It wasn't unusual living as a Gregory. It was honestly just annoying, living as one of them. I didn't marry or get adopted into the Gregory house hold. I was unfortunately born into it. Being a Gregory meant that you sometimes went without things such as love, attention, food,and punishment. The last one was a favorite of my brothers Tom and Elias. They were always sneeking off into some dark alley with the cheapest girl they could get their hands on, my parents were and still are oblivious to the fact, their back has been turned because of my sisters wedding. I guess you could say being the baby of the family had its perks of all the unloving attention, not that I didn't deserve it, and it came with the wonderful Gregory life. "Miss. Teresa Gregory!" My brother Tom announced his arms out wide as he descended the stair case. A smile on his face most likely caused by some successful back allying. I assumed Elias was still sleeping in whatever dingy hotel they had found. "Good morning brother." I mumbled not lifting my face to look at his condescending green eyes. Another Gregory trait I had seemed to go without, due to my mothers brief affair with the butler to the Hemway's down the street. " It is isn't it?" He asked as he fell down into the chair beneath him. A scream pierced the house and Camille ran out her blond hair held up by pins, the robe she was wearing clung to her skin. Unlike me Camille was adopted, which meant my brother looked longingly at the sliver of skin that showed as she raced threw the room. I felt myself getting sick as my brother excused himself and chased after her.

Even with the fact that Camille had been adopted into the Gregory family she still had those piercing green eyes that the rest of them had. Tom, my mother, Camille, and a very angry hunger over version of father stocked into the room, each with those burning eye's fixed on my soft gray ones.

"Look what she did!" Camille whined as she waved her nearly perfect hair in front of everyone. Tom looked like he was about to faint. I say her hair is nearly perfect because I had dyed a strip of it a very ugly green, I couldn't help but smile at myself. I pulled the book closer to my face as if I was engrossed in it's presence.

"I think it looks nice." I mumbled after I could keep myself from laughing. Camille hands went into the air, her robe fell open, and Tom feel to the floor with a thump. Mother quickly tied Camille back up, looking at me like I had done that to her and then gave my brother sleeping pills to make him pass out on the floor. I couldn't stop laughing as the lead Gregory attempted to pick up Tom but only dropped him again, when a knock came at the door. That knock silenced everything.

It wasn't long until you could hear my mothers screams as she danced around the house, holding the letter to her chest in a celebration of both Camille's and my age. We are two's I have never understood why my mother had always acted like it was worse than the sixes. Camille, Tom, and Elias were not as kind to the lower caste's as I was. That's if I could ever be nice. I had often been scolded for giving my money to the maids and the servants because I couldn't see them lose anymore weight they had already looked like corpses. Camille had gone into yelling horrible things to her maids, we had to get male servants to clean out Tom's room because Tom has become, how to say this nicely? One seriously messed up jerk face. Elias doesn't do anything really bad, he doesn't actually know what he is doing, he just follows what Tom does, I should explain. Elias is slow. I had at first expected to see some five knocking on the door holding a baby to hand off to Tom because of his lousyness, but when it turned out it was an officer I had never been more afraid in my life. I had thought they found out about my helping the eights, and finding the empty houses to stay but instead, he introduced two envelopes and winked at Camille. Even though Camille was getting married it wasn't official, so that When he arrived there was one letter for her, and one for me.

The Gregory family was extremely happy, I on the other hand was dreading it. My mother had handed both Camille and I pencils and the form, I was forced to complete the form. My father kept his hand on my back as I field it out, he had no problem correcting any mistake, I only had one, I didn't put Gregory at the end of my name. It wasn't long until Camille had her fiance at the house, telling him that the relationship had to remain a secret. Tom had gone off back to his dark hole of a room, Mother and Father had started fighting in the library, I had finished my book and placed it face down on the table, Elias wasn't home yet and I was starting to get a bit worried. Their was a pitter patter against the windows told me it had started to rain. I grabbed rain boots and put on the rain coat I had been given from a six. I had told her to keep it but she said she had grown out of it, I didn't believe her so I had showed up the next day with an entire set for the family, the next day I saw their son out in the square his head stuck inside the wooded gate as they struck his back with a whip for stealing food, all he had to do was ask.

The door closed behind me, I had given up helping people a week ago. No one had listened to me anyways, my home life was leaking into the real one. I opened up the umbrella as a couple quickly walked across the street and ducked into the house in front of mine. I hopped down the steps as I usually did, my feet making huge splashes in the puddles.

The sky was a dark gray, the streets were soggy, and my boot had somehow gotten a hole in it. I could barely see the sign to the only hotel in the southern province, I heard a muffled crying and the slap of a whip against skin. I turned my head to look away as I passed the square and opened the hotel door, I was hit with the immediate smell of smoke.

"Can I help you?" Came a voice from behind what I guessed was a desk, I couldn't see really well behind the cloud of smoke, I coughed.

"I'm looking for a guy, his name is Elias Gregory." I said as I pulled at my gloves, I heard a sigh.

"I'm sorry I can't help you." Came the voice again, I walked out of the cloud which took an extremely long amount of time.

"I'm his sister, if you could just tell me what ro..." I was cut off with another sigh as I started to make out a face.

"You're brother was caught with a lady, he's in the square." I felt my legs move before I could registure anything.

I must have looked weird as I ran out and into the square one glove on, my coat halfway open and my brown unapeasing hair falling from a pony tail half of it in my face the other in different stages of Collin apart, just like I was.

"STOP!" I screamed as I entered the square, only two people turned and looked at me, Elias and some blonde guy that stood beside the officer who raised his arm in the air and then cracked it down against my brother. It wasn't long till I was standing in between them, the smell of smoke heavily in the air, a honking of in the distance, the steady glow of the square lights, and the overly whelming sense that my mother was looking at me with a scowl on her face. My hand was held out and I stared beside the officers head looking at the gray building behind him because I couldn't stand to look at the person who found it okay to harm my brother.

"You have to stop..." I started and then was interrupted by the officers voice.

"Move or I will hit you." I froze unknowing what to do. I could hear the fives and sixes laughing at us. A couple of rich two's being publicly flogged, because Elias had to be exactly like Tom.

"You can't hurt him, please! He's special he is just trying to be like." I bit back my words, the officer looked appeased. A smile showed on his face and his arm lowered the blonde haired guy looked disgusted.

"Trying to be like who?" The officer asked, I couldn't help it anymore. I emptied the contents of my stomach onto the officer, the blonde guy laughed. Something struck my face and left a pain that I had never imagined. He had brought the whip down on my face. I brought my hand to my face and stared at the officer in disbelief. He raised his arm again and the blonde guy grabbed his arm.

"That's enough." He said and the officer turned around.

"But your..." He started and the blonde boy scowled.

"She vomited on me!"

"It was very amusing, I thank you for your entertainment." The blonde boy bowed. I nodded my head.

"Unlock him and give them money for medical treatment." He said as he took the whip out of his hand. My head was knocked back words, and my nose started bleeding profoundly. The officer had hit me. The blonde boy whispered into the officers ear and the officer smiled and the unlocked my brother, he bowed handed us a pouch full of money and walked away.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience." The blonde boy bowed and then turned and walked off after the officer. I turned and slapped my brother, he broke down crying in my arms.

"Are you ever going to do this again?" I asked him patting down his hair. He attempted to say yes, but his disability made it nearly impossible for him to speak. It took awhile before I could get him to the hospital, it was already full because of the recent rebel attack.

"Whipping." I said as one of the nurses walked past me. She turned and noticed my brother and then took him off my shoulders.

"I'll send someone for you?" She said as she walked off.

"I don't need to be..." She was to far away to here my. Someone came by and took my brother from her. I didn't feel safe leaving him alone. I was going to give Tom hell when I got home. I felt someone's hand on my shoulder and took it off as I turned around.

"I'm here to look at your face." The lady in the lab coat said.

"Okay, but I don't really need any help." I said and she frowned.

"How old are you?" She asked.

"I'm 18." I said and she hardentpd her frown.

"You're not going to want a scar, if you get selected for the selection." She said taking my hand and leading me away.

I was surrounded by a sheet of pure white, the lady had put something on my face, it felt numb, and she cleaned up the blood from my nose.

"There shouldn't be any scars if you change the bandage daily." She said handing me a box. I assume it is the bandages. I handed her money from my pocket and she smiled and pocketed it. I heard crying and knew it was Elias. He was wondering around looking for me. His back had been bandaged bphe had only been struck a few amount of times. He never stopped crying the whole way home, I opened the door stooped by the face of my mother as her hand touched my bandage.

"WHAT THE..." I stopped her before she could say anything else.

"Tom." I said and my mothers face fell.

"Don't blame this on Tom! What did you do to Elias?". I will never be a true Gregory.

"Mom! I did nothing! I went looking for Elias and I found him in the square!" I stammered as she finally let us in.

"Tom...ttttt...Too..." Elias started but I kissed his forehead and sent him off to his room, my mothers face felling with falce sorrow.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IF YOU ARE SELECTED?" She screams as soon as Elias is out of sight.

"I..."