chapter 4

We did not win the sporting event, but we did come in second place. The older players did not seem pleased by this, but the girls definitely were. We had done enough to stand out, but not too little to lose.

My head and back definitely hurt from when I hit the ground, but I wasn't complaining. The doctors had looked me over and concluded that I was fine. Only if I started to feel nauseous should I seek more medical attention.

"Jane!" Tessa was pounding on my door late at night yet again, except this time she was also yelling with it. I was already in my pyjamas and definitely did not feel like going swimming again, so I reluctantly went to open the door.

"Look at this." Tessa immediately brushed past me and went inside my room. She was also already wearing sweatpants and a tank top, so it didn't look like we would be going anywhere.

She pulled up whoiswinning.weebly.com and clicked on the live vote count. The page took some time to load, but when it did I couldn't believe it.

I was in second place.

"What the hell?" I grabbed her phone and refreshed it, but nothing changed. In fact, the votes behind my name only went up.

"Look how close you are to the next girl." She pointed out to me. It was true, we only had a difference of about four thousand votes. That was nothing compared to how many I already had. I also now noticed that Tessa was no longer in the top three.

"You're not in it anymore." I pointed out. She nodded but didn't seem too worried about it.

"It's still anyone's game now, I'm guessing once there are fewer girls or once there are some definite favourites the positions would be more secure." She shrugged. "But you know what this means right?"

"The world saw me get tackled and feels bad for me?" I guessed. I sat back down on my bed, near my pillow, while Tessa sat down on the other end. By the secretive look she had on her face it felt like we were going to talk about planning a revolution.

"It means that we both actually have a shot at this." She said. For the first time since I met she actually looked fully serious. "We both got on the leaderboard without actually trying anything. Imagine what we could achieve if we did bother."

"Are you saying you're now actually interested in marrying the prince?" I asked her back. I had meant what I said to his brother, I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life unhappy. If the Prince and I did not get along I was on the next flight home.

"He's been nice enough to me." She shrugged. "Under any normal circumstances, I would probably go on a few dates with him, see if it goes anywhere."

"But we're not under normal circumstances," I said. "If we both decide to go for it... We'd be competing against each other, rather than friends."

Tessa was quiet for a few seconds, looking down at my sheets. I could tell she was thinking about what I had just said. Obviously to any girl marrying a prince is a little higher on the priority list than keeping a friendship that she has only had for one week. Still, the thought of being alone without any friends in this competition was also horrifying.

"You gave up your dance for me." She said. "You didn't need to do that, but you did. If we play it like that we could get his attention. I can distract other competitors while you flirt, you do the same for me."

The free vacation vibe had definitely worn off. Vacations were supposed to be fun and relaxing, and so far it has been everything but. Maybe I was scared to admit to myself that I actually wanted to win. I was scared to admit how good it felt to see myself on that unofficial scoreboard.

"Let's do it," I told her. "Let's marry the prince." 

During breakfast the following day we were informed about our next 'event' in the competition. The new leader board had everyone rattled, in the way that most domestic girls were now suddenly being extremely nice to me, so everyone was immediately in full focus mode.

We would finally be getting some one on one time with the prince. For the following week, he would be going on breakfast, lunch and dinner dates with all of the seventeen contestants. Obviously, this meant for him that his week was filled with meeting girls, so standing out was once again key.

To my surprise, I wasn't even last this time. They had integrated the leader board into the order, so I would be going as second and meeting him for dinner the very same night. Safe to say, I was stressed out.

"It is a good thing." Lady Isadora reassured me once I got back to my room. She was tasked with dressing me again, though I was determined to shield myself from any more show stopping dresses. "Dinner is far easier to stretch on than something as simple as breakfast."

"Yeah, but will he remember me in a week?" I asked, plopping down on my bed.

"It is yes, not yeah." She corrected me. "And a lady is supposed to sit with her back straight and her legs crossed like so." She showed me how to do it again, though I remembered it from the first time she taught me it. I decided not to tell her that the prince had already seen me in a bikini and just mirrored what she did yet again.

"Now is not the time to make small talk." She said, once again going through her own dresses to find one for me. "You should ask a lot about him, but also reveal some information about what makes you different to him. Not everything though, men love mystery."

"And what if nothing makes me different?" I asked, going through the dresses myself. "What if I am just an average girl?"

"Well, that would work in your advantage." She said, pulling some dresses out and piling them in Luna's arms. "An average girl from the Netherlands is something new and enticing here."

Eventually, she chose the dress again, seemingly deaf to anything I had to say. It was a tight red dress, that showed a little bit too much cleavage if I had any say in it. Lady Isadora told me I was a prude and needed to show off more if I wanted to win. I wanted to roll my eyes until I remembered my conversation with Tessa. I did want to win.

"You look lovely." Prince Sebastian complimented me when I walked into the room. There were several dining rooms in the castle. This one had a long table, but only the end of it was occupied with candles, two glasses of wine and some flowers.

"Thank you, your grace." I answer, dropping in a quick curtsy. He guided me to my seat and took place on his own, which was to my right hand. He wore a fine suit today, one that looked like it was more expensive than all the money I had made in my entire life.

"So, you have been here for a while now, what do you think of Medora?" He asked me, while two servants entered the room and brought us an appetizer.

"It's very different than where I am from, but I love it nonetheless. The people, in particular, are very kind." I answered, having almost rehearsed it from memory with Lady Isadora.

"What is it like in the Netherlands then?" He asked me back. The first course was some sort of soup. I had learned from Lady Isadora that you start with the most outer of the silverware, so I balanced the spoon in my hand as I thought of a response.

"Well for starters everything is flat over there. We have no mountains or anything like that." I answered. "It rains a lot, but I think the weather is colder here."

"I have never seen any other country besides my own." He confessed to me, after having taken a sip of his soup. "I would like to see your country one day though, it sounds fascinating."

"Well, perhaps I can be your tour guide then." I smiled back at him. The soup was absolutely delicious, though I could not recognize what the main ingredients were. Maybe it was because they had different vegetables and fruits here, or maybe I just wasn't built for fine tasting.

"How do you feel the competition is going?" He asked me.

"It hasn't really felt like a competition yet so far to me," I answered, his eyebrow shot up. "I didn't mean that I already think I've won." I quickly clarified. "I just didn't know what to expect from both the other candidates and the events we have to do."

"It took some time for us to think of them too." He said as the servants brought out the second course. "Most of the people working on it felt that it was more important to look for a good queen, rather than my ideal wife." He laid his fork back down on the table. "My brother told me you have a different view on things."

I let out a small laugh. "I suppose I do," I answered. "I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life with you if we didn't get along. Happiness is far more important than money, or a title."

"I do not think any of your competitors see it the same way." He answered.

"Yes, your brother said the same thing." I laughed. "I can't speak for their intentions, only my own."

"So if I was terribly mean to you?" He smirked.

"I'd leave." I answered.