(YAAS!!! That is an amazing idea, and I support it fully! Who should it be though? Someone that has already been introduced?)
"What? You think I'm not an assassin?" Holly asked, grinning up at him. "How trusting." She nudged the Prince. "Good thing I'm not." She sighed softly. "I hope no one is."
"I don't know. I don't even know why I accepted. Lacey shook her head, sniffing in mock offense. "How could I have been so stupid?" She returned his grin, which was rather contagious.
(I'm not sure…I'm thinking one of the girls from a lower caste? We might have to introduce her I'm not sure.)
Sam shrugged, matching her grin for a moment, "I hope so too, otherwise this selection is going to be very risky." He really hoped that no one was an assassin, mostly because if there was one, then the chances that this Selection would be any longer than a month were slim. Plus, not only his parents and his life would be in danger, so would Alex's and all the other girls in the selection, including Holly and Lacey.
"You were accepted because I consider you a friend, plus joking around with you has already proven to be extremely fun," Alex replied, a sparkle in his eyes when he saw her grin, "Agreeing to accept my request was your decision completely, even if you see now that it could prove to be a stupid decision."
(Yeah, sure! Sounds good!)
"Yeah, I agree." Holly shook her head. "Why would people do that, anyways? You're the son of a king. Would they want to start a war?" She grinned slightly. "What a depressing turn of conversation." She knew that she shouldn't think about things like this. Usually, when she went down the depressing road of I hope this doesn't happen…, it would happen. It was just her luck.
"I'm fun? Why thank you!" Lacey snickered. "Well, as long as we get to do idiotic, semi-dangerous, mostly legal things, I'm all for it. I hate sitting around and doing nothing, you know?" She grinned at him. "Or don't you?"
"Start a war, kill the royal line so they could take over, pure spite," He rattled, a soft grin on his face, "There are many reasons they could want me dead, and the child of an extremely powerful king is their perfect target." Sam laughed at her next words, even though it didn't hold much emotion behind it. Talking about the threats on his life didn't usually leave him in a chipper mood, "I do think you were the one that started this turn to depressing topics. Let's talk about something else though. What's your favorite animal?"
Saying that Alex grinned at her words was an understatement, he beamed with excitement and mischief as he looked over at her, "Miss Lacey, I think we're going to become very good friends extremely fast. I just have to know, do you have any ideas for what idiotic, semi-dangerous, mostly legal things you want to do while at the palace?"
"Guilty as charged. I do tend to dive into depressing topics more than I should." Holly laughed at herself. Sam seemed to have a sadder side to him, something she hated. But she couldn't do anything about it. She wasn't that close to him, after all. A few conversations wasn't gonna make him trust her. "I'd have to say… probably a leopard. They're so sleek and pretty, although I've never seen one in real life." She shrugged. "Just in books and movies. What about you?"
His grin was contagious. It seemed to light his entire face, and Lacey returned it gladly. "I don't know. We could steal from the kitchens. We could slide down banisters, or steal curtains and swing from the chandelier. Those are just mildly dangerous things." She tilted her head. "Can you think of some other ones?"
(Would you be up for a time skip to their lunch date soon?)
He was silent for a moment, thinking with a soft and genuine smile this time, "I really like falcons, but dolphins fall as a close second. I've seen leopards when I was on a business meeting across the sea. They're gorgeous creatures, and absolutely terrifying when you hear them as you walk through the jungle." Sam thought back to the trip he had seen them, a smile on his face as he remembered the cat-like creature.
"All of those sound like fun, we could replace the portraits in the throne room with other pictures too," Alex agreed, the grin never leaving his face for a second, "And we could switch around where all of the books are in the library, maybe jump around on top of the bookshelves while we 'decorate' them with toilet paper. There are millions of things we can do."
(Yeah. This was kinda dragging on a bit XD)
"You've been to the jungle?" Holly asked, her eyes widening, looking impressed. "And seen them?" She shook her head. "Lucky." She smiled slightly. "Dolphins are so fun. They're so playful, too, it's really fun to watch them." She smoothed her dress.
"We can't let Holly know what we do to the library, though," Lacey said, in all seriousness. "She might kill us." She snickered. "THe portrait idea sounds amazing! Where would we get the other pictures, though?"
(Sounds good and yeah, it was, I'll have some excuse for the conversation to end in my next response if you want, and we can time-skip then :D)
"Yes, I have," He replied with a soft laugh at her curiosity, "One of our allies across the sea invited me and my father over to discuss something, and we went with their eldest sons into the forest one day where we got a full tour of most of the animals that lived there." Sam smiled at her, nodding in agreement, "They're smart creatures, and really playful."
Alex shook his head and grinned, "She'll never know it was us, and if she finds out and attempts to kill us, I'll make sure she leaves you out of it. Don't worry about the pictures either, there are some good ones that I've held onto for this exact reason. Mostly of Sammy boy too."
(Okee!)
"I can imagine." Holly picked a leaf from her skirts and looked over at Sam. "What breed of dolphin were they?" She asked, smiling back at him.
"You're such a gentleman," Lacey laughed. "Okay, then. What types of pictures are they? And would it greatly embarrass him in front of the other girls? Because those are the best kinds."
Sam thought but shook his head, "I'm not sure, they didn't tell us what breed they were. They were extremely gorgeous though." He smiled over at her, oblivious to the two guards approaching the four of them from the palace until they were right in front of the group.
"I'm very gentlemanly, and yes they're pictures that will surely embarrass him. Mostly ones from when he was a kid, doing very embarrassing things," Alex said with a quick grin before looking up at the two guards in front of them.
"Prince Sammuel, your father is requesting your presence, there's a meeting going on in about ten minutes," One of the guards said, seeming nervous to be interrupting him while he was talking to one of the ladies.
Sam nodded slowly, "Tell him I'll be there soon." He turned back to Holly as the guards nodded and left a soft smile on his face, "Sorry for having to leave so suddenly, I didn't even know about this meeting. It was fun talking to you, I'll be sure to see you around, and get things ready for our lunch this week."
"It's fine," Holly said, chuckling. "I shouldn't keep you." She smiled lightly. "It was nice talking to you, Prince," she said.
"Good," Lacey said decisively. "We should start wreaking havoc soon." She grinned, then smiled at Holly. "We should leave the gentlemen alone. Come on, Holls, we have stuff to do."
Holly waved, and the two left.
(Shall I do the timeskip? Or would you like the honors?)
Both Alex and Sam waved to the girls as they walked off, then followed the guard back into the palace. Sam seemed happy, a small bounce in his step that even Alex could see. "So, are you going to even talk to the other girls here? Or did Holly already sweep you away?" He asked, grinning as they headed towards the meeting room that already sounded like pure chaos inside.
"I'm going to talk to them and they'll all have a fair chance, but Holly…she's nice and really pretty, and we share a lot in common," Sam replied, feeling his cheeks heat up as he glanced at Alex, stopping just before the doors to the meeting room, "Don't bother waiting around for me, I have a feeling I'm going to be here a while." Alex nodded in return, holding in any comments he wanted to make as the prince turned and went inside.
Like he had guessed, it was chaos, with different advisors fighting and arguing with each other, while the king tried his best to keep them in line. This was going to be a long meeting…
(I can!)
A few days later…
Holly smoothed her hands over her dress for the umpteenth time and took a deep breath. This was just a date. It wasn't like it would determine her future… although it might. It was the day of her date with the Prince, and it was happening soon. Like, very soon. She was nervous and very excited, although she tried not to show it.
Lacey was the only one who knew about the lunch, which she was glad about. If word had gotten out, she would have been glared at, and heaven knows she was already nervous enough as it was. But she was glad that he had chosen her to do the date. Sam was handsome and funny and kind, and she liked him already.
She smoothed her dress again. A pale seafoam green with lace weavings and designs on it, the dress brought out the green in her eyes, making it stand out. Her hair had been twisted in an intricate braid, with a few strands of her curly golden hair hanging by her face. She wore little makeup. When she had looked at herself in the mirrio, she had gasped. Holly had barely recognized herself - in a good way. She looked stunning… not that she'd ever admit it.
Sam was more than excited as he waited at the palace entrance for Holly. Lunch with her was a secret to everyone but his parents and Alex; who had teased him relentlessly even though it was clear his friend was happy for him. He had even helped pick out his outfit, a white dress shirt paired with light gray pants and a matching jacket in case it was cold. Paired with nicely combed hair, he looked quite nice and put together.
Even with how excited he was, the Prince was also nervous. He knew Holly was going to look amazing no matter what she was dressed in, but he was quietly hoping that they matched in some way. Even if it was just the two of them and a guard just for formalities, matching with her seemed much more formal. He didn't voice any of his opinions or thoughts though, just shifted on his feet in the entrance, waiting with a soft but charming smile for her.
Holly walked down the hall, to where she had been told the Prince was waiting. She was nervous, very much so, and her heart seemed to be in her throat. She had butterflies - no, birds - flapping around in her stomach. She stopped for a moment and stood in the hall, taking slow, calming breaths. Deep breath, Holly, she told herself. It's a date, not a wedding. She smiled slightly at the thought, and then continued on.
She spotted him, then, and her smile grew bigger, although a bit shy. She waved at him, although that probably wasn't very lady-like. Just seeing Sam made her feel less nervous. She had been building up suspense all along, for no reason! Not that she didn't do it often.
Sam rocked on his feet nervously as he waited, spotting her the moment she appeared in his vision. Instantly his smile brightened and he returned her wave, taking the liberty to meet her halfway through the palace entrance and holding out the small bouquet of flowers he had gotten for her. "Hi again, Miss Holly," He started, looking over her dress and feeling his cheeks heat slightly as he continued, "You look absolutely gorgeous." Saying she was gorgeous was very true, but it didn't make him any less nervous to say it.
"Thank you," Holly said, ducking her head to hide the blush that stained her pale cheeks. A wave of pleasure at the compliment rolled through her. She accepted the flowers and buried her nose into the blossoms, partly to breathe in the beautiful scent, and partly to let her face cool.
When she had gathered herself up, she smiled shyly at him. "You look very handsome. Thank you for the flowers, they're wonderful." It was true that he looked handsome. He looked put together and regal, like a prince should look. Just saying those words, though, made her blush again.
Why was she acting like a shy little girl? It was just a date! With the prince. Who might be her future husband.
"Thank you, and it's really nothing," He replied, unable to hide his own flushed cheeks as he smiled back and opened one of the main doors to the palace. "I suppose we should get going, shouldn't we?" Sam asked, holding the door open for her. Outside was a sleek black car, and even though it wasn't fancy, it would blend in. "I wasn't sure how fancy you wanted me to get, but I know you said you didn't like paparazzi, so I figured simple was better. That way lunch would just be me and you and a guard." He smiled gently, hoping internally that he had remembered correctly what she liked.
“Oh!” Holly gasped at the sight of the car. “I’ve never been in one of these before.” She gave a delighted smile. Even though it wasn’t a car that would stand out too much, it was till fancier than anything she’d ridden in before. “And that sounds wonderful. Thank you.”
She felt oddly touched that he had remembered her hatred of the press, and she smiled warmly at him.
Sam's smile grew and he nodded, leading the way to the car as well as watching to make sure Holly wouldn't trip on any of the steps. As soon as they got there too, he opened the door to the car for her, acting like ever the gentleman even when it was just the two of them alone. "The drive to where were going isn't terribly long, but I think you'll like it." It had taken Sam a few days to plan out where to bring Holly, as well as what to bring to eat, and so he was thoroughly nervous, as well as hopeful that she would like it.
“Alright. That sounds wonderful.” Holly smiled warmly and a little shyly at him. “Thank you.” She carefully sat down and arranged her skirts around her, not only to keep herself looking modest, but to also keep her hands from fidgeting with her hair, which her maids had worked so hard to do. “I’m really excited,” She said softly.
He closed the door behind her and slipped into the car from the other side door, smiling at her as the car started on it's way. "I hope this date will help me learn more about this personality you were talking about before." Sam hoped more than anything that she at least had fun during this, even if he didn't learn anything more about her or if they found out that they didn't get along as well as he hoped they would. Holly was a gorgeous girl, and from the little time he had spent with her, she seemed like a bright and wonderful person in general, the type of person that he wouldn't mind running a kingdom with.
Holly giggled. Her smile widened, and she tried to hide it behind a raised hand. He had such a smooth tongue… he reminded her a little bit of her older brother, who was even now at fighting for the country. She wondered if he had received the news that she was now part of the Selection.
"Maybe it will," she responded, smiling slightly, part nerves, part shyness, and part joy. I guess we'll have to see."
"That we will," He replied, leaning back on the seat in the car and letting his smile grow, "Well, miss Holly, do you have any questions about me that you want to ask? To make the car ride pass quicker?" Sam barely glanced out the windows as the car drove on, though he did take a small look at the city as they passed through it. The view was going to get much more gorgeous the further into the drive that they got.
"Hm… let me just get my list out for you," she joked. "Um…" she thought for a moment. What did she want to know about him? Nerves choked her, so that it made it hard for her to come up with a question, but somehow, she managed. "Would you want to have siblings, if you could?"