The Prince (A KOTLC Selection Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

The unbelievable has happened. I, Prince Keefe Sencen, have extra time to waste.

And I'm eating as many ripplefluffs as I can before I'm caught.

I'm such a great role model, aren't I? I love being the prince.

I take a bite out of the toffee-flavored one just as Jensi rushes in. 

"Keefe, what are you doing? Your hair is uncombed and-" Jensi nearly chokes, "You haven't even taken a bath yet!"

"Oh, calm down, Jens." I tease, stuffing the rest of the sweet into my mouth. I stand up, brushing my hands on my pants, and ask, "What's the rush?"

"The Report? Picking your Selected today?" Jensi gestures wildly.

"I don't think that's today." I roll my eyes, but Jensi shows me a schedule for the evening Report.

My eyes widen, and I mutter a curse before tearing off my clothes and sprinting to the bathroom, where Jensi's managed to already draw a bath.

I don't know how I'd survive without him, he does everything for me—

I frown, staring at the water. "Where are the lavender petals?"

Jensi nearly pushes me in, passing me the soap. I start scrubbing. Jensi sighs, before explaining, "You're supposed to be picking them in 20 minutes!"

I scrub faster. Jensi quickly mixes up all of my shampoos and pours them on my hair.

"No!" I shriek, eyes tightly closed, "You're going to ruin the Hair!"

Jensi lathers my scalp, before answering, "Keefe, I've taken care of your hair for a while, and mixing up the shampoos or not doesn't make a difference."

I scowl as the mixture quickly gets washed out of my hair, and then Jensi combines both of my conditioners, right in front of me.

"Jensi, you're a disgrace to my hair!" I shout, even as he puts it on my hair. It quickly gets washed out, and then I leap out of the shower and wrap a towel around myself, running to my mirror.

Thank goodness, my hair still looks perfect.

I tousle my hair to give it that "just got out of bed" look that the chicks love, then turn around to see Jensi already laying out some clothes for me. 

He's about to give me jeans, but at my sound of disgust, he quickly swaps them out for dark gray pants, a white shirt, and a dark gray jacket. 

Jensi quickly helps me get everything on before hustling me out of my room. I pause for a second at the staircase, before sliding down again. Errol's waiting at the bottom, arms crossed.

"What's up, Forklenator?" I ask, hand raised for a high five. He ignores me, showing me his clipboard.

"Prince Keefe, since we've already gotten so many names from all the provinces, we decided to make the deadline earlier, so we're filming a live Report in a few minutes."

Shit, that's not good.

I run to where the Report is filmed, and he's right. Cameras and microphones are set up, as well as 35 bowls with slips of paper in them.

Leto is standing in front of the camera, black hair slicked back, annoyed gaze piercing through me. 

"You're just on time, Keefe. Go on, stand over there." He points me to a spot a little ways behind him and to the right, and I stand there, smoothing down my jacket.

"Live in one minute!" A cameraman shouts, and the chatter from the live audience quiets down. I take a deep breath, Leto smooths back his hair, and the cameraman counts, "5, 4," he continues silently, with his fingers showing, 3, 2, 1.

A red light turns on, and Leto starts speaking.

It's amazing how it happens. A twinkle appears in his eyes, a smile on his face, even his posture is different now. His dark suit seems a little less dreary as he changes from being a sharp and cold man to the bright and vivacious personality of the Foxfire Report.

"Good evening, Foxfire!" He greets, with a bright smile, "You might know of the news that been spreading around the kingdom, but if you don't, our Prince Keefe is having a Selection!"

The audience cheers, and I gulp.

Don't look nervous, Keefe. 

"We got so many names in one week that we had to cut the deadline short. As you can see, these are filled to the brim!" Leto gestures at the bowls, chuckling.

"But now is what you've probably all been waiting for!" Leto glances back at where I stand, fidgeting. "Prince Keefe will choose the 35 girls that will become his Selected!" 

It's my cue now. Leto moves to the side as I step forward, giving the camera a smile and a wink, while running a trembling hand through my hair.

Then I move to the first bowl, calling out the name. I put the slip of paper to the side and move on to the next bowl. Why am I so nervous?

The names blur together, but some of them stand out to me.

". . Sophie Foster of Havenfield!"

". . Linh Song of Choralmere!"

". . Marella Redek of . ."

". . Stina Heks of . ."

But those names dim in comparison to the last one. I open it, and my eyes widen, mostly in horror. Then I clear my throat and announce it.

"Biana Vacker of Everglen!"

This has got to be a dream, right? Please. I don't want this. Can I just kick her out immediately? Ugh, but I've got to be fair. 

The audience claps, and cheers for all the names announced, but I catch Fitz's eye. He looks horrified, just like me.

"And that's all, folks!" Leto gives the camera a wave, and the red light turns off. And then I bolt to my room.

I'm hidden in my blankets, munching on custard bursts, when someone knocks on my door.

"I'd like to be alone right now!" I shout.

"Keefe, it's me!" Fitz answers, making me begrudgingly get out of my cocoon and open the door. We sit on my bed in contemplative silence, before Fitz says, "It can't be that bad."

I pause from shoving another custard burst in my mouth. "What do you mean?"

"First of all, there's a bunch of girls there. Second, they all adore you. And third, you don't need to go on dates with Biana or anything."

"But that's the thing, Fitz!" I shout, tossing my custard burst in the air, "I want to! I want to have fun and do things with everyone, I want to experience new things!"

But do I want to experience them with Biana? Fitz's sister. Hell no. But maybe I'll try at friendship.

"Like romance?" Fitz questions, and I nod. He sighs, patting me on the back.

"Well, don't worry. If they start chasing after you, I'll distract them."

The thought of Fitz somehow flirting with them to distract them is hilarious. He can't flirt to save his life.

I snicker. "How?"

He shrugs. "I'll find a way."

That's code for I have no idea, but I'll bullshit a solution.

"Thanks, man." I grin at him, passing him a custard burst.

~~~~~~~~~ AUTHOR'S NOTE ~~~~~~~~~

Yes, another chapter! This time he's announced the girls that'll be in his Selection. 

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