The Choosing ✔️

The testing

"Good morning Angel." The prince greets me as I sit a seat away from him with Stacey between us.

"Your highness," I reply voice stiff. Stacey woke me up so we could make it early to make up for yesterday. Since I had slept late I was a bit moody. She insisted though whining until I had no choice but to give in. Apparently I brought my mood with me.

"She had trouble sleeping and wants to kill me right now." Stacey pats my hand. I do want to!

"Oh is something wrong with your room?" Kyle asks raising his eyebrow.

"More like this place," I mutter and Stacey pinches me. I yelp glaring at her. Kyle chuckles. She gives me a look. "No everything is fine, thank you." The words felt as if I had eaten rocks. The rest of the girls started to come in. No one had been sent home. We eat breakfast as soon as the queen arrives. This time we talk in small voices with the Queen's permission.

"Okay ladies listen up today we shall be sending people away." The lady in charge says. All ears are open now. We are seating in the living room the same as yesterday's. "Here are the locations you are to be at. You shall go there and take your tests." She hands us maps with a red circle on each. Each of us has a different destiny. How nice, I think to myself.

"Break a leg." Stacey waves at me leaving. I stare at the map and head out to. There are five girls in front of me. One turns then it's just four. We walk down the hall where pictures are hung everywhere. It's all so beautiful. I hear a thump. Turning my attention to a maid walking towards me and the girls. She looked like she was having trouble with books in her arms. She looked about my age. The girls ignore her passing as if she were invisible.

"Do you need help?" I ask but take the books that have fallen without waiting for a reply.

"Thank you Miss." She smiles at me. I lift two more from her arm so we are equal.

"So where are we taking this?" I ask shifting my arm.

"The prince's study." The maid replies heading somewhere. I follow her to a wooden door. She knocks softly twice. The door opens and I quickly drop the books leaving before he could see me. I frown looking at the map. I'm good with directions and it takes me a minute before I find the room. I knock and enter when I hear no reply. The room is medium with all the lights on. I turn it off annoyed that someone would leave it on with no reason. The sun lets in enough light. I sit on a chair waiting for whatever I'm supposed to do. I look around and find money on the floor. Weird. I put it on the table sitting back down. I bite my lip tapping my hands. Minutes pass before a maid comes in. She sets a tray of snacks.

"Excuse me. I'm I in the right room?" I ask clearly puzzled. She smiles then nods leaving. I sigh taking a drink. I leave the try untouched. I hear something scratch the door and open it. An Alaskan husky trends in. His eyes are as blue as the sea and fur as white as snow. It circles me huffing. 

"Hello gorgeous." I pet it. He barks wagging his tail then licks my face. "Gross boy." I grin wiping my face. He barks again. He nudges me towards the door. I follow curiously. He leads me to another room. I knock then enter. It was a kitchen. A cook was running around shouting orders. I take it all in. The dog nudges me again to a cabinet. I look around for someone to ask.

"He wants a treat." A maid explains pointing at the cabinet. I open it getting a bag. He sits and I throw a treat in the air. He catches it like I knew he would. He is trained obviously.

"You tell me how this tastes." The cook hands me a spoon of soup. I taste it and grin.

"It's good though needs more salt," I comment. She nods satisfied.

"You come here before lunch and dinner to taste test and I'll let you in here whenever you like even leave a cookie out." The cook and I make the deal.

"Thank you for helping me." The maid from earlier comes in.

"You're welcome. What's your name?" I ask smiling.

"Sasha and you must be Mrs. Patterson." She smiles. I groan who doesn't know me?

"Just Paris is fine. I should go back to the room." I say politely. She nods and I head back to the room the dog following me. This time someone is there waiting for me. "You're highness." I nod standing and lean on the wall.

"Angel." He nods back standing to. We stare at each other the dog in between us uncertain where to go. He finally trends too me and bites my jean tugging me forward.

"Hey." I frown, but let him pull on me. He stops until I was next to Kyle.

"He likes you," Kyle notes looking down at me. I curse my five feet three height. We are inches apart. I look away shrugging.

"He has good taste," I say boldly. He chuckles and the dog barks clearly happy.

"That would mean I have good taste too." He grins leaning down whispering in my ear. I swear I feel I spark but it's gone as quick as it came. I hold my breath stepping back after a minute.

"Or you are just confused." I put a good five feet between us.

"You pass." He announces shocking me. What was my test? This?

"Excuse me?" I ask.

"You are the only one to pass the test with the exception of leaving the room once." He nods clearly impressed. "First you helped the maid. Then you shut off the lights. Didn't steal the money. Drank but didn't eat. Even though Majestic wasn't part of the test you convinced him too like you. And the final was not throwing yourself at me." I stand there feeling dumb and numb.

"But I didn't do anything. That was all just me being, well, me." I sounded like a two-year-old.

"Exactly and that's what a princess is supposed to be." He laces our fingers together. I bite my lip.

"So how many left?" I could have sworn the people in Russia could hear my heart.

"Well five others were close." He shrugs like it wasn't his choice though this was his game and we were just players willing to play.

"Okay then. I'll just go back to my room." I was impatient to talk to Stacey.

"She is being sent home." He tells me as if he could read my mind. I gasp clearly surprised. "She wanted to leave even though she was the second to pass after you." He adds. This surprised me even more. He leads me out to her, again as if reading my mind.

"Paris!" Stacey hugs me once we enter the living room where all the girls are. "I know I didn't tell you sooner, but I'm in love with someone else already." She was just full of surprises.

"You could have told me," I say hurt, but understood.

"Here." She slips me a piece of paper with her number on it. "Text me okay no exceptions."

"At least you came to say goodbye, not like those other girls who are staying too." A girl snarls at the door as if they were there. I notice that she was right.

"They are preparing themselves to challenge each other." Another girl says as if it were they were going to war. It was time for them to leave and I gave one last hug to Stacey. Some girls were even wishing me luck.

Update: I cringe at my writing four years ago! 

-S