The Choosing

Chapter 5//: The Whitefire Palace

[E D I T E D]

♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 5//: The Whitefire Palace♕✿~♕✿~

It was the day that I would leave home. The day I would leave my family. The day I would give myself to Silvers.

These thoughts haunted me as I woke up at 7:30 a.m. I yawned and stretched, heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. Choosing an outfit was more difficult because I didn't have a lot of fancy clothing. However, I finally decided on the cream white dress I had worn at Macy's party, paired with the white flats. Should be comfy enough, though I preferred pants more. I made a mental note to change when I arrived at the palace.

I put on some lipgloss and put on the music note necklace Sydney had given me. It still made me smile every time I put the necklace on. I grab my suitcase and look around my room one more time. I knew it wouldn't be too long before I saw my room. One month to be exact. I turn around and walk out of my room, suitcase in hand and never looking back.

~♚♡♚♡~

I arrive at the area where the people in my town are saying goodbye to the chosen. I hand my suitcase to a flight attendant, and take deep breaths to calm myself. Relax Madi, it's just 3 other girls here. Who might be power-hungry manipulaters with deadly abilities to match their personalities. I need to practice my pep talk.

I see the three other chosen girls from around my town towards the stairs to a large stage and I hurry towards them.

When I reach the 3 other chosen girls, they don't really look at me. There are two Silvers and one Red. I recognize them to be Alexis Merandus, Emily Osanos, and Rose Winters. I decide to smile at Rose since she was the only one who wasn't ignoring me. She smiles back warmly, and I know she is going to be good company.

Soon, we are motioned onto the stage and I immediately feel stage fright. Gosh, this was a lot of people. However, it wasn't too hard to just stand there, smile, and wave at the crowd. The Silvers that were with us showcased their abilities, throwing water into a beautiful arc and forcing Rose to do a backflip. I gulped when Alexis chose Rose to manipulate. Finally, we were allowed off stage and we hurried to the plane, which would take us on a 1-hour flight to the Whitefire Palace.

The plane was awkwardly silent as we flew in the air. Alexis had a face mask and was using it, sleeping away. Emily ignored both Rose and I, manipulating the water in the air to create different shapes. I decided I couldn't take the silence and turned towards Rose.

"So.....I'm Madison," I introduce myself. Rose giggles.

"I know! And I'm Rose! I still can't believe we got chosen! The first Reds to be in the Choosing! Wow!" Rose exclaims. I laugh and nod in agreement. We hear a scoff. I turn towards the sound, and see Alexis staring at us as if we were dumb. Well, I guess she wasn't sleeping. I feel anger boiling in my blood as she stares at us like we're dirt.

"You guys won't last a week. The only reason Reds were put into the competition was because the King wanted to ease the tension of the Scarlet Guard. If Reds are in this contest, they'll feel more like us. Boom, less rebellions," Alexis explains snottily. I purse my lips as I realize what she said made sense. I decide to just turn away from her and ignore her. Rose was fuming, her skin blotched red in anger.

"Who does she think she is?" Rose murmurs to me. Emily smirks, probably because she heard her.

"Alexis is a top model. Of course, you guys wouldn't know since you are Reds and don't have enough money to buy magazines," Emily tells us. I want to speak back to her, telling her that magazines were a waste of money, but decided to hold my mouth since I didn't want to get in trouble.

The rest of the plane ride was quiet as we arrived at the palace. I gaped at it through the window. I had never seen a structure so big. The white exterior was shining in the sun and looked blinding. I realize I probably don't look great while gaping, so I shut my mouth but soon realize Rose was doing the same. I giggle, covering my mouth, at the sight of her. She pouts but starts cracking up as well.

Soon, the plane touches the ground, and we step off of the plane. We are ushered inside by maids, where we are lead into a room. I stand by the doorway, taking it all in. Along every possible wall space, vanity tables were filled with the other chosen girls, who were getting their hair and makeup done. A dozen racks of dresses were put in one corner, while there were four dressing rooms. There is a grey backdrop against one wall and a chair in front of it. All around, there are cameras, recording everything. I feel a hand grab my arm, pulling me in front of a grey backdrop. They snap a photo of me, and then usher me in front of a mirror.

"What was the picture for?" I ask the lady in front of me.

"Just a before-picture. We'll take an after-picture as well," the woman tells me without glancing at me.

We reach one of the vanities and the woman pushes me down onto the chair. I see my wide-eyed expression in the mirror in front of me.

"So, what sort of makeup do you want?" She asks me. I stare at all of the makeup products lying on the table. The woman looks at me expectantly.

"Um, I'm fine. I would just prefer to keep on my lipgloss," I tell the lady. She looks surprised, but just shrugs.

"Ok. So you're the natural-makeup kind of girl. I'll just apply a small amount of makeup on you," the woman tells me. I nod, not really knowing what her definition of small was, but relax as she puts the makeup on me.

Once she's done, she shows me my new look. I sigh in relief when I don't look very different at all.

Next, girls around my age swarm me, asking me what color of nail polish I would like on my hand and feet. I tell them I wouldn't want any nail polish since it was too noticeable, so the girls suggested a nude polish. When I see it, I tell them they can put the polish on my toenails, but that I would like to keep my fingernails free of polish.

A young lady starts curling my blonde hair that was below my shoulders so that it looked way more fancy than it was before. The lady told me that I should add highlights, but I declined the offer, saying I wanted to keep my natural hair. She looked a bit sad but nodded and left.

After this, I am shown my day dresses. They don't have a lot of color, only ranging from white to grey to brown. The woman tells me that the reason my dresses did not have a lot of color was because if someone else outside of the House wore the color of the Houses, it was considered offensive. I nodded in understanding since I didn't mind the basic colors that were not claimed.

After I was dressed in a strapless cream dress that touched the floor, I was put back in front of the backdrop. I had my after-picture taken and then was taken to a corner of the room by an interviewer. The man told me to just smile and answer truthfully. Finally, the red light of the camera turned on, indicating that we were recording.

"I'm here with Madison Williams, one of the few lucky Reds who were put in the competition. Now, I must say, you don't look very different," the man tells me. I smile like I was told, though it makes me feel fake.

"Yes, well I don't fancy makeup. All that really changed was my hair, which they curled," I pull at my hair to show it.

The man smiles at me. "Yes. I'm surprised you don't like the makeup that much. Now, tell me, how does it feel to be in The Choosing?" He asks me. A lot of answers cross through my head, all negative. I decide to answer neutrally.

"It's definitely life-changing."

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Luv you all! Pls comment feedback and thxs for reading!❤️❤️

Glass_Sword