Selected: Part 3 - Love and Lace

15. THE TEST

AS THE FINAL FOUR LADIES, it was our very last lesson with Miss Nicole. There was still much to learn when it comes to being a lady, and even more in regard to ruling a country, but with the holidays coming up, the Selection would be going at a much faster pace now and could end at any time. Where Agatha, Gwen, Taylor and I had been on good terms before, everything felt cold and tense now as the pressure peaked to an all time high. "I want to say that I'm very proud of how far you all have come." Miss Nicole said, concluding her lesson. "In our time together, I tried to cover as much as I could to render each one of you capable of becoming a princess, since very soon, one of you will become one." I turned to look at the other girls, and they did the same, our eyes searching for the future princess.

"That being said however, not all learn at the same pace, or are able to apply knowledge into practice. This is why you all will be taking a cumulative test tomorrow as a way to demonstrate how you would behave in certain situations as a lady, as a princess, and what decisions you would make for Illéa were you to be consulted. It will also test your knowledge on foreign affairs, lawmaking and culture. There will be both a written and an oral part which I will both be conducting. All in all, this is an extensive test on all that you've learned during your time in the Selection, so I suggest you get a lot of rest tonight." Almost as an afterthought, Miss Nicole added that the results of our tests would weigh in for the next elimination, though that was a crucial detail.

I knew something like this would be coming, and had been pretty diligent with my studies for the past months, so there was really nothing to worry about. Even so, I felt nervous at the thought of the oral part of the examination, as I was still working on my shyness and overall demeanor. Somehow, I always come off as mousy, or too soft, even when I think I'm speaking really loud. I'd hope Miss Nicole wouldn't hold that against me; nevertheless, I spent the night practicing my tone with my maids. Afterwards, I took our instructors advice and got some rest, as we would all be meeting early in the study tomorrow.

Having opted for a more simple look considering the occasion, I was the second to arrive in the study, right after Gwen. I took the opportunity to address her. "You were always so attentive during the lessons, I'm sure you'll do great." I said with a smile, noticing her rubbing at her hands, something I did too when I was nervous. To my surprise, she smiled back, something she hadn't done in a long time. "Thanks. Are you anxious about the second part?" I nodded; she knew me pretty well, after all. "Listen," Gwen continued. "I'm sorry I've been so cold. I've just been going through a lot with this competition. I was never so good with the idea of losing, and this has all just been too much for me to bear. I hope you know I still care so much for you and consider you a dear friend."

I knew all of this, of course, but it was nice to hear it all out loud. "I feel the same way." Just as I said that, the rest of the girls, along with our instructor, poured in. We wished each other good luck before taking our seats. Without wasting any time, each at our own separate tables, we took the test quietly. There were three main sections; knowledge of history and foreign affairs, etiquette and hosting, and decision-making. The latter being the hardest part, because it involved more than just memorizing facts; it was facts mixed with values, and there were some difficult compromises to make, but were I to make such important decisions for the country, I had to be confident in them. For instance, one question was in regard to a ruling against a person who had stolen a significant amount of food and clothing, and we had to assign an appropriate sentence to him.

Now, according to Illéa's laws, this man would get about eighteen months in jail. This seemed extremely harsh though, reading all the details about this man's circumstances and family and what had led to the theft, and I sat there a long time, hovering my pen over 'community service', before finally marking the one-to-two years sentence box. Even if something was unfair, as a monarch, one would have to officially change a law before making exceptions here and there, or no one would take these laws seriously anymore, though I felt a little bad all the same. I figured the oral part would be full of difficult questions like this, and I was right.

I sat in the small room, alone with Miss Nicole, as she went over four situations with me. I thought it would maybe feel like an interview on The Report, but it was much more serious, a heavy atmosphere hanging around us. I sat up straight and tall, trying to seem confident even though I was sweating. She questioned me on allocating budgets, starting wars, treaties and laws. The last question was the easiest, as she only prodded further on my philanthropy project and the steps I would take to put it into action, which I knew almost by heart. Even so, by the end of it all, I was completely drained.

By the next morning, the results were in, and we were all waiting in the Women's room to get back our tests. Everyone was so serious, that I was startled when the tension was broken by Taylor's laugh. "Oh boy, I think I did pretty bad. I left most of the questions blank; do you think Nicole was serious about the whole 'elimination' thing?"  I was glad she was able to laugh it off, I certainly couldn't if my test had gone poorly. "What about the oral part? You're so charismatic, Taylor, I'm sure that one went well." She brushed her pixie cut back, seeming relaxed. "Well, truth is, I'm really bad with budgets and all that: I have people do that kind of thing for me back home, I figured a princess would have people for that too."

Gwen chimed in. "Members of the royal family do have people who help them for 'that sort of thing', but it is still important for each of them to understand and be able to do it themselves. If someone is doing the budgets for everything and the princess lets them do whatever, not really understanding anything, who's really in control?" It was a good point. "Your philanthropy project was so good though." I said, addressing Taylor, as I figured we all had the same last question. "Yeah, you shouldn't worry so much; the people love you." Agatha said to her and, though I might've been imagining it, her tone had a tinge of jealousy.

With all that being said, worry still filled the air as Miss Nicole burst through the door with our papers. "I've had these all reviewed by the King and the prince himself, and overall, I'm pretty happy with the results, though there were some pretty major mistakes. I will be meeting each of you individually." When it was my turn to get my test back, I was happy to see I had only a few mistakes, and, after asking about my reasoning behind those answers, Miss Nicole declared I had done well, and sent me off with one of her rare smiles. I sat back down, thinking our presence might still be required after all this, but was left doubting that when Taylor made her exit. All the same, I stayed seated till Miss Nicole was finished speaking with Gwen.

Then, to Gwen, Agatha and I, our now former instructor announced: "Congratulations ladies, you've made it to the final three."