The Runaway Heir

Chapter Two

The report was starting and I stood next to my brother Austin, we stood still, backs straight, perfect posture. Anything below perfect, it was shit.

"Welcome Illea, to the Report!" Gina yells, I can remember her as long as I can remember, she took up the job after her father retired. She tries to live up to him but it seems like a comedy when she tries.

"Today we have exciting news! Prince Tobias, would you like to explain?" she asks as she walks over to with the microphone.

"Well Gina, my brother and I have our Selected and today we'll announce them." I say with a fake smile, it seemed so real, all those years of acting, finally paid off I guess.

"Oh, very exciting Tobias. So tonight you'll announce the names?" she asks very giddy.

"Yes Gina." I smile at her, "now please bring in the envelopes." I say motioning to the maids.

They come in, envelopes in their hands. When they come in the cameras switch to me and my brother's faces. Trying to capture our expressions. Of course we smile, if we frowned, well, that would be the end of our lives.

Gina takes the envelopes. "We'll from lowest to highest caste as usual." She smiles and grabs an envelope. "First one. Lena Winters, five. Congratulations!"

She goes on and on until we reach the last girl.

"And Lady Crystal Herondale! From four!" she finishes excitedly. And with that the camera stop rolling. I sigh and walk off the stage, walking to my room. When I get there I find a pile of forms on my dresser. All fifty.

"Fuck." I sigh. "This is going to be great." I say to myself sarcastically. I start from the top, starting with Lena Winters, a musicians, a five. I hope she can actually sing.

I keep going through the stack, and hoping it was all of them, and another one is at the bottom, "Crystal Herondale." I say. I look at her skills, province, everything. She looks beautiful in her photo, her pale blue eyes practically piercing through the paper. She seemed nice enough. Though, she didn't seem to really like royalty, she just didn't seem cut out for this. She sounded like me.

"Knock knock Bozo." Austin said from behind my door.

"Yeah, little Titanic Boy?" I ask through the door. He calls me a Bozo for liking music and I call him Titanic Boy because he likes art. We've had those nicknames since I was eight and he was seven.

"Like any of the girls?" he asks walking into my room.

"They're okay." I shrug. I take a glance at Crystal's form, I wouldn't say I liked her, she just provoked my interest. "How about you-"

"Well you keep staring at that picture." He cuts me off and grabs the form from my desk.

"Crystal Herondale." I sigh. "She just seems interesting Titanic Boy." I grunt grabbing the form from his grasp.

"Sure, but she's pretty too." he says winking at me. "Don't fall for her too hard," and with that he's out of my room.

"I'm not going to fall in love." I mutter to myself.

"Liar!" Austin yells.

"Whatever Titanic Boy!" I shout back.

"I least I get to draw naked girls. What can you do? Molest a guitar?!" He yells back. I crack up. "I'm also not a lying Bozo." He says walking in my room.

"I wasn't lying." I say ruffling his hair, he hated it, which was why I did it.

"Fine." He grunts and walks to his room, I laugh and shut the door behind him. I look at her form again.

"Don't even think about it Tobias." I say to myself. "You're not falling in love, that is final." I say to myself. God, why was I even making such a big deal out of this? It was stupid. Stop falling for a fucking form. The Selection was going to start next week, and I was determined not to fall in love.