Dear Juliet (Chosen Sequel) (The Selection Fanfic)

One.

I guess you could say I wasn't any ordinary princess, that I rebelled against my parents, that I skipped out on my 'princessey' duties, but you would be expecting that. It would also be a complete lie.

I, Juliet Amberly America Schreave, am the most ordinary princess that there ever was. I do what my parents tell me to do, I follow the rules and I never speak out of turn. Honestly, I am more a part of the palace furniture than a person. But I never saw this as a flaw, in fact, I thought that this was my biggest perk.

Liam taught me that I was wrong.

Liam worked in the kitchens, he wasn't exactly a master cook but his father was the greatest chef that Illéa had ever witnessed. So when he died, my parents couldn't bring themselves to throw Liam out onto the streets. He, again, wasn't the greatest help in the kitchens but he served the food every evening, and this is how I noticed him.

-

"Oh my life, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, it just slipped and-" the serving boy was cut off by the head server hurrying him out the side door.

"I am so sorry for this little catastrophe, I will see that this is cleared up immediately."

Piles of mashed potatoes lied tragically across the marble floor as a result of the boy's clumsiness, but it's like my parents didn't even notice, they're thoughts so deep into whatever they were talking about. But I noticed.

The head server looked relieved that they didn't noticed before he slipped out the door just before a team of other kitchen staff came scurrying in with their mops.

I was no longer into the conversation, the rest of dinner my eyes were glued to the spot where the boy stood before he tripped. Many thoughts swam through my head at that moment but the most prominent was curiosity. I wanted to know who that boy was, I was intrigued.

I excused myself from the table, claiming tiredness, before kissing my parents goodnight and leaving the room through the grand doors. The hike to the door never felt so long, the dining room I had known so well now felt never ending. Upon reaching the doors I turned left, instead of right, making my way down to the kitchens, instead of my quarters. Even the slight detour made me feel uncomfortable, I had never lied to my parents before. Shaking away the nausea, I hoisted up the hem of my dress to allow me to descend the steps, careful not to trip.

The first thing that I saw was the furnace, so large it was hard to ignore even if you wanted to. The furnace was like the heart of the kitchen burning so vividly, drawing you in. The more steps I took the hotter I got but I couldn't stop myself from getting closer. I reached out, curious as to what was cooking as we had already eaten our dinner.

"Stop!" The scream was piercing causing me to retract my hand just after my flesh hit the burning hot pan. I cried out in pain at the unusual feeling. The owner of the voice came rushing towards me grabbing my wrist and submerging my hand in cold water. The pain initially dissipated only being replaced by a new pain from the temperature of the water. I had never experienced such pain before.

My heart began to beat incredibly fast, I couldn't catch my breath, my vision began to blur. I believed that this was known as shock from all the books I've read but never before had I experienced this.

"Your highness, can you hear me?"

"Sweetie, are you alright?"

"I need help, somebody help!"

That same voice grew more urgent but I couldn't respond. I wasn't sure what I was hearing and what I was imagining. I felt hands grabbing at my arms lifting me to what I could only assume was a bed. As soon as my head hit the makeshift pillow, I was out.

-

"I think she's coming around."

"Blimey, what sort of person puts their hand in the furnace?"

"Careful Liam, she's the princess."

"I know but you would think she would have a basic understanding of common sense."

"Liam, stop."

The voices sounded muffled but as my eyes fluttered open my brain began to match the voices with the faces. Directly above me were who I could only presume were the owners of the voices. One was the woman who had pulled me away from the furnace, but I was more interested in the other. The other face belonged to the boy who had spilt the mash potatoes at dinner, the boy I was ever so curious about.

Timidly, I sat up taking in my surroundings. I hadn't noticed but the whole parade of kitchen staff had their eyes on me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable and it felt like the temperature of the room had drastically increased.

"How are you feeling, your highness?" The woman asked suddenly careful to keep her distance.

"I'm feeling much better now, thank you, ma'am."

"No need for formalities, miss, just call me Josie." Odd. I found such a simple thing as a name quite odd. All my life I had referred to my relatives by their title (mother, father, aunt, etc...); I had never before called anyone by their first name, it was... odd.

"Alright... Josie, I-" I began, suddenly shocked to be interrupted.

"So, what the hell possessed you to touch the furnace?" The boy asked his eyes masked with humour.

"Liam, language!" Josie called hitting the back of his head. He just shook her off and repeated the question. I sat there for a while thinking over the question before giving an appropriate answer.

Clearing my throat, I said, "I was simply curious as to what was cooking as we have already had dinner, I didn't realise the pot would be so hot."

"You see, your highness, us lowly servants may not be as privileged as some but we still have the right to food so what was cooking away in the furnace was our dinner." I did not recognise his tone of voice but I could only assume that it was something called sarcasm.

I was waiting for Josie to scold him again but looking round she was gone, in fact everyone had gone. The boy and I were alone. The room suddenly felt very hot and I found myself fanning myself with my hand.

The boy suddenly held out his hand, an invitation for a handshake, "Liam."

"Juliet," I said taking his hand.

"I know." And then he winked.

A/N

Hey guys, how's life?

Okay I'm sorry that this part took so long to come out but I hoped you enjoyed it all the same. Next part shouldn't be long, but you know me 😅