Kerttu's Selection

A Palace Attack - Chapter 21

The rest of the dates went amazingly well. Tyrion and I baked cookies. Adim and I wrote poems, and Jakob had me laughing the whole time while practicing archery. The only person who didn't get a date who I wanted to was Chaarlie. I wrote him a little note, telling him I couldn't wait for our surfing lesson next week. I was narrowing it down to fifteen today and those fifteen would be: Shaan, Tyrion, Jakob, Chaarlie, Adim, Dadson, Berry, Elias, Hogar, Willson, Felipe, Nikolas, Osar, Peter, and Brian. I was confident that next week I would be able to name my Elite.

Mom and Grandpa Maxon had strayed from tradition and done six suitors in their Elite but I was sticking to ten. One of my suitors also known as Berry, was out of the romantic equation and based on Shaan's recent behavior, I had no idea what our future held. I had to play it safe for once.

I eliminated the five boys in the morning. One of them cried. I sent him home with a couple complimentary suits and desserts, I felt terrible. But Tyrion said I shouldn't do that. So I wouldn't. Everytime I passed the library, I reimagined the feel of his body against mine. Let's just say, I wasn't against it.

We got ready for the Report and soon we were live. Mom and Dad handled the main announcements, Amberly described her new charity for better musical instruments in high schools which was awesome, and then Kile called me up for my interview.

"Hello, Princess Kerttu. How are you?" Kile asked with a smile.

"Amazing. How about you?"

"A question about me. Interesting," he replied which caused the studio audience to laugh. "Pretty good, all things considered. Now you had a very heavy dating sequence this week. Tell me and the crowd about it."

"Tyrion and I discovered I am terrible at baking. I got to witness Adim's spectacular writing skills, he is a true poet. And Jakob. Well, you probably shouldn't go shooting with him because he makes you laugh so hard you might just miss your target." The crowd chimed in with their reactions as did the boys, Adim taking the praise with a nervous, bashful smile.

I hated this. Being on for them. I would much rather be in a room with my family and my soon to be Elite. There were so many parts of this job that I truly despised.

"So, Kerttu," Kile broached, "I hate to get personal and I don't really want to know this but have you kissed anyone yet?"

The heat rose to my cheeks. "Yes, I have," I whispered quietly, sitting on my hands.

Uncle Kile smiled. "I must say, this is the only time, I've seen Kerttu quiet." We all laughed at that, the camera cutting to my parents chuckling while holding hands serenely. "Let's talk to the boys."

Adim's interview was cute and light, Tyrion's was serious and insightful, then came what one could call a partial disaster.

Shaan ran his hand through his hair, getting comfortable in his seat. "How you doing Kile?" He dapped him up like they were old friends.

"Sir Shaan, or our resident bad boy." Kile acted as if he was reading that off his card, squinting. "What's this week been like?"

"A little confusing, Kile, if you want me to be honest." I could feel my heart begin to race as his interview continued.

"What's wrong, Sir Shaan?" Even Kile seemed a little on edge.

Shaan ran his hand through his hair again. "It's hard being a Selected, Kile. That's all I'm going to say."

Kile quickly shifted to another topic and soon the Report was off. I could hear the obnoxious click of my high heels as I chased after Shaan after talking to the guys and removing my makeup. He wasn't in his room so in defeat, I went to mine. He was there sitting on the floor.

"Shaan, what the hell?" I asked, anger rising in my voice.

Shaan stood up, seemingly chill. "Can we talk inside?"

We entered the room, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What's going on with you?" I asked. I was much less angry now, more confused.

Shaan took a while to respond. "I'm... jealous. I'm so jealous, I can't stand it."

"What?"

He huffed, blinking. "That party was terrible. I wanted to confess what I felt that night since Calix interrupted us. I thought you would want to dance with me. You didn't. And then you danced so closely with Tyrion." He shook his head as he explained.

"So why'd you cancel the date?"

"Its scary," He said with a sigh before covering his face with his hands and laying his back on the bed. I laid back with him, recalling a time we were in a very similar spot. It was much different then.

"What is?" I hated asking him all these questions but I had to know.

"You could pick somebody else," He whispered. "That's the scariest thing ever."

Oh. This wasn't about a silly dance. This was about the Selection process. "I'm lucky enough to not know how that feels," I empathized. "But while you're thinking all that, I'm thinking what if I pick the wrong one? What if they just want the crown or the fame and attention? What if I already sent my happily ever after home?"

"I'm still here. You'll be alright." I laughed and I felt our relationship on the mend.

"Shaan, I'll try my best to make you know the way I feel about you all the time. That's what it's about. Not competition, individual relationships."

"Our week apart has made you wise, young Kerttu," he said with a smirk.

"I love hanging out with you," I confessed, "You're funny, smart, and not to mention, handsome."

"Aw, I'm blushing," he replied jokingly. Though he actually was.

"You are definitely in my Elite and if this keeps going the way it is, maybe even more that." I had jumped. I prayed that he caught me.

He kissed my cheek, his confidence returning to him. "That's all I need to know. So what's your family like?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, under the million dollar clothes and the well thought out photos. What are you guys like when you hang out together? I've seen some of it but I want to know more."

I smiled at his eagerness. "Well, my parents are so sweet and kind. And obnoxious when they act all parent-y. Amberly is my best friend in the world, Johan is adorable and genius, and Calix is my little buddy. That's pretty much it from my perspective."

"What's work like?"

"Tough. I don't like my job but I can do a lot of things that most people can't. I can provide and take care of others and that makes it all worth it."

"What's the craziest thing you've ever done?"

"Made out with you in a bedroom alone," I confessed, laughing. "That probably could have went badly if not for Calix."

He wrapped one arm around me, pulling me closer to him, chuckling. "It could have went much worse. Which would have made me very happy. Favorite food?"

"Truffles. I'm addicted to them."

"Color?"

"Teal."

"Mine's maroon."

"Of course it is. You are so edgy you can't just say red." I snuggled in closer to him, his warmth illuminating me. "Favorite book?"

"N/A"

"What does that mean?"

He snorted in disbelief. "I don't read."

"Fine. What's your favorite life story then?"

He smiled. "Okay, I was in a marketplace and my friend, Marc-"

A brick came soaring through my window, the expensive glass shattering to the floor. High pitched alarms blared through the halls. For the first time in decades, the palace was under attack.

**Sherttu fans....thoughts?**

**Who do you think is attacking the castle? And why?**

**Thank you so much for reading!!!!! Thank you!!!!!**