The Report that night meant more interviews, and Alexander and Mason seemed quite intent on cutting it down to the Elite after my birthday. I didn't blame them.
I was dressed much less funereally this time, my dress nearly identical to the one I had worn to Alexander's birthday party, but it was a pale, spring green rather than black. It was nice to wear something so bright and light after all of the heavy, somber gowns.
Clara had done a great job at cover the nasty black eye on Alexander's face with an array of foundations and powders, and the swelling and the worst of the bruising had gone down with an ointment or two that she'd applied to his face. He didn't like all the coddling, as he called it, but he didn't protest when Clara and I did anything and did exactly what we told him to do. I considered it a small victory, although I did have to smack Salvatore and Liev upside the head a few times to get them to stop laughing, which they took with all the grace of men that didn't want to piss off a woman that could've taken them down without a problem.
They and their families, as well as Haydn's, were tucked into a little room filled with couches so that they could watch the Report if they wanted. I wasn't sure if that was a relief or not, but I thought that maybe it was better that I didn't see Salvatore constantly smirking and laughing. I think that would've made my nerves worse.
Alexander and Mason weren't interviewed, and the Report was solely about the Selection, so the only announcements were the people that had left or been eliminated, though they gave no reasons and they didn't specify whether they had been kicked out or had asked to leave.
We were all interviewed again, and I was seated in the last row, so I had plenty of time to zone out and ignore the interviews of the other Selected. Quite honestly, I didn't care about what any of them had to say except Aquia, and she was in the row in front of me, so it would be a while before I actually had to listen.
I was instead thinking of a conversation I'd had with Clara earlier, out of the princes' hearing.
"Don't you think it's a bit weird?" I asked. "Technically being engaged to two guys that are so old, I mean. Isn't it a bit weird to you?" After seeing the way men older than them ogled after girls her age and younger on the streets, it was weird for me to see her so accepting of marrying Salvatore or Liev, even if five years wasn't such a big deal. I mean, she was only like sixteen, and they were twenty-one! It was a little weird.
Clara shrugged. "It's the way things are. Besides, it's not like they're in love with me or I'm in love with them or anything like that." Her nose wrinkled up like she'd smelled something foul. "You didn't really think that there was any romantic interest, did you?"
I shrugged too. "I don't know, maybe? You wouldn't believe the shit I've seen on the streets."
She just laughed. "Salvatore and Liev only proposed because they been close to Victor. He'd asked them both to propose so that I didn't have to marry Haydn, but honestly, they only think of me as a little sister. My interest isn't exactly in them, anyway."
"And Victor?" I asked. "He was their age, wasn't he?"
She nodded. "Yes, he was. But he and I had also known that we'd be getting married since I was born, so it was a bit different...though even he doted on me like an older brother, so I'm not entirely sure that there was any love there."
"So you loved him," I guessed.
"I suppose. I'm not sure how much of it was love and how much of it was making the best of a less-than-desireable situation." She made a face. "That sounds unfair. He was a wonderful person."
I was startled back into awareness by Aquia standing up. Once more, she was dressed in a pretty color that was somewhere between seafoam green and teal, and it was light and flowing and made her look every bit the princess she would surely end up being.
She was happy to greet Silon, flashing her usual dazzling smile and sitting all prim and proper. The picture-perfect princess. It was a miracle that she hadn't been listed as a favorite of the public, but I guess everyone was too busy being dazzled by Celine and her irritating flawlessness. I'd have been less bitter about it if her personality wasn't so ugly.
"You look stunning, as usual, Lady Aquia," Silon said. "That's a great color choice. Did your maids pick it, or did you suggest it?"
"Actually, Prince Mason suggested it to my maids," Aquia said with a smile, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Apparently, he walked straight into their workroom to tell them what color to put me in for the previous Report."
"Ah, is our younger prince showing some favoritism, then?"
Aquia tried to suppress this smile and failed miserably. "I wouldn't know," she said casually. "And if I did, it's not like I would kiss and tell." She even threw in a wink, and goddammit, I was sure that she had officially charmed everyone in Illéa. She had certainly charmed Silon.
He laughed. "You truly are an enigma, Lady Aquia." There was scattered laughter and applause. "Now, I must ask you the question that I've asked everyone else: would you rather be the princess or the queen in the future? Or, rather, neither?"
"Princess," she answered immediately. "I rather like the prince that comes with the role." When I looked over at Mason, he was blushing and grinning like an idiot, and he ducked his head just before the camera panned to him. When he looked up, his features were carefully schooled into an impassive expression, though there was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
"That's right, I do recall you favoring our dear Prince Mason." He smiled at her in a way that was close to fatherly. "So you think you can handle it, then?"
"I think the hardest part will be dealing with the people," she said airily. "The royal families from Russia, Italy, and the German Federation are absolutely wonderful, don't get me wrong, but if Princess Clara is going to be marrying into one of them, I worry for their sakes and mine."
This was accompanied by a lot of laughter, and the cameras moved to look at Clara, who was sticking her tongue out at Aquia and laughing, her eyes bright.
"Well, we see how our darling princess feels about that," Silon said over the laughter.
Once it died down, Aquia said, more serious, "But really, it all seems manageable. I'm sure that with enough determination and passion, it's more than manageable."
"And you think that you have enough determination and passion to succeed?"
She nodded. "I dedicated much of my life before the Selection to helping others, and I can't imagine that stopping after. I've always wanted to make Illéa a better place, and I've always felt that anyone is more than capable of doing so. I firmly believe that any small act of kindness helps, whether it changes the world or the world of one person. I'd love to have the opportunity to do that, and having someone that I care so much about by my side would make it even better."
Silon smiled. "I had been about to ask you why not choose queen, but I suppose you just answered that. You truly care for our prince, then?"
Aquia nodded. "I do. It's not something that I'm afraid to admit, but I've never been very good at hiding my feelings from people. Even if we're only friends at the end of this, I'll be happy to say that I've gotten to know him. He's a wonderful person."
"Do you think that you'll be in the Elite?"
Aquia nodded. "I believe so. I've been lucky enough to get close to Prince Mason in particular since the beginning of this competition, and I would hope that he's just as willing as I am to continue to grow closer. I didn't come here looking for love or marriage or any of that, but..." she shrugged. "Who knows what could happen?"
Her time had ended, and she stood and traded places with Blossom, who was up next. When I looked over at Mason again, he was smiling at her. He didn't even notice me looking. I wondered if they'd admitted that they were in love yet, or if they were still denying it, but it wasn't any of my business and it certainly wasn't my place to pry.
My turn came far too soon, and I wasn't very happy about it. My legs were unsteady as I made my way down to the chair at the front.
Thankfully, I avoided tripping and falling and managed to sit semi-gracefully in the chair. My hair was tied back in a low, loose ponytail, so there wasn't much to adjust except my skirts, which I awkwardly smoothed out. I smiled at Silon. "Hi, Silon. How are you?"
"Wonderful, Lady Cassiana, and yourself?"
"Better than last time." I let out a small, nervous laugh. "It's not as terribly hot as it was last week, and I'm not cowering behind the chair or any of the other Selected, so I'd say we're off to a good start."
I was awarded by scattered laughter, and if I had been looking, I would've seen Alexander smiling (Clara later told me that he couldn't stop throughout my interview, which I didn't exactly trust but didn't doubt, either). Silon replied with a chuckle, "Yes, well, that certainly is an improvement. Is the palace life still treating you well?"
"Very well," I said. "It's nice to have a constant bed and not a rotting park bench, although even the floors here would've been more comfortable than that." I laughed a little, and the audience joined me. "The food is great as well, I'm not going to lie. That's probably the selling point on this whole competition – the bed and the food."
"Is it really that great?"
"Oh my gosh, yes. It's fantastic. Maybe I'm just not picky, though."
"Maybe," he agreed. "May I ask you some questions?"
"Of course." I crossed one knee over the other and rested my hands on the top knee, trying to hide the shaking.
"This first one is quite unpleasant: how do you feel about being the least liked out of all of the Selected?"
I laughed. Actually, full-on laughed. "Really? Am I? That's not really a surprise, I mean, I am secretly a drug-addicted maniac. I'm not surprised that the public has seen through it. Miraculous that the Royal Family hasn't, really, and that the princes and the princess spend so much time with me." I smiled. "I'm joking, of course. Wait, are any reporters here? Don't let any of them hear that, they'll take it as a confession." I held up my hands in a don't shoot gesture and pretended to look around. This earned a lot of laughter and a few claps. "Really, though, I appreciate the public being so overwhelmed by hatred for me that they took time out of their busy lives to vote against me in a tabloid survey. Really, it's inspiring. I'm touched."
I could hear a lot of laughter, and Silon actually dabbed at the edges of his eyes like he was about to start crying. "Well, clearly you don't mind. May I ask another question?"
"Please do. This is entertaining." I leaned forward a little like I was extremely invested in the conversation, far more relaxed than I had been.
"Would you rather be a princess or a queen? Or neither? And do you think that you could handle such a responsibility?"
"A queen," I said, "since I'm apparently already the queen of an international criminal empire. I mean, crime...politics...is there really a difference?" More laughter. "Once again, don't let any reporters hear that. I think they have enough articles about me."
Silon chuckled, shoulders shaking. "You're quite the comedian tonight, Lady Cassiana."
I shrugged and leaned back. "I've found that keeping a sense of humor about these kinds of things makes them much easier to bear. Obviously, I'm not a maniac, or a murderer, or a drug addict, or the leader of an international crime ring. I'm just a girl that comes from a background more tragic than humble, and quite frankly, I'm not here for the titles."
"So what are you here for? Love?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. When I came here, I wasn't here for any reason other than someone had pulled my name from a basket. I didn't sign up for this competition with anything in mind, and honestly, I'm just as surprised as everyone else that I've lasted this long, but I'm grateful for it. I've made some wonderful friends here, and I've been given the chance to feel things that I once considered a luxury. I never had the chance to have crushes or dates or kisses or anything, you know. That was all for the upper castes."
"And have you had any of those things?"
I nodded and looked down a little, grinning. "Yeah, I have." Before I could say anything more, my time was up. I stood and made my way back up the stairs, passing Belle, and looked over to see Alexander's eyes already on me. I didn't know if the cameras were watching either of us, so I didn't wave or smile or anything, but I watched his lips tilt up just a little before I turned to make my way down my row and take a seat. It wasn't much, but it made my heart flutter and my face turn warm, and I realized then that I had been stupid to try and act like I wasn't falling for him. Maybe it would be easier if I just let myself fall.