Chapter 2

New Identity

It has been two weeks since he made the deal with Alexander. He was nervous and already regretted his decision when he found out that high treason would be sentenced with an execution but it was too late for him to turn around.

Going to Alexander's house was already risky enough. His way led him through a tunnel which passed through the mountains, it was the only path to the upper levels of the town and his first time to walk there. He had to show a pass to a couple of security men that allowed him to go up after they checked if his tattoo on the neck was real with a special magenta-light lamp. The pass was provided for him by Alexander and he was allowed to take the escalator up to the middle class level of the city.

He didn't tell his family the truth. They had no idea where he was going or what he's going to do, all Alfred told them was that he got a new job offer in a different Johnson industry and had to move. They didn't need to know that it might have been the last time they saw him and they didn't need to know about his failure.

When he arrived at the top he was picked up by a driver who drove him through the town. He noticed the buildings and houses outside his window were more spacious and much better looking but not as large as in the subcity where he was from. He was taken to a place which seemed run down to Alfred's surprise. He'd always thought they lived in much cleaner conditions up here but it seemed that some buildings were as broken as down there. It was still more spacious and they had more than just one room to live in with their families.

He was led to a room where another alpha made him a new tattoo on his neck, a number 5.

Alfred didn't know a lot of the alpha he was supposed to replace. All he knew was his name 'Alan Taylor' and that he worked in a hotel. Alfred wondered how it would have been to be born a number 5 and do service work instead of his 3 and be doomed of hard labor in factories.

He wanted to know more about Alan Taylor to prepare himself but the driver and the other alpha didn't tell him anything, only gave him new clothes to look appropriate and placed him back into the car to drive him to the palace. The clothes were simple just like his own but more cleaner and not torn with holes.

For the first time in his life, Alfred had been on the other side of the mountains and for the first time Alfred saw the real town of Rovice he had lived in. The buildings were massive in their bronze and golden-brown color and they stood out in their different shapes and sizes. The streets were massive and full of cars driving through buildings, just like under and over the bridges with five lanes on each side in a huge mess. For the first time Alfred saw airships and dirigibles fly over his head. It was so much to take in and he couldn't stop looking out of the car window.

But the biggest surprise was the palace which was getting bigger and bigger the closer they got. He gasped by the view of the huge mountains behind the palace, they were massive and snow laid on top of them. They looked magical as they stood proudly in their heights surrounding the whole city.

When they drove to the palace grounds Alfred wondered if he would meet the Prince now or later and watched the car drive by the gigantic palace which was at least 30 to 50 stories high with sculptures carved into the walls. The towers of the palace stretched out even farther in the sky and a big clock hung above the entrance. It was difficult to catch the entire palace in one view but what he saw was enough for him to understand how different his life was compared to the Royal Family's.

They didn't stop by the palace, they drove further to another building where Alfred was dropped out instead. It wasn't as huge as the palace but large enough. His eyes however shifted to the palace beside the building and he looked up in awe when he saw a dome on the front part and how long the building stretched to the back. His mouth went agape when he saw the endless blue sky which he hardly saw in the subcity because of the fumes.

"Good morning."

Alfred got startled by a shorter alpha with brown hair in a black and white suit who came up to him.

"I apologize for startling you. My name is Toris and you must be Alan Taylor, am I correct?" he asked.

"Yeah." Alfred nodded.

Toris smiled politely. "I'll be your personal servant for your entire stay here in the palace. It's an honor to welcome you."

Alfred chuckled surprised. Never was anyone honored before to meet him but after all, they expected Alan and not him.

Toris led him through the building which was built for the contestants of the Royal Selection only. Alfred noticed that the building was a hexagon with a small greenery in the middle which he was able to see from any floor. The vines of the greenery grew alongside the walls into the sky and a white fountain stood in the middle. The corridor was covered with a red carpet in fine patterns and the walls were out of dark wood. Paintings of different landscapes hung and it gave off a warm feeling and comfort. A feeling Alfred never had before in the presence of a place or a room. All the places he knew were dirty and blank but this had style and a sense of welcoming comfort.

Alfred's room was on the third floor and he gasped when he saw it. On his right side stood a comfort sofa and a long low table. On his left was an office desk and two shelfs full with books. The bed was massive and stood in front of him on the right side with bedsheets of orange-gold design. The floor was a light brown parquet and the walls were in tapestry with flourish artwork. Two double windows showed him the view of the mountains and opened to reveal a balcony.

"This is bigger than my entire room! I could fit my family in here like-" Alfred stopped before he could say anything wrong. "I mean, that's..huge."

Alfred couldn't believe that this was all just for him, the room he shared with his family only contained a mattress, a chair and a broken faucet. This room had so much, and flowers and paintings on the wall, and fruits in a bowl on the low table. The colors of yellow and green around his room catched his eyes and the sleeping curiosity inside him awoke. He walked up to the bed and pushed down on it and grinned when the mattress was softer than anything he ever touched.

Toris led him through a door on the left side, showing him the dark green bathroom to which Alfred had to try the flush and grinned when the water flew through the pipes. He might have looked silly to Toris but a system like that was rare in the subcity. Then Toris led him to the opposite side of the room and showed him his walk-in closet which was as big as the bathroom.

Alfred stood in the middle of the closet and looked at the empty brown shelves. "This is amazing!"

"It's very unusual for us to see so much space," Toris said and Alfred noticed the number 5 on his neck. That's right, service work just like himself.

"It is, but I don't have so many clothes to fill all of that." He laughed, he didn't have a single thing of clothing packed.

"Don't worry about that. Tonight is the banquet and your personal stylist will come to dress you accordingly," he explained.

"A stylist? Hm." Alfred followed Toris out of the room with no idea what he exactly meant. The word stylist had never crossed his path before.

Toris let Alfred sit on the couch when he told him his stylist would come shortly which gave Alfred the opportunity to try the fruits on the table. He took one round green piece that hung on others and bit on it. Alfred grimaced when he felt the sour taste spread in his mouth. He didn't have much time to ask what that was when someone knocked at the door.

The servant opened the door and a blond omega marched in with four others. He stopped and scanned the room until he found Alfred sitting and blinking at him.

"This is your stylist Fe-," Toris was cut off by the omega.

"I'm Feliks."

Alfred stood up and put on his polite smile when he saw the number 6 on the omega's neck. "I'm Alf-Alan..Taylor."

"I know." He mustered him up and down in his white and red suit while the other omegas placed five heavy bags on the floor. "That's gonna be hard work."

Alfred looked down on himself and wondered what he meant.

"Alright," Feliks said with one last look at Alfred and clapped into his hands, turning to the other omegas, "It's time to begin."

Feliks instructed Alfred to strip down which seemed odd to him and he was quite hesitant about it not knowing what he wanted from him until Feliks explained to him his work. To his luck the only thing he had to strip off was his jacket and shoes. The omega was muttering something beneath his breath when he took Alfred's measurements and shouted numbers to his omegas who wrote them down. His stylist also noticed his copper arm that replaced his whole left arm but didn't say anything to it.

While he was measured, Toris put on a bath for him which he had to take. The warm water in the tub made him forget for a couple of minutes where he was until Feliks told him to hurry up when he knocked on the door.

The omega had set up a chair and let Alfred sit on it while tools laid beside him on a small table. Feliks used them to start cutting Alfred's hair and told him how damaged they were and what he needed to do but Alfred forgot all of the things he said. The other omegas started to take care of his nails and he noticed that two other omegas were missing but found out they had to tailor his suit.

Feliks didn't stop commenting on his looks and mainly his face when he was done cutting his hair and leaned Alfred back to take care of the rest of his head. Alfred had never felt so insecure about his appearance before.

While Feliks was busy with plucking Alfred's eyebrows, Toris explained Alfred the agenda of this month and what he could expect.

"Tonight is the banquet where the Prince will meet all the candidates. It'll be your first impression to the Prince and the public. The next weeks will be filled with a class where you show your political and worldly abilities, your first public interview and of course the first date with the Prince."

"That's a lot," Alfred said and moved his head to Toris but Feliks placed his head back again and told him not to move.

"And if the Prince chooses you to stay one more month, you'll attend a masquerade. It's a wonderful ball which the royals celebrate every year in honor of the upcoming warm spring season," Toris explained.

Alfred had no idea what to expect of the Prince. He'd never heard anything from him and never saw him in the newspaper after all, radios and newspapers are uncommon in the subcities. The only way the news get around are through rumors.

"What's the Prince like?" Alfred asked.

Feliks shrugged. "I've never met him personally."

Alfred looked over to Toris to ask him but Feliks put his head back annoyed. But Toris had never spoken to the Prince as well. Alfred knew he had to be careful, he didn't know how to behave or what rules he had to follow. He decided to act like Toris to not end up like a fool. Calm and quiet, trying not to get any attention.

After some hours Alfred was finally done with this procedure. His suit came and he got dressed while Feliks told him that he'll make suits for him for festivals and casual wear. Alfred looked into the mirror and stared at his reflection.

The dark blue waistcoat with golden flower patterns spread across and hugged his body. It matched with the long dark blue coat while the black shirt with a pleated front underneath the waistcoat matched with his pants and leather shoes. His hair was combed back and shorter and it shocked him how clean and posh he looked.

"That can't be me," he said in disbelief.

"Of course it is," Feliks said, "You must admit you look more handsome than before." Feliks looked proud at his work but Alfred wasn't sure if he liked it. "No!" Feliks yelled out. "I can't believe we missed that, take your glasses off, they don't match the outfit."

Feliks rummaged through his bag on the floor until he pulled out a box and took out round golden rimmed glasses.

"I won't be able to see with them," Alfred said but Feliks didn't care and put them into Alfred's hand telling him it's for now and he'll provide him with better glasses later.

Toris told him they're running late and need to hurry and led him through a glass corridor which connected the palace and the candidates building. They passed through the main foyer where a massive clock took Alfred's attention but he didn't stop and kept his pace with Toris until they came to the entrance of the ball room.

"Good luck, sir Alan," Toris wished him before going away.

Alfred told himself to be calm when the urge to run away overcame him. One step at a time, calm and quiet and just like that his feet carried him into the room.