Emily In The Selection (book 1)

Chapter 19

That night I dismissed my maids early so I could study more from the rebels book. I knew that the presentation I was supposed to do was going to based off of the rebels. I had such an interest for them now.

I took some notes on what I read on a notepad and hid it in the drawer that also hid the textbook.

I managed to wake up around 8:30 in the morning to get breakfast, but as soon as I woke up, I could tell something was wrong. My maids were pacing and gossiping with each other with worried looks.

"What's going on?" I asked concerned.

"Oh, good morning, Lady Emily," Karen rubbed her hands.

"What's happening?" I asked again.

"Lady Emily, breakfast will be served in your rooms again," Karen said with a worried tone in her voice.

"Alright, but what's-"

I was cut off by a wailing cry from outside the door. It sounded like Hannah. I didn't care how I looked, I jumped out of my bed and ran outside to see her.

"Hannah!" I yelled.

She was laying on a stretcher with two doctors by her side. The doctors stayed calm and brought her down to the main entrance.

I couldn't make out what was wrong with Hannah, but she was obviously in pain. Her face was covered in tears and her stomach thrusted forward whenever she tried to take in a breath.

Ryan and Jessica were waiting down stairs when Hannah's stretcher met them. Ryan touched Hannah's feet and I could finally see what was wrong. Hannah's feet were burning red and wet.

"What happened?" I demanded.

"It seems Jessica poured boiling water on Hannah's feet this morning," Ryan said.

I cringed at the thought. I had been burnt by boiling water before and it is extremely painful. It takes such a long time to heal and it such a painful process.

I looked over to Jessica who had a smirk on her face, but I could tell she was still upset at the same time. Hannah continued to cry in pain.

"What?" I gasped, "why?"

"Jessica must have gotten a little jealous when she found out that Hannah was the most favorited by America. This was her revenge. And now Jessica," he turned to her, "you are eliminated from the selection. You also must pay for the medical treatments that Hannah needs since you were the cause of this happening."

Jessica sighed.

"Your majesty, we must get Hannah to a hospital right away," a doctor turned to him.

"Why aren't you using the medical team here?" I asked.

"Jessica will be leaving tomorrow morning and I feel it is best if we have Hannah in a different building so Jessica can't get access to her," Ryan responded.

"When will Hannah come back?"

"I'm afraid she is no longer staying in the selection either. She is too injured," he spoke again and stroked Hannah's hair.

Hannah stifled her cry and the doctors wheeled her through the doors into the ambulance.

"Bye, Hannah," I whispered to her.

Ryan glared at Jessica. "You may not attend the tea party today either."

Jessica nodded and he dismissed us both.

"How could you?" I asked Jessica as we walked up the stairs.

"You have to fight your way to get what you want," she stared, "Emily, if you're staying in this selection then you have to remember that."

Was she giving me advice? She was telling me to fight. What good advice.

I looked at her more closely. There was necklace hanging on her chest with a heart around the letter S.

"What does that mean?" I asked, pointing to the necklace.

"South."

Southern rebels?

"What?"

"My family is from the south. It's a symbol to remind me where I'm from," she explained.

As she walked, the necklace bounced and flipped over. I examined the back of it to see a small picture of a gun.

I gasped, "You're a southern rebel."

"Shh! No I am not," she scolded.

"You are to," I protested.

"I am not," she paused and then continued, "my dad is."

• • •

I ate breakfast and let my maids help me get ready. They let me take a long bath so I could clear my mind.

Afterwords they gave me a short dress to wear that stopped at my knees. It had a gold and black pattern that went across my torso and then a tight black waistband right around my mid stomach. It flared out from there with the same gorgeous gold and black pattern. They also had me put on some black heels, light makeup, and fixed my hair into a bun.

"You're all ready, Lady Emily," Tes smiled.

It was 10:45 and the tea party started at 11. I decided to walk down early.

The party was being held outside under a few tents. It was a sunny May afternoon and was just starting to get warmer after the fierce winter we just had.

"Welcome, Lady Emily," Queen Marcy smiled at me.

"Hello," I curtsied.

I looked around to see that Tammy and Amelia were already here as well. I rushed over Amelia as soon as I saw her.

"Amelia! Did you hear what happened?"

"Yes, oh!" She hugged me.

"I feel so bad. Hannah would of done so well."

"I know, I know. Oh, Jessica just didn't know how to control her temper."

I nodded sympathetically.

Kathleen came in shortly after and we all talked about what happened for a while.

"Alright, girls," Queen Marcy spoke, "let's begin."

We all turned to her. We sat in one long table with six chairs on one side and one chair on the other. Queen Marcy sat down in the one chair and the rest of us sat on the other side. I'm assuming the other two chairs were for Jessica and Hannah.

Waiters came to us and asked us what kind of tea we preferred. Honestly, I never liked tea, but I knew I must drink it whether I liked it or not.

"May I have green tea?" I asked politely.

"Of course," the waiter smiled.

The Queen looked over at me and smiled.

"You all look lovely," she said as soon as we received our tea.

"Thank you," we all said in a chorus.

A cup of green tea was place in front of me and I stared at it. It didn't exactly look green.

I picked it up and took a sip. It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, but it still wasn't my favorite.

"How's the tea?" The Queen asked as soon as all of us took a sip.

"Good," Tammy said.

"Good," Kathleen echoed.

Amelia took another sip and I nodded.

We sat for a while and talked about Ryan and the palace. The party seemed to drag on, but eventually, we were dismissed.

"That was fun," Amelia said and I walked upstairs with her.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Wanna meet me and Kathleen in the ladies room later?" She asked.

"Sure," I smiled and walked back to my room.