The next morning, Enjolras woke up and thought it was all just a dream. He hoped it was all a dream. As he went downstairs, he realized it wasn't. His family was all in a cheerful mood, ready to eat. Once he sat down, to oats and strawberries, just like the day before, they started eating and talking about their day, just as they had the day before. They easily got sidetracked, however.

"Yesterday, I didn't have anyone in the studio, I was just prepping pictures to be sent to print. Today, your father and I are taking the day off to spend with you. We will both be very busy in the next week, getting ready for your goodbye ceremony, as well as all of the other ones. You will also be busy, Gabriel, with all the people coming to get you ready for the castle and princess." Jackie said. Régis just nodded.

"What do we have to do to get ready?" Adrienne asked.

"I thought you could write a song to perform at the ceremony." Enjolras answered.

"Really? Would they allow that?" Adrienne asked, disbelief apparent in her face.

"They have to. It's my ceremony, and I want my sister to sing." Enjolras responded. Adrienne looked to her parents

"I don't see why not." Jackie said, having a quick eye conversation with her husband.

"Oh! I have to get started. It will have to be perfect! Nothing but the best for the future King of the United Queendom of France!" Adrienne said, quickly finishing her meal, and then jumping up to go to her room to work.

"And what do I need to do?" Adélaïde asked. "Just stay out of the way? Answer the phone?"

"'Laide, I was thinking that you could actually be my PA, until go to the castle, that is. And at the ceremony, I want you and Gilbert to be the last ones I say goodbye to. 'Ferre can be first, then Mom and Dad. After that, 'Enne can sing. Then you and Gil." Enjolras said.

"Oh, 'El. That's why you're going to make a great King. You always know the right thing to say and how to say it. The Princess has to fall in love with you. Everyone always does." She said. She came over to hug him from behind his chair, and then went to plug the phone in, but took it to her room, so that she could be with her computer and the phone, keeping tabs of everything.

Very soon after Enjolras and his parents finished eating, there was a knock on the door. The three looked at each other, and then Enjolras got up to answer it. He swung the big door open, only to find his best friend. "Mon ami!" 'Ferre said, excitedly.

"Hey, 'Ferre. I guess you were watching last night." Enjolras said, leading his friend into the living room. "Mom, Dad, if you'll excuse us." Jackie and Régis nodded and went into their bedroom and study, respectively.

"I feel like I should bow to you right now." His friend joked.

"Why would you do that?" Enjolras asked.

"Because, there is no way that the Princess is going to be able to resist the charms of Gabriel Auguste Enjolras. No one can, when you set your mind to something." He said, sitting on the couch across from his friend. "Soon, you will have the Princess, royal family, and the entire country in the palm of your hand. I just hope you won't forget me. I want to be at the wedding."

"Okay. Whatever you say, mon ami. You know you're my best man, always. Speaking of girls, though, did you and Kamille celebrate your name not being called?" He asked, and immediately regretted it. His friend's face fell. "Maurice, what happened?" He asked.

"Gabe, it was bad. I went to talk to her, like I said I was going to. She kissed me as I walked in, since she was the only one home, so we didn't have to worry about her parents or older sister. She lead me to the couch, where we kissed for a while, but eventually I had to stop her. I had to tell her that we submitted our forms. So I did. And she burst into tears. She started yelling at me, saying that I didn't love her. She said I didn't feel the same as she did, that I was just using her until I could get my hands on Princess Éponine.

"I tried to explain that I did it for you, that I knew you would be chosen, and turning in my form was the only way to make you do it, but that only made her more upset. She started screaming and throwing punches. Luckily, she couldn't see past her tears to do too much damage, physically."

"She hit her target right on point, emotionally, though. I'm so sorry, 'Ferre. I shouldn't have made you do this. I didn't know-" Enjolras shook his head at the floor.

His friend had his head in his hands, and his voice was close to breaking. "She kicked me out, Enjolras. She said she never wanted to see me again. She told me-" He stopped, and a couple of sobs leaked out. "She told me to have fun touching the princess because she would never let me touch her again."

"As if your relationship is all physical. 'Ferre, I shouldn't have been so stubborn. I shouldn't have made you fill out a form. If I would have known how she would react-" Enjolras said.

"You couldn't have. It's in the past. I'll move on, but right now, I have no one. I don't have the Princess, I don't have Kamille, and even you are leaving me." His friend said, regaining his composure.

"I'm still here for a couple days. What can I do to make it better?" Enjolras asked.

"I don't know."

"Let's do something fun, just the two of us. We can let go of our girl problems for a while."

"You haven't even met the Princess, but the two of you are already having problems? Leave it to you to have problems with the most beautiful and second most powerful woman in the country." Combeferre said, smiling. "What did you have in mind?"

"I have no idea." Enjolras admitted.

Cue little sister running, squealing into the room. "'El, I- Oh, hi 'Ferre. How's Kamille?" Adrienne asked.

"Not good, last time I saw her." Combeferre said, the smile slipping from his face.

"What did you do?" She asked, glaring at the older boy.

"It was my fault, 'Enne. Combeferre turned in his form, because I made him, and now Kamille is mad." Enjolras said.

"Oh, well. She shouldn't be mad. You didn't get picked. Everything is fine. She's just being a priss." Adrienne said. It was Combeferre's turn to glare at the girl.

"Don't you-" he started.

"Stop. Both of you. Adrienne, did you have something to tell me? Because we were just getting ready to leave." Enjolras said.

"I don't remember. Where are you going?" She asked.

"We aren't sure yet, but I'll see you at supper." Enjolras said, getting up and leading his friend back towards the door to leave.

The next morning, Éponine was woken up by something hitting her in the face. "Wake up, sleepyhead!" A young voice squealed.

"Gav! I was sleeping!" Éponine yelled back, swinging her arms in hopes of hitting the boy. A pillow came flying from the other side. "'Zel! This is so not fair." Éponine protested before curling up into a ball and covering herself with a blanket to block out the light Pierre had just turned on.

"Nope. Time to get up. You need to help Dad and Cosette look over the castle details. Plus, you have homework." Azelma said, pulling the blanket from around her older sister.

"Ughhhhhh." Éponine said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. "Where is Cosette anyways?"

"She's already off getting ready for the Election. This has a lot more responsibility than we originally thought, but Cosette is having the time of her life, it seems." Pierre said, sitting on the sectional next to her. "Azelma, Gav, don't you have school work you should be doing?" He asked. The younger royalty scampered out of the room. Pierre turned his focus back on the Princess. "Go shower. Then I'll brush and braid your hair."

"I was kidding about that." Éponine said, standing and walking towards her bedroom.

"I know. I wasn't."

After Éponine was ready for the day, Pierre left to do whatever he did during the day. Éponine found her father and looked over plans and rooms that were already done, choosing her favorites to use for the boys' bedrooms, the dining sets, even tapestries to go in the hallways.

"Why can't the same tapestries stay up? Why do we have to change our whole lifestyle for some guys I don't even want to meet?" Éponine protested in between presentations.

"Because, this is a big deal. Not just for us, but for the whole country. The whole world, in fact, will be watching you choose your future husband. It is cause for excitement and change. That's why we called the election. Everyone will be focussed on you for the next year or so. Do you understand, my 'Ponine?" The King asked.

"Yes. I understand that you want attention diverted from whatever you and Mom are doing, and you're using your own daughter as that diversion. I'll go along with it, but you know I won't be happy about it." She huffed.

"You don't have to be happy, off camera. I expect all smiles and wonderful acting when around cameras and the public. That includes the boys. Especially the boys. They will all share everything they've learned in the palace as soon as they get out." He said as the next presenter came in, this time about the first formal meal the boys and the royal family would share.

"So, you're telling me to get close to the boys, but not let them know everything. They could share valuable secrets. Why are we even letting them into the palace? They could all be spies!" Éponine said, after the tasting was concluded and a decision was made.

"Precisely. You need to learn who deserves to know what, and when. That will make you a good queen. Also, knowing when to reveal favorites, and when to make an enemy will be an invaluable skill you should know and learn through this process. The election is just as much a part of your training to be queen as any reading assignment your mother gives you." The King explained.

"Speaking of, I have many of those reading assignments to do, so if we're all done here, I'll see you at dinner, Papa." Éponine said, standing.

"Of course, my darling. Have a good day." He said. Éponine started towards the door. "Oh, and Éponine." She turned around. "Don't stress too much over this. You're pretty face is still as important as ever and you don't need stress lines." Éponine smirked at her father and turned on her heel, leaving the room.

Enjolras and Combeferre didn't end up doing much. They just went to the rec center and raced, kicked around a ball, and swam for a bit. They were back at their respective houses before dark. "Thanks, mon ami. Today was fun. I just wish Kamille wasn't mad at me." Combeferre said.

"Yeah, she'll get over it. If you love each other, and I know you do, she'll be over at your house begging you to take her back soon enough. Everything will turn out, you'll see." Enjolras reassured.

"I hope you're right. Don't stress too much, and don't be a stranger, mon ami. See you later." They parted ways and entered their own houses, just in time for supper.

Normally, supper was quiet in the Enjolras household. Tonight, however, everyone was in attendance and couldn't keep themselves from talking about all they had accomplished that day. Enjolras apologized for spending his parents' day off with his friend, but they brushed it off, saying Combeferre needed him more. Adrienne had already blabbed the whole story to the family.

"'Enne, will you come with me to see Kamille tonight? Maybe we can talk her into forgiving 'Ferre."

She gave him a funny look. "Why do you need me? Can't you just do it by yourself. I don't want to see her if she's going to be snippy. She messed up."

"Adrienne! She's still your best friend. What's gotten into you?" Jackie chastised. Adrienne just shrugged.

"You need to come with me because it wouldn't be proper for me to visit a girl this late, but if I was just escorting you to speak to a friend, that would be okay. Please, 'Enne?" Enjolras pleaded. "For 'Ferre? I can't stand him being so down and me not being able to do anything about it."

Adrienne sighed. "Fine. But you owe me a meeting with the princess."

"Deal. If I stay long enough to get you a visit, that is." He explained.

"No. He broke my heart when he did that. I won't talk to him. Not even for you, Enjolras. I'm happy he didn't get chosen, but that doesn't mean what he did was right."

Enjolras and Adrienne were at Kamille's house. Enjolras and Kamille were sitting on the couch in their living room, which was identical to the Enjolras' equivalent room. Adrienne was sitting on a chair, watching the two debate.

"Please, Kamille. You didn't see how broken he was this morning. It almost killed me seeing him so sad. Won't you at least talk to him?" Enjolras pleaded.

"No." The eighteen-year-old said, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head.

Enjolras looked at his sister, begging her to do something. She rolled her eyes and sighed, but nodded. "Look, Kami. We've been friends for a long time. We grew up together and we've only started to pull apart because of our studies. You know how strong our friendship is. 'El and 'Ferre's is even stronger. They are practically brothers. Can you imagine how you would feel if I was in love and then he broke up with me because of something you did? Or something you didn't do, but was just as stupid?"

Kamille looked at her friend and blinked.

"You would want to beat the crap out of him, but you would also just want me to feel better. And if you could, you would want to get us back together, no matter the cost. That's all 'El is trying to do. So if you won't do it for 'Ferre, or yourself, or me, can't you do it for the future King of the United Queendom of France?" Kamille burst into tears at this point. Adrienne rushed over to her friend and embraced her. She petted her hair and rocked her, shushing her.

"Kami, do you want me to spend the night? We can talk and you can keep crying without my creepy brother watching us. We'll figure out a solution." Kamille nodded, and Adrienne glanced at Enjolras, telling him to leave, that they would be okay. He nodded, stood, and left, shaking his head and thinking he would never understand girls.

"Rosabel, am I getting stress lines?" Éponine asked her maid as she was getting ready for bed that night.

"Of course not, Princess! Why would you think something like that?" Rosabel responded, brushing her hair back.

"Something my dad mentioned today. We had a very strange conversation. I didn't think I was, but I just wanted to be sure." Éponine said, standing.

"What do you mean, strange?" The maid asked, putting the princess's dressing gown around her.

"It was about the boys, the plan, the election. I think my parents are planning something, and we all know that is not ever a good sign. When I rule this country, I'm going to put in a fierce board of advisors to make sure I don't do stupid things or go crazy." Éponine said, leaving her vanity to walk to her bed.

"That sounds like a very intelligent thing to do, Princess."

"Rosa, you were around when my grandmother was queen, were you not? You would have been a little girl, but do you remember anything about how she ruled? Was she as crazy as my mother?" Éponine asked, laying down in between the sheets that Rosabel had pulled up for her.

"I remember stories, better. Queen Félicité was a good ruler. She kept unemployment numbers down, and tried to create fairly equal pay through the different sectors, even those in the higher numbers. She always looked very pretty and kind on the screens, but of course, she was old and I was very young. I didn't know any better than to love the Queen of the country. I definitely never thought I would be working in the palace where she lived. I also think that her time was cut too short. She could've done so much more good, had she had just a few more years. But that's enough politics before bed, Princess. You still have much to do in the next few weeks, and we want to keep you rested. Heaven knows you won't get much rest when all those boys get here. None of us will, I imagine." Rosabel said, starting towards the exit to the room.

"Thank you for your insight, Rosa. I will see you tomorrow. Turn out the light when you leave, please."

"Of course, Princess. Good night, and sweet dreams."

"I didn't actually break up with for turning in the form. I mean, I did, but that was just a dumb tipping point. Adri, I don't love him anymore. I was looking for a way out, and when he came to tell me about the form, I took the chance." Kamille said.

"But, didn't you kiss when he came to tell you? That's what 'El said." Adrienne asked.

"I was trying to make myself love him again." Kamille admitted, looking sheepish. "But it didn't work. Please don't tell him. Let him think I am mad. I think he would be worse off if he knew I didn't love him anymore. I don't want to break his heart anymore than I already did. I'd rather him hate me than think he can change my feelings." Kamille started silently crying again.

"Kami, I'm so sorry for being mad at you about this. I won't tell him unless you want me to. I won't even tell my brother." Adrienne said, hugging her best friend.

"Thank you. I feel so bad. I did love him, but not anymore. And you've been right. You always were, Adri. I only started dating Maurice to get closer to your brother. But I did have real feelings for Maurice in the middle. They just weren't enough. And why would Gabe take me after this stupid stunt?" Kamille said through tears.

"I know. I've known the whole time. But had you been with him, we would be in the reverse of this situation, and you know as well as I do that 'El needs to go to the castle. You would have been holding him back. You'll find your King someday, but it's not my brother."

"Tell him that I knew he would win. I know he'll win the whole thing, if that's what he wants. And I agree with you. I'm glad we aren't together." Kamille said, just hugging her best friend, now.

Adrienne pulled away to look at the nurse in training. "Kami, I have something to ask you. And please don't get mad at me when I do. I just want a yes or no answer."

A/N: What does Adrienne have to ask Kamille? If someone guesses it correctly, I'll update on the day they guess. Otherwise, it'll be another couple of weeks. A lot of the next couple of chapters are mostly filler, but each one has little secrets or small things to help in the future plot, so pay good attention. This story isn't as popular as many of my others, which doesn't really make me super mad, but I'm just curious as to why. Maybe I just haven't posted enough yet. Oh, well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next! Read, enjoy, and let me know if you have any suggestions for what you want to see in this story!