[E D I T E D]

♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 2//: I guess I'm trying out for The Choosing?♕✿~♕✿~

When I wake up the next morning, thoughts of the Choosing rush through my mind and I groan. I had to decide today: was I going to try out for it or not?

As I am going back and forth from one answer to another, a knock comes at my door and mom barges in. Obviously, she hadn't forgotten our deal. Her hands are on her hips and her eyes are expectant. I stare back at her, still uncertain about my answer.

"I can see that you're still uncertain, but I have a deal for you that will surely convince you to try out for the Choosing," mom says, making me perk up in interest. I wonder what this 'deal' was.

"Your father and I talked last night, and we agreed to allow you to keep half of the money you earn from performances for yourself," mom tells me. My eyes widen at this and I shoot up in bed, looking at my mom in surprise and shock. She has a mischievous smile on her face as she says, "but only if you try out for the Choosing."

Of course this was the way my mom would try to convince me to put my name in. She knows I have wanted to start my own savings account for the longest of times so that by the time I was done with my homeschool education, I could buy that beautiful grand piano that has been taunting me from the music store window for the last 3 years.

I narrow my eyes at my mom as I think about what she has said. I was seriously tempted by her deal, especially because my dream of owning a new piano would be one step closer if I agreed to put my name into the pool for the Choosing. I think back to the conversation I had had with Macy last night. There was a very small chance that I would actually get in. I mean, miniscule. So there would definitely be no harm in putting a slip of paper with my name on it into the pool of candidates. And I would earn my own money from all of this as well and get that grand piano!

I smile to myself at that thought. It would be very nice to keep some of my own money. All I had to do was fill out the form and turn it in. Then when I don't get chosen, my mom will move on and I can have some money and a piano after all of this craziness is over.

"Okay, mom, I'll try out," I tell my mom. She claps her hands and smiles as she hurries me out of bed. I laugh a bit as I grab the form off of my desk and race after my mom down the stairs to the kitchen. We pass the living room where Sydney is practicing her flute and dad is sketching a design of an art piece, a sculpture for one of his clients this week. They both stop what they're doing and look up at mom and I as we head towards the dining table.

"She's trying out for the Choosing!" Mom whispers loudly to them. Sydney lets out an ear-piercing scream and I almost trip as I hear it. Dad, thankfully, doesn't try to sound like he's being murdered, and instead stares up at me in surprise. I shrug at him and gesture to mom, indicating that this is mostly for her own amusement. Dad smiles in understanding, going back to his sketches. Sydney, however, abandons her practicing and places her flute down gently on her chair before rushing towards me.

She grabs my arm and shakes it wildly. "I knew you were going to try out, I knew it! I can't believe you're going to be the queen one day!" she chatters excitedly. I can't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

"Sydney, I'm not going to be queen one day. I'm probably not going to be put into the competition and even if I was, I wouldn't catch the prince's eyes," I tell her matter-of-factly. But mom and Sydney just shake their heads.

"Of course you will! How could Prince Ahren ignore such a beautiful lady like yourself, Madison?" Mom tells me confidently with a smile.

"Madi, you'll most definitely win over the prince," Sydeny tells me, just as confident as mom.

I shake my head and smile at the both of them as I sit down at the dining table. There was no point in telling them the opposite; they wouldn't accept it. Sydney sits down next to me, eagerly watching me as I reach for a pen, and mom smiles at me proudly before going back to the kitchen to continue making breakfast. I click the pen open and look at the form in front of me, filling in the necessary parts of the first page:

Name: Madison Williams

Parents' names: Addison Williams and Chris Williams

Sibling(s): Sydney Williams

Age: 17

DOB: November 8, 311 NE

Caste: 5

Blood: Red

Abilities: N/A

Hair color: Blonde

Eye color: Brown

After I finish these parts of the first page of the packet, with Sydney watching my every move, I move on to the rest of the papers waiting to be filled out. I had to write what my first language was and any other languages I could speak. I put down that I could speak the Common Language, which everyone knew how to speak. Under special skills, I put down singing and all the instruments that I could play.

"Do you think I can put 'sleeping' under special skills as well?" I ask Sydney in a joking tone. She giggles at my question and I laugh along with her, until we're both silenced from mom with a stern, "Get back to the form, Madison, and stop distracting your sister from doing so, Sydney."

After filling out the rest of the form in silence, I walk into the kitchen. Mom is standing over the stove, cooking some pancakes. The aromatic scent hits me in the face as I enter, and my stomach grumbles at the smell. Mom, hearing this, turns to look at me. Her eyes move from my face to the form gingerly held in my hand.

"Are you done?" Mom asks me, excitement laced in her voice. I nod, which makes mom smile big. "Good. We'll go to the Services Office after we eat breakfast," mom informs me. I nod again, nerves growing in the pit of my stomach. There was no turning back now.

~♚♡♚♡~

After breakfast, mom instructs me to quickly get ready. I brushed my teeth and put on a clean dark green t-shirt, along with a pair of jeans and a pair of tennis shoes.

"Madison, hurry up! Let's go!" Mom yells up the stairs. I can hear the sheer excitement in her voice as she says this.

"Coming!" I yell back. I hurry down the stairs and am met with the sight of mom impatiently tapping her foot by the door. Beside her, Sydney is literally shaking with excitement. Her blue eyes, inherited from mom, are shining as she rushes towards me. She hugs me tightly as she crashes into me. A bit surprised, I pause for a moment before hugging her back tightly.

"Good luck, Madi!" Sydney tells me as mom ushers me out of the house, trying to get me to turn in the form as soon as possible.

When we reach the Services Office, we see a long line already formed. Mom keeps on looking around excessively, which makes me look away in embarrassment. I see a few Red girls but most are Silver and they look like they can kill. I see some of them playing with their abilities as if they're bored, but it just seems that they want to do that to intimidate others. One girl sculpts scrap pieces of metal into sharp knives. Another controls the light around her, becoming invisible and visible again. A young looking girl freezes the branches of a nearby tree while another crushes a rock with ease. I gulp, a bit frightened. This was why I didn't like hanging around Silvers.

Soon, word travels through the line that they are taking pictures as well, which is the reason why the line is moving so slowly. Mom looks surprised once we learn of this information.

"Madi, did the form say anything about this?" she asks me with accusation laced in her voice. I shake my head. "No," I tell her. Mom purses her lips, perhaps not believing me, but turns away. I look down at myself. I looked decent enough, not too much and not too little. I look up and down the line. You could see that some girls knew about the pictures before hand because they were dressed excessively. These mostly included Silvers who were wearing glittering outfits and makeup. Others were not dressed like this because they didn't know about the pictures like me. There was one girl who looked like she just got off of work based on her mud-splattered overalls.

Soon, I am at the front of the line, waiting for my turn to get my picture taken. When the man motions for me to sit in the chair in front of the blue backdrop, I walk forward only to be stopped by a pair of hands grasping my wrist. I look down to see Sydney holding me back, out of breath but with a smile on her face.

"Sydney! How did you get here?" I ask her with curiosity. It was quite a walk from the house to the Services Office.

"I...heard about the...pictures being taken from Lizbeth," Sydney says between breaths. "I wanted to give you this." Then she pulls out something from behind her. I gasp with delight when I see it. It's a necklace with a music note on it. It's simple yet beautiful.

I'm speechless at her sudden gift. "I was going to give it to you for your upcoming 18th birthday, but I decided it would be good for today. And anyways, you'll be at the palace by then," Sydney explains with a small wink. I smile back at her widely, my happiness unable to be contained. I pull her into a quick hug.

"Oh, Sydney. You didn't have to do this," I tell her in gratitude. I can feel her smile on my shoulder. The clearing of a throat brings me back to reality and I let Sydney clip the necklace around my neck. She watches as I walk in front of the blue backdrop. I sit down and smile big, still shocked and happy from the gift Sydney brought me. The camera snaps a photo of me, the blinding flash going off.

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

Here's the second chapter for you guys! Hope you enjoyed it!

Glass_Sword