"Welcome everyone out tonight, to the first round for Conrad's hand in merrage, May the best lady win."

I found myself standing next to Conrad, Shya on his other side, he gripped both of our hands, grinning as though he had won both of us.

I didn't like fighting for his love, he said he already cared about me, but if he did then why was he putting me through this?

I had never seen so many pairs of eyes in my life, each of a different color, draped under many types of lashes, some that were coated with a thick black substance to have them appear longer.

I had been in this room before, it was where they held the grand Assembly, which would be held at the conclusion of the contest for Conrad.

The room was exquisite, painted with a fading affect, from white to dark blue. Large windows spanned the back wall, bordered by golden lining, that swirled up into our country's emblem at the top.

A diamond, with a circle in the middle, a sign of unity. That sat above every window, and above the door of many buildings.

My eyes scanned the seating, that was divided up into four sections, closest to the stage sat the high council with their wives and family's, the president sat with his son, whom I am assuming was let free because of his status.

I avoided those slate gray eyes, that stared back at me, unreadable as always. He seamed so cool and collected, unlike me, as I stood on stage nearly on the verge of collapse.

Conrad's father was glowing with his bright blonde haired wife. Mine and Shyas parents had been invited to sit next to them. My parents appeared more then eager to be there, as they chatted it up with the council, however Shyas parents looked rather out of place. It was no secret that the town was not a big fan of them.

That section was guarded by the law enforcement agency, and behind them sat the elite, with their fancy clothes, and nice seating.

They spanned the length of the stage, and behind them the middle class r resided on plastic chairs, a reminder of their lower status, but far away in the back, the third class stood, behind a set of bars, I doubt they could even hear us from where they stood, but it was not an option to come to this place.

I had never been on stage before, and next week I would be here again.

"Now we would like to introduce the lovely ladies, I am sure many of you already know our fine man Conrad Roberts." My eyes laced the crowd as a swoop of cheers sprang up from everyone, did they all fancy Conrad that much?

Glancing over at Shya, she was beaming as though she had already won, I turned my lips up into a smile as well, spotting Greg in the crowd, he sat in the middle class next to the rest of his family, an empty spot where his sister would have vacated.

How come he had been at Conrad's the other day?

I froze when I realized everyone's eyes were glued on me, the announcer had stopped talking, the microphone now in front of me. Blinking I took it, my mind trying to recap what the words had been before this.

Conrad leaned forward acting as though he were kissing my cheek, however I barely caught the words that came out of his mouth. "Introduce yourself."

His presence left me as quickly as it had come, but I knew exactly what to do now. I lifted the microphone to my lips, shooting the audience a confident grin. "Hello, I'm drew Stetson, I'm now of age as of next week, and I reside in the middle class."

Nobody cheered, their icy eyes on me, were they supposed to, or was that only for Conrad? I lowered the machine, attempting to control my breath as the microphone was taken from my overheating fingers.

I did not like being up here not one bit.

Somehow my eyes landed on Nathens cold calculating ones, he didn't look amused as everyone else did. His hair was swept up, tumbling down his head perfectly. How had I not recognized him before? It was apparent that everyone had known of the presidents son except me.

I watched as Nathen mouthed something to me, so discrete, it was a surprise I had even noticed.

I'm coming at midnight be ready

What was that supposed to mean? Was he going to kill me, this was the end. I needed to tell Conrad before it was too late. But I couldn't not now, not here.

Shya had now finished, and the speaker was now rambling on and on, I needed to focus, or I might end up the way I had before.

Conrad's father had taken to the stage, and was preaching on and on about his wife and how much he loved and honored his son.

Before I knew it, the three of us, Conrad Shya and I were being lead outside to the back, where three horses stood.

If they wanted me to ride, I hadn't been in years. This would not end well. I had been so preoccupied that I hadn't noticed two other people get on top of horses as well.

Alice and Nathen

Since when were they so close, why should I care anyway? Alice had mentioned that she was going for Nathen, did he like her as well.

"I can't believe him, sitting atop that horse as though he didn't try and end my girls life." Blinking, I hadn't realized that Conrad had come up next to me, following my gaze.

I said nothing, Conrad sighing next to me.

"I should have been there to make sure you didn't go behind that wall." My breath caught in my throat, how did he know I had gone behind that wall? It must have just been a coincidence or something. Somehow my gut told me at that moment that Nathen was not all to blame for that night.

I still trusted Nathen, or I would not have opened the window for him that night.

I could barely reply to Conrad before a camera was shoved in our faces, the man behind it spouting out some kind of news about how I had been staying at Conrad's house. Blatantly leaving out the part about how I had gotten there in the first place.

We hopped atop our horses, Conrad taking to the skill as an old pro, me, not so much.

On Conrad's other side, Shya acted as though she couldn't do it, Conrad sliding off his horse to assist her. Now I wasn't that useless. I didn't miss the way his fingers laced with hers, and how he whispered things to her, a shy smile appearing on her face.

The fact that he was giving her attention made me want him more. Maybe I liked a good challenge, and you better bet that I was going to win this.

We started our ride, and I barely noticed the cameras as we galloped off into the countryside, the same direction I had gone with Nathen when he had shown me his bike. I mindlessly looked off to the side to see him chattering with Alice who seamed as though this were an everyday thing to her, riding off with the most elete.

Nathen seamed amused, but in a different way then Conrad. Everything was effortless to Nathen, as though he weren't trying to get others to like him, he didn't need the approval, on the other hand, Conrad thrived on the attention of others.

Conrad and Shya were chatting, and I was left to my own thoughts, as we wove through the groves of trees, in the oppasite direction of where I had gone with Nathen down that hill.

My mind drifted off to that day, that beautiful day, when the sun shown, and Nathen had given me an ounce of hope, that maybe this would all come to an end. I had felt so connected to him, because we both shared the same thoughts, a crime that could have us both banished.

I had been so into my own head, I hadn't noticed that I was no longer with the group. I had never been in this part of the city before, there were trees everywhere.

The ground was no longer even, and my horse riding skills were not the best. "Woah boy woah, calm down," I coaxed my horse, a black one with a black mane. I wondered who took care of such a sweet horse.

However at this moment, my horse wasn't so sweet, as he sailed over a log, something I was not expecting. Feeling the balance leave me, I knocked off, feeling the air take me for a ride, until I was met with the very uneven ground.

My horse galloped off, not even noticing that I was gone.

Pain flooded my head, as I lay there, staring up at the cloud dotted sky. Trees flaunting down at me. I lay there for quite a while, trying to get my thoughts together, glancing down at my watch, I realized I had been away from the group for almost an hour.

An hour and they hadn't come looking for me?

As if on que, I heard a whistle ring in the distance, someone calling my name from quite a ways away.

Letting my eyes shut, I realized I had no horse, and I would be in a great deal of trouble. Breathing, I flipped to lay on my stomach, I didn't want to go back just yet.

I had never had time to explore like this, and if I played up my fall when I returned, they would take well to me. They would have no choice but to take pity on me, but for now, I would explore. I propped up on my elbow, glancing around, until my elbow felt something hard under it, I yanked my arm up, about to grab whatever it was, except there was nothing there.

I sat all the way up, glancing down at what appeared to be a trap door, except it was made to look like a tree log, someone had created it to appear as though it were not there.

It appeared that my exploring would be a great deal more secretive then I had expected.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Ahhhhh Long time no read, but I am finally back. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I am so very sorry that it took me so long to update.

I have been busy with college and work and I am directing a play as well as I have two performances so I will try and squeeze the writing in when I can.

Love you all and happy holidays