Chosen

Chapter Six

I wake up with my stomach in knots. Today is the day I leave for the castle. I take a deep breath and get out of bed. I need to get ready. The King and Queen said I need to wear something nice. Do I have anything nice enough for the castle?
I sigh and walk to the closet, shuffling my clothes around until I find the perfect dress. It's blue with white designs on the top and solid blue on the bottom, separated with a leather belt.

I pair it with cute ankle boots and move on to my hair. I sigh, I have no idea what to do with my hair.
"Monica! I need help!" I yell, walking down the stairs. I find Monica in the kitchen with Joshua, drinking coffee. She smiles as I walk in.
"That's a cute dress. What can I help you with?" I smile at the compliment.
"My hair. I don't know what to do with it." Monica's eyes light up and she smiles, walking to me.
"I know the perfect thing. Follow me." I follow her up the stairs and to the bathroom. She sits me down in front of the mirror.
"Close your eyes. You're not allowed to look until I'm done." I laugh and close my eyes.
"Ok I'm done." She says 10 minutes later. "Open your eyes." I open my eyes and gasp. My hair is curled so it falls in soft waves down my back. She braided the state flower into my hair, making a crown on top of my head.

(It's not a crown, but it's the state flower)
"It looks amazing. Thank you, Monica. You're a life saver." Monica laughs as I smile at her.
"You're welcome." I smile, looking at the mirror again. I can't even recognize myself, thanks to Monica. I take a deep breath, the guards should be here any minute now. The doorbell rings as soon as the thought leaves my head. I take another deep breath and turn to Monica.
"You ready?" I ask, walking out of the bathroom. She follows, but says nothing. She must feel the same as me, overwhelmed.
I walk to the door and open it, greeting my guards. They smile, one of the looks me up and down, slowly, creepily.
"Lady Arabella?" The other asks, smiling kindly. I nod, smiling shyly. "We are here to take you to the airport. Are you ready?"
"Yup, lets go." They lead me, Monica, and Joshua out of the house and to the car they have waiting. Once we're in, they close the doors and get in the front.
It takes about five minutes to get to the airport. It's filled with tons of people, waiting to see me.
The car stops and the door is opened my a guard. It's the guard that stares as me creepily. I get out, ignoring the hand he was holding out to help, and start walking to the stage, with Monica and Joshua following me. As soon as the crowd sees me, they go crazy. They cheer and scream and shout. The mayor is already on the stage, smiling as I climb the stairs.
"Lady Arabella, everyone," he announces to the crowd. "Our very beautiful Chosen women to represent South Carolina." He goes off on some long speech about beauty and confidence, while I zone out, thinking about how much my life is going to change.
I'm jolted out of my thoughts when the mayor turns to me.
"Would you like to say anything, Lady Arabella?" I smile, sheepishly.
"I wouldn't know what to say. I'm still so shocked by all this." The mayor laughs, nodding.
"Yes, it can be a bit overwhelming at times. You'll get used to it, I promise." He laughs again and I join in.
I turn to the crowd and wave and smile. Might as well give them that since I'm not speaking. The crowd goes wild again. I laugh, shaking my head and turn to say goodbye to my family. I stop in shock as I see who's standing there. Standing next to Monica is my older brother, Jake, smiling proudly at me.

I gasp, and run forward, towards him and tackle him in a hug. He laughs, hugging me back, tightly.
"Hey, Kiddo." He says when we finally pull apart. I smile.
"Jake, it's so good to see you again! How've you been?" I reach up to my neck, to play with my locket, and my heart stops. It's not there. It must have fallen off in the car.
"Hold on, I forgot something in the car. I'll be right back." Jake nods and I run off the stage, to the car. I open the door and frantically look around. Relief floods through me when I spot my necklace on the floor. I sigh in relief as I clasp it around my neck. I turn around and my heart sinks. Standing behind me, is my father. His eyes are narrowed as he looks at me.
"You think the Prince would fall for someone as awful as you? Pathetic." He walks closer, I back up until my back hits the car. He walks closer until he's right in front of me. "I can't believe they Chose someone as ugly as you. At least this won't make you look any worse than you already do." His hand snaps across my cheek, hard.
"How. Dare. You." I look up to see a furious Jake and Monica, glaring harshly at our father. He just narrows his eyes.
"How can you not see that this is how she deserves to be treated?! I raised such pathetic children." He spits, glaring at all of us, before walking away.
Monica runs to me, pulling out the foundation she used before and starts covering the redness on my face.
"You're ok. You can't cry, not here, not in front of all these people. You'll be fine, you're leaving. He's out of your life for good." I take a deep breath, pushing back the tears. I can do this.
Monica puts the makeup away and I lift my head. I touch my locket and a sense of calm washes through me.
"Ok, I'm ready. Let's go." I walk back to the stage, to the waiting, smiling mayor.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" I smile and nod.
"Yes, I did." He smiles. I feel someone tap my shoulder and turn around. The flight attendant is standing behind me.
"It's time to go, miss. Are you ready?" She asks, smiling kindly. I nod and smile.
I turn to Monica, Joshua, and Jake. They are all smiling sadly at me. I smile back and close my eyes at the pain. I walk over and stand in front of Jake.
"Thanks for being here, Jake. I'm going to miss you. I love you. Sorry you had to see all that." He smiles.
"Of course I'm going to see my youngest sister before she flies to the castle. I'm going to miss you too. You better write write to me every week. Sorry Cindy couldn't make it, she's been feeling sick lately. But she says hello and good luck. I love you too, Kiddo. And you don't have to be sorry about that. I can't believe he actually treats you like that. But you don't have to worry anymore, he's out of your life. You'll do great at the Palace." He smiles. He pulls me forward and wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly. I hug him back for a while, then pull back, smiling. I walk over to Monica and Josh, next. I smile at them.
"Thanks for always being there for me. I'm going to miss you guys. I love you." They smile and step forward, engulfing me in a hug, including Jake. I smile. I have the best siblings. I pull back and smile, sniffling, pushing back tears.
"Ok, I have to go now. I'll write to you soon. I love you guys." I hug each of them once more, then walk to the plane. Before I board the plane, I turn around, looking at my family one last time.
"Goodbye." I wave, then turn to the crowd once more, giving them a big smile and wave. Then I board the plane. I look out the window, waiting, and look at my home for the last time.