Being Selected

Chapter 2

For the weeks leading up to the Selection, I was surrounded by people I had never met. At one point when I was grocery shopping a little girl came up to me and wanted my autograph. Unfortunately she didn't have any paper so she had me sign a carton of milk. After that my mother forced me to stay home, and only permitted Selection workers to visit me because of the amounts of visitors we were receiving. Work had allowed me to not come in so I could prepare. What preparation I could do, I had no idea. How was I supposed to prepare for retrieving an ounce of blood. The list in general seemed bizarre to me, but I knew the Agency had a plan for everything. Other than the letter from the Boss and the call saying I didn't have to come into work, I had no other contact with them. That didn't mean I wasn't busy. Everyday a palace worker named Miss Harriet Cotton came by to help fill out paperwork and teach me different things about the palace. She wanted me to learn proper manners, but I insisted that there were more important things than learning etiquette. Eventually she began teaching me important things like maps of the castle and daily schedules. By the end of the two weeks Miss Cotton deemed me as Selection worthy. On the day of departure, Miss Cotton arrived early to help me into the black dress I was supposed to wear.

"Miss Lilian, do you happen to have any sort of accessory to help yourself standout? I would hate to see you be sent home on the first day just because you made no impression," Miss Cotton said, while tightening the waist.

"I could wear my mother's pearls," I suggested, while holding in a breath as she pulled the dress tighter.

"Too overused. Do you have anything else?" she questioned.

"Umm. What about my grandmothers brooch?" I asked.

"A brooch. I may be able to work with that. Go fetch it," Miss Cotton said. I went to my bedroom and found my jewelry box. When I opened it I found the brooch and my list. Carefully I tucked the list into the waistband of my tights. I took the brooch to Miss Cotton who examined it carefully. She played around with the pin.

"Yes, I think I can work with this," she finally exclaimed. She fastened it onto a silk ribbon which she promptly took and tied into my hair. She pulled a few bobby pins from her bag and pinned my hair into a stylish up do that complemented my cheek bones. I turned so the brooch caught in the light. The brooch was an amethyst iris surrounded by small aquamarine stones and silver metal. The purple brought out the flecks of blue in my jade green eyes. A smile danced across my lips.

"This looks wonderful! Thank you so much," I said, giving Miss Cotton a hug.

"I'm glad you like it, and we finished just in time. Go retrieve your case. We depart in five minutes," she announced. I nodded and scurried off to gather my things. I retrieved my travel case and other luggage and went outside where a limo was waiting to take Miss Cotton and I to the airport. A man in a charcoal suit took my bags from me. I walked over to where my family was standing to say good bye to me. My mother was dabbing tears from the corners of her eyes. My father was near tears himself, but I could tell he was holding them in for my mother's sake. Kurt gave me a squeeze when I hugged him good bye.

"Show those royals what a real princess looks like," he whispered in my ear. I gave him a smile before hugging him one more time. As much as he would hate to admit it, I knew he was secretly going to miss me. I gave my family one last look before sitting in the limo where Miss Cotton was already waiting for me.

"Let's go," I said, closing the limo door. Miss Cotton nodded to the driver who started down the road. I didn't have to look back to know my family was still waving even as I turned the corner. As we drove we passed countless people holding signs wishing me luck.