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The royal Palace was buzzing once again. Cars pulled up, girls flooding from them. Staff hurried around, collecting bags and showing people to different areas.

Jen appeared a warm look on her face "Miss Thorne, I'm so glad you made it through... Since I was your escort before, I will be your maid for the contest. Please call me Jen, I'll be around fo help you whenever I can and we will help you to pick your outfits to impress the princes."

"What are they like?" I asked, as we began walking through the main doors.

"all so different but yet alike. Theo is a sweetheart, he is always willing to help us and will often be seen with his mother. Ezra is abit of a live wire, he is known for partying but he is ready to settle down... and Grey... well Grey can be a little intense..." she spoke

"what's the schedule?" I asked.

"well first is a welcome ball. Tonight you ladies will get to know eachother... the prince's may appear but its more for you to find your feet with the other girls" she took off walking quicker, pulling my suitcase behind her.

We made our way through winding hallways until we got to a door. "this will be your room. you'll be sharing with 3 other girls..." she said before opening the door.

2 girls, around my age were sat on the same bed, looking through a book about the Palace. The smaller of the two shot up, a wide grin on her face. "Hi! I'm Riley..."

I smiled before replying "Amelia... and what's your name?" I gestured to the other girl.

"Kerina..." she said shortly, clearly abit shy. I looked at Kerina first, she was tall, probably about 6 foot, her Raven hair hung around her waist, her pale skin contrasting to the deep tone. Riley was sweet looking, she had aurburn ginger hair, which she had braided and a face full of freckles. She was alot shorter than me, probably only grazing 5 ft.

"which bed is mine?" I asked Riley. She took my bag from Jen before thanking her. Jen left the room, promising to be back soon. Riley placed the bag on the bed by the window, before turning her hands on her hips

"is this one okay? we can swap if you want?" she pointed to the best next to it "I'm your neighbour"

"no that ones perfect thank you Riley" I smiled before sitting on the bed. It was so comfortable, the soft mattress calling you to lay down. "so who's our 4th roommate?"

"Ruby, she came in briefly just before you, sorted herself out and then went off looking for a prince" Riley rolled her eyes "she seems like a lot of fun...." she paused "tell me about you then?"

"well... I'm Amelia, but feel free to call me Amee, I'm 20, and I'm a seamstress... unmated obviously.." I chuckled

"a seamstress?! you'll come in super handy! apparently alot of the clothes are standard sizing and not great for us shorter people!". Riley got up before walking to the window "oh look!" she exclaimed "the prince's have arrived!"

I slowly moved to the window, so did Karina. We watched 2 men stepping out from a black BMW. They were both impeccably dressed in suits. I focused on each of them individually.

"that one" she pointed to the one closest to us "that's Theo..." I looked at him, his chocolate brown hair casually flopped over his forhead, a boyish grin on his face. it was hard to make out his features from far away, but his jaw line was sharp. "and that... ohh its Ezra!" the taller brother emerged from the other side of the car. Ezra was built, he clearly worked out, his pristine Ash hair was held in a tight bun, and his face had a layer of stubble.

"where's the third one?" I asked

"apparently he's not too happy about this whole contest thing. Grey doesn't want some quote 'stupid teenage girls chasing him around'" Riley scoffed "we get it, your the eldest, but still... chill man!"

"so I'm guessing Theo is your favourite?" I asked, knowing the answer already.

"yes!" she squeeled "he's so handsome... so lovely... he is always helping people... always so sweet!"

"well I don't know any of them... I guess that's the fun of it.."

Riley ran to her bedside table, before grabbing a leaflet off the top. "so tonight is the ball obviously... then tomorrow we have a day with Ezra... apparently we will be split into groups of 10 and spend an hour with him... I think they're all having a day... then there's tea with the queen... the Kings ball next week and lots of smaller minglings in the middle... were going to be so busy!"

We were interrupted by a knock on the door, before Jen and 2 other maids entered the room, a clothing rack in hand each. Jen spoke first "it's time to start preparations for tonight. This is a unique set of dresses, we don't want anyone wearing the same thing... tomorrow morning you will meet with our stylists who will get an idea of your style and you'll get a wardrobe for the time here."

Another made perked up "Riley, there's one I think would look amazing with your hair!"

"ahhh" she squeeled "show me Hailey!"

I walked across to Jen, who smiled at me curtly. "so what you thinking for tonight?"

"well, something simple I think... I've only ever worn simple... how about..." I flicked through the dresses "this!" my eyes landed on a lavender gown, shoe string straps held up a v neckline. Pockets were found on the waist as well as a full skirt, including a daring slit. "I like this one"

"the lavender will look amazing on your completion!" she chirped, taking the dress off the rail "now can you try it on so we can get it altered?"

---

That night we were in our room getting ready. The ornate room had 4 double beds all in a pale blue, with subtle floral paper and wooden siding. Each of us had a vanity, a wardrobe where all of our clothes would be put and a bathroom to share. I sat down, opening the makeup bag infront of me. My mum had shown me a few looks before I left, so I quickly set about applying a smokey eye and slightly tinted lip balm. I straightened my curly hair, before simply tucking it behind my ears. Simple diamond studds adorned my ears with a matching bracelet on my wrist. The dress was perfect. I quickly put on a pair of silver jewelled heels before sitting down and watching the chaos in the room around me.

"where is Ruby!?" Her maid exclaimed.

"screw her" Karina chuckled. Karina was wearing a blood red velvet gown, it hugged her body perfectly, the back opened yet covered with black lace. Her Raven hair was placed in a loose bun.

A girl rushed through the door before quickly sitting at her vanity. Ruby I assumed. Her bleached blond hair looked familiar, I'd seen her in the queue on audition day. It sat pin straight around her shoulders, barely needing to be touched. She began applying makeup as her maid brushed her hair. Her eyes caught mine in the mirror before she turned a weird smile on her face "hi I'm Ruby"

"Amelia" I replied.

"you look so cute!" she mocked "you too Riley... real cute!"

Riley just rolled her eyes before slipping into her powder blue gown. We watched as Ruby applied a thick layer of makeup, before inserting giant diamond chandeliers into her ears. She stood, quickly stripping infront of everyone. She grabbed the a bright red gown so tight it barely fit onto herself before looking in the mirror. She smiled victorious as she turned to us "let's go meet my prince"