The Princess (The Selection)

Chapter Two

The palace is buzzing with life. Rooms are being prepared to the boys likings. Suits are being sewn. Guest bedrooms that haven't been used since I was born are having some last minute preparations. A room like the women's room is being prepared for the boys so they have a place to be together. More tables are added to the dining room. And then, there is me.

I refuse to leave my room until dinner. I pace back and forth in front of the fireplace. Even though, it isn't really neccasary at the end of September, there is a fire lit. The crackling of the fire is the only noice in the room. It helps to calm me down but doesn't completely help. Tea, now cold, sits on my desk. My maids brought it up a few hours ago thinking that it might help to calm me down. The only thing that would work now is if the whole thing is cancelled.

I sit down at my vanity and take one of the cookies from the tray. I survey the room as if nothing has changed in my 18 years here in the palace. I sigh, missing the days where I had toys scattered every where and I was Illea's sweet heart. Or even when I would have my little brother in here and we would play dress up. The little two year old never minded when I would put him in tutus and we would put on little shows for our mother and father.

A soft knock arrives on my door. I reluctantly walk over to it. I crack it open to see who is out there. My mother stands there waiting with a pile of papers.

"Can I help you?" I ask. She raises her eyebrows at me, telling me to rephrase my sentence. "Sorry. I'm just really. . . concerned about tomorrow. What is it?"

"Thank you. I have some information on the selected men. I thought you might want to look at them," she offers. I nod and open the door. She comes in and takes a seat on the bed. She sets down the papers as I join her.

"How did dad do this?" I ask as I look at the large stack of papers.

"I don't know. I was a nervous wreck. And I didn't even want to be here," she says with her warm smile. She causes me to display a smile on my face. She always has a way at making other people feel more confortable in bad situations. "Why don't we look at these together?"

"I would like that," I say. We both open the folders. We both giggle like little girls and make fun of the guys. My mother ends up ringing her friend from the Selection, Marlee Tames, to come join us. My mother told me about Marlee's story of how she became a maid once. It was so sad.

After looking through the folders, I could finally remember all of their names and match them with their faces.

James Thomson

Blake Jones

David Johnson

Kevin McKinley

Joshua Reese

Tom Green

Samuel Clark

Joseph Wakefiel

Christopher Mecham

Ethan Avery

Jack Nichols

Gregory Robertson

Alex Jackson

Patrick Yosa

Mason Evans

Jase Marens

Micheal Lavida

Jett Magri

Bradley McCoy

Aaron Martins

Flynn Stephens

Tyler Eadens

Jerrid Sanders

Ryder Stans

Noah Stewart

Those names are the ones that will be just as important as my family's names. One of them will be my husband. In a year I will have one of their last names. They all seem like really nice guys but I can't help but wonder what they are really like. My parents have both told me how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. And this is definatly one of those situations. My father told me about one his biggest problems during the selection. What are the guys fighting for? Me? Or the crown?

Thank you all sooooo much for reading this! I know you've probably read better but you're still reading this. If you don't know, this is the sequel to The Addition in case anything doesn't make sense or you wanted to read it. Please leave comments and reviews. I know I won't have to worry about that, though, because you all are awesome.

Disclaimer: Kiera Cass owns The Selection, not me.