Compassion (A Selection Story)

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I wake up in a clean, white bed, unsure of how I arrived here. I sit

up and turn my head to find a boy with curly brown hair and light green eyes. Perched upon his head is a crown. He is the one we are here for: Prince Tobias. I roll my eyes at him and say, "What, you like watching girls sleep?"

His expression turns to a somewhat perplexed one, and then back to a blank, serious one. "I simply wanted to make sure you are okay. After all, I did find you unconscious in the hallway."

"And then you brought me here. Oh, my hero!" I say, lacing my voice with sarcasm as I put the back of my hand to my forehead, tilting my head back in a dramatic manner.

He laughs briefly, and then aks, "So, why exactly were you sleeping on the floor?"

"It's what I'm used to," I blurt out, and automatically regret it.

"Excuse me?"

"Uh, nothing. I guess I'm just tired." Here I go, lying through my teeth again. Of course I know why I collapsed.

"Well, Lady..." He looks at me questioningly.

"Fleur," I reply, realizing I forgot my name pin when I changed dresses.

"Lady Fleur, I suppose I shall see you tomorrow." With that, he leaves the room, which I have guessed to be a clinic or hospital room of sorts.

A nurse approaches me and tells me why I collapsed, as if I don't know. "- malnutrition. I understand you barely ate at dinner?"

How did she know that?  I want to ask, but instead just nod.

"If you are anorexic, you will have to either forfeit the Selection or be placed under monitoring."

"I'm not, I swear. I was a bit stressed last night, and didn't have an appetite. I'll eat better, promise."

She nods and tells me I can go if I feel up to it. Wow, that was easy.

I walk back to my room and dismiss my maids with a flick of my wrist. I open the wardrobe to find something like my day-off-clothes to sleep in. Dresses. All dresses. I settle for a small, silky, blue nightgown and lay down in the oversized bed. I toss and turn, unable to get comfortable. I then fold up the brown dress and lay on the floor, using it as a pillow.

It's a bit harder to fall asleep without Kai snuggled up against me, but I manage in the long run.

My maids, who must already see me as strange, find me curled up on the floor in the morning. "Lady Fleur, why are you on the ground?" one of them, Cassie, asks.

I shrug and sit upright, feeling refreshed from my sleep. "I wanted to be."

They help me dress, despite my protests that I can dress myself just fine, in a simple yellow day dress, with fabric roses where it hugs my hips. Or rather, where it is supposed to hug my hips. Due to my lack of food, my super skinny measurements left my red-haired seamstress maid thinking there had been a mistake, and she sewed everything an inch or two wider. The lovely, form fitting dress hangs loosely from my ribs down. To disguise this, and to show off how skinny I am, my other maid, Penelope, takes a white ribbon and laces it around my waist, tying it into a sweetheart bow in the back.

I head to breakfast, where, in my agreement with the nurse, I eat more. But, in agreement with my resolution, I only take more of the berries and nuts. The royal family enters, and I am the first to stand for the curtsy. Judging by the many girls who looked at me before rising to do the same, I actually remembered, where most of them did not.

The prince smiles at each of us, his eyes staying locked on mine for a second longer than the others. He takes his place beside his father at the head of the table, and then stands to announce that he will be meeting with each of us individually during breakfast. He starts at the end of the left table, with Nori, and after a couple minutes, moves to another girl, who I believe is named Lindsey.