Royal 2 (Book two in my Selection series)

Chapter 2

"Do you think I should enter, Colton?" I ask as I pick him up and set him in front of me on the bed. It was late at night and the sky was dull with clouds. It was always cloudy here.

I focus on my little brothers eyes. He had the same brown ones I did. I could tell he wasn't exactly sure. The thing about Colton was he didn't talk to anyone. He was three years old and didn't even talk gibberish or try at all, though I knew he was smarter beyond his age.

He nods, yes. His gaze doesn't break mine and he nods, more sure this this time.

"I'd have to leave you for quite a while if I got in." He doesn't do anything. "You'd be living with James, but I don't wanna leave you or Mama. Will you be okay?" I ask.

Colton smiles and nods. I pull him up onto my lap and put my arms around him. He was smaller than the other kids his age. Doctors said that he wouldn't talk because he didn't want to, but we'd tried everything.

"I'll enter. But I probably won't have to go." I tell him and kiss his head. Sometimes I felt bad for this kid having me as an older sister. I treated him like a teddy bear and doubted he could ever mature with me treating him like a baby. "I'm going to go get Ma into bed. Go ahead and get dressed I'll be back in a few minutes."

My mother could walk with support, but wouldn't do it unless someone made her. The thing was, she wasn't always like that. She used to take me to the fields and teach me things about nature. We had a garden once, too, but it slowly changed into this.

"Come on Mama, let's get you into bed." I say to her and lift her slightly. I can see her nod just a little bit and I smile. I wonder sometimes if the real her hears me.

As I walk her through the small hallway into her room and sit her on her bed I think about the Selection.

"I'm going to enter the Selection, Mama." I tell her and sit beside her on her bed. "I probably won't get in though. You and Colton would go live with your brother though, so everything would work out, right?" I ask with a smile.

I change her into her pajamas without a word and tuck her into the bed.

"Goodnight. I love you." I kiss her gently on the head and make my way back to my room. Colton was already under the covers. I crawl in beside of him and pull him closer to me. "Goodnight Love you." I repeat and close my eyes.

•••

The next morning I dress in a short maroon dress with long sleeves. I let my hair down and brush it out. It was naturally wavy and grew long past my shoulders. I'd wanted to get it cut for a long time, but never seemed to actually get it done. I take off my glasses, which had thick rims and were plain black. I couldn't see well with them, but it was enough to get me through.

I was in the guest bathroom at Jame's house trying to look more presentable. The dress I wore was his mom's who was very kind to me since she'd married into the family.

"Hi darling, can I come in?" I hear at the door.

"Yes, Kathy!" I call from where I stand. She was named Katherine after her grandmother, but claimed it was odd to be called the exact same name, so she went by Kathy most of the time.

"I can do your makeup if you like?" She suggests and holds up a small bag.

I smile gratefully, "That would be great." I sit on the vanity and let her work her magic. Luckily, we both had the same skin tone and we were nearly the exact same size.

I look in the mirror when she is done and my face looks free of any redness or blotchiness. My freckles had disappeared and I looked more like the other girls at school. I smile and thank her and head down to the door.

James waited for me and smiled to greet me. "I'll walk you down there. I have nothing else to do." James shrugs and I nod. I slide on a pair of boots Kathy had let me borrow too.

James's family were Four's, just like my mom used to be before she married my father who was a Six. I loved him, but sometimes I hated him. He had left a few months after Colton was born. Not long after that my mother was diagnosed with dementia. Everything had been falling apart then. We still got money since he had left. It was mandatory he send us money every month. We also got money from my mother's illness since she couldn't work. We could've probably lived off of just that, but I decided to go to work too.

"Are you ready?" James asks me.

"For what?" I question him. "Taking my picture  and turning in a form? It's really not that big of a deal." But it felt like a big deal to me anyway. I wanted to travel and run free. I wanted to see every corner of the world but I'd given up hope on that. For some reason this selection gave me hope.

"You know your excited." James smiles and continues walking. I roll my eyes and walk faster to keep up with him.

I try and tell myself not to hold my hopes too high, that reality will fall short of them, but I couldn't help smiling at the thought of the palace.