The Prince

  Still looking excited, I bent toward Father. “I feel sick,” I whispered.

  “Just breathe,” he answered back through his teeth. “You should have looked yesterday; I knew it.”

  “Miss Fiona Castley of Paloma, Three.”

  I looked over to Mom. She smiled. “Very pretty.”

  “Miss America Singer of Carolina, Five.”

  I heard the word Five and realized that must have been one of Father’s throwaway picks. I didn’t even catch the picture, as my new plan was to stare just above the monitors and smile.

  “Miss Mia Blue of Ottaro, Three.”

  It was too much to absorb. I’d learn their names and faces later, when the nation wasn’t watching.

  “Miss Celeste Newsome of Clermont, Two.” I raised my eyebrows, not that I even saw her face. If she was a Two, she must be an important one, so I’d better look impressed.

  “Clarissa Kelley of Belcourt, Two.”

  As the list rolled on, I smiled to the point that my cheeks ached. All I could think of was how much this meant to me—how a huge part of my life was falling into place right now—and I couldn’t even rejoice in it. If I’d picked the names myself out of a bowl in a private room, saw their faces on my own, before anyone else, how that would have changed everything in this moment.

  These girls were mine, the only thing in the world that might ever truly feel that way.

  And then they weren’t.

  “And there you have it!” Gavril announced. “Those are our beautiful Selection candidates. Over the next week they will be prepared for their trip to the palace, and we will eagerly await their arrival. Tune in next Friday for a special edition of the Report devoted exclusively to getting to know these spectacular women. Prince Maxon,” he said, turning my way, “I congratulate you, sir. Such a stunning group of young women.”

  “I’m quite speechless,” I replied, not lying in the slightest.

  “Don’t worry, sir, I’m sure the girls will do most of the talking once they arrive next Friday. And to you”—he spoke to the camera—“don’t forget to stay tuned for all the latest Selection updates right here on the Public Access Channel. Good night, Illéa!”

  The anthem played, the lights went down, and I finally let my posture relax.

  Father stood and gave me a firm and startling pat on the back. “Well done. That was a vast deal better than I thought you’d fare.”

  “I have no clue what just happened.”

  He laughed along with a handful of advisors who were lingering on set. “I told you, son, you’re the prize. There’s no need to be stressed. Don’t you agree, Amberly?”

  “I assure you, Maxon, the ladies have much more to worry about than you do,” she confirmed, rubbing my arm.

  “Exactly,” Father said. “Now, I’m starving. Let’s enjoy our last few peaceful meals together.”

  I stood, walking slowly, and Mom kept my pace.

  “That was a blur,” I whispered.

  “We’ll get the photos and applications to you so you can study them at your leisure. It’s just like getting to know anyone. Treat it like spending time with any of your other friends.”

  “I don’t have very many friends, Mom.”

  She gave me a knowing smile. “Yes, it’s confining in here,” she agreed. “Well, think about Daphne.”

  “What about her?” I asked, a bit on edge.

  Mom didn’t notice. “She’s a girl, and you two have always been friendly. Pretend it’s just like that.”

  I faced forward. Without realizing it, she soothed a huge fear in my heart while stoking another.

  Since our fight, whenever I thought about Daphne, it wasn’t about how she might be getting along with Frederick right now, or how much I missed her company. All I thought about were her accusations.

  If I was in love with her, certainly it would be all of her attributes that filled my head. Or tonight, as the Selected girls were listed, I would have wished her name were in there somewhere.

  Maybe Daphne was right, and I didn’t know how to properly show love. But even if that were the case, I knew with a growing certainty that I didn’t love her.

  A corner of my soul rejoiced in knowing that I wasn’t missing out on something. I could enter the Selection with no restraints on my affection. But in another space, I mourned. At least if I had misunderstood my emotions, I could boast at the fact that once upon a time, I’d been in love, that I knew what it felt like. But I still had no clue. I supposed it was always meant to be that way.

  CHAPTER 5

  IN THE END, I DIDN’T look at the applications. I had a lot of reasons to not bother, but ultimately, I convinced myself it was best if it was a clean slate for all of us once we were introduced. Besides, if Father had pored over all the candidates in detail, maybe I didn’t want to.

  I held a comfortable distance between the Selection and myself . . . until the event crossed my threshold.

  Friday morning, I was walking along the third floor, and I heard the musical laugh of two girls on the open stairwell of the second floor. A perky voice gushed, “Can you believe we’re here?” and they burst into giggles again.

  I cursed aloud and ran into the closest room, because it had been stressed to me over and over again that I was to meet the girls all at once on Saturday. No one told me why it was so important, but I believed it had something to do with their makeovers. If a Five stepped into the palace without any sort of help, well, I couldn’t say she’d have much of a chance. Maybe it was to make everything fair. I discreetly left the room I’d ducked into and went back to my own, trying to forget the incident altogether.

  But then a second time as I was walking to drop something off in Father’s office, I heard the floating voice of a girl I did not know, and it sent a jolt of anxiety through my entire being. I went back to my room and cleaned all of my camera lenses meticulously and reorganized all my equipment. I busied myself until nightfall, when I knew the girls would be in their rooms, and I could walk.

  It was one of those traits that tended to get on Father’s nerves. He said it made him nervous that I moved around so much. What could I say? I thought better on my feet.

  The palace was quiet. If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t have guessed that we had so much company. Maybe things wouldn’t be so different if I didn’t focus on the change.

  As I made my way to the end of the hall, I was faced with all the what ifs that were plaguing me. What if none of the girls was someone I could love? What if none of them loved me? What if my soul mate was bypassed because someone more valuable was chosen from her province?

  I sat down at the top of the stairs and put my head in my hands. How was I supposed to do this? How was I meant to find someone who I loved, who loved me, who my parents approved of, and the people adored? Not to mention someone who was smart, attractive, and accomplished, someone I could present to all the presidents and ambassadors who came our way.

  I told myself to pull it together, to think about the positive what ifs. What if I had a spectacular time getting to know these ladies? What if they were all charming and funny and beautiful? What if the very girl I cared for the most would appease my father beyond any expectations either of us had? What if my perfect match was lying in her bed right now, hoping the best for me?

  Maybe . . . maybe this could be everything I’d dreamed it would be, back before it became all too real. This was my chance to find a partner. For so long, Daphne was the only person I could confide in; no one else quite understood our lives. But now, I could welcome someone else into my world, and it would be better than anything I’d ever had before because . . . because she would be mine.

  And I would be hers. We would be there for each other. She would be what my mother was to my father: a source of comfort, the calm that grounded him. And I could be her guide, her protector.

  I stood and moved downstairs, feeling confident. I just had to hold on to this feeling. I told myself that this was what the Selection would r
eally be for me. It was hope.

  By the time I hit the first floor, I was actually smiling. I wasn’t relaxed, exactly, but I was determined.

  “ . . . outside,” someone gasped, the fragile voice echoing down the hallway. What was happening?

  “Miss, you need to get back to your room now.” I squinted down the hall and saw in a patch of moonlight that a guard was blocking a girl—a girl!—from the doorway. It was dark, so I couldn’t make out much of her face, but she had brilliant red hair, like honey and roses and the sun all together.

  “Please.” She was looking more and more distressed as she stood there shaking. I walked closer, trying to decide what to do.

  The guard said something I couldn’t make out. I kept walking, trying to make sense of the scene.

  “I . . . I can’t breathe,” she said, falling into the guard’s arms as he dropped his staff to catch her. He seemed kind of irritated about it.

  “Let her go!” I ordered, finally getting to them. Rules be damned, I couldn’t let this girl be hurt.

  “She collapsed, Your Majesty,” the guard explained. “She wanted to go outside.”

  I knew the guards were just trying to keep us all safe, but what could I do? “Open the doors,” I commanded.

  “But . . . Your Majesty . . .”

  I fixed him with a serious gaze. “Open the doors and let her go. Now!”

  “Right away, Your Highness.”

  The guard by the door went to work opening the lock, and I watched the girl sway slightly in the other’s arms as she tried to stand. The moment the double doors opened, a rush of warm, sweet Angeles wind enveloped us. As soon as she felt it on her bare arms, she was moving.

  I went to the door and watched as she staggered through the garden, her bare feet making dull sounds on the smoothed gravel. I’d never seen a girl in a nightgown before, and while this particular young lady wasn’t exactly graceful at the moment, it was still strangely inviting.

  I realized the guards were watching her, too, and that bothered me.

  “As you were,” I said in a low voice. They cleared their throats and turned back to face the hallway. “Stay here unless I call for you,” I instructed, and walked into the garden.

  I had a hard time seeing her, but I could hear her. She was breathing heavily, and sounded almost like she was weeping. I hoped that wasn’t the case. Finally I saw her collapse in the grass with her arms and head resting on a stone bench.

  She didn’t seem to notice that I’d approached, so I stood there a moment, waiting for her to look up. After a while I was starting to feel a little awkward. I figured she’d at least want to thank me, so I spoke.

  “Are you all right, my dear?”

  “I am not your dear,” she said angrily as she whipped her head to look at me. She was still hidden by shadows, but her hair flashed in the sliver of moonlight that made its way through the clouds.

  Still, face lit or hidden, I got the full intention of her words. Where was the gratitude? “What have I done to offend you? Did I not just give you the very thing you asked for?”

  She didn’t answer me, but turned away, back to her crying. Why did women have such a high inclination to tears? I didn’t want to be rude, but I had to ask.

  “Excuse me, dear, are you going to keep crying?”

  “Don’t call me that! I am no more dear to you than the thirty-four other strangers you have here in your cage.”

  I smiled to myself. One of my many worries was that these girls would be in a constant state of presenting the best sides of themselves, trying to impress me. I kept dreading that I’d spend weeks getting to know someone, think she was the one, and then after the wedding, some new person would come to the surface who I couldn’t stand.

  And here was one who didn’t care who I was. She was scolding me!

  I circled her as I thought about what she said. I wondered if my habit of walking would bother her. If it did, would she say so?

  “That is an unfair statement. You are all dear to me,” I said. Yes, I’d been avoiding anything having to do with the Selection, but that didn’t mean the girls weren’t precious in my eyes. “It is simply a matter of discovering who shall be the dearest.”

  “Did you really just use the word shall?” she asked incredulously.

  “I’m afraid I did,” I answered with a chuckle. “Forgive me, it’s a product of my education.” She muttered something unintelligible. “I’m sorry?”

  “It’s ridiculous!” she yelled. My, she had a temper. Father must not know much about this one. Certainly, no girl with this disposition would have made it into the pool if he had. It was lucky for her that I was the one who came upon her in her distress, and not him. She would have been sent home about five minutes ago.

  “What is?” I inquired, though I was sure she was referencing this very moment. I’d never experienced anything quite like this.

  “This contest! The whole thing! Haven’t you ever loved anyone at all? Is this really how you want to pick a wife? Are you really so shallow?”

  That stung. Shallow? I went to sit on the bench, so it would be easier to talk. I wanted this girl, whoever she was, to understand where I was coming from, what things looked like from my end. I tried not to get distracted by the curve of her waist and hip and leg, even the look of her bare foot.

  “I can see how I would seem that way, how this whole thing could seem like it’s nothing more than cheap entertainment,” I said, nodding. “But in my world, I am very guarded. I don’t meet very many women. The ones I do are daughters of diplomats, and we usually have very little to discuss. And that’s when we manage to speak the same language.”

  I smiled, thinking of the awkward moments when I had to sit through long dinners in silence next to young women who I was meant to entertain, and failing dismally because the translators were busy talking politics. I looked to the girl, expecting her to laugh along with me for my trouble. When her tight lips refused to smile, I cleared my throat and moved on.

  “Circumstances being what they are,” I said, fidgeting with my hands, “I haven’t had the opportunity to fall in love.” She seemed to forget I wasn’t really allowed to until now. Then I was curious. Hoping I wasn’t alone, I voiced my most intimate question. “Have you?”

  “Yes,” she said. She sounded both proud and sad in a single word.

  “Then you have been quite lucky.”

  I looked at the grass for a moment. I continued on, not wanting to linger on my rather embarrassing lack of experience.

  “My mother and father were married this way and are quite happy. I hope to find happiness, too. To find a woman who all of Illéa can love, someone to be my companion and to help entertain the leaders of other nations. Someone who will befriend my friends and be my confidante. I’m ready to find my wife.”

  Even I could hear the desperation, the hope, the longing. The doubt crept back in. What if no one here could love me?

  No, I told myself, this will be a good thing.

  I looked down at this girl, who seemed desperate in her own way. “Do you really feel like this is a cage?”

  “Yes, I do,” she breathed. Then, a second later, “Your Majesty.”

  I laughed. “I’ve felt that way more than once myself. But, you must admit, it is a very beautiful cage.”

  “For you,” she shot back skeptically. “Fill your beautiful cage with thirty-four other men all fighting over the same thing. See how nice it is then.”

  “Have there really been arguments over me? Don’t you all realize I’m the one doing the choosing?” I didn’t know whether to feel excited or worried, but it was interesting to think about. Maybe if someone really wanted me that much, I’d want them, too.

  “Actually, that was unfair,” she added. “They’re fighting over two things. Some fight for you; others fight for the crown. And they all think they’ve already figured out what to say and do so your choice will be obvious.”

  “Ah, yes. The man or the crown. I’m af
raid some cannot tell the difference.” I shook my head and stared into the grass.

  “Good luck there,” she said comically.

  But there was nothing comical about it. Here was another one of my biggest fears being confirmed. Again my curiosity overwhelmed me, though I was sure she would lie.

  “Which do you fight for?”

  “Actually, I’m here by mistake.”

  “Mistake?” How was that possible? If she put her name in, and it was drawn, and she willingly came here . . .

  “Yes. I sort of—well, it’s a long story,” she said. I would have to learn what that was all about eventually. “And now . . . I’m here. And I’m not fighting. My plan is to enjoy the food until you kick me out.”

  I couldn’t help myself. I burst out laughing. This girl was the antithesis of everything I’d been expecting. Waiting to be kicked out? Here for the food? I was, surprisingly, enjoying this. Maybe it would all be as simple as Mom said it would be, and I could get to know the candidates over time, like I did with Daphne.

  “What are you?” I asked. She couldn’t be more than a Four if she was so excited about the food.

  “I’m sorry?” she asked, not catching my meaning.

  I didn’t want to be insulting, so I started high. “A Two? Three?”

  “Five.”

  So this was one of the Fives. I knew Father wouldn’t be thrilled about me being friendly with her, but after all, he was the one who let her in. “Ah, yes, then food would probably be good motivation to stay.” I chuckled again, and tried to find out the name of this entertaining young woman. “I’m sorry, I can’t read your pin in the dark.”

  She gave a slight shake of her head. If she asked why I didn’t know her name yet I wondered which would sound better: a lie—that I had far too much work to do to put them to memory at the moment—or the truth—that I was so nervous about all this, I’d been putting it off until the last second.

  Which I suddenly realized I’d just passed.

  “I’m America.”