"I warned you this would happen." Colton, Aberion's younger brother growled as he set down his glass of scotch. "I have nothing against the girl, you know that, but making her your heir? That wasn't very smart of you. She is not of royal blood."

Aberion sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "You did warn me, yes," He agreed. "However, the decision was mine to make. Though she may not have my blood I raised her, she is just as much of my daughter as she would have been if she were conceived."

"And now we have protests, riots, and rebellions to deal with. All of which sprung up in the matter of a month." Coltin said, locking eyes with his elder brother. "I should be next in line, not some common girl.

Ah, so there it was, his main concern, Aberion thought, "Must I remind you that it is my daughter you're talking about?"

Colton sighed, "You know what I mean."

"Unfortunately I do, and I believe that you meant every word that you said." Aberion said as he stood. "If you have come here to insult my family, I will ask you to leave."

"It's hardly an insult," Colton said indignantly, remaining seated. "It is merely the truth, she is common born. Who were her parents again? What caste were they?"

Aberion sighed, "That is hardly any of your concern. She was raised as a one and a one she is," He said firmly. "Your insinuation that she is any less deserving of her current caste based on the circumstances of her birth is downright insulting."

"If the roles were reversed you would be saying the same thing I am now." Colton said, standing. "You know that you're in the wrong and the people know it too. They will never accept her as your successor, I think they have made that much clear." He straightened out his tie then adjusted his cuff links. "Heed my advice and have her abdicate before she gets herself hurt."

"No," Aberion said simply. "Caroline will prove herself to be a kind, fair, and just ruler. She will fulfill her duties and obligations and show the people that she is an excellent leader."

"They'll eat her alive, she's too soft," Colton hissed. "And once they do you will only have yourself to blame."

"We'll see." Aberion said simply, then motioned to the door. "I believe you know your way out."

Colton huffed then stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Aberion didn't flinch as he made his way towards his desk. He sighed as he sat down at his desk and opened a report, dwelling on his conversation with his younger brother. Could Colton be behind the new rebel movement? He couldn't help but wonder. It didn't seem likely, but Colton had everything to gain from his daughter stepping aside and basically handing him and his bloodline the crown. Aberion came to the dreadful realization that he would have to have his brother looked into and seriously investigated. He would do so discreetly, obviously but for the safety of his daughter he would have to exhaust all options.


Brinley smiled at her daughter through the mirror as she braided her hair. Sure, Caroline had maids to do this for her but Brinley enjoyed the quality time it gave them. And as a former six herself she was quite good at doing other people's hair, as she had in the past when she worked for a governor's family.

"You look troubled, my dear," Brinley said in her usual calm and soft demeanour. "What's the matter?"

Caroline glanced down then made eye contact with her mother through the mirror, "I'm just wondering if dad made a mistake. You know, by naming me as his heir."

"Oh, my darling, of course he didn't." Brinley said, then sat on the seat next to her daughter. She cupped her face and stared into her daughter's deep, dark brown eyes. "Your father and I thought long and hard before we made the decision, we realised that you have most of the training you would have received if you were ours through birth. It simply isn't fair to deny you what would have been yours if you were our birth daughter."

"But everyone's protesting or rebelling against me, mom. They don't want me," Caroline said in a small voice.

"Not everyone," Brinley corrected. "Only those with the loudest voices are protesting. For every protester out there there must be dozens who are silently cheering you on, the people love you, Carrie."

"It sure doesn't feel like it." Caroline said as she slumped in her seat. "I'm just nervous, what if the Selection goes horribly wrong?"

"I think it's normal to be nervous." Brinley said as she wrapped an arm around her daughter and pulled her closer. "I'm sure your father was during his Selection, but of course he never let it show. Why, I was even nervous! What prince would want a six? But he still chose me over all of the other girls. You just have to let your heart guide you, the heart knows what it wants."

Caroline nodded, "You're right. I just have to trust myself."

"But you also need to be careful, not every boy will enter with the noblest of intentions. Some will be after your crown, or the stipend they will receive for their efforts."

"Mom, why did you enter dad's Selection?" Caroline asked, peeking up at her mother.

Brindley smiled at the question, "Well, I was very intrigued by the idea. Your father seemed like a nice man and I wanted to get to know him better, to see if I could fall in love. I won't say I had a crush on him, I had only ever seen him on the Report, mind you. But I thought he was someone I could grow to love, which I did and as you know he came to love me as well."

Caroline smiled, "I'm glad he did."

"As am I, because together we got you and have done wonderful work for our fine nation." Brinley said as she stroked her daughter's hair. "Try not to stress too much about your Selection, if you don't find the one we can call the whole thing off, but I think you will. You are kind, smart and compassionate, any of your suitors would be lucky to have you."

"Thanks mom." Caroline said.

"Anytime, my darling. Now let's finish your hair and get you ready for dinner." Brinley said as she stood.

Caroline nodded and watched as her mother's delicate fingers wove her hair into braids. Her mother was right, she just needed to trust the process, it worked for her parents, so why wouldn't it work for her?


Hey everyone! Here's another chapter for you all, I hope you enjoy it. Please leave a review to let me know what you think. Submissions are still open for those who are interested in submitting.

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