The Choice

Dear Lord Prowess,

The King and Queen of Aridia solicit the presence of your daughter, Lady Madeline Prowess, to attend The Choice as a possible suitor for Prince Carlos, along with the daughters of 11 other nobles of the land. Lady Madeline is requested at the palace in 7 days' time where she will compete against other eligible Ladies for the hand of Prince Carlos to stand the chance to become the future queen of Aridia.

Lady Madeline is expected to display immaculate manners, dancing, talent and overall demeanor in order to last The Cut and possibly be Prince Carlos' Choice.

(This is a direct message from The King and Queen of Aridia) 

I read the letter countless times, desperately trying to find some sort of loophole that excluded me from The Choice. 

"So...? What does it say?" My elder sister, Caroline, snapped. She didn't hesitate before she snatched the letter from my hands, her eyes scanning the paper hungrily. 

"I'm not going," I decided. There was no way, I, Madeline Prowess was going to attend The Choice- I was hardly a proper lady on a normal day, talk less of at a competition where the royal family, nobles and citizens alike would be watching my every move. 

"There's no way Maddie's going," Caroline scoffed, rolling her eyes. "She's hopeless." I sensed that her annoyance had nothing to do with my hopelessness but more to do with the fact that she'd doted on Prince Carlos for years and wished it was her being summoned to the palace. 

"There's nothing we can do, Madeline. These are direct orders from the royal family," My father said, helplessly. 

"But father," I moaned, in a most unladylike manner which gained me a warning look from my mother. "You've seen me dance- I have 2 left feet!" 

"Have you seen her eat? She eats like a dog!" Caroline protested, folding her arms across her full bosom. I disliked the fact that my perfect sister was chastising me, but I bit my tongue in hopes that it would help convince my parents that sending me to the palace in hopes of winning the Prince's hand, was a huge mistake. 

"I understand that Madeline needs...work, but these are direct orders from the royal family. You remember what happened to Lord Easton," My father shook his head. Lord Easton was one of the nobles who dared to defy the order of the king regarding some sort of shipment. In return, Lord Easton was stripped of his titles, something that scared my father. 

"You wouldn't be completely defying the king if you sent Caroline instead," I suggested. Normally, I would love to have something that Caroline wanted, after being the underdog for practically my whole life. But, I wasn't about to waste my happiness on a prince I strongly disliked and had no care for. 

Caroline's eyes widened, glee sparking behind her pupils. "Yes! You could send me instead of Madeline, at least I have a chance to last The Cut." I rolled my eyes. 

"You can't attend The Choice, Caroline. You forget you're older than Prince Carlos," My father explained, looking exasperated. 

"Only by a few months," Caroline pouted. 

I turned to my mother, who hadn't spoken since the letter arrived. She looked stunned into silence, probably wondering why she didn't birth Caroline months later. 

"Mother?" I said and she looked up quickly, like she'd just been woken up from a dream. 

"Why can't I just pretend to be Madeline? As much as it pains me to utter those words," Caroline muttered. 

"You forget you went to finishing school with some of these girls," My mother shook her head. "As much as I'd prefer Caroline to represent our family, it would only make us look hopeless if she went under false pretenses." 

Caroline's eyes darkened as she scoffed, "Madeline will make us look hopeless. She's the most unladylike person I've ever met- talk less of the fact that she has the body of an 8 year old." 

"Caroline!" I protested, ready to pounce on her and rip out her blonde hair strand by strand. 

"There's really nothing we can do. Except try to get Madeline ready for The Choice," My mother said, sounding genuinely disappointed. 

I couldn't help but start to panic. It was hard for me to act like a lady at a simple formal dinner, talk less of at the palace, in front of countless nobles and the royal family. Besides, The Choice was a competition in which Ladies competed for the hand of the prince. It would seem oddly inappropriate because I wanted nothing to do with the prince. I actually despised him- and I had good reason to. 

A few years back, the royal family hosted the Nobles of Aridia and their families at a fair- it included jousting, games, delicious food- everyone was ecstatic. My mother and father made sure we were at our best behavior and dressed to our finest in dresses imported from abroad. Caroline was excited, obviously, she was 13 and would get her first chance to meet the prince she'd fawned over. I was 11 and thought the event would be extremely boring- which it was. 

As a child, I didn't have many friends. Most of the girls didn't like me because I didn't share their interest in dresses and dancing. I was completely satisfied with that, because I didn't like any of the girls either. While the girls giggled and looked around for the prince, I decided to slip away into the forest, pretending I was in some sort of adventure story. 

I was alone in the middle of the forest that surrounded the palace, away from the celebration. I pretended that I was a sorceress, fending away the evil goblins on my unicorn. That was, until, a rustle of leaves startled me out of my daydream. 

"Who's there?" I called. 

A boy emerged from behind the trees. He was definitely older than me, I placed him about Caroline's age. He had dark black hair that was nestled under a glinting crown. He was dressed immaculately, with medals adorning his suit, but his green piercing eyes were cold and filled with disgust. 

"You're meant to bow," He said, raising an eyebrow. 

I was annoyed at him and refused to bow, so I turned away. I knew that he was Prince Carlos, the prince that all the girls adored, but he seemed like just a cruel little boy to me. 

"I heard you talking to yourself," He continued and my cheeks turned a knowing shade of red. 

"That's just something I do when I'm bored," I said, embarrassed that he'd caught me. My mother never failed to scold me for getting lost in my head. 

"You know, they say people that do that are crazy- or witches," His eyes had a malicious glint to them, he reveled in insulting me. 

"Excuse you," I folded my arms across my chest. 

"I'm guessing that's why you don't have any friends," He smiled deviously, before walking off. "Have fun with your imaginary friends." 

I didn't expect big fat tears to roll down my cheeks. I wiped them off quickly and stalked back towards the celebration. 

"Madeline!" My mother snapped, calling me out of my flashback. The memory of my first encounter with the prince made me so angry, my fists were automatically clenched. "I've warned you about daydreaming, it's very unbecoming of a lady!" 

"Yes, mother," I rolled my eyes, sighing. 

"We will start work immediately. There's a lot to be done," My mother eyed me critically. "I will not be disgraced in front of the whole kingdom."