The Princess

10

I watched the gardens curiously from the window. There was no sign of Will. Maybe he was waiting, like me. I sighed and stepped out into the cool morning, letting the breeze wash over me for a moment. Dew still glittered on the shaded parts of the grass. A butterfly flew across the path to a flower. I heard the buzz of a bee somewhere in a clump of lilies. Birdsong flowed down from the trees.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Will says, startling me. He grins from only a few feet away. I shake my head.

"You are quite the rebel, Will Gray," I say.

"I know," he says calmly. "I get that a lot. Mostly from teachers. And the occasional annoyed neighbor."

I laugh. "So what did you request a meeting for?"

"To tell you that I'm not really supposed to be here," he says. "You're probably wondering why I'm acting so freely- well, it's because it doesn't matter for me. I entered the Selection thinking that I'd never get picked, and it was no bother, because if I did I could enjoy the food and the wealth for a while and go home to a line of beatiful ladies right outside my house waiting to meet me. That's the life, right?" He shakes his head. "Now I've figured out that it's not like that. You get in the Selection, and you don't just get right back out. It follows you around like a- well, I don't know what. But it does. And whether you like it or not, you're going to fancy the prince or princess, at least just in the slightest. No matter what." He shrugs.

"You're British," I say. "Aren't you?"

"Partially," he says. "I haven't got much of the accent, but I have the vocabulary."

I nod with a grin. "I figured. Fancy? Really?" He chuckles.

"But I understand what you're saying," I continue. "You didn't realize what you were in for, and now you... 'Fancy' me."

His cheeks redden. "Perhaps. I'm not quite sure of that yet, though." Still a touch of humor, I notice. Impressive.

"Well," I say. "Good luck, then. I suppose I should't eliminate you just yet."

"Oh, c'mon, give me a chance!" he grins. "Of course not. Keep me around, and we'll see, I suppose." He nods to me and walks deeper into the gardens.

"Don't bother the roses!" I call. "They're awful expensive!"

"Oh, bother," I hear him say as he leaves.

With a small grin, I go back inside to visit my mom.

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"Oh, bother?!" My mom laughed. "Oh my stars, he really is British!" I grin.

"And handsome, and charming," I say. "And very humorous. But yes, also British."

"Should we call off the whole thing now, then? It looks like we have a sure winner." I shake my head, laughing.

"No. I'll wait and see. Let's have a lunch gathering before the Report on Friday and I'll eliminate a few lesser ones then. We can do some real challenges after that."

"That sounds good," she says. "Oh- you have lunch with all of them. 18 is just enough for a movie theater to fit..."

"Okay." I take a deep breath. "Where do I go?"

"The movie theater. Lucy will be waiting with lunch."

"Okay." I nod and hurry out the door to the hallway of the Selected rooms.

I knock on each door, up and down the hallway, to get everyone together. Then we proceed to the movie theater.

"All of us will fit?" Will whispers to me. I grin.

"That's what I said," I reply. "Apparently it does."

༄༄༄༄༄

The movie was alright, and the lunch as well. I went to the gardens after everyone dispersed. The smart ones waited and followed me. Once some of them saw where I was going, they turned around and left.

The only person still following me to the gardens was Will.

"Keeping tabs on me in the hopes of a date?" I say.

"Perhaps," he replies calmly. "I myself was going to leave after the movie, and, well, here I am."

"Right." I continue to stroll through the trees and to the pond in the corner of the gardens. A fountain bubbled in the middle, surrounded by blossoming lilypads, and I watched my distorted reflection in the water for a moment.

"So..." he says.

"Carolina," I say. "What was it like?"

"Oh, it seemed great. In comparison to the palace? Poor. We had a garden. It was about five feet by five feet and had a tree, some flowers, and grass. Compared to this-" he sweeped his arms around the palace gardens- "it was nothing."

"Oh." I feel bad for him. Then it hits me. "Is everyone really that poor?" I blurt out. My ears turn red. "I mean- I didn't- I'm sorry-"

"No, no," he says. "You didn't know, I get that. Not everyone is poor, but not everyone focuses on gardening, either. That was us. Pretty wealthy, but not gardners. And I guess there are poorer people, but no, most people are alright. It's not that bad at all. Trust me."

"Oh. Thank you, for understanding." I smile weakly, and he grins.

"Would it be absolutely crazy if I hugged you right now?" he says.

To answer, I step forward and hug him. He tenses at first, and then relaxes and pulls his arms around me.

"Oh, Will..." I say softly, tilting my head to look up into his blue-gray eyes. They resemble the sky reflected on the pond, a blend of sky and earth. "It's not crazy at all."