Taking a Chance | The Selection Fanfiction [NO LONGER UPDATING]

Chapter 8

Prince Samuel

As I left the great room my hands were shaking with adrenaline. All of the girls were really nice and they all seemed at least somewhat genuine, but I already knew which ones I'd go ahead and eliminate. My dad said that in almost every Selection, the prince has eliminated 4-8 girls in the beginning of his selection. I eliminated seven, leaving only 28 left.

While all of the girls were nice, some were not what I was looking for. Granted, I'm not completely sure what I'm looking for, but some of the girls were not it. It was t necessarily something they did, but I'm no idiot, and Leah's forced me to read enough romance books to know when something is for sure never going to work out.

It is nerve wracking though, eliminating people. I'm given 35 girls to choose from for my life-long partner. No more than that, and eliminating them means making that small number even smaller. I can't stop the what ifs from running through my head constantly, wondering if I've sent home my soulmate because I didn't give them enough time.

Leah was observing the girls though, and said that she thought my choices were good ones.

It broke my heart seeing their expressions when an told them. One girl from Fennley even begged me to keep her, saying that she could be so much better for me, and would do whatever she could to satisfy me. I felt terrible, and the feeling didn't cease even after I'd left the room full of crying girls.

There was a light at the end of the tunnel though, because I had a date tomorrow. This week would be terribly busy, but because of my selection my dad made sure I had some time everyday for them, and reminded me that meals always counted as extra time I could spend with them on dates.

The first date was with a spunky, pink-haired girl named Scarlett. She was fiery but cute, and being around her brought out the anxiety I tried so hard to suppress. I felt like a little boy again when we were talking, nervous and trying to be impressive. However, she didn't seem to appeal to my charms the way the other girls had.

I remember last night, walking with Leah and seeing her small frame leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. At first I didn't recognize her, since I relied on her having blue hair, so it being pink threw me off. But as soon as she said her name I remembered her, and I thought of the girl I'd imagined Scarlett to be when I finally would meet her: a girl filled with passion, who played the piano and spoke French. I never expected to meet her when she was crying in a corner at 2:30 in the morning.

When she snapped at me, telling me that she wasn't there to compete for me, I'm not gonna lie I was hurt. But after I'd asked her to give me a chance and she replied with that curt "maybe" I could t help but feel giddy inside.

I've never actually been around girls outside of my family long enough to get to know them, so this entire experience is exciting for me. The only girls besides my family I see is the daughters of Kings of other countries when they come to visit, but most of the time they're already engaged to be married to some other prince or duke.

I still couldn't believe I'd actually mustered up the courage to ask Scarlett on a date. You'd think it would be easy, me being the prince and all, but in the end I'm just a normal guy who wants to find a wife. I want the girls to like me, and I just hope that whatever they expect of me I can deliver and that they will cherish my company the way that I'll cherish theirs.

Scarlett

After we left the great room, Cassandra and I decided to further explore the palace so we would hopefully learn where we were going more. Hopefully.