#ariciaeast

[ariciaeast-blog]

Aricia's outfit for the hospital visit! ((lol ignore the fact that shes in a bed of tulips lol 😂))

#ch3 #challenge 3 #ariciaeast #aricia east #((i forgot to post this earlier whoops))

[alinaschreave-blog]

ariciaeast replied to your post “i have returned”

((How was your out of town adventure?))

((it was WILD lemme tell ya! we went backpacking, so ya know, we’re having a good time trekking in the mountains and all that and then it RAINED SO HARD FOR A WHOLE DAY and everything was wet. it only stopped long enough for us to put up our tent and then rained the rest of the night! my shoes got soaked! my clothes! i was SO COLD!!!!!))

#ariciaeast #mine #text #livi.txt #ooc

[calistapledger]

Forever and Always

[A/N: @ariciaeast @debbieker @theiahuntley @emmalynatwood @madelynknightoftheselection (I don’t even know if Maddie is active anymore) this is a little late, I was supposed to post this on Halloween to spook y’all. Better late than never. Special mention to @isabellafaulkner and @evadne-leventhorpe for making cameos in this; they were the only ones to know about this little project. Anyways when you get to the lyric bit, you should play This.]

I was officially all moved in and we couldn't be happier. Our relationship was flourishing, we were both independent and doing our own things. College was fantastic and I'm so close to graduating, I could almost taste it. To celebrate my moving in with Aly, I decided to cook for us. Both of us were capable but I hated it so mostly Aly would cook for us over the weekends. I only cook for him on special occasions and this was one.

I knew how much he loved his Grandma’s dishes so I called her up for some family recipes. For our starters, I made Granny Costas’ Special Stifado which was a Greek stew typically made from meat (I chose beef because Aly and I are nuts for that), tomatoes, onions and herbs. Granny told me that he adored Keftedes, meatballs cooked with herbs and onions. Being the Asian I was, I needed that to accompany rice so I picked out a Greek rice dish called Spanakorizo off the Internet. It was spinach and rice cooked in lemon and olive oil sauce.

It was tedious but with the help of my aids, I was able to recreate Granny’s recipes just as he came home. I stood by our dining table with my scarlet dress on that he loves so much with a huge grin on my face. The door opened and I could barely contain my excitement. I was going to greet him when he slammed the front door. His footsteps sounded sluggish and he kept breathing out sighs of frustration. I dropped my grin and walked towards his silhouette.

“What's wrong, darling?” I felt his body tense when I hugged him. The tension of his fists clenching and unclenching thumping against me worried me.

“I don't want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” I nodded understandingly. I'll coax it out of him eventually. I felt my way up his neck and undid his tie before guiding him towards the dinner table.

“I made you a spread, straight from Granny Costas’ Family Recipes. I'm kind of mad you never introduced me to your cultural food.” I teased, hoping to cheer him up. All I got was a halfhearted snort. I took my place across him and we dug in.

“How was work?” He sighed again.

“I rather not talk about it.”

“Alright, what do you want to talk about?” He took a bite of his food, the food sliding down his throat was evidence enough.

“How about how you made this delicious meal all by yourself?” He exclaimed and I giggled. There's my Alystair. We discussed how Granny had to explain over and over until I had it committed to memory. It helped that Aly didn't move any of his cooking supplied so I easily navigated all the ingredients. I took my time and I consider it a miracle that I didn't burn down the house. We kept the conversation light and soon decided to call it a night.

As I snuggled up next to him, I nudged him.

“Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? I mean isn't this what it is to have a relationship; to support each other during the hard times. Please tell me what's wrong.” I even widened my eyes innocently. He sighed resigned and caved. He held me tighter when he started to explain.

“I'm being drafted.” My whole world came crashing down with those three little words.

“What?! But you're the Captain! You should be deploying soldiers for the draft not being deployed.”

“Darling, I'm only a Captain. I have higher authorities to answer to. It's a small dispute in North Africa, because Melody Nolan messed up the dinner party that doubled as a Treaty Dinner and they want to put a stop to it before it blows into a full on war.” Typical, there had to be repercussions of those who had failed to do their dinners. Why did my boyfriend had to get dragged into this though? I couldn't do anything at this point so I sighed, defeated.

“When do you leave?” I asked tiredly.

Please be a year or more.

“Next week. They want to shut it down as soon as possible. I'm sorry.” I couldn't respond. I just turned on my side and forced myself to wake up from this twisted dream. I just got him, I can't lose him now. He understood and hugged me from behind. He held me as I cried myself to sleep.

***

The week had come and gone. He was at the door with all his bags packed. I looked at him resentfully. “Don't go.” I pleaded. He simply hugged me tightly. “I love you, I'll be back. I promise you I'm going to be safe.” With one last kiss, he was gone.

She's sitting at the table The hours getting later And he's supposed to be here She's sure he would have called

I was making myself Keftedes with Spanakorizo because it was a day I particularly missed him.  I sat by the table waiting for the rice to cook and checked the time with my shades. 5pm, any minute now he’d call.

She waits a little longer There's no one in the driveway No one’s said they’d seen him Why is something wrong?

She looks back to the window, Suddenly the phone rings A voice said something's happened And she should come right now

I'm sure he was delayed, I assured myself while staring at the phone. Its blurry silhouette mocked me. I paged Emory, his best friend who was in North Africa with him. Not five minutes after I paged Emory, the phone rang and I turned away from the window.

“Calista? It's Emory, you need to get to Angeles General as soon as you can. Aly is in critical condition.” I was shaking as I assured him I’d be there and hung up. We just fell in love and moved in together. He can't be taken away from me this soon. I breathed to calm myself down. I gave myself a few moments of silence.

Her mind goes to December She thinks of when he asked her He bent down on his knee first and he said…

I want you forever Forever and Always Through the good and the bad and the ugly We'll grow old together Forever and Always.

I thought back to Christmas. It wasn't exactly a proposal because we knew we didn't want to rush into anything. But he did give me a promise ring and we pretended it was an actual engagement.

I'll never forget what he said to me.

“I want you forever, forever and always. Through the good and the bad and the ugly. We'll grow old together, forever and always.” I thought it was sweet for the first two lines until I realised and gave him a deadpan look.

“You did not just quote my favourite band to me.” He chuckled sheepishly. I shoved him playfully, laughing. Afterwhich we popped the champagne and had a little dance in our apartment. It was silly but that step forward meant a lot to us.

I fiddled with my ring until I calmed myself long enough to call Izzy. She was the only one in town and my first instinct was to call her. She could make me feel better in any situation. Without hesitation, she came to my rescue. As she manically drove me to the hospital, I texted the rest of the Breakfast Club and Vad the situation, to keep my hands from shaking so violently. Izzy offered me words of comfort until we reached there.

She pulls up to the entrance She walks up to the front desk They lead her down a million halls A maze that's never ending

They talk about what happened But she can barely hear them She tries to keep a straight face As she walks into the room

I burst in dramatically, as Izzy guided me to the front desk. “I'm looking for Alystair Costas. I'm his wife.” I fibbed. Before the lady could tell me, Emory called out to me. “Cal! I'm so glad you're here.” He pulled me into a tight hug. I was taken back, Emory wasn't one for affections. This made me even more nervous about Aly’s condition. I started peeling at my nails. Then a new voice chimed in. “Miss Ledger? I'm Alystair’s Doctor. He's been asking for you. Allow me to explain his condition…” Her voice faded away, I just wanted to see him.

She must have caught the desperate expression I wore and gave me a gentle smile before guiding me to his room. Izzy assured me that she'd wait outside since the room didn't permit more than two visitors. I needed to be brave for him so I relaxed my facial muscles, made myself cool and collected before following the doctor into his room.

She sits by his bed side Holding his hand too tight Talk about the kids they're gonna have And the good life The house on the hillside Where they would stay…

Stay there forever, Forever and Always Through the good and the bad and the ugly They'll grow old together And always remember Whether for rich or for poor or better They'll still love each other

Forever and Always

“Hi stranger.” I say softly as I sit down by his bed. “Hi, love.” He says hoarsely. I sense him smiling and instinctively hold on to his hand tightly. A habit I developed recently whenever I get scared. He reached out to cup my face but gasped and made a quick movement which I assumed to be a wince.

“Hey, take it easy. I need you to be strong for when we make kids.” I teased, wanting to take both of our minds off the situation at hand. He chuckled weakly but winced again.

“I thought you didn't want kids.” “Well I change my mind so get better and give me Mini Alys soon!” “The apartment is too small for a family.” He played along and his voice was gaining strength.

“We could get a house on the hillside. Kind of like the rolling hills in Sound of Music.” I continued the fantasy. It distracted both of us from our respective pains and it was nice to just hold his hand and talk about our future without a care in the world.

“Of course, how do you solve a problem like Calista?” He sang softly. I gave him a faux pout. “Hey! I'm not all that bad.” He reached out cautiously this time to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear and pulled me closer to him. He pressed his lips against mine and I felt the tears coming on. Why did he have to go and do that? It was like he was saying goodbye. I pulled away first and put on my ‘happy’ voice.

“So this hillside house, I want us to stay there forever. Until we die, like how cool would it be to grow old together and be buried there where we can haunt it from the grave!” He gave a raspy laugh to that. It didn't seem to have hurt him and that in itself was a relief.

“Darling, we'd have to get married before the kids and house.” He pointed out. Always the practical one, I smiled at him tenderly.

On cue, Vad barged through the door with Izzy and Emory trailing behind her.

“I'm here!” She rushed over to envelope me in a bear hug. I quickly try to tangle Aly out of it, seeing he needed the space. Izzy joined in and burrowed my face into their shoulders as I allowed the tears leak out. They rubbed my back and whispered comforting words. After I pulled myself together, I pulled back and smiled, relieved to have them here for moral support.

Then she gets an idea And calls in the nurses And brings up the chaplain And he says a couple verses She borrowed some rings from the couple next door Everybody’s laughing as the tears fall on the floor

I scanned the room realising that two of my best friends and Aly’s best friend were here - sure, it wasn't the same without the rest of the Breakfast Club but I had to make do.

‘Darling, we’d have to get married.’ Echoed through my mind before the lightbulb lit up. I excitedly exited the room, leaving everyone in a state of confusion. I called up the nurses and relayed my plan to her. She smiled kindly and patted my hand, telling me that she'd follow through. That's when I knew he was a goner. I swallowed as I packed away that miserable thought.

The nurse showed up with the chaplin moments later. Vad came up to me with rings,

“You're lucky I have a private jet and was getting my parents’ rings resized.” I thanked her with all my heart before returning back to Aly’s room gleefully. I smile cheekily, holding up the rings and gesturing to the priest. Izzy gasped while Emory caught on and laughed. I went to his bedside with the help of Izzy and sat down. I shot off instructions. Asking Emory to stand by Aly’s side as his best man while Izzy and Vad were my maids of honour. The priest stood in front of us and began the ceremony.

She looks into his eyes and she says…

I want you forever Forever and Always Through the good and the bad and the ugly We'll grow old together

And always remember Whether happy or sad or whatever We'll still love each other Forever and Always Forever and Always

“I want you forever, Alystair Ajax Costas. Through the good, bad and the ugly times. We'll grow old together.” I insisted on the together bit before continuing, “Always remember, whether happy, sad or whatever, we’ll still love each other. Forever and always, that's a promise, Alystair.” I kept my voice fierce and steady. There was no way I was going to let him go without a fight.

She finishes the vows But the beeps are getting too slow His voice is almost too low

As he says…

Just as I had my last word, his heart rate seemed to have slowed. My eyes glanced back and forth from his face to the machine. He lets out a violent cough. He regains himself and slips his hand up my cheek, cupping my face so gently, you’d think I was the fragile one.

I love you forever Forever and Always Please just remember Even if I'm not there, I'll always love you Forever and Always

He rasps out his vows and I grip his hand tightly, as if that was the only thing tethering him to this world. We exchange the rings. I’m shaking as he slides mine onto my finger. We just sit there, our hands clasped together. We said everything that needed to be said and yet, I broke down crying when I heard the long beep.

#Calista P Ledger #Fic #Forever and Always #Calystair #Calista Ledger #Alystair Costas

[debbieker-blog]

@annelise-newstone  @ariciaeast @berklee-boyer @devonmuerner @evadne-leventhorpe @isabellafaulkner @jynsongxvii

#((I made this some time ago just because ))

[ruby-stones-blog1]

The Children Story Writing Awards

Hosted by: @ruby-stones and @ladykatdempsey (ooc)

We saw the opportunity to spread some love and awareness for the hard work you guys are doing and the wonderful creations you can come up with, and took it. So here you go. The first ever illean children story writing Awards.

Best Feminism Story: @ladykatdempsey - You know why it love it that much. Breaking way too many stereotypes and spreading an important message. Fear is okay.

Best Quotable: @devonmuerner - Pretty sure it’s obvious why you received this award ;)

This is what I’ll tell me kids: @debbieker - Obviously we both adore your story and I just love how you created and entire new “legend” based on the universe.

You have ruined my life: @isabellafaulkner - I literally cried, you hurt my soul and that’s why you deserve that award.

Best references: @theiahuntley - Pretty obvious as well. I don’t know how you did that but it’s amazing how many fairy tales you referenced. And I laughed way to hard about the potato and sweet potato rivalry.

Animal character melted my heart away: @annelise-newstone - The Dino is way to cute, I can’t.

Two for the price of one: @evadne-leventhorpe - You just wrote not one story, you wrote two. And that deserves it’s own special award.

Best sidekick: @finleygansey - Mrs. Whale was way to adorable not to be mentioned.

Rule breaker story maker: @jynsongxvii - We all know how hard graduation is and you still managed to write a ‘2.5 Challenge’ , so here is your award.

Emotional wreck award: @ariciaeast - You wrecked both of our hearts and the story was so well incorporated with the over all story line of your fic. Hats up for that!

Best invisible story: This award is handed to 4 lovely ladies who not managed to fulfill this challenge but still always give their best, so here you go. @melodynolan @lady-fiona-rossi and @emmalynatwood @berklee-boyer this is for you.

Still bitter I couldn’t use my “Thicc honey love award” because no one wrote a love story.

[finleygansey-blog]

heres all the otp memes i never answered lol @ladykatdempsey @debbieker @isabellafaulkner @ariciaeast @ruby-stones

#//ask meme

[jynsongxvii-blog]

oc & ooc  + spreading love

i feel like this selections has been pretty stressful for a lot of us, so maybe this will help! I tried to at least find something to say about all of you even if i don’t know you or your ocs that much... i’ve been busy and haven’t been able to keep up with all, but i tried! 

~bye★ﾟ':*.::'ﾟ☆｡  ↬   is for the girls [possibly] leaving soon for their own health. we will miss you even if we didn’t know you well! sending all the hugs.

ღ Theia Nina Huntley  ↠  i wanna read your fics, they look promising! i’m sorry i haven’t had time, but i still think you’re nice. wish we could see more of you on the gc ღ Melody Aurelia Nolan ↠ great separation of oc rudeness and ooc friendlyness. from what i’ve seen, also open to talk out ideas for plot-lines with others! has given thought to her backstory.   ღ Annette Victoria Rose Martel ↠ have you seen her fc? gorgeous. also crazy but beautiful pasta queen we all love. supportive, funny and GR92894839282. amazing fics cause she’s poetic af (i will fight you on this Net).  ღ Emmalyn Atwood ↠ cutest bean. super sweet in & out of character. oc family is also cute. conclusion is emmalyn = cute.  ღ Isabella Faulkner ↠ pretty reblogs of dresses, space and nature. i’ve been told you’re super nice and sweet ooc!  ღ Charlotte Elara Bane ↠ i’m also in love with her fc. adorable fics. cute oc that just wants to know the world. whoop whoop bts is rocking. adorable bean. (char-low ajshdfjgkhl i get it right sometimes)  ღ Calista Persephone Ledger ↠ sweetest bean. spreads all the love too. so positive. has a disabled oc which no one has done before! newsletters are cute and pretty.   ღ Aiko Rosette Ellis ↠ fc is so cute. pretty edits. aesthetic blog. nice ooc too.  ღ Seraphine Regina Chamberlaine ↠ fc is so pretty. we didn’t get to see much of you but still. watch out with that poison of yours ;)  ~bye★ﾟ':*.::'ﾟ☆｡  ღ Nina Ivanenko ↠ crazy bean. always nice ooc. pretty edits. aesthetic blog MOUSE SPARKLES WHEN I MOVE ASDFGHJKL. (i will always be your hot taquito)  ~bye★ﾟ':*.::'ﾟ☆｡  ღ  Ruby Stones ↠ do i even have to mention how asdfghjk your fc looks? so much effort into your fics! i love your descriptions that make everything sound so pretty. just wow. also pretty edits. 

ღ Jyn Song ↠ me. the basic hoe. fc is amazing because arden cho. i’m okayish. but i’m nice ooc i think. tries to love everyone. what is anon hate, leave me. i like being aesthetic too much because i have issues. too stubborn to drop out.   ღ Madalena Cruz ↠ fun while it lasted. pretty fc. best 2nd practice challenge tbh. 42/10 for sure. go back to being a power ranger now. sending love, Alex. ~bye★ﾟ':*.::'ﾟ☆｡ ღ Stacey Marie Barret ↠ always nice ooc in the gc the few times i’ve seen you there! ღ Cameron Muirgen Nicholls ↠ nice bean. i wanna hug your oc. your oc’s family is also so nice. except her mom. we don’t talk about her. really liked your first fic i read. real good. don’t drop out just yet!! ღ Margarita Camilla Acosta-Cruz ↠ friendly! active with edits that have nice quotes. fc’s eyebrows on point. ~bye★ﾟ':*.::'ﾟ☆｡ ღ Evadne Regine Leventhorpe ↠ you seem so nice ooc i swear i wanna be friends. i will give your oc all the HONOR. can’t wait to catch up with your fics once i’m done with tests. so much effort into your fics too! all the edits! just your commitment. ღ Madelyn Jean Knight ↠ friendly & nice as oc and ooc. also commitment and so active! your fc looks so cute. ღ Finley Reagan Gansey ↠ i’ve noticed a lot of girls think you’re friendly so hurray for friendly-ness! nice fc too. ღ Aricia East ↠ you’re laughing all the time in your posts/reblogs! so enthusiastic. also, always nice & friendly, be it as oc or ooc.  ღ Maria Fernanda Rivera ↠ haven’t seen much of you, but you seem really nice and approachable both in & out of character. your oc’s background is interesting! ღ Fiona Aliya Rossi ↠ probably one of the sweetest oc. lots of commitment. i know you’ve planned out your character a lot too! blog theme is so pink and fluffy i love it THE MOUSE ALSO THROWS BUBBLES WHEN I MOVE AJSDJG  ღ Katherine Geraldine Dempsey ↠ the cat to my gin. pretty edits. very active! super nice and friendly ooc. funny in & out of character. love her writing style too. good at trying to keep oc rudeness away from ooc! ღ Deborah Varker ↠ sweet and enthusiastic in & out of character. cute blog. very active and approachable! super nice in general.  ღ Annelise Catherina Newstone ↠ don’t see much of you, but i’m sure you’re nice ooc ;)  ღ Berklee Boyer ↠ so, so, so nice. it’s actually surprising how nice. sweet as honey. like bees. very active. super friendly. funny and adorable in & out of character. amazing all around. shares love with everyone. ღ Devon Lea Muerner ↠ fc is so pretty and cute. nice ooc. haven’t seen much of her lately but hopefully we will again!

ღ Même Tanneur Antoineen ↠ pfft, must i mention the fc? amazing. i love your ostriches and their language! thanks for all the jokes and nicknames. you always hoped to bring some levity to this selection and i think we all appreciate you for that. ~bye★ﾟ':*.::'ﾟ☆｡ ღ Ingrid Liljedahl ↠ sweet / friendly in & out of character, even if i didn’t get to know you well. (thanks for giving jyn that present. she loved it) ~bye★ﾟ':*.::'ﾟ☆｡ ღ Olivia Christina Palacio ↠ pretty edits from what i could see once! friendly with everyone both as oc and ooc. ~bye★ﾟ':*.::'ﾟ☆｡ 

ღ also some girls that left before they got to be really active:

~Felicity Jessica Broussard  ~Giselle Clara Langford  ~Crystal Tomlinson  ~Thea Philippa Silver 

ღ And also Alex ↠ for being so organized and active with all of the princes and royals! and rping with a lot of people now and in the future. ღ that goes for you too Livi ↠ aka Alina. you were the first prince we got after all! glad to see you still involved :)

@domschreave @alinaschreave @theiahuntley @melodynolan @annette-martel @emmalynatwood @isabellafaulkner @charlotte-bane @calistapledger @aikoellis @sera-chamberlaine @ninaivanenko @ruby-stones @cameronnicholls @margarita-acosta-cruz @evadne-leventhorpe @madelynknightoftheselection @finleygansey @ariciaeast @marifer-rivera @lady-fiona-rossi @ladykatdempsey @debbieker @annelise-newstone @berklee-boyer @devonmuerner @meme-antoineen @ingrid-liljedahl @oliviapalacio @stacey-bar

#ooc #i'm sorry if some are short but i tried! #hugs for all of you #keep having fun! #we'll miss all of the ones dropping out <3 #with all the girls

[isabellafaulkner-blog]

Children’s story

[Sorry no edits again, didn’t have time.. Little mentions of the super amazing @ariciaeast and the Breakfast club :) Enjoy!]

I am so lucky to be in a car with my friends from the Breakfast club. I look to my left where Aricia is sitting. I am so happy to be sharing the back seat with her. My emotions are running high and she is one of the few people who can actually calm me down. I don’t even know why I am this nervous. They’re just kids. It’s not like they’re going to beat me or laugh at me. I want to do well on this thing. Not just because I really don’t want to be eliminated. I also really love kids. They are probably the only human beings that share their honest opinion and then actually mean it. I think that might be what makes me so nervous. If they’re not going to like it, I would be able to tell. Or worse, they would literally tell me.  

I try to keep my breathing steadily. Next to me, Aricia is chatting away like this is the most normal thing in the world. At times I smile and nod, or even properly respond to what she’s saying. I don’t know if she is aware of the state of my nerves. I glance over to her, she doesn’t look nervous at all. How does she do this? I focus on my breathing again, trying to keep it steady. I grab a bottle out of my bag and take a little sip. The coolness of the water entering my body relaxes me. First in my mouth, then in my oesophagus as I swallow it. I take another sip. It helps me to calm down. Don’t drink too much Isabella, or you’ll have to pee later. How awkward would that be? Leaving in the middle of my story. Sorry kiddos, I got to go pee. I move my head, shaking the thought away.

Aricia has stopped talking and is looking at me. I have no clue what she was talking about so I just smile and nod my head, hoping she didn’t ask a question. She continues talking away. I adjust my breathing to the sound of her voice. I can feel my heartbeat go down and my body relaxes. I take another sip of water, when the car comes to a sudden stop. Some water spills on my dress, of course. Why am I always so clumsy? Before I can try to make an effort at drying my dress, the car door flies open. A lovely guard helps me get out. Once outside, I look down on my dress. My maids created a beautiful blue dress. You can’t even see the water on it. I wasn’t sure what to wear to the hospital. Something comfortable or something fancy? My maids had the perfect answer. The dress was the perfect balance between both options. And the colour fitted perfectly to the theme of my story, the ocean.

I wish Aricia the best of luck before we part ways. I’m sure she going to do great. I don’t know what her story is about, but I just know the kids will love her. A nurse walks me over to a room. The door is open and I walk inside. I feel all the eyes of the children on me. My hand moves up and makes a little wave. Some kids wave back at me and I smile. There’s a chair in front of the room, I drop my bag next to it and sit down. “Hello everyone! My name is Isabella. I am so happy to be here and to meet you all.” Some kids wiggle and smile. I can tell they’re nervous too and I don’t blame them. Some crazy random girls are walking in here and read a story they have written. “Okay, you ready?” Some kids nod excitingly. Oh dear god, I hope I won’t let them down!

Once upon a time, there was a nice and peaceful little village deep down under the sea. This little village was called Shell Town. All kinds of fish lived here. Seahorses, clown fish, blue tang fish, yellow tang fish and so on. They all had the prettiest and brightest colours. It looked like a rainbow.

Tina the tuna fish and Polly the seahorse were playing with a ball together with some of their fish friends. They played together every single day. For this game, they would press the ball down into the sand. Then they would swim away from the ball before they swim in full speed towards the ball again. Once they got close enough, they hit the ball with their tails. The winner of the game is the one whose ball covers the largest distance.

Tina has just taken her turn. She always wins this game. She can beat everyone, even the boys. Just like always, Tina’s hi leaves her ball at 5 meters. The boys sigh, they know they can’t win.

Now it’s Bob’s turn. Bob is a puffer fish. You’d expect him to have a lot of power in his body, since he can blow his body up to twice his own size. But his tail is very small and he can’t reach a high speed. And so, he can’t hit the ball hard enough. This time, it’s no different. His ball drops at around 1 meter.

Next up is Polly the seahorse. She swims away from the ball and prepares herself for the hit. “You can do this Polly!” Bob is cheering for her.

Just when Polly is swimming towards the ball, a large shadow covers the sand. Everyone looks up. “Oh no!” Polly quickly swims back to her friends.

A shark!

The group of friends is scared. “What if he will eat us?” Polly asks. No one responds. They’re still looking at the shark.

“What do you want from us?” Tina is the first one to open her mouth. She has always been the bravest of all the fish. The shark swims closer to them, then says “Can I play your game?” The shark even smiles at them and he is wiggling his tail. Polly realizes this is not a mean shark. “No!” Tina on the other hand doesn’t see it. She can only see his dangerous side. “You can’t be trusted.”

The shark looks sad, “Why not? I only want to play!” “He doesn’t look mean, Tina.” Polly brings in. But it is impossible to change Tina’s mind. “Polly, he’ll eat us. Look at his teeth.” The shark’s teeth are white and shiny, but most of all pointy and sharp.

A shiver goes through the group of friends. “Let’s go!” Tina says and everyone follows her. As Polly is swimming away, she looks back at the shark. His tail isn’t wiggling anymore, it’s hanging down. His face looks sad too. She feels bad for him.

The next day the group of friends swim to their play area again. This time they are going to do a speed race. The first one to finish is the winner. The friends are lined up next to each other. Polly is on the right end of the line with Bob next to her. Tina is somewhere in the middle, taking the best starting position.,

“Ready? Set. Go!”

Everyone gives all the energy they have in their fish, or seahorse, bodies. Of course Tina the tuna fish is in the lead. But Bob is super close behind her. He might even win this race if he gives a little extra push. Polly is so focussed on Bob and Tina that she doesn’t see the rock that keeps coming closer and closer.

Boom!

Polly hits the rock hard and she sinks into the sea sand. None of her friends come back to help her. Some are too far away and didn’t see or hear what happened. But others are too focussed on the race and won’t give up their shot at winning. So they keep swimming.

Something pokes at the sand around Polly. It feels like a … nose? “Are you alright?” a concerned voice asks. Polly slowly opens her eyes. She shrieks when she sees the shark right in front of her. The shark notices this and backs down. “Don’t be scared! I won’t hurt you!” he says. Polly looks around, none of her friends are anywhere near. “I trust you.” She then says. That makes the shark smile, his tail starts wiggling again.

“Are you playing a game again?” the shark asks. Polly nods her little seahorse head. A pain screams in her tail. She tries to swim but it hurts too much. “Are you sure you’re alright?” the shark asks again. Polly shakes her head, “No, it’s my tail. But it’s a game… Now I’ll be last place.”

The shark smiles, “I have an idea. Climb onto my back and hold on to my flipper.”Polly follows his instructions and climbs onto the shark’s back. “I’m Polly. What’s your name?” “Hi Polly. Nice to meet you, I’m Noki.” the shark responds before he starts swimming. “Hold on very tight, Polly!” he says and starts swimming in full speed. Polly looks over his head. There are her friends. As Noki is swimming, they pass most of them. It’s only Tina and Bob in front of them now. The finish is near. Noki gives one final push.

And they win!

Tina looks up and spots Polly. “What is this? Polly get down! That’s a shark! He’s dangerous!” Noki’s face turns sad, just when he thought he was making friends. He didn’t even do anything wrong. All fish always think he will eat them, just because he is a shark. But he is a nice shark and he only wants to play. They never believe and want nothing to do with him.

“No!” Polly says, she is not getting down. “Noki is super nice and he was helping me! I want to play with him.” Tina looks confused, “But he’s a shark!” Polly nods, “Yes. What’s the problem? Noki is a sweet shark.”

“Not all sharks are mean. And not all sharks want to eat you!” Polly says as she is still holding tight onto Noki’s flipper. It’s like she is giving him a hug. “I want to play with Noki as well.” Bob says. He makes his way over to Noki and Polly. All the other fish follow his example. Tina is left on her own. “Tina, come on. Noki won’t hurt you.”

That’s what Tina needed to hear. She swims over towards the group and she says to Noki, “I’m sorry for thinking you would eat us. You didn’t deserve that.” As that is said the new found friends swim back to the play area.

Noki never had to play alone again after that day. He had found a group of friends. Thanks to one little seahorse, Polly, who gave him a chance.

When I am done telling my story, the kids clap their little hands. I guess they liked it then. No one looks angry or annoyed or anything. The nurse comes to pick me up. Before I leave I quickly wave towards the kids, and they wave back at me. The nurse brings me to the next room. On the little walk, there’s only one thing on my mind. These kids have been staying here for a long time. Some of them more or less live here. They’re sick, maybe incurable sick. We, the selected, are only here for a few hours not even an entire day. Regardless if I win or lose this selection, I will go do more volunteering. Not just at the animal shelter, but also at hospitals and orphanages. I’ll do everything I can, to make these kids have a wonderful day and let them forget for a moment why they are where they are.

#challenge 3 #selectionoc #isabella faulkner

[exposingillea-blog]

Okay fine ;) what's your top 5 who you want to win? And what's your top 5 who you think will win?

Who I want to win? It depends. Is winning a prize? If it is, then @jynsongxvii @finleygansey @devonmuerner @berklee-boyer and @ariciaeast . However ai don't really see winning as a prize, so I actually wouldn't want them to win. Be stuck with dom? No thanks. Anyway who I think will actually win is either Mel, @evadne-leventhorpe , @isabellafaulkner , and @debbieker

[princepercyschreave]

Percy’s Decision

A/N: This took so long to write. And I meant to make an edit for it, but I decided to just include the pics throughout the fic. Enjoy! @charlotte-bane @ariciaeast

           When I woke up, I knew immediately it was going to be a great day. It was finally time for my date with Charlotte. I ran outside to make sure all the decorations and set up was ready, and as soon as the sun started to set, I grabbed some roses from the garden and ran to Charlotte’s room, knocking on the door. I brushed down some wrinkles in my suit, making sure everything looked perfect.

           “Coming!” Charlotte called from the other side of the door. She opened the door and said, “Per—Wow, flowers. You brought flowers.” She smiled, making me smile.

           I laughed nervously, looking at the flowers. “Yeah, uh… these are for you,” I said, handing them over to her. “They’re also a little bit of a clue for what the date is…”

           “Is my date with Alina?” She laughed.” They’re beautiful, thank you.”

           “Right… so um, follow me.” I walked out of the room and toward the palace doors leading outside to the gardens, Charlotte following behind me.

           “Are we going to the gardens?” She asked.

           “Uh, yeah. We are.”

           “Are you okay?”

           “I’m fine! Totally fine.” Just nervous out of my mind. I probably sounded ridiculous, and it was probably obvious that there was something wrong with me. Why was I so nervous? I’d been on plenty of dates before.

           “Totally?” Char asked quietly.

           I led Charlotte to a part of the garden so far from the palace that you can hardly see the building. “Well… here we are,” I stated. I motioned with my hand to the scene I had set up. There was a small table nestled against a large tree, with lights hanging from its branches. Flowers surrounded the table and chairs and the whole thing looked like something out of a fairytale. At least, I hoped it did. There were also covered trays of food that I had prepared earlier that day.

Charlotte glanced at me and shook her head jokingly. Then she looked at the table and the rest of the setup. “Wow…”

“You like it?” I asked.

She looked at me and smiled. “I love it.”

I grinned. “Great. So, ready to eat?” I pulled out one of the chairs for Char, which she sat in.

“Very ready.”

I sat in the opposite chair and started lifting the lids on the food trays. “I had the palace chefs prepare all the food this afternoon. The rest of the stuff—the table, decorations and all that—I did myself,” I explained.

“You did this?” She asked. “I’m impressed, Percy. But… why? Why go through all that trouble?”

I shrugged and had a hard time meeting her gaze. “When I say I’m going to do something, I go all out. I’m not just going to settle for some cheap boring date. I said I was going to give you a spectacular date, and I… think I delivered.”

“You think? Where’s the confidence?”

I look back up at her, recognizing the challenge in her voice. “Well, I know I did a fantastic job by my standards, but for all I know, you’ve been on dates ten times better than this, so I have no way of knowing how this ranks for you.”

“Percy, you do realize I’m a Six, right?”

“You were a Six. And Sixes could still have awesome dates, couldn’t they? Money and a palace aren’t everything.”

“Well, you’ll be fascinated to know this is my first date. Ever.” She lowers her gaze. “Not totally shocking, I’m sure.”

There’s no way that could be true. I couldn’t believe it. The guys of Belcourt are idiots if they’d never asked Char out before. “Wait… you’ve never been on any date before? How is that even possible?”

She shrugged. “I don’t get out much? I don’t know. My mother wasn’t a fan of me dating, really.”

I smirked. “Really? What would she say if she saw you right now? On a date… with a prince…”

“I don’t think she’d say words, but make some incomprehensible sounds.” She took a sip of her drink. “Poor, poor Mother.”

I laughed. “That’s what she gets for trying to keep someone like you caged in like that.”

“Someone like me? Please, I was practically the most obedient daughter. Up until the end, of course. As you can tell, this is what I like to call my rebellious phase.”

“Well, I hope it’s more than just a phase. I’d be pretty disappointed if you turned boring all of a sudden.”

“Part of me wants to do that out of spite now,” she said.

“Spite? What did I ever do to deserve something like that?” I jokingly put a hand over my chest as though I were offended.

“The question is, what haven’t you done?” She asked, smirking.

“Well, there’s a lot I haven’t done yet.”

“Oh, I seriously doubt that.”

“Really? I could name a few, but that might spoil some ideas for future dates. Not to mention all the… physical things we haven’t done yet.” I raised my eyebrows suggestively.

Char kicked me under the table. “Really, Percy,” she scolded, though I could tell she only meant it jokingly.

“So… you ready to move on to phase two of the best first date ever?” I asked.

She sighed. “Lead the way.” We both stood up from the table.

“You don’t sound too excited.”

“No… I am. I just… I just want to talk about something,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“It’s about the night of the ball.”

“Ok…”

“I-I still feel like I need to apologize. And thank you.”

“For what? Getting sick? That’s not your fault.”

“More for getting myself sick. I wanted to apologize for dragging you into my… mess of a state. And also thank you for… being there.”

I cupped her face in my hands. “I’ll always be there when you need me, Charlotte.” I stepped back quickly. What was I thinking. I’ll always be there for her? That sounds like commitment. I have never been a commitment kind of guy, so what was I doing now? I really needed to get my feelings sorted out.

Charlotte raised her eyebrows slightly. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

“N-nothing… umm… This way.” I grabbed Char’s hand to pull her with me to our next destination. I led her this time to a gazebo that was just out of sight from the garden table. I had decorated the gazebo with lights similarly to the table, and set up flowers in and around the gazebo.

“Here we are!” I exclaimed.

Charlotte stared at the gazebo and smiled. She squeezed my hand. “It’s gorgeous.”

I had been watching her reaction, and the moment her eyes lit up at seeing the gazebo I felt a tug in my chest that seemed to want me to be even closer in proximity to Charlotte. Not that I would ever complain about something like that. I smiled at her. “Yes you are.”

She looked at me and started laughing. “That was incredibly cheesy.”

I smiled. “You know you love it.”

“I tolerate it,” she said, trying to act serious, but we both knew she loved my cheesiness.

I rolled my eyes. “Come on,” I said, pulling her into the gazebo. “So… I know we just had ball, but…” I held out my hand and bowed overdramatically. “May I have this dance?”

Charlotte barely contained her smile. “You may.”

I twirled her around once before settling into a simple swaying motion of dance. “So. How are you liking your first date ever? Is it everything you ever dreamed it would be?”

“I don’t think anyone in their right mind dreams of this. A prince, flowers, a gazebo… Most girls give up on that.”

“So what I’m hearing is that it’s better than you ever imagined,” I said with a grin.

She smiled softly. “Yeah, Percy, that’s it.”

I couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on my face. I just… liked holding Charlotte in my arms. “So… tell me something nobody knows about you.”

“Nobody?”

“Nobody,” I repeat.

“I got a letter from my father the other day…”

“Your father?”

“I haven’t seen or heard from him in seven years. And I just got a letter.”

“What… what did it say?”

“That he saw me on TV. Pretty much exactly what you’d expect from an estranged parent when they make contact out of the blue.”

I couldn’t tell what her thoughts on the matter were, so I decided to ask. “Is this… a good thing or bad?”

She took a deep breath. “That’s what I’m still trying to decide. I’m not mad at my father for leaving. I just… didn’t expect him to contact me. I was never one to let my emotions show. I’m learning.”

“Well… let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“You’re sweet, but I’m okay. I always am.”

“Of course you are. So… this is basically all I had planned for our date. We can just stay out here for as long as you want, or move on to a phase three of your choosing.”

“My choosing?” She asked.

“Yeah, you know… if you wanted to head up to my room for the rest of the night or something,” I suggested with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh God.” She laughed, a glint in her eye. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to tire you out. Don’t you have princely stuff to attend to tomorrow?”

“Nah, no princely stuff. I do have a…” I cleared my throat before continuing. I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure I wanted to continue. I’d almost forgotten about my plans for the next day anyway. “… date… with Aricia.”

Charlotte dropped her hand and took a step back from me. “A date?”

“Uhh…” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “Yeah…”

“With Aricia?”

“Yep. That’s what I said.”

“Huh.” She took another step back, and I felt like my heart was leaving with her. It physically hurt. “Okay.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I’m just-just a little confused.” She seems more upset than her words make it seem.

“About what?”

“I just didn’t realize a few things. My mistake.”

I rolled my eyes. She didn’t answer my question. “What didn’t you realize?”

“You. Y’know you had me for a second there. I was genuinely starting to think you were different. Guess I was wrong.”

No. No no no. This date coud not end this way. I had to flip things around somehow. “I care about you, Char. I thought that date was enough to prove it!” Yelling would not help, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Is that what you’ll tell her? Are there more girls or is this just some stupid ‘love triangle’?” She bit out the last two words as if they were poison in her mouth.

I took a breath. Trying to calm myself before responding. “I’m not going to lie, I’ve dated a LOT of girls. I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t tell you how I feel because I have no idea. There’s something about you that makes me feel… something I’ve never felt before. But Aricia… I don’t know about Aricia either…”

“Sorry. I just didn’t realize that when I decided to see things through with you and sort of resign myself from the Selection I’d still be competing for someone’s heart. I thought I was done. Here’s the thing, Prince Percy, go on your date. Get it out of your system. I don’t care. I don’t want to be an option. If I’m not the automatic choice, I don’t want to even be considered.” She turned and started walking away.

No. What was happening? She couldn’t leave. I couldn’t take it. My heart couldn’t take it. I ran to catch up to her. “Angel, wait…”

She turned and waved me away. “Don’t. I will not depend on some guy to be happy. I won’t give you that power. I won’t.” She kept walking, and this time I didn’t follow.

How had this night gone so wrong? I never meant for any of this to happen. I hadn’t meant for my casual dating to get serious at all and I thought that I could date both Charlotte and Aricia just for fun. I didn’t expect Charlotte to react so negatively to it, but I also didn’t expect to feel so hurt and empty at her leaving.

I returned to the palace and slept fitfully that night.

The next morning I knew I wasn’t feeling as awake and active as I should for a date, I had still promised Aricia that I would take her on the boat ride, and even though it was the reason Charlotte had gotten so mad and I had gotten so hurt by it, I was still determined to go on my date with Aricia. Maybe Aricia would help me forget about Charlotte altogether. But if I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t sure that was possible.

I knocked on Aricia’s door.

She yelled from the other side that she was coming in a minute, then opened the door. “Oh, hey Percy!” She exclaimed.

“Hey, you ready to go?” I asked.

She smiled. “Yeah!”

Her enthusiasm was starting to lift my spirits a bit. I felt the corners of my mouth lift into a smile. “Alright then, follow me.” I led her outside.

“How are you doing today?” She asked.

I hesitated. How was I today? I don’t even know. “I’m… good. And you?”

She shrugged. “I’m alright, thanks.”

I felt myself falling back into my flirtations, my most comfortable mask to hide behind. “Only alright? We’ll have to change that now, won’t we?” We finally came upon the dock, where the boat was waiting for us. “Here we are.”

Aricia smiled at me. She opened her mouth to reply, but looked at the boat in awe. “Oh, wow. The yacht is huge!”

I shrugged. “We have a bigger one actually, but I figured the little one would be nice for the two of us.”

She nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s true. I wouldn’t want to get lost in there!” She laughed.

I watched her excitement and good mood and smiled. Aricia was pretty good at lightening my mood. “Right. Anyway, come on aboard!” I led the way onto the gangplank.

She smiled and followed me. “It’s so cool here!”

“Yeah. Here, why don’t you take a seat there while I pull away from the dock. Then once we’re in the open water I’ve got something else to show you.”

“Alright then!” She said as she sat down.

I pulled down my sunglasses from where they were resting atop my head and started driving the boat away from the dock. “It should be just a few minutes here, and then we’ll be all set.”

She looked around curiously. “Sounds great! Have you ever driven a boat before?”

Shouldn’t she have asked me that before we got on the boat with no one else to drive the boat? Oh well. “Of course I have! I’m fully licensed and everything!”

She laughed and sighed in relief. “Phew! It’s good to know that you’ve got everything in control! I have a book that I still haven’t finished yet, which I’d like to!” She laughed.

We finally reached far enough into the ocean that I didn’t need to be at the wheel anymore, so I set it on a sort of autopilot and stepped away. “Alright here we go. We’re far enough into the water that the waves shouldn’t be too bad, and there aren’t any other boats so we can just let this cruise for a while. Come over here.” I walked over to an indoor area where there was a table covered in food.

 “Cool! Wow, this all looks great!” Aricia said.

“Yep. “Had the kitchens prepare it all for us this morning.”

She smiled. “Wow, thanks! The chefs at the palace are so talented,” she said as she took a seat.

“Yes, they are. So… what’s new with you?”

She grinned. “Nothing much really. I’ve figured out the fasted route from my room to the kitchens, so all my hallmates are happy about that. Overally, I’m just trying to soak up all the experiences of my stay here! How about you?”

I thought again about my date with Charlotte. How perfect I had tried to make everything, and yet, nothing turned out right. I still couldn’t understand how everything had gone so wrong so fast. Oh wait, yes I could. It was because of this. Right here. Where I was. Who I was with. I looked back up at Aricia and realized I shouldn’t be thinking about that. I should be focused on her.

“I’ve been… um…” I shrugged. “You know, the usual.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I get it.”

I sighed and frowned at Aricia. I couldn’t keep up the charade any longer. It wasn’t fair to Aricia to be on a date with her but thinking of another girl. “Aricia… there’s… something I need to tell you.”

She looked up, concerned. “Yeah?”

“I… can’t do this anymore. It’s not fair for me to lead you on like this when… when I can’t stop thinking of someone else.”

I realized we were in the middle of the ocean, which is probably one of the worst possible places you could break up with someone, since they had nowhere to go to get away from the person breaking up with them.

Aricia smiled and nodded. “It’s alright! “It’s not fair of me to keep you tied down when you love someone else.” She paused. “It’s Charlotte, isn’t it?”

I nodded. “I can’t get her out of my head. I… I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I’m so sorry you got caught up in this, Aricia. I don’t want to hurt you… I just… don’t know what to do.”

I stood up and walked to the edge of the boat to watch the waves, Aricia following behind me.

  “Hey, hey, hey, it’s alright! Don’t beat yourself up over it! Sure, I’m not going to lie, I’m hurting now, but I’ll be better soon. And it’s not your fault, you were just trying to find who you love, and you found her!”

My voice was barely above a whisper as I said, “I’ve never been in love before… is this what it feels like?” It feels like pain. It feels like being deserted. I wasn’t sure I wanted to feel like this if this was love. “And even if I do love her, I’ve completely ruined it after last night.” I buried my head in my hands.

She placed a hand on my shoulder gently. “Neither have I, but from what I’ve read, love follows you around everywhere. You think about it when you’re running, to when you’re trying to sleep at night. Love is a feeling that, when you realize that you feel it, completely overpowers everything else. And why, what happened last night?”

“I… mentioned that I had a date with you today, and she kinda freaked out on me. Rightfully so, I think.”

She nodded. “Yeah, if I were in her position, I would have done the same. But I won’t let your love be ruined because of me. You should go talk to her, Percy, because if your love is real, it’ll survive. And seeing the way that you’re acting right now, I’d bet everything that it’s real.”

“What do I do?”

She turned to look at me fully. “You go find her, and tell her that we’re just friends, because that’ll probably make her feel better. And if you’re comfortable, express your feelings, because girls like hearing the truth.”

“Right now?”

She looked at me like I was crazy for not knowing that I should go immediately. “Yeah, of course right now! Go get your woman, Percy Schreave!”

“Right.” I ran to the helm and started to floor it to make the boat head toward shore as fast as possible. “Hold on tight!” It started to pour rain as I sped to shore. I yelled to Aricia over the sounds of the rain. “Get inside! Stay out of the rain!”

She grabbed onto the railing of the side of the ship. “There’s no point! I’m already drenched anyways!”

The boat stopped at the dock and I quickly tied it up, jumping off and then running toward the palace. I ran all the way to the palace and then up to Charlotte’s room. I knew my mother would bite my head off if she saw the trail of rainwater I was dripping behind me, but I couldn’t care about that. I just needed to see Charlotte and fix my mess.

I reached her door and suddenly stopped. What if she didn’t want to see me? What if I’d already ruined everything? I hesitantly knocked on her door.

“I said I wasn’t seeing anybody tonight!” She called out.

“Please?” I say through the door.

The door opened quickly. “What do you want?”

“I… wanted to apologize. For yesterday.”

“No.” She started to close the door, but I held my hand out to stop it.

“Wait. Just hear me out. I’m sorry I couldn’t make up my mind about things yesterday. I’ve never put that much thought into how my actions affect other people. What I said yesterday about not knowing how I feel about you was true. But I… went on my date with Aricia today and I realized that I don’t feel the same about her as I do about you. I… don’t know for sure what this means but I can’t stand the thought of you being angry with me. Of you… not forgiving me.” I looked at her pleadingly, begging her to forgive me.

Charlotte tried to close the door again, but I stopped it once more.

“What the hell? I bare my soul to you and you won’t even think about it?”

She swings the door open to look at me. “I am thinking about it. I’m thinking about a lot. Too much.”

I hesitated. “…And?” I ask softly, worried about her judgement. She has to forgive me. She has to. I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t.

“How do I know you’re not going to change your mind again? How do I know there won’t be other girls you need to go check out first?”

“I won’t. I promise. There’s no other girl for me than you. I… I think I love you, Charlotte.” I can hear my voice break as I say it.

She covered her face with her hands. “Don’t say that!”

“Why not? It’s true!”

“How? How do I know you’re not lying?”

I softened. “Would I have cut my date with Aricia short to run through the rain and all the way up here to tell you I want to be with you and only you, if it weren’t true?”

“I don’t know… maybe?” She said softly, “I don’t know what to expect from you. I hate it.”

“Please. Tell me what I can do to fix this. I’ll do anything.”

She looked down. “You’re drenched.”

“It’s pouring rain outside.”

“You ran here?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t wait another second to talk to you.”

She closed her eyes. “Fine.”

I try to stop my heart from getting its hopes up, but it’s so hard. I whisper, “What?”

“Fine. I’ll try.” She kicked at the ground. “I’ll try to trust you. I’ll give this—us a shot.”

“You will?”

She finally looked back up at me. “I will.”

I smiled. “Great.”

“Percy?”

“Yes, angel?”

“Are you going to kiss me?”

My heart lurches in my chest. I never thought I’d hear her ask me that. I may have said that I wanted to be her first kiss, but I was never going to kiss her unless she absolutely wanted me to. “Do you want me to kiss you?”

She grabbed my collar and lifted herself onto her toes. “I’d love for you to.”

I grinned. “Excellent.” I cupped her face in my hands and lowered my mouth to finally kiss her. Charlotte wrapped her arms around my neck.

She pulled away slowly. “You’re drying up a bit.” She laughed.

I looked down and saw that my clothes were a little drier, but mostly because a lot of the water had transferred to Charlotte. “I guess so.” I looked back at Char. “I guess… I should probably head back to my room now… unless you want me to stay.” I winked at her, fully expecting her to refuse. I simply had to suggest it because, well… this is me we’re talking about.

“Do you want to stay?” She asked.

I blinked in surprise. “Of course I want to… if you’ll let me.”

She played with my hand. “I’m letting you…”

I walked further into the room and kicked off my shoes. I pulled Char with me over to her bed. “Come here, then.” I sat at the edge of the bed for a moment before lying down and making room for her.

“You’re going to sleep in your clothes?” She asked.

“Yeah… unless you’d rather me take them off?”

“You’re getting my bed wet.” I had some responses in mind, but I wasn’t even planning on saying anything when she covered my mouth with her hand “Don’t even say it.”

I gently removed her hand from my mouth. “So… is that a yes you want me to take off my wet clothes?”

She chuckled. “You may do as you please. Leaving a few layers would be wise though.”

“Fine. Since you asked.” I stood up and slowly pulled off my shirt, never breaking eye contact with Charlotte. I then moved on to my pants, smirking as I lowered them. When I was left in nothing but my boxers, I climbed back onto the bed and leaned over Charlotte. “Is this better?”

She cracked up with laughter. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“It felt like a strip tease.”

“Well, I definitely didn’t expect to be stripping for you so soon in our relationship, but… you did ask.”

“I’ve already stripped in front of you. It was only fair.”

“It’s not like I saw anything then.”

“I didn’t see anything a tabloid hasn’t published,” she said, trailing a finger across my arm.

I watch the movement of her finger carefully. “That’s true,” I agree absently.

Her finger trails upward to trace my jaw. “What happens now?”

I smile sleepily at her. “Now… you get some sleep, angel.”

She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and slipped her hand into mine. “I think you’re right.” She shifted down into the covers of the bed to get more comfortable.

“Of course I am.” I pulled her closer to me so she was sleeping in my arms. “Good night, Char.”

“Goodnight,” she said, so silently I thought she was already half asleep.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face, thinking I was the happiest and luckiest man alive.

#charcy #pericia

[ariciaeast-blog]

C H A L L E N G E   # 1  ;   T H E   W E L C O M E   B A L L

ft all these amazing people -> @domschreave @princepercyschreave @calistapledger @madelynknightoftheselection @emmalynatwood @isabellafaulkner @ruby-stones @debbieker @theiahuntley @aikoellis 

((there are some pictures in the fic, and I tried to equally distribute them but it didnt really work so theyre like kinda randomly scattered haha))

It’s tonight. It’s tonight. It’s tonight.

That was the sole thought running through my head as my maids helped me get ready for the welcome ball. I was happy that I at least knew some ladies. I smiled, remembering the nice breakfast I had with Aiko, Cal, Debbie, Devon, Emma, Izzy, Maddie, and Theia. They were all wonderful ladies and I was happy that I had their company tonight.

“Lady Aricia, you can look now,” one of my maids said, and I opened my eyes, looking at my reflection in the mirror, not recognizing the girl that was staring back. My hair was let down, with a deconstructed brain running in it. My eyes were done smokey, and I had on a pale pink lip gloss and minimal bronzer. I was in a pale pink dress- more like a gown, and it fit me perfectly and gently brushed the floor. I had on pale pink heels, which made me look taller then I was, and made sure that the dress wasn’t completely trailing on the floor. All in all, I couldn’t believe that the girl in the reflection was me.

I smiled, and hugged the nearest maid, repeating my ‘thank yous’ to her and all the other maids.

“It wasn’t a problem, Lady Aricia” they said, grinning at me

“Thank you so much,” I said, hugging them all again once more. They assured me that it wasn’t a problem, and then quickly ushered me out of my room.

I smiled at their behaviour, and started slowly walking down the stairs and to the ballroom, making sure not to trip on the hem of my dress.

The last thing I needed tonight was to make an utter fool of myself.

I walked into the ballroom, and was in awe. It was decorated beautifully, with tables upon tables of refreshments, and people in fancy dresses and suits, mingling around.

I saw Cal and the other girls speaking in a circle, so I decided to go and join them. Right as I walked up, they all smiled at me.

“Girls, you all look so wonderful in your pretty dresses!” Cal exclaimed, looking beautiful herself in a magenta mermaid style gown.

“Aw, thank you Cal! You look beautiful as well!” Maddie said, smoothing down the skirt of her mid length black dress with a gold bodice.

I nodded, “You all look beautiful!” I exclaimed, with a smile.

They all thanked me, and Izzy took her chance to speak, “Thanks Cal and Aricia! I agree, you all look so gorgeous!” she said, looking very happy to be here in her red one shoulder gown.

“Thank you so much, Cal! You look wonderful as well! You all look perfect!” Debbie said, smiling in her light pink to dark pink ombre dress.

Aiko grinned, “Thank you! Everyone looks so beautiful tonight!” she exclaimed.

Cal smiled, “So, how’s everyone feeling after the eliminations?” she asked

I smiled, “I’m happy I’m still here! I was so nervous during my interview, though”

Madelyn shrugged, “Well, I’m relieved that I’m still here, but I’m still a tad bit nervous”

Izzy nodded, “I am so relieved! I thought I was going home!” she said, with a laugh, lightening the mood.

Cal smiled, “Aww you girls, I would lay down my life before I let you get sent home. I don’t know what I’d do without you all, you have all made me feel so safe!”

We all gushed over her compliment, and agreed that no matter what, we would stick together.

“Hey, Isabella,” Madelyn started, looking towards Izzy, “didn’t Dom say he enjoyed your conversation?”

Izzy nodded, “He said something like that, yes! But we kind of had a difficult talk”

Cal frowned, “About your mother? I’ve heard how she is, Izzy”

Izzy groaned, “Oh gosh, you heard about her as well,” she said, bringing a hand up to her forehead.

“Oh no, what’s the matter with your mother?” Madelyn asked breathlessly, suddenly getting pale. I was about to ask her what the matter was, but I refrained from doing so, not wanting to put her into a position she didn’t want to be in.

Izzy frowned, “She doesn’t like the royals and organizes demonstrations against them and all that. I hope I convinced Dom that I don’t share her opinion!”

Madelyn sighed, “Oh, I see”

Izzy looked at Maddie worried, “Madelyn, are you alright? Would you like something to drink?”

Madelyn shook her head, “Oh, no, no. I’m fine! I was just worried for you, that’s all”

Izzy gave Madelyn a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry, I am fine!”

“I heard she reacted badly to you being selected, Izzy. I’m surprised it wasn’t on the news.” Cal said, and turned to look from Izzy to Madelyn, “Mads, you don’t seem fine, what’s- oh your mother…”

Madelyn frowned, “Yeah…” she trailed off, not liking the toping of conversation

Debbie frowned, not happy with her friend seeming so sad, “What is it, Mads?” she asked

“I’m so Mads. Debs, her mom is no longer around” Cal said sadly

Madelyn nodded, “Yeah, she passed away when I was 9”

We all hugged her, expressing our condolences, until Cal, Aiko and I decided to grab some drinks.

Suddenly, Cal had an idea, “How about after drinks, we divide and conquer? I want to see if Prince Evan will dance with me”

Madelyn nodded, “Okay, I’m a little nervous to go talk to all of the royals. I may try Alina first, since she seems nice”

I nodded, and had an idea, “Hey Cal, do you need a wingwoman?”

She frowned, “Whats a wingwoman? That sounds fun though, I’ve never had friends or flirted with a boy before but I’ve always admired Prince Evan’s literary nature.”

“A wingwoman is a friend who just goes with you to help you out when you’re flirting with someone!” I explained, laughing a little at the absurdity of the word.

Cal laughed as well, “Alright sounds fun! And Mads, you should try Princess Callie too! Just give her flowers and she’ll love you!”

Madelyn grinned, “Oh yeah! I’ll try that! Ooh, how about we take a polaroid together!” she exclaimed, getting really excited. We all huddled around the camera, and made funny faces as Madelyn snapped the button on her polaroid camera.

Just then, Theia walked up to us with a glass in her hands, trying not to spill her purple drink on her beautiful white dress.

“Have you guys tried this fruit punch? It’s the best” She gushed, chugging down some more.

Izzy laughed, “No I haven’t yet! I should get some though, does anyone else want some?”

Cal shook her head, “No thanks, I’ve already spilt some on myself. This is why you don’t trust a blind girl to get drinks. Thank god Isla made this dress water- well juice proof just in case. And the colour matches me dress!” she added, with a chuckle.

Theia laughed, “Yeah, the colour does match! Do you need any help?” She asked, smiling

Cal shook her head, and Emma complimented her on the functionality of her dress.

“I know! Isla is a god send. Anyways, are you all having fun?” Cal asked

Emma nodded, “Definitely. This ball is… well, incredible!” She said, and we all laughed at her awestricken expression.

Theia agreed, “I’ve never seen something like this before!”

We all nodded, and I felt rather thirsty, so I went over to the drink station, and just then I saw something that made my jaw drop.

No. Way.

There pitchers upon pitchers of drinks, and one pitcher in particular grabbed my attention. I picked it up, and poured its contents into a glass, needing to taste the drink to believe that it was there.

I added caramel sweeteners, just how I had it at home, and took a sip, moaning at the taste of my favourite beverage in the world.

Iced Coffee

I poured some more into my glass, added some more caramel, and walked back to the girls, feeling absolutely elated.

“Guys, have you tried the iced coffee! They had it hidden in the back, but oh my, if you add some caramel sweeteners, its tastes amazing!” I gushed

Izzy laughed, “That sounds like something Debbie would love!”

I grinned, “That’s great! Maybe I’ll take her there when I see her!”

Theia beamed, “Caramel sweeteners? There’s stuff like that! Oh my god!” she exclaimed, as excited as I was.

I nodded, “Yeah, its amazing!”

Just then, Madelyn came back to the group with the iced coffee in her hands, and took a sip.

“Ooh, Aricia, this coffee is good!” she exclaimed, hurriedly drinking some more.

I laughed, “I know right! Slow down, though, we wouldn’t want you to choke!”

Cal frowned at her coffee, “Oh no, I’m going to be up all night now!” she complained, “But… coffee also gives me a boost of confidence. I’m going to ask Prince Dom for a dance! Dancing with a blind girl would be quite the experience!” she said with a laugh

“I’m scared to ask him to dance!” Madelyn exclaimed

Emma smiled, “You both can do it, I’m sure he’d have a great time!”

Cal turned to look at Mads, “I’ll tell him you want to dance after me,” she said, smiling at the look of relief of Madelyn’s face.

“Hey, do you guys mind if I take pictures of you?” Emma asked, smiling. We all nodded, and posed for the pictures, laughing hysterically.

“You may see me with my camera later too, for some candid shots” Emma said, smiling.

Madelyn laughed, “Me too, I can’t let Emma have all the fun!”

Izzy smiled, looking at them with awe, “You are so passionate about photography! That is lovely to see” she said, and I nodded in agreement.

“Thanks Isabella,” Emma said, “I figured while I’m here, I though try to take as many pictures as I could to remember”

“Do you two have any problems with your camera?” Cal asked, “I would love to advance on the technology!”

Emma and Maddie both nodded, and arranged a time with Cal so she could fix their cameras for them.

Emma grinned, “Oh look, Cal! You can ask Dom now, he’s not talking to anyone!”

I nodded, “Yeah! Go for it, Cal! Good luck! You’re going to do great!” I exclaimed, smiling.

Cal smirked, and smoothed over her dress and hair, “Alrighty then, have fun ladies, but not too much fun! This girl is gonna take down a man”

I laughed at Cal’s comment, and we all said bye to her as she walked off towards Dom.

I excused myself, and made my way over towards the drinks station, so I could grab myself some more of that heavenly iced coffee.

I’m going to be up all night now

I shook my head, and reached for the pitcher of iced coffee, but I jerked my hand back when I felt another hand. I turned and looked at the person, who was wearing a beautiful pink dress.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there!” I exclaimed

She shook her head, “Oh no, it’s alright, go ahead! I already had a lot of this glorious thing” she said, laughing as she held up her cup, “I probably have to stop now, cause my nerves will suffer later!”

I laughed, thankfully finding someone who enjoyed iced coffee as much as I do, “It is glorious! And I think I may have had a bit too much myself! Anyways, I’m Aricia, its great to finally properly meet you!” I exclaimed, and extended my hand.

The girl took my hand, and shook it with a smile, “Hi Ari! I’m Debbie! Aren’t we in the same hall?”

I nodded, so that’s where I’ve seen her before!

“Yeah, I think so! I think we’ve seen eachother around but never spoken,” I said, and she nodded, “So, Deb, tell me a bit about yourself!”

“Well, I’m from Sota, and my family has a farm there” she said, with a smile, “Where are you from, Ari?”

“I’m from Lakedon,” I said, smiling at the mention of my home province, “I used to live with my father, but I got kicked out when I entered the selection. Oh well,” I shrugged, “Its probably for the best, though. He didn’t even care about me and I could barely stand him. Anyways, what did you grow on your farm?” I asked

“Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, a sympathetic look on her face, “My dad didn’t react well either when he found out that I’m going to apply for the selection,” she sighed, “Parents are complicated” she concluded, and took a small snack from the table.

“About the farm,” she continued, gratefully moving away from the topic of fathers, “we are more focused on milk products but we have vegetables too, such as potatoes, tomatoes, corn, carrots, lettuce… you should come visit us when this is all over!” she exclaimed, talking animatedly.

I nodded, “I’m sorry that happened to you! And of course! I’d love to visit”

Deb smiled, and turned around to see people dancing, “Look, there’s prince Dom! He looks even more handsome tonight, don’t you think?” she giggled, and I laughed along with her

“Yeah, that he does” I laughed, and gazed at the dance floor.

“Hey, Deb, I’m not a great dancer, but do you maybe want to go dance with me?” I asked, with a smile.

She grinned, and we both grabbed eachothers arms and made our way to the dance floor, grinning.

We both went over to the dance floor and waiting for the next song to come on. When the next song turned out to be another slow song, I groaned.

“Are all these songs going to be slow?” I asked, dragging a hand down my face.

Deb giggled, “I’m afraid they will. I wish we could change the rhythm a bit! Something to make us move more!”

Suddenly, the song changed, and something a bit more upbeat begins to play. I look towards the guy who was playing the music, and he shot a wink towards me. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Debbie, “Hey, this is actually danceable!” I exclaimed, and moved along to the rhythm.

Debbie starts moving along with the music as well, and we were both laughing at how terrible our moves were.

“So, have you talked with some of the royals?” she asked, smiling.

I nodded, “Yeah, aside from Dom, I’ve spoken to Percy, but that’s about it!”

She gave me a knowing smile, “Percy! How is he, I haven’t had the pleasure to speak to him yet. I’ve only spoken to Evan and Alina”

I rolled my eyes at the look on her face, “He’s cool. You should talk to him when you can. How are Alina and Evan?” I asked

She smiled, “Alina is the sweetest person on earth! Evan is not a talkative man, but he’s a good guy”

We both continued talking about other trivial things, and we eventually both went our ways. I was getting tired of all the dancing, and my feet started hurting, so I made my way over to one of the large windows, and looked out. I saw the vast expanse of the palace grounds, and I could even see the beach!

“Lady Aricia, would you like to dance?” a voice asked from behind me, and I turned around faster than the speed of sound. When I turned around, the face of Dominic Schreave was staring back at me, his eyes glittering in the light.

“Sure, but I should warn you, I’m not the best dancer,” I said, and he nodded.

“Don’t worry about it, we don’t have to do anything too crazy,” he said, smiling at the relief on my face.

“That’s great, thanks!” I exclaimed, and he nodded, pulling me out to the dance floor.

“So, how have you been enjoying the palace so far?” he asked, starting to move us in a dance. I placed my hands on his to stabilize myself, because as I mentioned earlier, the last thing I needed tonight was to fall while dancing with the Prince of Illea.

I smiled, remembering all my experinces in the palace so far, “Its been nice! The food is wonderful, and I’ve spoken to a lot of the ladies, so I’m in good company,” I grinned, remembering my day with Izzy, and my chat with Percy, “Also, have I told you that its beautiful here!” I exclaimed, smiling at his laugh. It was truly a beautiful laugh, and I found myself thinking that he should use it more often.

“Probably,” he said, with a chuckle, “So, I hear you’ve been seeking company with people other than the other selected,” he accused joking, raising his eyebrow with mockery, his eyes glinting with amusement.

I laughed, “Well your cousin did seek me out and talk to me in the music room”

He smiled, “Yeah? And what did the two of you talk about?”

I shrugged, “Nothing much. We just talked about music, and he helped me out with a piece. Nothing big.” I said nonchalantly, trying to keep the smile off my face.

“Anyways, enough about me,” I continued, trying to get the topic of conversation off of me, “How are you enjoying the selection so far? Do you think you’ve found your future bride and queen?”

He shook his head, “Hmm.. I don’t like to think of it in terms of that. I prefer to just have fun with it as I go”

I nodded with understanding, “Well, that’s a nice way to look at it. I bet it reduces the pressure that you probably- and most likely- have on your shoulders”

He nodded in agreement, looking down at me, “Absolutely it does”

I smiled, changing the topic of conversation to something more lighthearted, “So, any new music that you’ve listened to recently?” I asked

He laughed again, its melodious sounds filling my ears and making me content to just be like this forever. Dancing with Dom, in a ball with my friends and plenty of iced coffee.

Sounds like heaven to me

“Not really,” he said, and I was wondering what we were talking about again.

Oh yeah, I asked him if he liked any new music! Come on Aricia, get your head back in the game!

“Oh, well I’m still loving the classics, so if you finally decide that they aren’t boring,” I said that last part in air quotations, quoting that Dom had told me that he thought classical music was boring during our interview, “then you can hit me up” I finished

He laughed, and agreed, and we both continued swaying around as the songs changed.

“So,” I began, and Dom diverted his attention to me, “Are you enjoying the ball so far?” I asked, and he smiled.

“Absolutely,” he said, and looked me up and down, before his eyes met mines again, “Are you starting to get a hang of this dancing thing?” he asked.

I laughed, the idea of getting used to all this seeming absurd, “Well, not really. I think I’m better at other things rather than dancing,” I smiled, “Have you been dancing since you were a kid?” I asked, and he smiled

“Yeah, just lessons to be able to survive at balls like this” he said, looking around the room.

“That’s nice. Do you like dancing?” I asked, because in all honesty, he seemed like he belonged on the dance floor.

He shook his head, “Nope, not really. But its alright when theres a gorgeous girl in my arms” he added, smirking.

Woah, that escalated quickly.

I laughed at the absurdity of my situation. The heir of Illea was flirting with me?

I shook my head, trying to stop my laugher, and looked at him, “Wow, Dominic, are you trying to impress me with your compliments?” I asked, smirking.

He scoffed, “Obviously. I’ve got to start weeding out girls somehow, so I’ve been trying to figure out which girls are made uncomfortable by my compliments.” He explained, and I nodded.

“I see. Has that been working for you so far?” I asked, smiling.

He shrugged, “Mostly”

I nodded, and asked the question that I have been dreading all night, “That’s good. Have I passed your test?” I asked, slightly nervous for the answer.

He nodded slightly, smiling at my predicament, “I think so” he concluded, and I released a breath that I didn’t know I’d been holding.

I smiled broadly, “Phew! Now I think I can stop worrying about embarrassing myself in front of a prince” I said, laughing.

He nodded, smiling, “Well that’s good”

We both continued dancing, the smiles never leaving our faces. After a few songs, Dom and I both agreed to stop because I, for one, was tired. We both said our goodbyes, and I walked around the ball room, so I could refill my glass with some iced coffee.

Oh boy, I was going to be awake all night

I got to the refreshments station and refilled my glass with the heavenly iced coffee, and I drank it down in one gulp. Just as I was about to grab some more, I saw a tall figure standing by the window that I occupied earlier. His dark hair was slicked back, and even without seeing them, I could imagine his bluegreen eyes twinkling in delight.

I set my glass down, and made my way over to him, trying carefully not to trip on the hem of my gown.

“You’re looking lonely, Mr. Schreave,” I said, and he turned around, smiling, “Care to dance? I’m not the best, but maybe I can give you something to laugh about.” I asked

He nodded, “Yeah, okay, sure,” he said, and we both made our way over to the dance floor, our hands finding their places as we begun dancing.

“How are you enjoying the ball so far?” I asked, slightly preoccupied with my attempts to get into a comfortable position.

He nodded, smiling down at me, “Oh, it’s been great. How about you?”

I grinned, reminiscing on the events of the night, “It’s been wonderful! The iced coffee is heaven! The only problem is the dancing…” I trailed off, slightly embarrassed, by my dancing ability- or lack thereof.

He shook his head, laughing, “You’re not that bad, you know”

I smiled in disbelief, “Well, thanks! I’m just happy that I’m not falling all over you,” I laughed, and watched his eyes light up as he laughed as well.

“Yes, that’s very good,” he said, leading our bodies on the dance floor.

As we were dancing, I remembered something that I wanted to tell Percy, but I hadn’t had the chance to.

“I forgot to tell you that I can play the piece completely now without a problem! Thanks for all your help,” I said, referring to the time we spent together in the music room.

He smiled happily, “That’s great!” he exclaimed, seeming happy that I could finally play the piece completely, “Soon, you’ll be just as good as me.”

I nodded, silently agreeing with his statement, and subconsciously assessing my own ability, wondering if it were possible to be as good as Percy one day.

As I was daydreaming about my possible musical future, I felt Percy’s gaze resting heavily on my face, his head cocked to the side.

I should probably stop daydreaming whilst dancing with princes

“So,” I began, shaking my head to clear the image that was appearing, “are you working on any new pieces as of late?”

He shook his head, “Not really. I don’t have much time for the piano anymore”

I frowned, trying to imagine my life without playing the piano or the guitar. For me, music was just a pastime, but an important one that I couldn’t possibly live without.

“That’s a shame,” I said, understanding Percy’s situation. Sometimes life gets in the way of things we really want, but sometimes life gives us the things we really want, and we should go along with it either way.

He shrugged, and his trademark smirk quickly appeared on his face.

Oh great

“Yeah, but now I have more time to spend with gorgeous girls,” he said almost seriously, though I could detect the undercurrents of humour in his voice.

I rolled my eyes and laughed, “Wow, only you, Mr. Schreave, can pull compliments out of nowhere and still make them work”

He grinned bashfully, happy that I noticed his secret ability, “It’s a skill,” he drawled, chuckling at the end.

I laughed, realizing that nobody could work their words as well as Perseus Jackson Schreave ((ooc; currently dying of laughter because of that middle name hahah xD))

“What else do you like?” I asked, trying to gauge the full personality of the boy I was dancing with.

He shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean my dream is to travel the world,” he said, nonchalantly.

I made eye contact with him, and relished in how his facial expression changed when he was talking about traveling. His features softened, and his eyes seemed to glimmer even more, with unspoken adventures hidden behind them.

“I’ve always wanted to do that as well,” I said, “I really want to visit Europe! It seems like such a beautiful place!”

He nodded, “Yeah… it is. Or the parts I’ve been to, at least. But there re so many places I’ve never been to.” He said, almost remorsefully, as if he felt bad that he hadn’t gone to those places yet.

I nodded in agreement, “Where have you been to in Europe? And the world is so massive, there are many places that the entirety of humankind haven’t laid their eyes on yet. I hope we can see them all one day…” I trailed off, imagining a future where I could travel the world, and see all the sights. Then I imagined a future where instead of going to all of those places alone, a smiling Percy Schreave accompanied me everywhere. Showing me everything from the 7 wonders of the world, to the wonders of sushi.

I shook my head, trying to erase that image from my head, and focus on the task at hand. In my desperate attempt to clear my head of images from the future, I almost missed Percy’s next comment.

“I’ve mostly been to the capitals of European countries. London, Paris, Moscow, etc.” he said, smiling at the old memories that he must have, stored inside the inner corners of his mind.

I smiled, “That’s cool! I haven’t even left Illea yet!” I exclaimed, and the smile slowly slipped off my face as I remembered why. Flashbacks from my past flashed before my eyes, from my parents awful split, to my father not caring about me at all.

That’s why I want to get away, I realized, as I swayed in Percy’s arms, To get away from my past

I looked up at Percy again, just in time to see him shrug, “Most Illeans never leave the country,” he said, a mildly concerned look on his face. If he noticed my slip into the past, he never brought it up. During the remainder of our time dancing, we talked about small things, resulting in me laughing so much that I forgot why I was sad in the first place.

Eventually, my feet started throbbing, and my iced coffee withdrawal symptoms kicked in, so Percy and I concluded our dancing, and went our separate ways. After I finished talking to Percy, I started to walk towards the refreshments, but I realized that I didn’t need iced coffee to clear my head and that I just needed fresh air. I silently stepped out of the ballroom, and aimlessly wandered the halls, until I remembered the balcony I discovered on my adventure with Izzy. I walked around a bit more, until I found the balcony, but something was different about it today. Instead of it being empty, there was a dark-skinned girl standing there, hunched over the railing.

“Hello?” I called out, approaching the girl cautiously, as to not disturb her.

The girl whipped her head around, and looking at the face, I realized she was Lady Ruby.

“Oh, hello Lady Aricia,” She said, tucking a lock of hair behind her.

I walked up beside Ruby, leaning on the railing and letting the wind whip through my hair.

“hello Lady Ruby. What are you doing out here?” I asked, gazing at the moon

“Ohh, I just needed a break, giving my body some time to sober down a bit, but I don’t know if that’ll work,” she said, holding up a bottle of alcohol.

I nodded in understanding, “Ahh, I see. The first step of sobering up is probably to get rid of the alcohol” I laughed, and she nodded.

“Yep, that’s why I need to finish this,” she said, and raised the bottle to her lips, gulping down the whole thing in one go, and placed it on the railing, “So, why did you leave that electrifying party, my dear?” she asked, turning to look at me

I shrugged, “Well, my feet started hurting from all the dancing, and I had to run from my emotions, as usual, but mostly I wanted to stop hearing that music”

She laughed a little, “Its not that bad,” she retorted

I looked at her incredulously, “Well, when you’ve been dancing and listening to it all night, it gets a bit repetitive”

She nodded, “Touché. So, any interesting thoughts about our dear prince so far?” she asked

Which one, I wanted to ask, but I shut my mouth.

“He’s alright. He’s nice and has a good taste in music, except he doesn’t like classical. But, I can probably convince him that classical is wonderful by the end of the selection. How about you my dear?” I asked, winking at the use of Ruby’s earlier nickname.  She rolled her eyes at my jab, and responded.

“He seems very nice indeed, but I am not so confident about my time here as you are,” she said sadly.

I frowned, “Why?” I asked. The girl standing beside me right now, even though I barely knew her, seemed interesting.

She shook her head, “Apparently I’m very boring. I talked to Alina earlier and she mentioned that I shouldn’t really worry about that but I don’t think he seems very interested, in me atleast,” she sighed, and looked down at her glass, “Gosh, I wished I had more of that sweet liquor,” she sighed again, seeming lonelier by the minute, “I don’t even know why I am telling you this,” she said, slightly shaking her head.

I shook my head vehemently, “hey hey hey,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder, feeling immense sympathy for a girl I barely knew, “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here. You should never hold your true emotions inside because they will destroy you”

She looked directly at me and gave me a small smile, “Thanks, that’s very kind of you. I am just so used to barely talking to anyone ever and never even talking about my feelings and thoughts, that it feels so wrong speaking up about anything now”

I gave her a small sympathetic smile, “Yeah, it’ll take some time, but it’ll all work out at the end” she smiled at that, and the look in her eyes made me change the subject, “So, how was your life back home? Where are you from?” I asked, realizing that I didn’t even remember the province that she is from.

“I am from a very small town in Dakota, with a tiny gymnastic club and ballet school which partially represented my entire social contact I received until now. What else is there to say?” she trailed off, looking into the sky wistfully as she thought about her past, “Well my parents are wealthy jewellers, I was born a 4 and trained to become a 2 and am a only child”

I smiled softly, “Oh, that sounds cool. Did you like your life in Dakota?”

She frowned slightly, “It mostly sucked, if it didn’t I wouldn’t have been so desperate to get away. Most people I know aren’t very nice, including my parents”

I frowned back, understanding the part about the parents, “Although that sucks, at least your parents were in your life. My mom cheated on my dad with his best friend and ran away with him when I was young, and after that my dad became a coldhearted man who didn’t care about what I did. So that’s why I tried my hardest to get out of there. If I wasn’t selected, then Id be off to university in the fall, and doing some stuff there just to get away from home,” I concluded, remembering the life that may await me after the selection.

She grimaced, “So apparently both of us have awful parents,” she laughed, equally bitter to her smile, “You know, I came here to live life at its fullest but now that I tasted it, fear is consuming me. I always worry that I don’t have enough time left to experience everything I want to do. And there is always my mothers threat in the back of my mind,” she said, her voice slowly getting softer as her sentence concluded.

I shook my head, “well you are still young. You have your whole life, probably a good 100 years left, and 100 years is a long time,” I looked to her, and seeing the sullen expression on her face made me remember what she had said, “What do you mean, threat?” I asked, concerned for the broken girl standing beside me.

“If I don’t find a husband, I wont e able to go back home ever again. And that would mean my career would be over as well,” she sighed, shaking her head, “But at the moment, I try not to think about it”

I gasped in shock, “Oh god, that’s serious! It’s the same for me, actually. My dad found out that I entered, and I got kicked out of my house…” I trailed, then I thought of an idea, “hey, maybe if the selection doesn’t work out for either of us, we can both be roommates!” I exclaimed, and Ruby’s face brightened.

“We should totally do that,” she giggled, “maybe in a nice little down at the sea so I can finally learn how to surf. It could also be near the big loud city of Angeles, so we could wander through the streets at night, hearing music pulsing around every corner,” she said, dreamily staring at the moon.

I smiled, liking the sound of that, “That’d be great,” I said softly, staring at the soft waves lapping the beach.

“So, have you got any exciting plans for the time you are still here?” she asked, slowly turning her attention from the night sky to me

I sighed, “well, not really. I just want to enjoy all the experiences, and hope that everything works out well. You?”

She shook her head, “I’ll just enjoy making my own choices and trying not to think about how stupid they are,” she said, giggling slightly at something she thought.

I laughed at her attitude, “I agree! You should let loose and have fun,” I said, smiling

She laughed, “I’m trying very hard, ok? My next goal is actually to finally taste some chocolate cake!” she exclaimed

“Ah, we should go to the kitchen one day and try the cake!” I exclaimed, laughing along with Ruby.

She laughed harder when she heard my laughter, “We definitely should. I need someone to protect me so I wont die of a sugar overdose!” she yelled, bending over and laughing even harder. I laughed along with her, not caring if people could hear our laughter from inside the ball.

“Same, Ruby, same!” I said, trying unsuccessfully to stop my laughter.

“We’ll probably die together, just like Romeo and Juliet,” she said, her laughter reducing to a mere chuckle.

I shook my head, grinning at her Shakespearean reference, “Wow Ruby, very pessimistic,” I chuckled, and she laughed as well, “Is there anything that you want to do with your life?” I asked, and she sighed.

“To fall in love? I would also love to finally make friends. I don’t know if I am good at that, and if I’ll be able to put my trust into people, but I really want to try that. And you, Aricia?” she asked

I smiled, “That’s wonderful, but when the right person comes along, you’ll know to trust them. I also want to fall in love with someone who loves me back, and didn’t just settle for me because they couldn’t get someone else, you know?” I asked, hoping she understood, “My dad chose himself over me, my mom chose my dads best friend over our family, so I want someone to choose me first instead of pushing me aside for something or someone else,” I sighed, thinking about my past.

Ruby nodded, “That’s very understandable, Aricia. I am certain that there is a person out there who will choose you, no matter what. And I really hope you will find this person very soon,” she said, smiling softly.

I grinned, “Thanks, Ruby. I wish the same for you as well”

She nodded, thanking me, then shivered slightly, “Shall we go back? Its getting a bit chilly out here,” she said, looking at me.

I nodded, “Sure!”

With that, we both walked inside to the ballroom, and went our separate ways, and as I walked around to grab my long-awaited drink of iced coffee, I realized that Ruby and I could have a wonderful friendship over the horizon.

As I consumed my iced coffee, I spoke to Isabella, both of us talking about trivial things before she retired for the night. I finished drinking my iced coffee as I looked around the ballroom, admiring the beautiful decorations, and everyone dancing around. I stood there, and thought about all the wonderful things that had happened tonight. As I placed my glass on a tray and walked out of the ballroom to head to my room, the thoughts of this wonderful night never ceased to stop playing in my mind.

#6k words omg im dead #challenge1 #challenge 1 #newselectionocnet #the welcome ball #ariciaeast #aricia east #((i hope you all like this!)) #((i tried but ahhhh im not a good writer lol)) #((im so happy its done though like all the rps!)) #((i love rps but theyre alotta work lol))

[selection4-admins]

@ariciaeast

#bts report #EP 2

[calistapledger]

Fun Fact

I have dedicated 73 pages and 33k plus words to Cal’s story. That’s amazing and for my amazing friends who love reading about Calystair @isabellafaulkner @ariciaeast @debbieker @evadne-leventhorpe I will keep adding on to her story. Also look out for a Results Reaction ficlet; I’ll be posting it soon, I’m currently transcribing the rp texts.

#Ehehehe #Ngl the result was disappointing #Well Dom is a flat character and Annelise virtually seems flat too since we didn't get to know her at all

[debbieker-blog]

Debbie’s Birthday (August 11th) 

(( I know this is really late, but I didn’t know if I should write a fic or what and finally I decided to do this... which was kind of difficult haha. This is what happened on Debs’ birthday:

She woke up early like every day and go for a walk at the beach, then she came back feeling nostalgic because she missed her home and family, not even her morning jog helped with that, so she knocked on Dom’s door looking for a distraction. not the one you all are thinking of ... unfortunately haha. Debs suggested a yacht ride. They had some champagne, got a swim together and returned to the castle in the afternoon. Debbie had a good time, which made the nostalgia disappear. (They didn’t really take pics but that’s how they would look like if they had taken some)

The Sota citizens send her a big flower arrangement. 

Late at night Bella and Aricia knocked at her door with lots of food, surprising her. 

@ariciaeast gave her a beautiful friendship bracelet identical to her’s and Isabella’s. 

@isabellafaulkner got her a karaoke machine to celebrate all night. A guard knocked at the door to make the delivery. So they sang and ate like crazy all night. 

The end.

Thanks to Alex, Isabella and Aricia for the RPs ))

#((deborah's birthday))

[ruby-stones-blog1]

Challenge 3 - The Date

What the eyes see and the ears hear, is what the mind believes.

Mother & Father,

I’ll probaby never send you this, just some basic standard letter about how good I’ve been and false updates on my work out progress - nothing thrilling, but somehow I just wanted to let you know what really happened.

In the past few weeks I’ve learned more about life and love than in the 18 years I have lived on this planet. This place, this oddly familiar place, has taught me so much more than you ever could. The people around me have shown me how to be kind, truly kind and taught me how to trust them. For the first time I experienced true consequences of my actions and rude behavior; that alcohol isn’t a liquid to be consumed like water and what loneliness can do to people. Love doesn’t grow on trees and you have to earn your trust. I am still working on myself and finding new aspects of my true being which I’ve never considered to be there. But all in all I am living and learning about life at it’s fullest.

So far I’ve had the pleasure of meeting my very first friend, Lady Aricia. She is everything and more I aspire to be, she has a similar past to mine but a much brighter future ahead. And there’s Prince Dominic, the royal sweetheart with the lovely eyes. I still haven’t figured out why he is still keeping me here, but he must have seen something not all to bad, at least that’s what I hope. I hate to admit it, but I don’t think I am one of his favorite girls to be around. I mean how could I be? That silly girl who barely knows anything about life and has zero knowledge of basic communication and relationships. Either way I am just grateful to have been given a second chance and will try to make the most of it.

And yesterday? Yesterday was my first date, ever. Could you imagine that father? Your little babygirl on her first date. I mean you have already disapproved of him without even getting to know him, but that’s fine by me, as long as I am certain that he could be the one, I’ll keep on trying. I decided to bake chocolate cake with him - please don’t kill me mother -, probably not my brightest idea but it was very lovely. And considering the fact that neither of us have really baked before, we did a great job. No one was hurt or died of food poisoning which should be considered a success. I actually enjoyed the process of baking, never thought I could be that easy putting random ingredients together and mysteriously creating something edible. Though I spilled a bit of flour, I didn’t ruin the kitchen and the cake was still very delicious.

And my cooking assistant? He looked so wrong yet so skilled in the kitchen, without a clue he was so secure in his actions. But there was always that ice cold distance. For the first few weeks I didn’t know if the ice prince was a simple act or a part of his personality, but now I am certain that it’s his protection. I should be the one to know that letting down your guard isn’t that easy, but being open with nearly every person? - Impossible. Sometimes the image cracks and I get a glimpse of what lays behind that facade but if he isn’t ready to show me his true being - I shouldn’t be the one to push him. I’ll wait and see what he presents himself to be and gather all my strength to not get hurt during that process.

Ohh, Dad, what would I give for your support right now. Just knowing that you would totally stand behind me, supporting me in every decision I make and maybe even give useful advice. Sometimes I lay in my bed and wonder if I should call you, wonder what it would be like - you giving me advice on how to survive this, how to pretend to be happy even though you’re dying inside. Sometimes I imagine mom and I would be closer, that you both wouldn’t be that hard on me and I could just call her and ask her how to seduce a prince. Giggling with her, hearing you shuffling around in the background and plotting future dates. What would I give for a picture perfect family…

I just wish you could be the parents I crave you to be.

Love, Rubes

Tears stream down my face as I crumble up the letter in front of me, locking away all demons inside my brain.

Mentions of @domschreave and @ariciaeast

#my fic just keep getting shorter #rubystones #aricia tag #challenge3 #the date #kill me

[finleygansey-blog]

EXPOSING ILLÉA SHIPS//A MASTERPOST

I’ll @ everyone once they’re listed lol//I’ll add as @exposingillea posts more of these

@domschreave: • misery and loneliness #domery • @melodynolan #melodom

@alinaschreave: • @finleygansey #finlina

@debbieker: • @isabellafaulkner #debbaella

•@ladykatdempsey #kebbie

@evadne-leventhorpe: • nuts #evadnuts

@ariciaeast: • @calistapledger #caricia • @jynsongxvii #jynicia

@calistapledger: • @ariciaeast #caricia

@finleygansey: • @jynsongxvii #finjyn • @alinaschreave #finlina • @devonmuerner #devley

@lady-fiona-rossi: • flowers #fliona

@princepercyschreave: • @charlotte-bane #charcy

@princeevanschreave: • no one (sorry my guy)

@melodynolan: • @domschreave #melodom

@ladykatdempsey: • @cameronnicholls #katmeron • @ruby-stones #rat

•@debbieker #kebbie

@berklee-boyer: • @charlotte-bane #charlee

@jynsongxvii: • @finleygansey #finjyn • @ariciaeast #jynicia

@annette-martel: • pasta #pastette

@devonmuerner: • @finleygansey #devley

@ruby-stones: • @ladykatdempsey #rat

#//ships masterpost #//exposing illéa #//the selected