Truly Elected (Book Two of The Next Selection Series)

Chapter 1

Opening my eyes, I slowly looked around the barren white room, letting out a relieved breath of air from my lungs. Slowly, my gaze dropped down to Dr. Ehrlich, who smiled sheepishly as he held my unwrapped bandage in both of his palms. The stretchy fabric extended past both of his hands, both ends grazing the floor due to his kneeling position. I smiled at him as a hand wrapped around mine to help me off of the examination table; the said hand belonging to the fine young man who brought me to this appointment, Daniel Schreave. 

"See," Dr. Ehrlic said, standing up straight. His body was rather gangly for a doctor. "What did I tell you, Miss Soble? It didn't hurt a bit." I giggled a little as he wrapped the bandage around his right hand, all fingers held together save for the thumb. 

"Maybe a little." I said and winked. Dr Ehrlich laughed and shook his head as Daniel tucked me underneath his arm. It felt warm there, safe, and I could feel the heat he was giving off to me spread through my body. That, or I could have just been blushing; which wouldn't be unusual for me. Blushing seemed to be norm lately. 

Ever since the day I had redone my room, I had set a "crippled" weekly schedule. Every day, I had woken up at 7:45, forty-five minutes earlier than my usual awakening so I could take more time to get ready. Following breakfast, all of the Pre-Elite, which included myself, would have an hour and a half lesson with Silvia. During this time, Matthew and Daniel, along with the rest of the royals and their advisors, would be in a meeting, one out of three during the day. On Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, these meetings would run until a half an hour before lunch. Every other day of the week, however, the meetings adjourned just as the Pre-Elite finished their morning lesson. Those days, both Matthew and Daniel would do some type of work for an hour. In the meantime, while other girls either relaxed in their rooms, the Woman's Room, or did some type of indoor or outdoor activity, I gossiped with Clara and Amber. We had grown close over these past six weeks, in fact, they were now like sisters to me. We would share everything, from past attractions to kissing boys; even to what my dates were like with her brothers. The two of them had wanted to take me to so many places. I would always feel awful when they couldn't due to my injury. So every time a pout would sprout on their faces, I would reassure them that they could take me wherever they wanted when my ankle was back to normal. And then they would cheer up, starting another round of gossiping. They would always leave ten minutes before twelve, giving me ten minutes to do whatever small things that needed to be done; perhaps ring for my maids and ask them to bring tea and sandwiches, or simply reapply small touches of natural makeup and use the restroom. 

For Daniel was always punctual. 

At twelve o'clock precisely, on these days anyway, Daniel would knock on my door, ready to either take me out on a simple date, such as observing one of the many royal art galleries or watching a film, or sit in my room with me and talk; depending on how I was feeling that day. During this hour time frame, Matthew was taking another Pre-Elite out on a date. Sometimes, when Daniel and I were sitting outside on my balcony, we could hear Matthew and whichever Pre-Elite he was with laughing as they walked around the gardens. Every time it would make me jealous, not just because he was with another girl, but also because I felt that the gardens were our place. Daniel, being the gentleman that he always was, would bring me inside every time this occurred, where he would kiss me so softly that I instantly would forget all about Matthew, my body filling with desire for more. 

On those days, Daniel would walk me to lunch. On occasion, Matthew would be missing from the table, as would one Pre-Elite; not that I minded. On the long meeting days, Daniel would spend his free half an hour in between the meeting and lunch with me, while Matthew would continue to work until lunch. Following lunch, the royals would have a twenty minute resting period; implemented by King Maxon during one of the earlier years of his reign. The Pre-Elite would also rest during this period, though it didn't matter for us because our next lesson wouldn't be until 3:20. The royals would have another meeting after the resting period, and this applied to all days. That was usually the time my maids would come in. We would spend twenty minutes sharing gossip; I would tell them what I picked up off of the other Pre-Elite, they would share the maid and guard gossip. Then, the four of us would take out my unfinished ball gown for King Maxon's birthday ball, where they would pick up where they left off the day before and work until 3:00, forty minutes after they had begun. At 3:05 everyday, Shane would come to my room, just as my maids would leave. We would talk for about fifteen minutes, sometimes it would even be about work that he needed my help with. Shane would then follow me to my second and final lesson of the day in the Woman's Room. And everyday, he would have the door slammed in his face by Silvia, causing every Pre-Elite to howl with laughter. Truth be told, it wasn't that funny, but it was our own little piece of laughter in a world of tension.