My mother was placing five sets of silverware next to five plates. I was trying to make dinner for May and Gerad –and possibly Aspen-but we had no food. I opened the refrigerator and the shelves were all vacant except for a half empty jar of pickles. I picked them up and turned to mom, frowning. Her red hair looked disheveled and her face had more lines and wrinkles than I remembered. Her body was thinner and the sight was frightening. She didn't say anything, she just started to cry. I ran to her then, extending an arm around her shoulders.

"Mom! It will be okay. Next month, we'll have jobs lined up and Gerad will begin acting." He had finally found his niche.

"But…but…" She started between sobs, "I'm feeding my children pickles!"

Gerad and May entered the kitchen now and both of them were gaunt as ever. They looked worse than Eights. In fact, I could see every one of their bones. My stomach lurched at the sight…or maybe because it was so empty.

I heard a loud zipping noise and suddenly, Gerad's mouth opened wide to reveal a bright light which slowly overtook his little face and then my entire line of vision was white.

"…Ica? Lady America? It's time to wake up!" Anne's voice gently tugged at my mind. One of my maids was still opening the curtains, letting in a wonderfully large amount of light.

I took a long deep breathe of the summer air that had come in through my open windows. It smelled of the flowers in the vast garden below my balcony. A lazy smile played across my face as I opened my eyes. What a terrible nightmare to have but I knew that my family of Fives back home would never have to worry about that kind of hunger again. Prince Maxon had helped create a new law. Free nutritious meals would be provided once a day at dinnertime for Fives, Sixes, Sevens, and Eights. And of course, I was an Elite. Not only did this mean that my family was receiving generous compensation from the palace for my participation in the Selection, but also that Prince Maxon had narrowed down 35 potential future wives, future princesses, and future queens to only 6. I was one of them.

I looked up at one of my maids, still smiling. "Good morning, Anne."

"Good morning, Lady America." She curtsied. "Today you will be meeting with Silvia and the other Elites in the Women's Room. Silvia will explain some of the changes that are made to the Selection after the Elites have been established."

Mary had been the one who drew back the curtains and now she was rounding the corner of the bed to face me. "And we have more dresses for you, miss!"

I looked over to my closet, where an elegant yellow day dress was hanging on the door. Most of my dresses were blue or cream colored. I had always requested to dress simply and lightly. Next to the other ladies, I often appeared plain. But today, my dress didn't look plain. I pulled the covers off and stepped into my fancy slippers. My maids escorted me to the enormous washroom where they started the bath and helped me out of my thin nightgown.

I came out of the bath smelling like lavender. The maids draped a robe around me and Anne proceeded to blow-drying my hair as Mary worked on my make-up and Lucy rubbed lotion into my skin. Anne decided to leave most of my red locks in waves falling down my back. She pinned up only a small amount of hair from the sides of my temple. It had a simple, graceful air to it. My make-up was light and soft with pink hues. The maids slipped me into the yellow dress. Anne told me it was made of chiffon, an expensive material. The straps of the dress were wide set and looped over the curves of my shoulders, almost falling off of them. The hem fell just above my knee and even the slightest movement caused the fabric to sway in a beautiful flowing motion. I looked delicate, even fragile.

My maids slipped my feet into these little strappy silver heels. Then they ushered me out of the room where Marlee and Elise were descending the stairs. I hurried over –as quickly as I could in heels-to catch up.

"Hello." I said to both of them. Marlee was my best friend here, other than maybe the Prince. I hadn't spoken to Elise much at all during the month that I've been here. She seemed quiet and calm compared to the others who had mostly seemed to be on a constant adrenaline rush from all of the excitement here.

When Marlee turned to me her eyes were wild with enthusiasm and she gave me a warm smile. "Aren't you so excited?! I can't believe I made it-we made it-into the Elites." She was always like this, bubbly and happy.

"I'm interested to hear what kinds of changes are being made now that there are only the six of us." Elise said as we reached the first floor.

Marlee and I nodded in agreement as the three of us entered the Women's Room. It was a room of decent size but relatively small compared to the Dining Room or the Great Room. The Queen and her other female friends used this room to entertain themselves. Since the Selection started, all of the girls used this room as a place to gather for announcements made by Silvia. When I first arrived, it was filled with mirrors and salon chairs. All 35 girls had gone through this room for their hair, make-up, nails, and wardrobe. At that time, we were preparing for interviews with camera crews and news reporters that would later be broadcast on the Illea Capital Report. Now that we were Elites, I could imagine there would be more of that.

Instead of the mirrors and salon chairs, there were several sofas in front of the large television. Natalie and Kriss were already seated at one. Natalie had a flirtatious pink dress on and Kriss was wearing a deep blue one. Marlee, Elise, and I joined them. Of course, Celeste hadn't made her entrance yet.

As we waited, we talked about the Selection so far. How the rules had been changed and some had been broken. How different palace life was from the lives back home. I was a Five, so before the selection my family's money was stretched pretty thin. We still managed but sometimes we'd have to give up our electricity so that we could have food. I couldn't imagine how Sixes, Sevens, and Eights below us were able to survive. Many didn't.

And then there was Aspen, he was a Six and the oldest of seven children. His father had died years ago and his family relies heavily on him for money. He was drafted to serve for Illea as a soldier after I was taken away for the Selection. Luckily for him, he was safely stationed as a guard at the palace. Not so lucky for me. He was my boyfriend for two years before the Selection, the secret love of my life. No one at home knew because there are laws against us being together because we're from different castes. Not to mention my mother would be furious. We had planned to get married but now he wasn't my boyfriend anymore. He had broken up with me before the Selection saying he was unworthy of me and that I deserved someone who could at least provide me with food. Aspen had told me that he would never be able to forgive himself if he was the reason I wouldn't apply to be in the Selection for Prince Maxon's future wife and future Queen. My family needed the money so my mother was pressuring me too and there was such a small chance that I would actually be Selected. One in thousands. But I was Selected and I had come here by mistake. I was the only girl in the Selection that didn't want to be here. Until recently. Because I mistakenly also began to fall for Prince Maxon who proved to be nothing like I would have expected from a One. And all of a sudden, the Selection mattered.

CLANKITY CLANK CLANK. I practically jumped from my seat, so surprised by the disturbance outside the Women's Room. The palace was almost always silent aside from the sound of high heels on the tile floors.

"But I had asked for gold! Not silver!" A woman shrieked from behind the door. Celeste, of course.

Marlee and I exchanged a look and she stifled a laugh. I heard hurried hushed whispers coming from the maid who was frantically trying to calm her down. The door swung open and a very disgruntled Celeste strode in. She was tall and confident with long brown hair. A large, elaborate silver necklace was displayed across her chest. Her dress was a vibrant red, like most of her wardrobe. Celeste's strategy was intimidation. And for most girls, it worked.

In a huff, she came up to us and sat down. "These maids can't get anything right!" She lifted a finger to her chest and flicked the silver necklace.

"I think it looks good." Marlee said sheepishly. Celeste just glared.

Suddenly, Silvia burst through the door, completely unaware of the tension in the room. And just like that, it dissipated. "Good morning, ladies" She began, "We have a lot of extremely important information to go over today. I hope you're all prepared to take everything in. First things first, congratulations on making it to the final six, congratulations on being an Elite." She gave a small smile and continued. "Now, as you've heard, when there are only a handful of ladies left in the Selection, there are quite a few changes that are made. We no longer hold lessons in the Great Room seeing as we won't need that much space. Now you will be taking your lessons in The West Conference Room. Only the smallest conferences are held there and this will more than suit the needs of a group of this size.

"Your lessons will be changed drastically. You will still have History but you will also have two new lessons: Royalty Obligations and Inner Workings. In Royalty Obligations you will learn your roles as a princess and later as Queen. You will learn what will be expected of you from the Royal family and you will learn more about proper etiquette. In Inner Workings, you will learn what responsibilities a princess will have in serving Illea. You will also, of course, learn what businesses you will have as Queen. There will be lessons on the roles of the King and princes as well. In the afternoon on Mondays and Wednesdays you will be taking dance lessons to prepare yourselves for The Elite Grand Ball which will take place in two weeks." Marlee looked at me wide-eyed, pursing her lips in excitement when Silvia said this. "You should use this as an opportunity to impress both Prince Maxon and all of Illea. As you can imagine, there will be plenty of camera crews and photographers. I also encourage you to use the swimming pool outside to the East of the garden during open hours after lunch on days you don't have dance lessons. Because there are so few of you now, it would be in your best interest to make close friends. The Queen is still dear friends with many of the women who participated in her Selection. These changes are in effect as of today. You may now head to the Dining Room where you can take your breakfast."

I was excited about the swimming pool. I've never even seen one before. Usually only Twos and Threes have any hope at ever going swimming. For anyone less fortunate, swimming is too expensive.

"I can't wait to impress Prince Maxon at the Ball." Natalie gushed.

"Oh, I know! Now that there are so few of us, this will be so much more intense." Marlee said.

"I will slap one of my maids if she gets my jewelry wrong again. I'm already imagining what kind of impression my ensemble will have on the Prince. He won't be able to take his eyes off me." Celeste was so smug it was sickening.

We walked down the hall to the Dining Room. The sound of high-heels on the tiles was much softer now that 29 girls were gone. When we entered the Dining Room, the Royal Family wasn't there yet. I noticed that the tables had been rearranged. Instead of the boxy U that they were shaped in before, there were only two tables. They were positioned perpendicular to each other creating a T. One must be for the Royal Family and the other for the Elites. We sauntered over to where there were six place settings over a white cloth and took our seats in the tall dark dining chairs. The plates were white with fancy gold trim and I was greeted with more than three pieces of silverware. I sat in between Marlee and Natalie. Celeste, Kriss, and Elise were seated across from us. No one sat at the end of our table. The top was up against the center of the Royal Family's table. There were two place settings at each of the ends of the Royal Family's table and one in the center, right in front of the door. It actually was a nice arrangement, everyone could see everyone.

Shortly after we arrived, the doors to the Dining Room opened and in unison, all six girls rose from their seats. King Clarkson and Queen Amberly walked through followed by Prince Maxon. We all curtsied and I noticed the instant change in the room, as usual, when the Prince was present. Every girl was in awe, love-struck and desperate for his affection. After the Royal Family entered, two guards did as well and stationed themselves at either side of the double doors.

"Good morning, ladies. Please have a seat." Queen Amberly began. She gave us a small, gentle smile as she lifted her arm, motioning to the chairs. "I have purposely not gotten close to you because I knew the great majority of the Selected would be leaving and it didn't seem proper. Though, now that there are only so few of you, I'd like so much to take that time if you'll allow me. I'll ask for each of you individually to meet with me in the Women's Room later this week so that we have an opportunity to elaborately introduce ourselves. As for now, I thoroughly hope you enjoy your breakfast." Then she was seated.

The girls began to talk quietly amongst themselves as did the Royal Family. Waiters dressed in black slacks and white button up shirts made their rounds setting silver platters of food on each white plate. I stole a glance at Maxon before I uncovered my breakfast. My breath shortened when his gaze shifted and his brown eyes fell on me. His face lit up a little and he gave me a small smile. In my first weeks here, I had found that Maxon was trustworthy and I had told him everything. About my feelings for Aspen and later about my feelings for him. There were only two things I kept secret from Maxon. He did not know Aspen by name so one of the things he was unaware of was that the guard who kept watch outside of my room at nighttime was not only known as Guard Leger but also as the boy who broke my heart. The second thing he didn't know was that Aspen had snuck into my room and had stolen a passionate kiss only last week. Well, maybe not stolen. I hadn't exactly pulled away. The kiss could have ended in Aspen, me, or both of us being put to death. Later I told Aspen that anything more than a formal relationship was not only too risky, but blatantly inappropriate.

Maxon and I had shared three kisses, three more than I daresay anyone at this table had before. Sometimes I wondered how Maxon acted around the other girls but he assured me that he knew I was the one he wanted. I was the one he could foresee a future with. He had told me that if it had been so simple, he'd send everyone else home now and keep me. I was the one he was willing to wait for until I was sure I wanted to spend my life with him.

As I bit into one of the delicious sausages, I thought about how this situation was so backwards. A prince is waiting for me. When a messenger had visited my home back in Carolina to go over the rules of the Selection before I came to the palace, he had told me that it was in my best interest not to turn down the prince. No matter what his request was. Anything goes. He could demand anything from a kiss to marriage. And now here he is, waiting in hopes that one day I'll be ready.

"America." Marlee whispered to me. "The Prince is looking at you so strangely."

I spun my head around towards Maxon. Sure enough, he was looking at me strangely. And right when I looked at him, he made the most inconspicuous movement. It could have looked like a simple itch or an unintentional gesture. But I knew that the tug he gave his left ear was meant for me. It was our symbol to let the other know that we needed to talk in private. I gave him a small nod and went back to my breakfast.

When breakfast was dismissed, I walked down the hall towards the backdoors that led out to the garden, hoping to meet with Maxon before lessons. As I was passing the Great Room, a hand grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the hall and through the door. I looked up to see who had seized me and gasped.

I had found myself face to face alone with Aspen.