In the weeks that followed, as Jacen recovered from being in the Hospital Wing (the doctors said it had something to do with the stress caused by starting the Selection), he spent more and more time going on dates with Amberly. Because he had gotten sick, he bypassed the whole process he had thought up. Just last week, Jacen sent home Nikki and Kelly. He kept having dates with the other girls, but he had significantly more with Amberly, while making sure that he had dates with Celeste, Hayley, and Carlee. If Amberly decided that she didn't want to be a princess, these 3 girls were in case of emergency, so to speak. He was on his way to a date with Celeste, when a thought struck him. He was using 3 different girls as a safety net! He was the prince of Illea and he had a safety net! He stopped to consider. In the 2 seconds it took him to think, he was cornered by Celeste.
"You weren't at my door at the right time so I came to find you." Celeste whined. Jacen took a mental step back and looked Celeste in the eye.
"I'm sorry honey. It won't happen again."
"Better not. I am not hanging around here at this palace waiting for you to dump me for someone else." Celeste muttered.
Jacen offered Celeste his elbow, and together they walked out into the gardens and sat down at a small table that had been set up. A small cart with desserts were rolled out, and they both grabbed plates and began filling them with different delicacies. Jacen and Celeste were making small talk while eating, but after about 15 minutes, Celeste stood up and motioned for Jacen to follow her.
Celeste walked down a narrow pathway, and Jacen followed. Once they were in a fairly quiet spot, Celeste closed a curtain of vines closing them off from the rest of the garden. Celeste pulled Jacen closer to her and started kissing him. Jacen gasped, surprised, and then leaned in. But it wasn't Celeste that made him stop kissing. It was a small sound coming from behind Jacen. She looked up, and saw Amberly standing there. She angrily pushed the curtain shut, but Jacen opened them up again. He started to leave and, in an effort to keep him, she said, "She was terrorizing me yesterday. She ripped my dress and scratched me. She was calling me a bitch!!!"
Jacen looked back at Celeste and said, "I'll meet you in your room in 10 minutes." With that he raced off after Amberly. Once he caught up to her, he asked her what was wrong. Instead of answering, she slapped him in the face and turned away. When he turned her back, she yelled at the top of her lungs "YOU SAID I WAS THE ONLY ONE OF ANY IMPORTANCE!!!! WHY WERE YOU IN A LIP LOCK WITH HER, OF ALL PEOPLE??? SHE IS A PLAYER! SHE IS IN IT FOR THE FAME, NOT YOU!!!!" She stopped and took a breath. "Why don't you see that?" Amberly said, her voice breaking and a tear sliding down her face. She pulled away, and this time Jacen didn't resist. She ran up the stairs and down a hall. Jacen heard the door slamming and, as he made his way up the stairs, he heard loud sobs coming from her room. Instead of going to check on her, Jacen turned and went to Celeste's room.
He knocked on the door, and coming in, he saw Celeste sitting on a chair. He motioned for her to come closer, and before long, they were back where they left off. They slowly moved towards the bed, without breaking contact. They laid down on the bed, and continued kissing. Jacen kicked his shoes off, and Celeste threw hers down as well. Jacen pulled off his jacket, and Celeste, her shawl. Celeste unbuttoned Jacen's shirt, and loosened his tie. He pulled his tie off, and she threw it near their shoes. He tried to pull off her dress, and when he couldn't do it, he let out an exasperated sigh. "How many damn buttons does this thing have??" With one swift pull, he ripped it off, revealing her slip. They resumed kissing, his hands in her hair, her hands on his back. They kept kissing, and throughout the night, not once did Amberly cross Jacen's mind. They fell asleep, and when Jacen had to get up, the prince in him had to go, but the boy in him wanted to stay. The boy in him won, and he relaxed and resumed snuggling.