Beckett felt awful about Giselle's situation and though he knew exactly what his mother was doing, he couldn't help but feel partially responsible. He was sure she felt the same, but he had to face her eventually. Guilt had kept him away, but he knew it was time they had a conversation to ensure she knew who was truly to blame. He knew it would be an uphill battle, but still, he had to try. Giselle was old enough, maybe she'd see through all the smoke and mirrors.

With a sigh, he knocked at her door. "Giselle, open up, please."

He heard movement from inside of the room, and breathed in a sigh of relief. She opened the door and he glanced down at her, she wasn't nearly as put together as she normally was. Her red hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was wearing leggings and a t-shirt. Beckett frowned at her unkempt appearance, knowing he was partly to blame for the dip in her mood.

"What is it?" Giselle asked as she leaned against the doorframe. She looked past him, to the wall behind him as she crossed her arms.

"You can't seriously be blaming me for this," Beckett said. "Surely you must know that this is mother's doing."

"You're blaming her?" Giselle asked. "You know the pressure she faces from the minister's cabinet, you know how much of a boy's club it is! Do you know how hard she's trying to shield you from the responsibilities and pressures of ruling?" Giselle's accusations seemed endless, and Beckett was taken aback by how selfish she thought he was. "Father was the one who sent you away, yet you continue to take it out on her!"

"You don't seriously believe all of that, do you?" Beckett questioned. "Can you not see through her? Do you not see how arbitrary a date 'during my Selection' is?" he demanded, growing increasingly frustrated by the second.

"All I saw was that you were given the chance to stop this arrangement, and you didn't," Giselle said.

"Any action on my end would have merely postponed it, I cannot undo whatever arrangement was made without a crown on my head, the only way to save you from this marriage is to ascend the throne." Beckett pointed out.

Giselle frowned, coming to an understanding with her brother. "But you can't. Not without a marriage of your own."

"Now you see the issue." Beckett said as he ran a hand through his short red locks. "If I could, I would, but I need to have my Selection, I need to regain power from mother."

"Why are you so against her?" Giselle asked softly. "We just lost our father, she's the only parent we have left."

And a piss poor one at that, Beckett thought. "I have my reasons, Giselle." He decided now wasn't the right time to turn his sister against their mother, if that were even possible. He was just relieved that they weren't at odds anymore. "Perhaps Prince Felipe isn't as bad as we think. Have the two of you met?"

Giselle shook her head. "No, but I've heard good things about him."

"Good," Beckett said with a small smile. "I should get going, I'll see you later."

With that, he turned and left his sister to her own devices. He still felt awful about the situation she was in, he was her older brother, it was his job to protect her. But he knew there was little he could do to protect her from that, Princesses were sold off for alliances, everyone knew that, plus he couldn't be sure whose idea the marriage was, his mother's or his father's, but he knew who had the final say.

Beckett found Eliana in the gardens, ever since his mother threw her in his face they decided to be less discreet, at least until the Selection came. She sat knelt in front of the pond, feeding the ducks some bird feed. He cleared his throat and she turned and smiled at him, tucking her platinum blonde hair behind her ear. Beckett felt a twinge in his heart, he knew they could only go on for so much longer, soon the palace would be filled with thirty-five women competing for his heart. It was cruel to string her along like this, but could he actually end things? She was all he had known for years.

"You shouldn't feed ducks," Beckett said, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he closed the distance between them. "It makes them fat."

"Well, aren't you a fountain of knowledge," Eliana teased as she stood. She nestled up to him and watched as the ducks ate up the scattered bird feed.

Beckett shrugged. "I worked things out with Giselle."

"Good, I'm glad," Eliana said, resting her head on his shoulder.

Beckett looked down, he wasn't sure if he was ready to do this, but his mother knew about them. It had to be done. "Whatever this is, it's done."

"I beg your pardon?" Eliana demanded as she took a step back. Beckett could feel her blue eyes on him but his gaze was fixated on the ducks in front of him, unable or unwilling to look at her.

"You heard me, it's too dangerous, my mother knows about us," Beckett clarified, forcing himself to make eye contact with her, it was the least he could do.

"Please, I can handle your bitch of a mother," Eliana assured him, cupping his cheek. "Why are you trying to do this?"

"Because if I don't, what she'll do is far worse," Becket said, his voice cracking slightly. "I can't put you through that, when I have nothing to offer you."

"Who says I want anything?" Eliana asked as she looked into his deep brown eyes. "We're friends Beckett, friends don't need anything in return."

"She'll rake your name through the mud, she'll destroy you and your marriage prospects, you could be thrown in jail for what we've done, I can't risk it," Beckett said, his eyes flickering down briefly before he looked back into her blue ones.

"I don't care about that," Eliana said, her voice thick with tears.

"But I do, and so will you, and one day she'll turn you against me like she does everything else, it's for the best." With that, Beckett broke away. He knew this was the right thing to do, but then why did it feel so wrong? Could he really go through a Selection with no one truly in his corner? He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, he knew they could always reconcile after his Selection, maybe not as intimately as they were now.

Thanks so much for all the support for my little SYOC! I really appreciate it.

I have made a discord server for this story, if you'd like in it please PM me so I can add you to it.

Next chapter I will work on introducing the Selected!