When the family returned home, they all went their separate ways to do what they wanted before going to bed.
Hazel sat on her bed, brushing her hair now to make life easier when she woke up in the morning and needed to get ready fast to go to the palace.
A knock at her door disturbed the peace in her room.
"Go to sleep Helena," Hazel said, knowing it could only be her sister unless her mother wanted to have another deep conversation about the palace and the people she needed to avoid.
As grateful as she was for her mother's advice, Hazel just wanted to go to bed to be well-rested for the big day. She had gotten enough advice and at this point, there was nothing more she could do to prepare.
The door opened, revealing Helena just like Hazel thought.
"I want to sleep here tonight if you do not mind," said Helena, walking into the bedroom to join Hazel. There was too much on her mind to sleep alone.
"If there is a spider in your room just tell me now instead of keeping it a secret until the morning. We can get father to kill it for you," Hazel replied, getting up to put away the brush she used.
"There isn't a spider this time. I want to sleep with you tonight since it might be the last time we will be this close. One of us might be picked to stay in the palace longer so we would not have time to spend with each other. If we don't get picked, we will both get married and have our new families to care for. I have been so excited I forgot how we will be away from each other," Helena said, saddened by the late-night revelation she had.
Hazel didn't think they would not see each other often when they married and moved to wherever their husband's homes were. She would always make time for her sister. Hazel sat on her bed and patted the space beside her for Helena to join her. "Come here, you big baby," she said.
Helena happily closed the door and walked toward the bed to join Hazel. She laid comfortably beside Hazel and looked to the ceiling. "I am more terrified than I am excited," she revealed.
"About the selection?" Hazel asked.
"About the future. How are we to know if we will make good wives or have a happy life with the men we pick?" Helena asked.
"Are we picking? We are going to the palace for the prince to pick one of us. If we are not selected, I wonder if we are doing the picking with the men who will approach us. I honestly wish we could go back to when we were younger," Hazel said, finding the past to be better than the present.
"But all I did was speak of marriage when I was younger. I dreamt of this moment. I was never more excited than finding out I could take part in the selection."
"Right," Hazel sighed, remembering that part of their youth. "I remember how annoying you were in the past. Going on and on about being a wife. Do not start now. I want to have a sweet dream, sleeping with my guard down. We will need to be on high alert in the palace."
"I had hoped that by now you would be married to offer me advice. Will it make me a bad person when I say that I wish mother didn't hold you back so you could take part in the selection? I don't want to compete against you. We are sisters, but it is bound to get messy aiming for the same man," Helena said, turning to face Hazel.
"It is your honest feeling. I don't want to compete against you. Don't let anyone get in your head and try to get you to go against me. Regardless of how this ends, I will always care for you. If you end up being the next queen, I will cheer for you," Hazel said, certain of this since she could never be angry over Helena getting the prince to fall in love with her. "It will annoy me that I will have to listen to my younger sister."
Helena chuckled. "Don't worry. If I become queen, I wouldn't show my influence in private. I would still be your little sister. I must admit that even though I am excited the prince only danced with me, I am scared of what will follow. I can't have a single flaw for anyone to pick apart. They will all be watching me, waiting for an opportunity to put me down."
"Helena, that would happen even if you weren't offered a dance tonight. We are from the Wallace family so there will be many looking to chase you out of the palace. I cannot promise that everything will be alright, but I will be with you. As long as we stick by each other, we will get through this," Hazel promised.
She wasn't only going to look out for herself during the selection.
Helena smiled, feeling better thanks to Hazel. She wished she could confess to Hazel that she was already feeling competitive by being upset when Hazel revealed that Tobias asked her for a dance. When she brought up disliking the fact Hazel was participating, she wanted Hazel to be willing to give up to make her happy like she always did and go to their parents now to beg them to let her stop.
Helena played with her fingers as she tried to eliminate her bad thoughts. Hazel would drop out if she pleaded with her and cried a little, but Helena didn't want that because Hazel would become the topic of gossip. If there were another way for Hazel to safely drop out, Helena would be crying her eyes out right now.
All the attention was finally on her thanks to Tobias asking her for a dance and showing no attention to the other young women. Helena loved her sister, but it was about time she stepped out of Hazel's shadow and had the attention on her.
She didn't find it fair that she had to share her season with Hazel when everyone was already curious about who Hazel would marry. Helena hoped Hazel would find a man to treat her well and love her forever, but that man shouldn't be the prince.
"Hazel," Helena said, turning to face her sister. "Do you truly want to become queen?"
Hazel thought about her answer. The palace always intrigued her as a little girl and she pictured herself acting as a princess when she walked the halls. Who didn't think of what it would be like to be queen? Who didn't want to make their family proud and gain such a strong seat in the kingdom?
"I wanted to be queen as a little girl, but now it is different. I will see what it is like to be around the prince and then give you a yes or a no another time. It is time we get some sleep so mother and father won't be angry with us. Enough about the palace. I don't want to think of the foolish prince much longer," Hazel said, turning her back to Helena as it was the only way to end their conversation.
Helena smiled, thinking she had nothing to worry about since she remembered that Hazel and the prince didn't get along in the past. They only acted like they did when their parents were present. That was what Hazel told her.
Helena turned away from Hazel, smiling as her excitement came back. Her chances of being queen were high and she looked forward to tomorrow.