Prologue

There was a time when everything was in shambles—the unrest between the north and the south as Gregory Illéa threatening to tear apart the country he tyrannizes; when Prince Damon died and his wife Abby Tamblin Illéa married his cousin Porter Schreave.

The reign was brought down to Clarkson Schreave, a man who simply had not enough compassion for his family but concern for a country he dictated over. There was still turmoil between the citizens, the highs and the lows on the mere caste system.

Prince Maxon, Clarkson's son, had his own Selection and that's when things started getting a little more heated up, for there was a Selection for him as well.

He chose America Singer, a former Five with a temper as fiery as her red hair. She was determined to take down the prejudiced system of a nation she loved too much. Her husband and she tried to eradicate them, however, circumstances would not immediately allow. It was a small start, though, when the Eights were off the streets.

Years passed and Prince Michael, the first son of Queen America and King Maxon and the crown prince of Illéa, turned nineteen. It was his turn for a Selection. Many ladies and eligible bachelorettes applied to be given the chance of a lifetime; however, only thirty-five are chosen.

Enter Tess Renaldi, a simple Three who thought she'd be devoting her life to medicine and science, not politics and monarchs. She decides to give this a shot, even though she thinks she doesn't have the slightest chance among thirty-four other beautiful women. Prince Michael was friendly enough; they struck up a friendship, but it was simply that. Tess tried, but she couldn't really see any romantic future for them.

Then comes Prince Matthew, dashing and debonair, though he'd never had a relationship prior to this moment. Arrogant and so full of himself, he knew at this time that he would soon find a lady; he just didn't know when.

One fateful night, Tess and Matthew meet, albeit accidentally. But isn't that what life is? A series of coincidences and accidents that lead to one thing then another?

The rules of the Selection, of course, are plenty, but one is the most important: no lady of the Selection should have any romantic endeavors with someone other than the prince, inside or outside of the palace.

Before they know, Matthew and Tess fall in love and they are in a possibly life-threatening conundrum. Then, as if the odds are in their favor, Michael Schreave eliminates Tess and she is free to stay at the palace for his brother. Then the tides turn again when Princess Madeleine of France is set to be betrothed to Matthew. No one, save for the crown prince of Illéa, knew that Matthew had already found someone else.

Through ups and downs Tess and Matthew managed, and everything seemed to be smooth sailing until the rebel attacks had been becoming more frequently. Again, maybe it was by accident, King Maxon told his children a story about the missing princess from Italy. Her name was Teresa Francesca Renaldi de'Medici. Coincidence? Absolutely not. This missing princess was Tess Renaldi, the Three that hadn't always been a Three after all.

Tess was the princess, and that made her more accepted as Matthew's girlfriend, fiancée (which was not mentioned yet, but it happened), whatever you want to call her.

The Grateful Feast arrived at the palace and the Italian royal family was there for the celebration. It was a bigger, grander affair than the usual annual holiday for the war with New Asia had finally come to an end. And this was also where the king announced that Tess was the Missing Princess of Italy.

When Tess and Matthew went to Italy for a little Christmas vacation. But when four royal parents find out that their children have been canoodling, nearly naked, in a waterfall...The vacation ends short. Well, at least for Matthew. Tess stayed in Italy to spend more time with her biological parents and her older brother, though she certainly wanted to be with Matthew.

It finally came the day to fly home, and both the prince and the princess were anxious to see each other again. Just when they thought they'd reunite, Tess's plane crashed in Carolina.

She woke up with no memories of who she is, where she is, what she is, but only with a new fear of flames that engulfed her ride home. She ran through the woods and found a quaint little home in a province called Carolina, where she found a family—the Legers. Little did she know that the parents—Aspen and Kriss—had stories that intertwined with the king and queen's. She stayed with them for a while, trying to get used to the country named Illéa with the odd caste system.

Prince Matthew, meanwhile, started a search to find the love of his life. They found Tess at the Leger household, bringing her and the Legers to the palace as a form of gratitude. Kriss and Aspen, apprehensive as ever to return to the palace, agreed, for no one can really deny a royal.

They arrived at the palace, and in short, America had a breakdown at the revelation that her first love—that she thought had died in the war at New Asia years ago—and a former candidate of Maxon's Selection—and also probably America's toughest competition—were married with two children.

The Legers wanted to go home after another rebel attack, a most unusual one at that. Tess followed a guard, though he wasn't really—he was a former Southern rebel, but he was left in Italy after he ambushed Tess and Matthew's plane. He returned to Illéa and joined the more lenient Northern rebels. And, maybe the worst part, Luke Danielson was Tess's best friend. The tough betrayal made Tess even more cautious than she was.

Luke led Tess to the Northern rebel leader, who turned out to be Gerad Singer, the queen's younger brother. Everything seemed more unpredictable than it already was.

There was a few weeks of peace and happiness, however, when Prince Michael and Evelyn Raia got married. The crown prince and his princess left Angeles to spend their honeymoon in Honduaragua.

As the weeks flew by, Tess and Matthew grew closer and closer. Tess decided that maybe she could fall in love with Matthew again.

Remember Princess Madeleine? Her vengeful father, King Henry X, attended Prince Matthew's birthday party on the twenty-fifth of March to discuss the matters of Matthew rejecting Madeleine. However, the French king was sent away immediately. It was Matthew's nineteenth birthday.

Days were spent lounging around the palace (as best you could lounge in a palace with a million guards posted every square foot and maids and butlers bustling around like bees). Tess was so close to saying the three words to Matthew, when a tragedy struck.

Michael and Eva in Honduragua were killed by a bomb. But who dropped it?

The answer: France. But why?

So, Matthew, the now-crown prince of Illéa, and his father, King Maxon, left the country to have a series of meetings with King Henry. It would last about six to seven days, they said—enough time before Tess's own nineteenth birthday on the twenty-fifth of April.

While that happened, Tess began her first philanthropy project: the Tess Renaldi Cancer Foundation. On top of that, she was the head of the Caste Placement Tests, an examination to be able to escape your caste and move up, if you choose. As it was, more than ninety-five percent of Illéa's population was either a One, a Two, a Three, or "casteless" for those in boot camps to refine their talent and reapply. Since it was already this way, it was deemed that the castes were pointless, and announced that the castes were eradicated. Joy in Illéa! Finally.

In the meantime, in the Palace of Versailles, Matthew came face to face with Madeleine again, a very cold reunion. The meetings were even more so. Matthew met up with Prince Alexander, the Dauphin of France, on the sixth night. They discussed a peace treaty where Illéa got to choose all of the circumstances, plus a section of Honduragua, excluding the property owned by Maxon's ill mother, former Queen Amberly, as discussed the day before. However, not everything turned out as planned when King Henry turned down Honduragua and proposed (no pun intended) the idea that Alexander marry Princess Alexandra, one of Illéa's twin princesses. Henry needed a definite heir, as his health (and state of mind) was declining, and only a married prince could assume the throne.

King Maxon surprisingly accepted the circumstances, either out of pity or desperation. So, the current, if the least bit resolved, situation is that the Dauphin shall marry Princess Alexandra Schreave, France leaves Illéa alone as their "alliance" will grow due to the marriage, and France destroys all of its nuclear (while a very sharp-eyed Illéan official watches).

Everything seems great, fixed even. Nothing is like the shambles Illéa rose out of.

Except...

Matthew has a heart defect. No one quite knows what it is or how it came to be, but everyone is hell-bent on finding out after Matthew blacks out.

Tess is more confused and concerned than ever.

America knows exactly what's happening; she's seen it before.

Will they be able to deal with the new situation with France and the engagement? And, above all that, will they be able to find a cure for Matthew before it's too late?

Is this just the beginning of the end?