The Choice To Be Chosen (Book 1 of the CTBC Series)

Chapter 10

We all look to Sophia who stands smiling.

"Meet the royal family!" She motions to Officer Olsen and another guard to open the doors revealing the family of four. We all stand up as we practiced and curtsy as they walk in. When they stop in front of us, thats our cue to greet them. All the girls in perfect unison say, "Good morning your majesties." and stay low, as we were told, until the king or queen speaks.

"Good morning, ladies. It is an honor to finally see you all in person." Queen Marisa smiles to us all, happy to soon be gaining another daughter. We all stand back up.

"Yes it is," King Andrew starts. "However, I can bet you ladies are absolutely starving! Therefore, we will keep the introduction short so your breakfast may come out. After that, you each will come up one by one and introduce yourselves." He smiles and pulls the queen closer to him.

"Hi! Im Katherine! Im a princess! And Im 5!" Her small optimistic voice travels through the room boldly. Very impressive. If she marries outside of the kingdom, she would make a phenomenal queen.

"I am very excited for my son and for all of you. I made many memories in my selection and met the love of my life. I can only hope the same for my boy." King Andrew pats the prince on his back firmly. He reddens slightly of embarrassment but stands up straight to begin speaking.

"Welcome Ladies, as you all know, I am Prince Zacharias. However, please feel free to call me Zach as that is my preference. I do hope that you all enjoy your stay in my home and make many friendships with the girls here. Please remember that even though it is a competition, I have overall say. Do not think sabotaging another girl will get you anywhere because it wont." His tone starts to get angry and the Queen changes her stance to one more awkward. King Andrew nudges his son and gives a warning look. He sighs before continuing.

"Anyways, breakfast is served! And for the lady I requested to meet, I made an arrangement for you to miss the first hour of etiquette lessons to take a walk with me." In that moment, Prince Zacharias looks directly at me, as long as a few other girls whose eyes burn with jealousy. I look down and play with my earrings awkwardly.

We all curtsy again and say, "Thank you your majesties." Then finally sit down.

"About time we can sit. These shoes are killing me!" Selest whispers with a laugh. I muffle one in return.

Several maids come out with silver trays full of luxurious food. The aroma of it all teases my nose, making my stomach growl softly. As we eat I feel the prince's gaze on me making me feel unsteady.

"You know he hasnt stopped looking at you yet." Selest whispers to be biting into a syrup drenched waffle. I make the mistake of looking up and meeting his eyes. They seem to light up when they connect with mine. My eyes dart down again.

"If he is falling in love with me he is making a mistake. There are plenty of other girls here who actually want to love him." I say in an annoyed tone. Selest chuckles a little and eats some more. I, on the other hand, poke my food around on my plate, not having much of an appetite anymore.

As each girl goes up, they say their name, age, caste, and province as we were instructed to do. After all the girls have gone and have already left to prepare for etiquette lessons, I stand and make my way to the long table at which the royals sit. It is an awkwardly silent walk to the table as the room is now empty and my heels echo through the room.

"Good morning your majesties." I curtsy and try to keep a smile on my face through my disgust of having to even be here.

"My name is Bradilyn Stem, Im-" I get cut off by the queen.