The Selection: Prince Nathaniel

Unwanted Visitors

A sudden bouncing motion wakes me up.

I yawn. "What the heck?" I say rubbing my eyes. When I open my eyes I see my little sisters Guinevere and Mae bouncing on my bed.

"Yay! The girls are coming! The girls are coming!" they shout.

"Ouch!" I yell as one of them jumps on my leg. "What are you doing?!"

"Aren't you excited Nathan? The girls are coming today!" Mae squeals.

"Oh yes. Thrilled." I say sarcastically. Yeah I'm excited, but I'm way more nervous than excited.

Guinevere stops jumping, and gives me the most confused look. "What's your problem Nathan? I would love to have thirty-five boys come and fight over me." she says flipping her curly blonde hair behind her with preteen sass. "C'mon Mae. Let's go ask Mom what time they are coming!" Guin says before they run out of my room.

"Ugh." I pull the blankets back and get out of bed. I head over to my closet and grab the first shirt and pants I see. I'm not really planning on seeing anyone until tonight except my family, and especially not any of the girls. I run my fingers through my hair, making it stand on end as much as possible. I smirk at my reflection and head down to breakfast.

"What did you do to your hair?!" Mom shrieks when I sit down at the table.

"Just leave him be Ann." Dad says. "He's probably nervous."

"What does that have to do with his hair?" Mom asks.

"I don't really care." I reply. "It's not like I'm seeing any girls until supper."

"But I'm a girl!" Mae says pouting her lips.

"Not the time, Mae." Mom says shaking her head. I don't say much for the rest of breakfast, and head upstairs to the workroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around three that afternoon, a butler bursts into the room. "Your Majesty, there have been reports of rebel attacks in the southern part of Midston."

"Not again," Dad says with an exasperated sigh. "What is the death count?"

"The estimate is about 150, just for today sir."

"That's not good. I'm sorry to hear that. I will send forces immediately." he says with disappointment in his voice.

"And also Sir," he says referring to me. "The first car of the selected ladies has arrived. They should all be here within an hour."

"Okay. Thank you Branson." He bows and leaves the room. I get back to my work, but I start fiddling with my tie.

"Nathaniel! Stop playing with your tie!" Dad tells me.

"Sorry." I reply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Branson waits with me outside the door to the dining hall. "Why do I need to be the last one in the room?" I ask.

He chuckles. "Well, so you can be the center of attention of course!" he replies.

Great. I just love being the center of attention. Not! I hate it!

"And so all the young ladies can get a good look at you!" he says with a wink.

"Yes, of course." I say trying to sound enthusiastic. The a maid peeks around the corner and gives Branson a thumbs up.

I have been dreading this all day. I'm sure all of the girls will be very kind and beautiful, but I'm not really fond of having a ton of people stare at me the whole time when I'm just trying to do something normal...like eating supper. Branson opens the door from me, and I step into the room. 

Thirty-five pairs of bright eyes land on me the instant I come in. They all stand, and I motion for them to sit down. They do this without taking their eyes off me. They watch me walk to my seat, and keep watching me throughout the meal. 

"You're just loving having all of these girls stare at you aren't you Nathan?" Ellis mumbles to me, stifling a laugh.

"Shut up Ellis." I reply. God, he can be annoying sometimes. Ellis is not only my younger brother, but my best friend. I can't make him too mad otherwise I'll be lonely. I go back to my supper, and study the girls some more. They are all pretty, but there are a few who stand out. I guess we'll find out who they are when I meet them tomorrow.

Oh shoot! I'm meeting them tomorrow! A whole new wave of panic rushes over me, and that makes me drop my fork on the floor.

I curse under my breath, and bend down to get it. I put my head under the table, and find that it has bounced a few feet towards the girls. I climb under the table as unnoticeably as I can. I crawl to grab my fork being extremely careful not to touch the sparkly heels in front of me. I crawl back up, and get into my chair, careful not to hit my head again. Almost all of the girls have noticed what I'm doing, and some are giving me questioning looks. I give a little wave, my face turning beet red, and quickly turn back to my food. I can hear the girls giggling and whispering to each other. This will be a popular topic going around the women's room tonight. I stab at my supper, and think about how in the world I'm going to survive tomorrow.