The Reign

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The idea for this story comes from a fanfiction.net writer called Hungergamesandjessie. While the idea and the idea for Prince Jacen's name came from her, the rest of the story is entirely original. Rights also go to Kiera Cass for the Selection series. I am a HUGE fan!!!

Prince Jacen walked into the Queen's office on Monday morning to find both of his parents sitting on a loveseat talking, rather than working. When they saw Jacen, his mother, Queen Eadlyn, motioned for him to sit down.  As Jacen settled in the seat across from his parents, his father, Prince Eikko, smiled as a lovely maid brought Jacen and his parents breakfast. Jacen dug in to his breakfast, and seeing his cue, his mother and father began eating theirs as well.

"So..." Jacen started, but was stopped by his mother's reprimand. "Jacen, stop talking with food in your mouth. How many times have we asked you?" Jacen stopped and swallowed, before continuing. "So, why'd you call me in here?"

"Because your father and I have been talking, and we need a way to boost morale for the country." Queen Eadlyn said. Jacen perked up and sat up In his seat. Boosting morale usually meant inviting ambassadors. They usually brought their children, which, for the most part, were teenge girls, perfect for Jacen to spend time with making meaningless connections all for the sake of bettering royal relations. Jacen would spend hours drooling and thinking up plans toget the girls on his side, then make them all feel special while doing nothing out of the ordinary himself. He started thinking, but his mothers voice snapped him back to the present. "Even though the castes were eliminated when I was a kid, there is still unrest throughout the country. Some people think we should become a democracy, as opposed to the Constitutional Monarchy we are now. So, we have decided that you will hold your own Selection."

Jacen froze, staring at his mother whle his brain struggle to compute. "What?!?!" He exclaimed. "No, no, no. I am not inviting 35 girls into my house, in an effort to 'find a soulmate!!'"

"Actually," Eikko started. "Because we have so many people in the palace and guest houses now, what with your grandparents, your uncle Kaden and aunt Josie, your uncle Osten and aunt Makayla, Marlee and Carter Woodwork, Kile and Christina Woodwork, the Legers, your great-aunt Brice, great-aunt May, and of course us, we don't have enough room for 35 girls. So, instead of 35, we are inviting 16."

"But, how are we going to choose which provinces?" Jacen asked his mind spinning, unable to fully process what was going on.

"You are going to choose." Queen Eadlyn said plainly. "We will put all 35 provinces' names in a hat, and you will put 16. Simple." 

"No, I won't. I can't." Jacen protested, his heart racing.

"You can and you must." Queen Eadlyn said. And with that, she stood up, with Prince Eikko standing up with her, and the two of them swept out of the room, leaving Jacen with his breakfast growing cold in front of him, as he watched his planned future go up in smoke.