CHAPTER SIX PART THREE! (Part two was Chapter 15 fyi) This miniseries is so much fun to write; part of me REAAAAAALLY wants to extend it to a full-length fic, but I also probably need to calm down. My actual plan is to write one more chapter and call it there.

(Unless there's an epilogue.)

(You know me and epilogues.)

Up next: ? I actually have no plans. I'm kind of a mess tbh.

"Want to be my first date?"

When I answered the door, I hadn't been expecting Eadlyn, and I definitely hadn't expected that question. She had kept her distance from the Selection as much as possible, which didn't really surprise me. It had taken about two seconds to guess that inviting thirty-five random men to pursue her hand was not actually her idea. She was going to fight every step of the way while still putting on a sweet face for the camera.

With one notable exception. "Hmm, I'm not sure. Are you going to publicly humiliate me and kick me out after?"

"You? No. That's kind of why I'm here, actually. Can I come in?"

I had hoped the Selection would eventually involve Eadlyn in my room, but that still seemed more like fantasy than reality, so I hadn't yet made any effort to tidy up. I let her in anyway; it wasn't in my nature to say no to the princess. It was a miracle I'd managed to make a sarcastic comment instead of immediately jumping on her offer of a date. "What's going on?"

She smoothed the front of her dress, even though it was, as far as I could tell, already perfect. "Regarding this morning. I've been told I was a little…harsh."

Harsh was an understatement. She'd sent eleven suitors home in one fell swoop. Leeland cried. "Go on."

"And the parade, obviously…did not go well."

Also an understatement. Protestors had shown up and gone after her. It had shaken me up; I couldn't imagine how Eadlyn felt—so business as usual, really.

"If both of those incidents make the news without anything to soften the blow, my approval rating will suffer greatly," Eadlyn admitted reluctantly. "I need to show the public my soft, romantic side."

"Do you have a soft, romantic side?"

"I don't know." She said it snappishly even though it was a fair question. From the outside looking in, the princess appeared to be made entirely of sharp edges, something you could never hold in your hand. "But apparently my future depends on me developing one. That's where you come in. It's simple—a romantic walk in the garden, posing for a couple pictures…"

My stomach turned. Why was she asking me? "So, like a publicity stunt."

"This whole thing is a publicity stunt," she grumbled, rolling her eyes to high heaven.

I blinked. "The Selection, you mean?"

"Yes. And I've done nothing but wreck it so far," she explained, beginning to sound impatient. "That's why I need you to go out with me. Take some pictures, give them something to talk about other than how awful I am. You'll get to kiss me."

She said it like she was doing me this big favor, but I couldn't see it that way. I did want to kiss Eadlyn. She was the most gorgeous girl I'd ever laid eyes on, and for some reason, her prickly personality did something for me too. Obviously I wanted to kiss her.

But not like this.

Not as a bribe.

"How pathetic do you think I am, Eadlyn?" I asked, fighting to keep my tone civil. "God. Just because I…" I didn't just want her. I liked her. Cared about her, not that I really had any right to. "Forget it. Ask one of your other boyfriends."

This was the moment where I'd usually storm off in righteous anger, but we were already in my room. Where was I supposed to storm off to? Josie's room, maybe? It was unlikely Eadlyn would follow me there.

The princess seemed to realize she'd said the wrong thing. While I was looking for a way out, she caught my wrist. "I don't think you're pathetic. That's not…why I asked you. It has to be you."

As quickly as she set me off, she reeled me back in. I regarded her carefully. "Why?"

Eadlyn knew I had feelings for her, but I didn't think she really understood it. As far as I could tell—and I'd known her all her life—she had yet to fall in the kind of love that knocked you off your feet. Surely, I confused her just as much as she confused me.

"Because I know you. I can trust you. Everybody else, I met two days ago. I'd just…rather it was you."

I softened. It was impossible not to. She'd say these things, reminds me we spent years as the bane of each other's existence, but the truth was, I'd give in to her every time. "Fine. If it's so important to you…"

"It is."

"I will participate in your little publicity stunt. But, Eadlyn…"

She tilted her chin up at me. When she was looking at me like that, it was very difficult to maintain my resolve. "Yes?"

"Don't patronize me. If this is going to end with you breaking my heart, I'd rather you do it quickly."

She smiled to herself, like she was trying to prove I never actually knew what was going on in her head. "Honestly, Kile. I don't have the slightest idea how this is going to end."

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to find that reassuring or not. I knew I was in way over my head with Eadlyn; she was unattainable in a way that felt almost personal. I was probably crazy just for trying with her, having even the slightest understanding of how her heart worked, but every once in a while she'd say those things, and I'd get this crazy idea that I had a chance.