I DO NOT OWN THE SELECTION SERIES. SHOUTOUT TO WONDY-SW AND LOGANPERDUE FOR CREATING THESE CHARACTERS. I HAD TO DELETE THE FIRST INTRO CHAPTER
Juneau. Province of Atlin, Kingdom of Illèa. The day of the announcement.
Claude-Marie Helena Vance was resting in her matchbox style house. It wasn't anything fancy, but it suited her just fine. Besides, it wasn't like she was at home most of the time. The life of a mercenary kept Claurie plenty busy. She was lucky if she got 2 months worth of days off for the year. While everyone else was eager to watch the announcement to find out what guys and gals would be courting the crown princess of Illèa, Claurie was content to just lay back, relax, and savor a piece of rich vanilla cake.
As Claurie laid on her couch, eating her cake, she couldn't help but look down and admire her body. The mercenary from Atlin had developed some nice muscles from her time as a circus performer. They were a good luck charm for when she was in the mood for hooking up with a handsome guy or gal. Before Claurie could swallow that last bite of cake, her cell phone started to ring. She heaved a groan before picking it up an answering.
"Hiya, who's callin?" Claurie asked.
"Someone who has a offer that you might be interested in. I spoke with Benny and he said you'd be up for this job." A woman answered on the other end of the phone. Benny was her handler and got her all her jobs, so if he was ok with it, it was legit.
"Is that so, whatcha got fer' me?" Claurie asked, her curiosity piqued.
"I am a representative of Ellen Schreave, Queen of Illèa, first of her name." The woman said through the phone. "In order to make Sybil cooperate with this selection, the Queen was required to allow women to be selected."
"Yea, I don't see what that's gotta do with little Ol' me, lady." Claurie remarked.
"The idea of a same sex royal couple is unacceptable to her majesty." The lady continued. "I've arranged for you to represent Atlin in Crown Princess Sybil's selection. You will be paid ten Thousand Queen's coins for every female selected that you get eliminated, along with the weekly fee that all selected receive."
"Ya kidding me, all her Queenness wants is for me to git some of them missies eliminated?" Claurie asked with a snicker as she thought of the easy money.
"That's right, the Queen has hand picked Sybil's spouse, she just needs you to push her in the right direction." The woman said as Claurie decided that she was going to take the job.
"Ya gotta deal lady, I'll get on a plane to Sacramento ASAP!" Claurie exclaimed before hanging up.
Mexico City. Province of Paloma. The same day.
Irradia Fuerte-Sangre Poder was finishing up work on new next hit single that was set to drop on Spotify within a month. Her agent and her backup band were understandably surprised when she said she wasn't going to be watching the announcement on TV. Irradia wasn't going through all of this royal romance bullshit. Her participation in Crown Princess Sybil's selection was a good public relations stunt; nothing more.
Irradia knew that if she entered the selection and managed to stick around long enough to become an elite, her Prestige and her sales would quintuple; regardless of whether she won or not. The Singer from Paloma tried to keep her mind occupied by continuing to edit her single. Most artists in her profession left it up to the experts, and Irradia did too; to a certain extent, but she wanted to be completely hands on with her music because it was hers and no one else's. She would go back and listen to the music over and over and over again. Eventually, Irradia heard the door to the sound booth slam open and her manager, a short and husky Latino man named Leroy Hernandez was standing there with a look of utter surprise on his face and clearly out of breath.
"Irradia…the announcement…the princess just read off Paloma…" he said as he formed a weak smile that he aimed at his client. Irradia was confused only for the briefest of moments, but then…she realized that this could mean 1 thing and 1 thing only.
"I got selected?" Irradia asked, her eyes wide as dinner plates.
"You better believe it, you're going to the capital to woo the next Queen of Illéa!" Senor Hernandez exclaimed with joy as if he were a kid opening presents on a Christmas morning and he'd just gotten the action figure he'd be pestering his parents months for.
"That's bitchin." Irradia said with a smile as she tried to look pleased with herself.
"The band wants to reserve Zéfiro to have a fiesta in your honor, mija." Hernandez said with pride as he was beyond thrilled that his number 1 client had scored a place in Princess Sybil's selection.
"Sure, let's do it." Irradia replied as her manager went to tell the rest of her band. Irradia was thrilled to get the welcome boost to her career, but there was always a risk that her unsavory past might become public knowledge. Irradia quickly pushed that thought from her mind and focused on her triumph. She had been in the spotlight for a while now and the limited number of people who were privy to such knowledge had been given considerable incentive to keep quiet.
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