dusk until dawn (the selection)

to the palace we go

The newly selected heard her own name a lot that day.

"Dawn! Dawn!" Ami yelled. The sun was barely up but the three-year-old had climbed onto Dawn's bed and was trying to jump, but he was just shaking the bed lightly. He was not very strong. Dawn gave him a tired smile and sat up in her bed to ruffle Ami's curly hair. Dawn had packed her bag. She didn't need to bring any clothes, so she just kept it at the necessary things, like a hair brush, hairties and her old stuffed animal—in case she'd get homesick.

"Dawn!" Amy snapped when Dawn ate her breakfast without using cutlery. Amy was in a bad mood. Regulus and Badi were not with her today. She had to escort Dawn to the airport alone. Dawn put down the sandwich she had picked up with her hands and changed it for the fork that lay next to her plate.

"Dawn.." said mother, breathless. Dawn was now wearing the black outfit she would wear on her way to the palace for the first time. The outfit consisted of a turtle neck, jeans and boots. A flower was pinned on Dawn's chest. She had no idea what it was called, but Amy the royal servant had scowled that every selected wore a different flower to represent their province.

"Dawn." cried Ami, "Don't go." He had thrown himself around her shoulders and refused to let go of her. He did not want his sister to leave. Mother seemed to be a little quiet too this morning. For the first time in for ever, she approved of everything Dawn did. Amy was waiting by the doorway with a man who would drive them to the town square, and then to the airport. She had to say goodbye.

"Dawn! That's her! That's Dawn Feye!" people recognized her. She would say goodbye to her province today, and the chauffeur and Amy were now trying to get Dawn towards the stage that had been set up near the governor's house. More people had showed up than Dawn could have ever imagined. There weren't just people from her own town, it seemed like people from all across Fennley had come to say good bye to their very own selected. There were Twos trying to take pictures of her. There were people who wanted to shake her hand and reporters who shoved microphones in her face. There were children who screamed good luck her way and adults apologizing for their excited kids. And there was Elise, in the front of the crowd, wearing her sloppy attire, giving Dawn a funny grin. She seemed much less anxious than she had the night before. She was grateful to see her one final time. She was going to make Elise proud.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Dawn Feye!" announced the mayor of Helios. He had his arm around Dawn's shoulder and showed her off to the crowd. The mayor was a nice man. He had told Dawn everything would be okay and that he would make sure Fennley would have her back throughout the competition. Dawn knew he was forty-something, but he seemed older up close. Like his ruling position had worn him down. But you couldn't tell while he was smiling and telling the crowd in front of Dawn and him that she would win the selection. The crowd seemed to agree.

"You're Dawn Feye?" asked a lady at the airport. Never had Dawn ever been to a place like this. There were people running around with huge suitcases in one hand and a mobile phone in the other. She didn't know where to look. There were huge screens with numbers and letters Dawn couldn't read. There were guards and scanners everywhere. She nodded. They let her and Amy through.

"Dawn Feye?" asked a very pale girl with black hair and the same outfit as Dawn's. She spoke her name as if it were a gross type of mold she had accidentally encountered. There were two more girls present besides the black-haired one.

Dawn gave her a blank stare in return. Fennley was close to the province where the selection would be held, the province the royal family lived: Angeles.

This did not mean Dawn got to travel alone. She would fly out to Angeles international airport with the girls of Fennley's neighbouring provinces: Belcourt, Tammins, Sonage, Likely and Zuri.