By Royal Decree |CLOSED|

Emilia Summers


Prince Allistair O'Neill

Emelia stood still, her fingernails digging painfully into the palm of her hand as her eyes stared glassly at the large clock on the wall before her. She once again reminded herself to take a breath and bit her lip as she dared to cast her eyes around the room.

It was a mistake. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she realised the prince and his adversaries were only a couple of girls away from her. Despite the ballroom being full to capacity you could hear a pin drop. Other than the prince’s warm greeting to each girl there was not a sound in the room. Emmy had hoped not to be in this situation,but as the eldest daughter she felt she owed it to her family to at least try. Everybody knew that it was not simply the selected girl that benefited from the sudden shift in status, her family would of course be hoisted up the ranks too.

The blonde looked down, trying to fix the skirt of her dress without being obvious before once again straightening up. She could hear her heart beat in her ears as she counted down each girl the prince passed getting closer to her. Focusing in on the clock Emilia let her eyes close, taking in a deep and beginning to count down from 10 to calm herself.

10...9...8..

3 girls.

7...6...5...

2 girls.

4...3...2…

1 girl.

She opened her eyes, stumbling slightly to see the face infront of her. He had gotten to her quicker than expected. ‘’Good Morning your Majesty!’’ She greeted, speaking a little too fast. She quickly moved to courtesy before extending her hand to him. ‘’It’s a pleasure to finally meet you’’ she added. The young girl could feel the eyes of everybody in the room watching her.

It was a day of wanton extravagance, it was time for Prince Alistair to finally begin the process of getting married. Unlike some of the upper class, who refused to marry down, The royal family, was not like that. What was perhaps a little odd, was that the Prince was much older than most who went through this traditional process, but that was due to the fact that he was the eldest son, of the King, therefore the future king. He was well rehearsed in all matters a King needed to be.

The Prince, was dressed up in a perfectly tailored suit, a polite smile on his face as he walked down the line of young beautiful ladies. He had yet to meet one, that had interested him, yes all of them were striking, visually, but they all seemed so plain. As he approached one of the blonde girls he smiled, seeing she had her eyes closed, and she seemed to be trying to calm herself down. He smiled and took her hand kissing it lightly, after she offered it to him, "and what might your name be?" he asked softly. It was the first girl he had spoken too, a sign that perhaps he had found the first one he wanted to get to know better.

The strangest thing about this whole process, was that, well especially in the situation of the Prince, simply being chosen as a potential partner would grant not only, the girl but her family a place and employment in a higher position in the realm. Which is why despite the Royal family, was so set on following the tradition properly, the lower classes, did after all need a chance and an ability to improve their standing.

Emilia's eyes widened as the prince spoke to her, his voice was deep and delicate. It demanded power in the most u threatening and soothing way she had ever heard. It struck her that it was the first time she had heard that voice fill the room this morning. Judging by the sudden cacophony of whispers from the gallery she was not the only one to notice this.

Ignoring the red rush that flooded her cheeks she was careful to keep her eyes trained on the prince. "My name is Emilia Summers, from Caste Six" she told him clearly, careful to keep her words concise and poised as her mother had thaught her to. "It's an honour to join you here today your Majesty. You and your family are truly kind spirits" she blurted, letting her eyes falter to her feet. It had felt forced and unecessary, but her mouth do often moved before her brain had time to stop her. Emilia had always had the worst habit of talking to fill silences that would be more comfortable as silences.

Once the prince had moved on, she allowed her eyes go wander into the gallery in search of her mother. She wanted to cast an apologetic look for probably ruining all chances they had of moving up by running her mouth as usual. She was shocked to find her mother sat there with a look as proud as punch on her face. Emilia relished in that feeling of pride, so much so that she grew distracted by her own thoughts yet again. She was only pulled out of the ocean of her daydreams by the drowning sense of tension that filled the room. Emmy realised that a man had started speaking from the front of the room. She assumed this meant that the prince was about to make his decision about his chosen potential partners. Hope had never filled her head too much, it was often a dangerous weapon for others to use against her, yet she couldn't help but hold on to that sliver of hope that Allistair O'Neill's smile had placed in heart.

The Prince smiled and nodded, "Nice to meet you Ms Summers," he said softly. He released her hand, and nodded gently to her second comment before continuing down the line. It was a slow process, and by the time he had met all of the woman, the prince was bored. Despite being a stickler for tradition and so well trained, he often did get bored of these events, not that he showed it in anyway. He made his way to the podium, where the royal table sat in the grand hall. Next to the prince was three extra empty seats to his left.

He paused and made his decision, in his most authoritative tone he could muster, "I have made a decision, Would Ms Summers please come up and join me," he announced. He then continued on and called up two other woman, a raven haired girl called "Chloe Primrose," and another blonde called "Jessica Matthews".

The prince then moved to sit down, whispering something in the ear of a servant. Moments later, the servant arrived by Ms Summers, "The prince requested that the seat next to him, goes to you,"

@ Aoibhe

Emilia kept her eyes staring at the prince as he began to speak, willing herself to remain stone faced and calm. She couldn't possibly expect for him to pick her, all of the girls here were so beautiful and had probably been preparing themselves for this for years. Besides she was only from the 6th Caste, there were so many girls her more close in stature to him, he would obviously choose one of them to carry out his life wi-

'Summers?" She repeated to herself gently, her attention snapping back to the handsome man. She let a soft smile play across her lips and gave a delicate nod towards the podium. She wanted to seem collected and composed, as if she had expected this, of course she could be a princess. The blonde startled slightly as she heard a voice in her ear and turned towards the servant. "The seat... Next to him?" She asked, following along as the servant began to usher her towards the high table. Emilia could no longer hide the beaming smile across her face as her eyes searched for her mother. She would be so proud, and all Emmy every wanted was to make her family happy.

She took her seat, her hands fidgeting a little nervously, she didn't know how to act. Her legs crossed and uncrossed, then crossed at the ankles and repeated over and over as she tried to settle, avoiding looking at the other girls. She didn't want to compare herself to the competition just yet.

Eventually, she turned her head to the left, her smile pulling from ear to ear as she moved her hair back out of her face. "There aren't enough words to tell you how grateful I am" she told the prince gently, a nervous giggle escaping her throat.

The Prince sat quietly, and regal. He knew that this was a huge deal, Emilia was the first Caste 6, girl picked by any upperclass bachelor since his grandmother.

He waited until all the woman had made their way up to the table, and taken their seats before he moved to the table to sit. After all they were all now of high class, and manners dictated he had to wait until they had sat down before he could.

Once seated he smiled gently at her, "relax, you aren't chaste 6 anymore Ms Summers and neither is your family," he said gently. He smiled, "no matter what happens from here," he told her. He took her hand gently, "now tell me more about yourself," he said softly.

@ Aoibhe

Em felt herself blushing again as she nodded gently. "I know that, I do. I just want to make sure you know how grateful I am that you've given my family this opportunity" she repeated, a little firmer this time, trying to relax into her seat. It was slowly dawning on her that this was her life now,or at least for the next number of weeks. It would feel strange not seeing her family for so long... She hadn't even considered that possibility before she left her house this morning. Her eyes turned to the gallery once more, it was slowly beginning to empty out, but many still remained to watch the rest of the evening unfold.

"My mum... Will I get to goodbye before she leaves?" Emilia asked quietely, not really wanting to be overheard.

Once all had been settled again she took a deep breath and let out a nervous laugh. "Oh I'm so sorry" she giggled. "Okay, well. My name is Emilia Summers, I'm 21 and from Caste Six. My father is an Iron Smith and my mother works as a seamstress when she isn't taking care of our home. I have two older brother's and a younger sister and my favourite colour is orange" she told him with a smile. "How about you, what's your favourite colour?"

@ A Drop On the Window

Alistair smiled gently, and nodded, "Of course, your mother is welcome to stay for the feast, and party I would love to meet her later," he said softly. He chuckled softly, as she blushed again and told him about herself. "Well that is honest work, although some forget, we do need iron workers and seamstresses, as much as merchants and soldiers," he said calmly. He watched her and nodded "my favorite color, well it's changed a few times, but currently, blue is my favourite, much like your eyes," he admitted.

@ Aoibhe

Emilia smiled at him "I think my mother would like that very much" she told him. Her mother would die of excitement thinking that she would get to be involved in a feast for the royals. The blond girl nodded gently "it is honest work, and tedious. We're I not here I would training as a seamstress under my mother right now" she admitted kindly. Emilia did enjoy seeing her finished products while working with her mother, but she found the small nitty gritty details that often had to go in to gown and other pieces to be arduous and boring.

Her smile widened as he compared his favourite colour to her eyes. "You are too, thank you". Her eyes moved down to her hand in his, she enjoyed this feeling. It felt like she could belong to something bigger than herself, however she did need to remind herself that there were two other girls in her exact same position, who wanted this just as much if but more than her.

@ A Drop On the Window

Alistair smiled and nodded, "well you won't have to do that anymore, at least for awhile," he said lightly. He shifted slightly, and began conversing lightly with the other two woman, it was not quite as personal as with Emilia, more like him doing what was expected of him.

As the night moved on, the feast began. The prince sat back, "so tell me Emilia, what is your favorite meal?" he asked curious. He looked down the line and smiled at the other women, who we acting in a similar excited nervous manner.

@ Aoibhe

Emilia spent the night conversing happily with anyone that crossed her path. The more people who arrived to the party the more overwhelmed she felt. Each gown was more decadent than the last and each of these women were so dressed up compared to all three of the girls. As Emilia looked between the women in the ballroom and back to her own dress she wondered how hard it must be for the prince. She was certain he must meet so many beautiful women as grows up but he must follow this tradition. By the time the feast was beginning, Emelia was grateful. She had grown quieter as the room got busier, getting lost in absorbing all of the details and grandeur that surrounded her.

She smiled at the prince upon hearing him ask her a question. She thought for a moment before answering. "My family has a recipe for chili that is to die for. It even better if you let it stew slowly over a day or two.. it would warm you on the coldest of days" she answered carefully. "What about you? I feel you have surely experienced much more varied and exotic meals than us" she asked, trying to involve the other girls in the conversation.

@ A Drop On the Window

The Prince was being polite talking with everyone who came over to introduce themselves. This kind of spectacle was normal for him, usually it was on his own account, being used to being the Royal there in the background so to speak. He looked at her, "well, that does sound lovely, sometimes the simplest things are the most warming," he said softly, "the most comforting," he added. He thought for a moment, "well, I have enjoyed some quite exotic meals, but my favorite is slow roasted pork, a classic," he said softly. "It is much better two, when the kill is recent," he added.

He ate slowly, "How about you Chloe? What is your favourite meal?" he asked, extending the conversation to her aswell.

@ Aoibhe

Emilia nodded happily in agreement as he talked about comfort foods, and slowly began to eat what was placed in front of her. This food was sublime, she could tell from the first bite that it was indulgent and expensive. "Do you hung?" She asked as he brought up the meat being tastier if it is a recent kill.

She listened to the other girls speak about their favourite food.she had learned throughout the evening that Chloe was from Caste 4 and Jessica from Caste 1. Everything they spoke Em couldn't help but wonder, had they prepared for this? Had they thought they would be chosen or was it a happy mistake for them too.

"Oh I'm... I've been meaning to ask" Emmy added gently, cutting across them all slightly. "What can we call you?" She questioned

@ A Drop On the Window

The Prince nodded in response, "Yes, I hunt, It's quite enjoyable getting out of the castle, and all of this opulence, every now and then," he admitted. He listened as the other two spoke and vied for his attention. He was however, more interested in listening to Emilia.

At her question he thought for a moment, "Well, at an event like this I think formal title is appropriate, so Prince Alistair or Prince O'Neil," he said lightly. But privately I'm not a stickler, so Alistair will do, or Ali," he added.

@ Aoibhe

Emilia nodded, she had always hated the thought of hunting. Her father would often go when times were hard at home. She never understood what made her feel such a guilt about it compared to eating meat from a butcher it just didn't sit right. "Prince Alistair, okay thank you. I just don't want to get it wrong" she told him with a warm smile, taking a sip of the drink in front of her and carefully moving her blonde hair off her face.

As the dishes infront of them were switched out Emilia's face lit up. There were so many sweets and desserts. She had always had the worst sweet tooth. She quickly reached for both an eclair and a lemon meringue tartlet, savouring the bite with closed eyes. "This is so good.. I don't understand how all of you aren't huge" she told the prince through laughter.

@ A Drop On the Window

The Prince smiled and nodded politely. As the next course was brought out, he chuckled at her comment. "Well it's about moderation, we tend to keep sweets available only for special occasions," he admitted softly. It was true, the royals only had sweets and desserts on special occasions.

He looked at her, "That way, the people who truly need a sweet pick me up, can get some," he added. He smiled softly as the girls family members were brought over towards the table to meet him

@ Aoibhe

Emilia smiled happily and finished off her treat, she was co Sider I g reaching for another when she glanced at the other girls who had barely reached for a piece of the sweet dishes before them. She bit down on her lip gen tly and refrained from taking another. She was at he palace now, she knew every meal would be more than substantial.

Emilia could barely contain her excitement as she saw her mother being ushered towards them from across the room and eyed her up excitedly. She looked over towed Alistair trying to catch his eye. She didn't want to be over eager but she knew her mother would be dying to say hello to the prince.

@ A Drop On the Window

The Prince was sitting quietly, and greeted each of the family members as they came over, talking with them only briefly. He knew, even if the girls didn't that they would be visiting them all separately so he could learn about where each girl came from. "This is where I leave you young ladies to converse with your family, say goodbye and all that, I'll just be doing my duty talking with citizens, come find me when you are done," he said lightly. He smiled pleasantly at all of the girls and family, before standing and leaving.

@ Aoibhe