CHAPTER 17 (Last√)

1514 Words
“Don’t worry Kitty.” he looked at me seriously. “ I’ll take care of you.” Bridger didn’t have any way to prove that at the moment, but I believed him. For sure he’d do anything for the people he loved, and I knew without question that I was the person he loved the most. But I will treasure everything at this moment. Next morning I let my mind wander to Bridger all through getting ready, breakfast, and my hours in the Elite’s Room. I was blissfully detached until the slap of a pile of papers on the table in front of me jarred me back to the real world. I looked up to see Selena, still sporting a puffy lip. She pointed to one of her gossip magazines opened to a two-page spread. She was addicted to reading magazines every morning or everytime we got there. It didn’t even take a full second for me to recognize my sister's face, even though it was twisted with pain from the caning. “Thought you should see this,” Selena said before she walked away. I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant, but I was so eager to know anything about Liezel, I dived in. Of all our country’s great traditions, perhaps none is looked upon with such excitement as the Selection. Created specifically to bring joy to a saddened nation, it seems everyone still gets a little giddy watching the great love story of a prince and his future princess unfold. When Milleì took the throne more than eighty years ago and his elder son, Spencer, died suddenly, the entire country mourned the loss of such an enigmatic and promiSwift young man. When his younger son, Cullen, was set to inherit the throne, many wondered if he was ready even to train for the task at nineteen. But Cullen knew he was prepared to step into adulthood and set out to prove it via the greatest commitment in life: marriage. Within months the Selection was born, and the spirits of the country were lifted by the possibility of an average girl becoming the first princess of Milleì. However, since then we have been forced to wonder at the effectiveness of the competition. While a romantic idea at heart, some say it’s unfair to force princes to marry women beneath them, though no one can deny the absolute poise and beauty of our current queen, Amberley Station Schreave. Some of us still remember the rumors of Abby Tamblin Milleì, who allegedly poisoned her husband, Prince Justin léa, only a few years into their marriage before agreeing to marry his cousin, Porter Schreave, thus keeping the royal line intact. While that rumor has never been confirmed, what we can say for sure is that the behavior of the women in the palace this time around is nothing short of scandalous. Liezel Swift, now an Eight, was caught with a guard undress swift her in a closet Monday night after the Halloween Ball that was billed to be the highlight of the Selection programming. Its splendor was completely overshadowed by Miss Swift’s reckless behavior, sending the palace into a frenzy the very next morning. But beyond Miss Swift’s inexcusable actions, the girls remaining at the palace might not be crown-worthy either. An unnamed source tells us that some of the Elite are constantly bickering, rarely making the effort to perform the duties they’re required to. Everyone remembers Anna FarLily’s dismissal in early September after deliberately attacking the lovely Selena Newsome, a model from Clermont. And our source confirms that that isn’t the only physical interaction to take place at the palace between the Elite, forcing this reporter to question the pool of girls chosen for Prince Kaden. When asked for a comment on these rumors, King Balthazar only said, “Some of the girls come from less-refined castes and aren’t used to the proper behavior expected at the palace. Clearly Miss Swift wasn’t prepared for life as a One. My wife has a particular indefinable quality about her and is one of the rare exceptions to the rule of lower castes. She has always sought to raise herself to a level befitting a queen, and it would be quite a challenge to find someone more suited for the throne than she. But for some of the lower castes remaining in the current Selection, it would be difficult to say we weren’t expecting this from them.” While Natalie Luca and Elise Whisks are both Fours, they have always been the height of refinement when presented to the public, particularly Lady Elise, who is quite sophisticated. We are forced to assume our king is referring to Lily Swifter, the only Five who made it past day one of the Selection. Miss Swifter has had an average run at the Selection. She’s pretty enough, but not quite what Milleì was expecting for its new princess. From time to time her interviews on the Capital Report are entertaining, but we need a new leader, not a comedienne. In further disturbing news, we have heard reports that Miss Swifter attempted to release Miss Swift during her caning, which in this reporter’s eyes makes her an accessory to the treacherous activities in which Miss Swift was partaking by being unfaithful to our prince. With all of these reports (and with Miss Swift no longer in the top spot) one question remains: Who should be the new princess? A quick poll of readers has confirmed what we’ve suspected all along. We congratulate Miss Selena Newsome and Miss Kriesha Ambers for their neck-and-neck places on the top of our public poll. Elise Whisks takes the third spot, with Natalie Luca not too far behind. In a wide gap between fourth and fifth places, Lily Swifter comes (unsurpriSwiftly) in last. I think I speak for all of Milleì when I encourage Prince Kaden to take his time finding us a good princess. We narrowly avoided disaster by Miss Swift expoSwift her true nature before a crown was placed on her head. Whoever you love, Prince Kaden, make sure she’s worthy. We want to love her, too! I hurried to my room. Of course Selena wasn’t doing me a favor. She was showing me my place. Why was I even bothering with this? The king was expecting me to fail, the public didn’t want me, and I was sure I couldn’t be a princess. I made my way upstairs quickly and quietly, trying not to draw attention to myself. There was no telling who that magazine’s unnamed source was. “My lady,” Marie said when I walked through the doorway. “I thought you’d be downstairs until lunch for sure.” “Could you leave, please?” “I’m sorry?” I huffed, trying not to lose my patience. “I need to be alone. Please?” Without a word, they curtsied and left me. I went to the piano. I would distract myself until I couldn’t think about this anymore. I played a handful of songs that I knew by heart, but that was too easy. I needed to really focus. I stood up and dug through the bench for something more challenging. I burrowed past pages of sheet music until the edge of a book peeked out at me. Milleì’s diary! I’d completely forgotten it was down here. This would be a great distraction. I carried the book over to the bed and opened it, taking in the ancient pages as they flipped through my hands. The diary opened to the page with the Halloween picture, the stiff photo acting as a natural bookmark, and I reread the entry. THE CHILDREN CELEBRATED HALLOWEEN THIS YEAR WITH A PARTY. I SUPPOSE IT’S ONE WAY TO FORGET WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND THEM, BUT TO ME IT ALL FEELS FRIVOLOUS. WE’RE ONE OF THE FEW FAMILIES REMAINING WHO HAS ENOUGH MONEY TO DO SOMETHING FESTIVE, BUT THIS CHILD’S PLAY SEEMS WASTEFUL. I looked at the picture again, wondering about the girl in particular. How old was she? What was her job? Did she like being Gregory Milleì’s daughter? Did it make her very popular? I turned the page and realized that it wasn’t a new entry but a continuation of the Halloween post. I GUESS I THOUGHT THAT AFTER CHINA INVADED WE’D SEE THE ERROR OF OUR WAYS. IT’S BEEN OBVIOUS TO ME, PARTICULARLY RECENTLY, JUST HOW LAZY WE’VE BECOME. REALLY, IT’S NO WONDER CHINA CAME IN SO EASILY, AND IT’S NO WONDER IT TOOK SO LONG FOR US TO GET IN A POSITION TO FIGHT BACK. WE’VE LOST THAT SPIRIT THAT DROVE PEOPLE ACROSS OCEANS AND THROUGH DEVASTATING WINTERS AND CIVIL WAR. WE GOT LAZY. AND WHILE WE WERE SITTING BACK, CHINA TOOK THE REINS. IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS IN PARTICULAR, I’VE FELT DRIVEN TO GIVE MORE THAN MONEY TO THE WAR EFFORTS. I WANT TO LEAD. I HAVE IDEAS, AND PERHAPS SINCE I’VE DONATED SO GENEROUSLY, NOW IS THE TIME TO OFFER THEM UP. WHAT WE NEED IS CHANGE. I CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER IF I MIGHT BE THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN PROVIDE IT.
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