Strategies

"Okay, Ladies! Line up over here!" a voice yelled.

Rose and I had just started practicing for my speech. I had wasted most of my time asking Rose about the Prince. I felt myself panic then read quickly over my version of the legend. I frowned. I couldn't do better than this? I looked up from my papers to see that most of the girls were in a line near a door which I had thought was another changing room. The rest of the girls were being rushed by the servants.

"Hurry up, Re ... Pansy," Rose said impatiently by my side.

"Okay," I mumbled, handing her my papers and heading to the line.

I managed to find Lily in the crowd of girls. She was near the front of the line and there was a large gap in between her and the other girls. Obviously no one wanted to be stuck with her in line. The rest of the girls gladly let me through to the front.

"Where have you been?" Lily asked.

"Well, that's a stupid question. I've been getting ready," I said, letting out my anger on my ... friend?

"I wish I knew what he was like!" Lily said dreamily, talking about Prince Willow.

I frowned when I remembered Rose's vivid description of the Prince. I turned to Lily and told her what Rose had told me, making sure none of the other servants could hear me, Rose made it quite clear that if any of the other servants heard what she said something bad would happen.

"One of the servants, told me that the Prince is stubborn, a slob, arrogant, and well ... Remember the portrait that was down stairs," I whispered. Lily nodded her head then gasped as she realized the painting was Prince Willow. I nodded my head in response.

"Ladies! May I have your attention!" A servant yelled from the front of the room. I recognized him as the servant who brought us to this room.

Slowly we all went silent. There was a great sense of nervousness in the room. If we aren't chosen and forced to marry the horrible Prince then we will be humiliated in front of the everyone. Of course the humiliation will go away eventually but I'm definitely not patient enough to wait for that.

"I know all of you are quite anxious but you'll need to know how the choosing will proceed. First you will hear the King give a speech. After the speech the King will call your name. He will be calling names in alphabetical order. For example if your name is Daffodil Azalea you will be going first because your last name starts with an 'A'. After you are done giving your speech you will come back here and wait patiently. Now If you would please follow me," He said turning and walking through the door.

The door lead to another staircase but unlike the one on the other side of the room this one was larger and had rails. This staircase must lead to the back of the stage. I held on to the rails tightly, falling was imminent, each of the girls were wearing a long dress and were shoving some of the others nervously.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs I could see the large, familiar, red curtain that separated us and the audience. It must have been packed in there because of the loud chatter going on. I knew the noise couldn't have been coming from us, we were dead silent.

As if sensing our presence a voice, who I assumed belonged to the King, boomed from the other side of the curtains, "Greetings! I, King Oak, would like to welcome you all to my son, Willow's, Choosing! This is all very exciting! My son has many, many lovely contestants to choose from! Now I know you all will be wanting to see the participants, I know Willow does! May I introduce Prince Willow!"

There was loud applause coming from the other side of the curtain, a few girls from this side clapped nervously. After the applause faded away I could hear a loud thudding noise. The thudding noise was soon followed by a creak. I assumed that it was footsteps followed by someone, Willow, sitting in a chair.

"Before we begin I would like to recall my choosing. As you all know my brother, King Leaf of Magnolian, and I were twins, we were the first born in our family. If my brother hadn't have been born first maybe I would be married to the lovely Queen Poppy of Magnolian!" the King said, making a joke about a terrible rumor that he had an affair with Queen Poppy and that her newest child was his. Of course there is no way to tell if rumors are true, the King and his brother are identical, the only way to tell them apart is by their traditional robes. The traditional Magnolian robes are orange and have the Magnolian crest. In our Province of Lavendreem the robes are purple with our Province's crest.

The King continued to recall his Choosing and his second daughter's Choosing. I, not seeing how these things were relevant, stopped listening. I began going over in my head what I was to do when I was called to the stage. I didn't want to seem nervous but I didn't want to seem arrogant. Why did I even care? I don't want to be chosen anyway! I don't want to seem stupid in front of all those people either...