Travis pushes Jacob's dead body off him and stands up. We all watch in silence as he grabs the blade embedded in his flesh and tears it out. He tosses it on the sand and looks up at the Queen. The Queen looks like she might catch on fire. I can feel her rage from where I'm sitting. She slowly and stiffly stands up. Her earrings that hang down from her ears barely move.

"Guards, escort him off the grounds." The crowd roars in disgust. I however am grateful the prisoner did not die and now he will be released. I wonder where he will go. Suddenly the lights in the arena flash off and the monitors on the walls come to life. A girl with red hair and a red bandana covering her eyes down shows up on the screens. Her eyes are brown, but it's impossible to tell what her face looks like. The crowd gasps and quiets down.

"We are the Resistance. The world we live in is unfair. We are separated by Elite and Dreg. While the Elite live in the fancy castles and cities the Dregs are slaves and they die every day. They are prisoners only because they are colorless. This must end and it will. There are many of us Queen Joanna and King Cyrus and we will stop at nothing to end the suffering and separation from our families and loved ones. We will resist." All of the sudden the lights come back on and the girl on the screen disappears. I can hear the Queen yelling orders to the guards. The Dregs are prisoners? I thought they lived peacefully away from us in Westfall. Away from us. I realize the fault in my thoughts. They shouldn't have to live apart from us. What about their families in Rivermouth?

The queen and her family leave and the guards start escorting us back to our rooms for safety. Kim and I stand up and she says nothing as we exit out of the arena. I can't tell if she's scared or just doesn't know what to say. Everyone walks down the hall swiftly and silently. As we approach the South wing I am suddenly yanked into the dark. A hand closes over my mouth and I hold my breath. Whoever is holding me brings us farther down the hall where we can't be seen. We come to a stop and my eyes adjust to the face in front of me. Dale. I breathe a sigh of relieve that it isn't one of the princes.

"What the hell?" I ask once he removes his hand.

"Shh. Come with me." There is a sense of urgency in his voice, so I follow him. We travel deeper into the darkness and through an archway that leads to the edge of the garden. No guards will be able to see us from here. I can't stop thinking about the message on the screen. Was it real? Is there really a group of people out there that want to help people like me? We stop and I face him.

"What are we doing here?" His eyes drift to something behind me, so I turn around. A figure emerges from the darkness. The woman's red hair sticks out of her hood. She takes her hood off and looks me in the eye.

"I'm Sage. You must be Octavia." Brown eyes are all I see. Realization smacks me in the face.

"You're her. You're the girl on the screen." I gasp. Her face doesn't move except for her lips. They curve into a smirk.

"Smart girl," she draws out the last word.

"What's going on? Why am I here?" My voice started to waver as I look from Dale to Sage.

"You're here because I need you."

"Why do you need me?" Fear rises in the pit of my stomach.

"Why do you think?" She knows.

"You told her?! I trusted you!" I turn to Dale. He shakes his head.

"You can trust her." He states firmly. I turn back to Sage in annoyance.

"I don't know what you want!" I raise my voice. She grabs my arms and shoves me against the castle wall.

"Get a grip, Octavia. Speak any louder and you blow our cover. I will explain if you promise to be quiet." I search her eyes. I can see a hint of worry, but she puts up a good front.

"Fine, but I get to ask the first question." She relaxes and let's go of my arms. "Everything that you said, is it true?"

"All of it. Dregs are dying because of the queen. It's been like this for years."

"You got out?" I ask her hesitantly. She nods slowly.

"I did. I started the resistance to end this. Tell me, do you like living here?" She doesn't give me a chance to answer. "Being their little puppet? Because you know this whole thing is a big charade. It's a cage and you're being held inside of it, and the only way to escape is to find a way out. You think you're going to get something out of staying here? A life? A future? You're not, because the only life is outside these walls and even that's corrupted. You can't protect yourself here. You are the only one left. You're the last Black. And one way or another, the queen will find out and she will kill you." Her words sting. How can I be the last one?

"How do you know I'm the last one?"

"Trust me, I know," she says looking me dead in the eyes.

"I can help you. If you help me."

"You can get me out?"

"I can if you get me in," she says barely breaking eye contact. "The only way to end this is to kill the queen. She's the biggest threat. Not the king or the princes, it's just her." This is what I've been waiting for. A way out.

Then what happens? After you kill her." I question her.

"Them we return to a society. A good and equal society."

"So, you're just going to waltz in and kill her?" This girl is crazy, but I don't necessarily doubt her.

"I have a plan. I want you to join us, Octavia. They won't help you. You can't trust anyone, except yourself." She's right.

"So, why should I trust you?"

"Because I'm your only hope." In that moment I know she's on my side and she and Dale are my only chance.

"All my life, I've learned to obey my parents and never ask questions. I knew what I had to do and what my life looked like. When I got here, it all shattered into pieces, and suddenly I had no idea what I was doing. I hate lying, but I've lied and cheated. I don't want to live like this." I say with sadness taking over my voice. Sage's eyes flicker to Dale. He looks at me and I look back at Sage. "I'm in."

As I head to my room in the dark and silent castle millions of thoughts run through my head. About the trial, the Resistance, and Sage. I feel like my brain might explode. Sage's speech made me realize how much I didn't know. They are relying me. How can they just put all their trust in me? I don't know anything. I don't know if I can do this. My footsteps echo in the west hall as I make my way up the stairs. I am startled when I see a figure standing in the hallway. It's Cedric. Crap.

"I think it's past your bedtime, Octavia." He says as he leans on the door frame beside him. I don't say anything, and I don't move from the stairs. "Come, have a drink with me," he says putting his hand on the door handle. Don't go, Octavia. His eyes narrow at me. If I don't go who knows what he'll do. I step up the last couple of stairs and walk inside the room.

Cedric's room is massive. A large king bed is pushed to the side of the room and a large area with a couch in the center seems awfully bare. A flat table sits on the other side of the room filled with papers and maps. My fingers ich to look at them. The fireplace in the center of the room is the only thing lighting up the room. My hands shake as he shuts the door beside me.

"Sit," he deadpans and gestures to the long horizontal couch. I swallow my fear and take a seat on the leather couch. Cedric walks over to a cart near the fireplace and fills two glasses with a dark brown liquid. I watch his shadows as he crosses the room and hands me a glass.

"So, tell me. What were you doing?" He questions me. I stare into my glass. When I look up, he is leaning on the fireplace watching me.

"I just needed some fresh air," I said. He nods, barely believing my lie.

"You know, if anyone caught you, you would be dead by now. You're lucky I caught you." Cedric downs his drink.

"Am I supposed to thank you?" I utter. He frowns at me and sets his glass down on the cart.

"I saw what happened in the grand hall earlier. You should control your anger more." I've had about enough of this. I don't need someone to boss me around and threaten me.

"Forgive me your highness, but I should really be going to bed." I stand up and start towards the door, but Cedric snatches my arm.

"I don't know what you're doing, but you need to stop." His eyes bore into my own. We are close now and Cedric does not loosen his grip on my arm. "I can help you," he whispers. My eyes flicker up to meet his. Did he just- "I can't get you out, but I can get you anything else you need." I look away. "Just tell me what you need." There is urgency in voice and part of it scares me. Why is he doing this? I think of the library. All the information I need is in there. No one can tell me anything about my power.

"The key to restricted library," I whisper. His gaze hardens.

"Done," he lets go of my arm and I make my way to the door.

"Good night your highness," I mutter and then shut the door. The hallway is so silent I could cry. Tonight, is not at all what I thought it was going to be. I slowly take a breath and head to my room. It must be past midnight already because most of the guards are gone. I slip into my room and lock the door behind me.

In the morning I sleep in because training is cancelled. Due to the attack last night, they think we will be safer in our rooms today. I disagree because I have no idea what is going on out there and I need information. I need something to give to Sage. Right now, I have nothing. Breakfast is brought to us in our rooms. I make sure to take a look into the hallway to see a guard beside each door. No one is getting out. I eat my breakfast in bed and end up practicing heating up my glass of water with my powers. Once I get bored of that I lay on my back and stare up at the ceiling.

I wonder what my parents are doing right now. Today is Saturday. My dad is probably still reading the morning paper while my mother is in the front gardening. I would be drawing in the kitchen like every Saturday. I wonder where my brothers are and what they are doing. I thought it would be easy to find them here, but we never see any of the older Red's. I wish we were allowed to visit the other colors. I miss talking to Lori. She would freak out if I told her what has been happening to me. Would she understand?

Around noon I fold my clothing and neatly organize it in my dresser. I rummage through my desk and end up finding paper and a pencil. I wish I had my colored pencils and watercolors. For hours I sketch with the pencil. I sketch this room, my house, the castle, and the fireplace in Cedric's room. Dinner comes around and we are given tray of food. I eat mine as I sketch. Suddenly I hear a noise coming from my door. I turn my head and see a key has been slid under my door. A smile forms on my face as I go to pick it up. The key to the library. He did it. I pocket the key and sit back down at my desk. Tonight, at midnight.

I lay in my bed until the clock beside me says midnight. I jump up and move towards the door. I press my ear against it and listen for anyone in the hall. Silent. I crack the door open and peer into the hall. All the guards are gone, as expected. I move into the hallway and shut the door behind me. My hands start to sweat as I head down the stairs. If anyone caught you, you would be dead. Cedric's words echo through my head. I keep close to the walls as I move through the west wing. I find my way past the Grand Hall and down the dark hallway. I silently wish I had brought a candle or a lantern with me.

When I get to the library, I make sure to quietly shut the door behind me. I pull out the key and pad over to the locked door. I slide the key in and hear a click. I pull the handle and the door opens before me. A musty smell creeps into my nose as I enter the small dark room. Bookshelves line the walls and a small desk sits in the corner. I spot a candle and matches on the desk, so quickly light the candle. I shut the door and start to browse the shelves. It looks like no one has been here in ages. I hold the light up to the dusty books and notice something weird. All the spines are wordless. Each book looks as if the words on the spine have been burned off. Joanna. My grip tightens on the candle as I move down the shelves. I pull a few off the shelf and look inside. They aren't what I'm looking for. But do I really know what I'm looking for? I just want answers.

On the other side of the room a few black books catch my eye. I suddenly realize the books are color coded. Thank you, to whatever genius did that. I take a few black books down and set them down on the desk. I sit down and open the first book. History of Black. I open to the next few pages and see each page is dedicated to one person. I look at the date of when each person was born. The first one was 1802. This was before the Revolution. I learned about the Revolution in class. In 1836, there was a massive break out of Blacks. They had been hiding within the other colors. The Queen at the time tried to keep the peace, but her people had not listened, and the King had declared war and in the end the Blacks were outnumbered, and they retreated. When it ended guards were sent to find the remaining few and kill them.

I flip further into the book and start to notice a pattern. The last names. Each person after the first one has some sort of blood relation. "It's genetic," I whisper to myself. I quickly flip to the back of the book and find that the last person in the book was born in 2050. He is long dead. I run my fingers along the spine and see the pages have been ripped out. If my power is genetic then one of my parents must have been in this book before someone ripped the remaining pages out. They've been lying to me. Had they known all this time and never prepared me? Did my brothers know? Are they like me?

I quickly slam the book shut in anger and toss it aside. I open the next book and find the title page. The Shadow Age. I open the first page and realize it is a picture book. The beginning page is of a father holding a baby. I flip to the next page and see the baby is now a boy and he stands next to his father. The next couple pages are of him as a boy and soon I get to the part when he is older and a pool of blackness pools from his hands. He confronts his father, but he looks scared. The boy now a man stands in the middle with his hands spread out. Shadows of faces surround him. He runs away from his father, but his powers grow uncontrollable. A King and Queen are shown in the distance. The Revolution. The man meets others like him, but he realizes he is not the same as them. He is stronger and scarier. The battlefield of the Revolution shows him as a shadow above all the fighting people. The last page is shown all the people dead and him being the last one. I close the book and stare at the wall in front of me. Shadows. That's what they are. I sense my fear growing. I don't want to read anymore. I pick up the books and put them back on the shelf. I stare at the shadows on the walls made from the candle and think of the man. I shake my head and blow out the candle.

The hallway is still dead silent. I creep along the walls until I get to the stairs of the east wing. I step onto the stairs as I hear a clicking of heels. I quickly press myself against the wall in the staircase.

"I want them found. Send more guards out if you must, but I will not have savages come into my home and scare my people," the queen hisses. I stiffen and hear the guards murmur a response to her. Once I hear her heels in the distance, I head up the stairs. Before I got back to my room I pass by Cedric's room and slide the key back under his door. As I walk back to my room, I realize how tired I am and how dangerous this is. When I get to my room, I lock the door behind me and sink into my soft bed. Images from the storybook flash through my head. I shut my eyes and pray that whatever happened to the man does not happen to me.