Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyers owns everything about Twilight.

Chapter One

There are six kingdoms that are scattered across the world. Every ten years there is a gathering of the kingdoms, where they send a selection of ten royal children from each kingdom to marry them off into another royal line. It is meant to bring peace and loyalty within the world, but whenever mankind is brought together there is inevitably an evil that sprouts out from dark corners.
The largest kingdom, Korrience, is surrounded by vast oceans. Morrek is in the mountains, surrounded by rugged trails. Ariaag's kingdom is the most beautiful of them all, placed in a colder terrain than the others. Hynn is the smallest kingdom, but the wealthiest because of their abundance of mines. The kingdom of Quiell is the second largest; it is placed in the middle of green fields and hills. The last is Parsin, where whole kingdom weaves in and out of deep and thick forests.

Isabella

This royal gathering was being held in Korrience, my home. I roamed the halls of the castle as servants scurried around. It was being transformed before my eyes as we prepared for the fifty other royals. Although the whole gathering was seen as joyous for the rest of the castle, I was dreading it. Fifty strangers all trying to seduce each other was not something I wanted to be a part of. Unfortunately for me, being the eldest daughter of the king and queen of Korrience meant I had no choice.
I walked down a hallway, waited for the last of the maids to pass through and slipped through a hidden door; my favorite place to be. I walked through the dark passageway, knowing the journey well. I found the lantern with my foot and quickly bent down to light it. The light shone into the small room that was filled with books. Unlike the gigantic library in the main wing, these books were passed down from centuries of Korrience kings and queens. There are diaries and books of our history, and of course my stash of books I have grabbed from the main library. I sunk into the chair in the corner and picked up the book from the small table that I had previously been reading. It was a story of the fairies of Parsin, and the magical powers they possessed. I wasn't sure who had written this, and had come to the conclusion that it must have been used to tell small children years ago. Nonetheless I enjoyed it, and found myself blurring reality and the tale of two fairies that had crossed the lines of forbidden love. The more they tried to hide their love, the harder the relationship was between them. Lies and secrets killed a romance, but they refused to give up. The story was beginning to completely pull me in when I heard foot falls. I looked up in time to see a guard. He smiled at me, shaking his head.
"Princess," He said in his deep voice, "I've been told to tell you that the first kingdom has arrived."
I sighed deeply at his words, putting the feather bookmark in between the pages and standing up. "Thank you Geoffrey." I smiled at him. Geoffrey was part of our elite guard, and I grew up plaguing him with running off all the time. I always trusted him to find me when I got lost, protected me when there was a bear in the courtyard, and who understood and shared my love of books. As I got older, he became my confidant and friend, although I was very aware that even though he was getting older he was one of the scariest men to grace this earth. He was someone I wanted on my side; he was willing to do whatever it was to protect those in his charge. But I also knew a side of him that only his family knew: he had a tender and sweet side. Most people in the castle only saw the ever vigilant Geoffrey. He smiled at me before turning back to the matter at hand.
"You must be there when they are announced." He reminded, leading me down the path.

The royals from Hynn were here, five boys and girls stood before us. I stood with four other girls and five boys from my own kingdom. The king and queen of Hynn were covered in jewels; every inch of the queen's gown was glittering. My mother has told me about how they wear their wealth, but I was still surprised by the amount of jewels. I wonder how heavy it her gown is, I though as the kings and queens greeted each other again. Our kingdom rulers all come together so often, although there are many arguments and fallouts, this event is important no matter what is going on. Every ruler will put on their best faces as they try to marry their children off to whatever kingdom they are trying to get closer to. We are practically pawns in their moves of trying to take each other over. But no one talks about that, ignoring the underlying schemes others are no doubt planning.
Introductions of all the children will be placed when all six kingdoms representatives are present, but for whatever reason it was necessary that we were all present when the rulers greeted. The other four kingdoms all arrived before dinner. It was customary that we be presented and introduced before the meal was served, and then the games begun.

Mary Alice

Korrience is huge! The whole journey here I was in awe of the water, I had never been on a ship before and found it to be exhilarating. By the time we were all in the Great Room to be presented, I thought my mind might explode from my surroundings. It was all so strange, seeing the different kingdom royals. The royals from Korrience were lean but rather thin and had slightly tanned complexion. Quiell royals looked leaner than the Korrience and taller too. The royals of Morrek were large and muscular, and admittedly scary in size. Hynn's royals were all wearing some exotic gem I had never seen, and had fair skin. The Hynn's men seemed to be a little heavier than even the Morrek. Ariaag were light skinned but had a theme of various shades of dark hair, they were quieter than the other kingdom royals. As I looked around, I noticed that the other nine royals from my home Parsin were short compared to the other kingdoms. I was considered short back home, and felt tiny in this room of mostly tall people. But that didn't make me feel any less royal, I felt like it gave me an edge. I could probably flow in and out through these people easily, and I had a knack for hiding. I bet I will hear and see all sorts of things I am not supposed to. I smiled to myself at the thought.
Soon we were lined up with the other royals from our kingdom. The first to be presented were those from Korrience, since we were in their home. The eldest daughter of the king and queen was first. She looked bored and scared at the same time, and was unusually pale for a Korrience. I thought she was a beautiful girl, but I saw some of the Hynn girls turn their noses at her.
"Princess Isabella," Called out the stout man who was presenting, "Eldest daughter of the king and queen of Korrience." Isabella was allowed to sit at one of the three long tables. She walked rather ungracefully for being one of the few princesses in the room. Many of us were just cousins of the princess or princes of our kingdoms. The next girl was Angela, the youngest princess of Korrience. She seemed sweet but quiet, though friendlier than her elder sister. Soon Lauren, Jessica, and Kate where the last presented girls of Korrience and all smiled and bowed gracefully. The eldest of the king and queen of Korrience was prince Carlisle. He was a very handsome man, and much more graceful than the elder princess. He caught my attention as he took a place next to his sisters, and I missed nearly half of the other presentations. The way they all acted with each other and the way he seemed to carry enough grace and friendliness to get both of them through this event. When I looked back up at the presentation, there stood prince Jasper of Quiell. His chin length, honey locks were wavy and looked incredibly soft. He looked a little distant and cold, but there was something in those brown eyes that made me think that maybe his exterior was just a front to ward people off. What a ridiculous thought, I scolded myself. But I couldn't shake this strange feeling as I watched him go and sit off by himself. I felt a soft nudge at my rib, and saw my best friend Esme smiling knowingly. Her eyes glanced at prince Jasper and then back at me. I ignored her and continued to look at those being presented, although my mind was not actually present. I thought I would want to pay attention to everyone, but fifty other royals were a lot, and I found that I simply didn't have the attention for it. My mind roamed and wandered on thoughts of the only Quiell prince and the Korrience prince and princess. I wondered if I'd make any friends out of this, or if the competition would ruin any chance of friendship to grow. Before I knew it we were being announced, and I suddenly realized with clarity that one of these strange men were going to be my husband by the end of the month. A sickening feeling twisted in my stomach, as I looked among the faces. If no one wanted to marry you by the end of the three months, you were hanged. Death was a powerful motivator, and that's why these events were so competitive. I looked around and saw girls eying the boys already. Suddenly I wasn't excited anymore, and I wasn't sure if this was a game I really wanted to play.
"Mary Alice of Parsin." I bowed as the stout man presented me. I glanced quickly at the tables. Since we were the last kingdom to be announced, the tables were nearly filled up. I wasn't sure where to sit, but the motion of someone beckoning me over with their hand softly had caught my attention. It was Princess Isabella. I mustered up every ounce of fluidity and poise as I walked towards her and sat down. I looked at her appreciatively, although I was unsure why she had ushered me over. I saw plenty other royals look hesitant on where to sit.
"I saw it in your eyes," She whispered quietly, eyes still on the others being presented. "You realized that this is a dangerous game, and I saw the fear I've been feeling for years." I looked at her, shocked that she was saying this aloud. If anyone heard her, if I told anyone she said that, it would most likely cause her serious trouble. She smiled, a bitter smile, "I do not want to play this in the way it has been done before, am I wrong in assuming that you do not either?" I lightly shook my head no, and her smile turned softer. "Then it looks like the impossible has happened."
Confused I asked, "What would that be?"
"We seem to actually have a chance in being friends."

Edward

It has been drilled into my head for the past few months that I need to marry a princess. As I paid attention during the presentation, I noted each of them: Princess Isabella of Korrience, a clumsy and ill trained girl; Princess Angela, also of Korrience was a sweet but young; Princess Rosalie of Hynn, she was the most poised and radiated self-importance; Princess Victoria of Morrek, the wild red hair and wild smile made me wary of her; and lastly Princess Tanya of Parsin, and the only thing that stood out about her was her lovely strawberry blonde curls. None of them really captured my attention, no royal girl did. But I was determined to please my father, and watched the five princesses throughout our first meal together.
"Why not her?" My sister Renesmee's voice floated sweetly to my ears over the many voices of the Great Room. I looked over in her direction, were a small and graceful girl sat with caramel colored hair.
"You know why." I said instantly, she was not a princess. Renesmee sighed quietly, and I knew she felt the pressure I was feeling. Our father believed that princes and princesses only marry other princesses and princes. This was not about love, no, it was about a pure and royal blood line. I surveyed the room and was praying that although I was narrowing down my choices simply because they were not royal enough, that one of these princesses would at least be decently kind. I quickly shot that prayer out of my thoughts, because it was impossible. I would find a lady to please my father, carry on our bloodline, and to be a poised and trained next queen of Ariaag. But against my better judgment, my mind silently whispered that against all likely possibilities I would be able to find something more than just a pretty and "pure" lady. After that silent prayer, I closed off any thought of that nonsense. I focused back on the princesses, and started to strategize; and noticed that I wasn't the only one who looked to be doing so. There was no going back now, the only other option was death.

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