The Appointed: A Selection Fanfiction

Chapter Nineteen

"Was that really necessary!" I screamed as Quinn kicked me in the side.

She laughed. "Well, you weren't up yet, so I had to wake you up some way." Her shoulders scrunched together.

"I had plenty of other ideas that would have worked." I glared at her.

She just stared at me with a smile hidden under her lips. "Let's go find something to eat. I'm starving."

"Agreed." I nodded my head with a smile, the past events behind us now.

We walked over to the shelf at the back of the room that held all the food and water and began to search for something edible. The palace didn't have much of an option when it came to canned goods. The selection consisted of baked beans, green beans, corn, weird meat stuff, and a few other cans of soup.

"Eww," Quinn scrunched her nose out as she held a can out in front of her. "The expiration date on this was three years ago."

"Who knew green beans could expire?"

Quinn's face lit up. "I have the best idea! Follow me." She command as she walked away, beans in tow.

"What are we doing?" I asked curiously. Why would we bring expired green beans with us?

"Shhh! Be quiet, we don't want to wake the Prince." she whispered with with a stern look on her face.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

I looked up and saw her steps slow down as she began to sneak across the room towards the Prince's cot. I followed her without making a sound. That is until I tripped over the only table in the entire room.

I crashed down to the floor and looked up apologetically at Quinn and just gave her a small smile. Whatever she was planning on doing was ruined now because I stumbled on a table.

"You okay?" Quinn gave me her hand to help me up.

"Yeah," I brushed off my skirt. "I just didn't see the only table in the room."

I noticed Prince Nicholas walking towards us behind her.

"At least you're not hurt." She smiled.

"But I ruined your plan, whatever it was." I moved my arms limply.

She gave me a quick smile., "No you didn't." And threw the contents of the can behind her shoulder, drenching Prince NIcholas in expired green bean juice. He stood there, stunned, and then began to laugh.

"Quinn," I tugged her arm, noting the Prince in the background realizing who just did this to him. "I think we should go."

"Yep." She nodded and turned right around to walk hurriedly to her spot on the ground.

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It seemed the Prince had gotten some new clothes. He was now wearing a simple white, cotton shirt and jeans. It didn't look normal, since I've only seen him in dress pants. I guess if you live in the palace, your every need is tended to, even if that means you had bean juice on your shirt and pants.

"You should take a picture. It might last longer."

"Wha-" I looked up to see Nicholas staring down at me.

"You were staring." He stated.

I'm pretty sure my cheeks turned as red as a bell pepper. "Oh, well, I just noticed you changed your clothes." I motioned to his outfit.

"I really didn't enjoy sitting around smelling like expired milk."

"How did you know it was expired?" I exclaimed.

He stared at me. "It was expired? Well, that just makes me feel a whole lot better about my decision to change into new attire."

I looked into his cloudy, hazel eyes. "I really don't think you should be here." I pointed to the floor next to m that he was sitting on. "It might look bad."

"On the contrary, I think it looks quite nice. My brother actually asked me to check on the girls. He told me to find anyone that wanted to leave and let them go."

"Oh." I stated, dumbfounded.

"Well, I'll leave you to your thoughts." He got up and dusted his pants off after fixing his tie that was nonexistent.

"Shoo." I waved my hands in the direction of his brother. He turned around to look at me one last time, a smile on the edge of his lips. He shrugged his shoulders in a boyish way and turned back around. Whoever he married was going to have to take care of him.

<><><><>

Ben clapped his hands a few times, attempting to gain the attention of The Selected. "Alright, everyone, it has been deemed safe to venture back up into the palace. The storm has passed through and we are able to gain access to everywhere except a few rooms. Please do not go into the library," That was where Nicholas explained his feelings to me. "The kitchens or maids quarters, or the basement. Please just go directly up to your room unless I ask you to stay."

"Oh no, what if it's another elimination?" Quinn worried.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure you're going to win this whole thing." I smiled. "You're not getting eliminated."

"I don't know if I'd be so sure about that."

Ben cleared his throat. "The girls staying are Melani Jaxon, Lusia Smaker, Benli Lakedon, Nali Matthews, and Freesia Mako. Thank you for your patience with this whole storm. I'm sure it's not the most comfortable place to be."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I must have been more tense than I realized. Who knew a Prince saying names could get someone so worked up?

On my ways up the stairs, I felt a shoulder bush my arm rather roughly. Nicholas was practically sprinting up the stairs. I guess he couldn't wait to get to his room and change into some real clothes. Although, I couldn't stop myself from watching his hair jump around as he ran up the steps.

It seemed I was having some boy troubles.

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I carefully stepped into my bathroom and took off my makeup from three days ago. My face felt like soil in a drought; cracked and lifeless.

I quickly stepped into my nightgown and grabbed a book from my desk to read on my bed. As much as I wanted to sleep, certain people were filling my thoughts. I jumped onto my bed and got under the covers, bending one of the pages on the corner. I fixed it and just as I was about to open to the first page, a knock sounded at the door.

I slowly got up and came face to face with my visitor.