Another Selected (Book 1 of Selection fanfics)

Chapter 12

"Have fun?" A voice interrupted my thoughts as I leaned back against the door.

I jerked away from the door, my thoughts of the past couple hours vanishing from my head. Elisa, Cora, and Beth were all staring, smirks on their faces. Cora wiggled her eyebrows at me, while Beth and Elisa smiled amusingly.

"Stop staring at me like that!" I blushed, giggling a bit. Since when did I act like a silly little schoolgirl? That boy was already messing with my head.

Cora laughed but, thank god, Beth saved me from being teased further.

"I'm glad you had fun, but Prince Derek brought you back later than we'd thought he would. We really have to get you ready for dinner." Beth said, leading me over to the vanity where makeup was scattered.

While they touched up my makeup and hair, they asked me questions about my date with Derek. They seemed disappointed with the lack of romance, which was utterly stupid considering it was a first date, and were mortified when I described what we had talked about.

"You actually teased him? And hit him on the arm?" Beth asked, looking like she was about to cry.

"Um, yeah. Wait, was I not supposed to do that? He didn't seem to have a problem with it." I shrugged.

Beth stared at me, horror on her face. "He's the prince, Erika. Not some regular boy you'd flirt with on the street."

I blushed. "But he's a person too, isn't he? And if I acted like some prissy proper princess, I wouldn't be acting like myself. How can you start a relationship on a lie?"

Beth looked at me. "Celia's going to hate you once you start etiquette lessons."

I couldn't help but snort. "She already does."

Beth sighed. "At least tell me that you don't eat your food with your hands."

I rolled my eyes. "I grew up on a farm, not a cave."

"To Celia that's practically the same thing." Elisa walked over, carrying a cream colored evening dress.

She motioned for me to stand up, and helped me into the dress. "Just don't act like an animal, and you'll get along just fine."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Elisa." I rolled my eyes as I slipped my feet into a pair of shoes.

"My pleasure." She grinned. "Now get out of here before you're late."

The good thing was that there was no person standing in front of the door, so I didn't trip anyone on my way out. The bad news was that that meant I would be walking down to dinner by myself, and that I was probably late. I rushed down the stairs as quickly as I could without tripping, and finally burst into the Great Room.

I wasn't the last person there thankfully, so I curtsied quickly and rushed to my seat.

Audrey frowned at me from across the table when I sat down. "Where were you?" She asked, while other girls leaned in to hear what I had to say.

"I fell asleep." I lied quickly, not wanting to tell everyone I'd been on a date. The last thing I wanted was all the girls hating me on my third day at the palace.

Audrey sniffed, but before she could say anything else, Derek walked in. He was wearing a different suit than earlier, and his hair looked neatly combed. He flashed a grin towards us, causing girls to fall into giggles and swoons. He took his seat at the table with his family, in between Genevieve and Princess Everly. Even after our food was set in front of us, the girls were gossiping over him.