I giggle and run from Hope's frantic hands that chase after me in her blindness.

That is, she is blindfolded, and trying to catch one of the Selected.

We are outside in the back lawn of the Palace, currently running from Hope and trying to be silent as our bare feet tread quickly over the green grass. After Alexander made a major elimination when we got back, we - The Selected, that is, decided that we needed to bond with each other.

Bonding. I don't bond, and I was as against it as a cat is of water, but I'm actually having a lot of fun.

Fun, right? Not possible when Bridgette is here, but good thing is...

wait for it...

Bridgette got eliminated!

When I found out, I was grinning, but everyone passed it on as happiness that I wasn't eliminated. Even her snide comment of, "Just wait, you pig, it'll be you next," couldn't effect me.

I don't care what she thinks, and I wouldn't care in a million years. I would never give her that power over me. Because she is an arrogant, dishonest, and rude girl who doesn't deserve to have any effect on me. Because all she wants is to get to the top, lying and deceiving, sinking her claws into anyone who believes her. Using their kindness as her own weapon, as her own shield.

So now, I get to live my life in peace, and enjoy the good things life throws at me.

Even if that means gasping for breath after running what must have been three miles away from Hope.

Although, looking at the distance I covered, it probably was fifty feet.

And I'm not even wearing a dress! We, the Selected, got permission to wear shorts and a tee shirt.

Shorts and a tee shirt? Do you know how much convincing that took on our part?

I mean, sheesh! The Royals are all about equality, but if men can wear pants and shorts and girls can't, that doesn't seem equal to me.

Anyways, in my athletic clothing, I am currently panting and out of breath. I look around at the girls with red faces like mine, and can't help but smile. For so long we have been in this "together," but we were all living in our own separate bubbles.

Now I feel like we are all a community. In the women's room, we all talk and chat.

And no matter what feelings might get in my way, I am so proud of Alexander. He picked the best of all the girls in Sarroine. I feel like I have sisters now, people to lean on.

Wow. That sounds really cheesy. But no matter how cheesy, it's true. I will truly be so sad to see them go.

Or leave, myself. I just...can't imagine leaving forever, and never coming back. This place is my home now, and it has a place in my heart that can never be filled again.

Through my happy thoughts, I look around and see Blake to my right. Jogging over, I notice her eyes are locked on the image of Hope finally running into someone. Emerald Ferrara, who jumps up in fright and screams, dramatically melting to the ground like the Wicked Witch of The West.

I come up behind Blake, laughing in sync with her. She turns around, slightly startled, and laughs again when she sees it's me. "Oh I thought you were a rebel, Clarissa!"

I chuckle and shake my head humorously. "Nope! Unless I've been conspiring with the dark side."

She spreads her hands in front of her, as if imagining a scene, "Come to the dark side, we have Sarrione Princes and girls afraid of rebel attacks," she narrates.

I continue to laugh. "Don't forget, a new royal dog is coming soon!"

"Oh yes. Maybe the puppy will protect us from the good side."

"Our army."

She puts her hand to her heart as Hope comes running at us, with her blindfold off. "We're putting our faith in you, Mr. Puppy."

"Yep!" I say just before Hope jumps on me, tackling me to the ground.

"Hey!" I yell, as the other girls come up and fall on the ground laughing besides us.

"I got you! I won!" She screams to the world.

We all cheer, not caring what the guards or anyone watching thinks.

The sky is really, really blue, but there are storm clouds covering half of the lawn. It starts to drizzle lightly, but we don't care.

It's the happy kind of drizzle that builds up on your clothes, makes you feel refreshed, and darkens you hair just a little bit. The kind where the sun can still shine, and somewhere out there, there is still hope, still happiness. The kind where you can feel bad, but you always get better.

We all lay there for a while longer, but I don't know how long it is. Every couple minutes, we all sigh, and Blake to my left has fallen asleep. I laugh lightly at her gracefully disheveled look and then look to my right where everyone else has started to lightly giggle. Standing up, I move to dance in the rain.

I hear exclamations and laughs, growing into a steady noise of joy coming from us.

I say loudly in a formal voice, "Ladies, choose your partner." And Blake is still asleep.

We all choose one, and I end up with Eleanor. We dance, laugh, and giggle in the rain. The palace is blurred, and that's fine. We don't need to think about that now.

"Hey," Eleanor says lightly as we come up from our dramatic dip. I laugh again, it seems impossible to stop laughing.

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to tell you, about Ale-"

"Don't." I say seriously. "This day is about us, fifteen girls from Sarrione, getting to know each other better. Enjoying just being ourselves."

Her eyes flash, worried, and I make a note to talk to her later. Something is up. But right now, I'm in the moment.

"Let's go!" We change the dance from our sloppy ballroom dancing, to interesting hip-hop.

Shaking our hips and our fingers, we come up with some sort of choreography. As we finish our routine, we all scream and shout, letting out all emotions that have built up. I grin like crazy, nothing can ruin this day.

"W-what?" Oh! Blake, poor Blake. She missed all that!

"You fell asleep, silly! Get up here!" I grab her hand and pull her to our designated stage area on the grass.

We party and laugh and laugh and party some more.

No drinks, no rules, and most certainly no princes.

Estelle, Willow, Paris, Emerald, Krista, Hope, Blake, Lulu, Paige, Maybelle, Bethany, Natalia, Eleanor, Cece, and me.

Just fifteen girls, normal for the day, having fun.

--

Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it! Sorry this was just a filler chapter, I promise more action is coming in the next one! Remember to do something that only takes a few seconds...

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