3rd Person Point of View

The TVs all around the country flickered on for this Friday's episode of The Report. Girls waited nervously, clutching the outstretched hands of friends and family. Parents stood by anxiously, not sure whether they'd be celebrating with or, more likely, comforting their daughter late into the night. Boyfriends bristled with apprehension, stranded in their own homes, hoping not to hear their beloved's name called this night. That night, the Selected would be announced. That night, the Prince's thirty-five potential brides would prepare for their move to the palace and their fight for Prince Asher's heart.

On the screen, the young announcer Derek Narrows cleared his throat, and the whole country went silent. The only sounds in the streets were the animals, who didn't really seem to care that their owners might be leaving them soon.

"Good evening Illéa, and welcome to the Report. I'm Derek Narrows, and joining me tonight I have King Maxon, Queen America, Prince Asher - the guest of honor tonight, ladies and gentlemen - and the Princesses Natalie and Nevaeh. Before we get to the exciting stuff…" Derek announced some meaningless trade bargain with New Asia, but no one was listening. Girls were exchanging final words with their families before some of them were elevated to Selected.

"And now," Derek paused dramatically. "The moment you've all been anticipating since Prince Asher turned nineteen, the Selected." The screens faded to black, and Derek's voice narrated the slideshow of thirty five beautiful girls, the thirty five prospective brides for Prince Asher.

"Allison Morgan, a Two from Atlin," Derek said as a picture of a beautiful brunette girl filled the screens. In Atlin, the lucky girl was surrounded by screaming, cheering family members and excited (albeit slightly jealous) friends.

"Paige Knottingham, a Five from Tammins," Derek smiled as the picture changed, now showing a girl with strawberry hair and different colored eyes. In her house, her mother reached around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly, a silent affirmation of her pride. Next door, however, girls were sobbing bitterly, and jealously thinking of ways they could get back at Paige for stealing Prince Asher from them.

The screen changed again, flashing to a picture of a beautiful girl with New Asian looks, with long, thick, black-ish hair tied back into a thick braid. Her eyes, which were almost feline, were also a color somewhere between dark chocolate and the midnight sky on a stormy night. She was smiling slyly, with a coy, intelligent look about her.

"Rani Siyalamam, a Four from Zuni," Derek's voice broke into the stupors of many drooling teenage boys. In her small home in the mountains of Zuni, Rani's grandmother gave a little shout when she saw the grainy image of her granddaughter flicker onto their ancient television, and her stepfather enveloped Rani in a bear hug.

"Next, we have Natalie Birdson, a Four from Honduraga," Derek injected, accompanying a picture of a pretty blonde girl, smiling happily. In her house, however, there was no celebration. Her father was passed out, drunk, on the couch, and her twelve-year-old brother Jeremy was out of the house again, probably breaking the curfew laws again with his friends and doing other illegal things. Instead, all alone, Natalie watched the Report and cheered quietly for herself when her name was called, thanking the gods that she was chosen so she could escape her family.

"Engalu, a Two from Likely," Derek announced, and a gorgeous girl appeared on the screen, her black hair curled and styled like royalty. At her large home in Likely, champagne bottles were uncorked and all her friends were screaming and congratulating the eccentrically dressed one-nomer, ready to see their favorite celebrity bestie win the prince's heart.

"And now, Arlissa Frizer, a Two from Allens," Derek called happily. Arlissa, a cheerful brunette, gasped in unison with her family when she heard her name called. She and her older sister Amphritrite squealed and jumped about excitedly while the rest of her family looked on in pure joy.

In Hansport, Ariella Sawyer waited nervously for Derek to announce the Selected girl from her province. Her wide, green eyes were full of anxiety as she waited, heart pounding. Please don't let it be me, please don't let it be me.

"Ariella Sawyer, a Five from Hansport." The dreaded words filled Ariella's ears. She was crushed. What would Evan think? Ariella's mother, on the other hand, was ecstatic, jumping around and pulling Ariella to her feet, clutching both of her daughter's paint-stained hands in her own.

"Alexandra Lynwood, a Five from Waverly," called Derek's voice, but it was barely heard over the sounds of the celebrating people in Alexandra's house. As soon as her picture was shown on the screen, her entire family exploded into excited chatter. Alexandra beamed around at her family and began planning where each of them were going to live in the palace once she was queen.

"Caitlin Durham, a Seven from Dakota." As soon as Caitlin's name was announced and her black-haired picture was shown on the screen, beaming cheerfully, her father turned to her in silence.

"How could you disobey me, Caitlin? You know how I feel about the Selection," her father said in a voice as cold as ice. Caitlin averted her eyes and looked at the ground. This was not going to go over well.

"Please let it be me, please let it be me," pleaded Arielle Apollo in her ramshackle home in Sonage. Being Sixes was hard on her family, and Arielle was hoping to use the Selection as a chance to earn some extra money for her family. They needed it too.

"Arielle Apollo, a Six from Sonage," announced Derek, and Arielle's heart exploded with happiness. She could finally help her family like she wanted!

In Paloma, a young golden-haired beauty waited anxiously, clutching the hand of her younger sister, Caroline. Derek's voice announced her name, and her picture appeared on the screen, smiling joyously.

"Elaine Winslow, a Three from Paloma." Elaine barely registered that it was her. She was shocked, she was in the Selection now!

At a wild club called Dirty Little Secret, Ever Lioncourt was too busy partying over the release of her new movie, taking shot after shot and dancing questionably on the crowded dance floor, to notice that "Ever Lioncourt, a Two from Columbia" was announced on one of the muted TVs behind the bar.

Liliana looked up from her study where she was writing her newest blogpost for her fairly well-known website, Lilyblogs. In the silence of her Clermont home, with the television on the lowest volume setting it could go, Liliana just barely heard her name being announced, and looked up in surprise to see her scholarly brown-haired picture being displayed on the screen. When she looked back down, her notifications from her readers were blowing up, congratulating her on being Selected.

"Tara Wilson," Derek continued, and Tara, who was trying to get all of her siblings to be quiet, was stunned to hear that her name was called. Naw, it's probably just someone else named Tara Wilson. It's a pretty common name, right? she thought to herself, trying not to get her hopes up. "A Three from Angeles." Wait. Tara was a Three. Tara lived in Angeles. She was in the Selection! She squealed with happiness and immediately, all her hardworking efforts to make her family be quiet had gone down the drain.

"Jazmyn Howard, a Two from Sota," Derek announced, and Jazmyn smiled confidently at her friends.

(15) "I knew I'd get in," she boasted, twirling a finger in her black locks. "I mean, my family gets invited to the King's annual Christmas Ball every year. The Prince and I practically grew up together. I'm a shoe-in for Queen, girls, and you'll all be my servants," she joked, and laughed loudly. Her friends laughed with her, a little uncertainly.

"Laila Brown, a Seven from Hundson," Derek announced, and through the window of her neighbor's house, Laila watched in the pouring rain as her disheveled but happy-looking picture was projected on the screen. That was before the disownment, before her life turned into a living hell. Ah well, she thought, at least I get to live in the palace.

"Roselyn Tatyanna, a Four from Whites," Derek announced, and Edison Winters's heart dropped to his stomach. Even though they'd broken up, he knew that deep down, he still loved her, and couldn't bear to see her flirt with the Prince. At least I'll still be able to see her, Edison thought consolingly to himself, but then reminded himself of the Queen's affair with a guard, and thought that he had better stay away.

"You're so going to get Selected Laney," assured Olivia Scott to her nervous older sister, Delaney. Delaney bit her lip anxiously, waiting as Derek seemed to pause forever before reading off the next name.

"Delaney Scott, a Three from Sumner," he finally read, and Delaney's heart exploded with excitement as her familiar dark brown hair and smiling face appeared on the screen. Her family all cried out excitedly, happy for their beloved relative.

Riquel Lionheart pushed her slightly sweaty blonde hair out of her blue eyes exhasperatedly as she swiped the smelly dishrag in her hand over the table she was bending over. Crumbs flew to the recently swept floor, and she tossed the rag down in frustration, collapsing into a nearby booth. On the muted TV in the corner of the restaurant where she was working, Riquel noticed her face being displayed on the screen, or maybe it was her twin sister Rihanna's. Since the restaurant was closed, she ventured over to the screen to turn on the TV and listen, while examining the face closer.

"Riquel Lionheart, a Six from St. George," read a strange voice, and Riquel stared at the screen in utter shock before rushing to the telephone on the wall to call her sister at work.

"Rhi, you'll never guess what just happened!"

In her parent's villa in Labrador, a scholarly-looking blonde wearing sweats and a scowl slammed the phone down on her desk in anger.

"What do they mean, 'can't publish it'? Stupid publishers," Kendall Grant muttered to herself, pacing anxiously around her room. When she couldn't seem to shake the dark cloud of anger over her head, she flopped down onto the expensive leather couch and turned on the Report. Something about the Selection was happening tonight, or something. What she wasn't expecting was to see her photo displayed on the screen, accompanied by the words "Kendall Grant, a Three from Labrador."

Renae Staedtler was heading home late from work at the architecture building in Belcourt when she heard her name being called over the radio. Confused, she turned it up and realized, to her great surprise, that the Selection was on the radio, and she'd just been Selected. Who knew?

Maia di Rossi, a dark-haired beauty, kicked the soccer ball in front of her around aimlessly, hoping that her name wouldn't be the next one to be called for the Selection. It's such a stupid idea, and some people were forced to enter, she thought bitterly, thinking back to the explosive arguement she'd had with her father the day she entered.

"It'll be good for you Maia! Lord knows you need to learn how to act like a lady sometime," her father had screamed, and Maia had stormed out. When her temper had cooled back down, she came home, tidied up, and entered, but only to appease her father. She knew the whole thing was rigged, and who would want a soccer star in their Selection among all the models and actresses and prissy girls, and then the humble but secretly evil lower caste girls. Unfortunately…

"Maia di Rossi, a Two from Bonita."

"Another bust," Vanessa Harton complained to her manager as she entered the dressing room backstage after her latest performance at a little underground bar called the Poetic Rock.

"There were like… seven people there! How am I ever going to get noticed if I keep playing these little hole-in-the-wall crap-holes!" she ranted, struggling to climb out of her elaborate costume.

"Well, you may not gain fame by doing these gigs, but I have some news for you," her manager offered as she stepped up to help Nessa undo her costume. "You're in the Selection! You can go and stay just long enough to get people to know and remember you, and then leave and your music career is ready to go!" Hmm, not such a bad idea.

"Hey, Cass, can I tell you a secret," whispered David Carlson. Yeah, the David Carlson, the famous swimmer. Talking to little old Cassidy Johnson, an up-and-coming pro figure skater. Cassidy nodded, trying to control her blush.

"I was talking to Asher today and he told me that he got a preview of the Selected girls, and you're one of them!" That was not news Cassidy had wanted to hear. This totally screwed up her plan to get David to realize his feelings for her! That darned boy!

Brianna Chase. All the boys loved her, all the girls wanted to be her, but couldn't find it in their hearts to be jealous of her. For one, she was only sixteen and had graduated college already, and was now working on a top-secret architecture project for the Prince. For another, she was drop-dead gorgeous, and her personality was the only thing pretty enough to possibly rival her outward appearance. Third, as of just now, she was a contender for the Prince's hand in marriage.

"Brianna Chase, a Three from Midston," announced Derek, to no one's surprise. Now Brianna could add the Selection to her resume of things she's done perfectly that everyone else could only dream of attempting.

In her aunt's small home in Panama, Wren Prior sat on the couch, practically praying that her name would be called for the Selection. She'd registered late, so late in fact that she'd heard the postal workers muttering amongst themselves that she may not make it in time when she submitted her photo and information. Her aunt sat next to her, clutching Wren's hands in her own. Having raised the nervous girl since she was practically a toddler, Aurora Finch knew how badly Wren wanted this.

"Michelle Kenyon, a Five from Denbeigh," Derek read off, and for the millionth time, Wren's heart dropped to her stomach. Not me.

"Wren Prior, a Five from Panama," Derek continued, and Wren noticed with surprise that her own face was staring back at her on the TV screen. She squealed with happiness.

Esperenza Shore and her cousin Kelley Swetha were holed up in Kelley's flat in Baffin, counting out money and placing bets on which one of them would get Selected. Esperenza's brother worked for the King, and he'd overheard the King reading off a list of the names of the Selected to Prince Asher, and he knew for sure that one of the two was in. Esperenza was betting on Kelley, and Kelley was betting on herself. The TV had flashed through many faces, almost all thirty-five, and none of the girls had been Kelley or Esperenza, and they were both starting to get worried that Esperenza's brother had been playing a cruel joke on them.

"Kelley Swetha, a Three from Baffin." Kelley and Esperenza both gave excited cheers, and each took their own money back.

"Congratulations Kell! I knew you'd get -" Esperenza began, but stopped suddenly.

"Esperenza Shore, a Six from Calgary." The two paused.

"Both of us?" Kelley wondered aloud.

Sarah Deadwood was out for an evening walk when she heard the news. Well, technically, she was just returning from her walk, and her brothers tackled her as she walked in the door. Since they were eight and twelve, this was nothing new, but it was the words they were yelling that caught Sarah off guard.

"You got Selected you got Selected you got Selected!"

"I what?" Sarah repeated in confusion. "I got Selected?" The boys nodded.

"And the final four girls to be Selected are…" Derek read off, waiting for the teleprompter that was situated behind the cameras to update with the new names.

"Jillian Birchmore, a Six from Lakedon," he announced, and a loud screech sounded from the studio audience. A petite girl with eccentrically dyed hair was clutching her hands to her cheeks, and she looked exactly like the girl in the photo. There's always something new, Derek mused, pausing for a moment before reading the final three names.

"Maegan Byrd, a Two from Dominca. Linnea Pena, a Four from Yukon. Cecelia Conroy, a Four from Carolina." Somewhere in the country, he knew, three lucky girls would be celebrating with their families and packing their bags for the trip to the palace.

"Well folks, that's all there is for tonight, here you have your thirty-five lucky ladies that have been Selected for a chance to participate in the competition of a lifetime, with the highest prize of all… Prince Asher's heart. He's quite a looker, isn't he ladies?" Derek added, going off script, and throwing the camera a little wink. What the audience didn't realize is how much Derek actually believed those words.

AN

Finally! We're getting started! Just a little update, now that the story's starting I'm going to be deleting the entrance form and the author's notes, but I think I'll leave the chapter preview up. I'm so excited to start writing this story, and I can't wait for you guys to see all the interesting drama I have planned to keep this not boring and awesome for you. I can't decide if I want to pick "Main Characters" from the Selected, or whether I want to have a few POVs in each chapter so everyone gets equal time until they're eliminated. What do you guys think? Remember to review, and answer the questions if you want. Love you all!

-Margidee

Questions:

Which character, besides your own, do you think sounds the most interesting?

What do you think Derek's deal is?

What's your favorite holiday?