When my awful interview fades to black, the cameras switch back to Axwall, who now sits alone. "Well, folks, after those amazing interviews, it's the moment you've all been waiting for, the man who all of these ladies are competing for, Tyler Schreave!" Axwall says, motioning towards the curtains. Then, the one I've only seen on tv or in Aly and April's magazines before appears.

He looks taller than I thought he was, but a little less scrawny. He has messy blond hair and bright light blue eyes that look as shiny as crystals. He walks confidently on stage to Axwall and shakes his hand firmly. "Thanks for doing this, Tom," he says in a soft, yet commanding, voice.

"Of course, it's been an amazing experience so far! How about you? Are you enjoying your experience so far?" They both sit down, as Axwall had stood up to greet the prince, "and what did you think of the interviews?"

"Ah well, I don't know how I feel so far. I don't know if it's fear, excitement, or thrill. I guess I just don't want to disappoint anyone or upset them," he says as he smiles widely.

"I understand that. So what did you think of the interviews?"

"Ah, it was good to begin to get to know the girls and see what they're like. Oh and you were right, little red sure was interesting," he giggles. My heart stops and I sink in my seat, keeping my gaze down. Gosh, why did I have to go and be the 'interesting one'?

"Judging by her personality, she probably is embarrassed by all of the attention," Axwall laughs. Well, he's at least right about that.

The prince laughs with him and nods, "I can't wait to meet her in the individual meetings."

Wait. Individual meetings? So I have to be alone with him now? Man, now I really wish I could go back in time and make my interview the blandest and most boring one there is.

"So, now I have a few questions for you so that these ladies can get to know you," Axwall says, the prince nodding. "So, first of all, how would you describe yourself in one word?"

The prince laughs for a second, "blue, as to go with the theme I guess."

"Ah. Personally, I'm a turquoise I'd say."

"Yes, I can see that," the prince laughs.

"Well, as for the next question, Mr. Blue, what's your favorite food? Now don't lie to us, this is very important!"

"Hmm, well I would have to say chicken pot pie!"

"Wow, never heard that before," Axwall laughs, "too many vegetables for my taste."

"The vegetables make it good!" The prince says, laughing with Axwall.

"Hmm, I'd have to argue on that one, but now for the next question, what's your proudest moment?"

The prince stays silent for a few moments, looking deep in thought, but then he suddenly lights up, his eyes widening and his posture straightening. "My proudest moment is, well, when I was a kid I was very shy, but I read a lot of books, so I felt that my parents weren't proud of me because I wasn't assertive enough. But one day when we found a baby bird hurt in the gardens during a walk, I helped the baby bird using my knowledge. Feeling the pride that my father and mother felt for me, I felt proud that I had spent my time learning and not goofing off," he answers stoutly and proudly.

"That's an amazing story, prince Tyler. I'm sure that might inspire some ladies here to pick up some more books, Hmm?" He says looking toward us.

"Well, it is always good to pick up some books and inform yourself, as you might need that information as I had."

"yes, yes, that's very true. Well, what's your favorite book, excluding non-fiction of course," Axwall says as he shifts in his seat again.

"Well, I'd have to say The Dandelion Girl. I found the story in a very old book in our library when I was young, and whenever I didn't know what to read next, I'd go back to that story. I find that I usually enjoy older books more, it's just that, to me, the characters have more depth and the stories tend to say things in a much more effective way than newer books do," he says with a smile on his face, and this smile looks genuine this time, since he seems to also be smiling with his eyes.

I've read The Dandelion Girl, and I would have never thought that someone else would read it, let alone like it, since I found the story in with my dad's collection of books that have been passed down in our family. He told me that that the books he has were banned by the government, but our family has kept them hidden and safe for generations. I've read all of those books, and it always makes me question why they were banned, but maybe the prince knows...

"Ah, I've never heard of it, but it does sound quite interesting! Well, as for our next question, and I think our final question, what do you find is most appealing about someone's personality?"

"Well, Tom, I would have to say sincerity, uniqueness, and intellect."

"Ooh we got three, hear that ladies? Let's see if the prince can elaborate a little for us?" Axwall leans in and raises his eyebrows, nudging the prince with his elbow.

"Well, I like girls who are true to themselves no matter what others might think, but I also like them to be unique, I don't like those who are carbon copies of tv show characters. And most important to me, I would like them to have intellect, and not just follow everyone else, but actually think for themselves."

"Hmmm, that's a tall order ladies, think you can handle it? He raises his eyebrows at us and looks around from face to face. Well, that's all we have time for today, but don't worry, go to wishweekly.com to participate in a poll about who was your favorite tonight, and that poll will be published in next weeks wish magazine and it will include some behind the scenes photos of the makeovers, so stay tuned Illea, and good night!" Axwall stands and waves as the camera zooms out to show the whole stage while the jingle plays.

When a director yells cut, the prince and Axwall are immediately whisked away while the woman from before comes in front of us and tells us to stand. We are ordered to walk in a straight line, following the woman in province order. We all silently do as we are told and are lead back into the hallway from before, but instead of going into the room we were in before, we continue down the hall. We walk for what seems like the length of the palace until we come upon a long, wide hallway of doors lining down either side of the hall.

"These will be your living quarters for the time that you stay here, so please keep them tidy and organized. The doors have numbers on them, which correlate with your province numbers, so please go to the correct room. Rooms one through seventeen are on the left, while the rest are on your right. Dinner will be in an hour and a half, so please prepare promptly and be outside of your rooms in time, someone will be here to guide you to the dining hall," the woman then walks past all of us and back down the hallway from where we came.

No one moved for a short while, but then all of a sudden everyone moved at once. I jumped and caught up, following everyone into the hall, and looking for my door. The doors were white with a black and gold plate on it that said a number, and a name beneath it. Of course, my door is last, in the back right corner. When I get there, I notice another door at the end of the hall that has no name or number on it. I shrug it off as a closet or extra room and continue on to my door. When I try to turn the handle, it doesn't budge, so I try again and again, but nothing.

"Hey, Adeline, there's a key there," I hear Charlotte say in a whisper. I look to the right of my door and see a keychain with two keys on it hanging on a small hook.

"Thanks," I say as I grab the keys, glancing at her door. Charlotte Blackwood, hmm Blackwood must be her last name, her family must be fours or have been once. Back in the beginning of Illea, every family got a new last name based on their jobs, nowadays it doesn't really matter since so many have jumped castes or have gotten arrested and gone down a caste. It seems kind of odd to me, but it's still history I guess.

I use the keys to open my door and go inside, where the lights are already on. "Ughhhhh" I groan, going over to the queen-sized bed. I fall into the fluffy bed and scream, letting out all of my frustrations with myself. Man, why did I make myself stand out so much? I just want to go home and continue on with my life in peace. I want to go home and have more fun with Aly and April...

A tap on the shoulder cuts my thoughts short as I quickly jump up and whirl around in fright. "Umm, miss, I'm your maid, Mary White, and I've prepared a bath for you... umm, and I've prepared a dinner outfit as well," A small girl says. Her hair is a white blonde and quite voluminous, falling down and around her, ending at her hips. She seems nervous and scared, or maybe just shy. I awkwardly laugh and nod, not knowing how to respond, as I thought I'd be in here alone.

"Mary, have you greeted her yet?" another girl says as she walks out from what I presume is the bathroom. The girl named Mary nods and turns to the other maid. "Hello Adeline, I'm Alithea, but you can call me Thea," she walks up to me and holds out her hand, which I shake. "Come on Mary," she says, the other girl turning around and lightly shaking my hand.

"Umm, I'm Adeline Greene... but of course you already know that! ...hehe" I say awkwardly, biting my lower lip.

"We saw your interview, little red, you did great out there, I bet everyone loves you now!" Thea tells me as she turns back towards the bathroom, her long brown ponytail flipping behind her.

"Oh no, I'm nothing special, trust me..."

"Oh come on! You can have more confidence in yourself, it's okay. The maids all wanted to pick you too!" She says, heavily patting my back.

"Pick me?" I ask as I am being pushed towards the bathroom.

Thea stops, "yep! All of the maids who were chosen for this all got to see the unedited interviews before anyone else, then we all get to choose and Rock Paper Scissors over who we want to serve. As soon as your interview was over I thought you'd be the perfect match for our dear prince Tyler!"

I bite my lip again, feeling guilty that I want to be a loser. But then again, "why would you want to choose a winner? Isn't that more work?"

Thea giggles as if it's obvious, "the maids stay with the selected up until they even get selected, then when she's queen, we become your personal maids! It's a big step up for us sixes, so we have to pick carefully!"

"Ah, that makes sense..." I respond as we finally enter the bathroom. Now I just feel bad that I'm going to let these two down.

"Now, we have a great bath for you today, but because dinner is so soon, you can only soak for half an hour," Mary closes the door and grabs a pile of towels.

"Um, thank you, I guess."

"Will you need help undressing?" Thea asks, putting her hand on her hip.

I violently shake my head in answer, Thea smiling and laughing says, "Alright then, when you get out wrap yourself in that towel and call for us, alright" I nod.

Mary sets the towels down on a chair that sits next to the bath before the both of them leave. I stand still for a moment, thinking about what to do. So many people want me to win, and I don't want to let them down, but... somehow falling in love like this, it feels... well, wrong.