Another Selected (Book 1 of Selection fanfics)

Chapter 23

"It's a bit chilly today." Genevieve shivered in her sleeveless dress as she rubbed her arms.

I rolled my eyes. "It's at least sixty degrees outside. You're crazy."

She glared at me. "Well, excuse me for living in a place with sunshine year round."

"Please don't tell me you've never seen snow before. I might faint." I stared at her, unable to believe her lack of experience with the changing of seasons.

"Of course I've seen snow before." She rolled her eyes, flipping a strand of dark hair over her shoulder. "Just not that often. It snowed years ago here, and I've visited family during christmas." She pointed to the large group of people sitting at tables in the garden.

The Queen's family visiting was a surprise to everyone, even the Queen herself. With the number of girls left knocked down to twenty, the announcement of the Elite was approaching rapidly. The impending decision was on everyone's mind, and Genevieve had assumed that they had decided to visit so that they could at least see some of the girls before Derek made his choice.

They'd notified the Royal Family only hours before their arrival, but somehow the palace had managed to turn the garden into an elegant gathering. White cloth-covered tables were scattered around and small tents were set up for shade. Even though Genevieve had complained about it being cold, it was still bright and sunny outside.

The twenty remaining girls were placed in random spots around the garden. Some hung back, too shy to introduce themselves to anyone. Others mingled freely with anyone and everyone. Genevieve had grabbed me immediately and plopped me down at a table at the edge of the gathering.

"Tell me again why you made me sit here? I'm supposed to be introducing myself to your family." I leaned back in my chair, turning to look at Genevieve.

"I told you Erika. If I sit with you, my parents won't force me to talk with my cousins. Not that they'd talk to me anyways." She muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why wouldn't they talk to you? They're your cousins." I frowned.

"My cousins are simple people. We have different interests, different personalities." She shrugged. "We just don't always get along well."

I raised an eyebrow, looking back over at the large group of people. "Your siblings don't seem to have a problem with them."

It was true. Princess Everly was talking animatedly with two girls who looked to be about her age, a redhead and a brunette. Prince Cade and Princess Marlee were running around with other kids closer to their age. Derek was smiling and talking with a girl and three other boys who all looked to be around his and Genevieve's age. I couldn't help but blush when I looked at him. We hadn't been on another date since our kiss, but we'd shared discreet smiles at meals. I didn't like hiding our kiss, but I knew I'd tell Liana eventually. Genevieve might have known already, but she hadn't said anything.

She groaned suddenly, looking over at her family. "Alright, alright. I may or may not have kissed my cousin Astra's boyfriend the last time I saw her, and she hasn't spoken to me since."

"You did what?!" I gasped, looking back over at her cousins. I assumed that Astra was the older, pretty brunette girl Derek was with, as she seemed to be the most likely to have had a boyfriend in the past few years.

"I know, it's awful. But in my defense, he was hot. And they'd only been dating for a month or so." She shrugged slightly.