Arrival (2)

"Many of the young ladies seem to be here already," Renee said, taking a look out the carriage window at three carriages before their own. "You must join the others and find your rooms. I won't be around to help you settle in, but your father and I will be here for the welcome. Remember, walk with grace."

Hazel looked out the window to see the other young women taking part in the selection. There were familiar young ladies she had spoken to in the past and some she never shared a word with. She searched the crowd for Linda but did not find her. 

The coachman opened the carriage door for the family to step out and join all the other families awaiting the arrival of the queen to address them.

Nathan exited the carriage first to be the one to help his wife and daughters out of the carriage. He was probably more nervous than his wife about his daughters entering the palace for the selection. He was privy to many of the dangerous games played here and hoped his daughters would focus on the prince and not wander off to places they should not be. 

"We made a good choice with our dresses, Hazel. Don't some of the dresses remind you of birds? They are dressed like the ball is still going on," Helena said, opening up her fan to hide her smile. Her plan of going simple yet elegant would certainly capture the queen's attention.

"Birds? I am more interested in why everyone is walking as if their dresses are too tight," said Hazel.

"They are trying to show off their slim figures in case the prince will be around today. Having the prince attracted to you is almost as important as getting the queen to like you," Helena answered, straightening out her dress as she stepped away from the carriage.

"Shouldn't the prince being attracted to us be higher? We are becoming his wife, not the queen's. I understand she wants to find a young lady she sees herself in, but ultimately, the prince will decide. That flirt isn't going to marry a woman he isn't attracted to," Hazel said, willing to bet something on it. 

"Because you know the prince so well?" Helena questioned. 

Helena wasn't going to pay much attention to all the rumours about the prince. So what if he was flirting with the young ladies coming into the palace or any young lady not taking part in the selection? The prince would stop his ways when he found the woman he loved and she was hoping it was her.

"I kind of know him, unfortunately," Hazel answered. They weren't friends, but she had crossed paths with him more times than she liked. "Would you marry a man you aren't attracted to? You do not need to do that when you have a sizable inheritance awaiting you."

Helena thought it over and shook her head. "I wouldn't be able to marry a man I am not attracted to. Thank goodness the prince is not someone I would consider easy on the eyes. He is handsome with everything I look for in a husband."

"It is only the palace and his handsome face that you like. Try to get to know him and do not fall for his face. Sometimes the prince can be annoying," Hazel said, thinking back to last night.

Hazel looked up at the palace, wondering if she was ready to stay here for a week. To visit from time to time with her father was one thing, but to stay the night was another. Rather than thinking of being away from home, specifically her dear bed, she would enjoy exploring more of the palace. It wasn't guaranteed that she would get the chance to roam more parts of it in the future. 

At balls, they weren't allowed to walk too far away from the ballroom unless they were going to the garden or to leave the ball. Although Hazel visited with her father in the past, she wasn't allowed to see much of the palace. 

Helena started to walk up the palace steps to join the other young ladies to meet the queen. She didn't want to be late to get off to a bad start on her first day. The queen would have some interest in her thanks to her dancing with the prince. She intended to never have a moment where the queen would think Tobias made the wrong decision.

"Linda will come soon, Hazel. For now, focus on what awaits you," Renee said, linking her arm with Hazel's so they could walk together. "I think my decision to make you wait to take part in the selection will not be for nothing."

"I wouldn't have needed to wait if Tobias wasn't a fool-"'

"Hazel," Renee warned, tapping her daughter's hand to make her stop. "I know you have an odd relationship with the prince, but we are not in the privacy of our home. You cannot speak about the prince as you see fit here. The queen will use her power to make sure you are the one to become known as a fool."

"I will be careful in the future. It is not too late to take me home with you. I cannot believe that I am about to fight for his favour," Hazel said, taking slow steps to prolong going into the palace.

"Your father used to inform me about you two not seeing eye to eye, but you are no longer children. You have not spent a lot of time around him for the past few years. He will be different and so will you. Enter with a clean slate as if you didn't know him in your youth. If the prince asks you for a dance, please accept it and do not worry about Helena," Renee said.

Renee did not want a repeat of Hazel turning down the prince's offer to avoid being put against Helena. There was nothing they could do about everyone comparing them unless they took Helena out of the selection and let Hazel have this moment. 

"It sounds like you are rooting for me because I have spoken to him in the past. Helena would cry her eyes out if she thought that," Hazel said, imagining Helena stomping her feet on the ground as she cried and screamed it wasn't fair.

"I am rooting for the two of you, but Helena is the more emotional one. The palace is going to test the two of you. Try to break your spirits. I just think you could handle it better," Renee replied. 

Renee worried for her daughters and the other young women joining them. All the young ladies entering the palace now were excited at the thought of becoming the next queen. To have a chance to fall in love with a prince. 

The palace was always a place that everyone wanted to enter because of its beauty and because many people with status came here, but it was forgotten many times that this was one of the most dangerous places in the kingdom because of the deadly games played here. Some people would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. 

Renee expected that when she returned on the final day to learn who was making it to the next step, these pretty smiles the young ladies wore would not be seen.