Autumn Meadows used to live a mediocre life with her little brother and her mother in a big town. They were Six's, but never went without. Everything changed after Autumn's cousin, James, convinced her to join the Selection and she was chosen.
Autu...
"Thank you." I smile at Will as he leads me away from the crowd and behind the house. "I haven't celebrated my birthday in a long time and this is actually kind of nice."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Will smiles and pulls me closer to him and kisses my head. "And I'm glad you haven't wanted to leave yet."
"Why would I want to leave?" I ask and stop and turn to him.
"I am honestly surprised that you are okay with the fact that this selection has to last so long. My father doesn't like it either but it is just part of the process. It also can't last longer than usual either. My father almost married another woman because my mother was in a coma and it wasn't even his choice." Will says quietly.
I could remember my mother talking about that. The palace tried to hide the fact that Queen Charlie had been in a coma, but a year after she became queen It came out in a wave to the public.
"Remember when you told me not to be scared. Well I'm trying that and right now it's working so I'm trusting you and hoping that everything is going to work out okay." I say smiling a bit.
"Thank you." Will says and starts to walk again. "Let's go over here. I don't think anyone will come here."
By now we were farther away from the house than I'd been before. There was rocks along the side of the beach and the waves gently lapped against them. Will led me to one of the rocks near the water and sat on top of it, then helped me up.
"Tell me something I don't know about you yet." Will says quietly.
"When I was little I loved to draw. I haven't in years but my mother always said I could draw really well, but I don't even remember." I shrug nonchalantly. "I drew places that we read about in class because I never thought I'd actually see them."
"Maybe I can get you some stuff to draw with and you can try that. And maybe I can show you even more places to paint." Will looks at me happily and squeezes my hand.
I can't help but grin and lean into Will. I could think of a million things I could say now but it just didn't seem to be the right moment. I appreciated the silence.
"I got this for you." Will says after a moment and hands me a small box. "It's not an engagement ring or anything but I couldn't find anything else I thought you'd like."
I open the box and there was a small silver ring with a small seashell resting on the top. It seemed perfectly simple and beautiful. I smile and take it out of the box.
"It was one of the seashells That was on the beach when we went on our walk trip. I thought it was pretty and kept it then took it to a jeweler at the palace." I look up at Will's smiling face and smile back up at him.
"Thank you." I whisper quietly and lean against him.
"You're welcome." He mutters quietly.
"We probably need to go back soon." I say after a while. Will had only been gone with the other girls a few minutes and it had been far more than a few minutes.
"Just a little while longer. Things don't stay perfect long so just give me this once. Please." He almost sounds as if he was begging me not to leave.
"Okay." I tell him and it seemed like the first time I realized that Will was just another person even if he was the future king. He was in pain sometimes just like other people and he's been through hard times just like other people. "I'm not going to leave."
I couldn't help but not be able to believe that he could have anything like this with any of the other girls.
•••
The next morning I wake up with the light flooding in my room. I could hear soft chatter from the kitchen and decided I better get up. I change into a short floral dress that my maids had packed for me and brush out my smooth hair. I dug through the makeup bag they had sent and simply put on a bit of mascara since I was no good at anything else.
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I walk out into the kitchen and smile as the few girls heads turn to me. Eden, Kendal, and Josie were all sitting at the island table and Will stood up in front of them at the sink.
"Hi." Eden says with a smile. "Most of the other girls are asleep but breakfast will be ready in less than an hour."
"Thanks." I reply shortly and stand beside of Will. I couldn't help but look down at the ring I had placed on my finger last night and smile.
"So are we going to be doing anything fun?" Josie asks.
"I have a few dates planned and then I have one date with about half of the girls." Will states with a serious expression on his face but a hint at a fake smile.
"Sounds nice." Kendal says smiling. I'd grown to not like Kendal for the small comments she'd made and the one particularly about Tina. And with Josie, it wasn't that I didn't like her but more like she seemed too much like competition. Even if she'd lied, she'd said Will told her he loved her. She seemed like the perfect princess and was nice to me often. I couldn't stand her for it either.
"Yeah and then tonight maybe we could go back out to the campfire and enjoy our time here." Will says gladly.
"Have you thought about who you're going to send home?" Kendal asks bluntly. I pass a glance to Will who immediately looks down at where his hands meet the countertops.
"Yes. I don't want to keep people here who I don't have a connection with over the holidays." Will tells them honestly.
"That's very nice of you." Josie says and stands to get herself a glass of water.
"I believe I need to go. I'll be out in time for breakfast." I say quietly, directed at Will and smile a bit before turning and leaving to my room.
