Truly Selected (Book One of The Next Selection Series)

Chapter 8

"Sol, wake up !" Sam yelled into my ear, effectively tearing me away from my dreams.

I shot up instantly and gave her a nasty look. Sam clucked her tongue ripped my quilt off of me.

"Why are you making me get up Sam?" I whined and Sam tugged my arm to help me stand.

"Did you forget what happened last night? In case you did, we were both Selected! Now hurry up, there are people downstairs waiting to meet us," Sam called  over her shoulder to me as she raced for my door.

Instantly, the previous night flashed into my mind. The Report, mine and Sam's pictures, the princes faces. I suddenly became overwhelmed, but I stood tall when I walked to my closet.

Opening the small doors , I peered at my selection of clothing. It wasn't much. Clothes for the lower side of the Fours, like me, and lower castes were only essential to cover ourselves. The upper Fours, Threes, and Twos could have any clothes they wanted, and it was a matter of fashion for them.

I sighed at how our country was and pulled out a cap sleeved lilac colored t-shirt. I slipped it over my head and pulled on a pair of jeans. Since my hair was up in a messy bun, I didn't really care how it looked and I proceeded down stairs.

"Ah, there you are Miss Soble," A man with a grey beard said when I reached the bottom of the stairs. "Please take a seat." 

He patted the space in between him and my mother as if I didn't know my own home. If anything, I thought that small action was rude, and this man thought he was above me. But instead of making a fuss, I simply nodded my head wordlessly and sat down next to my mother. Sitting across from us were Sam and her mother, who were all smiles like always. The bearded man sat at the head of our kitchen table.

"Are there any younger children in this home at the moment?" The man asked and put on a pair of glasses to read a long list.

"No," I responded dryly before anyone else could speak. The man paused and looked up at me for a moment before he looked back down at his list of... well, something.

"Okay then. So as you know, you are now part of the Selection. With this, you are now considered property of the Illéan Royal Family. You must always remain loyal to our princes, and you are prohibited to date anyone else until you are either eliminated, or..." he paused and looked at Sam and I. "Or you become Illéa's next princess. If this does happen ladies, you and your family will be elevated to Ones."

I glanced at my mother to see her reaction to all of these rules. I'd say that she looked happy. She wanted to be a One, she wanted me to have a better life then what she had. She didn't even have that bad of a life compared to others in Illéa. I looked back at the man as he cleared his throat.

"Dating someone other than Prince Matthew and Prince Daniel is treason, and can be punishable by death," The man said bluntly and I gulped.

Fabian started to come into my mind again. I knew I should move on and be done with his tricks and games. But I just couldn't let go, and the scarier thought was that I didn't know why. Was it the fear of being alone? Was it the four years of memories we shared? Was it the future plans we made that now I will never see to fruition? I knew it was hard for me to say goodbye, but in the back of my mind and deep in my heart, I knew it was right. If Fabian could say horrid things to me and act like he never loved me in the first place, who is to say I really knew him at all; and if I didn't know him, how could I love him? He now felt like a complete stranger to me, so what was stopping me from moving on to someone new, like the princes.

"Miss Soble? Are you listening?" The man asked sternly bringing my attention back.

I sat up straighter in my chair. "Yes, I am," I sassed. He looked slightly appalled but retorted back.