Labeled (A The Selection Fanfiction)

Chapter Ten

Twice now. Twice Alexander has carried me to the hospital! I don't want to seem like just another poor Prestige who needs help at every corner!

This is infuriating. I bet he thinks I can't be self-sufficient at all.

My maids, Lidea, Anna, and Dawn are bustling around my room like Cinderella's mice, eager to serve.

"Oh! La- Clarissa! You are awake!" Lidea said eagerly. Dawn and Anna immediately rushed over, and started making my bed the instant I stepped out of it. Lidea helped me undress, which she needn't do, and then helped me into my day dress. Like I said, Cinderella's mice.

My dress today is a turquoise dress, with a cluster of crystals that sparkles as I turn in the light near the sleeveless top, and as the dress fans out at my waistline, the crystals get smaller and smaller. As they fade out near the bottom, the dress stops just at my knees.

It looks stunning. I mean, I've always looked average but-this dress...it's unlike anything I've ever seen. It's angelic while being simple, stunning yet not too stunning, it's....

Oh. It's also Alexander's favorite color. I wonder if I told my maids that.

"Miss, I hope you like you dress!" Dawn says.

"We made it in that color because you told us the Prince loves that color!" Lidea said excitedly, as if this was a good thing. I wanted to blend in, not stand out. But my mysterious condition was already making me stand out.

An azure blue dress, shining like the star I should be! As my mother used to say. She has given up on that.

Why not bath me in vanilla. Then he'd really be attracted to me, right? Ugh.

I walk down the steps in my silver sandals as they reflect light onto the walls. This outfit wasn't that far off from what I wear at home. I used to complain every time Cora and my other maids would squeeze me into a dress, but it's not that bad anymore. It feels...unbelievably right when I'm here. Right.

Suddenly I realize - I feel more at home at the palace then I do at my own house. Same goes for Fraussen.  But...the palace? It's not my home. It's Prince Alexander's, Princess Samantha, Queen Adelaide's, and King Lamont's, and the home of Alexander's future wife.

With my silver sandals clicking, my glinting dress swaying, my curled hair bouncing, and my attitude all elegance and nonchalance, you could say I looked like a Princess already.

Already? Where in the world did that come from. Ugh! I guess I'm just nervous about my date with Alexander. We were supposed to have it yesterday, but it got moved to today because of my trip to the hospital, which is now scheduled weekly. I just hope he doesn't have to carry me again. In fact, there. Something to do. Focus on not fainting.  So that I can prove I am strong, independent, and self-sufficient. Not just a princess in a fairy tale.

Alexander and I - yes, Alexander - are both being alerted when they find anything out about my little sickness here. It makes me a little uneasy knowing that the doctors gave him full access to my records, but I have to choose my battles.

Meanwhile, I'm not allowed to tell anyone else. I was allowed a call to my family, but I asked to write a letter instead.  I feel like I am living in a fantasy here at the palace. And hearing my mother's voice would have shattered my fantasy. Would have shattered me.

Speaking of fantasies, would you like to know one of mine? Juice. Don't laugh. At "home," juice is forbidden because it is "unhealthy" and highly "fattening."

But I love it. Juice is so yummy. And this may seem like an exaggeration, but the palace juice glimmers in your cup even before you taste it. Pulling you in with it's looks, you dig deeper and taste it.

Boom.

The taste explodes in your mouth, as the fruity liquid slips and glides around every crevice, exploring you. As you swallow, it rushes down your throat, and leave your mouth with a hazy feeling. Like you just arrived at the beach, and the waves are lapping at your feet, calling you in.

And then it all happens again.

I guess that's sort of like love.  You learn more about each other, and sometimes that love slips away. But it always comes back, and it is refreshing in the way that it always grows, and stays forever. But right now, I don't need another sip.

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