Chosen | on hold

Chosen | 7

For the rest of the day, I ignored my mother and only spoke to her when necessary. I busied myself with taking care of the animals while she tended to her garden.

But I knew I couldn't avoid her forever. As soon as the clock hit 7:50, I was called in for dinner and I found myself walking towards the now lively kitchen.

The savory smell of steak burgers wafted throughout the house. My mother was bent over the stove flipping the patties, whistling as she worked. I almost wanted to rush to her side and salt the French fries. But I knew I couldn't do that.

"Dinner is almost ready," my mother said softly, feeling my presence nearby. "Switch on The Report, would ya?"

I nodded before turning on the screen. The sound of advertisements on the screen broke the silence and made me feel more comfortable as I approached the dinner table. Hopefully my mother would be distracted by Axel talking and we wouldn't have to talk to each other.

"Hadley, I want to talk about this morning," she mumbled.

I drew in a sharp breath. "What is it that you want to talk about."

Suddenly the both of us turned our attention toward the screen as Axel's familiar voice filled the room. "Good evening, Illéa! I am your host Axel Coldwell and I am honored to be reporting on this years Selection! Before we dive right into the names of Prince Thomas' Selected, I would like to take the time to interview the Royal family."

I watched as the the camera zoomed out revealing Prince Thomas' brothers standing straight and proper. Axel turned towards Prince Harold and Samuel first, the twins. "Hello gentlemen! You have always lived with each other being a group of young men. What do you think about sharing the palace with thirty-five young women?"

I saw the boys share a smirk before Prince Harold took the microphone. "We are both quite excited for this. We'll be able to scope out the playing field and give Tom some pointers. We're very excited to get to know each of the thirty-five women."

"Ugh what perverts," I muttered under my breath.

Axel let out a nervous laugh as he looked at the devious boys. They weren't identical, but they both had the same dark brown hair Prince Thomas had.

"And what about you, your highness?" Axel asked Prince Patrick who was the youngest. Unlike his brothers, he had a mop of red hair and bright freckles covering his face.

"It's about Tom found a date," he huffed, "I'm sick of him complaining about how he can't get any girls."

His brothers playfully elbowed him in the side and he rolled his eyes before flashing his bright smile.

"In all seriousness though, I'm really happy for him and hope that he finds someone who is as funny and amazing as he is."

"Thank you so much boys. If it's all right, I would like to speak to your parents now."

Axel turned to the King and Queen who appeared on screen next to their sons. "Queen Rowan, your eldest son is going to be finding a wife soon. What is going through your mind?"

She beamed, "I'm so excited for him. I've watched him grow throughout the years from an infant into a wonderful young man. Soon he's going to be married, living in his own home. Hopefully he'll have some children of his own and I'll be able to come and help him take care of them. It's truly strange to think about. I just want him to be happy."

The Queen reminded me of my own mother and I could feel a sadness growing in my heart.

"Final question, King Anthony, do you have any final words for your son before the drawing?" Axel asked.

I watched as he turned towards his wife lovingly and looked at her as he spoke. "Trust your gut."

"Thank you so much to the Royal family for letting us interview them! After the break we'll bring out Prince Thomas to draw the names of the Selected!"

I watched as a ten minute countdown appeared on the screen and went back to eating my food.

"Hadley I'm sorry," my mother blurted out. "I don't know why I keep defending him."

I froze and quickly swallowed the food in my mouth.

"I guess I keep holding onto him because I'm hoping that things will go back to how they used to be."

"He's not the man I knew when I was younger," I uttered, staring at my fingernails. "He's interested in things way darker than imaginary tea parties."

"I'll call the authorities first thing tomorrow and let them know everything that's happened," she said. "I don't want to fight anymore."

We spent the next ten minutes in a tight hug trying not to fall apart at the seams. We didn't need to say anything to each other.

"And we're back with Prince Thomas and the rest of the Royal family for the drawing!"

"Hadley it's starting! Come on we have to watch," my mother sniffled, giving me a small smile. We separated and she dragged me to the couch with her. I snuggled next to her covering my tired body with an old blanket and focused on the screen.

Prince Thomas walked up next to Axel and reached into what I assumed was the drawing pool.

"Miss Heather Cabot of Atlin, Two," he read as a picture of her appeared on the screen. She had a ton of makeup on and her hair was a gross yellow color. I knew better than to make fun of her though because she was a two.

"Miss Juniper Montgomery of Lakedon, Four."

I watched minute after minute as girls appeared and disappeared on the screen. Many were Twos and Threes while there were a couple of Fours. There were rarely any Fives or Sixes.

"Hey mom, I'm gonna get more fries, do you want some?" I asked, stepping off the couch.

"No I'm okay baby, I wanna watch the whole thing."

I giggled to myself and set out to the kitchen when all of a sudden, "Miss Hadley Berkshire of Dakota, Four."

I whipped my head around in fear staring at my face on the screen. There was the photo I had taken the day I had applied. My big smile and nicest dress were now immortalized for all the world to see.

"Holy shit Hadley!" my mom shouted.

It felt like all the air had been squeezed out of my lungs as I struggled to breathe. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real.

I had been chosen.

I was going to be in the Selection.

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