"Did I not tell you your little scheme would blow up in your face? You truly are your father's daughter."

I growl, they gave me the joy of having my normal guard.
"And you truly are your grandmother's daughter," I say bluntly as I walk to the familiar metal box, hands clasped. One of the four sentinels around us must be a Magnetron.
"And what do you mean by that?" She asks, her left brow rising like her voice.
"You never know when it's a bad time to say something!" I snap back at her.
"Hmph," she has always been so good at dismissing me as if she had practiced. "I think I'm quite good at knowing when it's a good time to speak, I kept them from killing you and your little Red friend. They had it all figured out too, you died in the fire when they tried to stop you and the skin healers just couldn't get there in time."
"Fire? What fire?"
"Calore, he was using a fire to trap you and your friend. She passed out from the smoke but I suppose the rock that Telki sent your way took care of you."
We step in front of the metal box and the Sentinel to my right steps forward, waving his hand, and then steps back. Perfectly practiced.
As the metal moves, we all step in and when it shuts, I can bearly stand how much I feel like I could suffocate.
"Calore," I say his name like I'm learning it for the first time.
"Yes, Prue, Calore. Shall I spell it?"
"No," I ignore her attempt to annoy me and ask the next most important question. "What's my cover story, what twisted cake has Elora cooked up for me?"
"Nothing, we tell everyone the truth, who your real parents are, it causes fewer problems."
"Where's Mare-" I look back at the four men, "-ena?"
"She's with Lucas."
I inwardly breathe a sigh of relief, she's safe. They can't hurt her.
She's not safe you idiot! She'll never be safe again! She'll be standing on the edge of a knife for the rest of her life and that goes for you too!
She's alive.
The metal box stops after what seems like hours of me being in it.
"And now, we head to the ballroom."

Ahead doors open.
"Are you ready?" Phinex asks, her voice now that of a friend's. Worry shows thru her simple words, plain as they may be.
"Mare?"
She sighs, "She should be coming, right about now."
I look behind us, my sister slowly walking towards us, she was completely distracted.
Elara.
"We have to go, you can speak to her later," Phinex says, pulling me to the door.
Mare gives me a nod, bearly noticing my presence, and I begin to walk forward.
"What will happen, how will they go about doing this little charade?"
"Lucas will take Mare to the seats for house Titanos. People think everyone in that house is dead. Which technically they are."
"Don't remind me," I want to cry at the thought of my parents, just add it to the list.
"The Royals, Lucas and I are the only ones that know about you being adopted by them. So now, according to every record in the world, your sister and you are the daughters of your parents."
"And me, I know Mare was saved and adopted by a Red family, never told of her abilities, but what about me?"
"Well everyone knows about you, you lived in the palace since you were a small child. No one has ever known where you came from, now they just learned who your true parents were."
"They were my true parents."
"Then you don't have to pretend too much." 

I stand on top of a staircase that leads down to the Queenstrial participants.
As if, everyone already knew who would be the queen, or at least they thought they did.
Both Maven and Calore looked as if someone had hit them with a bus, they would rather be anywhere else, including a grave, then here.
I guess that my little plan really did blow up in my face. If Elara didn't kill me, the girls surely would. Evangeline is so sure of herself that it can be seen from where I stood. Even if I were a ghost to her and everyone around me. It's like taking a sip of unsweet tea, when you think it will be sweet. It really isn't that bad, but you expected something else, so it just tastes awful.
It's ironic because I bet that girl hasn't tasted anything less than perfection since the day she was born. I bet none of these people have. It sickens me, how they can know about the Reds and just not care.

"The right of Queenstrial is always a joyous event representing the future of our great kingdom and the bonds that keep us strongly united in the face of our enemies," the king's loud voice booms. "But as you saw today, Queenstrile has brought forth more than just the future queen," yes Tiberius, it's brought forth me, your best lie yet. He turns to Elara and she grabs his hand, the smile mine as well have been painted on her face. There, and most beautiful, but as fake as my maiden name, as fake as Mare's new life, as fake as my Silver blood.

"We all remember our bright hope against the darkness of war, our captain, our friend, the general Ethen Titanos," Elara says with the fakest hint of sadness.
My father's name does not belong on the lips of such a horrible serpent. Keep them away from yours and I'll keep my- Evangeline's blades away from them as well.
The crowd's whispers are unmissable, unmistakable, unimaginable, I didn't think Silvers could care about a death, oh, another stone in a graveyard, doesn't feel good to lose one of your own, does it?
"He led the iron ligand to victory, pushing back the lines of war that had stood for nearly a hundred years. The Lake Landers feard him, our soldiers loved him."
Sure they did, I know Shad didn't. He hated Silvers with every part of him, even Mermaid. Other then the Reds, tho, everyone loved my dad. I didn't get a chance to know him all that well, but even Silvers love their children because I know my dad loved me with all of his cold, iced heart.
"Lakelander spys killed our beloved friend, Ethen, sneaking across the lines to destroy our one hope at peace. His wife, Lady Nora, a good and just woman, died with him."
Now I wanted to cut her tongue from her mouth, I turn my head and close my eyes as if it would keep the pain of my mother and father's deaths from my heart.

"On that fateful day, sixteen years ago, house Titanos was lost, friends were taken from us, our blood was spilled."
Yet no one seems to care about the hundreds of Reds whose blood is spilled, they speak about it like they're offended by blood staining the dirt, not that they lost my family.
The room sits in silence as Elara wipes away fake tears, tears that are probably not even there. Does anyone think about the fact that they practice these speeches? Or do these Silvers enjoy being oblivious?

These girls don't care about my dead father, they want to know. And for some reason, so do I. I don't know if it's the part of me that wants to get this over with or the part of me that is curious as to if Calore will actually propose but, I wanted them to stop talking and get it over with. Whether I die, killed by the Queenstrile girls or I live the rest of my life a lie, I wanted to get this over with.

She looks at me, then Mare- ena, then back to me.
I'm at the top of the stairs, I've got the grand entrance, it would be so much easier to hide me, so they will. They chose me, why did I have to fall on the shield with Mare, why did I have to have more power? Why couldn't I be powerless? Why couldn't I fry? Why couldn't Evangeline just have killed me?! Why did the queen's eyes have to be that kind of ice blue?

The Silvers stare at me, mostly me, the stare at my dress, purple and silver, I could see some eyes flickering from me to Mare to me. Some held realization and others, complete and utter confusion. I wish I had that ignorance.

"This morning we saw a miracle, we saw two Red girls fall into the arena wielding powers they should not have had."

Evangaline's eyes are fixed on mine, kill me Samos girl, let the blood flow from my veins as I fall down these stairs. Kill me and let me bleed, let me die, let me leave this nightmare. Nightmare, Mare, I wonder if this is worse for her. She had to leave her family.

"The king and I interviewed the girls extensively. Until we recognized one of them. When we let her live in the palace, we didn't know where she came from or that she even had an ability, we certainly did not know she was the lost daughter of our friend, General Ethen Titanos. By luck and coincidence these girls fell into the arena, they found each other. Friends, please welcome back Marrena and Prue Titanos, daughters of General Ethen Titanos, lost, and now found."

I descend the long, steep stairs, keeping my eyes in front of me and trying not to mind the cheers. One foot in front of the other, don't buckle over, don't show the fear, don't show the sadness. Walk straight.
When I reach my seat, Evangeline Samos glared at me, it was all I could do to hold back a smirk I fixed myself into the plush, velvet covered seat next to her.

"Saved from their parents' fate, Lady Marrina and Lady Prue were taken from the front. Lady Prue was left on the palace steps and Lady Marrina was taken to a Red village, not ten miles from here, called the Stilts," the king starts.

I sit and listen as the king spins a tale of two sisters, taken from each other at our young age and lived in two completely different lives, only to, by some miracle, be brought back together sixteen years later.

"To atone for my ignorance and to repay her father and her house for the great contributions to the kingdom, I would like to take this moment to announce the joining of house Calore and the resurrected house Titanos."

The girls gasp and I tightly shut my eyes, here it comes. I look to my right at Evangeline and she had a look of pure anger on her face, I was sure to be killed by her and at this rate, it would be before Calore could even get to his feet to ask my hand in marriage. Most girls would put as much distance between themselves and her as possible but I knew it was a lose-lose for me either way. I would die as a queen with no heart or as a found Silver with a fading one. 

Cal steps forward and I could literally feel Evangaline stabbing me. Ripping me to shreds. But lately, at the most perfect times, it has been coming to my attention that I could make anyone in this room powerless in an instant, including the Samos girl with the razor dress.

It takes him a minute to speak, but only a minute, not nearly long enough. In that moment he went thru every way he could get out of this in his head and they all ended badly.
"I am my father's hair, born to privilege and power and strength. You owe me your allegiance just as I owe you my life. It is my duty to serve you and my kingdom as best as I can and beyond. I need a queen who will sacrifice just as much as I will to maintain order, justice, and balance.
"Lady Prue," his voice is strong as always.
I rise to my feet, my dress following me. Oh, how I wish to sink into the silk and disappear like a feather in an ocean. I try but to no avail, my eyes couldn't stay off of Maven. His eyes, for once, were on me as well. But they were unreadable, why did they have to be that kind of ice blue?
"In the eyes of my royal father and noble court, I would ask for your hand in marriage. I pledge myself to you, Prue Titanos, will you accept?"

I always imagined that Calore would propose to me, but I also always imagined that I'd have a choice in the matter and that I could say no. Because no matter how I knew him, I did not love Tiberias Calore. I loved Maven Calore.Yet I still say the words,  "I pledge myself to you, Tiberias Calore. I accept."With those simple words, I lose the rest of my life. I lose the rest of my life in a palace; when I would have rathered it in a ditch.
The horrible words and the thought that I will one day die in this wretched place leave me to wonder, was this a proposal, or a death sentence?