Heya! Sorry this is late. Thanks, @torylivingston and @ahmaraquill for the great RP! Sorry for any mistakes! Word Count: 1,783
Farah’s POV:
I was almost done with this dress. Just a couple more stitches. I was in my room with really loud music on. Just as I was about to put the cloth back into the machine, Haru practically jumped onto my shoulders. I got a little startled and paused my music, removing the earbuds.
“Oh well hello, Haruka. What do you want?”
I turned and saw him turn a little red.
“Well, I need to go to the post office, wanna tag along?”
“Sure, why not. Why are you going?”
“Oh nothing, just need to drop something off.”
Haru’s POV:
Hahaha, I can’t wait to see what happens!
Farah’s POV:
We get to the post office and there are tons of girls. What is this? We get to the end of the line and Haru hands the person behind the desk a paper. “And I'm guessing your name is Farah Winters?” she said behind the desk
“Indeed I am.”
I turn to Haru and he has a gin on his face. “Come this way please.”
I follow as asked to. It's not like I needed a passport picture. Why was I taking a picture? I smile and she takes a picture.
“All right, thank you and good luck,” she said with an (obvious) fake smile.
“Thank you?”
Once we are out of the office I ask Haru what I have been wanting to ask.
“What was that for? Why did they need my picture?”
“Oh just for your entry for the selection.”
“Ok, cool,” then it hits me, “WAIT YOU DID WHAT?”
“You entered the selection. That's all.”
“You sly little piece shit.”
“I know you still love me.”
“THAT'S THE PROBLEM!”
“I still love you.”
I rolled my eyes; “I know bro. I know.”
----------------
Haru and I’s family stores were having a big sale. It was crazy. Our two shops connected via a big door. They reminded me of barn doors.
Haru and I were running the shops for the night. We were closing late because it was a Friday. The report was on in the background. I didn’t pay attention. I was too worried about all the people here.
Ellen DeGreat started calling out names one by one. I couldn’t give a fuck. Haru entered me without my consent. I took a sip of water. I was thirsty from all this walking around “From Waverly, Farah Winters!”
I spit out my water; “WHAT!” Everyone was looking at me.
“FARAH,” Haru called out from his shop, “I CALLED IT! YOU’RE A SELECTED! AREN'T YOU GLAD?”
“I COULDN”T GIVE AN EF HARU!”
“What is going on down there?” My dad asked from the staircase.
Haru answered; “Farah is a selected, that's all.”
“Oh alright.”
I gave Haru a good glare. People kept looking. “Sorry for the disruption everyone,” I said loud enough so anyone in both shops could hear. People, luckily, went back to shopping.
----------------
A couple days before Farah was going to leave
“Ah, nooo,” Haru said from his desk. We were chilling our shops. No one was here and the ‘wall’ was open. Haru an I both had our feet on our desks, both to our parent's disapproval.
“What?” Then I noticed he has 2 magazines open; The Gossipel and Illeá Now.
“Prince Ben was spotted making out with a girl who isn’t a selected at a bar!”
“Hm.”
“You aren’t worried? Aren’t you leaving in a couple days?”
“Yes I'm leaving in a couple days, but I couldn’t care less. There are probably some girls in the selection that are heartbroken.”
“True, true.”
-------------
Today was the day; my sendoff. I would be leaving Waverly for who knows how long for a selection I didn’t want to be in. All I was excited about was the food. And maybe meeting people.
A couple days ago people from the palace came to measure me and gave me my send-off clothes. It would most likely be the last time I wear pants for a long time. It was a simple outfit. It was only black. The only pop of color was the flower and the pin they gave me. The flower, a rose, was pinned to the corner of my top along with my pin. This said my name and my province.
I headed downstairs and started to brew some tea. The barn door was slid open and I made my way to Haru’s room. I was going to make sure he didn’t oversleep. I had been upstairs on his side of the ‘house’ many times. His parents were already awake and in the kitchen. He was nowhere in sight.
Once I got up to his room, he was fast asleep. I got out my phone from my pocket and opened up the music app. I opened it up to my alternative rock playlist and picked the most upbeat song that was on there. I chose Ill Sleep When I Am Dead by Set It Off. I plugged in my earbuds, then put it in his ears. He was a deep sleeper so he probably didn’t feel a thing. I put in at a reasonably loud volume. This meaning just about full volume. I skipped over to the loudest part of the song and hit play.
He shot straight up. “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR!”
“Good morning to you too.”
“LANGUAGE HARUKA!” Haru’s mom yelled from downstairs.
“SORRY!”
“Why did you do that?”
“My sendoff is at 10. It’s 9. I won’t see you for a while.”
“True, but why the music.”
“All I could think of.”
“Alright. Well, I better get dressed before you hit me with a book.”
I laughed and walked out, shutting the door behind me.
---------------
The driver came right on time. I grabbed my suitcase from my room and said my goodbyes. I promised to call every day or else Haru would be spamming me with texts. Once I got to Central Park, the butterflies started to kick in. THere were so many people. I get that a selection doesn’t happen for a long time but still, it was weird. The thought I had fans was weird. I knew I had fans of my clothing, but myself, it was a weird thought.
There was a stage where the mayor was waiting. He announced my name and I said things like “I hope to make Waverly proud.” It was quite short. From Waverly to the airport I was supposed to be was a long drive.
I looked up my travel time; 2 hours. I didn’t do much. I listened to music and did a painting of an ocean sunset on my computer. I had one of those computers that could flip back into a tablet. Somehow I managed to not mess up too much despite being in the car. Wasn’t my best, wasn’t the worst.
When I got to the airport I was the first one there. I took my luggage and sat in a chair till the next girl came in. I was sitting on my phone till Tory Livingston came in, her face red. She thought she was late when she wasn’t. Tory had a bunch of bags as well as a lot of food. She was snacking on a bag of chips almost the entire time.
Next, Ahmara Quill came in, on the phone. She quickly hung up and we said our hellos. I thought she was talking to her ex-boyfriend but I later learned it was her best friend. We also learned that her best friend and Haru would get along quite well after I told the story of how I was entered without my consent.
We talked about many things including food and song choices. The palace staff helping us in the airport weren’t that nice too. We nicknamed her ‘Scary Lady’. When it was time to get on the plane, we had to walk through tons of people seeing us off. Tory and I were fine, but on the other hand, Ahmara was zoning out and still waving when we got in the terminal.
Ahmara wasn’t too sure of flying; in fact, it was her first flight. We helped her through it, and eventually, she got over it. For the duration of the flight, Tory taught us how to play poker. It was really fun actually. The plane ride wasn’t long at all talking to Tory and Ahmara. They were both really sweet.
Once we got there, we were stuck for a while. Lots of people wanted selfies or autographs. Once we got to the palace, I was just in shock. It was huge. As soon as we got into the palace we were bombarded with people who were going to get us ‘palace worthy’. They took my suitcase to my room and I was stuck in a chair for what felt like forever. There were people running around and lots of bright lights. They didn’t do much with me. They lightened my hair a tad bit, curled it, and pulled it into a ponytail. My nails were done with a dark purple color that had a little bit of glitter in it. My makeup was light too. I was glad they didn’t do much. I didn’t have much jewelry on too. Only little necklaces and earrings. When a rack of my dresses arrived I chose a blue one.
I got assigned my room; Abby Hall, room 21. When I got there I was greeted by my maids; Pyrite, the head maid, Zoisite, and Citrine. All crystal names which I found interesting. They all had necklaces of their crystal and looked similar. When I asked, they revealed they were all sisters. I also asked them to not call me ‘Miss Farah’ or ‘Lady Farah’ and just Farah.
They excused me for a couple minutes to settle in. I immediately went to the balcony, I got the view of the ocean. It was beautiful. I immediately texted Haru a picture of my view and gave him a call. He was probably worried sick. He even called me in the airport. I talked to him for a while then I had to change for dinner. I didn’t choose anything fancy. The food at dinner was amazing. It was definitely one of the highlights of the day.
When I got to my room, I unpacked immediately. I honestly had a bunch of art supplies. My computer, watercolor supplies, tons of chargers, and my travel guitar. It was tiny for being a guitar. Once I had unpacked and changed I sat on my computer for a while. After an hour I finally went to bed.
“beauty is in the eye of the beer holder”
- a.m & f.g | the selection sleepover
much thanks to @berklee-boyer @meme-antoineen @isabellafaulkner @ingrid-liljedahl @domschreave @finleygansey
It is the simplest thing to sit aside and watch from far away. 4 girls on this plane to Angeles to participate in a seemingly “frou frou” tiara battle over the beloved Prince Dominic. It’s easy to stare down through the puffy pastel clouds around us. From this high up, it all looks so fake, so flimsy. Cardboard cities with little cardboard people, all with their own lives.
There’s something absolutely mesmerizing that is the little secluded world that only exists up here. The morning sky is muted: an endless canvas on which colors are tossed upon. It’s mostly cloud now, with deep steel blue-greys that reflect the hidden stars. I can feel as though the sky is alive and breathing, growing with each passing moment as a constantly-changing canvas for the world to gaze at. There’s just something about watching the world pass by from the surprisingly intimate space in a plane that creates the strangest sense of wonder.
The sendoff was enthusiastically warm. Atlin gave its own farewell to be remembered. Kisses were thrown into the air, arms graciously opened to give adieu to the leaving girl. I realized that perhaps I was their princess. The hopes that I might be the princess were encompassing the province that I called “my home away from home”, but I, I would be Atlin’s princess. And I was so honored to be that.
Father was resilient. He was quietly upset, which didn’t affect me too much. I knew he had that struggle within himself to let me go to a palace full of strangers. He didn’t say much to me when I was packing to leave. Every so often, I would tiptoe from my room to his room to see if he was peeking on me, getting ready to leave for who knows how long. It disappointed me when he didn’t, which was always. But perhaps the only consolation I had was the minute I was about to leave.
I was walking down the strip to the car that would drive me to the airport. People were laughing and cheering with the buoyancy of hope lifting up their spirits. I offered the people smiles, threw kisses upon their cheeks, and waved back. I was in the car when Father slipped a letter through the window quickly with a smile before the car drove off and I was gone.
Même Antoineen, Isabella Faulkner, and Ingrid Liljedahl were all on my plane. They were a lovely bunch, though Même was interestingly odd. Isabella was airy and light hearted in a gracious way which I found elegant and timeless. Ingrid was incredibly kind, talking in a very sensible and down-to-earth manner. Même was entertainingly funny, always keep us on our toes and striking up a new conversation when one died down. We had a couple conversations about our excitement/nervousness, Même’s ostriches, and my lamb Petal, but I loved the fact we could have a comfortable silence we all enjoyed. As for now, we all recline peacefully in the quiet chatter of the flight attendants and buzzing hum of the engine.
I pull out the letter from my father, hesitant to open it. It seems thin and frankly a little musty, but I brush it off. I open the letter and begin reading.
My daughter,
I write this letter with a heavy heart, knowing that you will be sent off to an extravagant home filled with royals who feel like foreigners to you. But do not think for a moment that I am anything but joyful for you. I know you carry a heavy weight each day to perform the tasks that are expected of you, ever since you were young. And for that, I will be eternally proud of you. I offer you some words of wisdom for your life ahead. Love everyone. Every leaf. Every ray of light. Laugh everyday. Forgive. People will come and go. I hope you know that. But one person in my life was constant. My soulmate was the only star in my life that remained brighter than the others. That is love, Annette. Love has reined in the brightness and beauty of a thousand suns for me. And I wish with all my heart that you, one day, will find your star too. Perhaps you will need to travel through a few universes, gaze at blazing galaxies, and stumble through constellations before you find yours. Even if your star is the smallest one in the sky, it can grow into a blazing fire. Love is not physically seen, it is felt within the heart. And even if the Prince is not your star, the Selection will show you how beautiful life can really, truly be. I love you, Annie. And I always will.
Forever love,
Victoria
Your 7th birthday
I hold a hand to my mouth as I finish the letter. My mother wrote this letter on my 7th birthday. Her hand was once here, flourishing her signature across the page and dotting the i’s the way she always did. Her fingers once clutched this paper and sealed it, to have it tucked away for 10 years. Only for her daughter to read it again on a plane with 3 strangers, leaving behind her second home and her family. I trace my hand over the word “Annie”. My childhood nickname. Something only my mother called me. Flashbacks intercept my thoughts and I am taken back… to happier days.
Memories cloud my mind. A familiar face tucking me into bed and kissing my cheek gently, forming words that sound vaguely like “Goodnight, Annie!”. An exhausted woman beaming down at me, “Welcome to the world, Annette,” as sweat beads form on her forehead. “Annie, come here,” my mother cooing with her arms stretched out for me to take my first steps. And the blank look on what once was a stunningly attractive face, arms folded over her chest as my younger self stares at the coffin.
And that’s when it begins. The faintness, the lack of breath, the dizziness. I excuse myself to go to the bathroom. Shapes are distorted, colors blurred together. My heart is pounding faster than it should be, racing against my mind that cannot keep up. My hand in front of me is shaking uncontrollably. What were once quiet voices suddenly increase in volume drastically. Blood pounds in my ears. My throat tightens and I am left gasping for air. The arguments in my head fire like bullets and my body collapses. I try to focus on something, anything. I focus on my breathing for a couple minutes, forcing myself to stop hyperventilating. It takes a couple more minutes for my mind to catch up to my slowing body and the ringing in my ears stop. I get up shakily, exiting the plane’s bathroom.
Isabella asks if I’m alright. I nod quickly, the same thing I always do whenever a panic attack occurs, which isn’t very often. I choose to sip on water and sit quietly for the rest of the flight, munching on my breadsticks. I lean back and try to shut my eyes as though it can block out the rest of the world. Perhaps it can, for a couple of hours at the most. So I let the darkness consume my vision and it swallows my thoughts. And my mind dissolves to emptiness.
Finally.
“Finley Gansey, it’s nice to meet you,” a redhead chirps with a grin from the seat next to me. I smile back at her and introduce myself while I nervously anticipate the young girl wielding the silver scissors. I spend the entire time talking to Finley while a team of people flit around, snipping at my hair, doing my nails, and such. She seems lovely, talking about her life back home and we both agree to have a drink together sometime. Turns out I’m not the only one who appreciates a good glass of wine.
The conversation ends when we part ways; I am lifted off the chair to go and select my outfit for the first day at the palace. The fashion team is quite delighted when I tell them I have an interest in design. They go through multiple gowns, from a delicate yellow frock that compliments my eyes to a dark forest green gown to an innocently pink dress adorned with tiny stitched flowers. We have similar views: noticing if it’s too vulgar or stuffy or if it just looks plain awful on me. I end up settling on a strapless black dress decorated with silver firework-like flowers. They accessorize me with dangly diamond earrings that match my necklace and bracelet. They adjust more things: fixing the hem, adjusting the waistline, and pinning the dress so it won’t fall down. Finally they usher me to a large mirror before being called to attend to another girl. I am breathless at my reflection.
I am not perfect. I am not angelic or pretty or delicate. I am stormclouds and tidal waves and thunder clouds. I am blank pages and open eyes. I am not easy.
And I love it.
2:34 am.
That’s what the clock on my nightstand tells me as I peep outside my room . Earlier tonight, we had a sleepover in our hall, hosted by Evadne and Berklee. I met Evadne at the sleepover, but Berklee and I had met beforehand during the tour of the palace. We had bonded over the thought of pasta when we neared the kitchen. She was incredibly sweet and good-natured, which instantly showed in her personality. That was probably why she was one of the public’s favorites.
Everyone had now either gone to sleep or passed out, drunk. The beginning was quite fun: everyone brought food and we all had a great time. It wasn’t until I brought the alcohol that it started getting wild. Turns out, Fiona, Finley, and a couple other girls got drunk with me off of wine, whiskey, tequila, and other various liquor. Evadne, Berklee, and Jyn were all trying to remove alcohol from our grasps, but I had a larger stash than they predicted. After all, you never brought your entire army to one battle.
The prince’s cousin, Percy, ended up joining us and playing truth or dare. I had learned earlier that Percy was extremely flirty, when I bumped into him on the staircase. We had a quick conversation which involved an interesting amount of fun banter before I left. None of the other royals made an appearance but the rest of the night was just as fun: fire breathing, getting more drunk, waving breadsticks, and such.
I’m in the same hall as Evadne and Berklee, who I nicknamed “beaver”, along with Margarita, Nina, and Jyn. Half of the girls are collapsed in Berklee’s room. A couple others returned to their rooms before the end of the night. No one else is awake at this time which relieves me.
I slip on a pair of socks and quietly tiptoe out of my room. My head is pounding and I can’t concentrate on anything. Evadne and Berklee limited my alcohol consumption so I probably won’t have a terrible hangover in the morning, but I need water and snacks. I’m deliriously happy. I am soaring on the wings of intoxication, captured by the enchanting spell of moonshine. Somewhat, at least.
As I quietly make my way downstairs, I have time alone to think. I’m finally here, at the palace. The Selection has already officially started and as soon as I wake up tomorrow morning, it’ll be all cameras shoved in my face, smiling 24/7, wearing heels. No more alone time. Which reminds me, I have a morning run with Debbie and Berklee. Great. But from now on, my life is different. For the better or the worse, I have yet to discover.
I find my way to the kitchen and flick on the lights. Thankfully, there’s nobody here, but the scent of our dinner lingers in the spacious kitchen. I open a cabinet cautiously before a voice startles me.
“What are you doing in here?”
The voice sounds familiar yet not. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I turn around and I’m greeted by the sight of the one and only Prince Dominic. Crap.
“Nothing. What are you doing in here?” I shoot back, trying to avoid the fact that I’m in my, frankly quite skimpy, nightgown. He raises his eyebrows, answering, “Well, this is my home, after all. The Selected aren’t supposed to leave their rooms at all tonight.”
I raise my eyebrows as well. “It’s funny how you assume all the Selected are following the rules. I should be justified if I’m craving 2 am cookies, right?”
“Can I help you find something?” the Prince inquires. “I’m looking for cookies actually. Can’t seem to find them,” I say, inching backwards slightly. “Oh, they’re hidden in this cabinet up here. Alina likes to binge,” he offers a conspiratorial smile and reaches up easily. “Don’t tell her I said that,” Prince Dominic says, “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting to meet any of you tomorrow.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting to actually bump into anyone tonight, this was supposed to be a stealth mission. And thank you. What are you up to in here?” I ask, clutching the countertop. I need water.
“Well, your stealth mission seems to be a fail,” he remarks, “I was just looking for comfort food before tomorrow. I have a feeling I won’t have any spare moments to myself after tomorrow, but apparently “tomorrow” starts right now since I’m already meeting some of the Selected!”
“Ah, I thought it was only me that was mentally preparing to meet people using food. What’s your favorite comfort food? Oh, and would you mind showing me where the mac and cheese is?”
Apparently the prince had a fondness for anything bready as comfort food. It shocked me when he informed me of the fact that I wouldn’t be able to make mac and cheese (or any pasta!) because the chefs would provide all the meals for us.
We however did share a love of chocolate when I asked if there was any chocolate.
“Thank goodness there’s chocolate. I don’t think I’d survive without it,” I offer a small smile. “Me neither,” he agrees. “Oh, good, you like chocolate. That would’ve been a dealbreaker,” I say. “So you’d quit the Selection right now if I said I didn’t like chocolate?” he raises his eyebrows with an intriguing look on his face.
I can’t deny the Prince is eye candy but clearly there’s more to the eye than that. Hopefully I’ll be here long enough to figure out exactly who he is.
“Perhaps,” I retaliate, “After all, I should know what I want.” “Well, good for you,” Prince Dominic sighs, “Unfortunately, I’m not so sure of what I want.” “Reminder that I said I should, not that I actually do. I’m just trying my best not to completely embarrass myself,” I laugh, “You know what they say, fake it till you make it.”
“Oh, I certainly live by that saying on a daily basis,” he responds. We banter a bit more back and forth while I grab a cup of water. Talking to the Prince was certainly interesting, but I wasn’t too nervous surprisingly.
“How are you holding up emotionally for the upcoming greeting of 35 girls tomorrow?” I ask curiously, still clutching my cookies and chocolate. “Oh, I am so ready to meet the 35 hot girls who all want to marry me,” the Prince smirks.
So this is what the magazines were talking about.
“Oh, of course,” I say sarcastically, “I think all of them came with engagement rings too, so they can collapse on the ground as soon as they see you and propose to you. How will you ever choose?” “Oh, I don’t know,” he responds loftily, from which I assume he’s joking. “But they’ll have to earn hard to work my love.” “Well, I guess it wasn’t supposed to be as easy as all of us lounging around in lacy lingerie,” I raise my eyebrows. “Well, if that’s what you want to do, I’m all for it,” he winks.
Well. This certainly will be an interesting Selection.
“I’m sure half the girls would jump at the chance to display their half-naked selves to you in gauzy underwear,” I retort, “Perhaps you should ask them instead of a girl sneaking down for chocolate and snacks at 2 am.” “Maybe I will,” he says, to which I sarcastically suggest an underwear shoot. And of course, the reply is nothing less than “Didn’t the Gossipel do one already?” and “Remind me, did you take part in that?”
I smile coyly. “Unfortunately for you, I did not. Perhaps I should’ve.”
It’s a brief exchange of words and smiles before I leave. And it comes over me that I met the Prince before I was supposed to. I smile quietly to myself, a secret hidden by the encompassing darkness blotting out the faintest light, unveiling the mystery of the night.
I eat my snacks leaning against the frame of Berklee’s door, smiling down at these girls who I will be going on a rollercoaster with: coasting through laughter and happiness but also pain and tearful goodbyes. And even though I’ve only known them for 1 day, I wouldn’t want to go through it with anyone else.
I spend my last couple minutes awake thinking about the Selection. And as I settle into the dream world, my eyes closing against the dim line of twilight, I can almost hear a voice whispering to me, “Destroy the world with your fire. Set flame to the weak. After all, the phoenix will always rise out of the ashes.”
and thank you for the rp’s!! @jynsongxvii @madelynknightoftheselection
Lady Emmalyn Atwood, Selected.
That was a phrase I was going to have to get used to. Especially now that not only was I going to Angeles to be in Prince Dominic’s Selection, but when I was sent home, I would be a Three.
A Three.
Not that any of our caste numbers mattered in the end, but what I could provide for my family… It did matter. It mattered for a Five family who could barely afford to buy food or clothes. I was thinking about this as I was packing the night before I left, not that there was much to pack anyway. Some pictures, two of my cameras, a few of my favorite books, and a change of clothes just in case.
“All packed and ready?” my mother asked, walking into my room. She sat down on my bed and gave me a small, sad smile. I nodded and zipped up my bag before joining her.
“As ready as I'll ever be," I said, letting out a sigh. She peered at me and raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you'd be more.. excited," she noted with a smile. I laughed, fiddling with the zipper on my bag.
"I am mom, really. But you know, it's just going to be so different," I admitted. She nodded in understanding, her brown eyes thoughtful.
“Emmalyn, you always did adapt to change well, so I know you will be okay in the end, even if we are Fives. But I worry because.. are you doing this for us? Or for yourself?” she asked. I hesitated before answering.
“At first, I thought it was just to help the family. And it still is mostly, but now, I really want to do this for myself. This experience will be an amazing one, for however long it lasts.” I looked at her directly as I spoke, hoping to convey how much I meant what I was saying.
She smiled, “Good. You always did do things your own way.” I grimaced, remembering when my name was announced on the Report about a week ago. There had been stunned silence for a few moments, before Isaiah asked what they had all been thinking. They were shocked and confused, then completely ecstatic. The ecstatic part hadn’t stopped since, especially since it seemed like all of Baffin came over to visit and congratulate their “beloved Selected.”
“Sorry about that mom, I just..” I trailed off, not sure how to describe what I did. She grasped my hand, stopping my fiddling, and gave me a reassuring smile.
“I know, Emmalyn dear, it’s all right.” I smiled gratefully and she reached over to hug me. I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist, breathing in her sweet perfume. It reminded me of simpler days, and suddenly I felt the urge to cry. We pulled back after a few moments, and she tucked a strand of my dark hair behind my ear, her eyes watery.
Suddenly we both laughed and hugged each other one more time before letting go, “Well that’s enough of that then,” she declared, standing up to leave. I joined her, and she walked to leave my room, but not before turning around to give me a last “I love you” for the night.
“I love you too, mom,” I responded as she closed my door. I flopped back down onto my bed, wondering what exactly tomorrow would bring.
“Oh, you look great Em!” Layla exclaimed, crushing me in a tight hug. Her and Jake had come over to wish my goodbye before I was taken to my sendoff. I had put on my white blouse and black pants, traditional attire for the Selected, and tucked a yellow daffodil behind my ear before meeting everyone.
I laughed and hugged her back, wishing she could come with me
“And what about me?” Jake asked as Layla and I let go of each other. I rolled my eyes before hugging him too, his strong arms squeezing me tight.
“Take care of yourself, okay?” he muttered, squeezing one more time before letting go.
I smiled, “You too, Jake.” I waved goodbye to them as my family and I piled into the car we were provided, heading off the central square of Baffin. When I exited the car after my family, screams and cheers met me from all around. People had my name on signs, my face on shirts. Everyone wanted to shake my hand or take a picture with me, it was overwhelming. I stopped to sign autographs and take pictures with as many people as I could before I was led over to a raised stage where the mayor met me. He was a short, portly man with red cheeks and thinning blonde hair. He shook my hand enthusiastically and I smiled at his good nature.
When I turned to the crowd, I could see everyone better from the raised stage. Most everyone who cheered for me was of a lower caste, no doubt seeing me as some sort of inspiration. It touched me, in a way, that these people held so much hope for a girl they didn’t even know, merely because I was a Five headed to the palace to possibly become the next queen of Illéa. Although I could see a few upper caste families I recognized, looking displeased at the sight of a Five being chosen as a Selected. I felt a twinge of unease, but quickly ignored it as the mayor gestured at me and held out a microphone. I had missed when he made my introduction, and felt my heart quicken at the thought of speaking in front of so many people.
He gestured again, his eyebrows raised, so I sucked in a breath and took the microphone from him. The crowd grew hushed, expectant for my words.
“Thank you, Baffin, for such a warm sendoff. I can’t think of a better way to leave my home, with the support of the people in it, and will think of everyone fondly as I am in Angeles,” I said, finishing with a smile. The crowd erupted into cheers and claps once more, and I felt relieved as I was led off the stage to my awaiting family before I was driven to the airport.
Little Nolan rushed to me first, tears in his eyes. I grasped him tightly, making him promise to take care of the family while I was away, promising him many letters and pictures. Next was Isaiah, and even he was a little teary eyed as we hugged each other. I would miss my twin the most, but knew Layla would take care of him. Declan, Liam, and Liam’s wife Bethany bid me goodbye, letting me cuddle the girls for a moment, one in each of their arms. Finally, I reached my mother. She held out a black book towards me, one that I had never seen before.
“This was your father’s. Take care of it, it may even do you well at the palace,” she murmured quietly. I took the book from her hands before wrapping my arms around her, feeling my emotions catch up to me as tears flowed down my cheeks. The thought of having a piece of my dad with me comforted me to no end, and I was eternally grateful for her gift to me.
“Thank you, mom. And I will, I promise,” I vowed. We pulled away and she squeezed my hand one last time before my driver opened the car door for me.
“Bye, love,” my mother said, waving to me as the door closed. I looked through the window as we drove away, stowing away the memory of my family for as long as I could, the crowd cheering and waving behind them.
Once we were far enough away from town, I sighed and leaned back into my seat.
“All right, miss?” my driver asked, green eyes peering at me curiously through the rearview mirror.
I nodded with a weary smile, “Just fine. Thank you… I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
He smiled, “Henry, miss.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Henry.” We were silent for a while longer, and I was tempted to open my father’s book, but decided to wait until the plane ride.
“Should be about another 45 minutes, miss,” Henry informed me, and I thanked him. Soon enough we arrived at the airport, come to find I was the first of the Selected to arrive. I said a final goodbye and thank you to Henry, taking my small big with me on the plane. Luckily I had made my cameras easily accessible, so I took a quick shot of the outside of the plane with my polaroid.
The interior of the plane was luxurious, not that I had any previous experience to compare it to. Plush seats and couches, magazines ready for us to read if we wanted. Someone offered me food and drink, but I politely declined, picking a window seat. Soon enough a pretty redhead came walking in without a glance towards me, taking the seat across from mine, checking her phone with a sigh.
“Everything okay? I’m Emmalyn, by the way.” She seemed nice enough, and I figured I should at least try to be friendly with some of these girls.
She laughed nervously, “Yeah, I’m fine, just a little nervous. I’m Fin, it’s nice to meet you,” she said. Finley Gansey, a Three. I had tried to remember as many of the Selected as I could, and luckily hers was one that stuck.
I smiled, “Understandable, nice to meet you too. Where are you from?”
“I’m from Labrador! How about you?”
“Baffin.”
“What’s it like there?” she cocked her head curiously.
I sighed, “Cold and snowy most of the year. And Labrador?”
She nodded, “We have pretty much the same, but summer sneaks its way in there. I live right near the lake, so in the warm months I go to the beach with my friends. Well, mostly my best friend, but I go with my other ones too.”
“Oh wow, that sounds really nice. During the summer it warms up more, but now where I want it to be.” I shrugged with a small smile.
A gorgeous brunette came walking in then, sitting in a seat across the aisle from us. I immediately recognized her as Evadne Leventhorpe, a Two. I hadn’t needed to try and recognize her, what with the scandal her father was involved in a couple of years ago.
“Hey, I’m not the last one right?” she asked.
I smiled at her reassuringly, J’ust on time.” Finley stood up with a smile, offering her hand to shake and introducing herself. I introduced myself then too. We spoke more about our professions then, Finley being a teacher and Evadne involved in an incredible charity. She was friendly and poised, an ideal Selected.
Perfect queen material.
Another redhead Selected arrived not long after, a pretty, but fierce looking girl. Her eyes were angry as she stared at us, practically daring us to even try and talk to her, a surfboard carried loosely in one of her hands. I didn’t recognize her, and was debating on whether or not to introduce myself when Finley beat me to it, holding out a hand to shake. She squinted at Finley’s hand, wary, but finally shook it, introducing herself as Cameron from Hansport. A sweet looking blonde followed her immediately after.
“Hello! I’m Aricia from Lakedon,” she said. Cameron rolled her eyes and took a seat across the aisle, laying her surfboard down next to her, Aricia taking the seat next to Finley. Both Aricia and Finley tried to talk with Cameron, but she wasn’t having it, rudely dismissing them and picking up the first magazine she saw. I raised an eyebrow at her, noting how she didn’t seem to be reading it all and simply trying to avoid talking to us, and introduced myself to Aricia. The rest of us spoke for a little while longer, Evadne mentioning a sleepover her and Berklee from Tammins were hosting in their rooms later that night. I didn’t interject much in their conversation, mostly listening, until eventually they all dozed off.
I stayed awake, looking out the window at the scenery below. They stirred briefly when the staff offered us food, only to fall back asleep once more. Deciding it was an opportune time, I opened the black book with care, wondering what could possibly be inside. I inhaled sharply at the sight of the first page. It was a picture of me at around six years old, sitting in my father’s lap on our brown couch as he read a book. I was grinning, my hair in wavy pigtails, while he looked fondly at me. I had never seen this picture before, and wanted to cry at the sight of it, but held back for fear of one of the girls waking up and seeing me. At the bottom of the page he had written a caption in his square font: Me and my sweet Emmalyn.
I quickly shut the book and stuffed into my bag, not ready to see what else could be inside, and took a deep, shaky breath. I closed my eyes, trying to keep my mind from wandering to my terrible 13th birthday, so I quickly brought out my digital camera and looked out the window, capturing images of the white clouds in the seemingly endless blue sky. With my camera in hand, I was soothed, especially with the calming scenery right outside my window. I switched to my polaroid, wanting to have a picture to easily send back home with a letter.
Eventually I dozed off, and woke up to the screeching sounds of the tires on the runway as we landed. The pilot announced our arrival in Angeles, and Aricia exclaimed excitedly. We all grabbed our luggages, and I was last off the plane as we walked down some stairs and were met with another screaming crowd. A few of us stopped to take pictures and sign autographs, myself included. I was surprised to see my name and my face on signs, not many, but still there. I approached a sweet looking little girl with black, curly hair, her white smile bright against her dark cheeks, my name on her sign.
I smiled, kneeling down to her level, “Hello, what’s your name?”
“Opal! I’m a Five, just like you!” she exclaimed. I laughed at her eagerness, and talked with her a few moments more and signed my autograph, even taking a picture with her. It went on like this for another fifteen minutes or so, before we were finally led away by our guards to the car. I sat next to Cameron in the car, but we didn’t speak at all. I was preoccupied with looking out the window, anyways, both at the crowds lining the streets and the gorgeous weather.
Quickly we arrived at the palace, and I was in awe of the grandeur of it. I wanted to take my camera out once again, but figured I’d have plenty of time once I was inside. Our bags were taken away, but I managed to slip my polaroid with me as we were led inside the palace. I tried not to seem too in awe of the lavish surroundings, so I stared straight ahead, only peeking every once in a while.
We suddenly rounded a corner and I heard many voices, all talking over one another it seemed. We turned into a room on our right, a large one filled with long rows of mirrors and girls sitting in chairs in front of them, racks of dresses mixed in with stylists running around one another.
“All right girls! Just find an empty station and the stylists will find you there,” a woman instructed, clipboard in hand, before running off to talk to another group. My plane group parted, and I snapped a quick picture before making my way to a seat near the middle of one row. Two girls sat on each of my sides, but they didn’t pay me any attention, too preoccupied talking to their stylists.
A tall woman with black hair tied back into a messy bun suddenly appeared behind me, giving me a once over. I raised an eyebrow at her with a small smile through the mirror until she finally spoke to me.
“Ah yes, my name is Chloe, excuse me. I’ll be your head stylist, but before we begin we’re going to take a few photos of you for before the makeover. Just stare straight into the camera please,” she said, motioning towards the man who had appeared in front of me who was practically shoving the camera in my face. His camera clicked a few times and he was off again, most likely to capture the other Selected.
“All right, so I was thinking we should keep your length, and just tame out those waves, we could really work with that,” she suggested, taking different pieces of my hair and examining them with a keen eye.
I nodded, “That’s fine with me.”
“I like your color too, so that won’t change either. That okay for you, miss…?”
“Emmalyn,” I finished for her and she smiled, her dark eyes warm.
“Wonderful. We’ll get that started for you, do a complete body scrub, and then move onto your makeup. Did you have anything particular in mind?”
I shrugged, “I guess all I can think of is not too much makeup. I still want to look like me after this.” I gave a small laugh.
She nodded in understanding, “Natural look, I agree. Plus you’re already beautiful so we won’t need much.”
I was a bit surprised at the compliment, but pleased nonetheless, so I smiled at her in thanks.
She patted my shoulder before leaving, and a flock of other people suddenly descended upon me, mostly silent as they worked. Someone washed and put product in my hair, putting it in a towel as I was taken somewhere else to literally have my body scrubbed down with different oils and lotions. Afterwards I couldn’t stop rubbing my hands at how soft they were, making one of my stylists laugh. She was sweet, too, I liked talking to her.
When they did my makeup, they turned me around so I couldn’t see until I was done, but it was surprisingly easy. It was still far more than I had ever worn before, but I could barely feel it. Another girl then proceeded to paint my nails, offering me several bright colors, except I refused them all. She sighed at my refusal, dejected, so I gave in and let her paint them a neutral pink shade. It was as my nails were drying when I spoke to a pretty Selected with dark hair I couldn’t quite place.
She was staring at herself in the mirror when she turned to me, “Should I cut my hair?”
I looked over thoughtfully and admired her long, thick hair with purple tips, “Well I really love the purple, I think it looks great on you. Do you think you should cut it?”
She looked back at herself in the mirror, “Yeah, I love the purple too, but I was just considering the options.”
I smiled, “Whatever you do I’m sure you’ll look great. I’m Emmalyn, by the way, but you can call me Emma.”
“A pleasure, you can call me Jyn,” she said, offering a hand to shake. Thankfully my nails had already been drying for a while so I took it. We talked for a while longer, and I found she was another genuine Selected, a Five like me, if a little reserved. We said our goodbyes once our stylists took us to our respective racks to be dressed. I was shown many different dresses and skirts from a black, strapless dress, a deep green, flowy dress with off the shoulder sleeves, to a pale blue blouse with a grey skirt that fell to my calves. I chose the last outfit in the end, not quite ready to wear some of the more formal looking dresses. When I was dressed, I was presented in front of a mirror, and my eyes widened at the sight of me.
My hair had been tamed into soft waves, something my mother joked would never happen, and my makeup only enhancing my features. The outfit fit like a glove, and I turned from side to side, liking the way the skirt swished around my legs. I felt… beautiful and sophisticated, something I don’t think I had ever felt before.
“Emma!” a voice called, and I turned to see a girl I recognized instantly rushing towards me. Madelyn Knight, a fellow Five, had written me a letter soon after the Selected were announced, and we became fast friends. I smiled in relief at a familiar face, and we spoke for a while longer, eventually being approached by Fiona, a sweet Six who had sent us all our favorite flowers. Debbie Varker followed not long after, trailing behind Fiona. As we were talking I noticed Berklee Boyer speaking with Charlotte Bane, Berklee moving to come join us, but Charlotte taking one wary look at our group and choosing to walk off somewhere else. I furrowed my brows at her action, but later understood when I saw her approach the most intimidating group of girls.
Well, she made her choice.
After our pictures were taken, we were taken on a tour of the palace, and it was incredibly beautiful. I couldn’t wait to start taking pictures of everything. Once the tour was over, we were shown to our rooms, and thankfully Maddie’s was right across from mine. I almost gasped at the sight of my room, the spotless white walls, pristine furniture and lavish bed. There was even a chandelier above my bed, most likely more expensive than my entire house.
After I was introduced to my maids- Evelyn, Lana, and Coralie- Maddie and I decided to explore the palace as much as we could. We managed to find all sorts of hidden places to photograph, practically using up all of our film. I found she was the easiest to talk to, and was relieved at finding someone who I could be myself with. I would definitely need a friend like her to last throughout the rest of the competition.
We talked about going to the sleepover, and I was reluctant at first, but eventually decided yes with the urging of my maids as well. I figured it couldn’t hurt.
Hosted by Evadne and Berklee, it was exciting to say the least. Food, wine, unexpected royals. I was even dared to give a note to princess Alina, which still made me cringe, wondering how I managed to find myself in that situation. The only part of the night I regretted was when I managed to make Sera Chamberlaine an enemy, my stupid temper coming out again. That was my first mistake. Maddie, who stuck to my side most of the night, wasn’t there to see it happen, so I brought it up later when we both left to go to my room.
“So, you really didn’t hear what happened with Sera?” I asked while I flopped onto my bed.
She flopped down right next to me, “No, I was getting pie. What happened?”
“Well…” I trailed off, fiddling with my hands, “She was being so rude and snobby to everyone, so I may have talked back to her and she may have threatened me.”
She sat up quickly in shock.
“She threatened you?!” she asked loudly. I nodded and looked down, annoyed with both myself and a snobby Two who thought it was okay to treat everyone else like nothing. I had dealt with it too many times to count and hated that it followed me here, but it only made sense. After all, someone was going to end up as queen. I felt Maddie’s stare as she waited for an explanation.
“She said I should watch my back, and my bed, whatever that means,” I replied, not really taking her threat seriously. That was my second mistake, and I wondered later how I already managed to make such a mess of things the first night here.
“Bro… we are on your bed,” she pointed out, looking on edge.
No… she wouldn’t. Would she?
At that thought, I became more alert and we began to look around us in suspicion.
“Do you see anything?” she asked. Suddenly she moved a pillow out of the way and gasped in shock.
“Oh my gosh, Emma!”
“What?”
“There’s glass everywhere!” she was screaming now, in disbelief. We pulled back the covers to find more glass everywhere.
“Great,” I said sarcastically, but inside I was seething. It was downright maniacal to go this far simply because I talked back to her. I wanted to march right up to her and tell her off, tell everyone exactly what she did and have her kicked out.
But I made a decision right then and there that was definitely not going to happen. I didn’t want to risk my place here, no matter how much a petty Two chose to spend her time.
I began to pick up the glass carefully setting it down on my nightstand, but Maddie began to pace.
“What the actual heck?! This is not freaking okay,” she fumed.
“I know, I know,” I said calmly. I could feel her staring incredulously at me as I cleaned up.
She turned to me, “We have to do something!”
“What? No, definitely not.” I quickly looked up at her, but she reverted back to her angry pacing.
“We could tell Dom, or get her back. This is NOT OKAY. I’m about to go wake everyone up in this palace. Who does she think she is?” Frankly, her temper surprised me. She had been so good natured and demure the entire time so far, I didn’t expect this side of her.
I stopped picking up the glass and walked over to her, effectively stopping her pacing.
“We are NOT telling Dom. I didn’t come here to make enemies, I probably shouldn’t have said anything anyways. It’s my stupid temper,” I admitted frustratingly.
Maddie was appalled, “Are you kidding me? You are not the one with the temper. You are NOT THE ONE PUTTING FREAKING GLASS IN PEOPLE’S BEDS,” she shouted.
I sighed, knowing she wasn’t angry at me at all, “I know that’s… excessive. But look, if I just ignore it and her, she’ll back.”
Hopefully.
Maddie looked skeptical, but I could tell she wasn’t going to fight me on this, at least not yet.
“Look, I’ll do whatever you tell me to do… It is your fight. BUT. If this happens again, I’m telling someone. I’ve officially known you for like what? A day? And I already can tell you are pretty much the best person here and you don’t deserve this,” she said sincerely.
“Aw, you love me that much already? I’m touched,” I said with a small smirk, “but seriously, I’ll be fine.” Her kind words actually meant a lot, and I was increasingly grateful for her friendship.
She laughed, “I’m just telling you so you trust me and I can use your weakness against you.” She winked and I rolled my eyes.
“So strategic,” I responded sarcastically.
She flipped her hair dramatically, “Oh yes, I know,” then added, “But, seriously, this happens again…”
“Trust me Maddie, if something happens again I’ll let you loose,” I reassured with a smile.
We were quiet for a while after, thinking about what happened, talking more late into the night. I admitted how a small part of me also felt bad about Sera, wondering what could have happened to make her the way she was. The conversation trailed off, Maddie leaving when she could barely keep her eyes open.
My maids had been dismissed when they thought I was staying over at the sleepover, so I dressed myself for bed in a simple white nightgown. I laid down in my bed, now clear of any glass, but found I couldn’t fall asleep. Our introductions with Dom were tomorrow, and although I had been calm up until now, I found myself thinking of every possible way it could go wrong and he’d send me home immediately. I had to make at least somewhat of an impression so I could stay for long enough.
2:07 was what my clock on my nightstand said when I looked over, so I sighed and threw back my covers, restless. Hopping out of bed, I decided it couldn’t hurt to sit on my balcony for a little while.
My bare feet padded across the marble floor as I made my way over to the doors and opened them, but when I spotted my dad’s black book sitting on a dresser, I grabbed it. I could already feel my mind quieting as the smell of the gardens hit me when I sat on a bench near the edge. My hair fluttered in the soft, warm summer breeze, and I tucked my feet under me, resting my head on my knees. I was incredibly thankful my room overlooked such a beautiful part of the palace.
I took the book and opened it to the first page again. For the first time in a long while, the sight of my dad didn’t bring back the crushing weight it so often did. My breath was steady, my heart full, and so I flipped to the next page.
This time it was a quote from his favorite book, and I smiled at the memory of him reading it out loud. Page after page was a mix of pictures, quotes, thoughts he chose to jot down. I was about halfway through the book when I reached a longer note he had written. As I scanned the words, I realized that it was a letter to me, one he had planned to rewrite and give to me for my 13th birthday, but never got the chance. It was touching and sincere, but what brought tears to my eyes was the final line he had written.
Emmalyn, you are your greatest strength. Always remember that.
So I smiled. However tomorrow played out, I was relieved at the fact that my dad would be there with me, his words a comfort.
You’re right, dad. And I’m going to make you proud.
(( Mentions in this fic: @aikoellis @theiahuntley @devonmuerner @madelynknightoftheselection ))
Our carriage Awaits
I had heard that entering the selection was a life changing experience, but I didn’t know that the change started since the moment you see your awkward picture on the screen of the TV.
That night, we were only Keelan and me sitting on the big brown couch of the living room, focused on every single detail happening on The Report, because my father and I were still mad at each other, and he has been avoiding me all this weeks. Suddenly my face popped out on the screen. I looked awful, my face was ruined by all the tears and drama of the fight I had had with my dad earlier that day, when he forbade me to apply to the selection, without any logic explanation. But my face didn’t bother me in that moment, I was shocked, shouting and jumping around the house of emotion of being officially one of the 35 selected girls. My brother was as excited as I was, he never doubted that my name was going to be on the list of the selected. He gave me one of those long hugs he uses to give when he wants you to feel all his support and proudness.
That night Keelan organized a small private reunion to celebrate. Our closest friends, neighbors and business partners came to our house, we had snacks, little chats about how his sisters, daughters, nieces were disappointed for not being selected. I felt sorry for them for a while, but there wasn’t anything that could ruined my happiness that warmth night full of stars.
The next morning, I woke up early, a weak ray of sunlight filtered through the crack of the window illuminating a little part of the room. I wanted to stay in bed a little more, but I remembered last night I received a called from the palace to let me know that they will be visiting the house to update some of my information, talk about The Selection rules, security measures at the palace, and all that kind of information. It sounded kind of tedious, but if that’s what it takes to start this experience I would do everything they asked me to do… well, not really everything. I leave the bed to take a warm shower and get ready for the hard day that just started. When I walked down the old wooden stairs to enter to the kitchen there was nobody there. I was sure my dad was already working at the farm like he always does, but I wondered if Keelan was there with him or he was still sleeping. As soon as I had just finished my breakfast when the doorbell rang. I checked my watch. 9:00 am. They do are punctual. I walked out the kitchen and trough the living room and before I reach the door latch I took a deep breathe to prepare myself for all the new things coming on my way. Las night’s euphoria was gone, now I was feeling the nerves, excitement and uncertainty all over my body. After a few seconds, I put a wide smile on my face and opened the door.
“Hello” I said, surprised to see all the people standing at my door, there were people that work at the palace, journalist, cameras, maids, guards … The woman, that seems to lead the palace workers, looked neat from head to toes. “Good morning, are you Lady Deborah?” she asked looking at me as she was studying my face. I smirked at the “Lady” title. “Yes, I am. Please, come in” I said extending my arm to show them the way to the living room. They told me about all the rules and explained me the time schedule of the day I will travel to Angeles. After that the interviews started, they asked me all kind of questions about my life, my family, the selection, the prince, even questions about the selected girls. Even when some of their questions, made me feel uncomfortable, I had fun trying to them all.
I passed the next week memorizing the names of the selected and reading magazine articles to learn more about them. I tried not to make any early judgments, because I wanted to have my own opinion about all the girls as soon as I get to meet them. When the day of the departure finally came I was standing in front of the mirror in my room, feeling more anxious and energetic than ever, the weather seemed perfect to make 4 hours length flight trip to get to the royal palace. The sun was shining bright, there were no clouds in the sky and my head was full of good expectations. I put on my black pants and white shirt, like I was told and put a small, delicate, Blue Violet flower in my hair to represent my province. I opened the only drawer of my night table to take out a white and smooth paper with my itinerary of the day and the names of the 4 girls that were going to be in the same plane as me: Aiko Ellis, Theia Huntley, Devon Muerner and Madelyn Knight. I hold the paper on my hands to reading the names one more time and hoping we all can get along, then I folded it and kept it on the pocket of my pants.
A car was waiting outside of the house for Keelan and me, to take us to the big game fair in town that my province had organized to bid farewell the daughter of Sota. I was allowed to be there a couple of hours to enjoy the games, give a little speech to say goodbye and then the car would take me to the airport. The idea of having a big event in my honor was exciting and overwhelming at the same time. All those people, rooting for me, expecting me to win, made me feel happy and warm inside but they were also a reminder to me that this is more than just a game. That thought made me feel pressured and heavyhearted.
I took a deep breathe to take the stress away, put my little bag pack on my shoulder and a smile on my face. There will be time to worry about all the responsibilities the selection brings, when the time comes. “See you, Latte” I muttered, sending a kiss to the little bunny, eating on his cage.
Downstairs my brother was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, reading a magazine while he waited for me to be ready.
“Ready!” I said stretching my both arms
“Finally, we still have some time, though” he exclaimed putting down the magazine to look at his watch
“I …” I made a pause to clear my throat “I want to say goodbye to my dad before we go”
Keelan sighed in relief “Sure, you will find him in the stables”
I got out of the house and walked through our big garden to get to the stables, but when I was about to enter I heard that my father was arguing with someone. They were whispering and the voices weren’t clear, but I’m almost sure I heard my name. That intrigued me, I wanted to know what was it all about. I was about to open the door when I listen to an unknown voice behind me.
“I heard you are leaving today” he said with a strong voice
I turned around to face him and I saw two bright blue eyes closed to me, I took a step backwards to recognize his face “Are you talking to me?” I asked surprised
He stood straighter “Yes” I was feeling confused; Reed Dent had never even looked at me. And now for some reason he’s in my farm trying to start a conversation.
“I’m sorry, I know who you are, because your father is my teacher, but we have never talked” I gave him a strange look
“I know, and this is going to sound strange, but I want to ask you to stay” he said that with such normality that it made me drop a small laugh
“You can’t be serious, you don’t even know me”
“I knew you were going to say that, but I know you more than you think” He tried to reach my hand, but I didn’t let him touch me. In his eyes, I could see sadness and desperation, but I can’t help to be scared and confused. He knows me more than I think? What does that supposed to mean? This guy is a lunatic. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I can stay to figure it out, ok? I have things to do and a schedule to follow” I said scowling. He opened his mouth to say something but he changed his mind and gave up. I turned my back on him and walked away trough the garden to meet my brother at the car. He saw my face and asked me what was happening but I didn’t answer him. He didn’t insist, maybe because he thought I had another fight with our dad… I wish I could say goodbye to him, I wish I could tell him I will miss him no matter our differences. A guard opened the door for us and we got into the car. I was quiet all the way through downtown. I rolled my window down to feel the air against my face. I was thinking about Reed, I have never seen him like that before, he had always been that quiet, well-dressed guy at the bus station, focused on his books and in his profession. Why did he look desperate and sad? What made him think that I was going to drop this opportunity just because he asked me to? The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that he has serious mental problems and that was not my problem. I won’t bother myself thinking about that anymore.
When we were getting close to the town I started listening to a crowd shouting my name and clapping. Almost instantly, my worries ran away and my face changed. A few groups of people were standing under the sun rays, at both sides of the way, cheering for me, holding signs with my name even they had made t-shirts with my face! There also were cameras filming the whole thing.
I was shocked and my heart was bursting with excitement. That was exactly what I needed to forget about weird and sad events that I just experienced.
My brother grabbed my hand for a few seconds and I turned to face him “That’s the smile I wanted to see” He exclaimed. “I’m sure I’m going to keep it all day” I said waving at all the people shouting outside.
We get off the car and I start greeting all the people around me, I’ve already met most of them, cause our town wasn’t that big, and I could at least recognize their faces from the mini market or the stores.
When the fair officially began I was glad that everyone went to participate at the activities and left me to enjoy them too. The town square looked like a big carnival, full of tents, some with games and some with food. All the smell of fried chicken and homemade apple pie invaded the air. I founded Jimmy and Trisha and we played all kind of games like target shoot, bingo, duck pond, darts, but the horse races were my favorite. People wanted me to participate on them but now that I was part of the selection I had to be more responsible of my body, that was one of the conditions that well-groomed woman told me about the first day she visited me. I don’t want any scratches or bruises on my legs, besides I was secretly scared to make a bad roll in front of the cameras.
An hour passed and it was time for me to made my speech. I get on the big wooden platform, decorated with tons of blue violet flowers. I could see everyone’s faces from up there, and I could see that not everyone looked happy to see me up here, about to represent Sota in the selection, it made me realized there were going to be some people out there, waiting to see me fail. I got chills all over my body but I shake my head to get rid of those thoughts and put a big smile on my face focusing in the people rooting for me. The mayor said a few words first to present me, when I heard him saying my name I knew that it was my turn to start my monologue. I was tensed at first, but then I started to feel more comfortable. I thank them all for their support and enthusiasm, I share with them part of the story of how I end up applying for the selection and to finish it I promise to be myself and do my best to represent my province properly. Everyone clapped, whistled and cheer at the end of my speech, and I bet that my face was reflecting the relief I felt when I get off the platform.
Two guards, gently made some space through the crowd for me to walk towards the car. The people were still shouting and waving at me, I waved back to them not being able to stop smiling. When I finally got to the car, Keelan, Jimmy and Trisha were standing outside it to give me a goodbye hug. When I hug my brother, I heard him sobbing and when we broke the hug there where some tears running through his cheeks. “Don’t cry, Kee. Remember you are the big brother” I said giving him a painless punch in his arm “I will see you soon” I continued. “You better not come back soon” he said pointing at my face with a finger. “Here” he gave me another blue violet flower to put in my hair, because the one I was wearing before was all ruined by the fair activities. “Thank you, for everything” I said standing on my tiptoes to give him a kiss on his forehead, then I waved at the crowd again and got in the car.
It took us only 45 min to get to the airport. I got off the car with my back pack on my shoulder. The airport looked bigger than I remembered, there has been 4 years since I made my last flight trip. I looked up in amazement to see the whole building, the crystal windows shined reflecting the sun rays, blinding me for a while. I looked away to protect my eyes and a familiar face was getting out of a car. A group of faces and names passed fast through my head. Madelyn Knight. I hope I’m not mistaken, because then it will be an embarrassing moment
“Hello! You are Madelyn, right?” I asked making an uncertain face.
“Yes, I am, and you are…? Sorry, I forgot” she apologized
“Sorry, I didn’t mind scaring you. I’m Deborah, I’m one of the selected too, we will be in the same plane together”
“Oh no, you didn’t scare me. I’m so happy you are here! I had no idea what I was doing” he laughed
I smiled at her “I’m glad to see you as well, because I thought I was late and everybody was already waiting for me.”
“Hopefully not. I really do hate being late. At least if we are, we can be late together” she exclaimed smiling back at me.
“I haven’t seen the hour, to be honest” I chuckled showing her my nude wrist to her, realizing that I had forgotten my watch. “Let’s get in then” I suggested
We walked into the building together. When we were inside, I felt a little lost. There were so many buildings and the place was full of people, all I could do is look around trying to guess which one was the correct building “Do you see the rest of the girls somewhere?” I asked Maddie
“Hmm… They must be there” She said pointing to one of the enormous buildings
As soon as we entered the building I instantly recognized the two girls standing at the waiting room talking to each other. One of them has bronzed skinned and long hair, I identified her as Theia Huntley and the other one was paled-skinned and short dark hair, I was sure her name was Aiko Ellis.
“There they are! I shouted running towards them relieved. I was so glad to finally find them, because I thought we were going to get lost. If I hadn’t found Maddie
“Hello, girls! I’m sorry for interrupting you” I apologized with rapid breathing. Maddie came in behind me “Hi”.
Aiko talked first “Hello! It’s fine. We were just talking about food”.
“Hello, I’m Theia”
“Hello, I’m Deborah
We all presented ourselves and talked about where were we from. I asked them if they have been waiting long for us but they didn’t seem to be bother about that. We keep talking about food for several minutes, until the last lady arrived.
“Greetings, girls!” he pointed to each one of us saying our names “Aiko, Theia, Debbie, Madelyn. Correct?”
Yes! Hello. And you are? Madelyn asked with a smile
We all spoke at the same time before she could answer “That was correct. Hello Devon” I said
“You are really good with names, Devon!” Theia exclaimed. I guess she’s easy to impress
“Lady Devon Muerner at your service” she made a funny sarcastic curtsey “I’d apologize for being late but I’m not actually sorry”
I laughed inside at her little show, letting them see my sarcastic smile. Was it really necessary to say that?
In that moment, a tall, blonde guard appeared and ask us to follow him. It was time to aboard the plane. Theia started jumping up and down eagerly
“I’m so excited for the plane!”
“I can’t believe we are doing this” Madelyn added
Aiko joined them “I know, I feel kind of nervous”
“Aww, the children are excited” Devon mocked
I have forgotten that not all of us have had the opportunity to travel to another province not to mention other countries. That was another reminder that this competition could be more than a game for some us, it can be an opportunity to improve their lives. Aiko and Theia hadn’t been in a plane before, they looked nervous about doing it now, but we all tried to calm them down by telling them it was not a big deal.
“Well it’s nothing extraordinary to be honest” I said putting down my backpack and taking my sit
“From what I remembered, it wasn’t too bad” Maddie agreed
“It’s just as boring as driving places, just faster” Devon scoffed
I suggested to play some poker with the cards I have brought from home to make the flight less tedious, Devon double my offer with strip poker. I was surprised when she suggested it, but I was willing to play if everyone else would agree, but the rest of the girls felt uncomfortable with it.
After 4 hours, we finally arrived in Angeles. When I got off the plane I stand by the plane’s door a few seconds, closing my eyes with my face facing the sky, I could feel the fresh air of the province against my face. I inhale and exhale a few times letting my lungs get use to this new air. I had heard that Angeles had the most perfect weather of all Illéa, and it was true, it wasn’t hot but it wasn’t cold either, it seems to have the perfect balance.
I joined the others greeting all the people. We stay there with them a lot of time, taking selfies with them and shaking hands. I think we would stay more time with them if it weren’t for the guards that tell us we had to stick to a strict schedule. We left the airport and got on the car that would take us to the palace.
When I got off the car at the palace I couldn’t believe my eyes. You don’t have to be an expert on architecture to realize that the building was perfectly made, it has an ancient design but also with modern touches that make it look unique; and it dimensions! The place is enormous! I couldn’t wait to discover everything it holds inside. I covered my mouth with my both hands in amazement, I have never seen a building as beautiful as this one.
I walked inside with the group and the inside was even more impressive than the outside. I have seen pictures of the palace before in magazines, but being in here felts surreal. It wasn’t much time to appreciate the interiors in that moment, because suddenly a woman took us to a big room full of mirrors, tables with tons of colorful cosmetics and beauty products; people were running from one station to another with hairdryers, hair straighteners, combs, etc.
A sweet blonde woman standing by a station saw me and made a movement with her hand for me to approach.
“Hello, Lady Deborah. My name is Alison and I’m in charge of your makeover, today”
I was gazing at all the colorful shades and lipsticks in the small table in front of me. I’ve been in a place like this before, every time my best friend Sophia asks me to go with her to makeover tests back in Sota, but those times I just have to sit there and watch how the experts transform her; this time I was the one who were going to get a big look change
“… yeah, sure. Hi! I’m sorry. I’m just feeling a little overwhelming. Nice to meet you, Alison” I greeted her extending my hand for her to shake
“Don’t worry, I understand and you don’t have to worry about anything, I promise you will look even more beautiful when we have finished with this.” She said shaking my hand. Then she examined me carefully from head to toe, front and back. She touched my hair, looked into my eyes, my lips, my nose… If I hadn’t have known how these things are done I would have felt uncomfortable.
“… mmhmm, ok, so, we will start with a complete exfoliation, then moisturizing, makeup and finally the dress, ok?” I just nodded “Put on this bathrobe and follow my girls” I obeyed what she said, I followed two ladies to a big beautiful bathroom where they made what they called “the cleaning phase” This part was the most uncomfortable moment of my whole life, but they told me I will used to it, because 3 maids would be assigned to my personal care, and apparently, that includes baths and dress up.
The second phase came with lots of creams and oils, all over my body, face and even my hair. I run my hand over my arms, and legs and I’m sure they haven’t been that soft, not even when I was born. And the smell was a combination of sweet fruits and vanilla.
The next step was my hair, Alison told me she will have to changed its color to make it look slightly darker and in that way the traits of my face and the color of my eyes will stand out. I had never dyed my hair, for that reason her words made me tight my jaw and press my lips together.
“Is something wrong?” Alison asked watching my face in the mirror
“… No, it’s okay… it’s just that I have never dyed my hair before, but I trust you, you are the expert”
She laughs “It will be just a tone, I promise you will love it”
The makeup was easy and fast, mascara, eyeliner and eye shadows on my eyes, lipstick on my lips and done. The dress was made of an almost white silk, kind of pearly with a black ribbon on the waist of the same fabric as the dress. When I looked at myself on the mirror I felt like a real princess. I put a wide smile on my face, then I turned to Alison and thank her and her helpers with a hug. “You were right, I look more beautiful now, … and I didn’t even know it was possible!” We all laughed at my sarcastic comment.
Alison walked with me to the same side of the room where a photographer took me a “before” picture when I came in the room, but now it was time for the “after” picture. He took 4 or 5 pictures from different angles. Then, Alison hug me again “Good luck, Debbie.” “Thank you… for everything” I said.
Sorry I’ve been busy, so I don’t have my fic done yet, but just in case I don’t finish in time (also the quote will make sense if I eventually post it):
"Yes Berklee, yes!" my coach screams, giving me two thumbs up. I start smiling, I just nailed my first triple wolf on the beam. "Do it again," I prepare myself to do it again, I position my feet, concentrate and go. I nailed it again, "Berklee! Yes! This is your day!" he shouts. Molly is standing there next to coach, smiling and bouncing on her toes, giving me a thumbs up. I get off the beam and go to stand in line with the rest of my team. Practice was over and Molly wanted to celebrate our success today with ice cream.
"So, how are you feeling?" Molly asks me with an evil smile.
"I feel great, I finally landed that. Do you know how lon-"
She cuts me off, "no, stupid, about tonight, the Report." She says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh, I don't know, I guess I'm excited." I lied, I had totally forgotten about it, "it'll be cool knowing who could be the future queen." I finished by shoving another bite in my mouth.
She looks disappointed, "really, no excitement at all?" I started thinking about it, I was starting to get nervous what happens if I do get selected. Molly looks at me, "it's okay, you'll be fine."
We got in the car and I dropped her off at her house, "good luck!" I shout to her as she is walking up her driveway. "You too!" she shouts back and blows an air kiss. I drove home and parked in the driveway. Walking into the house I see Poppy sitting at the door waiting for me. I kneel down to pet her, "Mom! Guess what!" I yell excitedly.
"What?" she asks sitting on the couch watching tv.
I plop down on the couch next to her, "I nailed the triple wolf, twice!"
"Really! Oh, my! That's amazing!" She looks at me giving me a super big grin.
"What's amazing?" Landon asks walking into the room.
"Me," Logan replies falling into dad's big recliner.
I just roll my eyes, "Nope, I nailed my triple wolf," the twins look at each other like I just spoke gibberish, "I can now spin on the beam three times," you could see the confusion leave their faces.
"Well that's cool," Logan says very unimpressed. I stick my tongue out at him, he does it right back.
It was 5 minutes until the report starts, the nerves start to kick in. What if I get selected? I know I won't, hundreds, thousands of girls in my province applied. What will happen? I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the anthem play and saw Hyacinth Pierce's face on the screen. The Prince talked for a little bit but then Hyacinth Pierce started naming the selected. I'm sort of paying attention to who got selected but I'm also just waiting for Tammins. The provinces just keep going, Tammins is next…
"From Tammins, Lady Berklee Boyer,"
There was my face on the TV looking, back at me. "Oh my god," I say quietly.
"B!" Landon shouts.
"Berklee…" mom says looking at me shocked, I could tell by her expression that she was thinking a thousand things.
We kept watching the rest of the Report, I'm now wishing that I had paid better attention to the previous girls. I couldn’t stop thinking, I'm going to the palace. I'm going to meet the prince, the whole royal family. The Report finished and I went to my room, I couldn't sleep that night.
Molly and I are just chilling in my room when I get a message, "Hi, I'm Evadne. I just followed all the Selected's social media accounts, so yeah!!" "Molly! A selected just messaged me." I shouted quickly sitting upright.
"Which one?"
"Evadne Leventhorpe," I said calmly.
"I've heard that name before, well message her back!" Molly yells at me.
"What do I say?"
"Um, Hi, I'm Berklee…? I don't know." Molly says with a shrug.
"Wow, you are such a help." I roll my eyes and she just gives me a fake smile.
It was the day of send-off, I wore the dress code: white blouse, black pants, and a blue columbine, my province flower, in my hair. My hair was waved with the flower sitting on top of my ear. I didn't know what to expect after I got to the airport, I knew the plans of the send-off pretty well. There was a knock on the door, "Lady Berklee! Time to go!" I heard Earl, my royal helper, say.
"Okay, I'll be there in a sec," I yell back. I took a last look at my room before I felt, picked up my bag and left. I walked down the stairs to find my whole family there waiting for me. They were all dressed so nice. My parents looked so proud.
"Everyone hop in the cars now," Earl says, looking at his watch. "We have a 15-minute drive ahead of us." I get in the limo with the twins and my parents. I start shaking, I noticed and tried to hide it.
"B? How are you feeling?" Landon asks. This is the first time today someone has actually asked me and not told me that ‘you'll be fine'.
"I don't know, anxious, nervous, excited," I answered trying not to let my nerves show.
"Berklee, you got this. I know you're nervous, anyone would be. Just breathe." Mom says leaning over to give me a hug. We got there and I could hear and see some people already.
"Lady Berklee and family, follow me," Earl said helping me out of the car and leading us to the stage. I looked out and saw so many people, holding signs and screaming my name. They were all cheering for me, I was amazed. I waved and there were more cheers. So many people showed up to see me.
It was now the time I said goodbye, first it was to the twins, Landon was about ready to be in tears and gives me a hug, "B, I'll miss you so much."
"I'll miss you too bud," I respond, and let go of the hug, trying so hard to hold in the tears.
I look over to Logan, "Now you be nice to your brother," he rolls his eyes, "I'm serious," I give him the most serious face I could at that moment.
"I will," he answers blandly and goes for a hug, "I'll miss you," he whispers in my ears.
"I'll miss you too."
Next was dad, "Berklee, darling, you look beautiful. Now you have fun, okay? Be you, and try not to break anything." He laughs at his own comment.
"Okay, dad." I roll my eyes with a little chuckle. He leans in for a hug, "I love you." I tell him.
"Love you too, pumpkin." I wipe my tears that started to flow.
Mom was in tears, "Mom, thank you." I start crying, "make sure the boys don't kill each other, I'll call as much as I can. I love you."
"Please do. I love you." I give her the longest hug, tears falling down both of our faces. I wipe my face one last time, wave to the crowd and hop in the car. As we drive away I hear the cheers. I turn around to look out the back window and I can't see my family anymore. There is no backing out now.
When I arrived at the plane there were already two girls, I said a quick hi and sat on the opposite side of, who I think is Annelise, next to the window. Nobody was really talking so I just sat there fidgeting with my fingers and looking out the window when I noticed another girl had arrived, she had really light brown hair. I looked up and smiled. "Hey… may I sit?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah go ahead. Hi, I'm Berklee," I said as a way to introduce myself.
"I'm Charlotte," She seemed really sweet and someone I could befriend.
"Hi, I'm Annelise, but you can call me Anne. And I'm an actress and singer," she chimed in.
"Oh and I'm Felicity, I'm a two," she said quickly taking out one earbud just to put it back in.
Since Charlotte seemed sweet, I wanted to start a conversation, "so do you have any siblings?" Was the first question to pop in my head.
"Two, actually. Victoria and William. What about yourself?" Charlotte answered.
"I have two brothers, Landon and Logan. I wish I had a sister."
"Everyone says that until they get one, they can be a pain," she says with a laugh.
"Girl, I have 15 year old twin brothers, I know pain!" We both laugh, and continued talking until another girl joined.
"I'm Seraphine. Two," I could tell by the way she carried herself. She walked with power, then sat between Annelise and Felicity. Charlotte and I talked pretty much the rest of the flight. Sera and Annelise seemed to bond quickly and were having their own conversation. Felicity had her earbuds in and didn't seem to want to talk. The flight wasn't too long, but having a conversation definitely helped. We landed at the airport and got into cars. Driving up you could see the palace, it was so big and beautiful, I was awestruck. I'll be living there for a little bit, I couldn't believe it.
The hallways were even amazing, it's like they took a children's book and made it in real life. We were taken to the "Women's Room" to get makeovers.
"Lady Berklee," I heard a woman say behind me, I turn around, "Go over there," she pointed. I walked over to the makeup stand and was quickly greeted by a short woman named Denise.
"Hmm, what should we do? Well not very much, you’re very pretty,” Denise says, as I smile and blush a little, “I'm thinking hair extensions and a natural makeup look." "Sure, that works for me." Charlotte was seated next to me, so we chatted and laughed so more. "Lady Berklee, what do you think?" she asks as she hands me a mirror.
"Oh my gosh, I love it!" I exclaimed with a smile, I look back and Denise seems very pleased with herself. She quickly ran away and came back with a cute black and white short dress, "We designed this for you."
She hands it to me, "Wow, it's amazing!" I put on the dress and got my ‘after' picture taken.
I saw lots of groups of girls and didn't know where to go. I saw I smaller group of girls at I somewhat recognized and walked over there, "Hey, can I join you guys?" I ask kind of shyly.
"Yes totally! Hi, I'm Madelyn but you can call me Maddie," sang the brunette with a sweet voice.
"I'm Emmalyn but Emma is fine," said the girl with short dark brown hair.
"Hey! Berklee, right? With the chicken nugget crown?" that must be Fiona because she sent a letter asking for my favorite flower, but I said I prefer nuggets.
"Yup, that's me!" I laughed.
"Wait, a chicken nugget crown? That's so great!" Emma chuckled.
"Speaking of food, thank you for the sleepover invitation, Berklee." Said Debbie, I recognized her from a few of the magazines.
"Yes! I'm really excited! I bought pie!" Maddie cheered.
I smiled, "I'm excited that you're excited. I brought nuggs!" I told them laughing again.
"You seem to really love nuggets," Fiona mentions laughing.
"Well yeah, they are good," I said still laughing. So far I'm known as the girl that likes nuggets, what a way to be known. We continued talking but they were sent on a tour, but I said that I could stay behind and waited for the next group.
"And over here we have the kitchen," says the tour guide.
"Gosh that pasta smells so good, I'm starving." mentions the girl next to me, "do you think they'd notice if I snuck in and stayed there the entire time?" she joked, I started laughing.
"I doubt it, but don't!" I quickly say before she decides to sneak in there.
"I'm Annette, by the way, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm Berklee but you can call me Berk. I'm gonna to be honest, I'm going to forget your name so I'm going to call you pasta." We laugh but I know it's true.
"I'll settle for that, I love pasta. Hmm, I'll call you beaver." She declared so proudly. I realized that we should probably be paying attention to the tour because I know for sure that I'll get lost because the palace is so big. The tour finished up and it was time to get our rooms, the tour guide walked in front of each hallway and listed the girls that were in that hall. "Queen Amberly Hall: Lady Margarita, Lady Nina, Lady Jyn, Lady Annette, Lady Berklee, and Lady Evadne." Annette and I look at each other excited to find out that we are next to each other and walk to our rooms.
I wasn’t in the mood to stay in my room until dinner so I left to wander the palace some more, I chose the gardens. The gardens were really quiet and calming, I was wandering and then noticed a teeny head pop out from behind a bush. "Hello?" I ask.
"Who are you?" I hear a tiny voice ask me, It took me a quick second to realize it's Princess Callie.
"Oh hi. I'm Berklee. What are you doing?" I ask her.
"Oh! You're one of the selected girls. I'm hiding from my brother. He's trying to get to me to go inside and get ready for dinner." she mumbled.
I kneel down so we are at eye level. "Oooh, and which evil brother is doing this to you?" I asked her.
"Evan," she pouts, "he's always telling me what to do," she says very sadly.
"Hey, that's the only thing brothers know how to do," I tell her.
"Do you have brothers?"
"Two younger ones, I bet mine are worse than yours." I try to tell her to make her feel better.
"I'm pretty sure mine are worse. First, they're older, so they think they can boss me around. Second, they're princes, so that goes to their heads and makes them think they can do or say anything to anyone. Including me." She tells me, I could help but laugh.
"Okay fine you win." I still say laughing.
"Ha!" She yells.
"I have nothing to do right now, could I stay and hide?" I ask, hoping that I could stay out of the palace a little bit longer.
"Sure, sounds fun!" I move over to sit next to her.
"So what do you do at the palace all day?" I ask her just to start up some conversation.
"Usually I like running around the gardens but I do have lessons sometimes. What you like to do for fun?" she asks.
"I'm a gymnast. Do you know how to do a cartwheel?"
"I've never tried." she sighed.
"Here, I'll show you." I slide my heels off and do a cartwheel, "Wanna try?" I show her what do to, Callie tried and does an okay cartwheel. "Yeah! That was so good!" She gives me a high five and keeps trying with my help.
"Callie! There you are! I've been looking all over of you!" I heard a new voice come up behind us.
Callie looks at me. "Oh great," she sighs.
"Oh, uh, hi." I blurt.
"Hello, who are you?" Evan asks me.
"I'm Berklee," I replied quickly.
"Were you helping Callie hide from me?" He asks me with putting his hands on his hips.
"Of course, you were going to make her go to dinner" I responded with crossing my arms.
"Yes, it's important that she is there, come on." he waves towards Callie. But Callie just crosses her arms in rejection.
"Okay, fine," she looks towards me, "can we play again tomorrow?"
"If I have time, I have to meet your cousin tomorrow," I tell her.
"Oh yeah, what about after?"
"I'll ask, as soon as I know I'll call for you, okay?" I wink at her.
"Okay!" She cheers and walks off will Evan.
I pick up my heels and walk off in a different direction towards the palace. I almost made it to the main entrance to the palace when I saw another girl not too far ahead of me. "Hey! Wait up!" I yell doing a quick little run.
She turns around and notices me. "Oh, well hello there," she smiles, "Berk?"
I smile, "Yup! You're Jyn right?"
"The one and only, done with makeovers?" She asks.
"Yeah, you look really good!" I say with a smile.
"I considered making my hair shorter... but I'll let my purple tips last a little longer," she says touching the ends of her hair.
"I think it looks cute! Tomorrow have your dress go with it, that would be so cute."
"Hmm, I'll really have to think about it since we're meeting Dominos for the first time."
I start laughing, "Dominos?" We continue talking as we walk back to our rooms, "Wait, are you in the same hall as me?"
"Hmm, I'm across from Annette..."
"Really! I'm next to her in the middle." We arrive at our rooms and wave goodbye.
It was the night of the sleepover, Evadne and I were running around everywhere trying to get everything together. Girls starting arriving with their food, putting it on the table. Then Annette walks in, "I brought the booze and pizza!" she shouts. The night mostly consisted of Vad and I taking away alcohol from Annette, Fiona and Finley, truth or dare, and Percy coming to join.
ft these lovely ladies; @emmalynatwood @finleygansey @cameronnicholls @evadne-leventhorpe
“Aricia East, you get yourself up here right now!” my father boomed from upstairs. I stifled a sigh and walked upstairs, leaving my suitcases in the main hall.
I reached his door, and knocked twice before swinging it open. “Yes father,” I asked, trying to keep the uninterest out of my voice. It would only make matters worse.
He turned around in his swivel chair, and looked me over, “Why are you dressed up, and why are there suitcases in the hallway?” he said, his voice raising with every word.
“I’m in the selection now,” I said slowly, not wanting to upset him, “and I’m leaving today”
He got up from his chair so fast, I would have missed it if I blinked. “You’re doing what?” he roared.
Oh well, so much for keeping it civil.
“I would have told you, but you haven’t been much of a parent to me these past couple of years!” I retorted, glaring at the face that I hate most in the world, second to my mother.
He glared at me with equal fervour, and said, “You know what? Fine, you can participate in this stupid selection and try to become royalty as much as you like, but when you loose, then don’t come back here” he seethed, and this comment really shocked me. If I lost the selection, where would I go?
Before I could think, my mouth spoke, “Fine! See you never, father!” I yelled, and marched to my room. I grabbed all my personal belongings and packed one more suitcase with that stuff. I then proceeded to grab this suitcase, and lug it down the stairs, where I waited for the driver to come and pick me up.
...
“Lady Aricia!! Lady Aricia!!” I heard the screams from outside as Tommy, my driver, drove me to the airport. When we got there, I walked out of the car, and proceeded to approach the plane. The sendoff was overwhelming! There were a bunch of little girls standing near the airplane, but one in particular caught my attention.
There was a little blonde girl standing with her mother, and her mother was yelling at her about something. I slowly approached them, as to not disturb them.
When I got close to them, the mom stopped yelling. When the girl looked at me, she smiled a 100 watt smile.
“Oh my god, you’re Lady Aricia!” she squealed. I crouched so I was at her level.
“Yeah, I’m Aricia, but you can call me Cia, whats your name!” I asked, with a smile.
“I’m Stephanie, but you can call me Stephie” she said, grinning.
“Well, Stephie, its nice to meet you!” I exclaimed, and extended my hand. She shook it elatedly.
“Cia, can you sign this for me?” she asked, extending my selected poster
I nodded, “Of course!” I took my sharpie, and signed, writing her a special message;
Dear Stephie. Always reach for the stars and beyond! Don’t let anyone stop you. Much love, Cia <3
I handed the poster back to her and said, “Stephie, I have to go catch my plane now, but will you watch me on the report?”
She nodded furiously, “Of course!” This is the best day ever, right mama?” she stated, looking at her mother, who I forgot was here. I got up, and looked at her mother. She had her hand extended, and I shook it.
“My name is Marigold. Thank you for making my daughter happy, Lady Aricia” she said, tears flowing down her face.
I gave her a hug, and said, “It was my pleasure, ma’am” and walked away towards the plane.
...
When I got on the plane, I saw a redhead, two brunettes, and a fellow blondie. They were deep in conversation when I came up to them.
“Hello, I’m Aricia from Lakedon!” I exclaimed
The redhead looked to me and extended her hand, “I’m Fin, Labrador” she says and I shook her hand.
“Its a pleasure to meet you, Fin!” I said, and turned to see the blondie, Cameron rolling her eyes and sitting down with her surfboard beside her.
I saw the surf board, and decided to test the waters by asking, “Wow, Cameron, you like to surf? Thats so cool!”
Fin also decided to join the conversation by saying, “My friend likes to surf, you guys would probably get along!”
Cameron shrugs, “Probably not”
Fin nods, “Not a big fan of making friends? Can’t relate. I love meeting new people!”
I looked at Fin and said, “Same here! I knew alot of people in Lakedon, and I’m excited to meet more here!”
Cameron picked up a magazine, and said “Great for both of you, but I don't care”
One of the brunettes raised a brow, looked at me and said, “HI! Its nice to meet you! I’m Emmalyn!”
I looked at her and smiled, “I’m Aricia, its great to meet you!”
“Is everyone here, or are we still waiting on someone?” Fin asked, looking around.
Cameron shrugged, “I think we’re all here”
The other brunette that was listening to music pulled out her earphones and stood up. “We definitely are. I’m Evadne, by the way, Hudson”
Cameron sighed, “Now everyone knows who everyone is oficially, could you find another subject of conversation please?”
Evadne shrugged, “Sure. Me and Berklee from Tammins are having a sleepover/potluck at our rooms later tonight. Everyone’s invited to come along.”
Fin smiled, “Ooh, sounds like fun!” she exclaimed
Cameron raised an eyebrow, “Everyone.. means too many people”
Fin turned to look at her, “Aww, no it’s not! It’s a great opportunity to meet everyone!”
“We’re holding it at both of our rooms, and I’ve been assured that the rooms can actually hold a number of people,” Evadne added.
Cameron frowned, but Fin said “I’m excited!”
I turned to look at all the girls, and laughed, “So, is there one thing in particular that you love about your home province?” I asked, trying to get to know the girls a bit better.
Evadne smiled, “Actually, I’ve been living in Hudson for about three years, but I’ve got to say that I have to love the weather”
“What province did you live in before?” Fin asked, taking the words right from my mouth.
“I used to live in Angeles, that place only has two seasons; hot and hotter” she replied
Cameron groaned, “Oh great, so impatient to see my skin burn”
Fin laughed, “I love that Labrador is so accepting! Most parts of Illea are pretty conservative, but people in labrador are pretty much down with anything. We have an incredible center by the province hall that helps the lower castes get through life and get jobs.”
“Oh, thats great, Fin!” Evadne said, and I nodded. “Could I ask a favour while we’re here on the plane?”
“Yeah whats up?” Fin asked, looking at Evadne questioningly
“Could you take a picture of me on my seat? I kinda want it for my instagram,” she said, and I let out a small chuckle.
“Sure! Do you want me to use your phone, or....?” Fin asked, standing up.
“Thank you? Just my phone” Evadne said, and extended her phone to Fin. Fin took it and moved to take a picture of Evadne, and I stood behind her so I could see.
When she finished taking the pictures, she showed them to me. “Wow, Fin! You’re great at taking pictures!” I exclaimed, and she blushed, “Evadne, you look beautiful by the way!”
Fin smiled, “Oh thanks, Aricia! One of my friends is a professional photographer, and she likes to take me to shoots when I have a day off, so I picked up a few tricks”
“Thats so cool!” I said, smiling brightly, and picked up my copy of Wuthering Heights, as the girls continued talking around me.
“Thank you so much Fin! I always loved keeping people up to date with my life. This selection thing has been all they could talking about in the comments section”
As the girls were talking about how they were going to take a nap before we landed, I felt my eyes drooping, and I let the sleep fall over me like a warm blanket.
...
“Ladies, we have arrived to Angeles!” The pilot announced, and I slowly blinked the sleep out of my eyes. I opened my eyes fully, and saw the other girls doing the same.
“We’re here!” I exclaimed, and the other girls nodded, grabbing their luggage and making their way down the stairs of the airplane.
“I can’t believe we’re here!” I heard one of the girls yell, and I honestly felt the same way. We were all energised after our nap, and were ready to take Angeles by storm.
When we walked into the palace, I felt my mouth fall open in awe. The vaulted ceilings and intricate pieces of art were beautiful! Before I could stand and admire the view, I was ushered along my a group of women. Before I could even register where I was, I was thrown into a dressing chair.
“Hi Lady Aricia, I am Dianne, your makeover artist for today, and I was wondering what changes you wanted made!” she asked cheerily. I didn’t want any major changes, maybe I’d cut my hair a bit shorter and get my makeup done. I told her just that, and she nodded.
I was checking my instagram feed while waiting for the makeover to be over. I saw there were alot of comments on the photos that I had posted, but on the photo with my suitcase, there was a comment from Blake.
blake.watson; wow, I can’t believe you actually left, Cia
I didn’t know what to do what that. After he had walked out of the cafeteria that day a year ago, our friendship had become strained. I didn’t know what was wrong with Blake, but I’d figure it out, I knew it.
*20 minutes later*
“Your makeover is complete, Lady Aricia!!” I heard Dianne say, and I looked at the mirror and couldn’t believe the girl who was staring back. I cheekbones were accentuated, and my hair was straightened and trimmed.
“Wow...” I said, looking at my reflection.
“I thought the make up and hair cut would make you feel empowered,” said Dianne meekly, thinking that I didn’t like it. I decided to toy with her a bit more.
“I don’t like it...” I trailed her, seeing her expression morph into sadness, “ I love it!” I exclaimed with a smirk, and Dianne looked so happy.
“You do! Oh, thank you so much!!” she said, and I stood up to give her a hug.
“No, thank you!” I exclaimed, and she lead me towards the dress room. We walked in, and she proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions about the type of dress I wanted.
After a while of trying on dresses and picking matching accessories, I finally found the right combination. I was wearing a navy blue dress, gold heels, a gold hand chain, and a gold necklace.
I spun around infront of the mirror, and felt happy with the way I looked. Apparently, Dianne did as well.
“Lady Aricia, you look wonderful!” she gushed
I blushed, and turned to look at her, “please, just call me Cia!”
She nodded, and ushered me to and get my after photo taken. As I waited in line, I thought about this adventure and how I was slightly nervous, but then I remembered all the nice girls I had already met, and I realized that I wasn’t alone.
other less important mentions! @berklee-boyer @princepercyschreave
enjoy heckers (lmk if you want faceclaims for the other characters lmao)
“From Labrador… Lady Finley Gansey.” Hyacinth’s lips were still moving, but Fin couldn't hear her words over her mom screaming and her dad clapping.
Fin hadn't seen them this happy since before Helen. She wasn't used to it at all. She always felt guilty when she was extremely happy, which right now, she was. She shouldn’t feel this good. Her older sibling, her best friend, wasn’t with her. They should be with her.
Fin choked back a sob, effectively stopping her parents' celebration. Her mom sat on the floor next to her, hugging her. “Is it Hel?”
Fin nodded and started to cry. “They should be here. They should be here and be celebrating and fuck, I miss them so much, Momma.”
At some point, her dad had excused himself from the room. He hated talking about Helen. Her mom, however, stayed and held Fin tight. “It's okay, honey, she- they weren't happy here. We tried as hard as we could, but it's not our fault that they decided life wasn't worth living, it’s theirs. They’re someplace where they’re happier.”
Fin wiped her face. “I know. But it's so hard.”
Her mom hugged her closer. “One day at a time, baby. One day at a time.”
☀️
“Why did you have to tour this month, you fuckers?” Fin asked, laughing. She was packing and facetiming Robbie and Tony while they were preparing for a meet and greet.
“I don't know Finley, why did you have to sign up for the Selection?” Robbie asked.
“Fuck you, tell Salsa I love him, uglies,” she said as she packed a small bag with photos and the essentials: phone charger, headphones, laptop, spiral. “I gotta go, but good luck today!” She knew Tony had anxiety about big crowds and this would probably be a rough day for him.
“Thanks, you too,” Tony said, a small smile on his face. “Lot’s of love from us.”
“Love you too, bye!” She hung up right as she heard a quiet knock knock knock on her door. “Door’s open!”
“Hey kiddo,” her dad said as he walked in, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just wanted to, um, say that I love you and I’m really proud of you.”
Fin walked over to hi and gave him a bear hug. He grunted and awkwardly hugged her back. “I love you too, Dad.”
☀️
“And here is our own Daughter of Illéa, Lady Finley Gansey!” Governor Maldonado said, gesturing towards the side of the stage set up in the middle of the square. Fin walked onstage, adjusting the blue cornflower in her hair as she walked on. She smiled and awkwardly waved (why would they choose my socially incompetent ass for this?) as she searched the crowd for Vinny. A pointless search, she knew that, but she was still disappointed when she didn't see him in the crowd.
She mentally repeated the same mantra she’d been saying since she entered: Fuck him. Fuck his opinion. He doesn’t matter.
But he did.
That was the hard part.
She ignored that part and let herself be ushered offstage towards the carpark, where her parents, Meghan, and Malia were waiting for her. Her mom hugged her and cried, her dad gave her an awkward clap on the back, and her friends screeched about how lucky she was to be meeting cute princes (“And princesses! Don’t forget the ladies!” courtesy of Meg).
A cough came from behind the girls. Fin turned to see Vinny, a bouquet of orchids (her favorites, dammit) in one hand, the other one awkwardly tapping against his leg.
“We’re gonna go,” Meg said as Malia awkwardly gestured before they ran off with a quick “Love you bye!”
Vinny handed her the flowers. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I just wanted you to know how I feel and it came out wrong.”
Fin grabbed the flowers and gave him a small smile. “Um, thanks, I guess.”
“Just,” he started with a sigh and a tight, sad smile on his face, “don’t fall in love while you’re gone.”
Fin just waved and hopped in the car.
☀️
She sat on the bench next to another girl. Emmalyn? Maybe? She didn’t remember. She sighed. “Okay.”
The other girl looked over. “Everything okay? I’m Emmalyn, by the way.”
They quickly struck up a conversation, only stopping as they introduced themselves to each other. The first girl. Emmalyn, Baffin, Photographer. A distant, but kind girl. Evadne, Hudson, Fundraiser. A standoffish girl. Cameron, Hansport, Surfer, apparently. A nice girl. Aricia, Lakedon, Basically a puppy. And her, anxiously enthusiastic. Finley, Labrador, Professional wreck.
After getting on the plane, snapping a photo for Evadne, and napping to take the edge off, (I hate heights oh god) they arrived, were rushed into the palace, and started the flurry that was makeovers.
Fin was quickly seated beside a pretty girl, who looked over, saying, “Hey, I’m Annette, nice to meet you.”
“I’m Finley, or Fin, or whichever you prefer.”
“Fin it is then.” Annette smiled. “How are you feeling about this whole selection business? I'm a little hungry, to be honest, I haven't eaten since this morning.”
“Me too, honestly. I've been too nervous to eat,” Fin said like the mess she was. Way to overexpose, dumbass.
After talking about alcohol preferences and how they should drink together at some point, Annette told her that she’d be going to the sleepover and providing the alcohol. “Don’t tell anyone,” she said with a smile.
“I won’t,” Fin replied with a wink. Annette was soon swept off to change, and fin had her hair and makeup done in no time. She was put in a black dress, a tight bodice with cutouts in the side and a scalloped, low neck with a knee length loose skirt, her hair in loose waves, and a smokey dark eye. Vinny would’ve said perfection. Fin wasn’t so sure, but everyone said she was beautiful, so she went with it.
☀️
The sleepover was… eventful. She and Annette, true to their personalities, got incredibly drunk, Berklee tried to steal the alcohol, and people passed out.
Truth or dare was played, which got even more fun after Prince Percy showed up.
All in all, a good first day.
Next challenge: getting her shit together enough to meet Dom and not seem like the anxiety filled mess that she was.
