His Choice (The Selection)

Chapter Twenty Nine

Wrote by firerose11

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One week.

Only one stupid week!

I'm not even kidding.  When most people think of two weeks in the mountains, they think that it's all fun and adventure with no boredom in sight.

Well, they were very very wrong.  At least for some of the Selected on our merry camping trip.

From the beginning, when absolutely no one answered when I asked who could forage, I knew that this wasn't going to be a vacation for me.  I had to deal with fourteen other girls who had little to no idea what the word camping even entailed.

Most took to the tasks that I showed them quickly and enthusiastically, knowing that it would look good on the report card that was being sent back to the prince.

Meanwhile, a new group of three had formed, all devoted to making sure that they didn't break a nail, get sunburnt, eaten by a bear, or any of the other horrendous things that they were convinced would happen to the rest of us.  The leader of them was, of course, Bexley.

I could already tell that the next two parts of elimination were going to be horrendous.  It wasn't the fact that they weren't doing anything; it was that they would sit around, sipping imaginary pina coladas, until one of our supervisors came to write their report for the day.

Then they would hop up and wander into the woods before returning ten minutes later with their arms loaded down with whatever they had managed to wrestle from one of the other girls.  Trotting back with their stolen burdens, the three of them would parade in front of the poor guard, who was so dazzled by their talents (and super white smiles).

On one such instance, Clarisse, the Selected from Labrador, hadn't let them take her supplies without a fight.  All four had come marching out of the woods with Clarisse yelling at the other three.

"Pandora!" She screamed, looking as if she hadn't slept for weeks by the looks of her torn dress and bloodshot eyes.  "We're supposed to be working together!"

Pandora turned and fluttered her eyelashes at the other.  "But aren't we, honey?  I'm merely carrying back everything since you were kind enough to find it by yourself."

She wasn't fooled for one moment.  "You lying little snake!" She hissed, right in front of a very stunned guard.  "You took it all for yourself, so you would look like you have been working instead of sitting on the hind side that you wish was royal!

"If Charles is stupid enough to even consider marrying you, he deserves your vile little self!"

Something in the two of them snapped, and Pandora leapt at her with nails extended like claws.  They fell on the ground in a heap of tangled limbs, dirty clothes, and screeching accusations.

"Take it back!  Take it back!  TAKE IT BACK!" Pandora wailed as Clarisse straddled her, pinning her hips to the ground, and sending several well-aimed punches towards the other's face.

The rest of us could all hear the crunch of her nose breaking, and several flinched.  The guard looked less stunned now, and he called for backup as he started towards the two.

"I hate you!" Pandora screeched through a mouthful of blood before she threw up all over Clarisse, who took it all in stride and punched her again.

The team of four guards finally pulled them apart, revealing the damage that had been dealt.  Pandora's face was coated in blood, her nose at a weird angle and a gash running through her eyebrow.