Eadlyn Selects

A New Illea

"It's time," I say to Kile. He nods. I woke up this morning with a serious need to take action. I addressed my personal conflict last night. Thankfully, Ean let me off the hook gracefully. I owe him for that. Today, I feel guilty that I didn't put my county before my love life.

I have arranged to make a Special Report broadcast. I want to speak directly to my people. I have high hopes that something I say might help to disperse the rebels camped around the castle. Of course, I cannot acknowledge them. That was one major condition from Dad, who was curt about my plan, but desperate enough to allow it.

From what I could tell by the emails he's finally cc-ing me on, he is bogged down with the basic logistics of managing a castle under siege. I am doing this report independently. Kile read what I wrote but otherwise the training wheels are off.

Mom wishes me luck and presses a kiss to my cheek.

It's time to see if what I say makes a difference.

They adjust the lighting to put me in slight shadows, to hide my scars. I chose a simple power suit to wear. The people will have just seen last night's dance scene and inferred that I am no longer engaged. They will be interested in what I have to say, because they will assume that I will be updating them about the Selection and my recent absence.

The crew tests the sound. Kile gives me a thumbs up. Jocelyn and Heath are next to Kile. They're my moral support. I even got Eikko to come, but he is standing in the shadows of the video camera, making certain not to be noticed.

I get the three minutes cue.

I clear my throat, set my cards aside, and slip out of my heels. They won't be in the frame, and my arches are never going to be the same after the abuse they endured.

5

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1

I'm on.

I send a steady gaze into the lens and then calmly give a peaceful, no teeth smile. And then I begin:

"It is time for me to speak to you from my heart. I have been raised to lead Illea, and I now know you are in need of serious change. I recognize that." I pause. The kingdom has never admitted that life in Illea is anything but ideal. My admission should get their attention.

I extend my arm, still roughly textured as my skin heals from the sun poisoning. "I want to reach out to you all and ask for your help." I open my calloused palm. "The change we need cannot happen from the castle alone. It has to come from all of our hearts. Our desire to be a united country full of hardworking people being treated fairly must be a common goal.

I have seen things during the time I was away. I saw tragic work conditions. I saw little to no health care for our most vulnerable citizens, a lack of safe housing, and an overall desperation for better quality of life.

I am here to promise you change. I will work until it is better. There is no one better suited for this job. I have nineteen years of training, an excellent role model to learn from, and resources at my disposal, both national and global.

But I need your to help. There was plenty I did not see. I need each region to send me representatives in proportion to the amount of people living there. These representatives must be picked fairly. I am reinstituting the system we have in place for picking Selection candidates. Nominate, a panel will vote, and regional representatives will be chosen. This will be so until a better method is developed. King Maxon and I will help orient these representatives. We will build procedures to judiciously discuss issues, create policy, and make reform.