Gwen sat next to Taylor at the long wooden table, anxiously picking at her shirt. It was easy to see who had succeeded in the challenge. They sat confidently in their seats, watching the unfortunate ones smugly. Gwen's eyes flickered to the doorway every time someone walked in, waiting for the person with the results.

She couldn't touch the steaming plate in front of her, although her stomach grumbled loudly. She felt too sick to eat. She reminded herself over and over that not everyone who lost their battle would be sent home. Their numbers would again be cut by five, and Gwen couldn't imagine being sent home at this point.

Gwen had more to lose than the others in this competition; she had to fix things with Xander, and maybe Rowan if he would speak to her. Losing her lifelong dream because of a silly mistake made Gwen feel sick to her stomach.

Rowan, who always seemed to be around, hung back around the wall, not eating. Her eyes met his and she felt his anger directed at her. She took a deep breath, if she was to go home tonight, she might as well apologize to the Prince. It was better for her not to have a powerful enemy if she was forced to go home.

She pushed herself up from the table, happy for any distraction from the agony of waiting and marched determinedly towards Rowan.

"Look, before you say anything or tell me to go away I just have to say I'm sorry. I know you were just trying to help but I needed to stand up for myself, and I couldn't do that if you fought my battles for me. I shouldn't have yelled and I really want us to go back to being friends," Gwen burst out before he could interrupt.

She looked up from the ground and met Rowan's eyes again, and was surprised to see they were no longer burning with rage. There was a small smile on his face, his dark eyes warm again.

"No," he said laughing quietly, "I should have known you wouldn't take kindly to someone else interfering with your pride. I know girls like you."

At his words Gwen felt a small stab of pain in her chest. Girls like her. She didn't know exactly why hearing him say that bugged her so much, but it did.

She shrugged noncommittally and shook it off.

"So I'm forgiven?" she asked brightly, momentarily forgetting about the competition results.

"Yeah, you're forgiven," he said smiling. "And don't worry too much about going home yet, you're-" he broke off, looking guilty for a second before continuing. "I mean, you held him off for quite a while, I'm sure the judges wouldn't send you home after that."

"I can't avoid being nervous." She rolled her eyes. "This is the biggest day of my life. If I lose, I lose everything."

Before Rowan could respond, the guard who had been running the trails walked in, holding a long piece of paper. Rowan grabbed her hand and tugged her gently to his side, squeezing it reassuringly. Gwen pulled away in surprise, her heart thudding. She shot him a look out of the corner of her eye, and found him looking firmly towards the front, face slightly pink.

Gwen was taken aback. Just minutes ago he had been furious with her, and now he was trying to hold her hand? The guard began reading out the names of the people staying in the competition, taking her attention away from wondering about the Prince.

He was getting near to the end of the list and Gwen couldn't keep herself still. She was bouncing up and down on her toes, her hands shaking.

"Gwen Caldwell," the guard called out, reading her name very last on the list. Gwen sagged in relief, she had come in last place, but she was still in the competition. She was grinning from ear to ear and turned to Rowan, hugging him tightly.

As his strong arms were wrapped around her, she breathed in. He smelled like the woods she had grown up running around in. Gwen leapt back from the Prince, realizing she had been smelling him.

She blushed scarlet and stammered out, "Sorry, I was excited, I just-" she broke off, knowing she sounded crazy. She knew she wasn't the first girl Rowan had shown any kindness towards. There were always rumors about him and various girls flying around the kingdom. She knew she was being ridiculous, acting like all the other girls, always swooning over him.

"Congratulations," was all he said, not commenting on her awkward babbling. "You'd better go," he said. She hung her head, crestfallen. She didn't know what she had expected, but it certainly wasn't him sending her away. "Your next trial is about to start," he said, grinning at her.

"Right now?" Gwen asked with a start, not expecting it to be so soon. The next trial had to involve the beasts, she thought excitedly. She was going to get to fly.

Gwen ran down the hall after the other competitors, looking back to see Rowan smiling after her. She caught up with everyone else, following them outside the castle.

Gwen pushed her way to the front of the crowd, the small size making it easy. In front of the group stood a line of creatures, held in place by terrified looking guards. Gwen's heart raced in anticipation. She spotted Xander near the back of the group, holding a rope attached to a fierce looking red Wyvern. It seemed to be fighting against him with all its strength. He looked exhausted, pulling back hard against the Wyvern.

"This is how we will be assessing your natural skill in the air," the guard at the front yelled over the noise. "You will each pick a beast to ride in the order you placed in the last challenge. You'll face obstacles in the air, which you will have to beat in order to pass this trial. This is a pass or fail task. If you pass, you move on, if not you're eliminated."

They were placed in a line based on their scored in the battles. Gwen stood angrily at the very back. She watched as the Wyvern's were picked first, letting out an annoyed huff when the last was chose. It was widely agreed upon that Pegasi were the weakest of the beasts, and Gwen knew that's what she would end up with.

By the time she got to the front of the line there was only a stark white Pegasus remaining. It stood completely still, not reacting to her the way her own horse would have. Gwen ran her hand across the creature's back gently, hoping she wouldn't have any trouble in the air.

"Let's go, you're up Caldwell," the guard called to her. It appeared they would be performing in reverse order, giving the higher ranked competitors the advantage of seeing the trial in action before performing themselves.

Gwen climbed onto her Pegasus, whispering reassuringly in its ear. The goal was to reach the far end of the field, and Gwen, knowing she had to perform well, took off.

Flying was just as exhilarating as Gwen had expected. Her dark hair streamed out behind her as she rose higher and higher. She let out a cry of happiness. She felt at home in the air immediately. She could feel just how she had to lean to get the Pegasus to move where she wished. Her experience with horses seemed to be helping her in this challenge.

Just as she was getting used to the feeling of being off the ground, Gwen was faced with her first challenge. In front of her hovered two Wyverns, blocking her path. Each time she tried to move around them they mirrored her, not allowing her to go by. Atop the large Wyvern's sat two leering guards. They laughed at her feeble attempts to get by them, looking confident. She didn't have a chance. Gwen grinned at them, not fazed.

Without a warning, she darted downwards towards the ground, sending the shocked guard trailing after her. Her eyes narrowed in concentration. Gwen let her instincts take over.

"Wait for it," she muttered, holding the frightened Pegasus steady. At the last minute she pulled up, sending the surprised guards into the ground. With a loud crash she left them in her wake.

Feeling guilty, Gwen looked down, afraid she might have seriously hurt the Wyverns or guards. Realizing they were fine, just dazed and embarrassed, she turned to face whatever the next obstacle was.

Making her way to the end of the field, Gwen felt the competition had been oddly easy so far. She was reaching her destination when her Pegasus stopped following her every signal so readily.

A high-pitched noise echoed from the ground, and the winged horse seemed afraid of it. It flew higher and higher to escape it, leaving Gwen gasping for breath in the thin air. The Pegasus tossed its head wildly, before it started to drop out of the sky.

Gwen screamed. The ground was approaching quickly, and this time it wasn't her choice. The horse bucked in the air, flapping its wings rapidly. They were rising again, but Gwen was sliding off the rear of the Pegasus. Her grip had been shaken loose from the fall, and there was no saddle on the horse to help her.

Gwen grappled for a handhold, but her tugging only made the horse even more upset and made it harder for her to hold on. She wrapped her legs as tightly as she could around the torso, and buried her face in the Pegasus' wiry hair.

Gwen's heart lurched, her legs were seizing up and she knew she couldn't hold on for much longer. She had hoped someone would fly up to help her, but so far no one had.

Her fingers slipped from the last grip she had on the Pegasus. With an ear piercing shriek she fell through the open air.

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Here's chapter 10! Don't forget to comment and vote, I'd love to here what anyone thinks!