CHAPTER 7

The sight of his uncle's harried-looking assistant at meal times was never a good thing.

It usually meant there was some sort of imminent disaster that couldn't be avoided until after the meal was concluded. The last time the woman had walked in during lunch, it was to inform Uncle Albert that a nuclear test had failed, and to ask him what he wanted to do about the miles of deformed landscape. That had been years ago.

Cade wasn't sure what brought her into breakfast, especially with the entirety of the selected sitting there, most probably within earshot, or at least close enough to make out some of the words. Maybe it wasn't anything particularly terrible. Martha Chambers, with her strict black bob and professional pantsuits, took security clearances very seriously. It probably wasn't confidential information.

She curtsied quickly, going to whisper something into Uncle Albert's ear.

"Can you pass the jam?" Andrew asked, distracting Cade from his attempts at eavesdropping.

He handed it to Andrew, still trying to listen to the conversation. He made out the words She…now…palace…selected? Maybe some girl now went to the palace to be selected? Or one of the selected had now left the palace? Neither of those seemed right. Cade knew that if he waited a few moments he would probably be told what was going on, but the stubborn streak in him had to figure it out for himself whether to wait for somebody to deign to tell him about whatever impending disaster was sure to be on the horizon.

"Hey!" Andrew complained. In his thoughts, Cade had accidentally turned the jam too far to its side, spilling part of it on Andrew. "Thanks a lot Cade. I didn't know it was that hard for you to pass me a jar."

"Sorry."

Andrew rolled his eyes, "Surely Illéa's future King shouldn't be so careless. Maybe that's why people don't like you. Have you considered that Cadey?" he continued.

"Andrew," Aunt Morgan said, without any real conviction behind the reprimand.

"No, it's fine," Cade said, his cheeks burning. He did not want to cause a scene in front of the selected. Besides, it was mostly his fault. He had dumped a rather large portion of strawberry jam onto Andrew's arm. He deserved that. "Sorry, Andrew."

Andrew didn't answer.

"She's here now?" Uncle Albert asked, concerned. "I thought it wasn't supposed to be till next Tuesday."

"The flight got moved up," the assistant said. "I thought they sent an email to Her Highness."

Aunt Morgan shrugged. "Oh, that. I haven't checked my email in three days. I'm partaking in a detox to eliminate stress." No one commented on the absurdity of that answer. Not even Andrew, who always had something to say.

"Who's here?" Cade asked.

"The last of the selected," Uncle Albert said. "Ellis Scholz."

Oh.

Part of Cade had been hoping that the girl would never bother to show up. Ellis Scholz, the daughter of the German ambassador to Illéa, did not like him. Her parents despised him, and though Cade hadn't spoken to Ellis herself in nearly a decade (besides the basic greetings and listening to her occasional presentation in meetings) he was sure her feelings hadn't changed much either. Maybe it stemmed from when they were children and Cade had accidentally pushed her off the slide in the playground during a state dinner. Maybe she just agreed with her parents who thought he was incompetent. Cade wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

He had hoped that she just wouldn't come, that it would be a quiet self-elimination, and he would not have to see Emmerich and Carlene Scholz on the front page on the newspaper with yet another op-ed about all the ways Cade failed as a King, a politician, and as a human being. The way they spoke sometimes, one would think Cade was incapable of breathing.

"Okay." Cade swallowed hard, his appetite for breakfast all but lost. He vaguely noticed Vivienne tug on Andrew's arm to ask what was going on, and several of the selected, the ones who had the thought to count the number of other competitors, nudge each other.

"Perfect!" Aunt Morgan chirped. "Have her come eat breakfast, I'm sure she must be famished from the flight. What is it? Twelve hours?"

Cade coughed. "Oh, probably, sure. I guess that's what we should do."

Morgan smiled, "Martha, would you go fetch her?"

"Of course, Your Highness." Martha cleared her throat, "Her father also arrived with her, should I…?" Her voice trailed off in an unasked question.

The slightest flicker of wariness passed through his uncle's face. "No. I don't think that's necessary. I'm sure he would be happier returning to his residence."

"Would he be?" Aunt Morgan asked. "There's plenty of pastries left. I think we can accommodate another-"

"Morgie," Albert tipped his head towards Cade. He looked down. He didn't want to see his aunt's surely pitying gaze.

"Oh. Right. Yes, never mind then, Martha. Go get her."

It took all of forty seconds for her to make her way into breakfast.

Ellis was an intimidating sort of beautiful. Her features were all sharp, cool lines and hard edges. There was no doubt that she was attractive, Cade knew that she had to be to survive the council. She let the doors open loudly in front of her, the four inch heels she wore clacking on the polished floor. Most of the selected turned to look at her, curious, perhaps even jealous, as to why she was allowed to come a week late.

Ellis provided the answer for them. She hadn't removed her ID lanyard from her neck, the card declaring her an Diplomatic Trainee. It hung in front of her ivory blouse, which was tucked into a dark pencil skirt. Her light brown hair was curled in a planned sort of disarray, and her make up was simple with black eyeliner accentuating her eyes.

She made eye contact with a few of the selected as she slowly walked to the head table, one finger twisted around the lanyard, shifting it enough for the other girls to see. There was a combination of awe and envy on most of their faces, as if they couldn't decide whether to be jealous of her dramatic entrance or to find some inspiration in it. Cade wasn't sure where he fell on that spectrum just yet.

"Your Highnesses," she said, curtsying deeply.

Uncle Albert stood up quickly, "Miss Scholz, thank you for coming. I hope the flight wasn't too bad?"

"No, Your Highness, it wasn't. There was some turbulence, but I guess that's to be expected."

"How's your father? Is he well?" Uncle Albert asked smoothly, as if he hadn't just disallowed the man to come to breakfast.

"Tired. It's been a long few days," Ellis said.

"I'm sure. Travel can be exhausting, well, why don't you sit down and have something to eat, someone can bring over a-"

"Actually, Miss Scholz," Cade interjected quickly, "I was hoping you could come join me for breakfast. Since you didn't get a proper introduction, I thought…" Cade trailed off. He wasn't sure what he was thinking exactly. He just felt he needed to do something, something that preferably involved not spending time with a girl who probably hated him in front of three dozen other people.

Ellis beamed, a surprisingly sunny smile, "Sure, Your Highness."

Cade pushed his chair away, mumbling a quick apology to Andrew as he bumped into him. He escorted Ellis to one of the nearby sitting rooms on the first floor. This one was upholstered in shades of yellow and orange, the combinations of the marigolds on the lemon yellow sofas was a bit much in Cade's opinion, but what did he know?

"Oh, this is so pretty," Ellis sighed, touching one of the flowers gently. "Are they real?"

"The flowers?" She nodded. "Yes, they are. You can have one if you'd like," Cade offered.

Ellis smiled again, taking one of the smaller flowers out of the vase and tucking it into her wavy hair. She sat in one of the overstuffed chairs, crossing her ankles.

Cade sat across from her. "I'm sure someone will be by with breakfast." Hopefully.

"That's alright. I'm not very hungry, I just felt His Highness wanted me to get something." Ellis laughed a little. "They did serve food on the plane, contrary to popular belief."

"Was it good food?"

"It was okay."

Cade nodded, looking to the side.

Three, two, one.

"So, Miss Scholz, you're from Tammins, correct?"

"Yes, I was born there, now I work in Angeles, although I travel much with my father. He's a diplomat," she added, as if Cade didn't already know that. He knew the basics, he would have to be ignorant not to. Not many unelected people were allowed into the council rooms, and there was careful deliberation over each intern and assistant. The decision might not have been up to Cade, his father had deemed it permissible years ago, but he had seen the paperwork.

"Right, that makes sense."

"That's why I was so late for the selection," Ellis continued, "I wish I could have been here for the start, it all looked so fun, but when duty calls, you answer. I guess you know that better than I do, Your Highness."

Cade blinked, her answer not at all what he was expecting. "I do know that. I'm not sure if I know better than you. Maybe. I don't know."

Ellis simply smiled. "Well, I think you must. You do much more work than I do after all. I couldn't even pretend to compare. I'm not that self-flatulent to think I do more work than a prince. I can promise you I'm actually quite sane."

"Sure." Cade coughed, "Miss Scholz, what do you think is most important in the world?"

"What do you think is?"

In all his times asking the question, Cade had never really considered that. "Well, probably fairness in a way. I…I don't know how to explain it, but the world can be a very unjust place. I think I would like to change that."

"You can, and I agree with you. I think that fairness is very important, especially when it comes to international ordeals. I see firsthand how some diplomats of small countries get treated and," she clicked her tongue, "it's not good."

Cade looked up at that. He had never really thought about it, he was (well, for most of his life) the Crown Prince of one of the largest countries in the world. Probably, if he had to guess, he and his employees got some of the better treatment abroad. He didn't know if that would hold true for poor little Luxembourg.

"Really? I didn't know about that."

Ellis shook her head, "You didn't? Well, they're not very obvious about it, but… it can be sad to watch sometimes."

"I'd think so." Cade agreed. "I'll look into it."

"Well, if you manage to change anything, you'll have my undying gratitude."

Cade smiled a little. Ellis was actually very sweet. "Thank you. Although, I can't promise anything."

"I wouldn't expect it."

"Moving on then, what would you say is your greatest strength?"

Ellis took a breath, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger as she thought, "Not to boast, but I think I have very good social skills. What's your opinion?"

"Mine?" Cade stuttered, "On what?"

Ellis giggled a little, "On my social skills. I don't want to be too…self-absorbed about it."

"I hardly know you," Cade started, "But I guess they're good. I'm enjoying this conversation, although I don't know what qualifies as good social skills."

Ellis beamed, "Gee thanks. Well, I did debate in high school, so I suppose I put all the arguing to good use."

"Yeah." Cade glanced at the door, not sure if breakfast was indeed coming. As nice as ELlis seemed, he was hungry, and he was a little scared of her. She seemed much less intimidating now, with a flower tucked behind her ear, chatting animatedly, than she did in the dining room, but her id lanyard still laid against her chest. A reminder that this girl's parents absolutely despised him.

"I don't know if food is being delivered." Cade told her.

She puckered for a second. "Oh. Well, do you want to ask somebody?"

"We can. Actually, do you just want to go back to the dining room?" Cade asked, standing and extending a hand for her.

"Sure, but, Your Highness, I just wanted to say something."

"Go ahead," Cade offered, bracing himself for the worst. Maybe if he was lucky his shirt was on backwards. Something only mildly embarrassing compared to what she was likely going to tell him. Perhaps an anecdote about why she needed to leave. The famous, it's not me it's you speech. She could have decided throughout the course of the conversation that he was an idiot, well, not that it would be a new recollection for her. Certainly not for her parents.

"Okay. I'm not naive, and I know you've probably seen some of the things my parents have said about you. The news articles, the snide comments. They weren't very discreet about their, ah, disapproval."

Cade nodded. He had seen all of them.

"I don't know what you think of me. You might hate me, you probably hate my parents. Honestly, I'm surprised that my father hasn't been banned from the country yet, believe me, I would have understood. I'm not like that though. I don't think you're incapable, or whatever else they said. Really, I don't. In fact," Ellis flushed a little, "I think you're actually very kind and funny. Very funny." She buried her face in her hands at this point, most of her body an alarming shade of scarlet.

But, it was a bit flattering actually. Ellis didn't hate him. She didn't. In fact, if Cade was to judge by her embarrassment and the way she was fanning her face to try and get it to turn back to its normal color, she might have had a small crush on him.

Who would have thought.

The Scholz's own daughter didn't even dislike him. This should go down in the history books. Heck, it should be a national holiday in its own right.

"That's very nice of you to say, thank you."

She nodded meekly, "I just thought you should know, before you get too in your head and all."

Cade cleared his throat, "Well, I'm going on a group date today, to a flower show, if you would like to come. It should be fun."

Ellis' whole exterior brightened, her face lit up, "Yes of course. Of course I'll come," she said, smiling broadly.

"It's a date then."

"A date on my very first day," Ellis sing-songed. She looked very happy.

Cade gestured to the door, "Do you want to go back to the dining room? I think someone really did forget about us."

"Sure. So, what time are we leaving? I wanted to take a nap, jet lag and all. If I yawn I promise it's not because I'm bored."

Cade laughed, shaking his head. "Right, got it. It's going to be later, someone should give you a letter with the time on it…"

"Okay."

They walked back to the dining room slowly, Ellis kept chatting to him, something which Cade appreciated. The other occupants of the room seemed surprised to see them back, but Cade just waved his hand. "Trouble with the food," he said as a way of explanation.

Much later in the day, Cade stood in the foyer of the palace, waiting for the rest of his entourage to arrive. Other than Ellis, he had invited Catalina, something about her optimism just reminded him of a flower, and Penelope, perhaps because she was an antithesis to Catalina in every way. Or so Cade thought. He had only spoken to them once, so he didn't know much about any of them at all. Not even Finley, the receiver of his first date, did he know enough about to make sweeping observations.

Catalina arrived first, wearing a sunny yellow dress and brightly covered sandals. Her brown hair was tied with two ribbons into braids. She looked very pretty, Cade noticed, almost surprising himself. Well, she was on his list of potential Queens. It was fine if he thought she looked pretty. "Your Highness," she greeted. "Am I the first one here?"

"I think so," Cade said.

"Cool. I'm excited to get out of the palace, I feel like I need to see the real world again." Catalina said, laughing a little. "After a while here, you almost forget things like trash exist."

Cade looked at the spotless foyer. It's gilded walls free of dust specks and the vases of flowers that got switched out every other day. He could see where Catalina was coming from. "I guess so. There's not much…gross stuff here."

Catalina sighed, "You're so lucky. I wish I could live like this every day."

Cade just smiled. He wasn't sure that Catalina would like to live like he did every day. He wasn't even sure he liked it. He hated the disapproving looks, the unrelenting commentary. He always told himself he was presented with the minority opinion, thirty-six aging politicians with nothing better to do than bully a boy half their age. It would get better, eventually. Once he was crowned King.

But, he did like the food.

"It's nice. It's a really nice place to live," Cade answered. "How about you?"

"Hm?"

"I just meant," Cade cleared his throat, suddenly wondering if the question was too personal. "What's your home like?"

"Well, actually, I guess it's not that different from this. I'm a six, actually, I guess I'm a three now, but either way, it's not mine. My employers let me live there, and it actually is quite nice. They're very pleasant people," Catalina smiled as she said this, but she didn't meet Cade's eyes.

"Do you work for a family?" Cade asked.

"Yes, mostly just for the mother. She's getting on in her years, so I keep her company most of the time. I guess I got lucky in the job market. No cleaning or gardening for me. I just have to go with her places. She's very nice," Catalina added. "I enjoy it."

Cade didn't know if he believed her or not. He believed that she had gotten lucky, as she said, but Cade didn't know how much Catalina truly enjoyed her work.

"That's good, some jobs for the lower castes can be awful."

Catalina nodded solemnly, before breaking out into a brilliant smile. "Enough of this gloomy talk. I'm going on a date with the Crown Prince on a beautiful June day to pick flowers. There's not a cloud in the sky. What am I doing complaining?"

"I actually don't know what we're doing with the flowers," Cade hedged. "We might not be picking them. I'm not sure."

"So I don't get to take any home with me?"

"Maybe..?"

"That's alright. It's a flower show, I can't expect them to just give me the flowers."

"Who's getting flowers?" Ellis asked, turning down the hallway, Penelope following behind her.

"Probably not us," Cade said, "I can ask, if you all want."

"I love flowers, thank you." Ellis said, smiling. Catalina nodded her approval, and even Penelope perked up a little bit at the mention.

Oh God. He was going to have to talk his way into taking some of the award-winning flowers from the show. Cade didn't think he could talk his way out of a paper bag, he had no idea how he was going to manage this one.

"Yeah, uh, we'll see." Cade muttered. "Anyway, should we go?"

Cade held the door open for the girls as they piled into the car. Penelope looked around with such wonder that Cade almost felt guilty about it. Catalina too, although her reaction was much more mild. Ellis barely took note as she crossed her legs.

"This is very nice, Your Highness." Penelope said, her eyes wide.

"Yeah," Cade coughed, "It is."

"Am I allowed…can I touch the radio?" Penelope asked, gesturing to the large touchscreen on the back of the driver's seat.

"Sure. Put on whatever you want," Cade offered.

"What type of music do you like?"

Cade just shrugged, "I don't know, I'm not the biggest music person. Really, it's fine, you can choose what to listen to." Cade didn't want to be rude, and besides, he didn't actually have any music tastes of his own. He never listened to music. It wasn't as if he disliked it, he just didn't hear it enough to have any preferences of his own.

"'Oh. Okay." Penelope said, fiddling with some of the buttons until a song came out of the speakers. Cade didn't recognize it, but Ellis frowned a little and Catalina pressed her lips together, concealing a smile.

After it was over, Penelope turned off the radio. "Someone else can choose now."

"I'm okay." Ellis said, "I liked that song though."

"I'll choose!" Catalina volunteered. She put on a peppy pop song from a boy band that was popular a few years ago. Cade was pretty sure they had broken up not long after.

The flower show was fairly crowded. It was an interesting combination of well dressed ladies, obviously in higher castes who came to look at the flowers and feel benevolent through their donations, and, in much smaller numbers, people who definitely grew the flowers. Cade knew that was a horrible distinction to make, with nothing to judge off of other than their appearance, but he was going to be the King. He knew how the country worked, even if he didn't particularly like it.

"Oh!" Catalina cried as she looked at the first display, "I love it. It's so pretty."

Ellis nodded, "Me too. The roses on the belt are so voguish. I wish I could make that."

The display in question was an oversized mannequin wearing a ballgown made completely out of flowers. The bodice seemed to be hyacinths, the skirt lilies, and Cade wasn't sure exactly what the hat was made out of, but large reddish-orange blossoms topped the topiary. The viewing area where Cade and the three girls stood had been roped off, giving them at least some privacy.

Although, there wasn't much in the way of media here. Some hired photographers were snapping photos of the displays and the contestants, but they had obviously been instructed to not take photos of Cade. The other guests weren't going to take pictures of them either, at least not many of them. Most were friendly (definitely nowhere near friends, even if they liked to pretend otherwise) with his Aunt, which was how Cade ended up invited to this show in the first place.

The council had made it very clear that they didn't want Cade's selection to be a spectacle. They didn't want people to think that this was what the government represented, so there were no palace-hired photographers either.

All that to say that Cade wouldn't have to worry about photographs this time around.

"It must have taken hours just to put it together," Catalina said thoughtfully. "Not to mention how long it took to grow the flowers."

"I guess someone had a lot of patience," Cade added.

"Must have had loads," Catalina agreed.

"Kayla Sparrow," Penelope said.

"Hm?" Cade asked, turning to her. She was kneeled next to a plaque.

"That's who made the display." Penelope pointed to the sign positioned on the ground next to the flowers. "It says that she's from Fontana, I guess that's a city here, and that she owns a florist shop called A Bouquet A Day."

"That's a few hours away from here," Cade said. "I've never heard of it, the florists shop."

"This'll probably be good for her business," Ellis said. "Well-earned, judging off the flowers. I really do like them."

"Me too," Catalina said.

"Yeah. They're nice."

Ellis looked at it again, "I want to see more of the flowers. I hope they're all as nice as this one."

"I know!" Catalina agreed, grabbing Ellis' arm, as they happily bounced off to go look at the next display. Ellis turned over her shoulder, giving Cade a half-wave as she left. A few strands of her hair came loose from its bun and blew over her face, something about it looked very pretty.

Cade would have followed them, but Penelope didn't right away, her steps much slower, much more controlled.

"They seem like they're very good friends," Penelope said quietly.

Oh.

"I mean, they just met today," Cade said, trying to think of something. "I think they just wanted to look at the flowers, and…"

"And it seemed like I don't like them that much," Penelope finished for him.

"Well," God, this was awkward. "Yeah. Sort of."

"I'm not going to lie, they're nice, but I don't…this isn't my idea of a fun time."

"Oh. Why not?" Cade asked, not sure if it was the right thing to do. It might quantify as prying into other people's relationships, but it seemed polite? Why was he so hopelessly inadequate at all things concerning social relationships? Why had he not tried to have more friends when he was in school, so he would know how to act in these sorts of situations?

If only someone made a guidebook about this. Cade would buy it. In fact, he would probably sponsor it himself.

Penelope gestured at the sign again, "The people who made all these arrangements are sixes, and I guess it's good that they're being recognized and appreciated, but it just seems so fake. These people aren't making these arrangements because they love flowers, they're doing it to survive."

Cade didn't know what to say. Penelope herself was a six, so he supposed she knew better than he did, but to Cade, it seemed like making these statues was more of a passion project. He supposed that if he needed the money, that he too would create something like this, if he could. He certainly wouldn't be able to, there wasn't an artistic bone in his body, and he was pretty sure he lacked a green thumb, but Cade sort of understood what she meant.

She sniffed, "Rich people love to look at pretty things."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Penelope. I didn't think about that."

"No, I know. What type of girl doesn't like flowers?"

"I would offer to leave," Cade said, "But uh, I don't think we can. Ellis and Catalina like it, and we have to watch the award ceremony."

"No, it's okay. I wouldn't expect you to do that." She set her mouth in a grim smile. "Come, let's go catch up with them."

Cade nodded, following the path to where Ellis and Catalina were already four displays down. Someone with an official-looking sash was talking to them.

"Your Highness," Ellis called, "This is Gloria Trainor. She's running the event."

The woman smiled, curtsying as she began to give him an explanation of how they found the florists and what the processes for entry were. Cade only half-listened with a polite smile. Maybe Penelope was right. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen a single one of the actual creators of these pieces talk about their work.

Then, she decided to give them a personal tour of the rest of the displays. Ellis was the only one who seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say, Catalina was happy to just see the flowers, and Penelope…well, at least she wasn't being outwardly rude. It wasn't as if the woman, Gloria, was talking to her for the most part.

"If you'll come this way, we roped off a section for you for the awards, Your Highness," she said, leading them to a small section off to the side of the stage. It was much larger than their group needed, with a few too many chairs. Perhaps they were hopeful that more people would come.

After far too many speeches about the noble art of floristry and how the association was so happy to uphold the annual traditions, the awards finally started. There were several categories, and when it came time for the best topiary, Catalina clutched his arm, "I hope the dress wins," she whispered to him.

Cade nodded, "Me too," he said, if only because that's what Catalina said she wanted.

The whole thing took about forty-five minutes, and by the end, Cade honestly couldn't believe how many times he had heard the word flower.

"So, Your Highness," Ellis said as they made their way out of the section. "How are the flowers coming along?"

Oh right. That.

He had said he would try. Cade wasn't the type to go back on his word, even if he was extremely confident that there was no way on earth any of these event organizers would give him any of the flowers. They all seemed oddly protective of them, as if they grew the blossoms themselves.

Well, he had to go make an attempt at least.

"Excuse me, for one second," he said quickly. Ellis laughed, looking amused, and Catalina mouthed good luck.

Cade located the woman in charge, speaking with three other similarly dressed people. They must have been the board.

"Your Highness," one said, "How did you like the show?"

"It was very nice," Cade said. "I think the designs were amazing, it's very interesting how they're constructed."

"I know, aren't they! How is your Aunt, I noticed she wasn't here today?"

"She's good, very busy," Cade answered, knowing that what the woman really meant was Why are you here instead of the Princess? Cade was sure that she was hoping for her position in the social stratosphere of Illéa to be raised by befriending Aunt Morgan. (Or at least pretending to be friends with, Cade didn't think she was very picky.) She must surely be disappointed

"You know, I sent her an invitation for a dinner party a few weeks ago. She hasn't answered yet, I know it probably just slipped her mind, but if you could remind your Aunt about it that would be perfect."

"I also invited her to my engagement party, and she said she was busy, but maybe if her schedule shifted?"

"Is the palace having a ball for the beginning of summer? If so, I would love to attend."

Cade let them all speak, the words washing over him. He was pretty sure that the invitations had gotten delivered, and that Aunt Morgan would not be attending any of their functions. Years ago, before she had to do the work of the Queen, Aunt Morgan had been in several of these social circles, if Cade remembered correctly, but he was confident that these women were not her friends then, and certainly weren't her friends now.

"I'll ask," Cade agreed, not planning on following through with it. "Uh. I know this is a little…unorthodox, but some of the ladies in my selection, the ones who we're here today, I mean. Not just in general, well, they were wondering if it would be possible to take some of the flowers home as a keepsake? For the memories."

The women all glanced at each other, having some sort of silent conversation.

"Well," one offered, "We have seeds…"

Ten minutes later, after much back and forth, Cade was distributing little baggies of seeds to Ellis and Catalina, who both made minimal attempts to hide their disappointment.

Cade went on another two dates that week. One was with a girl who was so clingy that he had to eliminate her on the way home to avoid potentially losing any limbs. The other was a group date to a jazz performance that ended with him having to send two of the three girls home for arguing for thirty minutes about who should have the front seat in the box.

Now, it was Friday. The first Report of the selection.

Cade surveyed the room when he got there. Most of his selected were finding seats on tilted risers, jostling for the front row. Several wore dark blue dresses, most were in muted colors. Nora Louise, wearing a bright pink gown and a matching headband stuck out in the second row. Cade smiled a little at that. She clearly wasn't afraid of the spotlight, and although he was no expert on fashion, it was a very nice color with her dark hair.

Several of the council members were milling around. None of them had bothered to forward him the outline for the episode, and since Uncle Albert hadn't shown up yet, and Andrew was off God knows where, Cade was going to have to ask one of them.

George Hyde was the least repulsive of the options, so Cade cautiously approached him, thankful he was standing far enough away from the rest of them that no one would overheard.

"Hyde," Cade called, getting his attention. "Do you have the…do you know what the plan for the episode is?"

"Do you not have the script?" He asked, frowning slightly. Cade shook his head. "I told Meyers to send it to you…that ignoramus," he muttered, shaking his head.

"I didn't get it."

"Yes, I see. It's not very complicated. Just some brief updates, and Porter might ask you a few questions." Hyde explained, taking out his blackberry presumably to send Cade the script.

"Are the selected going to be, uh, talking?" Cade asked, looking over the outline. Sure enough, in bold on the top of the document it read; SEND TO CSCHREAVE- MEYERS.

Well. Cade could ask the Carolina councilman about that, but there was sure to be some thinly veiled excuse, and even if he didn't bother with one, it wasn't as if Cade could do anything about it. His term would last for at least another three years. It was better not to make him dislike Cade anymore than he already did.

"No, not this week."

"Are they ever going to be interviewed?"

"Possibly at the elite. It's safer that way." Hyde said, with the air of someone who didn't truly believe what he was saying.

"When did you all decide that?" Cade asked, a bit hurt but not at all surprised that he was left out of the decisions.

"It was put to a vote. A two-thirds majority was in favor of it, so, it didn't seem prudent to bother Your Highness about it."

Of course not. Cade hated that stupid clause in the stupid Illéan charter that stated in the case of a temporary monarch, a two-thirds majority of the council could overrule the royal family. How many times had it ruined his plans? Who would believe that when Gregory Illéa created the country, the tyrant would have thought to delegate the power?

Selfish man. It was probably so the crown would never leave the family line. He would probably roll over in his grave if he saw how laxly the council used that clause.

"Oh, I guess that's fine then," Cade conceded, as he always had to. "Thank you for sending me the outline."

"Mmhm. I'll talk to Meyers about it. He should know better."

"Sure. Thanks." Cade said quietly. It was hard to get the words out. He wasn't sure he was actually thankful at all.

Before he could do anything that he might regret, Cade tipped his head and walked away. The show would be starting soon anyway. Some of the selected seemed to be very nervous, fiddling with their dresses or anxiously running their hands through their hair. Pamela kept fixing her necklace over and over again. Cade wondered if the council had conveniently forgotten to inform them too about the schedule for the night. It seemed like the type of thing they would do.

As the show went on though, it must have become obvious to the selected that they were not going to be expected to participate in the slightest. From his seat on the left side of the stage, Cade watched as each one slowly became less worried and more bored as the talking went on and on. Clearly, Cade wasn't the only one who found the report extremely boring.

Porter shook his hand when it was finally Cade's turn to speak. "Your Highness, you have begun your selection this week, have you not?"

"Yes, I have. It's been a wonderful time getting to know each of the ladies."

"We are all very happy for you. Did you go on any excursions with them this week?" Clearly, the aging Porter Weld was not going to ask Cade about his love life, which he was a little thankful for. It was one thing to discuss it on a national broadcast. It was another thing to discuss it on a national broadcast at the prompting of a sixty-year old man who despised him.

"I went on a few, yes," Cade answered. "My first date was with Miss Ariss, then I went on several group dates."

Cade could almost see the host wince at the word date.

"I think I speak for all of Illéa when I say that we wish you the best in the upcoming months. Thank you for the very brief update, now, councilwoman Deirdre Moon will discuss plans regarding the upcoming infrastructure change."

Oh, he was done then. Cade took the very obvious cue and made his way back to his seat. Nora Louise flashed him a thumbs up, which he returned, making sure his body was angled away from the camera.

He didn't know whether or not to be upset at just how short the council made his segment. He never particularly liked the idea of having to share every detail of his selection for the world to see, and obviously, neither did the council. It wasn't as if they were doing it as a favor towards him in any way, perhaps just a lucky coincidence. If one could even call it that, considering how again he was being a secondary character for his own country.

No, it was fine.

He'd get his crown, and there was nothing the council could do about it.

A/N: Hellooo everyone, and here we are with another chapter! May I just say, I went to a flower exhibit a few days ago, and there was this flower dress and it was so cool! I was like, that needs to go in to the story. In other news, happy official summer! This story does take place in the summer, so I guess the time kinda matches which is very pleasing to me, even tho I know that it doesn't really matter. See you all next time!