I can already tell this is going to be FUN. Credit to delicateAnchor for the plot idea! I give you: friends-to-lovers Keadlyn the beginning of the Selection. Part 1 of ?

"What about this guy?"

Eadlyn held up a photo of Arizona Packer from Baffin. Kile made a face. "He might have a nice personality, but you'd never date a guy with a buzz cut."

"Correct. My future husband must have a haircut that suits a crown," Eadlyn said haughtily, tossing Arizona's application aside. Her bed was littered with soon-to-be-rejected suitors.

Kile involuntarily checked his own hair. He thought he'd look alright with a crown.

Not that it would ever happen.

Not that he wanted it to happen.

"How about this one?" Eadlyn asked. "Connor Shannon, Allens."

Connor's vacant expression made Kile wonder if the guy was even literate. "He's not my type."

"This is for me, Kile," Eadlyn reminded him, lips pursed. "Help a girl out."

"For me to give decent advice, I need more information. What is your type?" Kile prodded.

Eadlyn was his best friend, but they didn't usually talk about that kind of stuff. In general, Kile didn't really want to hear about her taste in men, but her upcoming Selection and the engagement that followed would make that impossible. The whole country was going to hear about Eadlyn's taste in men. Being the first to know was an honor.

For whatever reason, Kile did not feel honored.

"Handsome, obviously," Eadlyn began after some serious thought. That made sense—the princess herself was beautiful; she needed someone who could hold his own in front of a camera. "Decent manners, but that can be trained. He has to be interesting. He must respect me, but not just because of the crown, and not to the point he agrees with everything I say on principle. He needs to be able to think for himself too."

"You're looking for an equal," said Kile.

"Right. Someone who'll be himself around me. But still classy," Eadlyn added quickly. "And funny. He'll have to make a lot of small talk with foreign dignitaries."

That was a tall order. Kile didn't think there were many handsome, interesting, classy, and funny men who wouldn't be intimidated by Princess Eadlyn. She had high standards and a temper. For a lot of people, that was too much; she was too much. Kile had never had that problem, though. He was used to the princess and her mean streak.

"I don't think we can determine that from just a photo," Kile commented.

"Flip the page. There's more on the back."

Kile turned over Baden Trains' application. "Hmm. This guy wants to be a pop star, so he could either be really interesting or a total weirdo."

Eadlyn snatched the paper from his hands. "The crowd went crazy when I read his name. I think he's already released some songs."

"I'd still lean towards weirdo." Kile reached for the next application, Ean Cabel from Hansport. "Look at this clown."

"What are you talking about? He's so hot," Eadlyn insisted. It was the closest she'd ever come to sighing dreamily.

Kile felt a twinge he could not possibly explain. He moved on quickly. "If you say so. What about this guy?"

Eadlyn directed Pauly's application to the "absolutely not" pile. For some reason, that made Kile feel just a little better. One by one, they went through all thirty-five candidates for the Selection, ranking them from worst to best. Neither Kile nor Eadlyn was particularly generous; most of the applicants were placed at the bottom of the rankings, leaving just a few standouts at the top.

"This is going to be awful," Eadlyn muttered, collapsing into bed dramatically. Some of the pages fluttered. "I hate this, Kile."

He felt a pang. His best friend. "I think it's a little late to call it off."

The suitors were arriving in less than a week. Kile was dreading it too, jealous, perhaps, that Eadlyn's time would soon be taken up by her thirty-five new boyfriends. What was Kile going to do without her? Hang out with Ahren?

"I know," she sighed. "Believe me, I've tried. I'll just have to make the best of it."

Lying amid a spread of documents with her face buried in a pillow, Eadlyn didn't look so much like a princess. For once, she looked like an ordinary high schooler who wished she hadn't signed up for calculus. But a Selection was even worse than calculus.

Kile frowned, wishing he had the means to properly comfort her. "I didn't realize you were so opposed to it."

"Come on. Do you really think I'll enjoy the Selection?"

He smirked. "I think you'll enjoy the attention."

Eadlyn swatted at him halfheartedly. That was the nature of their friendship: they teased and called each other out, all in good fun. Every once in a while, one would push the other too far, and they'd storm off in different directions, but they always made up before the sun set. "I will not enjoy the attention. Don't you realize how embarrassing it is, trying to fall in love with the whole world watching?"

Kile understood that part. It was one of the main reasons he hadn't applied.

"What if they're all awful?" Eadlyn worried aloud.

"They can't all be awful. Edwin listed 'table manners' as one of his hobbies. That was on your list," Kile reminded her, ignoring the twist in his gut. It wasn't often the princess expressed genuine emotional vulnerability, even to him. He didn't like seeing her so downtrodden.

"Even I don't consider table manners a hobby. Edwin's going to be the worst of the bunch," Eadlyn prophesied, shuffling through the applications again. "Be honest, Kile. Do you really think any of these guys could be the one for me?"

He considered it. "Do you believe in fate?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Well, I do. The Selection is fate. When my mom entered, she didn't win, but she still found her perfect match because of it. And your parents are basically soulmates. It might not happen right away, but I really believe you'll find the love of your life before the Selection ends," Kile promised. He would have promised just about anything to cheer her up.

Eadlyn smiled faintly and reached to squeeze his hand. That was affectionate for her; normally they just poked each other. "What would I do without you?"

"Crash and burn, probably," he joked. Well, tried to joke.

She paused. "You'll help me, right?"

The question caught him off guard. "Help you? How?"

She made some vague gestures to the applications spread out on her bed. "With them. Figuring out who to eliminate and who to keep. My title will intimidate them; they'll be on their best behavior if I'm around. I need an inside man."

"You don't think the princess's male best friend might also intimidate them?" Kile pointed out.

"We've never been like that, though."

Kile was pretty sure everyone they knew had accused, suspected, or implied that he and Eadlyn were like that at one point. He always explained it the same way: growing up in the palace, there were limited options for friendship, and both of them got tired of their own siblings. Being best friends made sense.

Of course, the palace also offered limited options for romance, but their relationship had never taken that turn.

Kile wanted to protest. Can't Ahren do it? But he couldn't actually say no to her. "Alright. I'll be your inside man, whatever that means," he relented. What was the worst that could happen?