I stared blankly at the wall in front of me, my mind still too numb to register what'd happened in the last week. My eyes flickered to my sister, watching how her lips and hands moved animatedly as she moved the clothes from the drawer into the suitcase on the bed. I I couldn't help but notice how happy she looked at the moment, her sapphire eyes had a twinkle in them. "Emma?" She crouched in front of me, both hands on my thighs, "Are you okay?" I continue to stare at her, wondering if she couldn't see it. The sadness that settled within. The fear. The uncertainty. Everybody assumed that I was fine with their plan but I was scared, more afraid than I was that night. I would be going to a strange place, meeting strange people and I had to pretend to be someone I was not. No one noticed, not that they cared enough to. "Do I have to leave now? I heard you can skip the preliminaries until a day before the competition." Dahlia chewed on the bottom lip, musing thoughtfully. "It'll be
The car ride took four hours, driving straight east, across the country, past rolling hills and thick forests that stretched on into the distance. We drove through the night, stopping periodically in small towns, sometimes for gas, sometimes because we needed to eat. By the time we arrived in the city, I'd already lost track of which road we were traveling along.I marveled at the scenery as we rode past rows of houses, shops and tall buildings lining the roads. The city bustle was strange in contrast to the mundane simplicity of Silver Spring."Where are we ?" I asked for the umpteenth time, watching as George pulled into a parking lot next to several others and turned the car off."This is Coral Dew, a pack in the eastern region. It's the second largest following the Capital. All the nearest packs around will assemble here for the preliminary tests before heading to the capital city."As we exited the vehicle, I felt the wind rush past my body, refreshing me slightly from the heat
My fingers twirl the device in my hand as I stare at it. The loud chatter of the people around me is almost deafening, I look upward at the crowd in front of me, sighing as I slowly trudged forward.After George had left last night, I was left to myself. In the large hall, we were assigned various rooms and I had to share one with four other girls. The experience was less than splendid, to say the least, one of the girls snored so loudly, I swore the walls shook. I had to sleep on the balcony, on the cold hard floor with only the buzzing of the mosquitoes to accompany me.I barely had any sleep, I was hungry, sleepy and tired."Come on! Move into your vans!" A paunchy man dressed in uniform bellowed loudly causing me to jump in shock. I eyed him in distaste before turning to face the queue in front of me. I moved as they moved, and stopped when they did as well. The phone in my hold buzzed loudly, startling me yet again. I looked down at the screen, seeing Dahlia's name. My brow furr
"Really?"My brows shot up to my hairline in disbelief, watching as Paige nodded in affirmation, her fingers twirling the ends of her sun-coloured hair,"Yeah, he's tried to force me into marrying his best friend's son, but when that didn't work out he used my mother's cousin!" "Wow." I blew out a breath, "That's..."Paige shook her head with a sigh, "I know, crazy how one can get selfish even when it's their own daughter involved."I bit the bottom of my lip, my eyes crinkling slightly. I didn't want to reveal that I understood how she felt, my family had been thoroughly selfish for years now after all. They still were, I wasn't stupid. I knew the only reason they were suddenly acting nice was because of Dahlia's situation."So he forced you to do this, as well?" I asked, cocking my head to the side."Yup, I had to pretend I was sick but it didn't work out."The van jumped slightly, causing us to bounce on our seats, and screams of shock echoed through the small space."Forgive me,
We assemble in the enormous space on the ground floor, the entire area is covered in gold and white marble and decorated with portraits and tapestries. There's an exquisite chandelier hanging off the roof in the center of the room, although it is spacious, I feel cramped. This was my first time in a crowd, my first time standing amongst strangers, and the feeling is less than pleasant.Paige is standing at my side, listening attentively to whatever the woman at the front of the room is saying. Her eyes were wide in excitement and she kept pulling at my fingers whenever the woman mentioned the King. I, on the other hand, felt dizzy and nauseous. Different scents from the many people in the room overwhelmed me and made me feel queasy. My body was hot and uncomfortable under all the heavy layers of clothing I had on. I tried to concentrate on the discussion and ignore the heat burning through my clothes, but it seemed an impossible task.I try to breathe through my mouth to dispel some
The West Court was actually an entire building separate from the main castle,the only demarcation between them was the maze gardens and the courtyard itself. The edifice itself was just as magnificent as the castle's with its massive, white marble columns, and imposing façade, which gave it an aura of grandeur and majesty, but also added to its other features, a sense of mystery. We filed into the building, one by one, filing in through the doors, all in pairs or small groups. My eyes widened as they swept over the vast expanse of the ground floor, whoever had constructed this space spared no expenses on every piece of architecture. Every detail looked so well cared for and polished that I could see my reflection in every piece of furniture. "I feel like I've died and gone to heaven," Paige whispered beside me, tugging my arm. "Look at this place." She grinned. "It's like a fancy castle."I chuckled, shaking my head fondly, "That's because it is a castle, Paige.""Oh?"I stifled m
"Thank you!" We said simultaneously to the guard at the gates, then collected our pass cards from his hand as we made our way out of the castle walls. I turn over the small plastic card in my hand, frowning at the photo of my sister staring back at me,"I can't believe they used our passports. I look terrible in this." Paige pouted, showing me her pass card. I couldn't help it, I snorted at the picture on her card, my lips twitching into a smile."Oh shut up," she snapped, shoving me lightly. "I'd just woken up moments ago before I was forced to take a picture, what would you have expected?" She rolled her eyes and craned her neck to see mine. "Let's see yours."My heart stuttered slightly and I quickly shoved the item into the back of my jean pocket. She wasn't stupid, anyone with good enough eyes would know that the person in the photo was not me. Although I had changed my hairstyle and dressed more like her, there were still obvious differences. "Nope, mine looks worse." I chuc
"I can't-I can't find my wallet.""What!?" Her face paled instantly. Panic was written all over hers. "Let's search the area, you go over there and I'll go this way. We will meet here in ten minutes."I nodded, watching as she walked over to a couple of dining at the table adjacent to where we stood, she pointed toward where I stood, her mouth moving rapidly. They both nodded and she gave them a thumbs-up before rushing to me."I asked them to watch over our bags." She swiped a hand across her forehead."Oh, that was smart," I commented and she shrugged."You can handle yourself, yeah?" She sounded almost worried, but I knew that she didn't care about whether or not I was capable of handling myself, she was asking whether or not I would be able to defend myself if I needed to. It warmed my heart."Yeah, I think I can manage. We'll meet in ten minutes." She nodded, and I watched as she disappeared into the crowds. A sudden wave of anxiety washed over me and I pushed it aside. I qu