"Knock, knock," I heard my mother's faint voice outside of my room, "time to get up, Lio. Come on, now."

"Why do you have to wake me up so damn early?" I complained, laughing a bit as I did so. I heard my mother chuckle lightly.

"Come on, Lionel get out of bed." She pleaded. I finally gave in and tried to make my bed look a little messy so it at least looked like I had slept some. I had been having trouble sleeping lately, but I had to blame it on the upcoming Selection. The girls were being drawn in two weeks, and I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that soon, the woman who would be my future wife would be arriving here. At the palace; so close to me.

I got dressed and straightened out my hair, making sure any stray curls didn't fall in my face. I double checked my suit, making sure it was crisp enough, and centered my tie a little bit more before turning away from my mirror and walking toward the door. It would be a long day.

"Oh, come on, Lionel," the Spanish princess, Josephine, teased, "you have to be a little excited to have so many women in your house at one time!" I chuckled and shook my head.

"Well, how would you feel about having 35 men in your home?" I questioned, cocking my head. Josephine considered this.

"Honestly, it doesn't sound so bad. I wish my country had a Selection. I find them to be so very romantic." She flashed me a grin and I just had to laugh. If only she knew.

I excused myself from Josephine so I could go get some fresh air. Being around so many different strangers at one time was giving me a headache, and I could barely stand being in the Great Room any longer. Before I left, I examined the crowd. Wow, it's going to get so much bigger than this in so little time. I shook my head, catching my mother's eye. She nodded at me, as if knowing exactly what I was thinking about. I smiled, but only slightly, and walked out of the room, adjusting my sleeve as I left. The library was waiting for me, and I had a new book in mind already.

Once I got into the library, I located the book I was looking for and sat on one of the cushions positioned near one of the windows. I flipped through the pages, finding relief in how familiar they were to me. I had picked up this book when I was 14 for the first time, just to take a look at my future but I never took it seriously. The book was on the past Selections and how they had gone, how the man, and in one case, woman, took the role of choosing a husband/wife. It all seemed so complicated that I was sure that war strategizing was much easier than that. I sighed and looked up, realizing I wasn't the only person in the room.

"Hey, Idelle." I greeted and smiled, getting up to bow to her.

"Cousin." Idelle greeted back. Idelle was my Uncle Osten's daughter, and boy, did she look like him. She had carrot-red hair, blue eyes, and her whole entire body was covered in freckles. She had the same mischievous smile that he did, and she and I did quite a bit of scheming when the time was right. She was my best friend, the only person closest to my age who lived in the palace still. She had a sister, but I never really spoke to Evie. Only at family reunions, which weren't really reunions since we pass each other every day.

"I need your help," I mumbled, "please don't laugh."

"No promises." She smirked and I rolled my eyes.

"I need help with girls. I don't understand you creatures.

"Oh!" Idelle burst into laughter. I mentally kicked myself for asking her this, but she was a girl and having this conversation with my mother would be way too awkward.

"Shut up. Just please help me." I begged. She stopped laughing and shook her head, straightening up a bit.

"Okay, okay," she paused, "just the way you said it…" Idelle started laughing again and I made my way to the door. She didn't even notice when I left.

The day was so incredibly tiring that I took my dinner in my room, leaving my parents concerned that I had come down with something. I assured them that if I had come down with something I would definitely be causing quite the scene to get the guests out of the house so that I didn't infect them with whatever infected me. I was simply tired. There was no other way to put it.

I stirred my dinner around on my plate. No matter how good the cooks were in the palace-they are remarkable!-I had no appetite. I called for a butler to dispose of my food and quickly went to take a bath. It was so soothing, and I felt all of the energy that had drained from me that day resurge rather suddenly. I sighed. It would be another one of those sleepless nights. Then again, that would be my life until the 35 selected was narrowed down to 10. And that was a long time from now.

A/N: AHHHHH! I have never written as a guy before so please don't judge me. I just figured you would want to know the prince before the Selected were announced *cough* soon *cough* I love you guys and thank you so much for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Selection or any of the original characters. They are owned by Kiera Cass.

Also, I am going to be uploading a special story every Friday for you guys that goes along with it! Once I get all of the forms in it will mostly be introducing all of the Selected, including Miss Sassy herself, Analeyah.