The Spare: Prince Osten's Selection

Chapter 5

The day following the announcement I had been picked for Prince Osten's Selection felt like a dream. It could not have actually happened. It was just a silly thing I decided to do knowing I would never win. The chances were one in a million.

I guess the thing about one in a million chances is that there is still that one, and by some strange twist of fate, I was that one. Well, me and 35 other girls. 

As soon as my name had been announced, Gemma's body had seemed to launch itself from the couch. "ZARA'S GONNA BE A PRINCESS, ZARA'S GONNA BE A PRINCESS" she had sung jumping and dancing around the room. Briony, who had been sitting next to me, had flung her arms around me and started to cry. Ilsa had just sat quietly with a smile playing on her lips.

The names of the rest of the girls were read out, but it had become mere white noise with Gemma's singing and clapping and Briony's tears. Dad had turned off the TV before the Report was even over while Mom tried to get Gemma to sit back down.

"Gemma? Gemma! Please sit down sweetheart. I know this is very exciting, but we need to everyone to calm down," Mom had said calmly as I stroked Briony's long golden hair. She had whisper-sobbed to me to please not go, not to leave her. I had done my best to calm her, but it was not much use. 

Eventually, Ilsa and my parents had been able to calm down Gemma and Briony,  and Ilsa took them back to get ready for bed while I talked with my parents. It had been a long and kind of strange talk. I couldn't tell if they were happy for me or not, but more importantly, I could not tell if I was happy for me or not. I had concocted this great brilliant plan that I had never actually expected to work, and now, I was heading to the Illéan palace miles away from home in Angeles. I tossed and turned all night, finally falling asleep sometime in the late hours of the morning.

I knew it had to have been a dream the next day. There was no way that me, Zara Collins from the middle of nowhere, had won the chance to marry a prince, especially considering I had not even entered the lottery with hopes of marrying a prince anyway. I wanted to go to college. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was someone better than they thought. I wanted my family to live the life they deserved, outside of Harrisburg, outside of the small apartment we crammed into. They were so much more. I was so much more. 

The first day after my name was drawn, a woman named Judith came from the palace to explain all the rules to me, have me sign confidentiality forms, and even go through a few contracts. Judith was surprised that I actually took the time to read through the contracts instead of just mindlessly signing.

"It is nothing that important, Lady Zara, I assure you we would not make you sign anything that resigned you to anything unwanted," Judith said in a high-pitched and somewhat scornful voice.

"I do not want to sign my name on anything that I do not agree to," I replied dryly.

"She is nothing if not thorough," Mom said trying to ease the tension.

The contracts were not too complicated. I could not leave the palace for any reason unless I was dismissed by Prince Osten or he formally agreed to let me leave. I could not steal anything that belonged to the palace if I was to leave. I could not physically harm another contestant. I could only eat food from the palace, etc.

The part I was really interested in was the line that noted that each participant and their family would be receiving compensation for their "services to Illéa." The payment was intended to make up for lost income the family might not receive if their daughter who normally worked was in the competition and for the participant to help reintegrate back into the normal world following the competition.

I was thankful that there was compensation both for me and for my family. I could not imagine participating and holding all of the money for myself. The payment was very generous, and I knew that compensation for just a few weeks would be more than my family made in a year. I knew it would just be the beginning of a new life for all of us.