The prince was eliminating girls. Five girls were gone in the past hour. I held my breath when he passed me, but no one escorted me off. After the sobbing tears left, the King announced we would be attending Princess Lili's 18th birthday. We were each sent to create a stand at her party. I chose to make Rose water and lily infused wine. After living by a vineyard, it's not so hard anymore. "My cakes are a disaster!" Melina whined as she wiped frosting from her cheek. I tuned her cries out and poured water and lavender salts into a vase. "Nice flowers." Jayden commented. I grinned and placed the roses into the vase. "Desperate." Bren whispered. She'd been this way since her friend was eliminated. I ignored her and sprinkled petals on the table.

At exactly midnight, the clocktower bells started to ring. A beautiful girl walked down the long elegant stairs in a chiffon layered baby blue dress adorned with twinkling butterflies. Her skin was a shiny tan and matched her similarly colored hair. An orchestra of violins and classical instruments started to play music as a pumpkin carriage rolled through the cobblestone streets. "I thought Cinderella turned ugly at midnight." Bren grumbled. Prince Dedrick came out of the carriage and walked to her side. As they passed through the stands Princess Lili took a glass of wine and nodded in approval. When she arrived at Melina's table she scoffed and passed without even taking a strawberry shortcake bite. Dedrick gave Melina two thumbs up and she giggled. Annoyance flashed through my body like a rash. He looked back at my table and I gave my brightest smile. His mouth dropped open and I started to blush. "There's frosting all over your dress!" Bren hissed. "W-what!" I gasped. Sure enough, pink froster was smeared in every seam of my dress. Princess Lili laughed delicately and put a hand on Prince Dedricks arm. I dashed away from the streets, running blindly into the first room I could find. "Wait!" Dedrick yelled. I turned and saw his face more closely. He breathed out frosty white. "I- I- i'm so sorry." I said, looking down. "No, no. It's ok. It wasn't your fault." He said, then took a small step forwards. "Dedrick!" Princess Lili said, wrapping her arm around his. "Come dance with me please. It's my birthday after all!" She whined.

"Ok ok." He said grinning. "I- i'll see you later." he assured, turning to walk away with Princess Lili. My heart beat raced. Then, Princess Lili turned her head and gave me the nastiest glare I've ever seen. I walked back towards the stands, distancing myself from the sugar coated couple. "Here loser." Bren said, handing me a stack of napkins. "Thanks." I grinned, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Bren shrugged. "Nothing personal."

She paused. "Don't cut yourself short. You're cooler than people think. You know, besides the delicate demeanor."

I grinned back and hugged her. "Ew frosting girl, you're still sticky you know." She said, cracking a smile of her own. "Want to check out Bhianca's stand?" I asked. "You bet! My dancing is waaay better than yours." Bren said smugly. "Suuure."

I danced till my feet were sore and I had to sit down. "Come onnn!" Bren complained. "Fine!" I gave in, getting up to dance again . This might be the most fun I've had at the Selection yet!

---

"We've been very close, ever since we were children." Syra smiled. My gut clenched, of course she would do this, even in interviews, even live. A twinkling gold band on her ring finger caught my attention. "-so excited for the wedding." Marma said with a forced smile. I gasped. Syra was getting married? A handsome man entered view, placing a comforting hand on Syra's shoulder. My eyes widened. "Marrying a duke, well your sister is off at the selection. Good blood in the family." The interviewer said, his voice almost snide. The cold air whipped at my hair, tossing blond strands into my vision. "-can't believe this! This is the Selection, not the time for the prince to be dancing with foriegn princesses!" Beryl whined. "Yeah right, you already got to kiss the prince." I scoffed. A blush crept onto my cheeks, what was I saying? Beryl frowned, turning towards the photoshoot. Was I ready for success? Marrying the prince? Or was I ready for heartbreak, seeing the prince walk down the aisle, a different girl by his side, a girl who wasn't me.