The Reign

Chapter 20

"I will not be seeing you again..." Jacen started. 

Amberly started to speak but Jacen cut her off. 

"I will not be seeing you again..." He said. "Until breakfast tomorrow morning. You have all of today to compose yourself. But I will tell you this. One more outburst, one more mishap, one more time even nudging a toe out of line, one more bullshit thing you say, and you are out of this competition faster than you could even imagine. I don't care what kind of things you have to say about me, but you try anything more than being the most perfect candidate, and you can kiss your dreams of the crown, the palace, but most importantly, me, goodbye. Get out of my sight!"

Amberly hurried from the room, and as soon as she was gone, Jacen sat down in an armchair. He leaned back and fiddled with a gold bracelet that adorned his wrist. He thought about all the things he'd said, done. He called his butler, and gave him a note to deliver to his mom. 

No more than 10 minutes later, Queen Eadlyn walked into the room, her hair in a messy bun, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. To some, it may have startled them, seeing the Queen wearing normal clothes, but to Jacen, it was just his mom, and, although he would never say it, he always felt more comfortable talking to her as his mother, and not his Queen. She stood in the center of the room, a small smile on her face. "Taking me up on my offer, huh?"

Jacen gave a tiny smile and simply said, "Yes."

Eadlyn looked at Jacen, then said, "Sit tight, I'll be right back." She walked out, and 5 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Jacen opened it, and Eadlyn walked in. She sat down at Jacen's desk and opened up a small gold notebook. Inside was all of the her notes from when she was searching for her husband. She had notes about what to do for dates, who was being eliminated, who she liked, who she didn't, and her thoughts. 

"Spend a few minutes looking through it, and when you're done call me in. I've got to go get something." She walked out, and Jacen stood up, carrying the book as if it were a very precious glass figure.

He sat down in a leather armchair and pushed the button to prop up the leg rest. Jacen leaned back and began to read. He was immediately immersed in many of his mother's thoughts. All of her ideas and her edits, cuts, and picks. He thought of new ideas and was ready. He got up, rung for a butler, and prepared a note.

There was a knock on the door, and he opened it to find his mother. 

She rushed in, armed with large sheets of paper and different colored pens. They sat down at the desk and got to work. They worked soundlessly, there thoughts complementing each other in what they put down. And at the end, Jacen had a good idea of where he was going to go with his Selection.