[ E D I T E D ]

♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 27//: The secret's out♕✿~♕✿~

After a few moments, Ahren and I have woken up the rest of the Chosen girls. As soon as they wake up, they group with their friends, still shaken and shocked to silence from the attack.

"Guards, I want you all to protect the Chosen girls," the king yells out. Quickly and efficiently, the guards push us into a circle and surround us. There are barely any gaps between each guard; we're completely surrounded.

As we go up the stairs leading above, my mind wanders. I wonder if the king knows I'm here. I dryly chuckle, but it has no humor in it. Why am I even thinking about that after what happened?

I feel dread as we reach the ballroom. The metallic tang of blood reaches my nose, and I recoil in both disgust and fear. I can barely see the Silvers holding onto loved ones, skin healers helping wounded Silvers, and the 4 bodies against the wall with people by them with mournful expressions on their faces. My stomach churns when I see the pink, lace hem of Tara's dress.

I turn away from the sight as I try to take deep breaths. We reach the bottom of the grand staircase, and the guards lead us behind the king, queen, and Ahren, who all discuss amongst themselves quietly.

"Tonight, our Red brothers have done something unforgivable!" As the king shouts this out, the sniffles and tears quiet down. The Silvers and Chosen girls listen to him intently as he continues to speak.

"A group who calls themselves the Rogue Dawn has done this terrible killing. They have come to our attention once they sent us a video of them killing our people only a couple of days ago."

I stand there in shock as everyone around me gasps. The king lied. The royal family has known about them for much longer than a couple of days. Yet the king did not tell the Silvers this. He doesn't want them to know that the Rogue Dawn has been threatening them for far longer.

"These people, these murderers, want us to be frightened. They want to kill us all and take over our country for themselves." The king holds up a tattered piece of cloth and I notice the symbol of the Rogue Dawn, with the black background and the bleeding sun. "But we will not give them this satisfaction. We will keep on fighting. I swear on my blood, on my crown, on my son, that I will hunt every one of these terrorists down until I fall." At the end of this sentence, the king throws down the Rogue Dawn's symbol. The Silvers around me shout their approval with cries of anger, revenge, and sorrow all mixed together.

"Strength! Power! Death!" The Silvers shout. I feel Addaline and Rose squeeze my hands, and I squeeze their hands back.

The king turns to the guards surrounding us. "I want them all to go back to their room. Make sure each has a guard stationed by their room." The guards wordlessly separate so that one guard is with one Chosen girl. I realize with dry humor that my guard is the one that I have such a great relationship with.

"Well, nice to see you're back with me after abandoning me," I tell my guard. The green-eyed guard, to my surprise, smiles a bit.

Before he can reply, Ahren comes up to us. He looks at the officer and says, "Officer Nolle, please take care of Lady Madison well." The guard, which I now know his name is Officer Nolle, nods at Ahren. "Of course, Your Highness."

Officer Nolle grabs my arm gently and leads me up the grand staircase. We walk up the stairs leading to the second floor where the Chosen girls' rooms are. The guard and I reach my room, and I turn back to him. "Thanks for leading me back," I murmur before opening my door and entering my room.

Squeals meet my ears as my maids barrel into me, knocking me to the floor, as they hug me. "Oh, thank goodness you're ok miss!" I hear Lacy shout in my ear. I feel myself smile as I hug them back.

"We were so worried for you once we heard about the shooting!" Sam states. I think I see tears in her eyes.

I laugh as I push them off of me. "Don't worry guys. I'm in one piece." I motion to myself as I say this. Physically, I am in one piece, but mentally, I am broken into shards. I don't say this out loud though; no need to worry my maids.

"Come on, Miss, let's get you cleaned up and to bed. You must be exhausted," Tiffany says as my maids lead me to my bathroom and help me pull myself out of the gown.

I let my maids scrub at the dried blood on my skin, not really being there in that moment. All my mind can do is play the memory of the shooting again and again. The cheerful mood shattered by the gun shots. The lights flickering back to life to show the death around us. The glassy eyes of Lord Samos, Fiona's father.

I shake my head clear as my maids dress me in a nightgown. I should stop thinking about it or else it was going to drive me insane.

"Sleep well, Miss," Lacy says as she tucks the blanket around my frame. Her actions remind me of my mother doing this to me when I was younger. It brings tears in my eyes from the nostalgia.

I watch as my maids turn off my lights, leaving me in the moonlit darkness, and leave my room. I hear the soft click of the door shutting close, and I can't help but feel utterly alone and very afraid. Who knew what else these walls hid? Every shadow that crept on the walls and sound that was uttered had me jumping and frantically looking around for its source. But when I found out it was just the shadow of an animal outside on my balcony or just the small talk of passing guards, I would tell myself that everything was fine.

I was being told that a lot these days.

Soon, I felt sleep pull at me once more. I gladly accepted it, welcoming it with open arms. If I could escape the fear I felt right now, I would take the chance whenever I could.

~♚♡♚♡~

"Miss? It's time for breakfast."

My eyes flutter open at the sound of a voice calling out to me. Through my slightly blurry vision, I can see the black hair of Tiffany.

As my eyes start to adjust to the bright morning light, my maids lay out my clothes. It's just a simple, long-sleeved shirt and jeans. I smile at my maids, thankful for their choice, as I push myself off of bed to get ready for the day.

After brushing my teeth, washing my face with cold water, and putting on my clothes, I leave my room with apprehension. I notice with surprise that Officer Nolle is still stationed by my door. I'm even more surprised when I notice Officer Nolle walking behind me. I stop and spin around to face him, and he looks back at me with a blank face.

"Is there a reason why you're following me?" I ask him. Officer Nolle just smiles slightly.

"His Majesty has ordered a guard to be with the Chosen girls at all times," he explains, like that will clear anything up.

I raise an eyebrow at this. "Creepy," I mutter under my breath as I resume my walking to the dining hall.

When I reach the dining hall with only silence following me, I am met by more silence when I enter. There is no chatter between the girls or laughing jokes shared amongst the royal family. If a cricket chirped, it would be heard all throughout the castle. I awkwardly sit next to Rose and Addaline as they smile forcefully at me in greeting.

I start to grab some waffles and hash browns for myself when I hear the whisper of a word that makes me stop short.

"Tara..."

I gulp as I force myself to continue grabbing my food. Being closer to the other Chosen girls, I could now hear that there were hushed whispers of conversations. And it seemed they were about Tara's death.

But to my surprise, as I look around the Silver girls look remorseful, sad, and full of grief. I remember the day Alexis publicly embarrassed Tara on that Wednesday spent in the Women's Room.

"Did you hear Kaley Welle left?" I hear Emily tell someone, most likely Alexis. I feel my mouth dry up at this. Kaley's family member had died during the shooting last night. I guess I wasn't too surprised that she had left, but it was still a shock for me.

So how many girls did that leave? 24? That means 11 girls left in the time span of about two and a half weeks.

I hear the scraping of chair legs against marble. I look up, along with the other girls, to see Ahren standing at the head of the table.

"I'm sorry to disrupt your breakfast, but I have an important announcement to make. Because the Rogue Dawn is trying to disrupt the Choosing, I am pushed to end this competition quickly. Therefore, please know that eliminations will come more swift than before so that I can find the Bride and solidify our power. Also, instead of having the traditional 10 elites, we will have 6 elites. Thank you all." Ahren sits down and his father immediately talks with him, while his mother is quietly listening in.

Around me, the silence is broken as the Chosen girls discuss with one another. Some voice their worries ("The prince and I haven't even gone a proper date yet!") while others are more confident than others (Why should I be worried? I've kissed him so much, he's probably wanting more.'') Yes, that last one was Alexis.

Rose and Addaline are both quiet, not looking nervous at all. For some reason, I feel a small bundle of nerves at the pit of my stomach. I look up at Ahren, and at the same time he looks at me. As our eyes meet, we just stare at each other, both not doing anything. Finally, he gives me a small, reassuring smile before returning to the conversation with his father. I feel my heart beat a bit faster at this as I turn back to my food.

After breakfast, we are all sent to the room where Caroline always wait. Except this time, she doesn't dismiss the Silver girls.

"Now, after the events of last night, I understand that many of your parents will be worried for you. Therefore, His Majesty has allowed you to have some time during Lessons to call your family and tell them you are all right. If you have a cellphone, you may use your own. However, if you do not have one, I will lend you mine." Around me, all the Silvers pull out their cellphones and exit the room to have some privacy while talking with their families. Addaline and I stand there as Rose pulls out her own cellphone.

"You have your own cellphone?" I ask in surprise. It was pretty rare for a Red to have one. But then I remembered Rose is a 4, one of the higher living Reds. She most likely had the money to buy one.

Rose smiles at me. "Yup. Though it's pretty old compared to the new models the Silvers are carrying around," she says with a forced smile.

I watch as she exits the room to talk to her family. Caroline walks up to Addaline and I, the only two in the competition to not have our own cellphones.

"You two know how to use a cellphone, right?" She asks us. I grit my teeth and nod my head. Of course we knew how to use one, we weren't stupid.

Caroline hands Addaline her cellphone, but Addaline shakes her head. "Madison can use it first," Addaline offers. I take the phone hesitantly. "Are you sure?" I ask Addaline. She nods.

I smile at her gratefully, then walk out of the room to dial my home's number. I hear the rings over and over again until finally, someone picks it up.

"Hello?" I hear Sydney's voice. I feel myself smile. "Sydney? It's me, Madison," I say. I instantly pull the phone away from my ear as Sydney screams loudly. Even with the phone not next to my ear, I can hear Sydeny yell "Mom! Dad! It's Madison!"

I feel myself chuckle as I place the phone next to me ear again. "Oh my goodness! Madison? Is that you?" I hear mom ask frantically.

"Yep mom, the one and only," I tell her with a smile. I hear a sigh of relief on the other end of the line and dad saying "Thank goodness you're okay, kitten."

"Honey, what happened yesterday at the palace? We saw the news and we were so worried," mom frets.

"Relax mom. I'm fine. It was a rebel attack. But the authorities are looking for them, everything will be fine," I tell my mom.

I hear her sigh again. "Oh honey, I might just pull you out of that place just so I know you're going to be ok."

Even though I know she's joking, I can't help but feel panic. "No, mom. Everything's good! Don't worry, there won't be any more rebel attacks. I'm safe here. I can stay," I tell her frantically, though I don't know why.

I hear mom chuckle a bit. "Ok, ok. Sydney wants to talk to you, so I'll let her have the phone. Then dad wants to talk as well."

I nod my head but realize she can't see me. "Sure thing, mom. Bye. It was nice talking to you again."

"Madi!" I hear Sydney shriek into the phone. I pull the phone away from my ear again. "The news scared me last night! You're ok, right?" she asks me.

"Yes, Sydney, I'm perfectly fine." I was getting a bit tired having to answer this question over and over.

"Hey Madi, have you kissed the prince yet?" Sydney asks.

That makes me choke on air. Seriously, air. "N-no Sydney! Why would you ask something like that!" I stutter as my cheeks redden.

I hear her giggle and then her whines of protest. "I wasn't done talking to her!"

"Yes, but I just want to have some time to talk to my kitten." I hear dad say this.

"Kitten?" I hear dad more closely now.

"Hi dad," I greet him.

I hear him sigh. "I just want you to be safe over there. Is everything going ok for you?" he asks me.

"Yeah. It's been a good couple of weeks," I hear myself lie.

"Ok. Make sure you eat enough. And make sure that boy treats you right. If he doesn't I'll come down there myself and-"

"Oh! Bzzz. Signal must be bad! Bzzz. Gotta go! Bye dad!" I quickly hang up and chuckle a bit. Oh, I love my family.

I head back to the Lessons Room and see some of the girls back, including Rose. I hand the phone to Addaline and sit by Rose, who looks to be in deep thought.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask her.

She has slight frown on her face. "I don't know. I just don't think I should still be in this competition. I mean, I don't feel anything for Ahren and it doesn't seem fair to stay here and make him think I like him or something," she tells me honestly.

Before I can stop myself, I say, "Is it because of Nick and you?"

Rose's head whips towards me. "What?"

"What?" I hear myself say.

"What?" Caroline says to us questioningly.

I wave to Caroline, implying to her that it's nothing, and turn back to Rose. "I'm sorry, it just slipped out." I took a deep breath. Ok, just explain how you know Madi. Just do it.

"You see, I saw you guys together after a Lesson. I didn't know how to confront you with it...."I trail off, looking away in embarrassment. I suck at explaining.

Rose doesn't say anything either. I'm thinking we're just going to have an awkward time here until I see Addaline come back. She hands the phone back to Caroline and comes back to join us.

"Hey. Did I miss anything?" Addaline asks.

Rose and I shake our heads as we go back to silence. Even after Caroline dismisses the Silvers and we start our Lessons, I can't look at Rose without feeling guilt and embarrassment.

Why did I have to say that?

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

I was thinking I wouldn't be able to write this chapter today, but I did! Yay for productiveness.

For me, I have to go back to school tomorrow. Thanksgiving break is over (which I find extremely sad) and finals are coming up in my school. So that means I'm going to have to take a little break from The Choosing to dedicate some serious study time for my finals. I know, I hate this just as much as you do. I wish I could just write as much as I felt like, but there's this thing called school that I have to go to. But to any other students like me, I wish you luck on your finals! Let's hope we all pass our finals.

Anyways, hope you all have a great week!

Glass_Sword