Surprise

Justin handed in both his and Owen's slips of paper and waited for everyone else to do the same. He was eager to find out if anyone liked his own dish. The punch was his idea, although Owen did mix in a little vodka despite Justin's vehement protestations.

~~~

The anticipation was palpable in the room. Ava could see the boys wipe the sweat off of their hands onto their pants and her brows furrowed in consternation, wishing that Asher would hurry up already and announce the winners.

As she waited, she glanced out the hallway, a faint smile gracing her lips as she saw her gifts for the boys prancing away her. Asher, finally finished, stepped close to the table and cleared his throat. "First place, winning by a landslide... is Queen Ava and Ezra, with their Mac and Cheese and Milkshakes! Second place is the Chocolate cake made by Jessie and Evian! And third place is rewarded to Owen and Justin, with their Fettuccine Alfredo and punch! Good job to all participants! Please come to me to receive your arrows."

~~~

Ezra smirked when he heard that he and Ava won first, but was not oblivious to the hostile glances sent his way. He did not have to be a mind reader to know why they were angry at him for winning, he knew that they thought he had an unfair advantage at being the queen's partner, but he also wondered why they would vote for his dish to be the winner if they did not want him to win…

~~~

Justin beamed when he heard his dish had made third place, he looked to Owen who also looked extremely pleased with himself. He shook hands with his partner and made his way up to the guard along with the others who had won. He was not surprised that the queen's dish had won, and he was happy for Ezra at having gotten to be her partner. He saw Evian and Jessie making their way up to the guard to get their arrows and chuckled to himself, shaking their hands as well, "I liked that the cake was in the shape of an arrow, it looks like you got your arrow after all. The cake was superb." He told them. The boys both grinned at him in response.

~~~

Asher announced the slightly different prizes this time, as the winners were coming up. Both of the members from the first-place team will be able to pick three arrows, second place would get to pick two, and third place, one each. Ava stood up, straightened out the wrinkles in her leggings, and followed Justin and Owen. When she reached them, she smiled, and said, "You guys did a great job!" She bumped Justin playfully on the shoulder before waiting for them to finish picking their arrows. Once they finished, she stepped towards Asher, closing her eyes and blindly picking three. When she opened her eyes, she was disappointed that she did not get one of her blue arrows, but shrugged. At least she won!

~~~

Justin smiled at Ava's praise and went to pick his arrow as the guard directed him to. He got a regular arrow but was not disappointed because he already had a blue-tipped arrow from the first challenge. He eagerly awaited to see if anyone else got a blue-tipped arrow.

~~~

Ezra went after Ava, digging his hands in and grabbing up 3 arrows, when he pulled them out, he was pleasantly surprised that one of them had a blue tip. He looked to Ava and smirked before looking to see what Justin's reaction was. To his complete surprise, Justin did not seem jealous or angry, but rather genuinely excited for him. Ezra narrowed his eyes at the boy, wondering not for the first time why he decided to join the Selection.

~~~

Ava held her arrows in her fist and crossed her arms. She was surprised that Ezra got a date arrow, but she was not disappointed. She wondered what that meant. For all of his annoyances, she was becoming fond of him, and it was still so early in the Selection. She wondered what he would want to do on a private date, trying to remember his resume that had laid on her bed a couple of days before. 

Once everyone else had drawn, they all returned to the table. Everyone was pleasantly full, and Asher bid them a good night. Ava waved to Asher, though, before he could leave. "After a reading and writing lesson tomorrow morning, please inform all of the Selected's staff, that the archery training will be hosted tomorrow afternoon." Ava then stood up, dismissing the rest of the boys, before walking up to Justin and Ezra, as they were the ones who had won the blue-tipped arrows. "Please keep in mind that I am busy," She started, her eyes flicking back and forth between them. "I could plan the date that you have won, or you may choose to. Which would you prefer?"

~~~

Justin furrowed his brow in confusion, wondering why she felt the need to remind them that she was busy as if it was a hint that their date would not take long. He shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously, "You can plan it if it's the easiest for you." He responded quietly, not wanting to burden her any more than he might have already by getting a date with her.

~~~

Ezra flicked a curious glance at Justin's shiftiness, bemused at his answer. He rolled his eyes and turned to stare at Ava, quirking an eyebrow at her choice of words. "Busy woman? Busy as in dating 30 different men? Because this is YOUR Selection, I should hope you do not start all of your dates this way, telling every man that is trying to vie for your time that you are a *busy woman*...I think I will determine the date if that is the case, to ensure that I get my fair share of time. I did win it, after all, fair and square." He smirked and walked off, not waiting for her to come back with a snarky reply or tell him that he would not get one because of his attitude.

~~~

Ava rolled her eyes at Ezra. She had only meant that the time that the date would take would have to be limited, not that the date would have to be rushed. She turned to Justin after she watched Ezra's retreating back. "I could plan it, but it is not hassling if you wanted to. I'd actually like to see what you would plan! If you do not want to plan it, though, that is fine too."

~~~

Justin's eyes widened at Ezra's crude response, such disrespect to someone whom he is trying to date? The Queen, no less...He frowned as Ava did not even blink, she just shrugged it off...Pursing his lips in thought, Justin continued to shift his weight on his feet. He did not want to be a burden, planning too much of a date or not fancy enough, it was not like he would know what to do...but Ava did say that she wanted to see what he would plan..."I can plan it if that is okay?" He finally asked.

~~~

Ava beamed at him. "Awesome! Just send a note up to my room whenever it is planned, whether it be tomorrow or a week afterward. Have fun with it! Ask around if you need help." Ava grinned again, before patting him on the shoulder. "Well, I will see you tomorrow morning!" She said, looking over her shoulder.

~~~

Justin nodded and when she walked away, allowed himself a small smile. As he was walking, he wondered what he should plan for his date and what she would even like, or what a date even consisted of. His mind immediately went to Sky, she would definitely know what to do.

Racing towards his room, his thoughts turned to home, what his mother was doing, or more importantly, what his father was doing to his mother...He hoped his father would take it easy on Mama when he left because the weekly checks should alleviate some of Father's stress, but then again, Father always found something to be mad about...

Not for the first time since arriving at the palace, did Justin feel slightly guilty for running away from his problems, quite literally and semi-permanently now as opposed to the rather short runs he would go on at nights...

Justin soon made it to his room and entered it more solemnly than when he had first headed towards the room. As was expected, Sky was the first to greet him and ask how the rest of the games went. Justin smiled softly at her, she always found a way to make him feel better even without knowing it. He proceeded to tell all three of them the rest of the different trials, as he was sure Sky told them about the blue hat and blue-tipped arrow already.

~~~

Ava headed towards her room, before changing her mind. She walked towards the library, hoping to pick up a fiction book to help her clear her mind and distract her. She smiled, as she remembered the surprise that she had ordered for the selected. A week earlier, she had made requests for a number of puppies, of all different breeds. She was planning to let each of the boys pick their own dog. She had planned this as she was interested in how the boys would care for their puppy. Would they play with it, but let the butler feed and walk it? Would they train them with a patient and caring hand? Or would they let the puppies make messes all over their rooms and have their butlers clean them up? Would they even care for the puppy? If it was a no on the last one, the boy would be sent home immediately. Ava did not have a strict opinion that one must love animals to be with her, but if they did not treat animals with the respect that they deserved, then that would simply not be tolerated.

~~~

Ezra took a shower and got ready for bed, wondering about the archery training the next morning. He had not ever taken archery per se or even aimed a bow, but it did not look too hard…

~~~

Justin talked with his maids for hours, recapping on the day and getting different ideas for the date he should plan. As he guessed, Sky had the most suggestions and eclectic ideas. He smiled warmly at her, loving her enthusiasm and optimism. Fall and Sun pitched in from time to time as well, but mostly let Sky do the talking. They were happy to listen and sit back for the most part.

~~~

Ava awoke Thursday morning completely refreshed. She knew that she had planned lessons, reading and writing as well as the archery lesson, and the puppies, and she could not wait. She decided to meet the boys downstairs for breakfast and surprise them there. She grinned widely, before changing and hopping downstairs. On her way down, she passed a couple of maids and asked them to relay her message to the ones in charge of the dogs. "Please tell them to get them ready for the boys," she said, before bouncing away.