Prince Lucas punched the cell wall wincing at the pain. His knuckles dripped with blood. He didn't scream or grunt. He was silent. He couldn't take any of this anymore.

    My head was buried into my knees. Words swirled around my head as they usually did. I shivered at the feeling of them knotted together. My hands tremble from fear, the fear of losing hope. I picked my head up to look around. Landon was nowhere to be found. I took a deep breathe. The thought of me losing him made me sick to my stomach. He was the rope holding me down. When I heard footsteps behind me, I sighed in relief. "Landon!" I mustered to say.

    "Vera, hey!" Landon smiled. It was weird seeing him in such a good mood. His smile was genuine and his eyes were bright. "When we get out of here, I know what I am going to do." Landon said. I started to question him, but I wanted to know.

    "What?" I asked.

    "Whatever you are going to do." Landon said. "What are we going to do?" he asked. Our eyes locked. I felt the sparkle in my eye shimmer.

    "You're going to teach me magic. And then we are going to find a way to teach the others. The kids I never knew were hidden all over Cara. Kids like you were." I finally told him. His smile widened. For a moment, I thought it could happen... like we could be free. Then, I realized that it was next to impossible.

    Landon's eyes turned into a beautiful golden color. Mine did the same. Our eyes weren't glowing because we were scared or sad. They glowed because in that moment, we knew we loved each other.

---

Princess Heather shushed Cole as they climbed on the tower wall. If anyone saw them, they would be dead right and there. Heather jumped into Princess Abigail's window. Princess Abigail's room was fit for a princess in every way possible. Her floor was freshly polished hardwood. Cole's shoes left sand all over the room. Princess Abigail was reading a book when Heather tapped her on the shoulder. "Princess!" Heather whispered.

    Princess Abigail dropped her book and I fell to the floor with a thump. "Heather?" she asked. Heather nodded. The princesses pulled each other closer in a whisper.

     "What are you doing here?" Princess Abigail whispered and looked around. Luckily, no guards were close.

     "Do you trust me?" Heather asked.

     "No, I don't." Princess Abigail admitted and stepped back. She tripped over a pair of shoes nearly stumbling to the ground.

  "Lucas is in prison. He's not a golden eye and he's been telling the truth. The seal wasn't his. I need you to free Dimmer's Prison Island. Or Lucas will die in prison." Princess Heather told her. Abigail gasped silently at the slightest thought of freeing the prison. It was the most outrageous thing she had ever heard.

     "You are and will always be a liar!" Princess Abigail said.

     "I... I'm telling the truth!" Heather stammered.

     "Prove it." Abigail commanded.

     "I.... I can't." Princess Heather admitted.

     "Then, I'm going to have to ask you to leave!" Abigail told her. When Heather didn't move the princess fought back tears but spoke clearly, "Get out!" in a voice that seemed to take a lot of strength. Heather took Cole by the hand and they jumped out the window.

      Two men grabbed them by the arm just as their feet touched the ground. "Come with us!" they said.

     "Where are you taking us?" Cole asked. He was calm like this had happened to him many times before. Heather scolded him with her eyes.

---

     And in two short weeks, Cole and Princess Heather joined Prince Lucas, Landon, and I in Dimmer's Prison. I remember seeing Prince Lucas's face when Heather came through the doors and was thrown in with him. I stared through the bars looking at them. Cole's head was down and he was silent, just like Landon was. It was hard to imagine what life was before being thrown in here. I began to forget the names of my classmates at Wisehall Academy. I began to forget the last decent meal I ate. I began to forget what the sky's sunset looked like at night.

    I could never forgive myself for even meeting Prince Lucas in the first place. If I didn't look in his window, he wouldn't have given me a job. And if I didn't have the maid job, I wouldn't have dropped my necklace. I wouldn't have lost the only thing I have from my parents. And if I didn't lose that necklace, Lucas wouldn't have been banished and I wouldn't have been there following him. And that wouldn't lead us here.

    But, then I thought about everything again. If Prince Lucas and I weren't wondering the forest, Cole wouldn't have kidnapped us. And Landon wouldn't have saved Princess Heather if Prince Lucas wasn't there. And Landon and Cole wouldn't have found each other.

    I was glad that I did something right. When Prince Lucas and I left, it was like our lives were trains. The trains went wild and flew off the tracks landing in unexpected places. I was scared our trains were hanging off a cliff, bound to crash any moment.

    As I was thinking about everything, I felt a tug on my hair. I quickly turned around ready to fight any angry prisoner upset about... I don't know. That would be my third fight that day. Luckily, it was Prince Lucas. We sat back to back, a prison bar separating us. "I'm leaving here tonight." Prince Lucas said with no emotion. Not happy. Not sad. Just empty. I turned around to face him.

    "What are you talking about? You can't just leave? How are you going to..." I started to say. I spoke a few miles per minute. The prisoners around us shushed me. I was too excited! We were getting out of here! Finally! My heart fluttered.

    "Princess Heather and I found an escape." Prince Lucas told me. I stopped. "I'm sorry..." he started to say.

    "You're leaving without me?" I yelled. He quickly covered my mouth with his hand. I bit him angrily. He winced in pain. "How could you possibly.."

    "I promise I'll come back! It will be ten times easier to get on the royal council's side without me associating with golden eyes. And then I'll come back for you, and I promise you'll get your job back." Prince Lucas told me all in one breathe.

    I stopped. All this time he thought of me as an employee? I mean nothing to him. I'm just a piece of property. I couldn't believe it. Landon was actually right. Cole was right. As Prince Lucas looked me in the eye, I tried to hide my tears. None of this was fair. My eyes glowed as I cried. WHY DO THEY HAVE TO GLOW? WHY CAN'T THEY JUST BE WHITE LIKE HEATHER'S EYES? WHY DO I HAVE TO BE A GOLDEN EYE? WHY CAN'T I JUST BE NORMAL?

    "Okay," was all I responded. Prince Lucas walked away and I was sure that was the last time I would ever see him. I watched as his leather boots touched the ground. Soon, they would be where they belonged touching the faces of one-of-a-kind woven rugs and ballroom floors. As he left, Heather joined him.

    The golden rule: Never trust anyone and never let anyone trust you.

I will never forget Princess Heather's eyes the moment she walked away from me. They were... pitiful. It was like I was a small mouse being crushed by a car and she was the other beside me who ran away. She stopped and thought for a long time. As she stared at me, I fell my eyes vibrate once again. I kept them closed. I didn't want the last vision she saw of me to be my eyes. I hoped she saw me as more than a set of eyes.

    Prince Lucas didn't tell Landon that he was leaving. Neither did Princess Heather. Landon just slept next to me that night completely innocent and unknowing.

    I heard a slam coming from Prince Lucas's cell when he told Cole. I didn't know Cole for very long, however I knew one thing about him; he always had something to say. And that day was no different. Except this time he only needed a few words. Cole simply revealed his slave tattoo and grunted, "I'll never be free. You always have been."

    That night was silent. I whispered to Cole that morning telling him that Landon had a right to know what was going on. It wasn't like it mattered anyway. We all knew our fate. Cole told me not to tell him. He said the news would push Landon over the edge. He told me that golden eyes were banished for a reason. Shock = Destruction. I didn't listen. I never listen. I should've listened.

    "Hey Landon..." I started to say. Landon perked up. "I need to tell you something."

    "Me too! So, they FINALLY restocked apples and I know they are Lucas's favorite. Where is he?" Landon looked around. I swallowed hard.

    "That's actually what I need to tell you. Prince Lucas left." I sighed. Landon started to laugh... hard.

    "How?" he laughed. I could tell that he had no idea. It was nearly unheard of any escapees.

    "He and Princess Heather found a way. They left last night. But, don't worry! They are coming back for us!" I smiled. It was hard to smile, but he was the one person I knew who deserved a smile. Always. Then, it settled in that I was serious. Landon's eyes glowed as golden as they come. The bars separating the golden eyes from the white and black eyes tumbled to the ground almost crushing several people. Guards came running towards us. "No, Landon! They are coming back!" I lied.

    "They aren't going to come back." Landon said. He turned around to see what he had done. He collapsed. Prince Lucas was his last hope and he had lost it.

    The guards manhandled Landon violently taking him away. Cole and I ran after them. They were taking him to star in the show. They were hanging Landon. No, they couldn't. I wouldn't let them. "Put him down!" I yelled to the men. Cole jumped into the fighting, punching a guard straight across the face. The guard fell to the ground. I ran to Landon desperately trying to pull him away.

    "He's been sentenced to the death penalty!" the guard yelled at me.

    "If he goes, I go!" I yelled back at him. The guard picked me up and slinged me over his back. I yelped for help. The door slammed. The other guard slipped a ticket to Cole. A ticket to the show. Cole looked up at us in shock. Both Landon and my eyes glowed and the stone stairs crumbled beneath us. The guard fastened us onto two platforms and left us there until the show was going to start. This was it. I looked out to see the sad faces of golden-eyed families watching me. The show would start soon.

thanks for reading :)