A/N: Cassiana's dress is above
On Thursday we get the lovely task of taking pictures with the princes. I take pictures with Mason first, and he makes me laugh almost the whole time. My stomach gets a dark, heavy feeling the whole time I wait to take pictures with Alexander.
I'm the last one to go. He wears a black guard-like uniform, with a red sash-thing across his chest, much like the one I have to wear with this weird cream-colored dress. He has these weird gold things on his shoulders, and a sword is strapped to his side. It looks a bit overdone.
"Good afternoon, Lady Cassiana." He adjusts my red sash. "It's a little crooked." He tells me.
"No surprise there." Then, as an afterthought, "...Your Majesty."
He slides an arm around my waist and presses his hand to the small of my back. He pulls me so that we're close together, so close that his hip presses against my side. My heartbeat quickens.
The photographer asks us to look at the camera. I try to focus on the lens- I really do- but I see all of the girls' faces, and all of my insecurities return full-force. Alexander turns me so that my back presses against his chest, his arms resting around my waist. "Just...try to relax." He breathes in my ear. "Act like there's no one else here."
I take a deep, steadying breath and smile for the camera. Then we move to the lounge for more pictures, and I see Mason talking to someone with large hand motions and such. I look at Alexander as if to ask what's happening.
The arm around my waist moves up so that it's positioned just under my ribs, and he slides me closer. He moves his head so that his lips are right next to my ear. "The rebels are attacking a few towns in the east. Our father has put us in charge of the military commands, and it's been working pretty well. I would assume someone else was attacked."
I turn my head slightly to face him. My back is pressed to his side. I catch a glimpse of his face over my shoulder, but my head can't turn back far enough to look him directly in the eye. "They want your opinion on it?"
He nods. "Yes. But I'm almost done, and I'm sure Mason is handling it for me. We usually think along the same lines anyway."
I rest my hand over Alexander's. The photographer takes three more photos, and Alexander says something to me about how he must've taken pictures while we were talking. I'm swept away in a flurry of compliments and colored material.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
I don't speak to Alexander for the rest of the week. I hear the other girls giggling about him and ranting and raving about their dates with him, but I almost never see him except at meals. I see Mason daily, almost three times a day- and that's when it's just the two of us.
Thoughts of Alexander bug me, though. I keep thinking back to the girl that he thinks he could possibly fall in love with, the girl that he thinks loves his brother. I think it might be Aquia. I've seen them talking once or twice, and his eyes never leave hers. Usually he's always looking around.
My maids get me ready for the interviews tonight. Once again, Clara's in my room. She goes on about how pretty the dress is and how amazing I'll look, and how both of her brothers will be completely speechless. Apparently, she's seen all of the dresses and mine is her favorite.
I feel a brush run over my eyelids, but I don't argue with it. When the brushes in my hair and on my face stop, Clara squeals happily. "Oh, you must see yourself!" I open my eyes and am struck speechless.
The dress is long, and all black. The top is a tight corset, which then goes into a layered skirt. My nails are black, and there a black lace gloves on my hands, the fingertips cut off. I wear no jewelry. My hair is loose and normal, and my eyes have a smokey black powder around them. I'm so amazed I actually meet my own gaze in my reflection.
"You look amazing." Clara grins. "Absolutely perfect." My maids leave, and Clara- in a rosy pink dress- leads me to where we have to do there interviews.
I'm rushed onto the set, last-minute touch ups are done. Silon straightens his pinkish-violet tie. Mason and Alexander settle into their seats, talking to their parents quietly. Clara winks at me, mouths good luck, and hurries to her seat.
Mason smiles over at us Selected, but Alexander just sits tall in his seat and stares blankly at the crowd. Someone with a clipboard and a black headset walks over to the princes. Her brown hair is tied into a ponytail, her brown bangs hitting to just above her black glasses. The princes nod and Mason smiles briefly.
Announcements are made, and Silon is introduced. He bows to the royal family, and once the thunderous applause dies down, he speaks with a huge grin on his face. "Good evening Illéa! And what a special night this is! This evening you'll get to meet all of our remaining Selected personally. You'll hear all about how they're enjoying the palace, learn about them, and of course hear all about their dates with the princes!"
More cheers.
"First we'll meet our lady this evening, Miss Celine LaWhote of Columbia!"
I almost fall asleep during the interviews. Aquia's is the one before mine, and the only interesting one. I'd heard all about her dates with both princes, though she included some details that even I'd never heard.
The question that was asked almost every time was if they'd kissed either of the princes yet. Everyone said no, and after Kristina's interview, Silon turned to the princes. "Have you kissed anyone yet?"
Mason laughs. "It's been two weeks! What do you expect?"
"Well a little more action." Silon mutters into his microphone. Everyone laughs. Finally he calls me.
"So Cassiana. What an interesting name."
"Tell me about it." I say with an eye roll. "Do you know how many people have pronounced it Cass-seen-a?" My statement is met with laughter. "Yeah my mom didn't want me to be normal. And I'm most definitely not." More laughter.
"So what are you like, Cassiana?"
I cock my head to the side and consider this. "Stubborn. Rude. Sarcastic. I have a bit of a temper. I get that from my father, apparently."
"How do the princes handle you then?" He shakes his head in exasperation.
"Well, Prince Mason makes me laugh far too much for me to ever get a word in otherwise. And as for Prince Alexander..." I trail off. My eyes meet his over Silon's shoulder. "I think he grounds me more than anything else. He's serious, but he does make a joke every now and then."
"So what do you do with our princes?"
I shrug. "Walk around the garden, mostly. Truthfully, though, I've spent more time with Mason than Alexander." I hear people gasp. I don't get what they're so shocked about.
"Mason and Alexander?" He grins. "We're on a first-name basis now? How did this start?"
I blush. Oops. "Well, the first night we were here, I wanted to go outside. I'm an Eight, so I'm used to more open space, and I couldn't sleep. And anyway, long story short, Mason made them let me into the gardens, and all of that, and then he and his brother kept calling me Lady Cassiana, and it got so annoying I just told them to call me Cassiana. And then they said if they can't use formal titles with me, then I can't use it with them."
Silon finds this entertaining. "So you said about the gardens. Are they your favorite thing about the palace?"
I shake my head. "Nope. I love the food."
Everyone, even the king and queen, laugh at this.
Silong tries to compose himself. "The food?"
I nod and give a small shrug. "Hey, it sure beats dumpster diving any day."
This is accompanied by more laughter. Alexander just gives me a ghost of a smile.
"Alright." Silon says after he composes himself again, wiping tears from his eyes. "So we know that you're the last girl under a Four left in the competition. Do you think that this hurts your chances of becoming princess?"
"No!" The word is out before I can stop it.
"Well, spirited is not how you described yourself." He seems to be happy about this. "So you think you'll be a princess? Beat everyone else?"
I think this through quickly. "No. I'm not better than these other girls, but my caste doesn't change that either. From what I know of the princes, they aren't ones to judge on caste or looks. They've both obviously been raised better than that."
"It seems as if you've gotten to know our princes quite well. Tell me, what do you think of Mason and Alexander?"
I look up at the princes. Mason smiles encouragingly, but it's Alexander that surprises me the most- he genuinely wants to know.
I take a deep breath. I can't joke about them when they've both been kind to me. A few months ago I saw two lifeless, cookie-cutter princes that I couldn't imagine ever falling in love. Now I see two men, one who knows what love is and is hoping to find it, and one who doesn't believe but is slowly lowering his defenses for one girl.
"Mason Schreave is everything good in the world. He is going to be an amazing king and husband one day. He is kind even when it's completely unnecessary, he keeps his head on in difficult situations, and he doesn't mind unnecessary emotions or irritation. Whoever marries him will be a lucky girl, and whatever happens to me, I will be honored to say that I got to know him so well."
"And what of Alexander?"
For a moment I just stare into the eyes of the prince in question. "Alexander is much more difficult than his brother, I'll give you that." I keep my eyes on Alexander as I speak. "He is quiet, mysterious, cynical, and believes that love doesn't exist. He's completely stoic no matter what, and it's incredibly frustrating, to say the least."
His eyes darken with something close to sadness, I think.
"But that's just what he lets other people see, and it amazes you how incredibly stupid he makes you feel for actually falling for that illusion." His eyes snap up to meet mine again. I look at Silon and take a deep breath. "Alexander Schreave is kind, compassionate, and a great listener. He truly cares about what goes on outside of the palace walls, and he listens to every word I say. He doesn't care what others think of him, and like his brother, he stays true to what he wants. He follows his heart, and that's something that most people aren't brave enough to do.
"Any girl here would be lucky to break through his walls, and I'm happy to admit that I know him better than most people outside of his family do. Like with his brother, any girl would be incredibly lucky to marry him, and I hope that he finds a girl that won't just put up with him- she'll love him, and he'll love her just as much."
Everyone applauds, and I barely hear Silon dismiss me. For the rest of the Capital Report, I don't look over at the princes. But I can feel two pairs of eyes on me the rest of the night- one pair brown, and the other a bright, secretive blue.