Playing Fate

Chapter 7: The Arrival

    My breath was beginning to get caught in my throat as we approached the grand structure of the castle. There were multiple large buildings scattered around, but the one we were nearing was the largest of all. It was made of grey stones, white columns at certain points, and cone shaped and arched roofs. Windows were everywhere, but in appropriate places. The designer of this breathtaking establishment should be very pleased with the outcome and themselves.

I then focused on the problem at hand. I was about to take place in a competition to possibly become the future queen of Talas. I had already promised to try in the way I see fit, so I could not try to be eliminated quickly. The driver rolled to a stop and got out. He then walked to my side of the vehicle in the back and opened the door, helping me climb out of the comfort of the cushioned leather seat.

I saw a horde of girls gathered in a fairly large circle at the left part of the mansion and concluded that I would need to join them. I marched over to the girls in a rainbow of different colors of clothing. Some younger and some older, some in black and some in pink, some tall and some short, some brunette and some blonde, all of them were here for the sake of trying to win the heart of Prince Brendan. A strange thought creeped into my head as I began to think about what Delilah had once told me; what if one was a rebel? It was an absurd thought, so I quickly brushed it off.

I melted myself into the teens talking to others, groups within a group. A blonde girl was staring at me and I recognized her as the twelfth girl selected, London Clayton. She continued to stare, unblinking, and I started getting fidgety. Finally, the girl that had been talking to her turned to me and motioned me over. I inhaled and exhaled then walked towards the friendly looking girl. I gave a weak smile to them once I was standing with them.

"Hi, I'm Rhea Garcia. This is London Clayton," the red head gestured to her new-found friend. London smiled and gave a small wave. "What's your name?"

"Kellina Archer. Nice to meet you. Where are you guys from?"

This time London spoke in a confident voice, "Wellspring and Lancaster; you?"

"Edgeshore," I replied. Both seemed nice and I felt we would become friends. We continued to talk, learning things about each other and talking about the other girls.

"Emily Williams," Rhea gestured across from us to the girl that I had seen on the television, "and the girl with her, Eva Miller, those are the girls you want to watch out for. At least, they don't seem nice." I looked towards the girls. They gave off a feel of confidence, and I respected them for that, but I could tell they were also going to think a little too highly of themselves and walk over others. I could not help but admire the fact that they were smart and confident; nevertheless I would not associate myself with them.

We all turned when we heard a noise coming from the front of the house. "If I could have your attention please," it was the large, older man at the top of the steps that spoke. "Welcome, ladies, to the grand home of the royal family. You will be spending your days here until you are eliminated.

"The prince will be coming out here soon and you will introduce yourselves and then go into a waiting room. You will give your name, age, class, and one fact about yourself. Once in the waiting room, you will wait until every girl is finished and then be shown to your rooms. There will be more instructions later," the man said in an earnest voice. "For now, it is my honor to introduce you to Prince Brendan Asquith, the future king of Talas."

When he finished, the handsome young man I had run into from before emerged from the doors of the structure. He waved to the pack of girls and said a small "hello".

The old man spoke once again, "We will start with the first girl chosen, Miss Emily Williams."

Emily smiled largely and confidently strode over to the prince and introduced herself. This went on for around seventeen minutes with other girls. Prince Brendan put on a convincing act of seeming interested and kind. It was soon my turn and I walked up towards him.

"You," was the first thing he said when I made it to the top. He was staring at me in surprise.

"Me."

Prince Brendan's POV

I had thought I was crazy when I looked at the group of girls and saw the girl I ran into in the city. But here she was, standing in front of me, looking uncomfortable. I did not believe it at first until she spoke. It was the same girl I met before, looking dazzling in her outfit and with her large, innocent emerald eyes.

"Um, well, hi," she finally spoke. "My name's Kellina Archer, seventeen, a Five, and a little fact is that I already know you, I guess. So, there's really no need for a nice to meet you."

I was dragged out of my trance and spoke, "Yeah, I guess not."

"Well, I guess I will speak to you later. Bye," Kellina walked away and into the waiting room, leaving me speechless. It was actually her.

I had a feeling this was going to be interesting.

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YO!!! It's been a loonnngggg time since I last updated, but here it is! Thank you my dearies for being patient with me and reading. This is a kind of short chapter, so I will be updating later on today. Remember to vote, promote, and comment. I love you, dearies!!! Bye!!!!