Striking Green Eyes and Rose Bushes

When the car approached the palace, Venera put everything in her backpack and brushed hands through her hair to smooth it, the fading blue locks tucked behind her ears, which were still burning red. On the 40-minute ride, she was able to small talk and win some respect from the guards.

The palace was made from a sparkly white rock on the outside and it glistened in the sun. The weather was getting chillier in the later afternoon Venera wished she'd thought to bring a jacket. Her clothes weren't appropriate for the weather. She had taken only 2 changes of clothes and her old Kevlar body suit in case things got heated at the palace, which seemed enough when she was packing but too little now that she was faced with the reality of the palace.

The guards calmed her down by telling her there are dresses sewn for each of the girls the prince had chosen for them waiting in her room and she would be able to change once she got to her room, the prince wouldn't see her like that, they tried to boost her confidence.

When the car stopped at the entrance to the palace, the guards rushed Venra out and the big doors of the outer wall opened for them. The gravel path that spread in front of them was around half a kilometer and led straight to the main entrance of the palace. The guards ushered for Venera to walk fast, so they could get her to her room so she would have time to change.

The main doors were open and Venera could see the prince conversing with the guards circling around him. Shit, she thought, too late, can't change into proper clothes now.

As Venera approached the entrance, her gaze met the prince's green eyes. He immediately stepped in her direction and waved the guards to leave him. It took everything in her power not to look away from Prince Felix.

Venera's guards stopped in their tracks and introduced her to the prince, who couldn't contain his smile.

Venera curtsied and smiled at him, ears burning red once more.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Venera. Would you mind joining me for a walk in the gardens?" the prince offered.

The guards melted away, leaving Venera alone with the prince. He offered his arm to her, but she hesitated.

"Am I scary?" joked the prince, at Venera' s pause.

Venera gave herself a pep talk and took the prince's hand. "I guess you are, your majesty," she replied.

He led her into the gardens encircling the palace. The wind picked up, wiping strands of Vanera's blue hair around them and tickling their noses with the scent of the blooming flowers.

"Your majesty, why am I here?" asked Venera shakily, breaking the silence as they passed a small marble bird fountain.

"Because I think you have what it takes to be a princess, Lady Venera." He flashed an endearing but slightly crooked smile at her. "Tell me about yourself, Venera, introduce yourself."

"I'm nothing special, your majesty. I translate books and tv shows for a living, I garden in my free time," she lied through her teeth, as she knew that boring was better than the truth.

"Micha has told me about you, and your group of interesting friends. I know you even introduced him to his girlfriend. I didn't know you gardened," the prince clarified, his expression growing serious.

What exactly has Micha been telling the prince all this time, wondered Venera. And which girlfriend? Was he dating Netta in secret all this time? Micha would have a lot of explaining to do on his first visit here.

"Tell me about your time at ASBSOS, how did you get into the school?" the prince asked.

"Actually, you are partially to blame for that, your majesty." Venera laughed,. "Nearly 15 years ago now, there were these advertisements about learning languages for kids starring you. They used to run on the kids channel between my favorite cartoons. So, I got hooked on learning languages, and my parents, both being teachers, had signed me up to learn whatever language I wished. By the age of 7, I knew 4 languages fluently and was accepted into ASBSOS on a linguistic scholarship."

The prince was visibly impressed. So, he inquired about what she did at ASBSOS.

"I specialized in languages, and I know 6 fluently. In the special program, you probably know Micha focused on Media Studies and Propaganda. I focused on chemistry and medicine. I synthesized a new medicine, while at ASBSOS but also learned all ins and outs of a combat medic. I'm no surgeon, though," Venera explained.

They wandered side by side in silence, passing under the shadow of a huge oak tree.

"What is your dream, Venera?" the prince asked after a few moments..

"I want to be a diplomat or work for the ministry of foreign affairs. I've studied all my life to hopefully get the chance to," she explained.

"So, you don't dream of becoming a princess?" he asked, smirking.

"Who dreams about that?" Venera exclaimed, with a whiff of offense.

"Apparently all the other girls," he noted. Venera's hand flew to her mouth in the realization of what she just said.

Venera wanted to disappear into thin air. Did she just tell the prince, she didn't want to be his princess, to his face? She knew she wasn't meant for fieldwork, but this was a new low for her.

Venera pushed aside the awkwardness and turned to question the prince. "Now you know so much about me, your majesty. It is your turn to tell me about yourself."

As they were walking the prince brought them to a bench next to a rose bush, where they sat, and he answered her question.

"Most people know all there is to know about me. I don't have much time to indulge in many hobbies, but whenever I can, I like to create music. I can play the piano. That's mostly it. I used to read a lot when I was younger, but don't have the patience to do it anymore." he concluded. "Which gets me to my next point. I am going to request each of the girls to present me with three songs, one that can introduce you, one that talks about what you feel towards me, and then your favorite song."

"Smart, that will probably be a great way to shortlist and figure out where girls stand." Venera agreed. "You've probably thought a lot about it,". It was blatantly a way for him to put labels on all the girls as soon as possible. Venera didn't blame him. Who can be bothered to get to know so many girls all at once and then be expected to marry one? On short notice as well.

"I still can't wrap my mind around this. I must choose one of you to be my queen, and it is a weird dynamic in which I will never be sure about anyone's intentions. And there are no remakes, so it is even more pressure." the prince shared and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"I see, you are scared you will end up lonely for your whole life if you chose wrong. It's understandable. I don't blame you," Venera replied, trying to empathize with the prince. She didn't have to do anything like that, but she reminded herself, he wasn't his father and everyone deserved a chance at love.

"How do you know how I feel? Am I this transparent?" he wondered, more to himself, than to Venera.

"No, but I'm good at reading people," she winked.

Venera had opened the floodgates it seemed because the prince started to explain why this was so important to him. The prince didn't want a loveless marriage like his father's, and he talked about how his heart always broke for his mom when his dad would go after other women.

"What does love mean…out there? To the people who get to chose their marriages based on it?" "Everyone has a different explanation for love, your majesty, that's why there are millions of love songs out there. Everyone feels or explains it in a different way. " Venera started. "For me, love is mutual respect between two people, who have common goals and are ready to work on a relationship. Love isn't a feeling, in my opinion. It starts with a feeling of attraction, that the two people have to nurture into love eventually. Attraction isn't love. But my opinion is in the minority."

"Do you feel attracted to me, Lady Venera?" asked the prince, with a newfound enthusiasm.

"I guess I do, your majesty," Venera replied. It wasn't a lie. He was breathtakingly handsome in real life, the TV didn't do him justice, in Venera's opinion.

The prince took her hand and brought it up to his lips, planting the faintest of kisses on it.

"Let me show you where you will be staying, Venera, and please, call me Felix from now on."

As Felix and Venera were making their way back to the castle, a group of guards opened the front doors and let them in. The prince led Venera up 2 flights of stairs and into a long corridor of doors to the left. The marble flooring made all of their steps echo through the palace.

He opened the first door on the right wall and invited Venera in.

The room was small but cozy. A long stained wood desk took one wall with a mirror over it. A huge bookshelf next to the window opposite the door and the largest bed Venera had ever seen smack dab in the middle of the room. The bed was dressed in dark green coverture with huge beige pillows. On the left wall, there was a door that led to the bathroom.

"So, how do you like it?" inquired the prince.

Thank you, it's wonderful," Vanera said.

Felix hesitated, clearly wanting to continue their conversation. Vanera sank down onto the bed and he pulled the chair from the desk, lowering his long body into it.

"What did you do on the way here?" asked the prince.

"I listened to music, trying to hype myself up and get out of the initial shock." she laughed. Venera took her phone and showed him her playlist she listened to on her way to the palace.

The prince looked at them and said he knew none of them but wanted to listen to them. He asked if he could play them.

"Most of them are foreign... and thus banned over here. Friends had brought them on USBs from going abroad." Venera conceded.

They got into a conversation about how stupid it is to censor music from other countries. The prince had never gotten to discuss music with someone before, so he really loved Venera's openness to talk. After a while, Venera once again gave her phone to the prince, and he chose songs for them to listen to and Venera would explain where the song is from and anything she knew about it.

"This one you were listening to on the way here," he noted and put the song on. It was one of the songs that always put Venera in the zone and gave her concentration. It went along with a popular dance that she showed the prince. She both was and wasn't realizing what she was doing. She had shown pirated music to the prince and made a fool of herself teaching him a dance. Was she out of her mind?! She was acting as if he was an old friend, not the prince of the country!

"Why do you like it so much, Venera?" he asked pointedly.

"It is like admitting I can explode at any point, but that's ok because I've gotten this far in life anyway. I can explode from anything, from emotions I had bottled up, from stress, from fear. From anything really." she admitted.

Venera hadn't struck the prince as an enjoyer of this kind of music but he could see it now, that she shared the connection she had with music.

"Will you keep my music a secret?" asked Venera, worried about the pirated music and the implication that had.

"It's safe with me, Venera," he winked back at her. The prince didn't hold it against her it seemed.

After an awkward silence, Venera picked back up.

"When are the other girls coming, you've been with me for 2 hours now, and no one else has shown up?" she noted, looking at the setting sun outside.

"They will be here tomorrow. Tonight it's just you," he replied. "I honestly couldn't wait another day without getting to know you, Venera."

He just dropped that bomb on her like it wasn't a big deal. This made Venera do a double take. She immediately felt uneasy. What was happening? Her mind raced for the worst case scenario. After all, out of all the other girls, she was a nobody. Maybe the prince was some kind of freak. He was the prince after all. She could never really refuse whatever he asked of her. But on the other hand, he was nice and genuine until now. He clearly doesn't have experience in talking to girls. This all made the hair on her neck shoot up.

"Why am I getting special treatment? Is there something I don't know about?" Venera went on the defensive. Am I in trouble? Have the 10 been caught? Is this a trap? these questions circled her head.

"All of the other girls were chosen by my dad's advisors. One even chose his own daughter. To be honest I couldn't care less about their picks." he said. "I chose you and I want to get to know you, in the most normal way I can manage."

"What has Micha lied about me, to get you to think I'm something special?" Venera exclaimed. "You must be insane to choose me over the others."

"Don't lie to yourself, you feel it as well. You felt it when we were in the garden. My mind was made up when Micha described you to me a year ago when you helped his mom with her medicine and later they took you on holiday. He told me all about it."

Venera took a moment to think. But with every second, she was getting angrier and angrier. The prince was delusional, and she needed to correct his opinion of her.

"Look me in the eyes, Felix." she snapped. "I said look at me. You think your best shot at love will be with a poor girl who will dote on you because you are prince charming who came to save her, that's why you chose me. You don't want to marry a power-hungry daughter of some political figure, who doesn't want you but wants the crown instead... You better get to know the real me, before you make a stupid choice and regret it for the rest of your life because I ain't a doll for you to dress up as a princess. As you said, you've got one chance at this. Don't. Screw. It. Up."

Prince Felix was shocked. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it. Then askedBut what about you, Venera, who am I to you? Who have you drawn in your head?"

Venera started but bit her tongue. She then reconsidered and spilled it anyway.

"You are a hopeless romantic, who wants a fairytale of a relationship. You've got something you are hiding, and don't want anyone to know. There is a cloud of pressure hovering over you because you aren't ready for any of this. You are also scared as shit and threw yourself at the first person to show you genuine kindness without an obligation to do so." she listed. "You can stop me when I make a mistake, by the way."

The prince was baffled at how accurate she was. "I will, go on."

"You're depressed about something. You have never had a genuine friendship in your life because everyone treats you like a prince and not like Felix. Your parents haven't shown you any affection in years and you feel a disconnect from them. You want to be recognized by them for something and not be brushed aside. You probably did something to disobey them recently but it didn't go as you thought." she finished.

"How do you know all that? It's all true, but how?" His frow furrowed, unease flashing in his green eyes.

"It took 4 years of psychology. And you have no filter on your face so I can see if what I'm saying is correct immediately from your expressions." she smiled.

After an awkward pause, Venera started once again.

"How much do you know about what's happening in the country, Felix?" she asked, wondering about the extent to which the prince was sheltered from reality.

He shook his head and Venera rolled her eyes and got comfortable on the bed.

She asked him if he knew about the chips first. He answered he knew the army was chipped.

"Everyone has been chipped, Felix. Everyone over the age of 7 is chipped and monitored. There are two types of chips - the normal location tracking chips like I have and the voice recording chips that are injected into foreigners and influential figures," Venera explained moving her hair on her other shoulder.

The prince was still taking in the information when she asked if he knew anything about the rebels. He shook his head and a drop of fear clouded his eyes.

"There are a few groups of rebels, most of them get caught pretty regularly these days and executed in the town squares. All because of the chips. Some just want the chips to be removed. Some want to kill the monarchy as a whole. Some want just the king dead and you on the throne. And some want just a stop to the meaningless wars the king has been starting in the last 10 years."

"How do you know about that, Venera? Is it common knowledge?" he asked.

"It isn't common, but it's pretty easy to find out if you are looking for it," she explained.

The prince asked if Venera shared the ideas of any of the rebels. She hesitated to answer at first but decided to share a piece of the truth.

"I wouldn't mind getting rid of the chips at all. Knowing how they can ruin lives, I would rather see them gone." she expressed, exposing the chip on her left ankle.

"How can a chip ruin a life," the prince asked.Venera told him about the people who had initially tried to remove them and were paralyzed. How people had gone mad from faulty chips, and how children had died from allergies to the metal in them. How improperly installed chips could poison children's blood and leave them with chronic issues for life.

"All that, not even talking about how unethical it is to control the population through such surveillance and fear," Venera added in conclusion.

The prince nodded and went quiet as he tried to rationalize the information in his head.

"Thank you for being honest with me and telling me, Venera. I'll be back after dinner. Yours will be here soon as well. I would be happy if you think about the three songs I told you about earlier." he said and left the room.

Venera went completely numb as soon as she was left alone. She started going over everything she just spilled on the prince and started to unpack everything she just learned.

Soon a plan formed in her head. She was going to convince the prince to join the 10's cause. But she must sort out her feelings for him as well. Was she really falling for him? Would her feelings for the prince ultimately make it harder to assassinate the King, or will they fuel her hate even more?