The Selection: Third Generation

Ch. 16: The Elite

"Good morning, beautiful," Lyle whispers from beside me. We ended up staying the night in his room. No, nothing inappropriate happened. Just cuddles, laughs, and whispers all night. 

"Good morning, handsome," I whisper, smiling and cuddling into his chest.

"We should probably go get to breakfast before we are the talk of the palace."

"Hmmm." I just snuggle into his chest even more and he laughs. "Frankly, I do not particularly care what the palace talks about when I am not around."

"Well, don't you want to see what your family thinks of breakfast? We have a special buffet this morning." That gets me up immediately and my prince charming laughs as I not-so-gracefully jump out of bed.

"Wait, all I have is my Halloween costume in here. I can't leave in that!" I say, turning to see a smug-looking Carlisle. Currently, I was wearing one of his sleep shirts and my underwear, and that definitely was not an option, either.

He gets up and walks over, offering a hand to help me up. I take it and he starts leading me to one of the many doors off of his giant room. 

"I wanted to show you this anyway, but this door leads to the Princess's suit. It has some clothes from your maids already in here for when you start to move in." I open the door, gasping at the gorgeous room. It is all white right now, so I guess I get to customize it. It is as big as Lyle's but with an even bigger closet. He leads me in and to the closet where he helps me pick a dress for the day. It's a pretty, light pink one that I pair with the white heels I wore last night. He politely stays in his room to get himself dressed and waits for me to be ready. I touch up my hair in the giant, gold-filled bathroom. I wear it down, but the curls from last night are practically still intact, so it looks fine. I touch up my face, as well, as there is makeup in here, too. When I finish I knock on his door.

"Beautiful," he whispers as he kisses my temple and we head downstairs to breakfast. 

"I am going to announce the Elite after breakfast. Remember, you have nothing to worry about, okay?"

"I know, my love. Goodluck. You go in first," and with that, he smiles, releases my hand, and struts into the dining room, greeting everyone. We are only a few minutes late, but it is enough to be suspicious, so I wait a good ten minutes before going in. Amie widens her eyes at me as I walk over and sit down next to her. 

"And where have you been, miss thang?" She asks, shoving my shoulder jokingly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I was in my room, getting ready when one of my maids started an argument over which dress to wear." I say, matter-of-fact.

"So that's why no one was in your room when I went to get  you to walk down together?" She whispers to me.

"Shhh!" I say, giggling and shoving her like she had done to me just minutes before.

The families of the selected all are seated at their own table, our previous U-shape momentarily brought back. I smile and wave at my family as they enjoy their breakfast. I know that the announcement of the Elite will be a big shock, but we all knew it was coming. Frankly, I am glad for it. I don't necessarily think I am ready to be alone, but I am ready to commit to Carlisle in the fullest way. 

Breakfast is fast but so enjoyable. Everyone gathers in one of the large parlors after to visit, and it is fun. All the siblings mingle, all the parents mingle, etc., and I know this is one of those simple yet big moments that I will always remember from my selection. 

After about an hour of this, Prince Carlisle goes to the table of snacks and grabs a fork, tapping it against his glass.

"If I can just get everyone's attention for a moment." He waits for it to be completely quiet before he continues. Princess Diana stands at his side for support, and she looks as regal as her mother always does. She has been mostly keeping to herself, but I am hoping that she will come around more now that we will be narrowed down.