The Selection

A Beautiful Night

Jason's POV

I was waiting for Piper on the terrace.
I have sent a letter to her. I hope she got that.

I was looking at the clear sky. The twilight was about to be replaced by the darkness of the night. Stars were coming up now. The stars always reminded me of my father. What a great king he was! And look at me. He used to say, "Jason, one day the whole world will be proud of you." I hate myself for neglecting my duties towards my country.

I jumped when a hand touched my shoulder. Piper.

She looked different. Better than yesterday. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress. The dress was not that much sophisticated yet it looked gorgeous on her. Her hair was done in a braid. She looked beautiful!

"Dad! " she demanded. She was really worried.

"I met him yesterday. He was alright. I informed him that you are here as a participant in selection. Austin will take care of him in your absence. And you don't have to worry about anything, he will get all the medicines on time. "

"But if I am here, who will pay for them? I can't stay here. I want to go to my father. I can't -"

"Piper, I will pay for it. You are not allowed to leave the castle alone. And besides, I will supply all the resources to Austin. But please don't worry. " I pleaded. She had tears in her eyes.

"Piper-"

She hugged me, her head on my shoulder. "Thank you," she said. We stayed there for a while.

I pulled away and cupped her face with my hands. "Any time for you. But that doesn't mean you have to cry. Hey, smile! "

She smiled through her moistened eyes.

"You were going to tell me about this selection, right? "

"Yeah. Different tasks would be assigned to you. You have to complete them in the given time. Elimination rounds will happen every week on Fridays. The winner will get the opportunity to administer various parts of Illea and all the resources and money would be provided by the king." I said.

"But Sparky, I think I won't be able to win the Selection. I don't like to grab attention and besides, I think I don't have that much skill -"

"Piper, just imagine if you win the Selection, you can make your village a better place. You can understand the situation of people living there, so you can help them. Besides, you can also improve Illea too." I said. "Piper, you are creative and you can do anything if you want. I know you love your village. You can give your people a better life. "

She considered my words for a while and then smiled. "But there is a flaw. "

"What is it? " I asked creasing my eyebrows.

"I need help. I can't do it alone. So Sparky, would you like to be my assistant manager? "

"Sure."

We walked towards the edge of the balcony to look at Illea, our city. It was illuminated by beautiful lights and was glimmering.

"Beautiful," we said in unison. We looked at each other and then smiled.

"Ok, let's get to some work. What do we want to have in Illea? "

"A public hospital because the poor can't afford to go to private hospitals. "

"Right! We can have a public school there too. "

"How about a big mall in your village."

"Amazing."

We stood designing our city. Now I won't be alone in this world. I have got a friend who will be there with me, who will help and will never leave my side. I bit my lip, except if she got to know about my secret.