His Choice (The Selection)

Chapter Ten

"Come on, Connor! We have to make her presentable enough to talk to the prince!" Maybra says. They both fly around me, Connor applying makeup and Maybra wiping it off. I bite the inside of my cheek, the only thing keeping me from snapping on someone.

"I am trying, Maybra!" Connor says. Maybra shakes her head and points towards the bathroom door.

"This was your fifth try, you don't get a sixth. Go lay out her dress, shoes, and jewelry," she orders. Connor's bubbly aura seems to melt away as she nods slowly and walk out of the room. Maybra picks up foundation and begins applying it around my face.

"She was fine," I say, hoping I might ease away some of the tension following Maybra. Maybra shakes her head as she quickly finishes applying foundation and moves on to my eye makeup.

"No, she wasn't," she says as she works. "Connor can't seem to get everything right. Her stitching is crooked, her dusting is not careful enough, and judging by your face you would think she just came from the circus," Maybra says. I have to stifle a laugh.

"She probably just needs a little practice," I offer. Maybra shakes her head and motions for me to close my eyes. I do as I am instructed.

"She has had a little practice. I have shown her how to hold the fabric so she sews straight. So has at least half of the other maids in the palace. She just can't do it," Maybra says.

"Well she has to have a strong suit," I reply. Maybra's brush moves quickly over my eyes.

"That's what I thought at first, but it seems all she can do is carry-" she starts. A loud crash in my bedroom stops her. The brush moves away from my eyes and she sets in on the counter. "What now?" she says as she walks over to the door.

She pushes it open and gasps. Jewelry and dresses lie all over the floor. Connor is in the middle of it all, a nightgown on top of her head. "I'm so sorry," she quickly says. Maybra holds up one hand to Connor and runs the other through her hair.

"We'll talk about this later," Maybra tells her. Connor nods slowly. Maybra comes back into the bathroom. "Can you give me a few minutes so we can begin cleaning this up?" I nod. She walks out and begins picking up diamond necklaces.

I sit there for a few minutes, staring at the familiar brushes and powders in front of me. I pick up one of the brushes and beginning applying the powder. Before I realize it, I have completed my makeup. I stand up and walk into the bedroom.

"Do you know how lucky you are, Connor?" Maybra asks. Connor nods as she picks up earrings. "I can go downstairs and find someone much more fit to do this job. Do you want that?" Connor shakes her head. "Then I suggest you clean up your act."

"Um, hello," I say. Maybra turns around and seems my completed makeup. She gasps.

"Ember! You didn't have to do that," she says as she walks over. She quickly observes it. "That looks perfect. Let's get your dress on," she says. I nod. She leads me over to a bed where a beautiful dress is. It is a beautiful shade of purple and reaches my knees. The bust has an elaborate gold pattern that matches a pair of gold heels sitting on the ground.

"This is beautiful," I say as I drop my robe and step into it. Maybra smiles.

"The design itself took me an entire day to sew but I think it was worth it. I think the prince will remember you," she says as she zips it up. I nod.

"I believe he will," I reply. I slip my feet into the heels.

"Where is the necklace I picked out for her?" Maybra asks. Connor looks around her.

"Um. . . Give me a minute,"she says. She begins crawling around the floor, looking under piles of dresses and inside shoes. Maybra shakes her head.

"Forget it. She can go without that necklace," she says. She walks over to the vanity and picks up a pair of rose stud earrings. She walks back over to me and give me them."Put these on," she orders. I nod. I put them on my ears as she walks over to the vanity and opens the top drawer.

She digs around for a few minutes. Finally, she pulls a thin, gold chain with a heart pendant on it out. Maybra walks over to me and puts it on me. "You're good to go," Maybra says. I nod.

"Thank you," I say as I walk out the door. She nods.

"Hurry! You don't want to be late!" Connor calls after me as I close the door. Once it is shut, I take a deep breath and begin my journey down the hallway. At the top of the stairs, a set of doors are open revealing a parlor. Inside the room, all the girls talk eagerly.

"You're late," Chris says when I walk in. I nod.

"I'm sorry. My maids had some problems," I tell her. She nods with a bored expression.

"Yeah, okay," she says. She walks away from the door frame and into the center of the room. "Okay, ladies! We are ready to go downstairs!" she announces. All the girls stand up and follow Chris out the door. I linger towards the back of the group. When we get downstairs, she leads us to the great room.

"Sit anywhere you like. This is not where you will be dining, but we will be practicing table etiquette here," she says. We all nod and sit down. I end up in the front row, with Bexley on my right.

Chris begins instructing us on which knife is used strictly for butter and which one is can be used to cut meat. As she talks, I tone her out, bored to hear information that I have heard plenty of times before. Instead, I stare at the clock on the wall, watching the delicate hands tick the minutes away.

The sound of squeals takes me out of my trance. I quickly look over at Bexley to see that she is staring at something behind me. I turn my head and realize instantly what she is looking at.

The prince.

Okay, I am really sorry that this was not posted sooner. Have of my time has been spent going up and down the door or at a baseball game since like Wednesday so I could not write. I will update again tomorrow. I promise.

I know in the last chapter I said you would get to meet the prince and as you can tell that did not happen. The 'Ember getting ready' process took longer than I expected. In tomorrow's update Charles will be there.

The outfit should be of Ember's dress (and shoes and earrings). You can just ignore the fact that it has Megara, my favorite Disney woman, on it because that was for a different project. (All the outfits I use are ones that I have made on Polyvore, by the way.)

Disclaimer: Kiera Cass was the one who made you wait a long time for The Selection series. I am just the one who made you wait for this chapter.