A/N: OMG Y'ALL I'M CRYING I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACES IT'S BEEN SO LONG! My apologies in the delay at posting the submission form. It is now available, and I am looking forward to reading the characters you submit (and to those who can't, I totally understand. I'm just so glad to have you along for the ride)! I can't wait to create an awesome story with you :) These first six chapters are set up to introduce you to the six kids. After that, the real story can start unfolding. For those of you that need/want a refresher course, I've posted mini-bios of the Schreave family on my profile page. And if anyone ever has any questions, or just wants to chat, hit me up anytime! I hope y'all enjoy!

The Thing about Selections

The thing about Selections is, they don't always end in happily ever after.

People got so caught up in Maxon and America, or Kaden and Finnley, that they tended to forget that Selections brought more terrible couples into the world than good. Until Maxon's tenure, the Selection had been rigged so that only the high caste girls could win. Each choice was political move or predetermined expectation. Spencer Illéa had faked his death to avoid the torture. A generation later, Abby Tamblin, winner of the Selection, had killed her so called 'true love' to marry her cousin, Porter Schreave. Then they had a horrible marriage that brought Clarkson Schreave into the world, and Elodie very much would like to forget the hateful, abusive storm cloud that was her great-grandfather.

Even when her grandparents and parents had their Selections, while they found love at the end, so many other people got hurt. There were rebellions and terrorist attacks. Innocent people died. Sometimes, on certain days, Elodie found her father staring out into the gardens, his eyes a million miles away, still haunted by all that he'd lost.

All the evidence against having a successful Selection was right there. So Elodie had no idea why she thought her Selection would turn out any different.

True, no one had died. Elodie was quite proud of that. In fact, her Selection was so opposite of exciting that the public got bored about half way through when they realized that there wasn't going to be any scandal. Elodie was low-key like that - matronly, some people would say, even from a young age. She thought that was a good quality to have, especially after an era of so much unrest and upheaval. She thought it meant that there could finally be peace.

What it really turned out to mean was her husband having the bright idea to cheat on her.

No, cheating was the wrong word. Cheating implied that Felix was going behind Elodie's back, sneaking around, covering up his tracks. When in reality Felix had no problem parading town with his twenty-three-year-old mistress, showering her with the kind of love and attention he used to give Elodie before she had their daughter.

That's what Elodie didn't understand. Where did it all go wrong? They had been so madly in love in the early days of their relationship. During the Selection, everyone knew that Felix had stolen her heart, right from the start. So, when did it change?

Over the years, Elodie had had many thoughts, not all of them good:

Was I a bad wife? Was it because I work too much? Did I not give him enough attention? He always said he liked powerful women, but was he threatened by my being the heir?

It was all bullshit, because Elodie knew this wasn't her fault. She didn't make Felix have an affair; he did it all on his own.

Divorce was not an option. Not after she had gone through the spectacle of a Selection, and she had worked so hard to charm her parents and the media with the illusion of her 'perfect' marriage. Besides, she would be thirty next summer. No one would want to take on someone like her, at her age, with a child and demanding career. All she could do was hold her head high and carry on.

But why did her siblings make it so hard? There were days she regretted confiding in them, especially Kase. Unlike the others, who just grew more and more despondent at the situation as the years went on, Kase grew angrier, and that made Elodie angry.

How dare Kase have the nerve to act offended when he was the reason why -

Elodie cut off that train of thought. Rationally, she knew it wasn't her brother's fault. He didn't want to be cheated on as much as she didn't. But on her darkest days, Elodie couldn't help but think that if Kase hadn't've brought that girl around the palace, then she wouldn't be in this situation.

Wishful thinking, Elodie told herself as she leaned back in her chair in her office. She pinched the bridge of her nose, the words of the report in front of her swimming as she tried to focus on both taxes and her crumbling marriage. Not even Janus, her fat tabby cat named for the black and orange split of fur that ran down his face, sleeping her in lap, could make her feel better. She should have eaten more, or at least finished her coffee. Maybe that would've stopped the pounding in her skull.

Oh, not the pounding in her skull. That dull thudding sound was someone knocking on her door.

"Come in," she called, rubbing her temples while she prayed, Please, don't let it be another meeting.

It was her new assistant, the fourth one in as many months. Not many people could cut the long hours Elodie pulled, hence the quick turnover.

This woman was petite, with an angled bob and bright red lipstick that must have taken at least ten minutes to get as fresh and crisp as she wore. Elodie gave her three weeks.

"What's this?" she asked, taking the thick stack of papers from her assistant's hands. Janus, not liking the disturbance of his afternoon nap, jumped from her lap and ran out the office door. Rude.

"Protocol for Princess Cordelia's Selection."

"I'm sorry, did you just say Delia is having a Selection?"

What the hell did she miss at breakfast?

The fact that any of her siblings wanted a Selection was shocking, but Delia most of all. Elodie maybe expected it from Hayden, or even Auden before the whole arranged marriage thing came about. But Delia? Never in a million years.

"Yes. It is all written there, Your Highness," the woman replied chipperly, as if a stack of eighty pages was something that Elodie had time to read. As if she didn't have other, more pressing work to take care of. "Also, you have a call on the line from Allens - the Governor himself."

"If he has business to discuss, why not call my father?"

"I believe he said this is a personal call, Your Highness."

With that, the assistant curtseyed and scampered off in her little high heels. Elodie shortened her expiration date to two weeks, and that was if the blisters on the woman's heels didn't bleed first.

The Selection paperwork could wait. A governor could not, especially not the Governor of Allens. Elodie reached for her phone and pressed the blinking red button on the receiver.

"Office of the Crown, Her Royal Highness Elodie Schreave speaking," she spoke formally into the phone, readying her pen and paper for whatever Mathis Reinhardt was about to say. Personal call or no, it was unusual for him to use work lines for anything. Usually he sent his personal messages through his wife, Josie Reinhardt, née Woodwork.

"Well, good afternoon Princess," came a voice that was definitely not Mathis. It took a second for recognition to kick in, but when it did, joy spread throughout Elodie's body from her nose to the tips of her toes. "It is good to hear your voice."

"Jordan," Elodie replied, unable to stop the smile growing across her lips. "Your father is not going to be happy if he finds you wasting government minutes talking to me."

Memories of many midnight long-distance calls came filtering through Elodie's mind. She and Jordan used to be inseparable like that, as many best friends are.

"Well, then let's make this quick." There was rustling from the other end of the line, probably Jordan moving around. "First thing's first, this is no longer my father's line. It's mine."

"What?"

"Yep! Dad stepped down right before elections, decided it was time to retire. He is no longer the Governor of Allens. I am. Or, will be, come January."

Elodie was speechless. Jordan laughed at her astounded silence. "You seriously didn't know? Shame on you, not keeping up with your own government."

It was all teasing, but Elodie still felt her face flush. She had been so distracted these past weeks, with her husband and daughter and her crumbling personal life. She felt the hints of failure creeping into her bones.

"I've been...busy," she said defensively, knowing it was a poor excuse. Thankfully, Jordan didn't seem to mind.

"Yes, yes, peace tour to New Asia, very nice. How was that?"

"It was...good. Glad to be home," Elodie glossed over the trip. Truth be told, she didn't remember much of it between having to stop her husband from flirting with Princess Han Soon-Mae and keeping her father from suspecting that anything was wrong. "But, back to you, you're governor now? I didn't even know you were running!"

"Last minute addition to the ballot," Jordan said, very nonchalant. "Apparently people see a lot of my dad in me. Swung the votes in my favor."

"I'm glad it's you, and I say that with only a little bit of bias," Elodie replied, smiling when she heard Jordan laugh. "I met with the other guy a few months back - a real stick in the mud."

"That's why I'm calling. My inauguration isn't until January, but I've still got a lot of things I need to do before I take office...including swinging by your place and getting the seal of approval from the royal family."

The thought of seeing Jordan again, after so many years apart, warmed Elodie's heart. When was the last time he had been to the palace? Maybe before he left for college, nearly a decade ago. Time went by too quick, and Elodie had gone too long without seeing her best friend.

"Let me check my calendar," Elodie hummed as she flipped through her planner. Most of her days were already booked solid, but this was Jordan. She would make an exception. "It's going to be a real madhouse around here soon. Delia's having a Selection."

"Are you serious?" Jordan asked, just as baffled as Elodie sounded when she found out. "I thought that girl was, I don't know..."

"Yeah, me too." Elodie didn't need Jordan to finish that sentence to know what he was going to say. Delia was, well, Delia. "She said it's what she wants, that she'll take it seriously. I'm not entirely sure I buy it, but we'll see."

"And how do you feel about it?" Jordan asked, his voice carefully guarded. "Another Selection?"

Elodie stared at the framed photo on her desk: a family portrait taken two summers back on a family trip to the Amalfi coast. The three of them were smiling so wide, blue water sparkling in the background, not a care in the world. Felix had bought her a diamond anniversary band to commemorate five years of marital bliss. Elodie didn't know it then, but Felix had been nine months deep into his affair. She found out three weeks later while lying in bed, her husband dumb enough to leave his phone out where she could see his texts.

What a bunch of bullshit.

"Fine, it's fine," Elodie lied. It was so natural for her to lie about everything now. She had been doing it for so long. "Anyway, I have some spare time this Friday, if that works?"

"Perfect," Jordan rolled on, and Elodie was grateful for it. She struck a big red 'x' through two meetings and a grand opening ceremony planned for that day. She would rather spend her time with Jordan than playing happy couple with Felix. "I'll bring the family down, make a trip out of it. I know Mom has been dying to see you all."

"I'm sure Dad will love that." It had been over a year since Josie had made her way out to the West Coast, and Elodie knew her father was missing his best friend. For once, there was something to look forward to. "See you all soon, Governor."

Another chuckle rolled through the line. "See you soon, Princess."