I brought up a rough topic. I was usually better at conversation than this. I was surprised when Alissa spoke before me, "I don't usually talk about that right away. I'm sorry. So you're a party planner right?" I nodded, "Yeah, it's what I've always loved to do." "What kind of parties do you plan?"

"Oh all kinds. Whether it's a big birthday bash or a charity gala I'm all for it." Alissa seemed to open up to me, and then I could really get to know her. She lost her overly polite and courteous shell and showed me who she really was. "That's really cool. I'm afraid I don't have quite as interesting a job, although I do love it." I smiled at her, "Hey, all that matters though is that you love it! What's your job?"

"I'm a librarian, but I would love to be an author. I'm trying to write a book. Emphasis on trying." she informed me. "That's so cool! What are you trying to write about?" She seemed to get excited when talking about her ideas for her book. "Well I'm trying to write a historical fiction during the Third World War. There is going to be a family who loses their father in the war and they have to cope in the war. There will be friendships and betrayal. It will be a story of survival in a torn up nation."

I lifted my eyebrows, "Wow, you really could make a bestseller once you finish it. Is there going to be any romance?" She shrugged, "I don't know. I was just thinking of a close friendship." I nudged her, "Aww but just a little romance would intrigue that many more readers..." She laughed and rolled her eyes, "I'll think about it."

Just then Silvia entered the room and we all paid her attention. "So I'm sure you girls have noticed that some of the girls aren't here. That's is because they've been eliminated. Welcome to the Selection, girls." There was silence for a few moments. The first elimination had already happened, and we're all still here. Chattering broke out and wouldn't stop then. Silvia left the room after her announcement and we all started to really talk.

I turned back to Alissa, "We've made it past the first elimination." She seemed a little shocked, "I know. That was fast. I can't believe ten girls are gone already." I nodded in agreement, "I wonder how long we have until the next elimination?" Alissa laughed, "You're already thinking forward to the next elimination when the first one only just happened!" I giggled, "What? It's a reasonable thing to be wondering about."

Just then a maid walked over to me with a note; she handed it to me with a curtsy and waited there. Everyone was staring at me and a blush appeared on my cheeks. I studied the note for a moment wondering where it was from. "Open it!" growled Kimari from somewhere in the room where she sat with Serenity. I fumbled with the note and opened it.

Lady Claretta,

I immensely enjoyed meeting you and would love to spend more time with you. Would you join me for a luncheon at noon? I'll come by your room to bring you. If you could, please send your response back with Miss Jean here. Thank you.

Prince Noah

I looked up at Alissa who was looking on eagerly. "Is it a date?" she whispered and I nodded. She squealed a little and I laughed. The maid, who I presumed was Miss Jean, handed me a piece of clean paper and a pen. I thanked her and wrote my response, which was an of course. I folded the paper and gave it to Jean with a smile. She promptly left the room to bring the prince my note.

The room all the sudden seemed tense. I supposed that's because I got the first date. Alissa and I looked at each other and simultaneously decided to leave the room before anyone said anything. We went to my room where my three maids were tidying up. They stopped what they were doing and curtsied. "Hello ladies. I have a date for lunch and I was wondering if maybe I could dress up nice."

Two of my maids, Elaine and Delilah, beamed in excitement and my other maid Betty clapped her hands together. "Then we better get to work!" Betty exclaimed and Alissa and I grinned. Alissa and I sat on the edge of my bed and my maids stood in front of us. "Now what kind of look would you like, m'lady?" Elaine asked.

"Chic and edgy. But still modest." I responded and they thought for a moment. Alissa threw something in too, "It shouldn't be seductive, but it should be flirty." Delilah rushed into my closet and came back out a dress draped across her arms. "This is the one."she said and when I looked at it I couldn't agree more. It had a black beaded v-neck and a gray top that in a ombré became a black skirt. It was cinched at the waist and very flowing. The bottom wasn't cut evenly which added to the edginess. "It's perfect." Alissa said for me and I laughed.

"Well let's get you dressed then," Elaine suggested and I happily obliged. I shed my dress from breakfast and slipped on the new one. It fit like a glove. Betty placed a pair of gray high heels with black patterning in front of me and I stepped into them gaining a few inches. They sat me down in front of the vanity and Elaine started working on my hair while Delilah did my makeup. It felt strange to be getting changed again when I had looked perfectly fine but I supposed because it was a date it was expected to dress up.

My black hair was curled and put up in a high ponytail with a braid on the crown of my head. My makeup was light but I had eyeliner on that made my eyes pop. Quite frankly, I had no clue how my maids had been able to make me look like this. "Wow," was all I said and the maids laughed. "Wow is right," Alissa seconded and then continued. "Prince Noah will be speechless." I rolled my eyes, "We'll see."

Not long after I was ready there was a knock at the door. I looked excitedly at my maids and Alissa before composing myself and going to the door. I opened it and smiled at him, "Good afternoon Prince Noah." I bobbed a curtsy and he dipped his head. "I'm so glad you said yes," he revealed while giving me his arm. I took it and replied, "You thought I might say no? Oh please we're all desperate to spend some time with you!" He chuckled, "Yes well there was still that chance." I rolled my eyes, "No, not really. A girl would have to be insane to refuse a date with you."

He shook his head with a smile, "But what's so special about me that makes me different from any other guy?" I eyed him as if he were crazy, "Well besides the fact you're a Prince and we were all warned before this to not refuse anything you ask-" "Wait, you mean you were told you can't refuse anything I tell you to do?" I nodded. "Do know that you can refuse me. You don't have to go with me."

I laughed out loud, "That doesn't change my mind at all. I don't know you all that well, but you seem like a great guy." A big cheesy grin broke out on his face when he confirmed it, "Really? You think so?" "Of course, and I hope to get to know you better." His smile remained on his face, "And I you."

Prince Noah led me to a smaller sized dining room that had a table set for two in the middle. "What is this room used for?" I asked curiously as it looked to be used often. "This is a dining room just for my family. When there are a lot of people in the palace and we want a private family dinner, which is often, we eat in here. Today I get to use it for a private date with you."

He pulled out a chair for me and I took my seat. He sat down across from me, "I took the liberties of choosing our menu. I hope you like it." I smiled at him, "It would take a lot for me not to like this." He had remembered that I liked pink lemonade and there was a pitcher of it in the middle of the table; he also kindly poured me a glass and put it in front of me. A maid brought us an appetizer and I was thrilled to find nachos with cheese and salsa, an absolute party must. As soon they were placed in the table I grabbed a plate and put a good amount of chips on it. "So this was a good choice?"

I snorted, "Uh yeah!" I then realized a moment too late that I had just snorted in front of the crown prince of Illéa on our first date. It took everything in me not to slap a hand to my face, but as I examined his face to make sure he didn't mind it I realized that he barely even noted it. He must like it if we were just ourselves around him. Throughout the date I found myself laughing more than I had in ages, and he seemed to enjoy himself too.

We had finished lunch about a hour ago and were now just talking about our lives. "You should've seen my father when Eve and Dash were born. He was so panicky and he thought everything was going to go wrong. Halfway through he passed out." I burst out in laughter, "You don't mean the King Maxon?" Prince Noah nodded chuckling, "Oh yes, the King Maxon. Even after being there for Kian, Imogene, and my births he was still a wreck." I couldn't catch my breath through my laughter.

I had only just caught my breath when a petite maid came over to Prince Noah. She passed him a note and quickly left. I was quiet while he read the note. He sighed and put a hand through his dirty blonde hair. "I'm so sorry, I have to go to my father's office. I truly had a great time with you. There is some apple pie and ice cream you can take back to your room." I tilted my head and smiled. "I had a great time Prince Noah, thank you."

Here is another chapter! This is probably like the quickest update ever for me. I hope you liked it! Charmfeather you were so close with guessing the first date. And seriously, Charmfeather I love your reviews! Your are so amazing! All of you though who almost always review (cloudy5, jenhen48, Fryllabrille201) and even those who only review occasionally! Thank you! Now some questions:

1. What did you think of Claretta's date?

2. And how about the friendship between Claretta and Alissa what did you think of that?

3. And what do you think of Prince Noah so far?

4. Some side plots might be shown next chapter, who do you think those might involve of the selected?