Her Majesty: A Selection Fanfiction (COMPLETE)

Fifteen

Brielle. Tea. Hazel. Those were the girls from the losing team.

They had been expected to neatly hang streamers in an elaborate pattern but had failed miserably. Rumors had it that they had torn through the majority of them.

None of the remaining Selected had been in contact with them since they were kicked out. The other nine girls who spoke with Charlie before the minigames had also been eliminated.

That meant only twenty-three ladies remained.

I gulped as Ginevra braided my hair into a thick, side plait.

"What's wrong, dear?" she asked. "You nervous about the Report again?"

I shook my head and plastered on a smile. "No, I'm fine, thank you. Just thinking about how quickly this competition has gone down."

Bedelia dried her hands, wet from a fresh wash, with a towel. "I think we all are," she said. "Prince Charles has been rather quick to eliminate the girls. Much faster than I would've expected from an indecisive teenager."

I frowned. "Oddly enough, he hasn't seemed indecisive to me. He knows and will go after what he wants."

Ginevra smiled tartly. "Glad to see you see the good, Harlow." She handed me a glass of water.

"So," started Eliza. "What's going on between you and this Finn character?"

I nearly spit out my water. "Finn?!"

She raised her eyebrows. "He's been talking about you to anyone who will listen. He tells the staff how smart, generous, beautiful, how outright great you are. It was kind of making me a little uneasy."

I flew up from the styling chair, ruining Ginevra's perfect braid. "I'm so sorry," I told her.

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it, dear."

I pressed a hand to my forehead. "He doesn't even know me! Why is he doing this?"

Eliza shrugged. "I don't know, but something about how he spoke was off. I think the best bet would be to ignore him."

I clenched my fists. "I've tried. What if he gets out of control and forces me to leave the Selection?" I broke down into tears. "What would Charlie think of me--I'm not a--a--" I swallowed. "What'll happen to my family?"

"Now, now, dear." Ginevra placed a calming hand on my shoulder. "It'll be alright. Keep in mind, he hasn't done anything huge yet. He's just one man, Harlow. Only the staff currently knows about this."

I shook with fear and sobs. It felt good to cry. Too good. I took deep breaths, just as my mother had taught me. Ginevra was starting to vaguely remind me of my mother. I wiped away the raccoon-like mascara that now coated my face and brushed my hair out of my eyes. "I'm sorry," I said softly.

"That's alright, dear," Ginevra said gently."We understand you're under a lot of stress and pressure without this Finnigan man."

"Finn," Eliza corrected.

"Finn," repeated Ginevra. "That's also why we begin preparing you early for the Report, you never know when you're going to have a breakdown."

I tried to giggle but ended up coughing instead. "Thank you. For everything, all of you. You guys have been so kind and helpful."

Bedelia smiled. "We try."

I laughed. "So, shall we get ready for the Report? I have a guard to shake off."

~~~~

"Lady Harlow, I hear you went on a second date with his royal highness?" Stan Spiele held out his microphone to me.