The Selection: One of the Selected

5: The Journey

All the selected were getting a send-off from their home area, and my town's loud shouts could be heard right outside my door. I hurriedly dressed into the uniform for the Selected, black trousers and a white blouse, grabbed my suitcase, and ran downstairs. 

Of course I had slept in on one of the most important days of my life, and no-one in my family had thought to check I was awake. 

'Quinn! You look so smart!' Poppy gushed, clapping her hands as soon as I was down the steps. 

'Guys, have you seen the car on our driveway! It's probably the most expensive thing Hatfield has ever seen!' Aziel's eyes were locked staring through the window, his face so close to the glass that he kept forming small circles of fog with his breath. 

Mother was nowhere to be seen, and neither was father. 

Taking a long inhale, I pulled open the door and the crowd outside surged forward.

'Quinn! Over here!'

'Have you met Prince Maxon yet?'

'Do you think you will win?'

Cameras were flashing, and pieces of paper were thrown in my direction to sign. I stood, rooted to the spot, until I caught sight of where my parents were.

Mother was frantically cursing at the reporters, shoving them back, while father was pulling on her arm, begging her to stop. 

Someone in the flashy car ahead beckoned with their arm to me, and another lifted my luggage into the trunk. 

Aziel and Poppy were squeezed round the doorframe, unsure if they had to come out too. Another man in a tight suit, bearing the Illéa emblem on a badge, lead them out into the backseats of the vehicle firmly. I joined them, and father managed to pull mother away and put her in too. 

'Those reporters, they have no sense of privacy...'

'Mother, I will be filmed nearly everyday from here onwards. You are going to have to let them see me at some point.'

For the short trip to the stage where everyone would see me off, we sat in silence, listening to the shouts of residents wanting to get a glimpse of me. 

When we got there, I was ushered out, and onto a stage, where a large crowd cheered. There was a small bunch of caste twos, who just gave me dirty looks as if I stole something from them. Perhaps I had stolen Maxon from them, but he wasn't something to be taken in the first place. 

The mayor came to my side, and silenced the onlookers. 'Please, join me in wishing our very own Lady Quinn Appleton all the best in the Selection!' The people roared with pride. It seemed strange that they could brag about knowing me, when before I was just some girl who was sometimes seen shopping for groceries. 

'Goodbye, Quinn! Bye!' I could just make out Poppy's enthusiastic shouts over the clapping, and Aziel waving wildly. 

Mother was dabbing at her eyes, and father had his lips pursed, annoyed but proud at the same time. I waved back at everyone, smiling for photos or crouching down for high fives. 

My bag had been placed into a glamorous white car, and some people were indicating that I should get inside. With a final curtsy to the crowd, I slipped into the royal vehicle. 

~ * ~

At the airport, America was already there, and I nodded my head to her as way of greeting. 

Close behind me was another contestant, Marlee, who introduced herself to us with a beam. Happiness was practically radiating off her, her blonde hair shining in the sun light. We all easily settled into a conversation about our favourite movies, but that was broken as soon as we heard high heels clicking across the floor towards us. I glanced up to see a brunette, sunglasses shielding her eyes, sashaying to us. 

'When do we leave?' she asked bluntly.

'We don't know, as you've been holding up the show,' America retaliated. I shared a surprised look with Marlee, and the girl scowled. 

She must have been Celeste, a caste two. 

'Ladies, the plane is ready for you, if you would like to come with me?' a man said. As soon as he caught sight of Celeste, he gave a sly smile to her before turning away. 

The trip was quick enough, but it seemed to go much faster seeing as I watched a film the entire time. When we landed, we were greeted with a jumping and cheering crowd, bordering a golden carpeted path. 

Celeste pushed past us to get to the front and wave, her lips curling to a false smile. I saw the crowd all bearing signs to support us, our names scrawled across in bold paint. 

Some people wanted an autograph, another group a photo, and others just a hand shake. America and I went around everyone we could, greeting them, until another Selected plane came into land and we left. There was a small TV in the car at the bottom of the carpet path, showing our entrance. I looked much better than my original photo, and my smile looked so natural. Somehow, they had managed to make my green eyes look so much brighter than they were, and I looked just as radiant as the Queen herself might. (a/n: sorry if this is written a bit clunky, if it doesn't make sense I can explain it in a comment!)

All of us - other than Celeste - waved for the whole journey to the palace, until there were no more fans to wave to and my hand felt as if it were about to fall off.

Guards were stood the whole way across the outside wall of the palace, armed, prepared for any unwanted guests. I shivered at the thought of what they would be keeping out.

The car drove us through the outer gate of the palace, and, as soon as we stopped, the doors were flung open and a group of woman rushed us out.

'Sorry to rush, miss, but your group is running late,' one of them said to us. 

'Oh, that was probably mine and Quinn's fault. We got a bit too chatty at the airport!' America smiled guiltily and I gave a small laugh. 

The ladies lead us further into the palace.

A/n: I'm sorry there is no Maxon content yet, trust me, I really want to start writing it! It will come soon I promise, I also have an idea of what will happen when it does :)

Thanks for reading and voting too! I appreciate it so much! Thank you again :)