"Get out." I heard my own voice saying to Zander, the guard one not the Prince one. I pointed my index finger towards the window where he would have usually come from.
He stuffed his hands in his guard's coat pockets and stepped towards me, a thin smile spread across his face, "Admit it, it's pretty funny." He stepped even closer to me and I pulled the pale blue night gown across m body even more, suddenly aware of the little clothing I had on.
"Not funny. You had me believing that you confessed your love to me today! That's way to early to confess! I know I am charming, but-" and suddenly I found myself laughing and so was Zander. It wasn't the normal cute laugh, it was the kind of gut clenching laughing where you have to bend your body forward to hold yourself.
"So, are we good?" He asked after about five minutes of us just laughing at each other. His eyes searched my face for any sign of expression, he was trying to read me.
"It's pretty funny. But, honestly, how can I trust what you say is true?"
I had made a graceful entrance into the large dining room. Late, nonetheless, but luckily the royals would not be dining with us. I ate my food silently while the others chatted and chirped around me. Nobody said a word to me and I liked it like that. At least now they had stopped their whispering and cold calculating looks. They had upgraded to the silent treatment!
Near the end of our meal Lady Odetta came into the room and asked for our attention, "Girls. Tomorrow night is the first broadcast of the Selection. Now, it is very important you all prepare yourselves wisely. The country will have its first live taste of you. Tonight I suggest you write to your families and," Suddenly an alarm went off in the palace and Lady Odetta's face went pale. Guards ran into the room and started to shout orders at us. All the girls stood up from their seats and began to panic, not even Miss Daisy was doing well in this situation. "Follow us!" "Calm down!" "You'll be safe!" It must hurt for the guards to shout against the alarms that blared. I could imagine the strain on their voices, but maybe they were used to it.
I remained in my seat. I can't explain it but a part of me was thinking, 'If we are under attack, which is what the alarms most likely mean, why would they want to hurt me?' The other girls made their way into an underground passage way inside of the grand dining room.
Rocks flew through the windows and glass shattered everywhere. I felt small prickles against my arm from the small shards of glass hitting me. The small amount of pain finally got me out of the daze I was in and I ducked underneath the large grand table as I saw more rocks about to collide with the remaining windows. I didn't have time to dash to the underground passage and this seemed like the better option than getting sprayed with more glass.
I held perfectly still under the table, which had a large white tablecloth covering it from the top to the ends. I could see feet running from the crack between the cloth and the floor.
Suddenly there were no more feet and the sound of rocks smashing against the windows was gone. The only sound I could hear was the alarm blaring throughout the palace. I held my breath knowing I was not where I was supposed to be. I would have been safe if I had just followed the other girls. Of course, wasn't it the guards' job to make sure everyone got there? Why had I been excluded from the safe count? I could torture myself with these questions or I could focus on not breathing.
That's when I heard the grand doors come open and slam shut. I sucked in more breath and bit my thumb to keep me from squealing. I couldn't see the feet of whoever came in. It could be a lot of people or very few. It could be a friend or a foe and I had no idea.
Listening carefully I could only hear one pair of feet shuffling across the ground and then I heard a voice boom out, over the loud alarm, "Arista!"
My heart skipped a beat when I heard my name and for a second I was worried my heart had actually stopped. If they knew my name then they had to be friendly.
Very slowly I got up from underneath the tablecloth and straightened myself out. Before me stood a very handsome guard, Zander to be exact, "Wait. You are in your guard uniform. But you are the-" He gave me a small glare and grabbed my wrist very firmly. He began to drag me across the room and to the side of the door, "You follow me, Arista. Okay? You don't do anything stupid. The safe rooms are all locked up now. The only place I can get you and keep you safe is your own room. So stay behind me." He pulled out a gun and knocked open the wooden door the hallway.
Running behind him we made our way down the long hallway. Above us on the third floor I heard a lot of gunshots and yelling. Our hallways was clear, besides the few fallen down picture frames and glasses shattered along the floor. It looked the battle started either on this floor or the one below and worked its way upwards.
Approaching my room Zander grabbed me and threw me in and entered after me. Shutting the very large and heavy doors he yelled at me, "Close the windows and shut the curtains over them." I didn't question him, though I wanted to ask him if he really thought curtains were going to keep the attackers from breaking into the windows. I did as he instructed and noticed as I closed the windows he was moving a large dresser by himself to be placed in front of the door.
After I finished my job and he had finished his he came up to me and said, "Stay here. Hide in the bathroom. Lock the door. Most of the girl's room has an escape passage but I am afraid yours does not. Like I said the first night, you only have a window escape. But I am afraid the outside is more dangerous right now." He talked to me seriously and held my arm tightly, staring straight into my eyes. He was dead serious and I was scared for my life now.
"Where are you going?" I asked him softly, I couldn't get my voice to be any louder.
"I am going outside to help make sure nobody else gets inside the palace." He told me honestly.
"Why did I shut the curtains then if you are just going to-" I couldn't help my automatic reaction to question people.
"Keep you busy. That's all." He laughed for a quick second, "You think curtains are going to keep rebels out?" Without waiting for an answer he let go of my arm and pushed me towards the bathroom before taking off to our window.
I went inside and locked the door, slinking down with my back against the bathroom door. I held my knees up to my chest and reminded myself to breath.
It was an hour later when the alarms shut off and I heard a knock at the bathroom door, "Lady Arista? It's me, Esther. It's safe now. A nice guard told me you were here safe and sound." I got up slowly and opened the door to see her face full of color and life. I returned a smile in thanks.
"Tonight dinner will be served in your room, which is in about an hour. Then you are to get ready for bed right away, King's orders." She stepped out of my way and I made my way back into my room, the dresser was now out of the door's way. I assumed Zander came up and moved it earlier. I let out a sigh and said, "If I am not seeing anyone for the rest of the day, will you help me get ready for bed now? I can eat my dinner in my robe and pajamas."
Esther is my favorite, I made sure to make note of that. She helped me run a bath and found a nice white sleeping gown and a light blue robe. She brought me dinner that night and even stayed with me and made me laugh. We didn't talk about the incident earlier and she didn't wonder why I wasn't down with the others in the underground.
After she left I heard a knock at the window and knew it had to be Zander. I debated if I really want to let him in, my eyes drooped with exhaustion, but a part of me wanted some answers as to what happened today. So with much reluctance I went and let him in.
And that's when he told me the most incredible story, leading up to me wanting to kick him out of my room.
Author's Notes:
Thank you everyone who stuck with me through a long hiatus. I got really mean letter from someone and took it to much to heart. I was reading through this story the other day and I thought, "Why did I stop?" I really love this story. I love Arista and Zander. And they have such an incredible story they want to tell you. Like, this isn't even the beginning of it. So many questions have yet to be answered in Arista's life. So stick with me. (:
