Celia
It was intimidating to be in a room with so many people who I had seen on TV. But with Aspen's effortless calm presence beside me, it seemed almost easy. Aspen effortlessly guided me through the friends and family gathered in the Women's Room, keeping the introductions brief, but not too brief. Friendly, but not too friendly.

"If the whole Royal thing doesn't work out, you should be a diplomat or something," I told Aspen when we finally had a moment to breathe.

"I'll take that into consideration," he grinned.

"It's your turn to be uncomfortable soon," I told him, "the Selected's ban lifts in around ten minutes."

"They're not all going to come storming in," Aspen rolled his eyes at me. Ten minutes later the twenty-seven selected girls (excluding Amelia, who was already there) did indeed burst into the room. I was thankful for their entry, mainly because it took some of the pressure off of me as to the point I had been the only one (other than my parents) who didn't already know everyone in that room.

It was slightly cathartic to see Magda Singer (who had given me a thorough questioning earlier) giving Zofia, Harleen and Fiona a similar shakedown, reassuring me that it wasn't just me who she treated in this way- she was just like that to everyone.

Aspen was quickly pulled away from me by Sena and Cammie, across the room I saw Amelia in conversation with Chloe Illea and both of my parents were talking to Kenna and James (America's sister and her husband). The fact that all four of the people who I would've wanted to attach myself to were occupied left me standing alone awkwardly looking around the room and vaguely wondering if I would be able to escape without anyone noticing.

I heard the squeak of someone's shoes beside me and looked around to see Shalom standing there.

I let out an involuntary surprised squeak, "how long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," said Shalom. His hands were grasped behind his back and he was rocking slightly on his heels.

"Next time you should try announcing yourself before you scare me like that," I told him. Whilst Aspen had been easy to get to know and despite the fact that it hadn't been very long since I had arrived at the palace, I already felt like I knew Aspen (or I was starting to anyway). Shalom, however, was a different story. Although they looked alike the two Princes could be more different personality-wise, whilst Aspen was warm and welcoming, Shalom initially came across as cold. I hadn't spent any time alone with him since our very first meeting, in which- according to Aspen- Shalom had immediately discounted me from the Selection because he didn't like me.

Shalom continued to rock back and forth slightly for a while, seemingly wrestling with something in his head. Whilst he thought about whatever he was thinking about I returned to observing the room around me.

America was with her younger sister May and Lucy. The three were laughing about something. Not a few metres away from them old Aspen stood alone staring at Lucy with an expression on his face that clearly conveyed the fact that he thought the sun was shining out of her. Maxon was in conversation with two of the selected Ena and Jostica and he was speaking with his hands, clearly excited about something. Conversations were happening across the room, some more friendly and animated than others, like Natalie Luka and Kriss Ambers, and others more reserved like Magda Singer and her son Kota.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Shalom asked, seeming to have reconciled with whatever he was grappling with in his head.

This was exactly the offer I had been waiting for. An excuse to escape.

"I'd like that," I nodded. Shalom lead the way out of the room and down through the palace towards the gardens. We walked in awkward silence, but I realised this was Shalom's attempt at talking to me. I wondered vaguely if Aspen had made him. 

Once we were outside I felt a little more comfortable. There was a chill in the air, and I wrapped my arms around myself to keep the chill away.

"Here." Unnoticed by me Shalom had removed his suit jacket and offered it to me.

"Thank you." I took it and pulled it on, thankful for the warmth that it gave me. 

We continued to walk, and as ever I found myself marvelling at the stunning gardens. It was awkward, to say the least, this walk with Shalom, who was just as unwilling to start a conversation as I was.

Instead of focusing on the awkwardness I emersed myself in the flours that surrounded the pathways. I had not spent an awful lot of time in the palace gardens but every time I went anywhere near them I felt at home.

Maxon and America had tried their best to make me feel welcome here in the palace. They had my beautiful room made, they allowed me access to the libraries and allowed me to avoid people as much as I could. But I would still always be the gardener girl from the outskirts of Angeles.

"I'm not going to pretend that I like you," said Shalom bluntly.

"That's fair," I replied, "I won't pretend to like you either then."

We returned to our silent procession around the garden.

Eventually, Shalom sat down on a bench near the doors from which we had entered the gardens. I stood by him for a while, before eventually giving in and sitting down on the bench beside him. I reached down and took off my heeled shoes which were giving me blisters.

"It must be hard coming here," said Shalom.

I nodded, "it's so different from home."

"This is home," Shalom replies curtly, "you were born here."

I shook my head, "this isn't home. This is a beautiful cage."

Shalom seemed to want to say something but bit his lip as he thought better of it. His eyes fell to his wrists where he began to fiddle with his cufflinks.

"You're hard to figure out Celia," he says after a while.

"For the sake of my sanity will you two please engage in an actual conversation." Both Shalom and I jumped to our feet and whirled around to see that Aspen had emerged from the hedge behind us. The reason that I knew he had emerged from the hedge was that he was pulling some leaves and branches from his hair.

"AJ what the hell are you doing?" Shalom demanded.

"I'm making sure that you don't scare her off!" Aspen replied, "neither of you is very good at conversation, you told each other that you don't like one another!"

"How long were you following us?" I demanded.

To Aspen's credit, he does seem a little embarrassed by his response, "since you left the Women's Room."

"Aspen what right do you-" Shalom started.

"Shut up," Aspen snapped at his brother, "What you need to realise Shalom is that Celia is our sister, whether she was raised here or not it doesn't make a difference. We have no idea what it's like to be suddenly thrust into this life and it's our job to make it easier for her."

Shalom's eyes had dropped and he was staring at his shoes. I, however, was staring at Aspen with my lips parted, somewhat surprised by the tone that he was using. I didn't want my presence here to drive a wedge between the two.

"AJ it's fine," I told him.

"No, he needs to make an effort to get to know you and then he'll realise that you actually have a lot in common."

Before either Aspen or I could say anything, Shalom had seized his jacket from me and stormed back into the palace.