𝓂𝒾𝒹𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 (𝒶 𝓀𝑜𝓉𝓁𝒸 𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓉𝓈 𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀)

~The Selection P1 (Kam)~ (the selection crossover)~

"I don't want them around me," she whispered hoarsely. It was hard to tell who she meant by them. The shameless paparazzi who kept the normal childhood Linh deserved just out of reach? The disgusting men years older than her who hung around her a little too closely at her party, looming over her like hungry vultures? Or her parents, who kept everything they told her and everything they did to be locked behind closed doors, to never be opened?

I wouldn't blame her if she meant all three.

"I know," I whispered back. "It'll all be over soon."

When I said that to Linh, I wasn't saying what you were thinking, although both of us knew that was a possibility Linh and I thought of the daily. How easy it would be to end all the suffering just by one swig of drugged wine or with one push of a high balcony.

I smirked inwardly when I thought of how angry our parents would be when they found out that both their heirs had...taken their own lives. They would probably find a way to make the public think that our circumstances were our fault.

"They were foolish children who didn't know what was best for them," Father would say to the camera.

But then they would win. We couldn't let them win. We wouldn't let them win.

No, what I meant when I said those words to Linh was very different. In five years, I would inherit the crown as king. If I could gain the approval of the population- more approval than my father, the power would rest in my hands. In our hands.

I was seventeen now. Just one more year.

That was the one sentence keeping me from ending my own life. One more year. One more year. When the year was up, I would find a way to get Linh back from the clutches of other kings. Together we would rule. Together.

I don't think there is a more beautiful word than that.

We wouldn't need romantic partners, but we could still have them. Together, we could choose who we wanted to marry. Together, we could choose which gender we wanted to marry. Together, we would change everything.

It's easy to get lost in a fantasy of 'whens' and 'ifs' and forget none of those things have happened yet.

I adjust the silver crown on my tousled head of silky black hair. When I become king, I would have to wear a gold one. It's a shame. I look much better in silver.

It should be time to meet the girls soon, I think to myself. It's a tradition that the girls have one day to adjust to their new rooms and surroundings before meeting the prince. They have already been here for a day, and I am to be expected at lunch. Adjusting my crown once more, I walk out of my room and down the hallway, to the dining hall of the thirty-five girls.

Since I was eleven, I knew I would never be happy with a girl. But until I become king, I would have to put up with one for a little while. Just until the rules could be changed.

The dining hall is pristine and elegant. A crystal chandelier hangs above the table, coating the plates of sandwiches and cakes with a soft golden light. The wooden table is long and narrow, with seats lining the two sides and one especially regal chair at the far end of the table. The one that was supposed to be for me.

The girls are all dressed in a rainbow of various colors of dresses that ranged from seductive reds to cutesy pinks to lively yellows. Their hair is trimmed and styled to perfection. For some reason, the lavishness of each girl's looks makes me feel uncomfortable. Out of place, even. Father would say that is ridiculous. This is my castle, after all.

One girl catches my eye especially. Biana Vacker. She's a One, in a reasonably renowned family. But she's not completely stuck up. Sometimes I look out my window at night and see her climbing into the window of the room next to me. I smirk and roll my eyes. It's only fair Linh gets to have some fun at her age. And Biana seemed half decent.